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HISTORY 



^ -^ 



Oc^.- 



MIDDLESEX COUNTY, 



MASSACHUSETTS, 



WITH 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 



OF MANY OK ITS 



Pioneers and Prominent Men. 



COMPILED I'NDKI; TIIK SUPERVISION OF 

D. HAMILTON HURI). 

VOL I. 



IIjXjTJSTI^J^TEID. 



PH I LAI) EL PHI A : 

.1. w. r. v.w IS .V (' < ). 

1 8 !) . 



Hi' 



\<]'^. 






iS\^. 



Copt/riyht, 1890, 
By J. W. LEWIS & CO. 



All nights Reserved. 



PRESS OF 

.IA8. li. RODGEUS PRINTING COMPANY, 

PHILADF.Ll'lilA. 







'-^'^ 




^ '/^ ^-Y t/. /^ /-/ '•'^^'' ^ -' 



PUBLISHER'S PREFACE. 



The History of ^liddleses County, contained in these volumes, has been prejiared by the 
publishers with a due sense of the responsiliilitv restini;' upon tlieni, and with an earnest ettlirt 
to meet the just expectations of the pnbli(\ Their undertakint; was a tiirinidaiile one, in- 
volvinrr, as it did, histories of six cities and forty-eight towns, tnuether with histories of 
the county proper, with its courts and officers, and iif the bench and l)ar, as well as 
notices nf manv of its pmniinent men. A^ far as it was possible these histories and nntices 
have been confided to local historians of acknowledged ca]iacifv for the wurk, a tlnv of them 
onlv having been prepared bv other writers accustomed to histmieal roearr'h and |)iisscssing 
literary skill. The chapters relating tu the county, and the bench au<l liar, will lie found of 
especial value, entering, as thev do, a field hitherto nnex])lored, [n presenting thc-c volumes, 
while the publishers cannot expect to wholly esi'ape criti<'isiii, they look with hope, if not 
with confidence, for an apju-oval of their work. 



CONTENTS OF VOL. I. 



GENERAL HISTORY. 



CHAPTER I. 



MlliDI.ESEX CdVTNTY 



CHAPTER ir. 
Bench anti Bar xxiv 



CITIES AND TOWNS. 



CHAPTER I. 

CaMBI!ID(!E 1 

lutruiluotion. 

CHAPTER II. 

< ' AMliKIlKiE— (0)n^'/iw</) 4 

The liidiiins of Caiiit)r'uige and Vicinity. 

CHAPTER III. 

Cambhidue — (Coiitiniied) 11 

EccIesiHStical History. 

CHAPTER IV. 

C\umiii>iiK—[( 'ontiiined) 77 

Ilaivani rnivcieity. 

CHAPTER V. 

C.VMHUiDOE — (Continued) 140 

Tlie Ifivinity Scbuol of Harvard University. 

CHAPTER VI. 

CAMiiKirifiE — (('onlinndd) 142 

The I'liblic ScIkjoIb. 

CHAPTER VII. 

CAMiimiiiiE— ( O'lt'inufi) I'^il 

Litel-ature. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

CvMBRIDciE — iConlinued) l')3 

Musical. 

CHAPTER IX. 

CAMHRIIKiE — {Continued) IS** 

Medical liistory. 



CHAPTER X. 

CA5rBRiiJ(;E — iCnnlinued) 176 

Military. 

CHAPTER XI. 

('AMBRinGE — (Continued) K'O 

Civil History. 

CHAPTER XII. 

CAMBRlWiE — (Continued) 198 

Banking and Insurance. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

CAMBRiixiE — {Continued) '2(11 

Manufacturing and Industrial. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

C.\MRHii"iE — (Continued) 210 

Miscellaneous. . 

CHAPTER XV. 
.\,TON 2.')8 

CHAPTER XVI. 

AsiiBY 30f. 

Description. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

AsiiBV — (Continued) 314 

Mt'clmnical Industries. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
AfiHBY — (Continued) 311) 

Ecclesiastical Affairs. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XTX. 

AsHBY— (Contmued) 319 

The Great Civil War. 

CHAPTER XX. 

AsHBV — iCovtinued) .319 

Miscellaueuus. 

CHAPTER XXr. 

AsHBY — (Conlinued) 325 

Civil Hifetury. 

CHAPTER XXri. 

Xiiwas —(Continued) 3'27 

PoBt-0f!ice8, Piiysiciiine, Agricultural, Personal Notices. 

CHAPTER XXTTT. 
WOBUKN 334 

Introduction. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

WoBURN — {Continued) 3.'; 6 

Civil History to 1800. 

CHAPTER XXV. 

WoBUHN — [Continued) 355 

Civil History from ISrtO to Present Time. 

CHAPTER XXVT. 

WoBURN — (Continued) 365 

Woburn as a City. 

CHAPTER XXVIT. 

WoBURN — (Continued) 366 

The Medical and Legal Prefeseions: Colonial, Provincial and 
Later Periods. 

CHAPTER xxvrn. 

WoBi'RN — (Continued) • 377 

Military History— The Colonial and Provincial Periods; 
1642-1775. 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

Woburn — (Cotitinued) 389 

Military History — The Revolutionary and Later Periods to 
1861, etc.— The Civil War of 18B1-65. 

CHAPTER XXX. 

Woburn — (Continued) 410 

Biographical Notices. 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

Woburn — (Continued) 414 

Ecclesiastical History. 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

Shirley 4.56 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

Weston ■1S6 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

Weston— (Co)i(mnef/) 498 

Biographical. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

Natick 512 

Natural Features and Productions. 

CHAPTER XXXVr. 

Natick — (Continued) 514 

iDdian Settlement. 1050-1700. 

CHAPTER XXXVir. 

Natick — (Continued) . 520 

1700-1800: AiiomaloiiB Condition of the Towusbip— Change 
in the Indian Government — Their Records— Population-- 
Act6 as Proprietors — Allotment of Lands — Sale of the 
Same— Natick as a Parish — Acts of General Court Relnt- ' 
ing to it — Parish Meetings— Warning Out of Town— Tn 
the Revolutionary War — Parish Declaration Regarding 
Independence — Natick Soldiers— Oath of Allegiance — 
Town Incorporated. 

CHAPTER XXXVIIT. 

Natick — {Continued) 525 

lSOO-1890: Prospects of the Tovrn more Encouraging- 
General Progress — Town Ac'iou Respecting the Pastors of 
the Church— Town Hall Erected— The Town in Suppress- 
ing the Great Rebellion — Losses in the same — Financial 
Condition — The Centennial Celebration— Town (>thcerB 
and Representative in the General Cnurt. 

CHAPTER XXXrX. 

Natick — (Continued) 536 

Ecclesiastical: Organization of the Indian Church — 
ElioCs Translation of the Bible— The Printing and Dis- 
tribution of the same— Mr. Eliot's Death— Memorial Win- 
dows to Perpetuate his Memory— Pastor Takawambatt — 
Rev. Messrs. Peabody and Badger Missionaries to the 
Natick Indians — Organization of the Congregational 
Church in the Centre of the Town — Sketches of its Pas- 
tors—The Baptist Church— The Methodist Episcopal 
Church— St Paul's Episcopal Church— The Rnnian Catho- 
lic Churchea — The Unitarian or Eliot Church— The John 
Eliot Church — The Universalist Church. 

CHAPTER XL. 

Natick — [Continued) 546 

Educational : Schools— Libraries— Morse Institute— College 
and University Honors. 

CHAPTER XLT. 

Natick — {Continued) 55X 

Miscellaneous: Population- Water Department—Fire De- 
partraent— Natick Gas-Light Company— Natick Electric 
Company- Natick National Bink— Natick Five-Cent« 
Savings Baiili— Henry Wilson Co Operative Bank— Post- 
Offices—Mauufacturers— South Natick Business— Cemeter- 
jpg — Lawyers — Physicians — Express t'ompanies — Coal, 
Wood, etc. — The Press — Biographical. 

CHAPTER XLII. 
Townsend •''fiQ 

CHAPTER XLIII. 
Lexington 604 

Topogiaphy ami Scenery. 

CHAPTER XLIV. 

Lexington — (Cnnlinued) 606 

Civil History. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XLV. 

Lexington — [Continued) 

MililHry History. 

CHAPTER XLVI. 
Lkxixgtos — (Contimied) 

EdiicatioD— Schools and Libraries. 

CHAPTER XLV J I. 
Lexington — {Contimied} 

Ecclesiastical AfTiiirs — Cliiircbee, Sunday-S>-houl8 and Benev- 
olent OrgaDizatiuns. 

CHAPTER XLVIII. 
Lexixgtos — {CondniieJ) 

Miscellaueuns. 

CHAPTER XLIX. 
Stow 

CHAPTER L. 

BlRLIXGTOX • 

Introduction. 

CHAPTER LI. 

BrBi.iN(iTox- -(0)H(i«He</) 

Civil History. 

CHAPTER LIT. 

BVKLINGTON — (Continued) 

Eccleaiastical History. 



CHAPTER LIV. 



61.5 



fi21 



023 



Caki.isi.k 



('30 



CHAPTER LI 1 1. 



Sherborx. 



637 



663 



66.5 



670 



680 



708 



CHAPTER LV. 



DrX.ST.iBI.E 



Present Condition of the Town — Tit[iograiiliy — Businc& 
IntereHts. 



i-36 



CHAPTER L\L 

Dx'XST.iBLE — (Cmitinued) 

Origin and Early Settlement— Iij43-1723. 

CHAPTER LVIL 



Dunstable — {Continued) 

Continued Attacks from the Indians— Gruwlh of tUe Town- 
Church auil School AffHiis— 172:i-17tiiS. 

CHAPTER LVIIL 



Dunstable— (C'on(mw,erf) 

The Town aa Represented in th« Anierican Revolution — 
Educational, Religious and other Affairs— 17G8-1820. 

CHAPTER LIX. 

Dunstable — [Continued) 

Church Erected — Soldiers in the War of the Rebelliun— Dun- 
stable Cornet Band Formed— Nashua, Acton and Boston 
Railroad Opened — Bi-Cenfennial Celebration — 1S21-1S90. 

CHAPTER LX. 

DuxsT.\BLE — (Continued) 

Biographical. 



738 



742 



751 



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V- 



GENERAL HISTORY. 



CHAPTER I. 



MIDDLESEX COUNTY. 



BY WILLIAM T. DAVIS. 



Thodgh it may be assumed that the reaJer is fam- 
iliar with the history of the settlement of Massachu- 
setts Colony, it may be well to hastily recount its chief 
incidents occurring before the incorporation of the 
county which includes a part of its territory. 

On the 20th of April, IGOii, King James issued let- 
ters-patent dividing a strip of land one hundred miles 
wide along the Atlantic coast of North America, ex- 
tending from the thirty-fourth to the forty-fifth de- 
gree of north latitude, between two companies, gener- 
ally called the Southern and Xorthern Virginia Com- 
panies. This territory was known as N'irginia, so 
called after Queen Elizabeth. The Southern Company 
was composed of knights, gentlemen, merchants and 
adventurers of London, and was grunted all the lands 
between the thirty-fourth and forty-first degrees ; 
while the Northern Company, composed of persons of 
the same description, was granted the lands between 
the thirty-eighth and forty-fifth degrees. That por- 
tion lying between the thirty-eighth and forty-fifth 
which was included in both grants was open to the 
company first occupying it; and it was stipulated 
that neither company should settle within one hun- 
dred miles of any jirevious settlement of the other 
company. On the 3d of November, 1620, Sir Ferdi- 
nand Gorges and his associates, the members of the 
Northern Virginia Company, received a new patent, 
which passed the seal on the 3d of the following 
July under the title of " The council established at 
Plymouth, in the county of Devon, for the planting, 
.ordering, ruling and governing of New England in 
I America." Under this patent the company was au- 
thorized to hold territory extending from sea to sea 
and in breadth from the fortieth (o the forty-eighth 
degree of north latitude ; and to make laws, appoint 
governors and other officers and generally to estab- 
lish all necessary forms of government. 

The motive inspiring the issue of this new patent 
seems to have been to show special favors to this com- 



pany and to inflict thereby a slight on the Southern 
Company. The King had for some reason fallen out 
with Sir Edwin Sandys the governor and treasurer of 
the Southern Company, and forebade his re-election. 
The Earl of Southampton, the successor of Sir Ed- 
win, was equally obnoxious to the King, and the new 
charter of the Northern Company was the conse- 
quence. The new patent included all the terri- 
tory between Central New Jersey and the Gulf of 
St. Lawrence on the Atlantic coast and the north- 
ern part of California, Oregon and nearly all of 
Washington on the Pacific, with a line running 
through Lake Superior for its northern boundary 
and one through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and 
Illiuois for its southern. 

The colony settling at Plymouth in li;20 had re- 
ceived a patent from the Southern Company author- 
izing a settlement within their territory at some point 
south of New York harbor ; but finding themselves 
outside of the jurisdiction of the company from whom 
they had received their patent, they sent by the " May- 
flower," on her return, for a j)atent from the Northern 
Company. The Northern Company, under its new 
charter, consequently issued a patent, uuder date of 
June 1, 1621, to John Pierce and his associates in 
trust for the Plymouth Colony. This patent was 
brought to Plymouth in 16 21 in the ship "Fortune," and 
is preserved in Pilgrim Hall in that town. It is en- 
grossed on parchment and bears the signatures of the 
Duke of Lenox, the Marquis of Hamilton, the Earl 
of Warwick, Lord Sheffield and Sir Ferdinand Gor- 
ges. Another signature is illegible, which may be 
that of either Thomas, Earl of Arundel, or the Mar- 
quis of Buckingham. This is the oldest state paper 
in New England. 

On the 30th of December, 1622, the Northern Com- 
pany, which, for convenience, may be still so called, 
notwithstanding its new charter and change of title, 
granted to Robert Gorges all that part of the main 
land " commonly called or known by the name of the 
Messachusiack " situated " upon the northeast side of 
the Bay called or known by the name of the Messachu- 
sett." This included the shore " for ten Plnglish 
miles towards the northeast and thirty English miles 
unto the main land through all the breadth afore- 

i 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



said," with all the rivers, islands, etc. This grant in- 
cluded a part of Middlesex County. Up to this date 
the only white men known to have visited this local- 
ity were John Smith, the navigator, who visited it in 
1614, and a party of ten members of the Plymouth 
Colony who came by water from Plymouth on an ex- 
pedition, partly to trade and partly to conclude peace 
with the JIassachusetts Indians. It is probable that 
on this expedition Point Allerton and the Brewsters, 
at the entrance of Boston harbor, received their names 
from Isaac Allerton and William Brewster, two of 
the "Mayflower" Pilgrims. 

John Smith, after his expedition to Virginia in 
1606, in the service of the Southern Virginia Com- 
pany and some years connection with the Virginia 
colony, returned to England, and in 1614 sailed with 
two ships under the auspices of English adventurers 
" to take whales and also to make trials of a mine of 
gold and copper." He anchored his vessels near the 
mouth of the Penobscot River and sailed with eight 
men in a shallop along the coast as far as Cape Cod, 
giving the name of New England to the country and 
" drawing a map from point to point, isle to isle, and 
harbor to harbor, with the soundings, sands, rocks and 
landmarks." After his return to England Prince 
Charles, afterwards Charles the First, attached names 
to many places on the coast as indicated on the map, 
of which only Plymouth, Charles River, named after 
himself, and Cape Anne, named after his mother, 
Anne of Denmark, still adhere to the localities then 
designated. Among the many other names affixed to 
the map by Prince Charles were Cape James for Cape 
Cod, Milford Haven for Provincetown Harbor, Btu- 
ard's Bay for Barnstable Bay, Point George for 
Branches Point, Oxford for Marshfield, London for 
Cohasset, Cheviot Hills for the Blue Hills, Talbot's 
Bay for Gloucester Harbor, and Dartmouth, Sandwich 
and Cambridge for places near Portland. It is possi- 
ble that besides .John Smith and the Pilgrim party, 
DeMonts, with Champlain, may have also visited this 
locality in 1604. 

Robert Gorges, having received the grant above- 
mentioned in 1622, was appointed by the Plymouth 
Council in 1623 Lieutenant-General of New England, 
and arrived in Massachusetts Bay in September of 
that year, with what are described in the record as 
" passengers and families." At the end of a year, 
after futile efforts to establish his colony, he returned 
to England, and at his death, which soon after oc- 
curred, his brother .John, to whom his rights had de- 
scended, leased a portion of his grant to John Old- 
ham and John Dorrill. This lease included " all the 
lands within the Massachusetts Bay between Charles 
River and Abousett (now Saugus River) containing in 
length by straight line five miles up the Charles 
River into the main land northwest from the bord»r 
of said bay, including all creeks and points by the 
way ; and three miles in length from the mouth of 
the aforesaid river Abousett up into the main land, 



upon a straight line southwest, including all creeks 
and points ; and all the land in breadth and length 
between the foresaid rivers, with all prerogatives, 
royal mines excepted. 

la the mean time the same territory which had been 
granted to Robert Gorges had been granted, with 
other lands, to the Massachusetts Company. By this 
grant, dated March 19, 1627-28, the Plymouth Council 
issued a patent to Sir John Roswell, Sir John Young, 
Thomas Southcoat, John Humphrey, John Endicott, 
and Simon Whitcomb covering a territory extending 
from three miles north of the Merrimac River to three 
miles south of the Charles River. The following is the 
text of the letters-patent issued March 4, 1628-29 : 

"Charles By The Grace of God Kioge of England, Scotland, Fraunce I 
iind Ireland, Defender of the Fayth etc. To All to whome these Presents ' 
shall come Greeting. Whereas our most deare and roy:tll father Kinge 
James, of blessed memory, by his Highness letters patents beareiug .date 
at Westminster the third day of November in the eighteenth yeare of 
his raigne, hath given and graunted unto the Councell established at 
Plymouth, in the county of Devon, for the planting, ruling, ordering 
and governing of Xewe England in America, and to their successors 
and assignes for ever ; All that parte of .\merica lyeing and being in 
bredth from forty degrees of northerly latitude from the equinoctiall 
lyne to forty-eight degrees of the saide northerly latitude inclusively, 
itnd in length of and within all the breadth aforesaid throughout the 
inaine landes from sea to sea, together also with all the firme lands, 
soyles, groundes, havens, portes, rivets, waters, fishery, mynes and myn- 
eralls, as well royall mynes of gould and silver as other uiynes and 
myneralls, precious stones, quarries and all and singular other comodi- 
ties, jurisdiceons, royalties, priviledges, franchesies and prehemynences, 
both within the said tract of lande upou the mayue and also within the 
islandes and seas adioiuing ; Provided alwayes That the said islandes or 
any the premises by the said lettei-s patents intended and meant to be 
graunted were not then actuallie possessed or inhabited by any other 
Christian Prince or State now within the bounds, lymitts or territories 
of the Southerue Colony then before graunted by our said deare father, 
to be planted by divei-s of his loving subiects in the south partes. To 
Have and to houlde, possesse and eniuy all and singular the aforesaid 
i:ontinent, laudes, territories, islands, hereditaments and precincts, seas, 
waters, lisherys, with all and all manner their comodities, royalties, 
liberties, prehemynences and profitts that should from thenceforth arise 
from thence, with all and singular their appurtenances and every parte 
and parcell thereof unto the saide Councell and their successoi-s and 
assignes forever. To the sole and proper use, beuefitt and behoofe of 
them the saide Councell and their successors aud assignes forever : To 
be houlden of our said most deare and royall father, hia lieires and suc- 
cessors as of his manuor of Eastgreenewioh, in the County of Kent in 
free and coinon Soccage, and not in capite nor by Knights service. 
Yeildinge and paying therefore to the saide late Kinge, his heires and 
successors, the fifte parte of the oare of gould and silver which should, 
trom tyme to tyme and at all tymes thereafter, happen to be found, 
gotten, had and obteyued in, att or within any of the saide landes 
lymitts, territories and precincts, or, in or within any parte or parcell 
thereof, for or in respect of all and all manner of duties, demannds and 
services whatsoever to be don, nmde or paide to our saide dear father, 
the late Kinge, his heires and successors, as in and by the said letters 
patent (amougest sundrie other clauses, powers, priviledges and grauntes ! 
therein conteyned) more at large appeareth. And whereas the saide 
Councell established at Plymouth, in the County of Devon, for the 
plantinge, ruling, ordering and governing of Newe England in America, 
have by their deede indented under their comon scale bearing date the A 
nyneteenth day of March last past in the thirrl year of our raigne, given,^ 
graunted, bargained, soulde, enfeofted, aliened and confirmed to Sir 
Henry Rosewell, Sir John Yoving Knightes, Thomas Southcott, John 
Humphrey, John Endecott and Symou Whetcombe, their heirs and as- 
sociates for ever. All that parte of Newe England in America aforesaid 
which lyes and extendes betweene a greate river there comonlie called 
Monomack alias Merrieniack aud a certen other river there called 
Charles river, being in the bottome of a certayne bay there comonly 
called Massachusetts alias Mattachusetts alias Massatusetts bay, and also 
all and singular those landes and hereditaments whatsoever lying with- 



MIDDLESEX COUNTY. 



in the space of three English miles on the suuth parte of the said 
Charles river, or of any or everie parte thereof: And also all and singu- 
lar the landes and hereditaments whatsoever lyeing and being within the 
space of three Knglish myles to the southuarde of the sou tliennost parte 
of the said bay called Massachusetts alias Mattach nsette alias Ma^atusete 
bay : and also all those landes and hereditaments whatsoever which lye 
and be within the space of three Englisli niyles to the northward of the 
saidc river called Monomack alias Merryniack, on to the northward of 
any and every parte theieof: And all landes an<l liereditaiii.-nt.< whatso- 
ever lying within the lymitla aforesaide, north and south, in latitude 
and bredth, and in length and longitude, of and within all the bredth 
aforesaide throughout the niayne landes there, from the Atlantick and 
westerne sea and ocean on the east i)arte, to the south sea on the west 
parte, and all landes and groundes, place and places, soyles, woodes and 
wood groundos. /kutms, portes, rivers, waters, tishings and heredita- 
ments, whatsoever, lyeing within the said boundes and lymitts and 
everie parte and parcell thereof ; And also all islandes lyeing in America 
aforesaide in said seas or either of them on the wesferne or easterne 
coastes or partes of the saide trades of laiide by the saide indenture, 
mencoed to be given, graunted, bargained, sould, enfeotTed, aliened and 
confirmed or any of them ; And also all niynes and niyneralls, as well 
royall niynes of gonld and silver as other my iics ami mynerails what- 
Bi^tever in the saide landes and premises or any parte thereof; And all 
jurisdiccons, rights, royalties, liberties, freedomes, ymmunities, privi- 
ledges, franchisee, prehemeninces and comodities whatsoever which 
they, the said Councell, cstatdished at Plymouth, in the County of 
Devon, for the planting, ruleing, ordereing and govi-rniug of Newe 
England in America, then had or might use, exen'ise or <-nioy in and 
within the said landes and premisses by the saide indenture mencoed to 
be given, grauiitfd, bargained, sould, enfeoffed and confirmed or in or 
within any parte or parcell thereof. To have and to hould the saiile 
parte of Newe England in America, which lyes and extendes and is 
abutted iis aforesaide, and every parte and parcell thereof; Anil all the 
saide islandes, rivers, portes, havens, watei-s, fishings, mynes and min- 
eralls, jurisdiccons, franchises, royalties, liberties, priviledges. comodi 
ties, hereditaments and premisses whatsoever with the appurtenances 
unto the said Sir Henry Rosewell, Sir John Younge, Thomas S->uthcott, 
John Uumfrey, John Endecott and Simon Whetconibe, their heires 
and asstgnes and their associate to the onlie proper and absolute use and 
behoofe of the said Sir Henry Uosewell, 8ir John Younge, Thurnas 
SoutJicott, John Uumfrey, John Endecott and Symon Whetteconibe, 
their heires and assignes and their associatts for evermore. To be 
Uonlden of us, our heires and successors, as of our maunor of East- 
greenewich in the County of Kent, in free and comon socage and not 
in capite, nor by Knightes service, yeilding and payeing therefore unto 
us, our heires and successors, the fifte parte of the oare of gould and 
silver which shall, from tyme to tyme and all tyines hereafter, happen 
to be founde, gotten, had and obtiiyned in any of the saide iandes with- 
in the saide lymitts or in or within any parte tliereof, for and in satis- 
facon of all manner, duties, deniaunds and services whatsoever, to be 
donn, made or paid to us, our heires or successore, as in and by the 
saide recid.d indenture more at large maie appeare. Nowe knowe yee 
that wee, at the humble suite and peticon of the said Sir Henry Rose- 
well, Sir John Younge, Thoniaa Southcott, John Humfrey, John Ende- 
cott and Simon Whetconibe and of others wh.im they have associated 
unto them, Have for divert good causes and co'usideracons us moveing, 
graunted and confirmed. And by thes presents, of oTirown especial! grace 
certeu knowledge and meere mocon, doe graunt and confirme unto the 
saide Sir Henry Kosewell, Sir John Y'ounge, Thomas Southcott, John 
Uumfrey, John Endecott and Simon Whetconibe, and to their associats 
hereafter named [videlicet] Sir Richard Saltonstali Knight, Isaack 
Johnson, Samuel Aldersey, John Yen, Mathew Cradock, George Har- 
wood, Increase Xowell, Richard Perrj', Richard Bellingham, Nathaniell 
Wright, Samuell Vassall, Theophilus Eaton, Thomas Gofl"e, Thomas 
Adams, John Browne, Samnell Browne, Thomas Hutchins, William 
Vassall, William Pincheonand George Foxcrofte, their heires and as- 
signes, all the said parte of New England in America, lyeing and ex- 
tending betweene the boundes and lymitts in the s^iid recited indentiii'e 
expressed, and all landes and groundes, place and places, aoyle3, woodes 
and wood groundes, havens, portes, rivers, waters, mynes, mineralls, 
jurisdiccons, rights, royalties, liberties, freedomes, immunities, privi- 
ledges, franchises, preheminences, hereditamonta and comodities what- 
soever to them, the saide Sir Henry Rosewell, Sir John Younge, 
Thomas Southcott, John Humfrey, John Endecott and Simon Whet- 
combe, their heires and assignes and to their associates by the saide 
recited indenture given, graunted, bargayned, sold, enfeoffed, aliened 



and confirmed or mencoed or intended thereby to be given, graunted, 
bargayned, sold, enfeoffed, aliened and confirmed. To have and to 
htiiild the s;ude parte of Newe England in America and other the prem- 
isses hereby mencoed to be graunted and confirmed, and every parte and 
parcel! thereof with the appurtenances to the said Sir Henry Rosewell, 
Sir .John Younge, Sir Richard Saltonstali, Thi>nias Southcott, John 
Humfrey, John Endecott, Simon Whetconibe, Isaack Jtdinson, Samuell 
Aldersey, John Yen, Mathewe Cradock, George Harwood, Increase 
Nowell. Richard Pery, Richard Bellingham, Nathaniidl Wrifiht, Sam- 
uell Yji«s;ill, Theophilus Eaton, Thomas Goffe, Thomas Adams, John 
Browne, Samuell Browne, Thomas Hutchins, William Yassall, AVilliam 
Pincheon and George Foxcrofte, their heires and assignes forever to 
their onlie proper and al«<.>lute use and behoofe for evermore. To be 
holden of us, our heires and successors as of our mannor of Eastgreene- 
wich aforesjiid in free and comon socage and not in capite nor by 
knights service, and also j'eilding and paying therefore to us, our heires 
and successors, the fifth parte onlie of all oare of gould anil silver which 
from tyme to tyme and att all tj'mes hereafter shalbe ther** gotten, had 
or ol>(eytu^d for all services, exacons and dernaunds whatsoever accord- 
ing to the tenure and reservacion in the said recited indeiitureexpressed. 
And further knowe yee That of our more especiall grace, certen knowl- 
edg and meere nittcon Wee have given and graunted. And by theis 
presents doe for us, our heires and 8uccesst»rs, give and graunt unto the 
said Henry Rosewell, Sir John Y'ounge, Sir Richard Saltonstali, Thomas 
Southcott, John Humfrey, John Endecott, Symon Whetcombe, Isaack 
, Johnson, Samuell Aldersey, John Yen, Mathewe Cratlock, George Har- 
wtHid, Inerease Nowell, Richard Pery, Richard Billingham. Nathaniell 
Wright, Samtieli Yassill, Theophilus Eaton, Thomas Goffe, Th.tmas 
Adams, John Browne, Samuell Browne, Thomas Hutchens, William 
V' assail, \Yilliam Pincheon and George Foxcrofte, their heires and as- 
signee. All that parte of Newe England in America whiuh lyes and ex- 
tendes betweene a great river there comonlie called Monomack river 
alias Merrimack river and a certen other river there called Charles 
River, being in the bottome of a certen bay, there comonlie called 
Massachusetts alias Mattachusetts alias Massatusetts hay: And also all 
those landes and Iiereditamente whatsoever which lye and be within the 
space of three English myles to the northward of the saide river called 
^lonomack ali;ifl Blerrymack, or to the norward of any and every 
parte thereof, and all lands and hereditaments whatsoever lyeing within 
the lymitts aforesaide north and south in latitude and bredth and in 
length and longitude of and within all the bredth aforesaide throughout 
the mayne landes there from the Atlantick and westerne sea and ocean 
on the east parte to the south sea on the west parte ; And all landes and 
groundes, place and places, soyles, woodes and wood groundes, havens, 
portes, rivers, waters and hereditaments whatsoever lying within the 
said boundes and lymitts, and everj' parte and parcell thereof, and also 
all islandes in America aforesaide in the said seas or either of them on 
the westerne or easterne coastes or parts of the said tracts of landes here- 
by mencoed to be given and graunted or any of them, and all mynes 
and mynerails whatsoever in the said landes and premisses or any parte 
thereof and free libertie of fishing in or within any the rivers or waters 
within the boundes and lymytte aforesaid and the seas thereunto ad- 
joining : And all fishes, royal fishes, whales, balan, sturgeons and other 
fishes of what kinde or nature soever that shall at any tyme hereafter 
be taken in or within the said seas or waters or any of them by the said 
Sir Uonry Rosewell, Sir John Younge, Sir Richard Saltonstali, Thomas 
Southcott, John Humfrey, John Endecott, Simon Whetcombe, Isaack 
Johnson, Samuel Aldersey, John Yen, Mathewe Cradock, George Har- 
wood, Increase Noell, Richard Pery, Richard Bellingham, Nathaniell 
Wright, Samuell Vasaall, Theophelus Eaton, Thomas GofTe, Thomas 
Adams, John Browne, Samuel! Browne, Thomas Hutchens, William 
Vassall, William Pincheon and George Foxcrofte, their heires and 
assignes or by any other person or persons whatsoever there inhabiting 
by them or any of them to be appointed to fishe therein. Provided 
alwayes that yf the said landes, islandes or any other the premisses 
herein before mencoed and by their presents intended and meant to be 
graunted were at the tyme of the graunting of the saide former letters 
patents dated the third day of November in the eighteenth year of our 
said deare fathers raigne aforesaid actually possessed or inhabited by 
any other Christian Prince or State, or were within the boundes, lyraytts 
or territories of that southern colony then before graunted by nur said 
late father, to be planted by divers of his loveing subjects in the south 
partes of America, That then this present graunt shall not extend to 
any such partes or parcells thereof s<je formerly inhabited or lyeing 
within the boundes of the southeme plantacon as aforesaide, but as to 
those partes or parcells soe possessed or inhabited by such Christian 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



said," with all the rivers, islands, etc. This grant in- 
cluded a part of ISIiddlesex County. Up to this date 
the only white men known to have visited this local- 
ity were John Smith, the navigator, who visited it in 
1614, and a party of ten members of the Plymouth 
Colony who came by water from Plymouth on an ex- 
pedition, partly to trade and partly to conclude peace 
with the Jlassachusetts Indians. It is probable that 
on this expedition Point AUerton and the Brewsters, 
at the entrance of Boston harbor, received their names 
from Isaac Allerton and William Brewster, two of 
the " Mayflower " Pilgrims. 

John Smith, after his expedition to Virginia in 
1606, in the service of the Southern Virginia Com- 
pany and some years connection with the Virginia 
colony, returned to England, and in 1614 sailed with 
two ships under the auspices of English adventurers 
" to take whales and also to make trials of a mine of 
gold and copper." He anchored his vessels near the 
mouth of the Penobscot River and sailed with eight 
men in a shallop along the coast as far as Cape Cod, 
giving the name of New England to the country and 
" drawing a map from point to point, isle to isle, and 
harbor to harbor, with the soundings, sands, rocks and 
landmarks.'' After his return to England Prince 
Charles, afterwards Charles the First, attached names 
to many places on the coast as indicated on the map, 
of which only Plymouth, Charles River, named after 
himself, and Cape Anne, named after his mother, 
Anne of Denmark, still adhere to the localities then 
designated. Among the many other names affixed to 
the map by Prince Charles were Cape James for Cape 
Cod, Milford Haven for Provincetown Harbor, Stu- 
ard's Bay for Barnstable Bay, Point George for 
Branches Point, Oxford for Marshfield, London for 
Cohasset, Cheviot Hills for the Blue Hills, Talbot's 
Bay for Gloucester Harbor, and Dartmouth, Sandwich 
and Cambridge for places near Portland. It is possi- 
ble that besides John Smith and the Pilgrim party, 
DeMonts, with Champlain, may have also visited this 
locality in 1604. 

Robert Gorges, having received the grant above- 
mentioned in 1622, was appointed by the Plymouth 
Council in 1623 Lieutenant-General of New England, 
and arrived in Massachusetts Bay in September of 
that year, with what are described in the record as 
" passengers and families." At the end of a year, 
after futile eflbrts to establish his colony, he returned 
to England, and at his death, which soon after oc- 
curred, his brother John, to whom his rights had de- 
scended, leased a portion of his grant to John Old- 
ham and John Dorrill. This lease included " all the 
lands within the Massachusetts Bay between Charles 
River and Abousett (now Saugus River) containing in 
length by straight line five miles up the Charles 
River into the main land northwest from the border 
of said bay, including all creeks and points by the 
way ; and three miles in length from the mouth of 
the aforesaid river Abousett up into the main land. 



upon a straight line southwest, including all creeks 
and points; and all the land in breadth and length 
between the foresaid rivers, with all prerogatives, 
royal mines excepted. 

la the mean time the same territory which had been 
granted to Robert Gorges had been granted, with 
other lands, to the Massachusetts Company. By this 
grant, dated March 19, 1627-28, the Plymouth Council 
issued a patent to Sir John Roswell, Sir John Young, 
Thomas Southcoat, John Humphrey, John Endicott, 
and Simon Whitcomb covering a territory extending 
from three miles north of the Merrimac River to three 
miles south of the Charles River. The following is the 
text of the letters-patent issued March 4, 1628-29 : 

*' Charles Bj The Grace of God Kiiige of England, Scotland, Fraunce 
and Ireland, Defeudor of the Fayth etc, To All to whoine these Presents 
shall come Greeting. Whereas our most deare and royall father Kiuge 
James, of blessed memory, by his Highness letters patents beareing -date 
at Westminster the third day of November in the eighteenth yeare of 
his raigne, hath given and graunted nuto the Co\incelI established at 
Plymouth, in the county of Devon, for the planting, ruling, ordering 
and governing of Newe England in America, and to their successors 
and assigues for ever ; All that parte of .\merica lyeing and being in 
bredth from forty degrees of northerly latitude from the equinoctiall 
lyne to forty-eight degrees of the saide northerly latitude inclusively, 
and in length of and within all the breadth aforesaid throughout the 
maine landes from sea to sea, together also with all the tirme lands, 
Boyles, groundes, havens, portes, rivers, waters, fishery, myues and myn- 
eralls, as well royall mynes of gould and silver as other my nee and 
myneralls, precious stones, quarries and all and singular other comudi- 
ties, jurisdiccons, royalties, priviledges, franchesies and prehemynences, 
both within the said tract of lande upon the mayne and also within the 
islandes and seas adioining ; Piovided alwayes That the said islandes or 
any the premises by the said letters patents intended and meant to be 
graunted were not then actuallie possessed or inhabited by any other 
Christian Prince or Stale now within the bounds, lyniitts or territories 
of the Southerue Colony then before graunted by our said deare father, 
to bo planted by divers of his loving subiccts in the south partes. To 
Have and to houlde, poseesse and enioy all and singular the aforesaid 
i.'ontinent, landes, territories, islands, hereditaments and precincts, seas, 
waters, tisherys, with all and all manner their comodilies, royalties, 
liberties, prehemynences and protitts that should from thenceforth arise 
from thence, with all and singular their appurtenances and every parte 
and parcell thereof unto the saide Councell and their succesaors and 
assigncs forever. To the sole and proper use, benefitt .and behoofe of 
them the saide Councell and their successors and assigncs forever ; To 
be houlden of our said most deare and royall father, his heires and suc- 
cessors as of his manner of Eastgreenewich, in the County of Kent in 
free and coinon Soccage, and not in capite nor by Knights service. 
Yeildinge and paying therefore to the saide late Kinge, his heires and 
successors, the fifte parte of the oare of gould and silver which should, 
from tyme t«» tyme and at all tymes thereafter, happen to be found, 
gotten, had and obteyned iu, att or within any of the saide landes, 
lyniitts, territories and precincts, or, in or within any parte or parcell 
thereof, for or in respect of all and all manner of duties, deniaunds and 
services whatsoever to be dun, made or paide to our saide dear father, 
the late Kinge, his heires and successors, as in and by the said letters 
patent (amongest siiudrie other clauses, powers, priviledges and grauntefl 
therein conteyned) more at large appeareth. And whereas the saide 
Councell established at Plymouth, in the County of Devon, for the 
plantinge, ruling, ordering and governing of Newe England in America, 
have by their deede indented under their comon scale bearing date the^P 
nyneteenth day ot March last past in the third year of our raigne, given,^ 
graunted, bargained, sonlde, enfeoffed, aliened and confirmed to Sir 
Henry Rosewell, Sir John Young Knightes, Thomas Southcott, John 
Huniphrey, John Endecott and Symon Whetcoiube, their heirs and as- 
sociates for ever. All that jiarte of Newe England in America aforesaid 
which lyes and extendes betweene a greate river tlicie cumonlie called 
Monomack alias Merriemacit and a certen other river there called 
t^harles river, being in the botlome of a certayne bay there conionly 
called Massachusetts alias Mattachusetts alias Massatusetts bay, and also 
all and singular those landes and hereditaments whatsoever lying \^■ith- 



MIDDLESEX COUNTY. 



in the space of three English miles on (lio Buiith p»r(o of the said 
Chjirles riv^r, or of any or everie paite theieuf : Anil also all and singu- 
lar tlie hiniies and hereditaments whatsoevorlyoJng imd being within the 
space of three Eng;lish mylcs to the southuardo of tlie soutliorrnoat parte 
of the said bay called Mivssachnsctts alias Mattachnsettw alias Massatusets 
bay : and also all those landes and beredilanients whatsoever which lye 
aud be within the space of thieo Ent;liwli niylos Ui thi> northward of the 
aaide river calleii Monomack alias Merryinack, on to the northward of 
any and every parte theieof: And all landes and hen-ditanHMits whatso- 
ever lying within the lymitls aforesaide, north and south, in latitude 
and bredtb, and in length and longitude, of and within all the bredth 
aforosaide throughout the niayno landes tliere, from the Athiutick and 
westerne sea and ocean un the east parte, to the south sea on the west 
parte, and all landes and grouudes, place and places, suyles, woodes and 
wood groundes, havt^ns, portes, rivers, waters, tisliingn and hei'edita- 
nients, whatsoever, lyeing within the siiid boundes and lyniittsand 
everie parte and parcell thereof; And alsoall islandes lyeingin America 
aforesaide in said seas or either of them on llie westerne or easterne 
coastes or partes of the saide trades of latide by the saide indenture, 
mencoed to be given, grannted, bargained, sonld, enfeoffed, aliened and 
confirmeil or any of them : And also all niynes and niyneralls, as well 
royall niynes of gould and silver ;i8 other mynes ami rnyneralls what- 
soever in the saide landes and premises or any parte thereof: And all 
jurisdiccons, rights, royalties, liberties, freedomes, ymmunities, privi- 
ledges, francbises, prehemeninces and coiUfHlities whatsoever which 
they, the sJiid Conncell. established at I'lymonth, in the (.'ounty of 
Devon, for the planting, ruleing, urdereiiig and governing of Newe 
England in America, then bad or might \i*n\ exen-ise or enioy in and 
within the said landes and premisses by the saide indenture mencoed to 
be given, grannted, bargained, sonld, enfeoffed and confirmed or in or 
within any parte or parcell thereof. To have and to honid the saide 
parte of Newe England in America, which lyes and extendee and is 
alnitted as aforesaide, and every parte and i)arcell thereof; And all the 
saide islandes, rivers, portes, havens, waters, fishings, mynes and min- 
eralls, jurisdiccons, franchises, royaltieN, liberties, priviledges. eoniodi 
ties, hereditaments and prennsses whatsoever with the appuitenances 
unto the said Sir Henry lUisewell, Sir John Vonnge, Thomas Soiithcott, 
.bdm Humfrey, John Kndecott and Simon Whetcornbe, their heires 
and iissignes and their associats to the onlie proper and abaolntt; use and 
behoofe of the said Sir Henry llosewell, Sir John Yonnge, Thomas 
Sonthcott, John Humfrey, John Kndecott and Syiuon Whettecombe, 
their heires and assignes and their associatts for evermore. To be 
llunlden <.f us, our heires and successors, as of our maunor of East- 
greentnvich in the County of Kent, in free and comon socage and not 
in capite, nor by Knightes service, yeilding and payeing therefore unto 
118, our heires and successors, the fifto parte of the oare of gould and 
silver which shall, from tyme to tyme and all tymes hereafter, happen 
to be founde, gotten, had and obtayued in any of the saide landes with- 
in the saide lymitts or in or within any parte thereof, for and in satis- 
facun of all manner, duties, demaunds and services whatsoever, to be 
donn. made or paid to us, onr heires or suecessoi-s, as in and by the 
saide recidd indenture more at large maie appeare. Nowe knowe yee 
that wee, at the humble suite and peticon of the said Sir Henry Rose- 
well, Sir John Younge, Thomas Sonthcott, John Humfrey, John Knde- 
cott aud Simon Wbetconibe and of others whiun they have associated 
nnto them. Have for divers good causes and cunsideracons us moveing, 
grannted an<l confirmed, And by thea presents, of ourown especial! grace 
certen knowledge and meere mocon,doe graunt and confirme unto the 
saide Sir Henry llosewell. Sir John Yonnge, Thomas Sonthcott, John 
Uumfrey, John Endecott and Simon Whetcornbe, and to their associats 
hereafter named [videlicet] Sir Richard Sultonstall Knight, Isaack 
Johnson, Samuel Aldersey, John Ven, Mathew Cradock, George Har- 
wood, Increase Nowell, Richard Perry, Richard Bellingham, Nathaniell 
Wright, Samuell Vassall, Theophilus Eaton, Thomas Goffe, Thomas 
Adams, John Browne, Samnell Browne, Thomas Hutchins, William 
Viissall, William Pincheon and George Foxcrofte, their heires and as- 
I Bignes, all the said parte of New England in America, lyeing and ex- 
tending betweene the boundes and lymitts in the said recited indenture 
expressed, and all landes and groundes, place and places, soyles, woodes 
and wood groundes, havens, pontes, rivers, waters, mynes, mineralls, 
jurisdiccons, rights, royalties, liberties, freedomes, immunities, privi- 
ledges, franchises, preheminences, hereditaments and comodilies what- 
soever to them, the saide Sir Henry Rosewell, Sir John Younge, 
Thomas Sonthcott, John Humfrey, .John Endecott and Simon Whet- 
cornbe, their heires and assignes and to their associates by the saide 
recited indenture given, graunted, bargayned, soltl, enfeoffed, aliened 



arnl confirmed or mencoed or intended thereby to bo given, grannted, 
bargayned, sold, onfeoffed, aliened ami confirmed. To have aud to 
honld tho saide parte of Nowe England in America and otlmr the prem- 
isses hereby mencoed to be graunted and confirmed, and every parte and 
parci'Il thereof with tho appurtenances to the said Sir Henry Rosewell, 
Sir John Younge, Sir Richard Saltonstall, Tbonuis Sontlicott, John 
Humfrey, John Endecott, Simon Wlietconibe, Isaack Ji>hnson, Samuel! 
Aldersey, John Ven, Mathcwe Cradock, George Ilarwood, Increase 
Nowell, Richard Pery, Richard Bellingham, Nathaniell Wri;;ht, Sam- 
nell Vjissall, Theophilus Eaton, Thomas Gotfe, Thomas Adams, John 
Browne, Samnell Browne, Thomas Hutchins, William Vassal!, William 
Pincheon ami George Foxcrofte, their heires and assignes forever to 
their onliy proi)er and absolute use and behoofe for evermore. To be 
liolden of ns, onr heires and successors as of our manm)r of Ejistgreene- 
wich aforesiiid in free and comon socage and not in capite nor by 
knights service, and also yeilding and paying tberofoi'o to ua, om- heires 
and successors, the fifth parte onlie of all oare of gonld and silver which 
from tyme to tyme and att all tymes hereafter sbaihe ther" gotten, had 
or oliteyned for all services, exacons and demaunds whatsoever accord- 
ing to the tenure and reservacion in the said recited indenture expresseti. 
.\rul fnrther knuwe yee That of onr more ospeciall grace, certen knowl- 
edg and meere niocon Wee have given and graunted. And by theis 
presents doe for us, our heires and successors, give and graunt nnto the 
said Henry Rosewell, Sir John Yonnge, Sir Ricliaid Saltonstall, Thomas 
Sonthcott, John Hnmfrey, John Endecott, Symon Whetcornbe, Isaack 
. Johnson, Samuell Aldereey, John Yen, Ulatliewe Cradock, George Har- 
wood, Inerease Nowell, Richard Pery, Richard Billingbam, Nathaniell 
Wright, Samuel! Vassjill, Theophilus Eaton, Thomas Goffe, Thomas 
.\dams, John Browne, Samuell Browne, Thomas Hutcbens, William 
Viissall, William Pincheon and George Foxcrofte, their heires and as- 
signee, All that parte of Newe England in America which lyes and ex- 
tendes betweene a great river there comonlie called Monomack river 
alias Merrimack river and a ceiien other river there called Charles 
River, being in the bottome of a certen bay, tliere comonlie called 
Massachusetts alias Mattachusetts alias Massatusetta bay: And also all 
those landes and Iiereditaments whatsoever which lye and be within the 
space of three English niyles to the northward of the saide river called 
Monomack alias 3Ierryniack, or to the norward of any and every 
parte thereof, and all lands and hereditaments whatsoever lyeing within 
the lymitts aforesaide north and south in latitude and bredth and in 
length and longitude of and within all the bredtb aforesaide tliroughout 
the niayne landes there from the Atlantitk aud westerne sea and ocean 
on the east parte to the south sea on the west parte ; .\nd all landes and 
groundes, place and places, soyles, woodes and wood groundes, havens, 
portes, rivers, waters and hereditaments whatsoever lying within the 
said boundes and lynutts, and every parte and parcell thereof, and also 
all islandes in America aforesaide in the said seas or either of them on 
the westerne or easterne coastes or parts of the said tracts of landes here- 
by mencoed to be given and graunted or any of them, and all mynes 
and rnyneralls whatsoever in the said landes and premisses or any parte 
thereof and free libertie of fishing in or within any the rivers or waters 
within the boundes and lyniytts aforesaid and the 8«as thereunto ad- 
ioining : And all fishes, royal fishes, whales, balan, sturgeons and other 
(isbi'S of what kiude or nature soever that shall at any tyme hereafter 
be taken in or within the said seas or waters or any of them by the said 
Sir Henry Rosewell, Sir John Younge, Sir Richard Saltonstall, Thomas 
Sonthcott, John Uumfrey, John Endecott, Simon Whetcornbe, leaack 
Johnson, Samuel Aldersey, John Yen. Mathewe Cradock, George Har- 
wood, Increase Noell, Richard Pery, Richard Bellingham, Nathaniell 
Wright, Sauuiell Viissall, Theophelus Eaton, Thomas Goffe, Thomas 
Adams, John Browne, Samuell Browne, Thomas Hutchens, AVilliam 
Vassall, William Pincheon and George Foxcrofte, their heires and 
assignes or by any other person or persons whatsoever there inhabiting 
by them or any of them to be appointed to fisho therein. Provided 
alwayes that yf the said landes, islandes or any other the premisses 
herein before mencoed and by their presents intended and meant to be 
graunted were at the tyme of the graunting of the saide former lettere 
patents dated the third day of November in the eighteenth year of onr 
said deare fathers raigne aforesaid actually possessed or inliabited by 
any other Christian Prince or State, or were within the boundec. lyniytts 
or territories of that southern colony then before graunteil by onr said 
late father, to be planted by divers of his loveing subjects in the south 
partes of America, That then this present graunt shall not extend to 
any such partes or parcells thereof soe formerly inhaliited or lyeing 
within the boundes of the sontherne planlacon as aforesaide, hut as to 
those partes or parcells soe possessed or inhabited by such Christian 



IV 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



.Prince or State or being within the bounders aforesaid Bhalbe utterly 
voyd, their presente or any thinge therein conteyned to the coiitrarie 
notwithstanding. To Have hikI to hould, possesse and euioy the saide 
partes of Newe EugUiiid iu America which lye, extend ami are abutted 
asaforesaide and eveiy parte and parcell therof ; And all the islandes, 
rivers, portee, havens, waters, fishings, fishes, raynes, minorulls, jiiris- 
diccous, franchises, royulties, liberties, priviledges, conmditiea and prem- 
ises whatsoever with the uppiirtenances^unto the said Sir Henry Rose- 
well, Sir John Younge, i^ir Richard Saltonstall, Thomas Southcott, John 
Humfrcy, John Eudecott, Simon Whetcorabe, Isaack Johnson, Samuell 
Aldersey, John Ven, Blalhewe Cradock, George Harwood, Tncreafle 
Nowell, Richard Perry, Rivhard Rellingliam, Nathaniel Wright, Sam- 
uel Vassall, Tlieophilus Katon, Thomas Goffe, Thomas Adams, John 
Browne, Samuell Browne, Thomas Ilutchons, William A'assall, William 
Pincheon and George Foxcroft, their heires and asaignes forever to the 
onlie proper and absolute uee and behoufe of the said Sir Henry 
Rosewell, Sir John Younge, Sir Richard Saltonstall, Thomas Southcott, 
John Humphrey, John Endecott, Simon Whotcombe, Isaac Johnson, 
Samuell Aldersey, John Von, Mathewe Cradocke, George Harwood, In- 
crease Nowell, Richard Pcry, Richard Bellinghara, Nathaniel! Wright, 
Samuel Vassall, Tlieophilus Ealon, Thomas Goffe, Thomas Adanw, John 
Browne, Samuell Browne, Thomas Hutchens, William Vassall, M'illiam 
Pincheon and George Foxcroft, their heires and asstgnes forevermore. 
To be holden of us, our heires and successors as of our mannor of East- 
greenewicb, in our Countie of Kent, within our realme of England, in 
free and comon socage, and not in capite nor by Knight's service; and 
also yeilding and payeiug therefore to us, our heires and successors the 
fifte parte onlie of all oare of gould and silver which from tyme to tyme, 
and at all times heieafter, shalbe there gotten, had or obteyned for all 
services, exaccous and demauudes whatsoever. Provided alwaies and 
our expresse will and ineanenge is That onlie one-fifte pai1e of the gould 
and silver oare abovemeucoed in the whole and noe more he reserved 
or payeable unto us, our heires ami successors by coUour or vertue of 
their presents. The double reservacons or recitals aforesaid or any 
thinge herein conteyned notwithstanding. And foreasmuch as the good 
and prosperous successe of the plantacon of the saide partes of Newe 
England aforesaide intended by the said Sir Henry Ro.seweIl, Sir .I.Jin 
Younge, Sir Richard Saltoiiytall, Thomas Southcott, Julin HuTuphrey, 
John Endecott, Simon Whetcombe, Isaack Johnson, Samuell Ahlersey, 
John Ven, Mathewe Cradock, George Harwood, Increase Noell, Richard 
Perry, Richard Bellingham, Nathaniell Wright, Samuell Vas&d, The- 
ophilus Eaton, Thomas Goft'e, Thomas Adams, John Browne, Samuell 
Browne, Thomas Uutcheus, William Vassall, William Pincheon aud 
George Foxcrofte to be speedily set upon, cannot but chiefly depend next 
under the blessing of Almightie God and the support of our royal 
authoritie upon the good government of the same, To the ende that the 
affaires, buyssioesses which from tyme to tyme shall happen and arise 
concerning the said landes and the plantation of the same maie be the 
better managed and ordered. Wee have further, hereby, of ourespeciall 
grace, certen knowledge andmeere mocon given, giauoted aud confirmed 
And for us, our heires and successors doe give, grauutand confirme unto 
the saide trustee and welbeloved subjects. Sir Henry Rosewell, Sir John 
Younge, Sir Richard Saltonstall, Thomas Southcott, John Humphrey, 
John Endecott, Simon Whetcombe, Isaack Johnson, Simon Aldersey, 
John Ven, Mathewe Cradock, George Harwood, Increase Nowell, Rich- 
ard Pery, Richard Bellingham, Nathaniell M'right, Samuel Vassal, The- 
ophiluB Eaton, Thomas Goft'e, Thomas Adams, John Browne, Samuell 
Browne, Thomas Hutchens, William Vassall, William Pincheon and 
George Foxcrofte: Aud for us, our heires and successors wee will aud 
ordeyne That the saide Sir Henry Rusewell, Sir John Y'oung, Sir Richard 
Saltonstall, Thomas Southcott, John Humphrey, John Eudecott, Symon 
Whetcombe, Isaack Johnson, Samuel Aldersey, John Ven, Mathewe 
Cradock, George Harwood, Increase Noell, Richard Pery, Richard Bell- 
ingham, Nathaniell Wright, Samuel Vassall, Tlieophilus Eaton, Thomas 
Goffe, Thomas Adams, John Browne, Samuell Browne, Thomas Hutch- 
ens, William Vassall, William Pinclieon aud George Foxcrofte and all 
such others as shall hereafter he admitted and made free of the Com- 
pany and Society hereafter mencoed shall from tyme to tyme aud at all 
tymes for ever hereafter be by vertue of theis presents one body cor- 
porate and politique, in fact aud name, by the name of the Governor aud 
Company of the Mattachusetts Bay, in Newe England : And them by 
the name of the Governor and Company of the Mattachusetts Bay in 
Newe England, one bodie politique and corporate in deede, fact and 
name, Wee doe for us, our heires and successors make, ordeyne, consti- 
tute and confirme by theis presents, aud that by that name they shall 
have perpetuall succession, And that by the same name they and their 



successors shall and maie be capeable and enabled, as well, to implead 

and to be impleaded, and to pro.secute. demaund and aunswere and be 
aunsweared unto on all and singular suites, causes, quarrels and accons, 
of what kind or nature soever. And also to have, take, possesse, acquiie 
and purchase any landes, tenements or heriditaments or any goods or 
chattells, and the same to leave, graunt, demene, alien, bargaine, sell 
and dispose of as other our liege people of this o\u' realme of England or 
any other corporacon or body poiiti'iue of the same maie lawfullie doe : 
.■\nd further that the said Governor aud Companye and their suceessurs 
maie have forever one comon seale, to he used iu all causes and occa- 
sions of the said Company, and the sjnue scale maie alter, chaunge, 
breake and newe make from tyme to tyme at their pleasures. And our 
will and pleasure is, And we do hereby, for us, ourlieires and successors, 
ordeyne and grauute That from henceforth, for ever, there shalbe one 
Governor, one Deputy Governor aud eighteene assistants of the same 
Company to be from tyme to tyme constituted, elected and chosen out of 
the freemen of the saide Company for the tyme being in such manner 
and forme as hereafter in theis piesents is expressed, Which said offi- 
cers shall applie themselves to take care for the best disposeing and or- 
dering of the generall bnysiues and affaires of, for and concerning the 
saide lands and premisses hereby mencoed to he graunied, and the plan- 
tacion thereof, and the government of the i>eople there, And for the 
better execucon of our royal pleasure, aud graunt in their behalf, wee 
doe, by theis presents, for us, our heires and successors, nominate, or- 
deyne, make and constitute our welbeloved, the saide Mathewe Crad- 
ock, to be the first and present Governor of the said Company, and the 
said Thomas Goffe to be Deimty Governor of the saide Company, and the 
said Sir Richard Saltonstall, Isaack Johnson, Samuell Aldersey, John 
Ven, John Humphrey, John Endecutt, Simon M'hetcombt*, Increase 
Noell, Richard Pery, Nathaniell Wright, Samuell Vassall, Tbeophilus 
Eaton, Thomas Adams, Thomas Hutchens, John Browne, George Fox- 
crofte. William Vassall and William Pincheon to be the present Assist- 
ants of the saide Company, to continue in the saide severall offices re- 
Bpeotivelie for such tyme and in such manner us in and by theis pres- 
ents is hereafter declared and appointed. And further we will aud by 
theis presents for us, our heires and successors, rloe ordayne and grainit, 
That the Governor of the saide Company, for the tyme being, or, in his 
absence, by occasion of sicknes, or otherwise, the Deputie Governor, for 
the tyme being, shall have authoritie, from tyme tt> tjiiie, upon all occa- 
sions, to give order for the assembling of the saide t'omjiany and calling 
them together to consult and advise of the businesses and aff<iires of the 
saide Company ; And that the sitid Gnvernor, Deputie Governurand As- 
sistants of the saide Company, for the tyme being, shall or maie, once 
every moneth, oroftener, at theirpleasun-wassembleandhouldeand keepe 
a Courte or Assemblie of themselves for the better ordering and direct- 
ing of their aftkires, And that any seaven or more persons of the Assist- 
(luts, together with the Governor or I)ei}utie Governor, soe assembled, 
shalbe saide, taken, held aud reputed to be aud shalbo a full aud suf- 
ficient Courte or Assemblie of the saide Comi)any for the handling, or- 
dering and dispatching of alt such buysineBses and occuiants as shall, 
from tyme, to tyme happen, touching or concerning the said Company 
or plantacon, and that there shall or maie he held and kept by the Gov- 
ernor or Deputie Governor of the said Company, and seaven or more of 
the said Assistants, for the tyme being, upon every last Wednesday in 
Hillary, Easter, Trinity and Michas terms respectivelie, for ever, one 
greate generall and solempe Assemblie, which four Generall Assemblies 
shalbe stiled and called the Fouro Greate and Generall Courts of the 
saide Company: In all ami every or any of which said Greate and 
Generall Courts soe assembled We doe for ns, our heires and successors, 
give and graunte to the said Governorand Company and their successors 
That the Governor, or, in his absence, the Deputie Governor of the saide 
Company, for the tyme being, and uncli of the Assistants and freemen 
of the saide Company as shalbe present or the greater number of them 
soe assembled, whereof the Governor or Deputie Governor and six of the 
Assistants at the least, to be seaven shall have full power and autlioritie 
to choose, nominate and appoint? such, and soe many others as they shall 
thinke titt, and that shall \e willing to accept the same to be free of the 
said Company and Body aud them into the same to admitt and to elect 
iind constitute such otficers :is they shall think fitt and requisite for the 
ordering, mannaging aud dispatching of the affaires of the saide Gover- 
nor and Company and their successors, Aud to make lawes and ordinn- 
ces for the good aud welfare of the saide Company, and for the govern- 
ment aud ordering of the i-aid lands and plantacon, and the people in- 
habitiug and to inhabite the same as to them from tyme to tyme shalbe 
thought meet, Soe as such lawes and ordinances be not contrarie or re- 
pugnant to the lawes and statuts of this our realme of England; And 



MIDDLESEX COUNTY. 



our will and pleasure is Antl we tin hereby for us, our heiree and suc- 
cessors, establish and ordeyne That yearely once in the yeare forever 
hereafter, namely: the last Wuduesday in Easter tearme yearely the 
GoTernor, Deputy Governor and Assistants of the said Company, and all 
other officers of the saide Company shalbe in the Generall Court or 
Assembly, to be held for that day or tyme newly chosen for the yeare 
ensueing by such greater parte of the said Company, for the tyme being, 
then and there presnnt ain is aforesiiide ; And yf it shall happen the 
present Governor, Deputy Governor and Assistants by theis presents 
appointed, or such as shall hereafter be newly chosen into their rooniee 
or any of them or any other of the officers to be appointed for the said 
Company to dye or to bo remouved from his or their severall offices or 
places before the saide generall day of elecon (whorae we doe hereby de- 
clare for any misdemeanor or defect to be removeable by the Governor, 
Deputie Governor, Assistants and Company, or such greater parte of them 
in any of the publiqiie Courts to be assembled as aforesaid). That then 
and in every such case it shall and maie be lawfull to ani for the Gov- 
ernor, Deputie Governor, Assistants and Company aforesaide or such 
greater parte of them soe to be assembled, as is aforesaid, in any of their 
assemblies to proceade to a new eleccon of one or more others of their 
Company iu the roonie or place, roomes or places of such officer or offi- 
cers eoe dying or removed according to their discrecons. And ymediately 
upon and after sucli eleccon and eleccons made of such Governor. Dep- 
utie Governor, Assistant or Assistants, or any other officers of the saide 
Company in manner and forme aforesaid, the aiithoritie, office and 
power before given to the former Governor, Deputie Governor, or other 
officer and officers sue removed in whose steedo and i)Iaoe newe shalbe 
soe chosen, shall as to him and them and everie of them, cease and de- 
termine. Provided also — and our will and pleiisure is That aawell such 
as are by theis presents appointed to be the present Governor, Deputie 
Governor and Assistants of the said Company as them that shall succeed 
them, and all other officers to be appointed and chosen as aforesaid, — 
stiall, before they iindertake the exaccooof their saide offices and places 
respectivelie, take their corporall oathes for the due and faithfull per- 
formance of their duties iu their severall offices and places before such 
person or persons as are by theis presents hereunder appointed to take 
and receive the same ; That is to saie, the said Mathewe Cradock — whoe 
is hereby nominated and appointed the present Govi-rnor of the saide 
Company — shall take the saide oathes before one or more of the Masters 
of our Courte of Chauncery, for the tyme being, unto which Master or 
Masters of the Chauncery Wee doe by theis presents give full power and 
authoritie to take and administer the said oathe to the said Governor 
accordingly. And after the saide Governor shalbe soe eworne, then the 
said Deputy Governor and Aftsistants— beftue by theis presents nomi- 
nated and appointed — shall take the said severall oathes to their offices 
and places respectivelie belonging, before the said Mathew Cradock, the 
present Governor, soe formerlie eworne. as aforesaide. And every such 
person -as shalbe at the tyme of the annuall eleccon, or otherwise, upon 
death or removeall, be appointed to be the newe Governor of the said 
Company, shall take the oathes to that place belonging, before the Dep- 
uty Governor or two of the Assistants of the said Company, at the least, 
for the tyme being. And the newe elected Deputie Governor and Assist- 
ants, and all other officers to be hereafter chosen, as aforesaide, from 
tyme to tyme, to take the oathes to their places respectivelie belonging, 
before the Governor of the said Company, for the tyme being. Unto 
which said Governor, Deputie Governorand Assistants Wee doe by theis 
presents give full power and authoritie to g^ive and administer the said 
oaths respectively, according to our true meaning, herein before de- 
clared, without any comission or further warrant, to be had and ob- 
teyned of us, our heires or successors, in that behalf, And Wee doe fur- 
ther, of our especiall grace, certain knowledge and meere mocon. for ns, 
our heires and successors, give and graunt to the said Governorand 
Company and their successoi-s forever by theis presents That it shalbe 
lawfull and free for them and their assignes at all and every tyme and 
tymea hereafter, out of any our realmes or domynions whatsoever to 
take,leade, cary and transport for and into their voyages, and for and 
towards the said plantacon in Newe England, all such and soe many of 
our loving subjects or any other strangers that will become otir loving 
subjects and live under our allegiance, as shall willinglie acconjpanie 
them in the same voyages and plantacon, and also .shipping armour, 
weapons, ordenance, muniooii, powder, shott, corn**, victualls and all 
manner of clothing, implements, furniture, beastes, cattle, horses, 
mares, merchandizes ami all other thinges necessarie foi'the saide plan- 
tacon, an^for their use and defence, and for trade with the people there, 
and in passing and returning to and fro, any lawe or statute to the con- 
trarie hereof in any wise notwithstanding, and without payeing or yield- 



ing any cuetome, or siibsedie, either inward or outward, to us, our heires 

or successors for the Siime by the space of seaven yeares from the day of the 
date of theis presents, Provided that none of the saide persons be such as 
shalbe hereafter by especiall name restrayned by ua, our heires or succes- 
sors. And for their furtherencouragement of our especiall grace and favor 
wee doe by theispresentsfor as, our heirs and successors, yield and graunt 
to the saide Governor and Company and their successors and every of 
them their factors and assignes, That they and every of them shalbe free 
and nuitt from all taxes, subsidies and customes in New England for the 
like space of seaven years, and from all taxes and imposicons for the 
space of twenty and one yeares upon ail goodes and merchandises at any 
tyme or tymes hereafter, either upon importacon thither or exportncon 
from thence into ourrealnieof England.or into any other our domyneoiis 
by the saide Governor and Company and their succe.ssors, their deputies, 
factors and assignes or any of them except onlie the five poundea per 
centum due for ciistome upon all such goodes and merchandises as after 
the saide seaven yeares shalbe expired shalbe brought or imported into 
our realme of England or any of otir dominions according (o the aun- 
cient trade of merchants, which five poundes percentum onlie being paide 
it shall be thenceforth lawfull and free for the said adventurers the 
same goods and merchandises to export and carry out of our said domin- 
ions into forrane partes with out any custome, tax or other dn tie to be paid 
to UB, our heirs or successors, or to any other officers or ministers of us 
our heires and successors. Provided that the said goodes and merchandises 
be shipped out within thirteene monetlies after their first landing within 
any parte of the saide domynions, And wee doe forue, our heirs and suc- 
cessoi-8, give and graunte unto the saide Governor and Company and their 
successoi-s That whensoever or soe often as any custome or subsidie shall 
growe due or payiable unto ns, our heirs or auccessors, according to the 
lymittacon and appointment aforesaide by reason of any goodes, wares, or 
merchandises to be shipped out or any retorne to be made of any goodes, 
wares or merchandise unto or from the said partes of Newe England 
hereby mencoed to be graunted as aforesaide or any the lands or terri- 
tories aforesaide. That then and soe often and in such case the farmers, 
customers and officers of our customes of England and Ireland and everie 
of tliem for the tyme being, upon request made to them by the eaide 
Governor and Company or their successors, factors ora£signes, and upon 
convenient security to be given in that behalf, shall give and allowe unto 
the said Governor and Company and their successore and to all and everie 
person and pei^sons free of that company as afoiesaide six monethes tyme 
for the payement of the one half of all such custome and subsidy as 
shalbe due and payeable unto us, our heirs and successors, for the same, 
For whicl'i theis our letters patents or the duplicate or the envollmt 
thereof shalbe unto our saide officers a sufficient warrant and discharge. 
Nevertheless our will and pleasure is That if any of the saide goodes, 
wares and merchandise which be or shalbe at any tyme hereafter landed 
or exported out of any of our realmes aforesjiide and shalbe shipped with 
a purpose not to be carried to the partes of Newe England aforesaid, but 
tosome other place, That then such payment, dutie, custome, ireposicon or 
forfyture shalbe paid or belonge to us, our heires and sucoessors, for the 
said goodes, wares and merchandise soe fraudulently sought to be trans- 
ported,a9 yf this our graunte had not been matle oor graunted. And Wee 
doe further will, And by theis presents our heirs and successors firnieiy 
enioine and comaunde as well the Treasurer, Chauncellor and Barons of 
the Exchequer of us, our heires and succesaors, as also all and singular the 
customers, farmers, and collectors of the customes, subsidies and imports 
and other the officera and ministei-s of us, our heira and successors, what- 
soever for the tyme being, That they and every of them upon the shew- 
ing forth unto them of these letters patents or the duplicate or exempil- 
ficacon of the same, without any other writt or warrent whatsoever from 
us, our heirs or successors, to be obteyned on said faith, doe and shall 
make full, whole, entire and due allowance and cleare discharge unto 
the saide Governor and Company and their successors of all customes, 
subsidies, imposicons, taxes and duties whatsoever that shall or uiaie be 
claymed by us, our heirs and successors, of or from the said Governor and 
Company and their successors, for or by reason of the said goodes. chat- 
tells, wares, merchandises and premises to be exported out of our saide 
domynions or any of them into any parte of the saide landes or promises 
hereby mencoed to be given, graunted and conferred or for or by reason 
of any of the saide goodes, chattells, waresor merchandises to be iniport- 
ed from the said landes and premises h»*reby mencoed to bo given, 
graunted or conferred into any of our saide dominions or any parte 
thereof as aforesaide, exeptiog onlie the saide five poundes per centum 
hereby reserved and payeable after the expiracon of the saide terme of 
seaven years as aforesaid and not before. And theis our letters patents 
or the enrollment, duplicate or exemplificacon of the same shalbe for 



VI 



HISTOKY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



ever hereafter from time to tynie as well to the Treasurer, Chancellor 

and Barons of the Exchequer, of us, our heires and successors, as to all 
and singular the cuatomers, farmers and collectors of the customes, buIi- 
sidit'S and imports of us, our Iieii-s and successors, aud all searchers and 
others, the othcers and ministers whatsoever of us, our heirs and succes- 
sors, for the time being a sufficient warrant and discharge in this behalf, 
Aud further our will and pleasure is, And Wee doe hereby for us, our heirs 
and auccKSSors, ordayne, declare and graunt to the saide Governor and 
Company and their successors. That all and every of the subjecta of 
us, our lieirs or successors, which shall goe to and inhabite within 
the saidee laneds and premises hereby mencoed to be graunted aud 
every of their children whicli shall happen to be borne there on 
the seas iu going thither or retorneing frum thence shall have 
and enjoy all liberties and immunities of free and naturall subjects 
within any of the domynions of us, our heiers or successors, to all 
intents, construccons and purposes whatsoever as yf they and everie 
of them were borne within the realme of England. And that the 
Governor and Deputie Governor of the said Company for the tyme 
being or either of them and any two or inore of such of the saide 
Assistants as shalbe thereunto appointed by the said Governor and Com- 
pany at any of their courts or assemblies to be held as afureaaide shall 
and maie at all tymes, and from tyme to tyme hereafter, have full power 
and authoritie to minister aud give the oathe and oathes of siipremacie 
and allegiance or either of them to all and everie person aud persons 
which shall at any tyme or tymes hereafter goe or passe to the landes 
and premises hereby mencoed to be graunled to inhabite the same. 
And wee doe, of our further grace, certen knowledg and nieere mocon, 
give and graunt to the saide Governor and Company and their successors, 
That it shall and maie be lawfnll to and for the Governor or Deputie 
Governor and such of thf AsHistauts and Freemen of the said Company, 
for the tyme bfing, asshalbe assembled iu any of their General Courts 
aforesaide, or in auy other Courts to be specially sumoned and assem- 
bled for that purpose or the greater parte of them (whereof the Governor 
or Deputie Governor aud six of the Assistants to be alwaiesseaven) from 
tyme to tyme to make, ordaine aud establish all manner of wholesome 
and reasonable orders, lawes, statutes and ordinnces, direccons and in- 
struccon not contrarie to the hiws of this our realme of England, as well 
for setliug of the formes and ceremonies of governiu', aud magistracy 
fitt and necessery lor the said plautacon and the inhabitants there, and 
for uameing anil stiling of all sortea of ofticers both superior and inferior 
which they shall find needeful for that government and plautacon, aud 
the distinguishing and setting forth of the severall duties, powers and 
lymitte of every such otfice and place and the formes of such oathes war- 
rantable by the laws and statutes of this our realme of England, asshallie 
respectivelie ministered unto them for the execucon of the said severall 
offices and places, as ttlso for the disposing and ordering of the eleccons of 
such of the said olficera as shathe animal) and of such others as 
ahalhe to suceede incaseof deatli or removeall, aud miuistring the said 
oathea to the newe elected officers aud for imposicons of lawful! fynes, 
mulcts, imprisonment or other lawftill correction according to the course 
of other corporacous in this our realme of England, and for the direct- 
ing, ruling and disposeing of all other uiattei-s and thinges whereby 
our said people inhabitants there maie be so religiously, peaceablie and 
civilly governed as their good life and orderiie conversacon male wyuu, 
and incite the natives of country to the knowledge and obedience of the 
onlie true God and Saviour of maukindeand the Christian faytli, which in 
our royal intencon and the adventurers free profeseion is the peacefull 
ende of this iilantacun. Willing, comaundiug and requireing and by 
their presentb for ua, our hf irs or successors, ordeyuing aud appointing, 
That all such orders, lawen, statuts and ordiunces, instruccuna aud direc- 
con as shalbe soe made by the Governor aud Deputie Governor of the 
said company aud such of the Assistants and Freeman as aforesaide aud 
published iu writing under their comon aeale shalbe carefullie and dulie 
observed, kept, pformed and putt in execucon according to the true in- 
tent and meaning of the aame, Aud theis our letters patents, or the du- 
plicate or exemplicacon thereof, shalbe to all and everie such otticer aupei- 
ior and inferior, from tyme to tyme, for tlie putting of the same orders, 
lawes, stiitutes and ordiuncea, instruccons and direccons iu due execucon 
against us, our heires and successors, a sufficient warrant and discharge. 
And wee doe further, for us, our hejres and successors, give and graunt 
to the said Governor and Company and their successors by theis 
presents, That all aud everie audi chiefe comaundera, captainos, gov«r- 
uors and other officers aud ministers as, by the said orders, laws, statuts, 
ordinnces, inatruccon or direccons of the said Governor and Company 
for the tyme being, shalbe from tyme to tyme hereafter ymploied either 
in the governnient of the said inhabitants and plantacon or in the waye 
by sea thither or from thence according to the natures aud lymytts of 



their offices and places respectively shall from tyme to tyme hereafter 
forever within the precincts and partes of Newe England hereby men- 
coed to be graunted and conformed or in the waie by sea thither or from 
thence, have full and absolute power and authoritie to correct, puniaho, 
pardon, governe and rule all such the subjects of us, our heirs and suc- 
cessors, as shall from tyme to tyjne adventure themselves in any voyadge 
thither or from thence or that shall at any tyme hereafter inhabite 
withio the precincts and partes of Newe Englund aforesaid according to 
the orders, lawes, ordinnces, instruccons and direccons aforesaid not 
being repugnant to the lawes and statutes of our realme of England as 
aforesaid, Aud wee doe further, for us, our heirs and successors, give 
and graunto to the said Governor and Company and their successora by 
theis presents, That it shall and maie he lawfull to and for the chiefe 
comaundere, governors and officers of said company for the time being 
who ahalbe resident in the said parte of Newe England in America by 
theis presents graunted and others thereinhabiting by their appointment 
and direccon from tyme to tyme and at all lymes hereafter for their 
speciall defence and safety to incounter, expulse, repell, and resist by force 
of amies as well by sea as by lande and by all fitting waiea and means 
whatsoever, all such person and persons as shall at auy tyme hereafter 
attempt or enterprise the desfruccon, invasion, detriment or anuoyaunce 
to the said plantation or inhabitants; and to take and surprise by all 
waies and meanes whatsoever all and every such person and persons 
with their shippea, armour, municon and other goodes as shall in hostile 
manner invade or attempt the defeating of the said plantacon or the hurt 
of the said company and inhabitants. Nevertheles. our will and pleasure 
is, and wee doe hereby declare to all Christian Kinges, Princes and states 
thatyf any person or persona which shall hereafter be of the said Com- 
pany or plantacon, or any other by lyrcnse or appointment of the said 
Governor and Company for the tyme being, shall at auy tyme or tynies 
hereafter robb or apoyle by sea or by land, or due any hurt, violence or 
unlawfull hostility to any of the subjects uf vis, oiu' heires or auccessors, 
or any of the subjects of any Prince or .Stjite being then in league and 
amytie with us, our heires and successoi-s, and that upon such iniury 
don and upon iust complaint of such Prince or State or their subjects 
Wee, our heires or successors, shall make upon proclamacon within any 
of the partes within our realme of England coiuodioua for that purpose. 
That the person or persons haveing comitted auy such roberie or spoyle 
shall within the terine lymytted by such a proclamacon make full resti- 
tucon or satisfaccon of all such iniuries don soe as the said Princes or 
othei'8 soe coniplayniug maie hould themselves fullie satisfied and con- 
tented. And that yf the said person or persons having comitted such 
robbery or spoile shall not make or cause to be made satisfaccon accord- 
iiiglie within such time soe to be lymytted, That then it shalbe lawfull 
for us, our heires and successors, to putt the said pson or paons out of our 
allegiance and proteccon : And that it shalbe lawfull and free for all 
Princes to pros(?cute with hostiiitie the said offeiidors and every ot them, 
their and every of their procurers, aydei's, abettors and comforters in 
that behalf. Provided also and our expresse will and pleasure is, and 
wee doe by theis presents for us, our heires and successors, ordeyne and aj)- 
poiut That theis presents shall nut iu any manner enure or be taken to 
abridge, barr or hinder auy of our loving subjects whatsoever to use and 
exercise the trade of fishing upon that coast of New England in America 
by theis pesents mencoed to be graunted ; But that they and every or 
any of them shall have full and free power aud liberty to continue and use 
their said trade uf fishing upon the said coast in auy the seas thereunto 
adioyuing on any amies of the aeas or saltwater rivers where they have 
byn wont to fishe and to build and sett up upon the landes by theis 
presents ^;raunted such wharfes, stages and workehousesas shalbe ueces- 
siirie for the salting, drying, keeping and tacking up of their fish to bo 
taken or gotten upon that coast ; and to cutt downe aud take such trees 
and other materialls there groweing or being or shalbe ueedfull for that 
purpose, aud fell all other necesiarie easements, helpes and advantage 
concerning their said trade of fishing there in such manner and form as 
they have byn heretofore at any tyme accustomed to doe without mak- 
ing any wilfull waste or apoyle, anything in theis presents conteyned to 
the contrarie notwithstanding. Aud Wee doe further for us, our heireg 
and Buccessurs, ordeyue and granule to the said Governor and Company 
and their successors by theis presents, That theis, our letters patents, 
shalbe firme, good, effectuall and availeable in all thinges and to all in- 
tenta and construccona of iawe according to our true meaning herein 
before declared, aud shalbe construed, reputed and adiudged in all cases 
most favourable on the behalf and for the beuefitt and hehoofe of the 
saide Governor and Company and their successors, although expresse 
mencon of the true yearely value or certenty of the premisses^r any of 
them or of any other guiftes or grauntes by us or any of our progenitors 
or predecessors to the foresaid Governor or Company before this time, 



MIDDLESEX COUNTY. 



made in theia presents oi" not made, or any (statute, acte, oi-dinnce, pro- 
vision, proclamacon or restrainte to the contrarie tliereof heretofore had, 
made, published, ordeyued or provided or any other matter, cause or 
tliinge whatsoever to the contrarie tliereof i!i any wise notwithstanding' 
In witnes whereof wee have caused theis our lettera to be made patents, 
Witnes ourself at Westminster the tourtli day of March, in the fourtli 
yeare of our raigne 

"Per Breve de Privato Sigillo, 

" WoLSELEY. 

" Prjediet Mattha-ua Cradocke Juratus est de Fide et Obedientia Regi 
et Successoribus auis, et de Debita E\eqnulione Officij Gubernatoris 
iuxta Tenoreni P^sentium 180. Martij, 1628, Coram me Carolo Cs^'sare, 
Milite in Cancellaria Mro. 

" Ohab. Cesar." 

By tliis charter the claim of ,Tohn Gorges, the as- 
signee of his brother Robert, and also that of John 
Oldham and John Dorrill, the leasees of John, seem 
to have been extinguished. But another claim had, 
in the mean time, sprung up which it was necessary 
to silence before the Massachusetts Company could 
become unobstructed possessors under their charter. 
John Gorges, under the grant made to his brother by 
the Plymouth Council, conveyed, by a deed dated 
January 10, 1629, to Sir William Brereton, of Hand- 
forth, in the County of Chester, England, "all the 
land in breadth lying from the east side of Charles 
River to the easterly part oft' the cape called Nahant, 
aud all the lands lying in length twenty miles north- 
east into the main land from the mouth of the said 
Charles River, lying also in length twenty miles into 
the main land northeast from the said Cape Nahant ; 
also two islands lying next unto the .shore between 
Nahant and Charles River, the bigger called Brereton 
and the lesser Susanna." This claim also was finally 
rejected by the Massachusetts Company with a propo- 
sition to the claimant, dated February 10, 1630, to 
join the company according to their charter and re- 
ceive all courteous respect and be accommodated with 
land and whatever might be necessary. 

Sir Henry Rosewell,Sir Jolm Young and Thomas 
Southcott sold out their interest to John Winthrop, 
Isaac Johnson, Matthew Cradock, Thomas Goffe and 
Sir Richard Saltonstall, who, with John Humfrey, 
John Endicott and Simon Whitcomb, the remaining 
original grantees, formed a new company. The finan- 
cial affairs of the company were at first managed in 
England, and MatthewjCradock, who had been named 
by the King as Governor, was chosen to that office. 
John Endicott was sent out with a company in the 
summer of 1628, arriving at Salem in the ship "Abi- 
gail," on the 6th of September of that year. Endi- 
cott was followed by Rev. Francis Higginson, and 
about two hundred persons with him, embarking in 
the "George Boneventure," reaching New England 
on the 22d of June, and the " Talbot " and " Lion's 
Whelp " reaching New England on the 29th. While 
Cradock remained the Governor of the company in 
England, Endicott was, in a certain sense, the Gov- 
ernor of the Colony, and so remained until the arrival 
of John Winthrop with the charter, in 1630. The 
" Boneventure '' brought from the company a letter 



to Endicott, urging him to occupy the lands about 
Massachusetts Bay claimed by Oldham and Brereton, 
which extended from Charles River to Nahant along 
the coast and from five to twenty miles inland. They 
wrote as follows: 

"We fear that as he (Oldham) hath been obstinate and violent in his 
proceedings here, so he will persist and be ready to draw a party to him- 
self there to the great hindrance of the common quiet ; we have, tlierefore, 
thought lit to give you notice of his disposition to the end you may be- 
ware how you meddle with him, aa also you may u.se the best means you 
can to settle an agreement with the old planters so as they may not 
hearken to Mr. Oldham'a dangerous though vaine propositions. 

"We pray you and the council there to advise seriously together for 
the maintenance of our privileges and peaceable government, which, if it 
may be done b.v a temperate course, we much desire it, though with some 
inconvenience so as our government and privileges be not brought in 
contempt, wishing rather there might be auch an union aa might draw 
the heathen, by our good example, to the embracing of Christ aud bia 
Gospel, than tluit offence should be given to the lieathen and a scandal to 
our religion through our disagreement amongst ourselves. But if ne- 
cessity require a more severe course when fair means will not prevail, 
we pray you to deal as in your discretion you shall think fittest for the 
general good aud safety of the plautation and preservation of our privi- 
leges. And because we would not omit to do anything which might 
atrengthen our right we would have you (aa 80<tn aa the ahipB or any of 
them arrive with you, whereby you may have men to do it) send forty or 
fifty pe;eona to Massachusetts Bay to inhabit there, which we pray you 
not to protract but to do it with all speed ; and if any of our company in 
particular shall desire to settle themselvea there or to send servants 
thither we desire all accommodation and encouragement may be given 
tbem thereunto whereby the better to strengthen our possession there 
against all or any that shall intrude upon us wliich we would not have 
you by any means give way unto ; with this caution notwithstanding — 
That for auch of our countrymen as you find there planted so as they 
be willing to live under government you endeavor to give them all fit- 
ting and due accommodation as to any of onrselves ; yea, if you see cause 
for it, though if it be with more than ordinary privileges in point of 
trade." 

In accordance with the above instruction.s, on the 
24th of June, only two days after the arrival of the 
" Boneventure," Thomas Graves and Rev. Francis 
Wright arrived at Charlestown from Salem, and, as it 
is now agreed, gave the date to the foundation of that 
town. 

On the 20th of October, 1629, at "a Generall Court 
holden in England, at Mr Gotfe the Deputye's House," 
the record states that 

" Now the Court proceeding to the election of a new Gouernor, Depu 
tie and Assistants, which upon serious deliberation hath been and ia con- 
ceived to be for the especial good and advanceuieut of their affairs, and 
having received extraordinary great commendations of Mr John Win- 
throp both for his integrity and sufficiency as being one every way well 
fitted and accomplished for the place of Governor, did put in nomination 
for that place the said Mr. John Winthrop, Sir R. Saltonstall, Mr. Isaac 
Johnson and Mr. John Humfreys ; and the said Mr. Winthrop was with 
a general vote and full consent of this court by erection of Iiaiids chosen 
to be Governor for the ensuing year, to begin on this present day ; who 
was pleased to accept thereof aud thereupon Took the oath to that place 
appertaining. In like manner and with like free and full consent Mr. 
John Humfrey was chosen Deputy Governor, and 

" .Sir R : Saltonstall Mr Thomas Sharpe 

Mr Isaac Johnson 'Mv John Uevell 

Mr Thomas Dudley Mr Matt : Cradock 

Mr Jo : Endecott Mr Tliom.aa Goffe 

Mr Noell Mr Aldersey 

Mr Wm Vasaall Mr John Venn 

Mr Wm Pinchon Mr Nath : Wright 

Mr Sam : Sharpe Mr Theoph : Eaton 

Mr Edw : Rossiter MrTho:.\dam3 

were chosen to be Assistants ; which said Deputy and the greatest part 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



of the Baid Assiatanta being preaeut took the oaths to thoir said phices 
appertaining respectively," 

In April, 1630, Winthrop sailed from England and 
arrived in Massachusetts on the 12th of June, at once 
assuming power in the place of Endicott as Governor 
under the charter which he had brought with him. 

The first Court of Assistants, according to a statement 
of Johnson, in " Wonder- Working Providence," was 
heldatCharlestown, August 23d,on the ship "Arbella." 
The date mentioned is probably correct, but the place 
of the meeting has been doubted by antiquaries. At 
that meeting it was ordered that the next meeting 
should be held at the Governor's house on the 7th of 
September and the third meeting was held at the same 
place September 28th. 

On the 19th of October the first General dourt was 
held in Boston, and at its first session an important 
change was made in the form of government. The 
record states that at this General Court " it was pro- 
pounded if it were not the best course that the free- 
men should have the power of choosing assistants 
when they are to be chosen, and the a.ssistants from 
amongst themselves to choo.se a Governor and Deputy 
Governor, who with the assistants shall have the 
power of making laws and choosing officers to exe- 
cute the same. This was fully assented unto by the 
general vote of the people and erection of hands." 
Thus the only power retained by the freemen or 
people was the power to choose Assistants. 

At a General Court held at Boston on the 9th of 
May, 1632, another change was made, and " it was gen- 
erally agreed upon by erection of hands that the Gov- 
ernor, Deputy Ciovernor and assistants should be 
chosen by the whole court of Governor, Deputy Gov- 
ernor, Assistants and freemen, and that the (iovernor 
shall always be chosen out of the assistants." 

At a General Court held on the 14th of May, 1634, 
still more power was assumed by the people. " It was 
agreed that none but the General Court hath power 
to choose and admit freemen." " That none but the 
General Court hath power to make and establish laws 
nor to elect and appoint officers as Governor, Deputy 
Governor, Assistants, Treasurer, Secretary, Captain, 
Lieutenants, Ensigns or any of like moment, or tore- 
move such upon misdemeanor, as also to set out the 
duties and powers of the said officers." "That none 
but the General Court hath power to raise moneys 
and taxes and to dispose of lands, viz., to give and con- 
firm proprieties." An important change was also 
made at this court in the constitution of the court it- 
self. It was ordered " that it shall be lawful for the 
freemen of every plantation to choose two or three of 
each town before every General Court to confer of and 
prepare such public business as by them shall be 
thought fit to consider of at the next General Court, 
and that such persons as shall be hereafter soe deputed 
by the freemen of the several plant.ations to deal in 
their behalf in the public affairs of the Commonwealth 
shall have the full power and voices of all the said 



freemen derived to them for the making and estab- 
lishing of laws, granting of lands, etc., and to deal in 
all other affairs of the Commonwealth wherein the 
freemen have to do, the matter of election of magis- 
trates and other officers only excepted, wherein every 
freemen is to give his own voice." 

For the election of officers the whole body of free- 
men met annually in the meeting-house in Boston, 
but at last the inconvenience of this arrangement was 
found to be so great that it was provided that Salem, 
Ipswich, Newbury, Saugus, Weymouth and Ilingham 
might retain as many of their freemen at home at the 
annual elections as the safety of the towns required, 
and that the votes of them might be sent by proxy. 
A general law was passed at a later date to the same 
effect applicable to all the freemen in all the towns. 

Through all these changes such judicial jwwer as 
existed was in the hands of the Court of Assistants. 
At first the Assistants and Deputies met together, but 
in 1644 it was agreed that the two branches should sit 
apart and that each should have a negative on the 
other. Under this new arrangement the Governor 
presided in the Court of Assistants and the office of 
Speaker was appointed for the popular branch, which 
had now become a Court of Deputies. In this form 
the General Court became the model from which the 
General Court of our own day took its shape. 

During the coloni.al period the Governors were : 
John Endicott, 1(!2I), 1644 to 1045, 164!) to 10.30, 1651 
to 1654, 1655 to 1665; John Winthrop, 1030 to 
1634, 1637 to 1040, 1642 to 1644, 1646 to 1649; 
Thomas Dudley, 1634 to 1635, 1640 to 1641, 1645 to 
1646, 16.50 to 1051; John Haynes, 1035 to 1036; 
Henry Vane, 1636 to 1637 ; Richard Bellingham, 
1641 to 1042, 1054 to 165.5, 1665 to 1672 ; .John Lev- 
erett, 1672 to 1679; Simon Bradslreet, 1079 to 1680, 
1689 to 1692. From 1686 to 1689 Joseph Dudley and 
Edmund Andros had jurisdiction over New England 
by appointment of the K'ng. 

The Deputy Governors were : Thomas Dudley, 1629 
to 1634, 1637 to 1040, 1046 to 1050, 1651 to 1653; 
Roger Ludlow, 1034 to 1635; Richard Bellingham, 
1635 to 1636, 1040 to 1041, 1653 to 1654, 1055 to 1665; 
John Winthrop, 1636 to 1637, 1644 to 1646 ; John 
Endicott, 1041 to 1044, 1650 to. 1051,1054 to 1655; 
Fr.ancis Willoughby, 1665 to 1071 ; John Leverett, 
1071 to 1073 ; Samuel Symonds, 1073 to 1078 ; Simon 
Bradstreet, 1078 to 1079 ; Thomas Danforth, 1679 to 
1686, 1689 to 1692. During the careers of Dudley 
and Andros, 1680 to 1689, there was no Deputy-Gov- 
ernor, 

The assistants were : Humphrey Atherton, Samuel 
Appleton, Isaac Addington, Simon Bradstreet, Rich- 
ard Bellingham, Robert Bridges, Peter Bulkley, Wil- 
liam Browne, William Coddington, Thomas Clarke, 
Elisha Cooke, Thomas Dudley, Joseph Dudley, Rich- 
ard Dummer, Daniel Denison, Thomas Danforth, 
Humphrey Davy, John Endicott, Thomas Flint, 
Daniel Fisher, Edward Gibbons, John Glover, Daniel 



MIDDLESEX COUNTY. 



Gookin, Bartholomew Gedney, Elisha Hutchinson, 
John Humphrey, John Haynes, Atherton Hough, 
RoRer Harlakenden, William Hibbens, William 
Hawthorne, John Hull, John Hawthorne, Isaac 
Johnson, William Johnson, Roger Ludlow, Eliezer 
Lusher, John Leverett, Increase Nowell, Samuel 
Nowell, Robert Pike, William Pynelion, Herbert 
I'elhani, John Pynchon, ()liver Purchase, Edward 
Rossiter, Richard Russell, John Richards, Samuel 
Sewall, Thomas Savage, Richard Saltonstall, Richard 
Saltonstall, Jr., Thomas Sharp, Israel Stoughton, 
William Stoughton, Samuel Symonds, Nathaniel Sal- 
tonstall, John Smith, Edward Tyng, Peter Tilton, Wil- 
liam Vassal!, Henry Vane, John Woodbridge, Fran- 
cis Wiiloughby, Thomas Wiggin, Simon Willard, 
John Winthrop, John Winthrop, ,Ir. 

The Speakers of the House of Deputies during the 
same period, beginning May 29, 1044, were : William 
Hawthorne, May 29, l(i44, to October 2, 1645, May G, 
ir,4(j, to November 4, 1640, May 10, 1648, to 
October 18, 1048, May 28, 1050, to October 15, 
1050, May 6, 1657, to May 19,1058, May 22, 1001, 
to May 7, 1002; George Cooke, October 2, 1045, to 
May 0, 1046 ; Robert Bridges, November 4, 1 046, to 
May 26, 1647 ; Joseph Hill, May 26, 1647, to October 
18, 1047; Rich.ard Russell, October 18, 1047, to May 
10, 1048, October 18, 1648, to May 2, 1649, May 3, 
1054, to May 28, 10.55; May 14, 1(;.50, to May 0, 1057, 
May 19, 1658, to May 11, 1059; Daniel Deni-son, May 

2, 1649, to May 28, K1.50, October 14, 1651, to May 
27, 1052; Daniel Gookin, May 7, 1651, to October 
14, 1651 ; Humphrey Atherton, May 18, 1653, to May 

3, 1054; Edward Johnson, May 23, 1655, to May 14, 
16.56; Thomas Savage, May 11, 1659, to May 22, 
16(11, May 31, 1671, to May 15, 1072, May 24, 1077, 
to May 28, 1079 ; Thomas Clarke, May 7, 1602, to 
May 27, 1663, May 3, 1605, to May 23, 1006, May 19, 
1069, to May 31, 1071; John Leverett, May 27, 1663, 
to May,3, 1665; Richard Waldron, May 23, 1066, to 
May 19, 1069, May 7, 1673, to January (i, 107.3-74, 
May 27, 1074, to February 21, 1075-76, May 28, 1079, 
to February 4, 1679-80; Joshua Hubbard, January 
6, 1673-74, to May 27, 1674; Peter Bulkley, Febru- 
ary 21, 1675-76, to May 24, 1677; John Richards, 
February 4, 1079-80, to May 19, 1080; Daniel Fisher, 
May 19,1680, to May 10,1088; Elisha Cooke, May 
16, 1688, to M.iy 7, 1(!S4; John Wayt, May 7, 1684, 
to May 27, 1085; Isaac Addington, May 27, 1085, to 
May 12, 1086; John Safhn, May 12, 1686. 

The other ofiicers of the Colony provided for at an 
early date were treasurer, commissioners of the Uni- 
ted Colonies, secretary and beadle or marshal. The 
treasurers were : Richard Bellingham, May 17, 1637, 
and June 6, 1039; Wm. Coddington, May 14, 1034; 
Richard Dummer, May 25, 1630; William Pynchon, 
Sept. 4, 16S2; William Tyng, May 13, 1640-June 2, 
1641 ; Richard Russell, November 13, 1644; John Hull 
May 3, 1670; James Russell, May 9, 1080; Samuel 
Nowell, May 11, 1080; John Usher, June 1, 1086. 



The secretaries were : William Burges, chosen May 
13,1629; Simon Bradstreet, 10.30; Increase Nowell, 
June 0, 1639, May 18, 1040, June 2, 1041; Edward 
Rawson, May 22, 1050; Edward Randolph, Septem- 
ber 21, 1085. 

The commissioners of the United Colonies of Plym- 
outh, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Haven 
were: John Winthrop, chosen 1643-45; Thomas 
Dudley, l<i43, '47-49 ; Simon Bradstreet, l(i44, '48-54, 
'50-01, 't'>,3-67 ; William Hathorne, 1044, '.50-54, '73 ; 
Herbert Pelham, 1045 ; Daniel Denison, 1055-57, 
'59-02; John Endicott, 1046-48, '58; Thom.as Dan- 
forth, 1002-79; John Leverett, 1008-09; William 
Stoughton, 1074-70, '80-80 ; Joseph Dudley, 1677-79; 
Peter Bulkley, T082-83 ; Samuel Nowell, 1084-80. 

The beadles or marshals, who were somewhat anal- 
ogous to the sherifTs of the present day, were: James 
Penn, appointed by the Court September 25, 1634 ; 
Edward Michelson, who is mentioned in the records 
of the Court May 27, 1668, as having occupied the 
office "divers years ; " John Greene, chosen May 27, 
1081 ; and Samuel Gookin, appointed in 1691. 

The above lists are confined to ofiicers appointed 
or chosen after the Massachusetts Company was es- 
tablished in New England, and are inserted by the 
writer in this sketch of Middlesex County, together 
with other matters relating to the early history of the 
Colony, to show the ground-work and foundation on 
which the counties into which the Colony became 
divided rested. 

Until 1089 the whole judicial power rested with the 
Court of Assistants. On the 9th of September of 
that year it was enacted by the General Court that 
" for as much as the businesses of the ordinary Court 
of Assistants are so much increased as they cannot 
be despatched in suchsea.son as were fit, it is therefoie 
ordered that such of the magistrates as shall reside 
in or near to Boston or any five, four or three of them, 
the Governor or Deputy to be one, shall have power 
to assemble together upon the last fifth day of the 
eighth, eleventh, second and fifth months every year, 
and then and there to hear and determine all civil 
causes whereof the debt or trespass and damages shall 
jiot exceed twenty pounds, and all criminal causes 
not extending to life or member or banishment accord- 
ing to the course of the Court of Assistants, and to 
summon juries out of the neighbor towns, and the 
marshal or necessary officers are to give their attenil- 
ance as at other Courts." 

It had been previously been enacted on the 3d of 
March, 1035-86, that 

" there ahall be four courts kept every quarter— one at Ipswich, to 
which Newbury shall belong ; two at Salem, to which Saugas shall be- 
long ; two at Newtown to which Charlton (t^harlestown), Concord, fileii- 
ford and Watertown shall belong ; four at Boston, to which Roxbury, 
Dorchester, Weymouth and Hingliam shall bebing, 

" Every of ttiese courts shall be kept by such magiftrates as shall be 
dwelling in or near the said towns, and by svich other persons of worth 
as shall from time to time be appointed by tlie General Court so as no 
criiirt shall be kept without one uiagistrate at the least, and that none 
of the magistrates be excluded who can and will attend the same ; yet 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



the General Court sball appoiut wliich of the magistrates shall specially 
belong to every of the said court. Such persons as shall be joined as 
associates to the magistrates in the said court shall be chosen by the Gen- 
eral Court out of a greater number of such as the several towns shall 
nominate to them bo as there liuiy be in every of the said conrtB so 
many as (with the magistrates) may make five in all. These courts shall 
try all civil cases whereof the debt or dama'ge shall not exceed ten 
pounds, and all criminal causes not concerning life, member or banish, 
ment. And if any person shall find himself grieved with the sentence 
of any of the said courts be may appeal to the next great quarter court 
provided that he put in sutficient caution to present his appeal with ef- 
fect and to abide the sentence of the magistrates in the said great quar_ 
ter court, who shall see that all such that shall bring any appeal with- 
out just cause be exeniplarily punished. 

" There shall be four great Quarter Courts kept yearly in Boston by 
the Cover nor and the rest of the magistrates : the first, the first Tuesday 
in the fourth month, called June ; the second, the firet Tuesday in Sep- 
tember; the third, the first Tuesday in December; the fourth, the first 
Tuesday in the first month, called JIarch." 

It must be remembered that the as.sistants were 
called magistrates, and therefore still retained after 
the above enactments judii'ial power. On the 2r)th of 
May, 1G30, the following magistrates and other per- 
sons were appointed by the General Court to hold the 
courts referred to in the above enactment of the pre- 
vious March, to wit: For Salem and Saugus, .lohn 
Humphrey, John Endicott, magistrates or assistants, 
Capt. Turner, Mr. Scruggs and Mr. Townsend Bis- 
hopp, associates ; for Ipswich and Newbury, Thomas 
Dudley, Richard Dumraer, Simon Bradstreet, magis- 
trates, and Mr. Saltonstall and Mr. Spencer, associ- 
ates ; for Newtown, L'harlestown, Medford and Con- 
cord, John Haynes, Roger Harlakenden, Increase 
Nowell, magistrates, and Mr. Beecher and Mr. 
Peakes, associates ; for Boston, Roxbury, Dorchester, 
Weymouth and Hingham, Richard Bellingham, Wil- 
liam Coddington, magistrates, and Israel Stoughton, 
William Hutchinson and William Heath, associates. 

On the 6th of June, 1639, it was enacted that "for 
the more speedy dispatch of all causes which shall 
concern strangers who cannot stay to attend the ordi- 
nary courts of justice, it is ordered that the Governor 
or Deputy, being assisted with any two of the mag- 
istrates (whom he may call to him to that end), shall 
have/jower to hear and determine (by a jury of twelve 
men or otherwise, as is used in other courts) all causes 
which shall arise between such strangers or wherein 
any such stranger shall be a party, and all records of 
such proceedings shall'be transmitted to the secretary 
(except himself be one of the magistrates who shall 
assist in hearing such causes), to be entered as trials in 
other courts at the charge of the parties. This order 
to continue till the General Court in the seventh 
month come twelve month and no longer." 

These various enactments show the condition of 
governmental affairs and the distribution of judicial 
powers at the time of the division of the Massachu- 
setts Colony into counties in 1643. On the 10th of 
May in that year it was enacted " that the whole 
plantation within this jurisdiction is divided into 
four shires. 

"Essex shire — Salem, Lynn, Enon, Ipswich, Row- 
ley, Newbury, Gloucester and Chochicawick. 



"Middlesex — Charlestown, Cambridge, Watertown, 
Sudbury, Concord, Woburn, Medford, Linn Village. 

"Suffolk — Boston, Roxbury, Dorchester, Dedham, 
Braintree, Weymouth, Hingham, Nantasket. 

"Norfolk — Salisbury, Hampton, Haverhill, Exeter, 
Dover, Strawberry Bank." 

In order that the reader may not be misled it is 
proper to state that the Norfolk County as above 
formed was extinguished by the General Court on the 
4th of February, 1679-80, after New Hampshire be- 
came a royal province, and its Massachusetts towns 
were annexed to Essex County. In Middlesex County 
the towns forming it were incorporated or founded as 
follows: Charlestown, June 24, 1629; Cambridge, 
Sept. 8, 1633; Watertown, Sept. 7,1630; Sudbury, 
Sept. 4, 1689 ; Concord, Sept. 2, 1635 ; Woburn, May 
18, 1642; Medford, Sept. 28, 1630; Linn Village, 
which was incorporated as Reading after the county 
was formed. May 29, 1684. Of these, Charlestown 
was incorporated as a city February 22, 1847, 
and annexed to Boston May 14, 1873 ; and Cambridge 
was incorporated as a city March 17, 1846. 

In Essex County, Salem was incorporated June 24, 

1629, as a town, and as a city March 23, 1836 ; Lynn 
(formerly Saugus), Nov. 20, 1637, as a town, and as a 
city April 10, 1850; Enon (now Wenham), was incor- 
porated May 10, 1643; Ipswich, Aug. 5, 1634; Row- 
ley, Sept. 4, 1639 ; Newbury, May 6, 1635 ; Glouces- 
ter, as a town May 22, 1639 ; as a city May 26, 1871 ; 
and Chochicawick (now Andover), May 6, 1646. 

In Norfolk County, Salisbury was incorporated 
Oct 7, 1640 ; Haverhill as a town in 1645, and as a 
city March 10, 1869. Hampton, Exeter, Dover and 
Strawberry Bank (now Portsmouth), were included 
within the limits of New Hampshire. 

In Suffolk County, Boston was incorporated as a 
town Sept. 7, 1630, as a city Feb. 23, 1822 ; Roxbury, 
as a town Sept. 28, 1630, as a city March 12, 1846, 
annexed to Boston June 1 , 1867 ; Dorchester, Sept. 7, 

1630, annexed to Boston June 4, 1869 ; Dedham, 
Sept. 8, 1636 ; Braintree, May 13, 1640 ; Weymouth, 
Sept. 2, 1635; Hingham, Sept. 2, 1635; and Nantas- 
ket (now Hull), May 29, 1644. 

When the present Norfolk County was incorpor- 
ated, March 26, 1793, all the towns above mentioned 
in Suffolk County, except Boston, were included in 
the new county. Hingham and Hull, being dissatisfied 
with their new connection, were subsequently, at the 
same session cf the General Court, exempted from 
the act of incorporation, and were finally annexed to 
Plymouth County. 

In addition to the towns above mentioned as a part 
of Middlesex County, Acton was incorporated July 3_ 
1735; Arlington, February 27, 1807 (name changed 
from West Cambridge, April 30, 1867) ; A.shby, March 
5, 1767 ; Ashland, March 16, 1846 ; Ayer, Febuary 14, 
1871 ; Bedford, September 23, 1729; Belmont, March 
18, 1859 ; Billerica, May 29, 1655; Boxborough, Feb- 
ruary 25, 1783 ; Brighton, February 24, 1807 ; Bur- 



MIDDLESEX COUNTY. 



lington, February 28, 1799; Carlisle, April 28, 1780; 
Chelmsford, May 29, 1G55 ; Dracut, February 20, 
1701 ; Dunstable, October 15, lt)7o ; East Suilbury, 
April 10, 1780 (name changed to Wayland, March 11, 
1835); Everett, March 9, 1870 ; Framiugham, June 
25, 1700 • Groton, May 25, 1655 ; HoUiston, Decem- 
ber 3, 1724 ; Hopkinton, December 13, 1715: Hud- 
son, March 19, ISGti; Lexington, March 29, 1712; 
Lincoln, April 19, 1754; Littleton, November 2, 
1714; Lowell as a town, March 1, 182(5 (as a city, 
August 5, 1836) ; Maiden as a town. May 2, 1649 (iis a 
city, March 31, 1881); Marlborough, May 31, 1660 ; 
Maynard, April 19, 1871; Melrose, May 3, 1850; 
Natick as a district in 1762 (as a town February 10, 
1781) ; Newton as a town, January 11, 1688 (as a city, 
June 2, 1873); North Reading, March 22, 1853; 
Pepperell, April 6,1753; Sherborn, May 27, 1764; 
Shirley, January 5, 1753; Somerville as a town, 
March 3, 1842 (as a city, April 14, 1871); South 
Reading, Februarj' 25, 1812 (name changed to Wake- 
field, June 30, 1868); Stonehani, December 17, 1725; 
Stow, May 16, 1683; Tewksbury, December 23,1734; 
Townsend, June 29, 1732 ; Tyngsborough as a dis- 
trict, June 22, 1789 (as a town, February 23, 1809) ; 
Waltham as a town, January 4, 1737 (as a city, June 
2, 1884) ; Wayland, April 10, 1780 ; Westford, Sep- 
tember 23, 1729 ; Weston, January 1, 1712; Wilming- 
ton, September 25, 1730 ; Winchester, April 30, 1850. 

The town of Acton contains a part of Concord ; Ar- 
lington of Cambridge; Ashby of Townsend, Fitchburg 
and Ashburnham ; Ashland of Hopkinton, Framing- 
ham and Holliston ; Ayer of Groton and Shirley; 
Bedford of BiUericaand Concord ; Belmont of Arling- 
ton, Watertown and Waltham; Hoxborough of Stow, 
Harvard and Littleton ; Brighton of Cambridge; Bur- 
lington of Woburn. Cambridge has had annexed to 
it parts of Charlestown and Watertown ; Carlisle of 
Concord, Acton, Chelmsford and Billerica. Charles- 
town has had annexed to it part of Medford ; Dun- 
stable of Groton; Everett of Maiden; Franiingham 
of Holliston : Groton of Pepperell ; Holliston of 
Sherborne; Hudson of Marlboro'. Bolton and Stow ; 
Lexington of Cambridge and Burlington ; I>incoln of 
Concord, Lexington and Weston; Lowell of Chelms- 
ford, Tewksburj' and Dracut; Maiden of Medford; 
Marlborough of Framiugham and Southborough ; 
Maynard of Stow and Sudbury; Medford of Maiden 
and Everett ; Melrose of Maiden and Stoneham ; 
Natick of Sherburne ; Newton part of Boston ; North 
Reading of Reading; Pepperell of Groton; Shirley 
of Groton ; Somerville of Charlestown ; Stoneham of 
Charlestown ; Tewksbury of Billerica ; Tyngsborough 
of Dunstable; Wakefield of Reading; Waltham of; 
Watertown and Newton ; Wayland of Sudbury ; 
Westford of Chelmsford ; Weston of Watertown ; 
Wilmington of Woburn and Reading; Winchester of 
Woburn, Medford and West Cambridge. 

A large part of Jliddlese^ County in the earliest 
colonial times was occupied by two Indian nations : 



the Pawtuckets and the ^lassachusetta. The !Massa- 
chusetts, whose chief sachem was Chikataubut, had 
been a powerful nation and occupied a territory ex- 
tending from Charles River on the north and west to 
Weyworth and Canton on the south and east. At the 
time of the arrival of Winthrop its numbers had much 
diminished, having suffered from the same scourge 
which had carried off the tribes in and about Plym- 
outh in 1616, and from the effects of which it had 
never recovered. The Pawtuckets extended from 
Charles River as far as Piscataqua on the east, and 
Concord, New Hampshire, on the north. Their nation 
included the Pennakooks or Concord Indians; the 
Agawomes or Ipswich Indians ; the Naunikeeks about 
Salem ; the Pascatawayes and Accomentas at York, 
and along the coast of Maine. The sachem of the 
Pawtuckets was Nanepashemit, or the New Moon, who 
lived in the neighborhood of what is now Lynn. In 
1637 the squaw sachem or widow of Nanepashemit, 
who had continued his government, conveyed to the 
English a large tract of land, and in 1639 a tract ot 
land, which is now withiu the limits of Ch.arlestown 
and Somerville, was conveyed by her to the tov/n of 
Charlestown. In 1644 she, with other sachems, sub- 
mitted themselves to thejurisdiction of Massachusetts. 

Since the incorporation of the county the following 
changes iu the county lines have been made: The in- 
corporation of the town of Ashby, March 5, 1767, 
took a portion of Ashburnham and Fitchburg, in 
Worcester County ; the incorporation of Boxborough, 
February 25, 1783, took a portion of Harvard, in Wor- 
cester County. The annexation of Charlestown to 
Boston, May 14, 1873, and the annexation of Brighton 
to Boston, May 21, 1873, addeil those places to Suftblk 
County ; the incorporation of Harvard, in Worcester 
County, gave a portion of Groton and Stow to Wor- 
cester; a part of Holliston was annexed to Milford, in 
Worcester County, April 1, 1859 ; the incorporation of 
Upton, in Worcester County, June 14,1735, gave a 
part of Hopkinton to Worcester ; the incorporation of 
Bolton, .lune 24, 1738, Northborough, January 24, 
1766, and Southborough, July 6, 1727, gave a jrart of 
Marlborough to Worcester. There were some detini- 
tions of town boundaries which may have slightly 
changed the county lines. These were the lines 
between Holliston, Hopkinton and Medway, March 
27, 18.35; between Natick and Wayland, April 20 
1850; between North Reading and Lynnfield, Hay 
27, 1857; between Wakefield and Lynnfield, April 2, 
1870^ 

Middlesex County, of which Cambridge and Lowell 
are the shires, is situated in the northeast central part 
of Massachusetts, and has an area of a little more than 
eight hundred square miles. It is bounded on the 
north by E.ssex County and the State of New Hamp- 
shire, on the ea-st by Essex and Suffolk Counties, on 
the south by Norfolk County, and ou the west by 
Worcester County. It is watered by the Charles, 
Concord, Merrimack and Nashua Rivers and several 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



smaller streams, and is so thoroughly intersected by 
railroads as to make Boston easily accessible to almost 
every town. The business of the county is chiefly 
manufacturing and agricultural, though the latter 
interest is showing symi)tonis of a positive decline. 
Market gardening h.as largely increased in the towns 
near Boston, and this branch of agricultural industry 
never was more prosperous than to-day. The field of 
its activity has been pushed, however, farther from the 
city as the city grows and available lands near its 
limits become needed for residences of city business- 
men. The conversion of farms into town lots has 
largely enhanced their value and made owners who 
for many years struggled for a livelihood men of 
wealtli and ease. The following li.st shows the popu- 
lation and property valuation of each town accord- 
ing to the census of 1885 : 





rop. 


VAL. 




POP. 


VAL. 


Acton .... 


. 1785 


»1,372,254 


Maynard . . 


. 2703 


»2,013,678 


Arlington . . 


. 4673 


6,136,780 


Medfoid . . 


. 9042 


8,850,274 


ABhby . . . 


. 871 


481,079 


Melrose . . . 


. 0101 


4,920,673 


Ashland . . 


. 2633 


1,370,165 


Natick . . . 


. 8460 


6,140,735 


Ayer .... 


. 2190 


1,209,608 


Newton . . . 


. 19,759 


32,349,754 


Bedford . . . 


. 930 


861,155 


North Reading 


878 


500,894 


Belmont . . 


. 1639 


3,444,399 


Pepperell . , 


. 2587 


1,497,561 


Billerica . . 


. 2161 


1,836,481 


Reading . . 


. 3539 


2,431,283 


Boxborough 


. 348 


260,091 


Sherboru . . 


. 1391 


874,009 


B\irIiugtou . 


. 634 


486,844 


Shirley . . . 


. 1242 


7.34,134 


Cambridge , 


. 59,658 


59,523,260 


Soniervilie . 


29,971 


25,31)5,291 


Carlisle . . . 


. 526 


397,260 


Stoneham . . 


. B659 


3,198,070 


Chelmsford . 


. 2304 


1,721,680 


Stow .... 


. 976 


1,035,833 


Concord . . 


. 3727 


3,505,461 


Sudbury . . 


. 1105 


1,109,347 


Dracut . . . 


. 1927 


1,223,957 


Tewkabury . 


. 23;i3 


1,376,782 


Dunstable . . 


. 431 


332,302 


Townseiid . . 


. 1840 


1,051,323 


Everett . . . 


. 5825 


5,406,319 


TyngBburough 


. 6114 


363,736 


Framiiitjliani 


. 8275 


6,017,694 


Wakefield . . 


. 6060 


4,027,866 


Groton . . . 


. 1987 


3,138,42-i 


Waltham . . 


. 14,609 


11,538,861 


Uollistnn . . 


. 2226 


1,757,973 


Watertown . 


. • 0238 


7,007,681 


Hopkinion . 


. 3922 


2,200,238 


Waylaud . . 


. 1946 


1,298,326 


Hudson . . . 


. 3968 


2,102,4^0 


Weatford . . 


. 2193 


1,1.31,069 


Lexington . 


. 2718 


3,015,773 


Weston . . . 


. 1427 


2,431,035 


Lincoln . . . 


. 901 


1,291,173 


Wilmington . 


. 991 


670,700 


Littleton . . 


. 1067 


818,633 


Winchester . 


. 4390 


4,474,736 


Lowell . . . 


. 64,107 


54,356,603 


Woburn . . 


11,750 


8,186,121 


^T<i Ilia II 


. 16,407 


14.019,929 








iil.llU(]U ... 






Marlborough 


. 10,941 


4,435,327 




357,311 


315,911,919 



In 1643, at the time of the incorporation of Middle- 
sex County, as has been stated, the judicial power 
was vested in the General Court, the Court of Assist- 
ants (or Great Quarter Court), ihe Quarter Courts 
and the Stranger's Courts. After the formation of the 
county the above courts continued, though the Stran- 
gers' Courts were modified, and the Quarter Courts in 
their respective counties were called County or Inferior 
Quarter Courts. It had also been provided before the 
above date, by an act passed September 9, 1639, that 
records be kept of all wills, adniiustrations and inven- 
tories of every marriage, birth and death, and of all 
men, houses and lands. It had before the lust date 
been provided, by a law passed April 1, 1634 — 

" tbat the constable and four or more of tbe cbi^f inliabitanta of every 
town (to be cboeen by all tlie freeinun tbere at some niofling there), 
with tbe advice of some one or more of the next assistants, shall make a 
surveying of the houses, backsides, cornfields, mowing (rround, and 
other lauds improved or inclosed or granted by special orders of the 



court, of ever)' free inhabitant there, and shall enter the same in a book 
(fairly written in wonls at length and not in figures), with the several 
bounds and quantities by the nearest estimation, and shall deliver a tran- 
script thereof into the co\irt within six months now next ensuing, and 
the same so entered and recorded shall be a eulticient as8urance to every 
such free inhabitant, his and their heirs and assigns, of such estate of in- 
heritance or as they shall bave in any siicb bouses, lands or frank ten- 
ements. The like course shall be taken for assurance of all houses and 
town lots of all such as shall be hereafter enfranchised, and every sale or 
grant of such liouses or lots as shall be from time to time entered into 
tlio said book by the said constable and four inhabitants or their suc- 
ce&sors (who shall be still supplied upon death or removal), for which 
entry tbe purchasers shall pay sixpence and tbe like sum for a copy 
thereof under the hands of tbe said surveyors or three of them." 

A further provision of law concerning lands and 
titles was made on the 7th of October, 1640, as fol- 
lows : 

" For avoiding all fraudulent conveyances, and that every man 
may know what eshite or interest other men may bave iuauy 
houses, lands or other hereditaments they are to deal in, it is there- 
fore ordered that after the end of the month no mortgage, bargain 
sale or grant hereafter to be made of anybouses, lands, rents or 
other hereditaments, shall be of force against any other person, except 
the grantor and bis heirs, unless tlie same be recorded as is here- 
after expressed ; and that no such bargain, sale or grant already made in 
way of mortgage where the grantor remains in possession, shall be of force 
against any other but the grantor or his heira, except the same shall be 
entered as Is hereafter expressed within one mouth after tbe end of this 
court, if the party be within this jurisdiction, or else within three 
months after he shall return. And if any such grautor, etc., be re- 
quired by tlie grantee, etc., to make an acknowledgment of any grant, 
etc., by bini made, shall refuse so to do, it shall be in tbe power of any 
magistrate to send for the party so refusing and commit bim to prison, 
without bail or niayneprise, until he shall acknowledge tbe same. 

" And tbe grantee is to enter his caution with tbe recorder, and this 
shall save his interest in the meantime ; and if it be doubtful whether 
it be the deed or grant of the party, be shall be bound with sureties to 
the next court and tbe caution shall remain good as aforesaid. 

"And for recording of all such bargains, etc., it is further ordered 
tbat there shall be one appointed at Ipswich, for which Mr. Samuel Sy- 
monds is chosen for that court to enter all sucb bargains, sales, etc., of 
all lands, etc., within tbe jurisdiction of that court ; and Mr. Emanuell 
Dowiug is chosen in like part for tbe juri-sdiclion of tbe court of Salem ; 
and all tbe rest to be entered by Mr. SlepluMi Wintbrop, the recorder of 
Boston." 

This condition of things of course ceased on the for- 
mation of counties in 1643, and then the clerk of the 
court in each county became the recorder of deeds. 

After the incorporation of the counties it was pro- 
vided by law that " there shall also be county courts 
held in the several counties by the magistrates living 
in the respective counties, or any other magistrates 
that can attend the same, or by such magistrates as 
the General Court shall a])p(nnt from time to time, 
together with such persons of wealth, where there 
shall be need, as shall from time to time be appointed 
by the General Court (at the nomination of the free- 
men of the county), to be joined in commission with 
the magistrates so that they may be five in all, three 
whereof may keep a court provided there be one 
magistrate ; every of which courts shall have full 
power to hear and determine all causes civil and 
criminal not extending to life, member or banishment 
(which, with causes of divorce, are reserved to tbe Court 
of Assistants), and to make and constitute clerks and 
other needful officers and to summon juries of inquest 
and trials out of the towns of the county.'' These 



MIDDLESEX COUNTY. 



County Courts, besides the jurisdiction given to them 
in the preceding law. retained that which had been 
held by the Inferior Courts before the formation of 
counties. 

On the tJLh of .Sciiteuiber, li>3S, another cla.ss of 
courts was established which continued after the 
counties were formed. At that date it was ordered 
"that for avoiding of the county's charge by bringing 
small cau.ses to the Court of Assistants that any mag- 
istrate in the town where he dwell may hear and de- 
termine by his discretion all causes wherein the debt 
or tresspass or damage, etc., doth not exceed twenty 
shillings, and in such town where no magistrate dwells 
the Generi^l Court shall from time to time nominate 
three men ; two thereof shall have like power to hear 
and determine all such actii)ns under twenty shillings; 
and if any of the parties shall tind themselves grieve<l 
with any such end or sentence, they may appeal to the 
next Quarter Court or Court of Assistants. 

"And if any person shall bring any such action to 
the Court of Assistants before he hath endeavored to 
have it ended at home (as in this order is appointed), 
he shall lose his action and pay the defendant's co-'ts." 
It was further enacted in 1()47 and l(i4'.>, for the 
purpose of more clearly defining and enlarging the 
iurisdiction of this petty court, that "any magistrate 
in the town where he dwells may hear and determine 
by his discretion (not by jury), according to the laws 
here established, all causes arising in that county 
wherein the debt, trespass or damage doth not exceed 
forty shillings, who may send for parties and witnesses, 
by summons or attachment directed to the marshal or 
constable, who shall faithfully execute the same." 
And "that in such towns where no magistrate dwells 
the Court of Assistants or County Court may from 
time to time, upon request of the said town signilied 
under the hand of the constalde, appoint three of the 
freemen as commissioners in such cases, any two 
whereof shall have like power to hear and determine 
all such causes wherein either party is an inhabitant 
of that town, who have hereby power to send for par- 
ties and witnesses by summons or attachment directed 
to the constable, as also to administer oaths to wit- 
nesses and to give time to the defendant to answer if 
they see cause; and if the party summoned refuse to 
give in his bond or appearance, or sentenced refuse 
to give satisfaction where no goods appear in the same 
town where the party dwells, they may charge the 
constable with the party to carry him before a magis- 
trate or shire court (if then sitting), to be further 
proceeded with according to law, but the said com- 
missioners may not commit to prison in any case. 
And where the parties live in several towns the de- 
fendant shall !>e liable to be sued in either town at 
the liberty of the plaintiflV 

And "that in all small causes as aforesaid, where 
only one magistrate dwells in the town and the cause 
concerns himself, as also in such towns where no mag- 
istrate is, and the cause concerns any of the three 



commissioners, that in such cases the selectmen of the 
town shall have power to hear and determine the 
same, and also to grant execution for the levying and 
gathering up such damages for the use of the person 
damnified as one magistrate or three commissioners 
may do. And no debt or action proper to the cog- 
nizance of one magistrate or the three commissioners 
as aforesaid shall be received into any county court 
but by appeal from such magistrate or commitsioners, 
except in cases- of defamation and battery." 

The selectmen were also authorized to try offences 
against their own by-laws where the iienalty did not 
exceed twenty shillings provided the otience was not, 
as it was called, a criminal one. 

Up to the year 11585 the judicial system of the 
Province of Massachusetts continued as has been 
above narrated. First, there was the • ieneral Court, 
with legislative powers and a limited ajipellate juris- 
diction from the Court of Assistants ; second, the 
Court of Assistants or Great Quarter Court, with ex- 
clusive jurisdiction in all criminal cases involving lifei 
member or banishment and concurrent jurisdiction 
with the County Courts in civil cases involving not 
more than one hundred pounds and appellate juris- 
diction from the County Courts; third, the C!ounty 
Courts or Inferior Quarter Courts, with jurisdiction 
in civil and criminal cases, except cases of divorce 
and cases involving life, member or banishment, 
having power to summcjn grand and [)etit jurors and 
to appoint their own clerks and other uece.ssary otli- 
cers, to lay out highways, license taverns, see that a 
proper ministry was supported, and have general 
control of probate matters, prove wills, grant admin- 
istration, record deeds and mortgages and have ap- 
pellate jurisdiction from the Commissioners' Courts; 
fourth. Strangers' Courts held at first by the Governor 
or Deputy-Governor and two magistrates, or in the 
absence of the Governor and Deputy, by three magis- 
trates, with the same jurisdiction as the County Courts 
so far as strangers were concerned, and whose judg- 
ments were final; fifth. Commissioners' Couits, and 
sixth, Selectmen's Courts. 

On 18th of June, 1684,ajudgment vacating thechar- 
ter of the Province of Massachusetts Bay was issued, 
and a copy was received by the Colonial Secretary, 
Edward Raw.son, on the 2d of July of the next year. 
Joseph Dudley was thereupon appointed by the 
King, President of j\[assachu.setts, Maine, New Hamp- 
shire and the Nariagansttt country, and received his 
commission May 15, 1686. The King also appointed 
as members of the Council, Simon Bradstreet, Robert 
Mason, John Fitz Winthrop, John Pynchon, Peter 
Bulkley, Edward Randolph, Wait Still Winthrop, 
Richard Wharton, John Usher, Nathaniel Saltonstall, 
Bartholomew Gedney, Joiuithan Tyng, Dudley Brad- 
street, John Ilincks, Francis Champernon and Ed- 
ward Tyng; of whom Simon and Dudley Bradstreet, 
Nathaniel Saltonstall and Francis Champernon de- 
clined. The President and Council possessed no leg- 



XIV 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



islative power, except to establish such courts as 
might be necessary. They were a court of them- 
selves and had authority to appoint judges. They 
established a Superior Court with three sessions a year 
at Boston, and " Courts of Pleas and Sessions of the 
Peace" in the several counties. The President as- 
sumed priibate jurisdiction, but in some counties ap- 
pointed judges of probate. William Stoughton was 
appointed to preside in the County Courts of Jliddle- 
sex, Suffolk and Essex, and John Richards and Simon 
Lynde were appointed assistants. The appointments 
were made July 26, 1686, and appeals could be had 
from these courts to the President and Council. Be- 
fore the year 1686 had expired, Edmund Andros ar- 
rived in Boston, on the 19th of December, and, as 
Governor, assumed jurisdiction over the whole of New 
England, including the Plymouth Colony, which was 
not included in the commission of Dudley. 

He appointed thirty-nine members of his Council, 
and he assumed for the (Governor and Council the 
exclusive power of making and executing the laws, 
subject only to the royal approval. He gave to jus- 
tices of the peace civil jurisdiction in cases not 
affecting lands and not involving a sum exceeding 
forty shillings. He established the " Quarterly 
Sessions Court," held by the several justices in their 
respective counties, and " the Inferior Court of Com- 
mon Pleas," to be held in each county by a single 
judge assisted by two or more justices of the county. 
Their jurisdiction was limited to cases involving suras 
not exceeding ten pounds, and no question of free- 
hold except in Boston, where the limit was twenty 
pounds. He established, finally, a Superior Court of 
Judicature, in which no action could be begun in- 
volving less than ten pounds, unless it concerned a 
question of freehold, and this court was to be held in 
Boston, Cambridge, Charlestown, Plymouth, Bristol, 
Newport, Salem, Ipswich, Portsmouth, Falmouth 
(Portland), Northampton and Springfield. Joseph 
Dudley was appointed chief justice of this court. 

The act establishing these courts was passed by the 
Governor and Council March 3, 1687. Though the 
judiciary system thus established was a complete re- 
versal of the old court system, it was a vast improve- 
ment on the old and became the model on which 
the judicial system under the Provincial charter 
was finally shaped. A Court of Chancery was also 
created with full equity powers, to be held by the 
Governor or by a chancellor of his appointment, to 
be assisted by five or mure of the Council. Special 
Courts of Oyer and Terminer were also created for the 
trial of offenders. The Commissioners' Courts were 
retained. Appeals lay from the Quarter Sessions and 
the Court of Common Pleas to the Superior Court, 
from the Superior Court to the Governor and Council, 
and from the Governor and Council and the Court of 
Chancery to the King. 

The Superior Court was organized with Joseph 
Ddley, chief justice, and William Stoughton and 



Peter Bulkley associates. At a later time Samuel 
Shrirapton, Simon Lynde and Charles Lidget are 
mentioned as having sat as associates. John Palmer 
sat as chief justice in 1688. The courts, however, 
during the administration of Andros were mere 
mockeries of justice. As the supple tool of a tyrant, 
his whole career while Governor served to exasperate 
the people and to lay one of the stones in the founda- 
tion of a structure which was destined, under the 
pressure of tyrannical hands, to become a free and in- 
dependent republic. When the news of the landing 
of the Prince of Orange in England reached Boston, 
a revolution broke out on the ISth of April, 1689, 
and Andros was seized and imprisoned. In February, 
1690, he was sent back to England, and in 1692 was 
appointed Governor of Maryland and Virginia. From 
this last position he was removed in 1698, and, return- 
ing home, died in 1714. After the overthrow of 
Andros and his government the old judiciary system 
which had existed under the charter was resumed, 
and continued in operation until the union of the 
('olonies, in 1692, 

On the 7th of October, 1691, a new charter was 
issued, which embraced Massachusetts, Plymouth, j 
Maine, Nova Scotia, with intervening territories, to- I 
gether with Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, which 
had ]>reviously belonged to New York, under the 
name of the " Province of the Jlassachusetls Bay in 
New Flngland." This charter reached Boston on the 
14th of May, 1692, and under its provisions the gov- 
ernment consisted of a Governor, Deputy-Governor 
and Secretary, appointed by the King and Councillors, 
chosen by the General Court, and a House of Repre- 
sentatives, chosen annually by the people. The Gov- 
ernor had the power of veto, and all acts and elec- 
tions by the General Court must, in order to be valid, 
receive the approval of the King. The General 
Court was authorized "to erect and constitute judica- 
tories and courts of records or other courts," and the 
Governor and Council could appoint judges, sheriffs, 
justices of the peace and other officers of the courts. 
The charter gave to the Governor and Council the 
control of probate matters, but this control was dele- 
gated by them in each county to judges of their ap- 
pointment. No judicial power remained in the hands 
of the General Court, as under the colonial charter. 
The first court organized under the new charter was a 
special Court of Oyer and Terminer, created by Wil- 
liam Phipps, the first Provincial Governor, for the 
purpose of trying persons charged with witchcraft. 
On the 2d of June, 1692, the Governor issued his 
commission appointing William Stoughton chief 
justice; Nathaniel Saltonstall, John Richards, Bar- 
tholomew Gedney, Wait Wiuthrop, Samuel Sewall 
and Peter Sergeant, associate justices; Stephen Sew- 
all, clerk ; Thomas Newton, attorney-general, and 
George Corwen, sheriff. Nathaniel Saltonstall de- 
clined, and Jonathan Curwin was appointed in his 
place, and Thomas Newton was succeeded as attorney- 



MIDDLESEX COUNTY. 



general on the 22d of July by Anthony Checkley. 
Nathaniel Saltonstall seems to have been a man of 
sagacity and prurience. He had declined to serve as 
a member of Dudley's (.'ouiicil, and now evidently 
avoided the precarious complications of the prevail- 
ing witchcraft mania. The tirst meeting of this court 
was at Salem, on the 2d of June, 1692. Its subsequent 
meetings were on the 28th of June, the 3)1 of August, 
and 9ih and 17th of September, after which the court 
dissolved. During this period nineteen persons were 
tried, condemned and hung for witchcraft, and one 
was pressed to death. There is nothing in the history 
of New England so revolting as the record of this 
court. That men like Samuel Sewall, called by his 
eulogists a man of " learning, integrity and piety," 
should have been carried away by such an infatua- 
tion impresses us with the conviction that human na- 
ture, in all the centuiies, is the same, and that what 
are called the barbarities of a dark age can be fully 
paralleled by the atrocities of an age of boasted civil- 
ization. If we seek an apology for the mania it is 
[lossible that we may find a shadow of one in the fact 
that our fathers believed in the verbal inspiration 
from God of the Scriptures which inculcated a belief 
in witchcraft, and which declared, in the isth verse of 
the 22d chapter of Exodus: " Thou shalt not suffer a 
witch to live." 

The first meeting of the General Court under the 
new charter was held on the 2Sth of June, l(i92. Its 
first act was the following, continuing the local laws 
to stand in force till November the 10th, 1692: 

" Be it onieied auil enacteil by the ('iovtTnor, Council ami Repreaenta- 
lives convtiieJ ill General Assembly, and it is hereby urdeied and en- 
acted by the authority of the same, that all the local laws respectively 
ordered and made by the late Governor and company of the Massachu- 
setts Bay and the late goverument of New Plymouth being not repug- 
nant to the laws of England, nor inconsistent with the present consti- 
tution and settlement by their majesties royal charter, do remain and 
continue in full force in the respective plait-sfor which they were made 
and used, until tiie tenth day of Nnvombrr next ; except in cases where 
other provision is or shall be made by this court or assembly. 

" And all pereons are required to cuuforni themselves accordingly; 
and the several justices are liereby empowered to the execution of said 
laws 00 the magistrates formerly were." 

A subsequent act was passed continuing the local 
laws in force until the General Assembly should 
otherwise order. On the 25th of November, 1692, an 
act was passed entitled " An Act for the Establishing 
of Judicatories and Courts of Justice within this Prov- 
ince," from which the following are extracts : 

"Sec. 1. Be it enacted and ordained by his excelloucy, the Governor, 
council and representatives couveupd in General Assembly, and it is 
herely enacted and ordained by the authority of the same, that all man- 
ner of debts, trespasses and other mattera not exceeding the value of 
forty shillings, wherein the title of land is not concerned, shall and may 
be heard, tried, adjudged and determined by any of their majesties' 
justices of the peace of this Province within the respective counties 
where he resides ; who is hereby empowered, upon complaint made, to 
gi ant a warrant or summons against the party complained of seven days 
before the day of trial or hearing, etc. 



"Sec. 2. Be it further enacted and uidaiuod by the authority afore- 
said that there shall beheld and kept in each respective county within 



this Province yearly, at the times and places hereafter named and ex- 
pressed four courts or quarter sessions vf the peace by the justices of 
the pi'ace of the same county, who are hereby empi)wered to hear and 
determine all matters relating to the conservation of the peace ami pun- 
shment of oftenders and whatsoever is by them cognizable according 
to law, that is to say, For the county of Suffolk, at Boston, nn the first 
Tuesdays in March, June, September and December: For the county of 
Plymouth, at Plymouth, on the third Tuesdays in March,. Tune, Septem- 
ber and Decenibei : For (be county of Kssex, at Salem, on the last 
Tuesdays in June and December; at Ipswich on the last Tuesday in 
March ; and at Newbury on the last Tuesday in September: For the 
county of Middlesex, at Charlestown, on the second Tuesdays in 5Iarch 
and December ; at Cambridge on the second Tuesday in September and 
at Concord on the second Tuesday of June: For the county of Barn- 
stable, at Barnstable, on the first Tuesdays in April, July, October and 
January : at Bristol for the county of Bristol on the seccnid Tuesdays in 
April, July, October and January : For the county of York, at York, ou 
the firet Tuesdays in April and July ; and at Wells on the first Tuesdays 
in October and January : And for the county of Hampshire, at North- 
ampton, on the first Tuesdays in March and June ; at Springfield on the 
last Tuesdays in September and December: And that there be a general 
sessions of the peace held and kept at Edgartown, upon the island of 
Capawock, alias Martha's Vineyard, and on the island of Nantucket 
respectively upon the last Tuesday in March and on the first Tuesday of 
October yearly, from time to time. 

"Skc. :}. And it is further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That 
at the times and places above-mentioned there sliall be held and kept 
in each respective county and islands before name<l within this Province 
an Inferior Court of Common Pleas, by four of the justices of. and 
residing witliin the same county and islands resjiectively to be appointed 
and commissioned thereto ; any three of whom lu be a quorum for the 
hearing and determining of all civil actions arising or happening with- 
in the same, triable at the common law, of what nature, kind or quality 
soever ; and upon judgment given therein to award execution, etc. 

"Skc. 4. And it is further enacted by the authority aforesai'l that 
there shall be a Superior Court of Judicature over this whole Province, 
to be held and kept annually at the respective times anil places bere- 
afler mentioned by one Chief Justice and four other justices to be ap- 
pointed and commissionated for the same: three of whom to be a 
41uorum, who shall have cognisance of all pleas, real, personal or niixt, 
as well in all pleasof the crown and in all matters relating to the con- 
servation of the peace ami imnisbment of utTenders, its in civil causes or 
actions between party and party and between their majesties and any of 
their subjects, whether the same do concern the realty and relate to any 
right of freehold and inheritance or whether the same do concern the 
personalty and relate to matter of debt, contract, damage or personal 
injury ; and also in all mixt actions which may concern both realty and 
personalty ; and after deliberate hearing to give judgment and award 
execution thereon. The said Superior Court to be held and kept at tlie 
times ami places within the respective counties following ; that is to 
say, Within the county of Suffolk, at Boston, on the last Tuesdays of 
April and October ; Within the county of Middlesex, at (."harlestowu, on 
the last Tuesdays of July and January ; Within the county of Essex, at 
Salem, on the srcuud Tuesday of November ; and at Ipswich on the 
second Tuesday of May ; Within the counties of Plymouth, Barnstable 
anil Bristol atPlymouth, on the last Tuesday of February and at Bristol 
on the last Tuesday of August. 

" Sec. 12. And it is hereby further enacted by the authority aforesaid, 
that there be a High Court of Chancery within this Province, who shall 
have power and authority to hear ami determine all matters of equity 
of what nature, kind or <|uatity soever, and all controversies, disputes 
and differences arising betwixt co-executors, and other matters proper 
and cognizable to said court not relievable by common law ; the said 
colli t to ho holden and kept by the Governor or such others as he shall 
appoint to be Chancellor, assisted with eight or more of the Council, 
who may appoint al! necessary officers to the said Council." 

This act continued in force until advice of its dis- 
allowance or repeal by the Privy Council was re- 
ceived. The repeal was dated August 22, l(!iir>, and 
its reasons were expressed in the following words : 
" Whereas, by the act, etc., divers courts being estab- 
lished by the said act, it is hereby further provided 
that if either party not being satisfied with ye judg- 



HISTOKY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



inent of any of ye said courts in personall actions not 
exceeding £300 (and no other), they may appeal to 
His Majesty iu Council!, which proviso not being ac- 
cording to the words of the charter, and appeals to 
the King in Councill in reall actions, seeming thereby 
to be excluded, it hath been thought fit to repeal 
the said act." 

On the lOtli of .Tune, 1()97, another act was passed 
establishing courts, which was disallowed Nov. 24, 
1698, because it provided, among other things, "that 
all matters and issues in fact shall be tried by a jury 
of twelve men," which proviso was looked upon as 
directly contrary to the intention of the Act of Parlia- 
ment entitled An Act for preventing frauds and regu- 
lating abuses in the plantatibn trade, by which it was 
provided that all causes relating to the breach of the 
Acts of Trade might, at the pleasure of the ofiicer or 
informer, be tried in the Court of Admiralty in which 
court trials were not held with juries of twelve men. 

On the 2t;th of .fune, 1600, three acts were passed 
establishing a Court of General Sessions of the Peace, 
and an Inferior Court of Common Pleas iu each coun- 
ty and a Superior Court of Judicature for the Prov- 
ince. The Court of General Sessions of the Peace 
was required to be held in each county, yearly, at 
specified times and places by the justices of the peace 
of said county, who were empowered to hear and de- 
termine all matters relating to the conservation of the 
peace and punishment of oft'enders. The Inferior 
Court of Common Pleas was to be held in each coun- 
ty by four substantial persons to be commissioned as 
justices, any three of whom were to be a quorum who 
should have cognizance of al! civil actions arising or 
happening within the county triable at common 
law, provided that no action under forty shillings 
be brought into said court unless where freehold 
was concerned, or upon appeal from a justice of the 
peace. The Superior Court of Judicature was to be 
held al specified times and places in the Province by 
one chief justice an<l four other justices, who should 
have cognizance of all pleas, real, personal or mixed, 
as well :is all pleas of the crown and all matters relat- 
ing to the conservation of the peace and punishment 
of oft'enders. It was to be held at Boston for the 
county of Suffolk on the first Tuesdays of November 
and May ; for the county of Middlesex at Cambridge 
on the last Tuesday in July, and at Charlestown on 
the last Tuesday of January; for the county of 
Hampshire at Springfield on the second Tue.sday of 
August ; for the county of York at Kittery on the 
Thursday before the Ipswich Court ; for the counties 
of Plymouth, Barnstable and Dukes at Plymouth on 
the last Tuesday of March ; and for the county of 
Bristol at Bristol on the second Tuesday of September 

The Court of Chancery established by the act of 
November 26, 1(592, was re-established by a separate 
act in 1603, and Admiralty jurisdiction, as has been al- 
ready stated, was reserved for the King. Besides these 
couits, and completing the list of courts, was the Court 



of Justices of the Peace. The disallowed act of 1692 
gave the justices of the peace jurisdiction "in all 
manner of debts, trespasses and other matters not ex- 
ceeding forty shillings in value, wherein the title of 
laud was not concerned." In 1697 a special act was 
passed re-enacting substantially the provisions of the 
act which had been disallowed, so far as the civil jur- 
isdiction of the justices was concerned. From time 
to time subsequently, the powers of justices, both in 
civil and criminal matters, were enlarged. But one 
other important court remains to be mentioned, but 
one established not by any law of the General Court, 
but by the Governor and Council under the charter. 
In probate matters jurisdiction had been exercised 
during the colonial period by the common law courts. 
During the administration of Andros it was assumed 
by the Governor, but by the charter it was conferred 
on the Governor and Council, who, claiming the i>ower 
of .substitution, delegated these powers to a judge of 
probate of their own appointment in each county, 
reserving to themselves appellate jurisdiction. 

The Superior Court of Judicature, which was per- 
manently established June 20, 1609, continued until 
February 20, 1781, during which time the following 
appointments of justices were made : 

ino-J, Willi.ani Stoupiliton (chief jiiBtice), Thom.18 Daiifuith WailstiU 
Winthrup (chief justice 170S), John Richards, Samuel Sowall (chief jus- 
tice 1718) ; 1005, Elisha Cooke ; 1700, John Walley ; 1701, John Saffin ; 
1702, Isaac AtUUngton (cliief justice 1703), John Hathorno, Jotin Lev- 
erett ; 1708, Jonathan Curwin ; 1712, Benjamin Ljnde (chief justice 
1728), Nathaniel Thomas; 1715, .\ddington Davenport; 1718, Edward 
Quincy, Paul Dudley (chief justice 1745); 1728, John C'ushing; 1733, 
Jonathan Reniingtoli ; 1736, Richard Saltonstall ; 1738, Tliojjias Graves; 
1730, Stephen Sewall (chief justice 1752) ; 1745, Nathaniel Hubhard, 
Benjamin Lynde (chief justice 1771) ; 1747, John Gushing ; 1752, 
I'hamliers Russell ; 175G, Peter Oliver (chief justice 1772) ; 1760, Thoniaa 
Hutchinson (chief justice 17G0) ; 1767, Edmund Trowbridge ; 1771, Fos- ■ 
ter Hutchinson ; 1772, Nathaniel Kopes ; 1774, William Brown ; 1775, I 
William Cushins (chief justice 1777), John Adams (chief justice 1775), 
Nathaniel P. Sargoant, William Reed. Robert Treat Paiue ; 1776, Jedi- ; 
diali Foster, James Sullivan; 1777, David Sewall. 

Of these, Thomas Danforth, Chambers Russell and 
Edmund Trowbridge may be said to have been Mid- 
dlesex County men. , 

On the 20th of February, 1781, an act was passed \ 
by the General Court of Massachusetts, establishing 
the Supreme Judicial Court as the successor of the 
Superior Court of .ludicaturc. It was established 
with one chief justice and four associates. In the 
year 1800 the number of associates was increased to 
six and the State was divided into two circuits, the 
east including Essex County and Maine, and the west 
including the remainder of the State except SuSblk 
County. In 1805 the number of associates was re- 
duced to four, and in 1852 was increased to five. In 
1873 the number of associates was increased to six, 
and the court has continued up to this time with one 
chief justice and six associates. The justices of this 
court have been : 

Increase Sumner, 1782 to 1707 ; Francis Dana, 1785 to 1806 (chief 
justice 1701); Theophilus Parsons, 1806 to 1813 (chief justice 1806); 
Robert Treat Paiue, 1700 to 18U4; Nathan Gushing, 1700 to 1800; 



INFIDDLESEX COUNTY. 



Thomas Dawes, 1792 to 1S02; Tlipopliilus lirwllmry, 1797 to 1803; 
Samuel Sewall, 1800 to 182.S {chief justice 18141 ; Sinieou Strong, 1801 to 
ISOS ; George Thacher, 1801 to 1824 ; Theodore Sedgwick, 1802 to 1813 ; 
Isaac Parker, 18<16 to 1830 fchief justice 1814) ; Charles Jackson, 1813 
to 1823; Baniel Dewey, 1814 to 1815; Samuel Putnam, 1814 to 1842; 
Samuel Sumner Wilde, 181.1 to 1850 ; Levi Lincoln, 1824 to 1825 ; Mar- 
ens Morton, 1S25 t+iI840; Lemuel Shaw, 1830 to 1800 (chief justice 
1830) : ('harles Augustus Dewey, 1837 to 18i;G; Sanniel Hubbanl, 1842 to 
1847; Charles Edward Forbes, 1848 to 1S48; Tlieron Metcalf, 1848 to 
1»65 ; Kichard Fletcher, 1848 to 18S3 ; George Tyler Bigelow, 1850 to 
1868 (chief justice ISfio) ; Caleb Gushing, 1852 lo 1853 ; Benj. Franklin 
Thomas. 1853 to 1859 ; Pliny Merrick. 1853 to IKM ; Elicnezer Rockwood 
Hoar, 1859 to 1869 ; Reuben Atwater Chapman, I860 to 1873 (chief 
justice 18(581 ; Horace Gray Jr., 1804 tu 18.S2 (chief justice 1S73) ; James 
Denison Coll, 18li."> to ISiiO ; Dwight Fester, 1800 lo 1809 ; John Wells, 
1866 to lS7o; James Denison Coll, ISCS to IKsl ; Selh Ames, 1,S69 to 18S1 ; 
M. Morton, 18C;l (chief justice 1882 to l.S'jll) ; W. C. Endicolt. 1873 to 
1882; Charles Devens, Jr., 1S73 to 1877 ; Otis Phillips Lord, 1875 to 1882 ; 
A. L. Soule, 1.S77 to 1881; W. A. Field, 1881 (chief justice 1890); 
Charles Devens, 1881 ; William Allen, 1881 ; Charles Allen, 18S2 ; Waldo 
Colburn, 1882 to 1885; Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., 1882; Wni. Sewall 
Gardner, 1885 to 1887 ; Marcus I'errin Knowlton, 1887 ; James M. 
Morton, 1890. 

Of these justices, Fruncis JJaiui, George Tyler 
Bigelow, Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar, Seth Ames and 
Charles Devens, Jr., were Jliddlesex men, and refer- 
ence to them will be made in the chapter ou the 
Bench and Bar. 

The judges of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas 
for the county of Middlesex were as follows : 

John Phillips, December 7. 1092, to December 9, 1715 ; James Kussell, 
December 7, 1C92, to April 28, 1709 ; Joseph Lyn.ie, December 7, 1692, 
toJune27, 1719; Samuel llayman, December 7, 1692, to June 29, 1702; 
Jonathan Tyng, June 29, 171-2, (o June 27, 1719 ; Francis Fo.\croft, June 
23, 1709, to June 27, 1719 ; .louatliau Keminglon, December 9, 1715, to 
June 22. 1733; Jonalhan Dowse, June 27, 1719, to July 21, 1741 ; Charles 
Chambers, June 27, 1719. lo December 21, 1739 ; Frauds Fulbam, June 
27, 1719, to June 20, 1755 ; Thomas Greaves, June 22, 1733, to March 9, 
1737-38 ; Francis Foxcioft, March 9, 1737-38, to March 7, 1764 ; Thomas 
Greaves, December 21, 1739, to August 19, 1747 ; Sanuiel Danforth, 
July 21, 1741 ; Chambers Kussell, August 19, 1747, to April 7, 1752; 
Andrew Boardman, April 7, 1752, to May 20 1769 ; William Lawrence, 
June 26, 17.'>5, to September 7, 1763 ; John Tyng, September 7, 1763 ; 
Klchard Foster, March 7, 1764. to May 10, 1771 ; Joseph Lee, May 24, 
1769; James Russell, May 16, 1771. 

The special justices of this court were : 

Elisha Hutchinson, appointed June 8, 1706, and February 25, 1708 ; 
John Foster, June 8, 1705, and February 25, 1708 ; John Higgin- 
eon, June 8, 1705, aud February 25, 170N ; Penn Towusend, Febru- 
ary 25, 1708 ; Jonathan Tyng, February 25. 170S ; Jonathan Dowse, 
December 3, 171S; Jonas Bond, December .;. 1718. and September 0, 
1723; Nathaniel Carey, November 25. 1719 ; Spencer Phips, September, 

6, 1723, July IS, 1726, and July 9, 1731; Thomas Greaves, November 26, 
1719, and .Inly 9, 1731 ; Henry Phillips, August 3, 1729 ; Francis Fox- 
croft, March 19, 1729-30, and July 9, 1731 ; Habijah Savage. December 
15, 1732 ; Sanmel Wells, December 15, 1732 ; Saumel Danforth, Decem- 
ber 15, 1732 ; Jacob Wendell, December 29, 1736; Benjamin Prescott, 
December 29, 1736; Simon Tufts, July 25, 1741; Ephraim Curtis, July 
2.5, 1741 ; William Lawrence, August 12, 1749, aud June 21, 1751 ; John 
Tyng, July 19, 1762 ; Oliver Fletcher, .luly 29, 1762 ; Joseph Lee, March 

7, 17&4 ; Samuel Liverruore, September 7, 1768 ; Charles Prescotl, Sep- 
tember 7, 1768. 

The last term of this court under the Province 
charter was held May 21, 177-J. On the 2d of No- 
vember, 1775, commissions were issued to John Tyng, 
Henry Gardner, John Remington and Samuel P. 
Savage, which superseded the old commissions held 
by John Tyng, Samuel Danforth, Joseph Lee and 
James Russell. The court continued in its old form 
until July 3, 1782, when the Court of Common Pleas 
B 



was established, to be held within each county at 
specified times and places, with four judges appointed 
by the Governor from within the county. The jus- 
tices of this court, which continued until June 21, 
1811, were the following: John Tyng, Henry Gard- 
ner, John Remington, Samuel Phillips Savage, Abra- 
ham Fuller, James Prescott, Nathaniel Gorham, 
James Winthrop, William Hull and Ephraim Wood. 
The .special justices were: Josiah Stone, Ebenezer 
Bridge, John Pitts, Eleazer Brooks, James Winthrop, 
William Hull, Ephraim Wood, Joseph jB. Varnum, 
Loammi B;ikhvin, Abiel Hayward, Phillips Pay.sou, 
Joseph Cordes, Joseph Heald and Asahel Stearns. 
At the la.'ft-mentioned date an act was pas.sed dividing 
the Commonwealth — except Nantucket aud Dukes 
County — into six circuits, as follows : the Middle Cir- 
cuit, consisting of the counties of Sutfolk, Essex and 
Middlesex ; the Western Circuit, consisting of the 
counties of Worcester, Hampsliire and Berkshire ; 
the Southern Circuit, consisting of the counties of 
Norfolk, Plymouth, Bristol and Barnstable; the 
Eastern (,'ircuit, consisting of the counties of York, 
Cumberland and (Oxford ; the Second ' Eastern Cir- 
cuit, consisting of the counties of Lincoln, Kennebec 
and Somerset, and the Third Eastern Circuit, con- 
sisting of the counties of Hancock and Washington. 
The act provided that there should be held in the 
several counties, at the times and places appointed for 
holding the Courts of Common Pleas, a Circuit Court 
of Common Pleas, consisting of one chief justice and 
two associate justices, to whom were to be added 
two sessions justices from said county, to sit with 
the court in their county. 

The Court of General Sessions of the Peace, which 
was established in 1092, remained without material 
change during the Provincial period, and up to June 10, 
1807, when an act was passed providing that it should 
consist of one chief justice and a specified number of 
associates for the several counties, to be appointed by 
the Governor. These justices were to act as the General 
Court of Sessions instead of the justices of the peace 
in each county. On the l!lth of June, 1809, the juris- 
diction of the General Court of Sessions was trans- 
ferred to the Court of Common Pleas, and, on the 
25th of June, 1811, a law was passed providing "that 
from and after the firat day of December next an 
act made and passed the IDth of June, entitled 'an 
Act to transfer the powers and duties of the Courts of 
Sessions to the Courts of Common Pleas,' be and the 
same is hereby repealed, and that all acts or parts of 
acts relative to the Courts of Sessions which were in 
force at the time the act was in force which is hereby 
repealed, be and the same are hereby revived from 
and after the said first day of September next." 

Again, on the 28th of February, 1814, it was enacted 
that the act of .Tune 25, 1811, reviving the Courts of 
Se.ssions, be repealed except so far as it relates to the 
counties of Suffolk, Nantucket and Dukes County, 
and that all petitions, recognizances, warrants, orders. 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



certificates, reports and procesaes made to, taken from, 
or continued or returnable to tlie Court of Sessions 
in the several counties, except as aforesaid, shall be 
returnable to and proceeded in and determined by 
the respective Circuit Courts of Common PJeas, which 
were established, as above mentioned, June 21, 1811. 
The act containing the above provision also provided 
"that from and after the first day of June next the 
Circuit Courts of Commoa Pleas shall have, exercise 
and perform all powers, authorities and duties which 
the respective Courts of Sessions have, before the pas- 
sage of this act, exercised and performed, except in 
the counties of Suffolk, Nantucket and Dukes County, 
and that the Cxoveruor, by and with the advice of the 
Council, be authorized to appoint two persons in each 
county, who shall be session justices of the Circuit 
Court of Common Pleas in their respective counties, 
and sit with the justices of said Circuit Court in the 
administration of the affairs of the county and of all 
matters within said county of which the Courts of 
Sessions had cognizance." 

The administration of county matters was in the 
hands of the Circuit Court of Common Pleas until 
February 20, 1819, when an act was p.issed repealing 
the act which transferreil the powers and duties of 
the Courts of Sessions to that court, and providing 
that "from and after the first day of June next the 
Court of Sessions in the several counties shall be held 
by one chief justice and two associates, to be ap- 
pointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent 
of the Council, who shall have all the powers, rights 
and privileges, and be subject to all the duties which 
are now vested in the Circuit Courts of Common 
Pleas relative to the erection and repair of jails and 
other county buildings, the allowance and settlement 
of county accounts, the estimate, apportionment and 
issuing warrants for assessing county taxes, granting 
licenses, laying out, altering and discontinuing high- 
ways, and appointing committees and ordering juries 
for that purpose." 

The Court of Sessions continued as above described 
until March 4, 1826, when the jurisdiction over high- 
ways was vested by law in a board of " Commissioners 
of Highways." The act providing for this board 
enacted " that for each county in the Commonwealth, 
except the counties of Suftblk and Nantucket, there 
J shall be appointed and commissioned by His Excel- 
lency the Governor, by and with the advice and con- 
sent of the Council, to hold their offices for five years, 
unless removed by the Governor and Council, five 
commissioners of highways, except in the counties of 
Dukes and Barnstable, in which there shall be ap- 
pointed only three, who shall l)e inhabitants of such 
county, 'one of whom shall be designated as chairman 
by his commission." The proceedings of the com- 
mission were to be reported to the Court of Sessions 
for record, and that court was to draw its warrant on 
the county treasurer for expenses incurred in the con- 
struction of roads laid out by the commissioners. 



Such was the condition of county affairs until the 
26th of February, 1828, when a law was passed pro- 
viding "that the Act entitled "An .\ct to establish 
Courts of Sessions, passed February 20, 1819;' also an 
Act in addition thereto passed F'ebruary 21, 1820; 
also an Act entitled ' An Act increasing the numbers 
and extending the powers of Justices of the Courts of 
Sessions,' passed February 6, 1822 ; also an Act enti- 
tled 'An Act in addition to an Act directing the 
method of laying out highways,' passed March 4, 
1826, be and the same are hereby repealed." It pro- 
vided for the appointment by the (Tovernor of four 
persons to be county commissioners for each of the 
counties of Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk and Worcester, 
and three persons to be county commissioners for each 
of the other counties of the Commonwealth, except 
the county of Suffolk ; that the clerks of the Courts of 
Common Pleas within the several counties should be 
the clerks of the commissioners, and that for each of 
the counties except Suffolk, Middlesex, Essex, Wor- 
cester, Norfolk and Nantucket, two persons should 
be appointed to act as special commissioners. 

The first meeting of the Board of County Commis- 
sioners appointed under the above act was held May 
13, 1828, and the board consisted of Caleb Butler, 
.\ugustus Tower, Benjamin F. Varnum and David 
Townsgnd. In 18H1 Abner Wheeler was appointed 
in the place of Mr. Varnum, and no other change oc- 
curred on the board while the appointment of its 
members rested with the Governor and Council. 

On the 8th of April, 1835, a law was passed pro- 
viding that in every county except Suffolk and Nan- 
tucket the Judge of Probate, Register of Probate and 
clerk of the Common Pleas Court should be a board 
of examiners, and that on the first Monday of May In 
the year 1835, and on the first Monday of April in ev- 
ery third year thereafter, the people should cast their 
votes for three county commissioners and two special 
commissioners. This law remained in force until 
1854. Under its operation the board consisted of the 
following members, chosen in the years set against 
their respective names: 1835, Caleb Butler, David 
Townsend, Abner Wheeler ; 1838, Caleb Butler, Ab- 
ner Wheeler, Timothy Fletcher; 1841, Leonard M. 
Parker, Timothy Fletcher, Seth Davis; 1844, Josiah 
Adams, Timothy Fletcher, Josiah B. French ; and 
Ebenezer Barker was chosen in 1845 to fill a vacancy ; 
1847, Josiah Adams, Ebenezer Barker, Joshua Swan ; 
1850, Daniel S. Richardson, Ebenezer Barker, Leonard 
Huntress; 1853, Leonard Huntress, Daniel S. Rich- 
ardson, John K. Going. 

On the nth of March, 1854, the law in force at the 
present time was passed, providing that the county 
commissioners then in oflice in the several counties, 
except Suffolk and Nantucket, should be divided into 
three classes — the first class holding office until the 
next annual election for Governor — the second class 
until election day in 1855, and the third class until 
election day in 1856, the commissioners then in oflSce 



I 



MIDDLESEX COUNTY. 



determining by lot to which class each should belong, 
and that at each annual election thereafter one com- 
missioner be chosen for three years. The commis- 
sioners since that time have been the following: 
Leonard Huntress, John K. doing, Paul H. Sweetser, 
Edward J. Collins, J. H. Waitt, Harrison Harwood, 
Daniel C4. Walton, J. Henry Reed, William t<. Frost, 
Alphouzo M. Lunt and Samuel O. Upham. 

The commissioners of Middlesex County include 
within their jurisdiction Chelsea, North Chelsea and 
\t'inthrop, which belong to Suffolk County. Clielsea 
and North Chelsea were placed under their jurisdic- 
tion by an act passed May 3, 1850, and when Win- 
throp was set otf from North Chelsea, March 27, 1852, 
it continued within its old jurisdiction. It was pro- 
vided by law, April -SO, 1852, that for expenses appli- 
cable to those towns they should pay in sucii i)roi>or- 
tions as the commissioners should decide. 

The Circuit Court of Common Pleas, which was es- 
tablished June 21, 1811, was abolished on the 14th of 
February, 1821. The justices of this court, during its 
continuance, for the middle circuit, consisting of Suf- 
folk, Middlesex and Essex Counties, were hiamuel 
Dana, chief justice ; William Wetmore and Stephen 
Minot, associate justices. The first session of this 
court was held at Cambridge December Iti, 1811, and 
its last at Concord, June 11, 1821. The Court of 
Common Pleas was established at the above date with 
a chief justice and three associate justices, and the 
first session in Mid<llesex County was held at Cam- 
bridge September 10, 1821. On the 1st of March, 
18-13, the number of associates was increased to four, 
on the 18th of March, 1845, to six, and on the 24th of 
May, 1851, to seven. This court continued until the 
establishment of the present Superior Court, by a law 
passed April 5, 1859. During its continuance the 
following judges sat upon the bench : 

Artenias Ward, 1821 10 1839 (chief jvistice 1821) ; Sulomou Strong, 
1821 to 1842 ; John Mason Williamfl, 1821 to 1844 (chief justice 1839) ; 
Samuel Howe, 1S21 to 1828; David Cummins, 1828 to 1844; Charles 
Henry Warren, 1839 to 1844 ; Charles Allen, 1.842 to 1844 ; Pliny Mer- 
rick, 1843 to 1848 ; Daniel WellB, 1844 to 1S64 (chief justice 1844) ; 
■luBhua Holyolie Ward, 1844 to 18JS ; Emory Wasliburu, 1844 to 1847 ; 
Luther Stearns Cushing, 1844 to 184s ; Harri».in Gray Otis Culhy, 184S 
to 1847 ; Charles Edward Forhes, 1847 to 1848 ; Edwanl Mellen, 1847 to 
1850 (chief justice 18.'.4) ; Geolge Tyler Bigelow, 1848 to 18511 ; Jonathan 
Coggswell Perkins, 1848 to 1859; Horatio liyington, 1848 to 1860! 
Thomas Ilopkinsou, 1848 to 1849; Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar, 1849 to 
1S53 ; Pliny Merrick, KM to 1854 ; Heury Walker Bishop, 1851 to 18.59 ; 
George Nixon Briggs, 1853 lo 1859 ; George Partridge Sanger, 1854 to 
1859 ; Henry Morris, 1855 to 1869 ; David Aikin, 1850 to 1869. 

Of these, Edward Mellen, George T. Bigelow, 
Thomas Hopkinson and Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar 
were Middlesex men. 

On the 5th of April, 1859, the Superior Court was 
established as the successor of the Court of Common 
Pleas, with ten justices, which number was increased, 
May 19, 1875, to eleven, and February 27, 1888, to 
fourteen. The justices of this court have been as fol- 
lows : 

Charles Allen, 1850 to 1807 (chief justice 1859) ; Julius Rockwell, 



1859 to 1886 ; Otis Phillips Lord, 1859 lo 1875 ; Maicns Jlorton, Jr., IS59 
to 1869 ; Seth Ames, 1859 to I860 (chief justice 1867) ; Ezra WilkinsoTi, 
18.59 to 1882 ; Henry Vose, 1859 to 1809 ; Thomas Kussell, 1859 to 1807 ; 
John Phelps Putnam, 1859 to 1882; Lincoln Flagg Brigham, 18.59 
(chief justice 1869 to 1890) ; Chester I. Keed, 1867 to 1871 ; Charles 
Devens, Jr., 1867 to 1873 ; Henry Austin Scuddor, l,*n9 to 1872 ; Francis 
Hensliaw Dewey, 1809 to 1881 ; Robert Carter Pitman, 1869; .John 
William Bacon, 1871 to 1885; William Allen, 1872 to 1881 ; IVleg Emory 
Aldrich, 1873 ; Waldo Colburn, 1875 to 1882 ; Wm. Sowall Gardner, 1875 
to 1885; Hamilton Barclay Staples, 1881; Marcus Perrin Knowlton, 
1881 to 1887; C. Blodgett, 18S2 ; A.Mason, 1882 (chief justice 1899) ; J. 
Madison Barker, 1882 ; Charles P. Thompson, 1885 ; John Wilkes Ham- 
mond, 1886 ; Justin Dewey, 1880 ; Edgar .1. Sherman, 1887 ; John 
I,atlirop, 1888 ; James R. Dunbar, 1888 ; Robert R. Bishop, 18S8. 

Of these, Seth Ames, Charles Devens, Jr., ,lohn 
William Bacon, John W. Hammond, Wm. Sewall 
Gardner and Robert R. Bishop were Middlesex men. 

During the Colonial period under the charter. Pro- 
bate matters as has been stated, were in the hands of 
the County Court. During the presidency of Dudley 
he assumed Probate jurisdiction but delegated it in 
some of the counties to judges of Probate whom he 
appointed. During the administration of Andros the 
settlement of estates exceeding fifty pounds he per- 
sonally directed, delegating others to judges of his ap- 
pointment. After the deposition of Andros the 
colonial method was resumed, and continued until the 
union of the (!olonies, in 1(J92. Though the Provincial 
charter conferred the jurisdiction of Probate affairs on 
the Governor and Council, they claimed and exer- 
cised the right to delegate their powers to judges and 
registers of Probate in the several counties. There 
was no regular Probate Court established by law until 
March 12, 1784, when it was provided that a judge 
and register should be appointed by the Governor 
and Council. Under an amendment of the Constitu- 
tion ratified by the people on the 23d of May, 1855, 
it was provided that at the annual election in 1856, and 
in every fifth year thereafter, the register should be 
chosen by the people for a term of five years. The 
judge remained as the appointee of the Governor. In 
1856 a Court of Insolvency in each county was estab- 
lished by law, with a judge and register, and in 1858 
the judge and register of this court were abolished, as 
well as the judge and register of Probate, and the 
offices of judge and register of Probate and Insol- 
vency were created. In the same year, 1868, it was 
provided that the register of Probate and Insolvency 
should be chosen at the annual election in that year 
and every fifth year afterwards for a term of five years. 

The following persons have filled the offices of 
judge and register of Probate, judge and register of 
Insolvency, and judge and register of Probate and 
Insolvency since the union of the Colonies, in 1692: 

Judges of ProiiiKe.— Jaraes Kussell, appointed .tune 18, 1092 ; John 
Leverett, appointed Oct. 23, 1702 ; Francis Foxcroft, appointed July 8, 
17IIS ; Jonathan Remington, appointed Sept. 30, 1725 ; .Samyel Danforth, 
appointed Dec. 20, 1745 ; John Winthrop, appointed Sept. 0, 1775 ; Oliver 
Prescott, appointed about July, 1779 ; James Prescott, appointed Fob. 1, 
1805 ; Samuel Phillips, Prescott Fay, appointed May 9, 1821 ; William 
Adams Richardson, appointed April 7, 1856, and held until July 1, 1858 ; 
Luther J. Fletcher, appointed judge of Insolvency 1857 ; William 
Adams Richardson, appointed judge of Probate and Insolvency May 



XX 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESKX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



13, 1858, to take office July 1, 1858 ; George M. Brooke, appointed judge 
of Probate and Inaolvency, 1872. 

HegUters of PiobnU', — Samuel Pllipps, apjtoi nted June 18, 1 1')02 ; Thomas 
Swau, appointed Oct. 23, 1702 ; Nicliolae Feseendeu, appointed Sept. l.'i, 
1705 ; Daniel Foxcroft, appointed Dec. 28, 1709 ; Tliomas Fo.xcroft, ap- 
pointed Dec. 0, 1715 ; Francis Ko.\crott, appointed July 3, 172'.' ; Sauiuel 
Danfortb, appointed Jiily 0, 1731 ; .\lidre\v Boardnian, appointed Dec. 
20,1745; .\udre\v Hoaninian, .Ir. (appointed special register on doatli 
of Ilia fatber), 17r.9 ; William Kneeland, aiipoinled May 2H, 17lj'.l ; James 
Winthrop, ai>pointed Sept 6, 1775 ; James Foster, appoiiiled fliay 26, 
1817 ; Isaac Fiske, appointed (let. 2!), 1817. 

Registers of Iiisolviiwy. — Alonzo V. Lynde, appointed July 1, 1851 ; 
.Vlfred A. Prescott, appointed March 10, 1853 ; Joseph 11. Tyler, ap- 
pointed register of Insolvency 18.^j(i; Joseph H. Tyler, appointeil regis 
ter of Probate and Insolvency Nov., 1S58 ; Isaac F. Jones, appointed 
assistant register of Probate and Insolvency January, 1859; Samuel H. 
Folsom, appointed assistant register of Probate and lusolveucy 1877. 

During the period of the Colony the offii'er corre- 
spondiug to the sheriff' of later times was cstlled mar- 
shal. The names of the marshals of the Colony have 
already been given. Since the charter creating the 
Province of Massachusetts Bay the sheriffs of the 
county have been the following : 

Sberi^s. — Timothy Phillips, appointed 1092; Samuel Gookin, ap- 
pointed 1702; Edmund' tjotfe, appointed 1715; Samuel Gookiu, ap- 
pointed 1728; Samuel Dunimer, appointed 1729; Richard Foster, Jr., 
appointed 1731 ; Richard foster, appointed 1761 ; David Phipps, ap- 
poiuted 1764; James Prescott, appointed 1779; liOammi Baldwin, ap- 
pointed 1781 ; Joseph Hosiner, appointeil 1791 ; William Hildrtth, ap- 
pointed 1808 ; Nathaniel Austin, Jr., appointed 1813 ; Benjamin F. Var 
num, appointed 1831 ; Samuel Chandler, appointed 1841 ; Fisher A. 
Hildreth, appointed 1851 ; John .S. Keyes, appointed 1853. 

Under the nineteenth article of amendments to 
the Constitution, ratified in 1855, a law was passed in 
1856 providing that at the annual election in that 
year, and in every third year thereafter, a sherifTshould 
be chosen in each county by the people. Under that 
law the following sheriffs have been chosen : 

John S. Keyes, 1856 ; Charles Kimball, 1859, '02, '65, '68, '71, '74, '77 ; 
Ebenezer W. Fiske, 1880 ; Henry G. Gushing, 1883, '86, '89. 

Up to the year 1654 the treasurer of the Colony 
acted as treasurer for the county. In that year, and 
by renewal in 1692, a law was passed providing that 
in each county a treasurer should be annually chosen 
by the people. A similar law remained in force until 
1855. The following treasurers have held office in 
Middlesex County : 

Thomas llanforth, until 1657 ; Edward Goffe, until 1658 ; John Sted- 
man, until 1683 ; Samuel Andrew, until 1700 (except during the admin- 
istration of Andres) ; Kbenezer Bridge, until 1807 ; John L. Tuttle, 
until 1813; .lohn Keyes, until 1837 ; Steduian Buttrick, until 1855. 

In 1855 it was enacted that a county treasurer 
should be chosen in that year in each county, and 
every third year thereafter, for the term of three 
years. Under the new law the following were 
chosen : 

Amos Stone, 1855, '68, '61, '64, '67, '70, '73, '76, '79, '82 ; .Joseph 0. 
Haydeu, 181^^, '88. 

During the Colonial period the clerks of the courts 
were appointed by the courts. During the Provincial 
period the clerks of the County Courts and those of 
the Superior Court of Judicature, and afterwards, 
until 1797, of the Supreme Judicial Court, were dis- 



tinct, and the latter two clerks had their offices in 
Boston. Until 1811 the appointment of clerks lay 
with the courts, when it was vested in the Governor 
and Council and so remained until 1814, when it was 
given to the Supreme Judicial Court. In 1856 it was 
provided by law that in that year and every fifth year 
thereafter, clerks should be chosen by the people in 
the several counties. The following is probably a 
correct list of clerks from the incorporation of the 
county, in 1643, to the present time : 

Thomas Danfortb, under tlie Colonial charter ; .Samuel Pliipps, 1689 ; 
Francis Foxcroft, 1721 ; John Foxcroft, 1766 ; Thadeus Mason, 1774 ; 
Thadeus Mason and Wni. Swan, 178.'i ; Abraham Big. low, 1790; Ellas 
Phiuney, 1831 ; Seth Ames, 185't, '56 ; Marshall Preston, assist, clerk, 
1852 ; Benjamin F. Ham, 1861, '66 ; Theodore C. llunl, l.'<71, '76, '81, '80 ; 
John L. .\mbrose, second assist, clerk, 1880. 

During the Colonial period, and until 1715, the 
clerks of the courts were registers of deeds, but in 
that year it was provided " that in each county some 
person having a freehold within .said county to the 
value of at least ten pounds, should be chosen by the 
people of the county. As officers of the court the 
clerks were under the Colonial charter called record- 
ers, and as recorders kept the registry of deeds. Up 
to the present time the registers of deeds have been 
as follows : 

Thomas Danfortb until 1689 ; Samuel Phipps until 1721 ; Francis Fox- 
croft until 1766 ; John Foxcroft until 1776 ; Kbenezer Bridge until 1781 ; 
Thadeus Mason until 1786; William Winthrop until 1796; Samuel 
Barllott until 1819 ; Isaac Fiske uutil 1820 ; Samuel Bartlett until 1822 ; 
William F. Stone until 1846 ; Caleb Hayden until 1S55. 

In 1855 it was provided by law that in that year, 
and every third year afterwards, a register of deeds 
should be chosen for three years in each county, and 
in the county of Middlesex two registers, one for 
Cambridge and one for Lowell. Under the law the 
registers have been : 

Caleb Hayden, for Cambridge, 1855, '58, '61, '64 ; Asahel B. Wright, 
for Lowell, 18.'i5, '68, '61, '64 ; Charles B. Stevens, for Cambridge, 1867, 
70, '73, '76, '79, '82, '85, '88 ; Ithamar W. Beard, for Lowell, 1867-70 ; 
Joseph P. Thompson, for Lowell, 1873, '76, '79, '82, 'S.i, '88. 

Under a law passed March .3, 1635-36, Cambridge 
was designated as one of the four towns in which courts 
were to be held. Ipswich, Salem and Bo.ston were the 
other three. When Middlesex County was incorpor- 
ated, in 1643, Cambridge continued the .shire-town of 
the county. On the 19th of October, 165'J, it was or- 
dered by the (ieneral Court that two sessions of the 
courts besides those held at Cambridge should be held 
at Charlestown. A court-house and jail were built, 
and the courts at some of their terms were held there 
until the Eevolution. Precisely when the first court- 
house was built in Cambridge is not known. It was 
burned in 1671, and there is no positive knowledge of 
any other court-house until 1708, when one was built 
in Harvard Square. Another was built in Harvard 
Square in 1757 or 1758. 

Under the administration of Andros, Captain Law- 
rence Hammond, of Charlestown, was apjtointed clerk 
of the courts and register of probate and of deeds. 



MIDDLESEX COUNTY. 



He removed all the records from Cambridge to 
Charlestown, and after the Revolution of 1GS8 refused 
to surrender them. On the 18th of February, 1()89- 
90, the General Court ordered " that Capt. Lawrence 
Hammond deliver to the order of the County Court 
for Middlesex the records of that county ; that is to 
aay, all books and files by him formerly received from 
Mr. Danforth, some time Recorder of that county, as 
also all other books of record and files belonging to 
said county in his custody.'' On the 4th of P'ebru- 
ary 1690-91, the order not having beeu obeyed, the 
marshal-general was directed to arrest Mr. Lawrence. 
The records remained in Charlestown until 1717. Ou 
the lltli of May, 1716, the town of Cambridge passed 
the following vote: " Whereas the Register's office in 
the county of Middlesex is not kept in our town of 
Cambridge, which is a grievance unto us, voted that 
our Representative be desired to represent said griev- 
ance to the Honorable General Court and secure, if 
possible, the passage of an Act of said Court that said 
office may forthwith be removed into our town ac- 
cording to law, it being the shire-town in said county." 
The town of Charlestown objected to the removal 
and contested it in the General Court. Finally, as 
Mr. Richard Frothingham states in his "History of 
Charlestown," the question came squarely up before 
the Council on the r2th of June, 1717, whether Cam- 
bridge or Charlestown should be considered the shire- 
town. "Mr. Auchmuty pleaded very well for Charles- 
town. His discourse was very well worth hearing. 
Mr. Remington alleged and proved for Cambridge 
very pertinently and fully." On the 13th the Council 
decided in favor of Cambridge. The next day there 
was a spirited contest in the House of Deputies ou 
the question of concurring with the Council. Sewall 
writes : " CouM not tell by lifting up the hands — were 
fain to divide the House. They for Cambridge went 
to the north side — they for Charlestown to the south. 
Cambridge had forty-six^Charlestown forty-one." 
The registries were consequently removed to Cam- 
bridge, and that town has continued to the present 
time a shire of the county. The courts continued to 
be held in what is commonly called Old Cambridge 
until 181G. Ou the .3d of March, 1810, the General 
Court incor|)orated Thomas Handasyde Perkins, 
James Perkins, William Payne, Ebenezer Francis 
and Andrew Cragie as the "Lechmore Point Corpora- 
tion." This was a land corporation, ambitious, active 
and thrifty, like all such before and since. One of the 
schemes devised to promote its interests was the re- 
moval of the county buildings to East Cambridge, 
where its property was situated. On the 1st of No- 
vember, 1813, the company offered to convey to the 
county a square bounded by Otis, Second, Thorndike 
and Third Streets, together with a lot seventy-five 
feet in width across the westerly side of the square 
bounded by Thorndike, Second, Spring and Third 
Streets, and build a court-house and jail at a cost not 
exceeding $24,000, on condition that they should be 



used by the county when finished. The Court of 
Sessions, at its December term, in that year, accepted 
the proposal, and at the March term of the court, in 
1816, a committee reported the buildings finished at 
a cost exceeding the proposed expenditure by the 
company by the sum of $4191.78, which sum was 
paid by the county. The old court-house in Harvard 
Square was used for town and other purposes until 
April 19, 1841, and was afterwards removed to Palmer 
Street. 

The court-house at East Cambridge was enlarged 
by the addition of two wings in 1846, and on the 27th 
of March, 1877, the county commissioners were 
authorized by the Legislature to borrow the sum of 
forty thousand dollars for a new building for the 
registry of deeds. The building, still proving too 
small, was moved back from its old site and enlarged 
by the addition of the structure now approaching 
completion. 

The courts were first held at Concord in 1692, 
under the law establishing courts under the Provin- 
cial charter. Until 1719 they were held in the old 
meeting-hou.se, but in that year a court-house was 
built which, according to the specifications, was to be 
thirty-four feet by twenty-six and not less than four- 
teen nor more than sixteen feet between joists. In 
1754 a jail was built and in 1794 a new court-house, 
which continued in use as long as Concord remained 
a shire. On the 9th of November, 177i"i, the Charles- 
town sessions of the courts were ordered to be held at 
Concord, and Charlestown ceased to be a shire. For 
many years after it was settled by the Provincial 
Court that Cambridge should be the chief shire and 
the depository of the county records considerable dis- 
satisfaction existed in that part of the county of 
which Concord had become a more convenient and 
accessible centre. 

This dissatisfaction finally displayed itself in an at- 
tempt to forma new county, of which Concord should 
be the shire-town. After the incorporation of Worces- 
ter county, in 1731, which seemed to furnish a favor- 
able opportunity for some decisive movements, a con- 
vention of delegates from various towns was held 
at Concord, whose deliberations culminated in an 
agreement, May 26, 1732, to petition the General 
('ourt to incorporate a new county, with Concord the 
shire, to include the towns of Concord, vSudbury, 
Framingham, Marlboro', Groton, Chelmsford, Hil- 
lerica. Stow, Littleton, Bedford, Dunstable, West- 
ford, Dracut and Northtown. The movementof course 
failed, and time finally dissipated the uneasiness of the 
towns in the central and upper parts of the county. 
Concord remained a shire until the 7th of May, 1S(!7, 
when a law was passed providing that the sfession of 
the courts which had before that time beeu held in 
that town, should be transferred to Cambridge, and 
authorizing the county commissioners to sell the 
court-house to the towu. The conveyance was made 
May 24, 1867. 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



A law was passed April 10, 1836, making Lowell a 
shire, to take effect ou the condition that the town 
should, before the Ist day of March, 1837, provide a 
suitable court-room and a jail, the expense of which 
jail should not exceed $10,000, and execute and deliver 
to the county a sufficient lease or other instrument to 
secure the use thereof for the purposes aforesaid per- 
manently to the county, A supplementary act was 
passed March 24, 1887, reviewing the above act but 
providing that it should be void unless the city of 
Lowell, on or before the 1st of the ensuing April, 
should pay to the commissioners the sum of $10,000, 
to be expended by them in the erection of a jail, and 
should also before said day finish the court-room then 
begun, and make the lease or conveyance required in 
the actof 1830. Until ISS.^i no registry of deeds was es- 
tablished at Lowell, On the 24th of March in that year 
a law was passed providing that Lowell, Dunstable, 
Tyngsboro, Dracut, Tewksbury, Billerica, Chelmsford, 
Carlisle, Wilmington and Westford should constitute 
the Northern Registry District of Middlesex County. 
It also provided that the Governor should appoint ou 
or before the 1st day of July, a register of that dis- 
trict, to hold office until the November election of 
that year. On the 23d of March, 1886, the county 
commissioners were authorized to have all records 
prior to said July 1st copied and deposited in the 
Northern Registry. 

The list of courts will of course be incomplete with- 
out a reference to the Police and District Courts in dit- 
ferent parts of the county. Of Police Courts there are 
four — 

Loivell: with Samuel P. Hadley, justice ; John J. Pickman anil John 
F. Frye, special justices ; James F. Savage, clerk. 

Marlborotigh : with Eilward F. Juhuson, justice ; James W. McDouald 
and Wm D. Burdett, special justices ; James F. J. Otteraon, clerk. 

Newton : with John C. Kennedy, justice ; Henry H. Mather and Ed- 
ward H. Maaon, special justices ; Edward W. Gate, clerk. 

Somerville : with Isaac Story justice ; Charles G. Pope and John 
Haskell Butler, special justices ; Herbert A. Chapin, clerk. 

Of District Courts there are seven — 

First Northern Middlesex, held at Ayer, with jurisdiction in Ayer, 
Groton, Pepperell, Townnend, Ashby, Shirley, Westford, Littleton and 
Boxborough. Levi Wjillace, justice ; John Spaulding and Warren H. 
Atwood, special justices ; George W. Sanderson, clerk. 

Fii-!fl Southt-ni MiddlestXy held at Framiughani, with jirt-isdiction in 
Ashland, Framint^ham, Hnlliston, Sherborn, Sudbury and Wayland. 
Willis A. Kingsbury, justice ; Lucius li. Waketield and Walter Adams, 
special justices ; Joseph H. La(.ld, clerk. 

First EasUrn Middlesex, held at ftlalden and Wakefield, with jurisdic- 
tion in North Reading, Reading, Stoneham, Wakefield, Melrose, Mai- 
den, Everett and Medford. .John W. Pettiiigill, justice ; Thomas S. 
Harlow and Solon Bancroft, special justices ; William N. Tyler, clerk. 

Second EasUrn Middlecvx , held at Walthani, with jurisdiction in 
Waltham, Watertown and Weston. Enos T. Luce, jiistice ; Henry S. 
Milton and Samuel P. Abbott, special justices ; Albert O. Delano, clerk. 

Third Eastern Middtejufx, held at (,'anibridge, with jurisdiction in Cam- 
bridge, Arlington and Belmont. Chester F, Sanger, justice ; Samuel 
W. McDaniel and Jabe/, Fox, special justices ; Emerson W. Law, clerk. 

Fourth EauUrn Middlesi-x, held at Wobvirn, witli jurisdiction in Wil- 
mington, Woburn, Winchester and Hurlingluu. Parker L. Converse, 
justice: George S. Littltflield and Charles I). Adams, special justices ; 
Edward E. Bond, cliMk. 

Cenlrul Middlesex, held at Concord, with jurisdiction in Acton, Bed- 
ford, Carlisle, Concord, Lincoln, Maynard, Stow and Lexington. John 



S. Keyes, justice; Charles Thompson and Robert P. Clapp, special 
justices; no clerk. 

The officers of the county in 1889 were as follows : 

Judge of Probate and Insolvency ■ George M. Brooks, of Concord. 
Register of Probate and Insolvency : Joseph H. Tyler, of Winchester. 
Assistant Register of Probate and Insolvency: Samuel H. Folsom, of 
Winchester. Sheriff: Henry G. Gushing, of Lowell. Clerk of ('onrts : 
Theodore C. Hurd, of Cambridge. Assistant Clerks of Courts : John L. 
Ambrose, of Somerville ; Wm. C. Dillingham, of Maiden. Treasurer: 
Joseph O. Hayden, of Maiden. Registers of Deeds : Northern District, 
Joseph L. Thompson, of Lowell ; Southern District, Charles B. Stevens, 
of Cambridge. County Commissioners ; Wm. S. Frost, of Marlborough ; 
J. Henry Read, of Westford ; Samuel O. Upham, of Waltham. Special 
Commissioners: Edward E. ThonH>sou, of Woburn ; Lyman Dike, of 
Stoneham. Commissioners of Insolvency: Frederick T. Greenhalge, of 
Lowell; John C. Kennedy, of Newton ; George J. Burns, of Ayer. 
Masters in Chancery: Walter Adams, of Framingham ; Samuel L. 
Powers, of Newton ; Joseph H. Tyler, of \\'inche8ter; Charles II. Conant, 
of Lowell ; Gilbert A. A. Pevey, of Cambridge ; Robert P. Clapp, of 
Lexington ; Wra. H. Bent, of Lowell. Trial Justices: JamesT. Joslin, 
of Hudson ; William Nutt, of Natick ; George L. Hemmenway, of 
Hopkinton. 

The sessions of the Supreme Judicial, Superior and 
Probate Courts, as now provided, by law are : 

Supreme Judicial Court: Law Term for Barnstable, Middlesex, Nor- 
folk and Suffolk, at Boston on the first Wednesday of January in each 
year. Jury Terms at Lowell on the third Tuesday of April, and at 
Cambridge on the third Tuesday of October. 

Superior Court : Civil Business, at Lowell on the second Monday of 
March and the first Monday of September ; and at Cambridge on the 
first Monday of June and the second Monday of December. Criminal 
Business, at Cambridge on the second Monday of February and the first 
Monday of June ; and at Lowell on the third Monday of October. 

probate Cuurt : at Cambridge on the first, second and fourth Teusdays ; 
and at Lowell on the third Tuesday of every month except August. 

The records of admissions to the bar of Middlesex 
County is very incomplete. A perfect record can 
only be obtained by searching the records of the dif- 
ferent courts. Such a search is now being made 
under the direction of the county clerk, but the fol- 
lowing partial list of admissions is given as the best 
that can at present be obtained : 



Juliau Abbot, Dec, 18:i9. 
Caleb F. Abbott, Sept., 1835. 
James C. Abbott, June, 1849- 
John \V. P. Abbott, June, 1830. 
Henry Adams, June, ISOfi. 
Josiah Adams, Juno, 1807. 
Shubael P. Adams, Dec, 1848. 
John F. K. Adams, Sept., 1851. 
John R. Adams, Sept., 1821. 
Joel .\dam3, Sept, 18-28. 
John E. Avery, June, 1872. 
Henry Adams, Sept., 182G. 
Joseph Adams, Sept., 1826. 
Wm. George Alden, March, 1872. 
Hiram A. Alger, June, 1850. 
Alpheus Rrown Alger, June, 1877. 
Edwin A. Alger, Sept., 1845. 
John W. Allard, Dec, 1883. 
John H. Appleton, July, 1878. 
John H. Atwood, Oct., 1884. 
Amos Allen, Oct., 1817. 
Seth Ames, Oct., 1830. 
Elgin A. Angoll, Sept., 1775. 
Isaac Angell, June, 1872. 
Wm. T. Andrews, Oct., 1822. 
Benjamin H. Andrews (no date). 
Christopher C. Andrews, Oct., 1850. 
Arthur W. Austin, Sept., 1828. 
Nathaniel Austin, Jr., June, 1833. 



Clark A. Batchelder, April, 1873. 
Elbridge Gerry Austin, Oct., 1834. 
Henry D. Austin, Sept., 1842. 
William Austin, Nov., 1843. 
Lunian W. Ahirich, July, 1878. 
George Bancroft, April, 1842. 
John W. Bacon, June, 184G. 
Loammi Baldwin, Sept., 1843. 
Stephen Bean, March, 1844. 
James O. Boswell, June, I860. 
Ithauiar W. Beard, Sept., 1844. 
Ninian C. Bettou, Nov., 1819. 
Charles C. Barton, April, 1873. 
Charles Bemis, Oct., 1832. 
Alpheus W. Buell, March, 1876. 
Isaac Bemis, Jr., Oct., 1821. 
Leonard Blake, May, 1875. 
Wm. P. Barry, July, 1885. 
Alpheus Bigelow, Oct., 1821. 
George T. Bigelow, Dec, 1833. 
Wm. P. Bigelow, Oct., 1820. 
Joseph O. Burdett, April, 1873. 
Tyler Bigelow, June, 1824. 
Edward C. Billings, Oct., 1855. 
Charles It. Blaisdell, Oct., 1859. 
Harrison G. Blaisdell, March, 1846. 
Frank T. Benner, June, 1877. 
Benjamin F. Blood, March, 1843. 
Francis E. Bond, Dec, 1831. 



MIDDLESEX COUNTY. 



Charles T. Bond, July, 1880. 
Arthur P. Bonney, Sept., 184S. 
James Bowdoin, Nov., 1819. 
Francis Brinley, Jr., Marcli, 182.'j. 
William Brigham, Oct., 1834. 
Elias BuUard, Oct., 1828. 
Edward Blake, Oct., 1831. 
James 0. Boswell, June, 1860. 
Benjamin F. Butler, Sept. 1840. 
Caleb Butler, Oct., ISIO. 
Ephruim Buttrick, March, 1825. 
George A. Butterfield, .Sept., 1843. 
Anson Burlingame, Sept., 184G. 
Willard Brown, March, 1880. 
AVilliani Locke Brown, June, 1850. 
Alpheus R. Brown, Sept., 1839. 
Wm. L. Brown, June, 1850. 
Samuel R, Brown, Oct., 1841. 
Charles Burrell, Sept., 1858. 
Nathan Brooks, Oct., 1877. 
Geo. Merrick Brooks, Sept., 1847. 
Harry A. Brown, Feb., 1S81. 
Charles H, Bordis, June, 18r,2. 
George J. Burns, July, 1878. 
George A. Bruce, April, 186G. 
Charles M. Bennett, .\pril, 1869. 
Benjamin E. Bond, Oct., 1870. 
Charles F. Blandin, Oct., 1870. 
George H. Ball, June, 1871. 
John Cahill, Dec, 1874. 
George H. Clement, Jan., 1888. 
James H. Carmichael, July, 1880. 
Z. B. Caverly, Dec, 1846. 
Andrew J. Carr, April, 1852. 
Jonathan Chapman. Jr., Oct., 1830. 
Wm. L. Chaplin, June, 1829. 
Henry M. Chamberlain, Dec, 1832. 
John M. Cheney, Sept., 1828. 
Albe C. Clark, Oct., 1832. 
Hobart Clark, Dec, 1808. 
Ira Cleveland, Oct., 1832. 
Edwin Coburn, March, 1844. 
Lemuel D. Cole, Feb., 1886. 
Felix Conlan, July, 1880. 
Joshua P. Converse, June, 1847. 
Charles Cowley, .\pril, 1856. 
Charles C. Colton, Sept., 1840. 
Horatio G. F. Corliss, Sept., 1834. 
Timothy A. Crowley, Oct., 1800. 
Timothy D. Crocker, Dec, 1847. 
Francis B. Crowninahield, Octbr., 

1833. 
Francis P. C'urran, July, 1885. 
Peter J. Carey, June, 1883. 
Isaac Jones Cutler, Oct., 1855. 
Luther Stearns Cushing, March, 

1827. 
Alfred D. Chandler, Dec, 1869. 
James P. Campbell, March, 1876. 
E<lward W. Cate, July, 1878. 
John S. Cram, June, 1875. 
John Conlan, July, 1878. 
Wm. F. Courtney, July, 187s. 
Timothy A. Crowley, Oct., 1860. 
Charles H. Conant, March, 1873. 
James C. Catter, Jan., 1874. 
Samuel Dexter, Oct., 1821. 
E. H. Derby, Oct., 1831. 
John Devereux, Oct, 1823. 
Chas. Do Blanc, Jr., Dec, 1848. 
James Dana, Dec, 1833. 
Benjamin Dean, Oct., 1845. 
Wm. N. Davenport, June, 1883. 
Robins Dinsmore, Sept., 1845. 
James Dinsmore, April, 1846. 
Epes S. Dixwell, Oct., 1835. 



Heni-y R Dennis, June, 1856. 
William Draper, Sept., 1856. 
Alexander Dustin, Dec, 1854. 
Thomas Dwight, Dec, 1832. 
Richard J. Dwyer, Jan., 1888. 
Joshua E. Dodge, Oct., 1877. 
Warren P. Dudley, Oct., 1877. 
Isaac S. Daley, July, 1878. 
William H. Drury, June, 1872. 
Samuel C. Eastman, April, 1859. 
Thos. J. Enwright, Oct., 1884. 
Luke Eastman, Oct., 1829. 
Samuel C. Eastman, .\pril, 1859. 
Pierce Evans, Feb. , 1874. 
Abraham Edwards, Sept., 1822. 
Wm. H. Eliot, Oct., 1820. 
James L. English, Oct., 1833. 
Charles O. Emerson, Sept., 1821. 
Charles C. Emerson, Oct., 1834. 
Benjamin F. Emerson, Dec, 1834. 
Constantine C. Esty, Oct., 1847. 
Wm. JI. Evarts, Sept., 1841. 
George F. Farley, June, 1820. 
Richard Farwell, March, 1821. 
Ira B. Forbes, June, 1876. 
Samuel Farnsworth, Oct., 1817. 
Peter A. Fay, Dec, 1886. 
S. P. P. Fay, May, 1802. 
John C. Farwell, March, 1848. 
Michael F. Farwell, June, 1871. 
Richard S. Fay, June, 1828. 
John Brooks Felton, Oct., 1853. 
Luther Fitch, Sept., 1810. 
John M. Fiske, Oct., 1822. 
-Augustus H. Fiske, June, 1828. 
Isaac Fiske, May, 1802. 
Joel W. Fletcher, Dec, 1840. 
Charles B. Fletcher, April, 1850. 
Luther J. Fletcher, April, 1854. 
Frederick A. Fisher, July, 1886. 
Eugene Fuller, June, 1839. 
Elisha Fuller, Oct., 1820. 
John H. French, Feb., 1881. 
Charles R. Felch, Dec, 1869. 
Daniel French, Dec, 1858. 
Franklin Fiske (no date). 
James W. Graham, Oct., 1873. 
Frederick W. Griffin, Sept., 1776. 
Dana B. Gove, March, 1870. 
John P. Gale, Feb., 1881. 
Joseph H. Guillet, Feb, 1888. 
Wm. B. Gale, June, 1800. 
Wm. H.Gardiner, Oct., 1821. 
Wm. S. Gardner, Oct., 1852. 
Samuel J. Gardner, Sept., 1810. 
Wm. P. Gibbs, June, 1848. 
Asahel W. Goodell, Dec, 1847. 
Charles W. Goodnow, June, 1850. 
Robert Gordon, June, 1856. 
William Gordon, Nov., 1819. 
A. J. Gray, June, 1840. 
Edward Gray, Oct., 1831. 
William Gray. Oct., 1834. 
Oliver H. P. Green, April, 1848. 
Andrew J. Gunnison, Sept., 1844. 
John Q. A. Griffin, Oct., 1849. 
Charles F. Gove, Sept., 1820. 
Elisha Glidden, Oct., 1821. 
Isaac N. Goodhue, Sept., 1851. 
Ephraim D. Howe, June, 1870. 
Simon W. Hathaway, Oct., 1866. 
Patrick J. Hoar, Feb., 1886. 
Sherman Hoar, Nov., 1885. 
Samuel F. Haven, (no date). 
Francis D. Holt, April, 1869. 
Abraham Harrington, Nov., 181y. 



George F. Harrington, Dec, 1847. 
Joseph Harrington, Sept., 1846. 
Peter Haggerty, April, 1854. 
William Hall, June, 1837. 
Walter Hastings, March, 1833. 
William A. Hayes, Sept, 1839. 
Benjamin F. Ham, March, 1852. 
Charles L. Hancock, Oct., 1834. 
Edward Francis Heard, Oct., 1843. 
George Heywood, June, 1852. 
Rufus Ilosmer, Jr., Oct., 1837. 
Thomas Hoald, Sept., 180O. 
Jantes D. Home, June, 1836. 
George T. Higley, Dec, 1872. 
Samuel K. Hamilton, Dec, 1872. 
Cornelius Hedge, Oct., 1856. 
Abraham Hilliard.'March, 1857. 
John J. Harvey, Oct., 1884. 
John Holmes, June, 1840. 
Thomas Hopkinson, June, 1833. 
Moses G. Howe, April, 1850. 
Charles F. Howe, April, 1859. 
Nathaniel C. Holmes, Dec, 1883. 
Henry Holmes, Dec, 1859. 
Joseph G. Holt, June, 1860. 
Homer C. Holt, June, 1873. 
Frederick Howes, Sept , 1810. 
Elisha Hinds, Sept., 1810. 
Charies H. Hudson, Sept., 1848. 
John L. Hunt, Jan., 1881. 
Wm. A. Hutchinson, Dec, 1850. 
D. Fletcher Huutoon, April, 1850. 
John F. Haskel, April, 1876. 
Wm. A. Hutchinson, Dec, 1850. 
Theodore C. Hurd, Sept., 1860. 
Wm. Hunter, Feb., 1874. 
Henry A. Harmon, June, 1871. 
John Hillis, Sept., 1871. 
Charles P. Hadley, March, 1870. 
Henry F. Huribart, Oct., 1877. 
Joseph \. Harris, July, 1878. 
Francis D. Holt, April, 1859. 
Samuel T. Hawes, June, 1872. 
Martin L. Hamblet, Dec, 1872. 
Jesse C. Ivy, Oct., 1877. 
Benj. F. Jactson, March, 1851. 
Charles Allen Jacobs, June, 1850. 
Russell Jarvis, Oct., 1822. 
Andrew F. Jewett, March, 1857. 
Lewis E. Josselyu, Sept., 1853. 
Henry B. Judkins, Dec, 1849. 
Samuel Jones, Dec, 1845. 
John N. Jordan, June, 1830. 
John F. Jandron, Sept., 1887. 
Edwin H.Jose, Oct., 1873. 
John Jameson, Jan., 1874. 
Byron B. Johnson, June, 1873. 
Justin Allen Jacobs, June, 1850. 
John .\.Kasson, Sej)t., 1844. 
Osmer S. Keith, Dec, 1832. 
Theodore Keating, Oct., 1827. 
Auron Keyes, Oct., 1824. 
Wm. Kelnian, March, 1874. 
John .\. Knowles, March, 1832. 
Edmund Kimball, Nov., 1819. 
J. Chellis Kimball, March, 1857. 
John Shephard Keyes, Mch., 1844. 
Wm. E. Knight, Nov., 1885. 
Willis A. Kingsbury, Feb., 1861. 
Louis H. Kileski, Oct., 1877. 
Frederick Lawton, March, 1880. 
Luther Lawrence, June, 1884. 
Rufus Lapham, Sept., 1844. 
Jonathan Ladd, Oct., 1846. 
Samuel J. Ladd, Sept., 1853. 
Putnam W. Lock, Dec, 1871. 



John S. Ladd, Dec, 1838. 
Asa F. Lawrence, Dec, 1828. 
Rufus B. Lawrence, Dec, 1837. 
George P. Lawrence, Feb., 1859. 
Edward S. Leavitt, April, 1845. 
Nahum Leonard, Jr., Sept., 1853. 
Charles Lewis, Oct., 1818. 
Wm. H. Livingwood, Oct., 1859. 
Ed. St. Loe Livermore, Mch., 1832. 
James Lewis, Jr., Sep., 1810. 
John Locke, Dec , 1853. 
Joseph Locke, Sept., 1800. 
Francis C. Loring, Oct., 1833. 
Charles B. Lowell, Oct., 1831. 
Alonzo V. Lynde, June, 1847. 
AmasaH. Lyon, Oct., 1837. 
Wyllis Lyman, Sept., 1820. 
Samuel F. Lyman, Oct., 1823. 
George S. Littlefield, Sept., 1872. 
A. J. Lothrop, July, 1880. 
Wm. H. Lambert, March, 1885. 
Seldou H. Luring, July, 1885. 
Wm. H. Loughlin, Sept., 1870. 
Gage F. Lawinu, June, 1877. 
Charles S. Lilley, June, 1877. 
Thomas F. Larkiu, June, 1877. 
.\Ifred G. Lamson, June, 1872. 
Benjamin E. ^lason, March, 1880. 
James S. Murphy, Feb., 1885. 
George M. Mason, Sept., 1822. 
Samuel H. Mann, Oct., 1828. 
Joseph W. Mansur, June, 1834. 
James Warren Marcy, Dec, 1842. 
Lorenzo Marrett, Oct., 1843. 
Joshua N. Marshal, Dec, 1856. 
Leonard Mellin, Sept., 1800. 
Samuel N. Merrill, Sept., 1854. 
Horatio C. Itlerriam, Oct., 1834. 
Edward Mellen, Dec, 1828. 
Stephen Merrit, June, 1824. 
I. S. Morse, Sept., 1840. 
Leonard Morse, May, 180O. 
Peter H. Moore, Sept., 1848. 
.\rAd Moore, Sept., 1831. 
Mark Moore, October, 1820. 
Charles H. Morley, Sept., 186(1. 
John G. McKean, June, 1834. 
JIatthew J. McCafrerty,Mar.,1857. 
John F. McEvoy, Sept., 1857. 
John McNeil, June, 1849. 
John W. BIcEvoy, Jan., 1888. 
Owen McNeniara, June, 1869. 
OliffC. Moulton, June, 1870. 
John G. Maguire, June, 1877. 

Richard J. McKelleget, June,1877. 

Wm. P. Mitchell, March, 1872. 

Wm. H. Martin, April, 1873. 

Peter J. McGuire, July, 1878. 

Frederick P. JIarble, June, 1883. 

John T. Masterson, June, 1883. 

Wm. H. Niles, April, 1871. 

Albert F. Nelson, Sept., 1836. 

Daniel Needham, .ipril, 1850. 

Michael Norton, June, 1865. 

George B. Neal, Oct., 1849. 

Arthur F. L. Norris, June, 1859. 

John C. Nourse, Sept., 1843. 

Robert Ralston Newell, Dec, 1809. 

Edward B. O'Connor, Sept., 1872. 

Charles A. O'Conuer, Sept., 1869. 

Wm. H. Orcutt, Jan., 1874. 

Wm. N. Osgood, March, 1880. 

Waldemer Otis, June, 1871. 

Thomas O'Keefe, July, 1880. 

John L. o'Neil, Dec, 1883. 

Samuel D. Partridge, Sept., 1830. 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Samuel Parker, Oct., 1829. 

Thoinaa A. Parsons, .lune, 1840. 

John H. W. Page, .Iiiue, 1832. 

Frederick Parker, Sept , 1841. 

Otis Parkliiirst, April, 18.38. 

Samuel Parsons, Sept., 1851. 

Nathan Parks, March, IHbX 

Jolm S. Patton, July, 18S0. 

Wm. E. Payne, (let., 18;!I. 

George W. Pelt, Feb., 1846. 

Florentine W. Pelton, March, 1855. 

David Perham, March, 185(1. 

Horatio N. Perkins, Sept., 18S2. 

Benjamin F. Perkins, .\pril, IS.^i.'). 

Asa Peabody, Sept , IS.^li. 

John W. Pettingill, Pec, 1858. 

George W. Phillips, Oct., ls:i4. 

Wendell Phillips, Sept., 18:i4. 

Albion .\. Perry, .\pril, l.sStJ. 

Thomas W. Phillips, Nov., 18UI. 

Benjamin J. Prescott, Sept., 1828. 

Alfred N. Prescott, Doc, 1844. 

Jonathan Porter, Nov., 18111. 

Henry C. Pratt, Feb., 1860. 

Bushrod W. Poor, Dec, 1846. 

JIarsball Preston, Nov., 1819. 

Willard Phillips. Oct., 1818. 

George W. Poore, July, 1885. 

Henry A. Pmder, Oct., 1884. 
Jacob C. Patten, Oct., 1887. 
John S. Patten, July, 1880. 
John H. Punch, Feb., 1881. 
Irving S. Porter, April, 1870. 
John J. Pickniaii, .Sept., 1871. 
Sidney A. Phillips, .Ian., 1874. 
Charles H. Phelps, Feb., 1874, 
K. Henry Pedrick, Dec, 1874. 
Nathan D. Pratt, Sept , 1776. 
Edward B. Quinn. Feb., 1881. 
Francis \V. Qua, July, 1878. 
Carlyle W. Qnirnby, Oct., 1853. 
Wm. A. RoBB, Oct., 1863. 
Edward S. P>and, Oct.. 1833. 
Isaac G. Kecd, Dec, 1836. 
Robert Rantoul, Jr., Oct., 1831. 
John H. Richardson, Sept , 1828. 
Wyman Richardson, Dec, 1828. 
Wm. N. Richardson, Dec, 1824. 
Daniel Richardson, Dec, 1827. 
Charles G. Ripley, .Sept., 1844. 
Ebenezer Rockwood, .lune, 1845. 
John W. Reed,. Sept., 186.-.. 
Richard Robins, Oct., 1831. 
John P. Robinson, Oct., 1829. 
Charles Robinson, June, 1852. 
Abner Rogers, March, 1856. 
John G. Rogers, Nov., 1819. 
Bradford Russell, Sept., 1821. 
Charles Russell, .Sept., 1858. 
James Russell, Oct., 1S18. 
Josiah Rutter, June, 1843. 
Henry W. Robinson, July, 1885. 
Samuel B. Rogfi>*, June, 1836. 
Daniel M. Richardson, June, 1836. 
Daniel E. Richardson, July, 1871. 
John S. Searle, Oct., 1873. 
George F. Stone, Feb., 1874. 
Henry J. Sargent, Oct., 1833. 
Daniel Saunders, Dec, 1844. 
George L. Sawyer, Dec. , 1858, 
Thomas O. Selfridge, Nov., 180(1. 
Nath. .Shattuck, Jr , JuiU', ISM. 
Horatio Shipley, Oct., 1833. 
Wm. E. Sprague, Juno, 1805. 
Isaac Simon, Dec, 1801. 
Harrison G. Sleeper, Oct., 1862. 



Ira Spaulding, April, 1846. 
Wm. Sawyer, Sept., 1831. 
Phillip H. Sears, Oct., 1849. 
Norman Seaver, Oct., 1827. 
Gustavus A. Somerby, Oct., 1847. 
Ed. D. Sohier, Oct., 1834. 
Daniel Stone, Jr., Dec, 1829. 
John C. Shea, July, 1880. 
Ed. F. Sherman, Feb., 1847. 
John Sheple, Sept., 1810. 
Wm. Standish, March, 1857. 
(jeorge Stevens, Sept., 1854. 
George H. Stevens, March, 1880. 
Asahel Stearns, Sept., 18110. 
Benjamin H. Steele, Oct., 1857. 
Martin L. Stone, Blarch, 1825. 
Henry W. Smitli, March, 1843. 
Wm. H. L. Smith, April, 1848. 
Wm. F. Smith, Sept., 1842. 
John Stuart, Dec, 1847. 
Charles A. F. Swan, Oct., 18.50. 
Theodore H. Sweetser, Sept., 1843. 
Erdix Tenney Swift, Dec, 1859. 
Solon W. Stevens, Jan., 1888. 
George Sanderson, Dec , 1869. 
George R. Stone, June, 1871. 
Albert H. Skilton, Jan , 1.S7C. 
Charles F. Stone, Dec, 1876. 
Charles W. Savage, July, 1878. 
Andrew J. Stackpole, June, 1*60. 
Charles A. F. Swan, Oct., 1858. 
John L. Spring, Dec, 1860. 
Wm. N. Titus, Jan., 1886. 
.John P. Tarbell, June, 1831. 
Ebenezer Thacher, Sept., 1831. 
Bazaleel Taft, Jr., June, 1837. 
James Temple, Oct., 1831. 
John L. Tuttle, April, 1833. 
Joseph H. Tyler, April, 1863. 
George C. Travis, Dec, 1871. 
Louis K. Travis, Dec, 1875. 
Wm. H. H. Tuttle, Oct., 1877. 
James M. Trontt, March, 1874. 
Stephen H. Tyng, Nov., 1875. 
Jonaa P. Varnum, June, 1865. 
Atkinson C. Varnum,*Sept., 1858. 
John Varnum, Sept., 1851. 
.Samuel B. Walcutt, Oct., 1826. 
Owen Warland, June, 1827. 
S. H. Walley, Jr., Oct., 1.831. 
John S. Wallis, Dec, 1838. 
George P. Waldron, Oct., 1840. 
Wm. A. Warner, Oct., 1820. 
Eliliu B. Washbnrne, Dec, 1839. 
Wm. R. P. Washburn, Oct., 1821. 
Francis O. Watts, Oct., 1827. 
Ezra Weston, Oct., 1834. 
Paul Willard, Oct., 1823. 
Calvin Willard, Dec, 1829. 
Lemuel S. Williams, March, 1830. 
John M. Wilson, March, 1833. 
David S. Wilson, April, 1849. 
Isjlac G. Wilson, June, 1841. 
John W'inneck, Dec, 1848. 
Robert C. Winthrop, Oct., 1833. 
John T. Winthrop, Oct., 1820. 
Samuel H. Wilcox, Oct., 1859. 
Charles C. Woodman, Dec, 1851. 
Wm. E. Wording, April, 1847. 
John Wright, March, 1824. 
Wm. P. Wright, Sept., 1856. 
Thomas Wright, Sept., 1845. 
Nathaniel Wright, Jr., Sept., 1841. 
Lorenzo Westover, June, 1843. 
Isaac W. Webster, April, 1849. 
Wm. P. Webster, Sept., 1845. 



Thomas Wetmore, Nov., 1819. 
Alfred A. White, March, 1859. 
William White, Sep., 1810. 
Benjamin W. Whitney, Oct., 1843. 
I.ieorgo M. Ward, Dec, 1885. 
Charles F. Worcester, Dec, 1838. 
Prentiss Webster, Feb., 1881. 
John Warren, Feb., 1881. 
Edgar Wairen Washburn, Oct., 
1870. 



Franklin Worcester, June, 1871. 
Charles R. Wallingford, April, 

1871. 
Henry S. Webster, Oct., 1877. 
Salmon Whitney, March, 1860. 
Daniel Williams, March, 1860. 
George F. Woodward, Mch., 1873. 
Raymon E. Wilson, Feb., 1874. 
John H. Whalen, Feb., 1674. 
Herbert R. White, Dec, 1883. 



The above list is not only incomplete so far as ad- 
mi.-isions to the bar are concerned, but it is by no mean.s 
confint'tl to lawyers living or intending to settle with- 
in the county. It is presented in this cliapter, rather 
than in that on the Bench and Bar, for the reason that 
it includes many who never intended to practice with- 
in the county, but who were admitted at its different 
courts on account of their proximity to the Dane Law 
School at Cambridge, or the private offices in which 
they had pursued their studies. 

There is little that can be. added to this sketch of 
Middlesex County, which has already extended be- 
yond the limits assigned to it in these volumes. The 
special industries, many of them of large proportions, 
which abound in the county, the various charitable 
and reformatory institutions established within its 
boundaries, the highways and bridges laid out and 
built under county supervision, will all be referred to 
in the histories of the towns, to which this sketch may 
be considered a preface. The following chapter though 
entitled a sketch of the Bench and Bar, is separated 
from this by onlj' an arbitrary line, and may properly 
be considered the second chapter of the History of the 
County. 



CHAPTER II. 
BENCH AND BAR. 

BY WILLIAM T. DAVIS. 

In the earlier days of Middlesex County the bar was 
divided into two classes, barristers and attorneys, 
and this division continued until 183G, though after 
1806, under a rule of court, counselors were substi- 
tuted for barristers. In the earliest days the lawyers 
were chielly uneducated men, and of the judges few 
were educated to the law. Edward Randolph wrote 
home to England in January 1687-88, "I have wrote 
you of the want we have of two or three honest attor- 
neys (if any such thing in nature); we have but 
two ; one is West's creature, come with him from New 
York and drives all before him. He also takes ex- 
travagant fees, and for want of more the country can- 
not avoid coming to him, so that we had better be 
quite without them than not to have more." These 
two attorneys were very likely George Farwell and 
James Graham, the former of whom was clerk of the 
Superior Court, and until June 20, 1688, attorney -gen- 



BENCH AND BAR. 



XXV 



eral, when he was succeeded by the latter. Little is 
known of the barristers before 17G8. In that year 
there were twenty-five barristers la Massachusetts. 
Of these, eleven were in Suffolk — Richard Dana, Benj- 
amin Kent, James Otis, Jr., Samuel Fitch, William 
Read, Samuel Swift, Benjamin Gridley, Samuel 
Quincy, Robert Auchmuty, Jonathan Adams and An- 
drewCazeneau. Five were in Essex — Daniel Farnham, 
William Pynchon, John Chipman, Nathaniel Peaselee 
Sergent and John Lowell. Two were in Worcester — 
James Putnam and Abel Willard. One was in Mid- 
dieses — Jonathan Sewall. Two were in Plymouth — 
James Hovey and Pelliam Winslow. Three were in 
Boston — Samuel White, Robert Treat Paine and Dan- 
iel Leonard, and Hampshire had one, John Worthing- 
ton. According to Washburn's " History of the Judi- 
ciary of Massachusetts," from whom the writer quotes, 
sixteen other barristers were made before the Revolu- 
tion — John Adams and Sampson Salter Blowers, of 
Boston; Moses Bliss and Jonathan Bliss, of Spring- 
field ; Joseph Hawley, of Northampton ; Zephaniah 
Leonard, of Taunton ; Mark Hopkins, of Great Bar- 
rington ; Simeon Strong, of Amher.st ; Daniel Oliver, of 
Hardwick ; Francis Dana, ofCambridge ; Daniel Bliss, 
of Concord ; Joshua Upham, of Brookfleld ; Shearjas- 
hub Bourne, of Barnstable ; Samuel Porter, of Salem ; 
Jeremiah D. Rogers, of Littleton, and Oakes Angler, of 
Bridgewater. 

It is by no means generally known what constituted 
a barrister in New England. The term is derived 
from the Latin word barra, signifying bar, and was 
applied to those only who were permitted to plead at 
the bar of the courts. It was necessary in England 
that a barrister before admission should have resided 
three years in one of the Inns of Court, if a graduate 
of either Cambridge or Oxford, and five years if not. 
These Inns of Court were the Inner Temple, the 
Middle Temple, Lincoln's Inn and Gray's Inn. Up 
to the time of the Revolution the English custom was 
so far followed as to make a practice of three years in 
the Inferior Courts a qualification for admission as bar- 
rister. John Adams says in his diary that he became 
a barrister in 17ijl, and was directed to provide him- 
self with a gown and liands and a tie-wig, having 
practiced according to the rules three years in the In- 
ferior Courts. 

After the Revolution the appointment of barristers 
continued, and the following entry has been found by 
the writer in the records of the Superior Court of 
Judicature : 

" Suffolk SS. Superior (Jourt of Jutlicuture at Boston, third Tuesday 
of February, 1781, present Win. Cusliing, Natiiauiel P. Sargeant, David 
Sewall and James Sullivao, Justices ; and n(.w attbis term the follow 
ing rule is made by the Court an-l ordered to be entered, viz. : wheieas, 
learning and literary accomplishnientH are necessary as well to promote 
the happiness as to preserve the freedom of the people, and the learning 
of the law, when duly encouraged and rightly dil'ected, being ay well 
peculiarly subservient to the great and good purpose aforesaid jta pro- 
motive of public and private justice ; and the Court being, at all times, 
ready to bestow peculiar marks of approbatiou upon the gentlemen of 
the bar who, by a close application to the study of the science they pi'o- 



feas, by a mode of conduct which gives a conviction of the rectitude of 
their minds and a fairness of practire that does honor to the profession 
of the law, shall distinguish as men of science, honor and integrity. 
Do order that no gentleman shall be called to the degree of barrister 
until he shall merit the same by his conspicuous bearing, ability and 
honesty ; anil that the Court will, of their own nu^re motion, call to 
the bar such penious as shall render themselves worthy as aforesaid ; 
and that the manner of calling to the bar shall be as follows ; The gen- 
tleman who shall be a candidate shall stand within the bar ; the chief 
justice, or in his absence the senior justice, shall, in the name of the 
Court, repeat to him the qualifications necessary for a barrister-at-law ; 
shall let him know that it is a conviction in the mind of the Court of his 
being possessed of those qualifications that induces them to confer the 
honor upon liini ; and shall solemnly charge him so to conduct himself 
iis to bo of singular service to his country by exerting his abilities for 
the defence of her Consliturional freedom ; and so to demean himself as 
to do honor to the court and bar." 

The act establishing the Supreme Judicial Court, 
.luly 3, 1782, provided that the court should and might 
from time to time make, record and establish all such 
rules and regulations with respect to thetidmission of 
attorneys ordinarily practicing in the said court, and 
the creating of barris lers-at-law. The following rule 
was adopted and entered on the records of that court : 

"Suffolk SS. At the Supreme Judicial C'ourt at Boston, the last Tues- 
day of .\ngust, 1783, present William Ciishing, (yhief Justice ; and Na- 
thaniel P. Sargeant, David Sewall and Increase Sumner, Justices, 
ordered that barristers be called to the bar by special writ, to be ordered 
by the Court, and to be in the following form ; 

"'Commonwealth or Massachusetts. 
'" To A. U , Esq., of , Greeting : We, well knowing your abil- 
ity, learning and integrity, commaud you that you appear before our 

fustices of our Supremo Judicial Court next to be holden at , in 

and for our county of , on the Tuesday of , then and 

there in our said t^airt to tjike upon you the state and degree of a 

Itarrister-at-I.aw. Hereof fail not. Witness , Ksq., our Chief 

Justice at Boston, the day of , in tlie year of our Lord 

, and in the year of our lndepen<lence , By order of 

the Court, , Clerk.' 

which writ shall he fairly engrossed on parchment ami delivered twenty 
days before the session of the same Court by the Sheriff of the same 
county to the person to whom directed, and being produced in Court by 
the Barrister and there read by the Clerk and proper certificate thereon 
made, shall be redt^Iivered and kept as a voucher of his being legally 
called to the bar : and the Barristers shall take rank according to the 
date of their respective writs." 

It is probable that no barristers were called after 
1784, and in ISOC, by the following rule of court, coun- 
sellors seem to have been substituted in their place : 

" Snftolk SS. .\t the Supreme Judicial Court at Boston for the coun- 
ties of Suffolk and Nantucket, Hie secoiul Tuesday of JIarcll, 1806, 
present Francis Dana, Chief Justice, Theodore Sedgwick, George 
Thatcher and Isa;ic Parker, Justices, ordered : First. No Attorney shall 
do the business of a Counsellor unless he shall have been made (U- ad- 
mitted as such by the Court. Second. All Attorneys of this Court, who 
have been admitted three years before the setting of this t'otirt, shall be 
H.nd hereby are entitled to all the rights and privileges of such. Third. 
No Attorney or t.'ounselhir shall hereafter be admitted without a pre- 
vious exaudnafion, etc." 

In 1830 (t^hapter 88, Section 23 of the Revised 
Statutes) it was provided by law that " every person 
admittetl to jjractice in any court may practice in ev- 
ery other court in the state, and thert: shall be no dis- 
tinction of counsellor and attorney." The rule of 
court above mentioned, adopted by the Superior 
Court of Judicature in 1781, was probably made 
necessary by the new order of things brought about 



XXVI 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



by the Revolution, and was probably only a new de- 
claration concerning barristers of a rule which had ex- 
isted in the Provincial courts. It has been thought 
by some that until 1781 the English rule prevailed re- 
quiring a probation in one of the Inns of Court, but 
it is absolutely certain that many of the barristers of 
1767, a list of whom has been given, had never been 
in England. 

Among those on the bench in the Massachusetts 
Colonial and Provincial periods, as has already been 
said, few of the judges were trained to the law. Up 
to the Revolution only four judges educated as 
lawyers had been appointed to the bench of the 
Superior Court of Judicature — Benjamin Lynde, 
Paul Dudley, Edmund Trowbridge and William Cush 
ing. Of these, Edmund Trowbridge alone was a Middle- 
sex County man. Mr. Trowbridge was born in Newton 
in 1709, and graduated at Cambridge in 1728. In 
1749 he was appointed by Governor Shirley Attorney- 
General, and in 17G7 a justice of the Superior Court, 
resigning his office in 1772. He presided at the trial 
of English soldiers charged with murder at the Boston 
massacre and won great credit for his ability and im- 
partiality. Though a Loyalist, he held the contidence 
and respect of all parties until his death, which oc- 
curred at Cambridge, April 2, 1783. It seems 
surprising at this day, when the highest and pro- 
foundest legal attainments are sought for the bench, 
to find how little legal knowledge the judges of the 
highest courts in the early days must have 
possessed, and how strikingly unfitted by tem- 
perament and education many of them must 
have been for the occupation in which they were 
engaged. William Stoughton was the chief justice 
of the Court of Oyer and Terminer, created as a 
special tribunal " assigned to enquire of, liear and 
determine for the time all and all manner of 
felonies, witchcraft, crimes and ofiences how or by 
whomsoever done, committed or perpetuated within 
the several counties of Suffolk, Essex, Middlesex or, 
either of them." Its special mission was to try the 
cases of witchcraft then pending in Essex. Mr. 
Stoughton was born in Dorchester in 1G31 and gr.T,d- 
uated at Harvard in ItJOO. He was educated for the 
ministry, became a fellow at Oxford and preached in 
England and in New England after his return. In 
1668 he preached the annual election sermon, and, 
though never settled, continued in the ministry until 
1671. Nathaniel Saltonstall, one of the associate 
justices of the court, was a military man, but declined 
to act, and was succeeded by Jonathan Curwin, a 
merchant, and the other justices were Samuel Sewall, 
a clergyman ; John Richards, a merchant; Waitstill 
Winthrop, a physician ; Peter Sergeant, probably a 
merchant, and Bartholomew Gedney, a physician. 
The strong men on the bench were undoubtedly 
Stoughton and Sewall, and on them, more than the 
others, the responsibility must rest for the barbarous 
results of the trials in which they were engaged. 



Of the Court of Assistants, which existed during 
the Colony of Massachusetts, there were some who, as 
Middlesex men, should be mentioned in this narra- 
tive. 

Thomas Dudley, an assistant in 1635, '36, '41, '42, 
'43, '44, was one of the founders of Cambridge in 1631. 
He remained there, however, only a few years, and 
after a short residence in Ipswich became a resident 
of Roxbury in 1636, before the county of Middlesex 
was incorporated. He was Deputy-Governor from 

1629 to 1634, from 1637 to 1640, from 1646 to 1650, 
and from 1651 to 1653. He was also Governor in 
1634, 1640, 1645 and 16.50 ; commissioner of the four 
colonies of Plymouth, Massachusetts, New Haven and 
Connecticut in 1643, 1647 and 1649. While in Cam- 
bridge Mr. Paige, in his history of that town, states 
that he lived on the northwesterly corner of Dunster 
and South Streets. He died in Roxbury, July 31, 
1653. 

Simon Bradsteeet, assistant from 1630 to 1678, 
was also one of the original founders of Cambridge, 
but became a resident of Andover in 1644. He mar- 
ried, in England, Ann, daughter of Thomas Dudley, 
and while in Cambridge, as Mr. Paige also states, 
lived on the easterly corner of Brighton Street and 
Harvard Square. He died in Salem, March 27, 
1697. 

John Haynes, an assistant in 1634 and 1636, came 
to New England in 1633, and lived a short time in 
Cambridge on the westerly side of Winthrop Square, 
removing thence to Connecticut in 1637, of which State 
he was the first Governor. He was also Governor of 
Massachusetts Colony in 1635. He died iu 16.54. 

Roger Harlakenden, an assistant from 1636 to 
1638, came to Cambridge in 1635 and lived on the 
Dudley estate, where he died of small-pox, November 
17, 1638. 

Increase Nowell, who for many years was an 
assistant, came to New England with Winthrop in 

1630 and was secretary of the Colony from 1636 to 
1049. He was a founder of the church in Charlestown 
in 1632, and died in Charleston, November 1, 1655. 

Heriikrt Pelham, an assistant from 1645 to 1649, 
though he remained in the country only a few years, 
was during his stay a Middlesex man. His grand- 
father, Edward Pelham, of Hastings, in Sussex Eng- 
land, was a member of Parliament, who was admitted 
at Gray's Inn in 1563, called to the bar in 1579, 
knighted and made Lord Chief Baron of the Ex- 
chequer of Ireland, and died in 1606. His son, 
Herbert Pelham, of Michelhan Priory, was admitted 
to Gray's Inn iu 1588, and his son, the emigrant to 
New England, bore his father's arms in the Hastings 
muster-roll in 1619. The last Herbert, the subject of 
this short sketch, born in 1601, graduated at Oxford 
in 1619 and came to Massachusetts iu 1638 and settled 
in Sudbury. He was the first treasurer of Harvard 
College, and returned to England in 1649, where he 
died in 1673- His will, proved in London, March 13, 



BENCH AND BAR. 



xxvii 



1677, calls him of Bewers Hamlet, Essex, and speaks 
of Thomas Bellingham as the husband of his sister. 
By a first wife he had a son, Edward, and a daughter, 
Penelope, who married, in 1651, Governor Josiah 
Winslow, of the Plymouth Colony. The son, Edwaid, 
married a daughter of Governor Benedict Arnold, of 
Khode Island, and died in Newport in 1720, leaving 
three children — Elizabeth, Edward and Thomsia. Mr. 
Pelham, the assistant, married for a second wife 
Elizabeth, widow of Roger Harlakenden, who was also 
an a-ssistant from 1634 to 1638, inclusive. The Pelham 
house in Hastings, built in 1611, was standing in 
1862, the oldest house in the town. 

Fraxcis WiLi.ouoHBY, another assistant, was the 
son of Colonel William Willoughby, and was born in 
Portsmouth, England. He was admitted a freeman at 
Charlestown August 22, 1638, and was in publicservice 
almost continuously until his death, which occurred 
April 4, 1671. He was selectman of his adopted 
town seven years, was the representative two years, 
was assistant four years and Deputy-Governor from 
1665 until his death. He was a successful merchant, 
leaving at his death an estate valued at about £4000, 
of which he gave 300 acres of land to the schools of 
Charlestown. 

Daniel Gookin, another Middlesex assistant, was 
in various ways a prominent man. He was born in 
Kent, England, about 1612, and died in Cambridge 
March 19, 1687. He emigrated to Virginia from Eng- 
land in 1621 with his father, and came to New Eng- 
land in 1644. He was a captain in the militia, a 
deputy to the General Court from Cambridge and 
assistant from 1652 until 1686 inclusive. He was at 
different times superintendent of the Indians, licen- 
ser of the press and marshal-general of the Colony. 
He was the author of " Historical Collections of the 
Indians of Massachusetts," which were published by 
the Massachusetts Historical Society in 1792. He 
married, in 1639, in England, Mary Dolling, of St. 
Dunstan in the We.st, London. 

Simon Willard, who was an assistant from 1654 
to 1675, was born in Kent, England, about 1605 and 
died while holding court at Charlestown .\pril 24, | 
1676. He came to New England in 1634 and lived | 
many years in Concord, Lancaster and Groton, finally 
removing to Salem, of which place he was a resident 
at the time of his death. He was connected with the 
militia and wore the title of major. 

Richard Russei.l, an assistant from 1659 to 1676, 
came to New England from Hereford, in Hereford- 
shire, England, and was admitted a freeman at 
Charleitown in 1640. He was a selectman of that 
town twenty-six years, a deputy to the General 
Court ten years, an assistant sixteen years, Speaker of 
the House of Deputies five years and twenty years 
the colonial treasurer. He was a merchant by pro- 
fession and accumulated a fortune that was large for 
the times. He died May 14, 1676, giving by his will 
£100 to his church, £.50 towards a parsonage house, 



£200 to the town for the benefit of the poor and 
£100 to Harvard College. By a wife, Maud, whom he 
probably married in New England, he had James, 
born in 1640 ; Daniel, who graduated at Harvard in 
1669 and died in Charlestown after his acceptance of 
an invitation to become its settled minister January 
4, 1678; Catharine, who married William Roswell, of 
Connecticut; Elizabeth, who married Nathaniel 
Graves and John Herbert. 

Thomas D.anforth, an assistant from 1659 to 
1678, was the son of Nicholas Danforth, of Cambridge, 
and was born in Suffolk, England, in 1622 and came 
to Massachusetts with his father in 1634. He was 
admitted a freeman in 1643 and in 1657 was a deputy 
to the General Court from Cambridge. In 1659 he 
was promoted from assistant to Deputy-Governor and 
remained in office until 1686. In 1679 he was ap- 
pointed by the General Court president of the Prov- 
ince of Maine, and a General Court for that Province 
was held at York in 1681. He continued in that 
oflSce until the arrival of Dudley, in 1686, and after the 
old charter was resumed, upon the retirement of 
Andros, he was again made Deputy-Governor and 
continued in office until the union of the Colonies, 
in 1692, and the establishment of the Province. 
Under the Provincial charter he was made one of the 
Judges of the Superior Court of Judicature, and con- 
tinued on the bench until his death, which occurred 
at Cambridge November 5, 1699. 

Peter Bulkley, an assistant from 1677 to 1684, 
was the son of Rev. Peter Bulkley, of Concord, and 
was born August 12, 1643. He graduated at Harvard 
in 1660,. and, though educated for the ministry, 
became an active man in the affairs of the Massachu- 
setts Colony. He was a deputy to the General Court 
from Concord from 1673 to 1676, and in the latter 
year was Speaker. He was one of the judges of the 
Superior Court under Dudley at Concord May 24, 
1688. He married, April 16, 1667, Rebecca, daughter 
of Lieutenant Joseph Wheeler, who, as his widow, 
married Jonathan Prescott. Peter Preseott a son of 
Jonathan, boin April 17, 1709, dealt largely in wild 
lauds in New Hampshire, and gave the name to Peter- 
boro,' in that State. He commanded a company at 
Crown Point in 1758, and before the Revolution re- 
moved to Nova Scotia, where he was appointed clerk 
of the courts, and died in 1784. 

Thomas Flint, an assistant from 1642 to 1651 and 
in 1653, came from Matlock, in Derbyshire, England, 
and settled in Concord in 1638. He was a man of 
wealth for New England, and is said to have brought 
with him £4000. He was a representative to the Gen- 
eral Court four years, as well as being an assistant. 
It was said of him that he was "a sincere servant of 
Christ who had a fair yearly revenue in England, but 
having improved it for Christ by casting it into 
the common treasury, he waits upon the Lord for 
doubling his talent, if it shall seem good unto him 
so to do, and the meantime spending his person for 



XXVUl 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



the good of his people in the responsible office of mag- 
istrate." 

James Russell, an assistant from 1680 to 1G86 
inclusive, was the son of Richard Russell, who has al- 
ready been mentioned in the list of assistants. He 
was born in Charlestown, October 4, 1040, and mar- 
ried a daughter of John Haynes, who was Uovernor 
of the Colony from May 5, 1035, to May 25, 1630, and 
was succeeded by Henry Vane. Mr. Russell was a 
deputy to the General Court, one of the Council of 
Safety at the deposition of Andros, and colonial treas- 
urer from May 19, 1080, to May 11, 1080. Under the 
Provincial charter he was named as one of the Council. 
He died April 28, 1709. 

On the 7th of October, 1691, the Massachusetts 
Colony ceased to exist, as on thi<t date a new charter 
passed the great seal embracing jMassachusetts, Plym- 
outh, Maine, Nova Scotia, Nantucket and Martha's 
Vineyard in a new government by the name of the 
" Province of Massachusetts Bay." Under this 
charter, which reached New England in 1692, the 
General Court was authorized to establish courts with 
power to try all kinds of civil and criminal causes. 
Before, however, the General Court had met under 
the new charter. Sir William Phipps, who had been 
appointed the first Governor of the Province, created 
the special Court of Oyer and Terminer, already re- 
ferred to, for the purpose of trying persons charged 
with witchcraft. The judges commissioned for this 
court June 2, 1692, were only a short time in service, 
and in August or September of the same year the 
court was dissolved. None of the judges were Mid- 
dlesex men, and consequently they have no place in 
this record. 

The courts, as has been already mentioned, jierma- 
neutly established under the charter were theSiiperior 
Court of Judicature, the Inferior Court of Common 
Pleas, a Court of Chancery, and the lower courts of 
Quarter Sessions of the Peace and of Justices of the 
Peace. The Superior Court of Judicature consisted at 
first of William Stoughton, chief justice; Thomas Dan- 
forth, Waitstill Winthrop, .Tolin Richards and Samuel 
Sewall, associates. Of these, Thom.'is Danforth, the 
oidy Middlesex man, has already been guHicientlv 
referred to as one of the Colonial Court of Assistants. 

John Leverett, a justice on the bench of the 
Superior Court from 1702 to 1708, who was for many 
years a resident of Middlesex County, was born in 
Boston, August 25, 1602. He was a grandson of John 
Leverett, who wiis from 1071 to 1073 Deputy-Governor 
of the Massachusetts Colony. He graduated at Har- 
vard in 1080 and became president of the college on 
his retirement from the bench, which office he held 
until his death, which occurred on the 3d of May, 
1724. He lived in Cambridge some years before his 
accession to the presidency of the college, and repre- 
sented that town in 1700 in the General Court, of 
which he was Speaker. For some years before his 
appointment to the college he held the offices of judge 



of the Superior Court, judge of Probate and coun- 
selor. 

Jonathan Remington, a judge of the Superior 
Court from 1733 to 1745, was born in Cambridge and 
graduated at Harvard in 1090. Before his accession 
to the Superior bench he had been a judge of the 
Common Pleas for Middlesex from 1715 to 1733 and 
judge of Probate for that county from 1725 to 1731. 
He died September 20, 1745. 

Thomas Gheaves, a judge of the Superior Court 
in 1738, was born in Charlestown in 1084 and gr.ad- 
uated at Harvard in 1703. He studied and practiced 
medicine in the place of his birth. Before his ap- 
pointment to the Superior Court he acted in 1731 as 
special judge of the Middlesex Court of Common 
Pleas, in 1735 as special judge of the same court in 
SuflTolk, and in 1737 as special judge of the Superior 
Court for P^ssex. In 1733 he was appointed a judge 
of the Common Pleas Court, on which bench he re- 
mained until his appointment to the Superior Court 
in 1738. In 1739, after leaving the Superior Court, 
having been supeiseded by Stephen Sewall on the 
16th of May in that year, he was reappointed to the 
Common Pleas and remained on its bench until his 
death, which occurred June 19, 1747. 

Chambers Russell, son of Daniel Russell, a judge 
on the bench of the Superior Court from 1752 to 1766, 
was born in Charlestown in 1713, and graduated at 
Harvard in 1731. He settled in Concord, in that part 
of the town which afterwards became a part of Lin- 
coln, and remained a resident of the new town after 
its incorporation in 1754. He was appointed a judge 
of the Court of Common Pleas in 1747 and continued 
on that bench until April 6, 1752, when he was com- 
missioned to the Superior Court. In 1747 he was also 
appointed judge of vice-.admiralty over New Hamp- 
shire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and held the 
office until his death, which occurred at Guilford, 
England, November 24, 1767. The family of which 
Mr. Russell was a member was a distinguished one 
during many generations. He was the great-grandson 
of Richard Russell, already referred to as one of the 
Court of Assistants from Middlesex County during the 
life of the Colony. James Russell, a brother of 
Chambers, who died in 1798, wrote as follows to his 
son, Thomas Russell, an eminent merchant of Boston : 
" Our family has great reason to bless God that the 
reputation of it has been preserved. You are the 
fifth generation. In the year 1640 Richard Russell 
entered into public life. From that time to the pres- 
ent I may say the family have had every office of 
profit and honor which the people could give them, 
in the town of Charlestown, in the county of Middle- 
sex, and the Slate of Massachusetts ; and I do not find 
that there was any one left out of office for misbe- 
havior.'' 

Edmund Trowbridge, who was ajudge of the Su- 
preme Court from 1767 to 1772, has already been re- 
ferred to. 



BENCH AND BAR. 



XXIX 



A list of the judges of the Court of Common Pleas 
during the life of the Province and during the Revo- 
lution has been already given in the preceiling chap- 
ter, but some special mention of each should be made 
in a sketch of the Bencli and Bar. 

John Phillips, commissioned a judge of the court 
December 7, 1692, and remaining on the bench until 
171.5, was born in Charlestown in 1631, and died 
March 20, 1725. He was also judge of the Admiralty 
Court, treasurer of the Province, and from 168il to 
1715 colonel of a regiment. He was a* member of 
the House of Representatives troni 16S::! to 1686, and 
at the time of the Revolution was one of the Com- 
mittee of Safety. 

James Rdsseij., judge of the Common Pleas Court 
from December 5, 1692, to 1707, has already been 
sketched as one of the Colonial Court of A^si.^tants. 

Joseph Lyniie, a judge of the same court from 
Dec. 7, 1692, to 1719, was born, in Charlestown in 
June, 1636, and died January 29, 1727. It is doubt- 
ful whether he was ever, as stated by Washburn, one 
of the assistants under the Colonial charter. Under 
the charter of the Province he was named as one of 
the counselors, and previous to that had been one of 
the Committee of Safety in 1()89, after the deposition 
of Andros. 

Samuel Hayman, also one of the judges of the 
court at its organization, Dec. 7, 1692, continued on 
the bench until 1702. He was born in Charlestown, 
but probably removed to Watertowu after bis ap- 
pointment to the bench. He had been a representa- 
tive to the Colonial General Court and a member of 
the Provincial Council. It has been noticed by the 
writer that the surname Hayman has been corrupted 
into Heman, and in that form has been often used as 
a Christian name by persons connected with the Hay- 
man family. 

Jonathan Tyxg, a judge from July, 1702, to 1719, 
was the son of Edmund Tyng, and was born in 1642. 
He had been a member of the Councils of Dudley 
and Andros, and received his commission from Dud- 
ley when he came into power in 1702. He lived in 
Woburn, and clied January 19, 1724. It is stated by 
Washburn, erroneously, that Edmund fyng was the 
ancestor of the families of that name in New Eng- 
land. Rev. Dr. Stephen Higginson Tyng, of New- 
buryport and New York, Rev. Stephen Higginson 
Tyng, Jr., of New York, and Rev. Dr. Dudley Atkins 
Tyng were the sons and grandsons of Dudle.v Atkins 
Tyng, a distinguished lawyer of Newburyport, who 
was the son of Dudley Atkins, and a descendant of 
Governor Dudley. He changed his name on his in- 
heritance of the estates of James Tyng, of Tyngs- 
borough, and has been well known as the reporter of 
the Supreme Judicial Court and editor of seventeen 
volumes of the reports, covering a period from Sep- 
tember, 1804, to March, 1822. 

FRAJfCis FoxcROFT, judcre of the Court of Com- 
mon Pleas from 1707 to 1719, and judge of Probate 



from 1708 to 1725, was born in Cambridge in 1658. 
He was a commissioned judge under Andros, and 
opposed to the Revolution of 1688, maintained his 
opposition to the new order of things until he was 
finally rewarded by Dudley by a seat on the bench. 
He died in Cambridge Dec. 31, 1727. 

JoxATHAN Remikgtox, who was judge from 1715 
to 1733, has already been sufficiently referred to as a 
judge of the Superior Court. 

Jonathan Dowse, a judge of the court from 1713 
to 1741, was a Charlestown man, and a graduate at 
Harvard in 1715. For many years be was prominent 
in town aft'airs. He was one of a committee of 
eleven to build a new meeting-house in his native 
town in 1716, and in 1717, when a motion was made 
in town-meeting " to have the lecture at Charlestown 
begin an hour sooner than heretofore," he was ap- 
pointed, with Michael Gill, a committee "to treat 
with the ministers, and to signify to them the town's 
consent." Little is known of Judge Dowse, and tlie 
year of his death is unknown to the writer. 

Charles Chambep.s, who was judge from 1719 to 
1739, was the grandfather of Chambers Russell, 
already alluded to as a judge of the Superior Court. 
He was a resident of Charlestown, and held his seat 
on the bench until his resignation, in the year above 
mentioned. 

Francis Fullam, a judge from 1719 to 1755, was 
a re.sident of Weston, and besides presiding as chief 
justice on the liencli of this court, he was a colonel in 
the militia and a member of the Council. It is inter- 
esting to observe how many of the judges of the 
courts during the Provincial period were military 
men. It is not uncommon in our own day to find on 
the bench men who have, before receiving their com- 
mission, been in active military life, but none ever 
continue in the service after enteringon their judicial 
duties. Chief Justice Wigham, of our Superior 
Court, and Chief Justice Bigelow, of the Supreme 
JudiciahCourt, were at one time one a captain and 
the other a colonel in the Massachusetts Militia, and 
Judge Devens, of the Supreme Court, if not a mili- 
tia officer, was at least in the volunteer service dur- 
ing the War of the Rebellion. Judge Fullam died 
Jan. 18, 1758, at the age of eighty-seven. 

Samuel Danforth, son of Rev. John Danforth 
and great-grandson of Nicholas Danforth, the family 
ancestor, was born in Dorchester Nov. 12, 1696, and 
graduated at Harvard in 1715. He removed to Cam- 
bridge in 1724 as a schoolmaster, and lived on the 
easterly side of Dunster Street, between Harvard and 
Mt. Auburn Streets, as Mr. Paige states. He was 
selectman in Cambridge from 1633 to 1639, represent- 
ative from 1634 to 1638, a Councilman from 1639 to 
1674, register of Probate from 1731 to 1745, judge of 
Probate from 1745 to 1775, and judge of the Court of 
Common Pleas from 1741 to 1775. He died in Boston 
Oct. 27, 1777. 

Thomas Greaves, judge of the Common Pleas 



XXX 



HISTOKY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, JIASSACHUSETTS 



Court from 1733 to 1747, with the exception of one 
year when he sat on the bench of the Superior Court, 
has already been referred to in connection with that 
court. 

Francis FoxcROFT, the second son of Judge Fox- 
croft, above mentioned, and judge of the Common 
Pleas Court from 1737 to 1764, was born in Cambridge, 
January 2(5, 1694-95. He graduated at Harvard in 
1712, and was judge of Probate for Middlesex as well 
as Common Pleas judge He died March 28, 1768. 

Next in order to be mentioned are the judges of the 
Supreme Judicial Court who were residents of Mid- 
dlesex County, or who by birth may properly be con- 
sidered Middlesex County men. 

Feancis Dana was appointed judge of this court 
in 1785, and in 1791 was made chief justice, and held 
that position until his resignation in 180(i. He was 
the son of Richard Dana, of Charlestown, and was 
born in that town June 13, 1743, and graduated at 
Harvard in 1762, in the class with Elbridge Gerry, 
Andrew Eliot, George Partridge and Jeremy Belknap. 
He studied law with Edmund Trowbridge and was 
admitted to the bar in 1767. He was a delegate to 
the Provincial Congress in September, 1774, a mem- 
ber of the Executive Council from 1776 to 1780, a del- 
egate to Congress in 1776, 1778 and 1789, a member 
of the Board of War in 1777, secretary of legation 
with John Adams in Paris in 1779, and Minister to 
Russia from 1780 to 1783. He died at Cambridge 
April 25, 1811. 

George Tyler Bigelow, son of Tyler Bigelow, 
was born in Watertonn October 6, 1810, and gradua- 
ted at Harvard in the famous class of 1829, which 
contained among its members William Brigham, Wil- 
liam Henry Channing, James Freeman Clarke, Fran- 
cis B. Crowninshield, Benjamin R. Curtis, George T. 
Davis, Joel Giles, William Gray, Oliver Wendell 
Holmes, Samuel May, Benjamin Pierce, Chandler 
Robbius, Edward D. Sohier and Joshua Holyoke 
AVard. He received the degree of Doctor of Laws 
from his Alma Mater in 1853. He was admitted to 
the bar in Cambridge, and for a number of years 
practiced law in Boston in partnership with the late 
Manlius Clark. In the early days of his professional 
life he was active in the militia and at one time com- 
manded the New England Guards of Boston, and was 
colonel of one of the Boston regiments. In 1847-48 
he was a member of the Massachiisetts Senate, and in 
1848 was appointed one of the justices of theCommon 
Pleas Court. He held this position until 1850, when 
he was appointed to the bench of the Supreme Judi- 
cial Court. On his accession to that bench his asso- 
ciates were Lemuel Shaw, chief justice; Charles Au- 
gustus Dewey, Theron Metcalf and Richard Fletcher, 
associate justices. On the resignation of Lemuel 
Shaw in 1860 he was made chief justice, and resigned 
in 1868. During his service on the bench of this 
court his various associates included Judge Dewey, 
who died in 1866; Judge Metcalf, who resigned in 



1865; Judge Fletcher, who resigned in 1853; Caleb 
Cushing, who was appointed in 1852 and resigned in 
1853 ; Benjamin Franklin Thoniiis, appointed in 1853 
and resigned in 1859; Pliny Merrick, appointed in 
1853 and resigned in 1864 ; Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar, 
appointed in 1859 and resigned in 1869 ; Reuben At- 
water Chapman, appointed in 1860, appointed chief 
justice in 1868 and died in 1873 ; Horace Gray, Jr., ap- 
pointed in 1864, appointed chief justice in 1873 and 
resigned in 1882; James Denison Colt, appointed in 
1865, resigned in 1866, reappointed in 1868 and 
died in 1881 ; Dwight P^oster, appointed in 1866 and 
resigned in 1869; John Wells, appointed in 1866 and 
died in 1875. After his resignation Judge Bigelow 
was appointed actuary of the Massachusetts Hospital 
Life Insurance Company, and continued inthatofiice 
until his death in 1878. 

Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar, son of Samuel and 
Sarah (Sherman) Hoar, was born in Concord, Febru- 
ary 21, 1816, and graduated at Harvard in 1835, re- 
ceiving a degree of Doctor of Laws in 1868. Among 
his classmates were George Bemis, Thomas M. Brewer, 
Amos Adams Lawrence, Charles W. Storey and 
Francis M. Weld. He was admitted to the bar in 
1840, and though always living in Concord, he has from 
the beginning of his career occupied an office in Bos- 
ton, practicing, however, in Middlesex as well as Suf- 
folk County. In 1849 he was ai)pointed a judge of 
the Court of Common Pleas, remaining on the bench 
until his resignation in 1853. In 1859 he was ap- 
pointed judge of the Supreme Judicial Court, finding 
as associates at his accession to the bench, Leonard 
Shaw, chief justice ; and Charles Augustus Dewey, 
Theron Metcalf, George Tyler Bigelow and Pliny 
Merrick. He remained on the bench until 1869. 
During his incumbency. Chief Justice Shaw resigned 
in 1860 and was succeeded by George Tyler Bigelow, 
who resigned in 1868, and was succeeded by Reuben 
Atwater Chapman, who had been appointed to the 
bench in 1860. Charles Augustus Dewey died in 1866 
and was succeeded by Dwight Foster; Theron Met- 
calf resigned in 1865 and was succeeded by James 
Denison Colt, who resigned in 1866 and was suc- 
ceeded by John Wells, and was reappointed in 1868. 
In 1869 Mr. Hoar was appointed by President Grant 
Attornej'-General of the United States, and remained 
in office until July, 1870. In 1871 he was appointed 
joint high commissioner to treat with the British 
commissioners. He was elected from the Middlesex 
District to Congress in 1872, and served but one term. 
During his service he was largely instrumental in pro- 
curing the publication of the Revised Statutes of the 
United States, a work of great labor and of immense 
use to this country. Since that time he has closely 
followed his profession, only mingling in politics and 
attending conventions at the call of the Republican 
party, to whose cause he has been and is de- 
voted. His learning in the law, his ' incorrupti- 
ble spirit, his fidelity to clients and his ability 



■V* 



c^, I 




r n/; 



BENCH AND BAR. 



to present a case either to court or jury with force, 
have won for him a rich reputation and a large prac- 
tice ; wliile his pungency of speech and simple clear- 
ness of statement have always made him an attractive 
speaker in the political arena. His retaark that he 
had no objection to the Mugwumps going out of the 
Republican party, but that they need not slam the 
door after them, illustrates the sayings which charac- 
terize his conversation and speech. He has always 
been a faithful son of Harvard, and while a member 
of the Board of Overseers was the president of the 
Board. He is or has been the president of the 
National Unitarian Conference, and has always been 
an active member of the denomination which that 
conference represents. 

Charles Devexs was born in Charlestown April 
4, 1820, and graduated at Harvard in 1S2S, in the class 
with George Bailey Luring, James Russell Lowell 
and William W. Story. He read law at the Harvard 
Law School, and in the office of George T. Davis, of 
Greenfield, where, after his admission to the bar, he 
continued in practice until 1849, representing Franklin 
County in the Senate in 1S48. From 18J'.t to 185.3 he 
was United States marshal for Massachusetts, and in 
1854 returned to the law, settling in Worcester, in part- 
nership with George F. Hoar, now United States Sena- 
tor. In April, 1861, he commanded a rifle battalion and 
was stationed, during three mouths' service, at Fort 
McHenry, in Baltimore Harbor. At the end of the 
three months' campaign he was made colonel of the 
Fifteenth Regiment Ma.ssachusetts Volunteers on the 
24th of July, 18()1, enlisted for three years. He was 
at the battle of Ball's Blutf, and after the death of 
Colonel Baker, in command, and exhibited on that 
occasion rare bravery and good judgment. He was 
made brigadier-genera! of volunteers April 15, 1862, 
and was engaged in the battles of Wi;liamsburg, 
Fairoaks — where he was wounded — South Mountain 
and Antietam. At the battle of Chancellorsville he 
commanded a division of General Howard's corps 
(the Eleventh), and was severely wcunded. In the 
Virginia campaign of 18<)4-(i5 he was attached to the 
Eighteenth Corps, recognized as the Third Division 
of the Twenty-fourth Corps. In December, 1864, he 
was in temporary command of the Twenty-fourth 
Corps, entered Richmond April 3d, and April 15, 
1865, was made brevet major-general. He remained 
in the service commanding the district of Charleston 
until June, 18Gt!, when, at his own request, he was 
mustered out. In 1S62 he was the candidate of what 
was called the People's party for Governor of Massa- 
chusetts, in opposition to John A. Andrew, but was 
defeated. In 1867 he was appointed judge of the 
Supreme Court, and remained on the bench until his 
appointment to the bench of the Supreme Judicial 
Court in 1873. When he took his seat on the Superior 
Court bench his as-sociates were Seth .\mes, chief jus- 
tice, and Julius Rockwell, Otis Phillips Lord, Marcus 
Morton, Jr., Ezra Wilkinson, Henry Vose, John 



Phelps Putnam, Lincoln Flagg Brigham and (Chester 
Isham Reed. During his incumbency, Seth Ames 
resigned as chief justice on his appointment to the 
bench of the Supreme Judicial Court in 1869, and 
was succeeded by Lincoln Flagg Brigham ; Marcus 
Morton, Jr., was appointed to the bench of the 
Supreme Judicial Court in 1869, and was succeeded 
by Henry Austin Scudder, who resigned in 187"2, and 
was succceeded by William Allen and Chester Isham 
Reed, who resigned 1871, and was succeeded liy John 
William Bacon. 

Judge Devens, as above stated, was appointed judge 
of the Supreme Judicial Court in 1873, and continued 
on the bench until 1877, when he was appointed by 
President Hayes LTnited States Attorney-General. On 
his retirement from the Cabinet, in 1881, he was re- 
appointed to the bench of the Supreme Judicial 
Court, to till, with Walbridge Abner Field and Wil- 
liam Allen, the vacancies occasioned by the death of 
James Denison Colt and the resignations of Seth 
Ames and Augustus Lord Soul, and is still on the 
bench. Though never enjoying an extensive practice 
at the bar. Judge Devens has had a large judicial ex- 
perience, and has been eminently successful in the 
administration of his judicial duties. He has estab- 
lished a wide reputation as an orator, and lias been 
repeatedly selected to deliver centennial and other 
occasional addresses. Not the least of his efforts 
on the platform was an oration delivered at the 
celebration of the anniversary of the battle of Bun- 
ker Hill, on the 17th of .lune, 1875. He has been 
president of the Bunker Hill Association, and has 
received the degree of Doctor of Laws from his alnm 
mater. The connection of Judge Devens, then United 
States marshal, with the extradition of Thomas Sims, 
a fugitive slave, is so well stated by " Taverner,'' of 
the Boston Post, in the issue of that paper of April 
."ith of this year (1890), that the writer takes the lib- 
erty of making the statement a part of this record : 

" It ie noticeabJe that tlie act which first brought Judge Devene 
into proniineDce here in Boston, and was the means of exciting a 
certain odium against him, was the performance of an official duty 
wliich, thougli extremely painful to hia feelings, he did not feel at 
libertj' to neglect, and his subsequent conduct showed the noble 
spirit with which aa a man he endeavored to counteract the effects of 
the policy which he enforced as an officer of the law. As tjnited 
States marshal for the district of Massachusetts, from 1849 to 1853, 
he executed the process of the court in remanding Thomas Sims as 
a fugitive slave. But after the extradition he endeavored to procure 
the freedom of Sims, offering to pay whatever sum was necessary 
for the purpose, though the effort was unsuccessful. Some time after- 
ward he wrote to Mrs. Lydia aiaria Child, whom he heard was try- 
ing to raise money to purchase the freedom of Sims, reiiuesting the 
return of the sums she had collected for this puqiose, and asking her 
to allow him the privilege of paying the whole amount. Though 
Mre. Child assented to this proposal, it was prevented from being 
carried out by the Civil War, which blocked the negotiations. But 
the progress of the national armies at last brought freedom to Thomas 
Sims, and be was aided by Judge Devens in establishing himself in 
civil Ufe, and was, in course of time, appointed by him, while .Attor- 
ney-General of the United States, to an appropriate place in the De- 
partment of Justice." 

Seth Ames, the sixth of seven children of Fisher 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Ames, was born at Dedhain, April 19, 1805, and died 
at Brookline, August 15, 1881. He was descended 
in the sixtli generation from Richard Ames, of 
Bruton, Somersetshire, England, two of whose sons 
came to New England in 1640. His mother was 
PVances, daughter of Colonel John Worthington, of 
Springfield. He attended the schools of Oedham 
and Phillips Academy, and graduated at Harvard in 
1825. His college room-mate was Augustus H. Fiske, 
late of the Boston bar, and both married daughters of 
Gamaliel Bradford, a descendant from William Brad- 
ford, of the " MayHower." He read law in the Dane 
Law School and in the office of George Bliss, of 
Springfield ; and on January, 1828, entered the office 
of Lemuel Shaw, of Boston. He was admitted to the 
bar at Dedham in September, 1828, and opened an 
office in Lowell. In 1830 his wife, Margaret (Brad- 
ford) Ames, died, leaving four children. He was a 
short time the partner of Thomas Hopkinson, and 
represented Lowell in the General Court in 1832. He 
was an alderman in 1836, 1837 and 1840; Senator 
from Middlesex County in 1841, and city solici- 
tor from 1842 to 1840. In 1849 he was appointed 
clerk of the courts for Middlesex County, and mar- 
ried, for his second wife, Abigail Fisher, daughter of 
Rev. Samuel Dana, of Marblehead. In the same 
year he removed to Cambridge. In 1859 he was ap- 
pointed judge of the Superior Court ; chief justice of 
that court in 1867 ; and judge of the Supreme Judicial 
court, January 19, ISliO. He resigned January 15, 
1881. In 1869 he removed to Brookline. After his 
death, George Martin, Attorney-General, submitted 
in behalf of a meeting of the members of the Suffolk 
bar, the following resolutions to the full court : 

*^ Besolved, That the death ofSeth .\nieB, lately one of the Justices of the 
Supreme Jiulicia! T'onrt, and for tliirty-two years lionorably counecteit 
with tlie adrninistmtion of Justice in this Commonwealth, is an event 
of which the bar desire to tjike notice by expressing their sense of the 
great value of his public services and their admiration for his just and 
tniblemished character, and for those attractive pereonal qualities which 
endeared him to all who had the privilege of his friendship. 

^* Resolved, That in the successive Judicial stations which he held 
as Justice and Chief Justice of the Supei-ior Court and Associate 
Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court, he commanded the respect 
and esteem of the bar and the community. He administered the 
criminal laws with tirmuess, tempered by discretiou and hnmaoity, 
without unnecessary harshness and without vindictiveness. In his 
intercourse with the bar, and when presiding at trials he was a model 
of fairness and courtesy ; never forgetting, and therefore never finditig 
it necessary to assert arrogantly or offensively his personal dignity. 
His opinions were characterized by atlequate learning and by asimplicity 
and purity of English style which he seemed to have inherited from his 
distinguislied father." 

Chief Justice Gray responded, and the resolutions 
were ordered to be placed on the files of the court. 

William Sewall Gardner was born in Hal- 
lowell, Maine, October 1, 1827, and graduated at 
Bowdoiu College and studied law in Lowell. He was 
admitted to the Middlesex bar in 1852, and entered 
into partnership with Theodore H. Sweetser of that 
city. In 1861 he removed his office to Boston, where 
he continued practice until 1875, when he was ap- 



pointed one of the justices of the Superior Court for 
the Commonwealth, which office he held until Octo- 
ber 1, 1885, when he was appointed a justice of the 
Supreme Judicial Court to fill the vacancy occasioned 
by the death of Judge Waldo Colburn. On the 7th 
of September, 1887, he resigned his seat on account 
of ill health, and died at his residence in Newton, 
April 4, 1888. On the 27th of November, 1888, reso- 
lutions passed at a meeting of the Suffolk bar were 
presented to the full court by Andrew J. Waterman, 
the Attorney-General, and on that occasion addresses 
were made by the Attorney-General, Edward Avery 
and Charles Levi Woodbury, which were responded 
to by Chief Justice Marcus Morton. The resolutions 
were as follows : 

"The members of the Suffolk bar desire to place on record their 
sense of the loss which the Commonwealth has sustained in the death 
of William Sewall fJardner, a former Justice of this court. 

"Jlis was a nature that endeared him to those who knew him well, 
and secured for him the respect and esteem of the community, and the 
regard and conhdence of those who were brought in contact with him at 
the bar or on the bench. 

" His ex])erionce at the bar, for many years closely associated with one 
of the alilest lawyers of his day, who studied the law as a science and 
tested it by the severest rules of logic, and his lung service on the bench 
of the Suiierior Court, laid a substantial foundation for the successful 
discharge of the accurate and discriuiinating investigations demanded of 
the members of this court. 

'* While the kindliness of his nature might have tempted him at 
times to take counsel of his sympathies, his keen appreciation of the 
right constrained liim always to exercise the severe neutrality of an im- 
partial judge." 

Timothy Farkar was the son of Deacon Samuel 
Farrar, and was born .lune 28, 1747, in that part of 
Concord which, by the incorporation of Lincoln, ih 
1754, was included within the limits of the new town. 
He graduated at Harvard in 1767, in the class with 
Increase Sumner. He read law in New Ipswich, 
New Hampshire, and settled permanently in that 
town. In 1782 he was a member of the Constitutional 
Convention of New Hampshire. He was a judge of 
the Common Pleas Court of that State under a tem- 
porary Constitution in January, 1776 ; was a Coun- 
cilor in 1780, '82, '83; judge of the Superior Court 
from 1790 to 1803 ; judge of the Common Pleas Court 
in 1803-4, and afterwards chief justice of the Circuit 
Court of Common Pleas. He was a Presidential 
elector in 1792, '96, 1800, 1808, and a trustee of Dart- 
mouth f JoUege. In 1847 he received a degree of Doc- 
tor of Laws from his alma mater, and died at Hollis, 
New Hami)shire, Feb. 21, 1849. 

Nathaniel Wright, the oldest son of Thomas 
and Eunice (Csgood) Wright, was born in Sterling, 
February 13, 1785, four years after the incorporation 
of that town. He fitted for college with Rev. Reuben 
Holcomb, of Sterling, and graduated at Harvard, in 
1808, in the class with Walter Channing, Richard H. 
Dana and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, and read 
law with Asahel Stearns, then practicing in that part 
of Chelmsford which is now Lowell, and there lived 
until his death, which occurred November 5, 1858. 
He was admitted to the bar in 1814, and first opened 



I 



BENCH AND BAR. 



an office in Dracut. He was the first representative 
Jiora Lowell to the General Court, in 1826, and 
chairman of the first Board of Selectmen, and in 1842 
was chosen, on a citizens' ticket, the fourth mayor of 
the city, succeeding Dr. Elisha Huntington in that 
office. Tn 1843 he was re-chosen by the Whig party. 
He was chosen representative four years, and in 1834 
was a member of the State Senate. He was president 
of the Lowell Bank from its organization, June 2, 
182S, until his resignation, October 2, 1858. He mar- 
ried, March 5, 1820, Laura Hoar ; and two sons grad- 
uated at Harvard — Natlianiel, in 1838, and Thomas, 
in 1842. Thomas entered the profession of law, set- 
tling in Lawrence, and represented, one or more 
years, Essex County in the Senate. He died in 
Lawrence in 1868. Nathaniel, a lawyer in Lowell, 
died September 18, 1847. 

AsAHKL Stearxs was born in Lunenburg, .June 17, 
1774, and graduated at Harvard in 1797, in the class 
with Horace Binney, William Jenks, William M. 
Richardson, John Collins Warren and Daniel Apple- 
ton White. He settled in Chelmsford in 1800, where 
he practiced until 1817, acting for a time as county 
attorney, and during the two last years of his resi- 
dence there he represented his district in Congress. 
In 1817 he was aj'pointed professor in the Dane Law 
School, at Cambridge, holding that position until his 
death, February 5, 1839. In 1824 he published a 
volume of "Real Actions," and in 182.5 received from 
Harvard the degree of Doctor of Laws. 

S.\.MUEr. D.VN.i was the son of Rev. Samuel Dana, 
of Groton, and was born in that town .Tune 2G, 17(i7. 
He was the first postmaster of Groton, having been 
' appointed in 1800, and held the office until July, 1804. 
He kept the post-office in his law-office in a building 
which has been removed from its original site, and in 
1887 was standing near the railroad station. He was 
succeeded as postmaster by William Merchant Rich- 
ardson, afterwards chief justice of the Superior 
Court of New Hampshire. Mr. Richardson gradu- 
ated at Harvard in 1797, and became Mr. Dana's .stu- 
dent and partner. Mr. Richardson was followed 
in the post-office by Abraham Moore, January 31, 
1812, who was succeeded in 1815, on his resignation, 
I by Caleb Butler and Henry Woods and George S. 
\ Boutwell, and again by Caleb Butler, who held the 
office until December 21, 1846. 

He was a representative to the General Court from 
j Groton in 1802-03 and 1825-27, and senator, 180.5-13 
[ and 1817, and ])resident of the Senate in 1807, 1811, 
! 1812. He was a member of Congress in 1814-15, and 
( of the State Constitutional Convention in 1820. On 
;' the establishment of the Circuit Court of Common 
Pleas, Mr. Daua was made chief justice for the mid- 
dle circuit, comprising Suttblk, Essex and Middlesex, 
and held that office until the court was abolished, 
February 14, 1821. In 1808 he removed to Charles- 
town, but returned to Groton 1815. He was a popu- 
I lar speaker and a man of pronounced abilities. He 
i c 



married Rebecca Barrett, and died in Charlestown 
November 20, 1835, leaving several children, of whom 
the wives of Kelly Paige, of Boston, and John Seven, 
of King.ston, and his son, James Dana, of Charles- 
town, now living, are remembered by the writer. 

Timothy Bkjkldw, the son of Timothy and Anna 
(Andrews) Bigelow, was born at Worcester April 30, 
1767. He graduated at Harvard in 1786, in the class 
with John Lowell and Isaac Parker. He fitted for 
college with Benjamin Lincoln and Samuel Dexter, 
and studied law with Levi Lincoln, the father of Gov- 
ernor Lincoln. He was admitted to the bar in 1789, 
an<l settled in Groton, where he married, September 
3, 1791, Lucy, daughter of Dr. Oliver Prescott. His 
office was much sought by students reading law, and 
among these were John Harris, afterwards judge of 
the Superior Court of New Hampshire ; Thomas Rice, 
of Winslow, Me., member of Congre.ss ; John Locke, 
of Ashby, member of Congress ; Joseph Locke, for 
thirteen years judge of the Police Court in Lowell; 
John Leighton Tuttle; Professor Asahel Stearns; John 
Varnum, of Haverhill, member of Congress; Loanimi 
Baldwin, who abandoned the profes,sion and became 
a distinguished engineer; .lohn Parke Little, of Gor- 
ham, Jle.; Tyler Bigelow, of Watertown, the father of 
Chief .lustice Bigelow; Luther Lawrence, of Groton 
and Lowell ; Augustus I'eabody, of Boston, and Abra- 
ham Moore, of Groton and Boston. In 1806 Jlr. 
Bigelow removed to Medford, and there died. May IS, 
1821. He was a rejiresentative to the General Court 
from Groton and Medford fourteen years, senator 
from 1797 to 1.801, councilor from 1,802 to 1.S04, and 
again in 1821, and sjjeaker of the House in the ses- 
sions of lSO.5-6, 1808-9, 1809-10, 1812-18, 1813-14, 
1814-15, 1815-16, 1816-17, 1817-18, 1818-19, 1819-20. 
In 1796 Mr. Bigelow delivered the oration before the 
Phi Beta Kappa Society of Harvard. Katharine, 
wife of Abbott Lawrence, of Boston, l!ev. .\ndrew 
Bigelow and John Prescott Bigelow, Secretary of the 
Commonwealth from 1836 to 1843, and mayor of Bos- 
ton from 1849 to 1851, were his children. 

Luther Lawrence was born in Groton Septem- 
ber 28, 1778. He was a son of Samuel Lawrence, of 
that town, and, willi his brothers, Abbott, Amos, Wil- 
liam and Samuel, made up a family of rare ability 
and distinction. The only one of the family receiv- 
ing a college education, he graduated at Harvard in 
1801, in the class with Tyler Bigelow, Timothy Fuller 
and Stephen Minot. He studied law with Timothy 
Bigelow, and married his sister Lucy, .Tune 2, 1,S05. 
He was a member of the Legislature from Groton, 
and in 1822 speaker of the House of Representatives. 
He early secured a large practice, and among his 
students were Henry Adams Bullard, Royal Bullard, 
Jonathan Porter, George Frederick Farley, Augustus 
Thorndyke, Edward St. Loe Livermore, Jr., Norman 
Seaver and William Amory. He removed to Low- 
ell in 1831, five years after its incorporation, and in 
1838 and 1839 was chosen its mayor. On the 16th of 



XXXIV 



HISTORr OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



April, 1839, sixteen days after entering on his second 
official term, whileshovvingoneof the factories to some 
visiting friends, he fell seventeen feet into a wheel- 
pit and wiis instantly killed. He was buried in ( fro- 
ton, his place of birth. 

Ebene/er Champney, a descendant of Richard 
Champney, who came from Lancashire, England, and 
settled early in Cambridge, was born in Cambridge 
in April, 1744, and graduated at Harvard in 1762, in 
the class with Francis Dana, Andrew Eliot, Elbridge 
Gerry, Jeremy Belknap and George Partridge. In a 
class of forty seven his name is placed in the catalogue 
next to the last, and as until 1773 the names were 
placed in the order of family rank, it is presumed that 
the immediate origin of Mr. Champney was compara- 
tively obscure. He first studied for the ministry and 
then for the practice of law. In 1764 he was admit- 
ted to the bar at Portsmouth, and settled in New Ips- 
wich, New Hampshire. In 1775 he was appointed 
Judge of Probate for Hillsboro' County, and in 1783 
removed to Groton. In 1789 he returned to New 
Ipswich, and died September 10, 1810. He married, 
October 9, 1764, Abigail, daughter of Eev. Caleb 
Trowbridge; in November, 1778, Abigail, daughter of 
Samuel Parker, of New Ipswich, and in March, 1796, 
Susan Wyman. His son, Benjamin Champney, born 
August 20, 1765, studied law in his office and practiced 
in Groton from 1786 to 1792, when he removed to 
New Ipswich. 

Abraham Moore was born in Bolton January 5, 
1785, and graduated at Harvard in 1806, in the class 
with Jacob Bigelow, Jonathan Cogswell, Joseph 
Green Cogswell, Alexander Hill Everett, Daniel 
Oliver and William Pitt Preble. He studied law 
with Timothy Bigelow in Groton, and opened an 
office in that town. In 1812 he was appointed post- 
master of Groton and held office until his resigna- 
tion in 1815, when, in consequence of financial 
troubles, he removed to Boston, where he continued 
in the practice of law until his death, January 3, 1854. 
His wife, whose maiden-name was Mary Mills, had 
been twice married, to a Mr. Barnard and Mr. Wood- 
ham, and had been an actress on the stage. After 
the financial troubles of Mr. Moore she returned to 
the stage and appeared in Boston in 1816 as Lady 
Teazle. Mary Frances Moore and Susan Varnum 
Moore, two of his children by this marriage, married 
John Cochran Park, a distinguished member of the 
Suffolk bar, and Grenville Mears, a well-known and 
esteemed merchant of Boston. He married for a 
second wife, in 1819, Eliza, daughter of Isaac Durell, 
and had at least one son, whom the writer remembers 
as a member of the Boston bar. During the last few 
years of his life he occupied an office on the easterly 
side of Court Square, the site of which is now covered 
by the billiard-room of Young's Hotel. 

Richard Sullivan was the grandson of John 
Sullivan, who came from Ireland in 1728 and died 
July, 1795, at the ae;e of 104. James Sullivan, born 



in Berwick, Maine, April 22, 1744, and deceased in 
Boston, December 10, 1808, and General John Sulli- 
van were the sons of the American ancestor. Richard, 
the subject of this sketch, was the son of James, and 
was born in Groton, July 17, 1779. His mother was 
Mehetabel Odiorne. He graduated at Harvard in 
1798, in the class with William P^llery Channiug, 
Stephen Longfellow, Joseph Story and Sidney Willard. 
His father began practice in Georgetown, Maine, 
from which place he removed to Biddeford. In 
February, 1778, he changed his residence to Groton, 
and in 1782 to Boston. Richard, the son, was fitted 
for college at the Boston Latin School and after leav- 
ing college studied law with his father and was ad- 
mitted to the Suflblk bar in 1801. He was a Stale 
Senator from 1815 to 1817, inclusive, member of the 
Constitutional Convention of 1810, councilor in 1820- 
21, and one of the overseers at Harvard College. He 
married, May 22, 1804, Sarah, daughter of Thomas 
Rus.sell, of Boston, and died in Cambridge, December 
U, 1861. 

William Prescott, though never a member of 
the Middlesex bar, was a native of Middlesex County. 
He was a descendant of John Prescott, of Lincoln- 
shire, England, who early came to New England and 
settled in Lancaster, Massachusetts. Judge Benjamin 
Prescott, son of John, was the father of Colonel 
William Prescott, of Bunker Hill memory, who was 
the father of the subject of this sketch, who was 
born in Pepperell, August 19, 1762, and died in 
Boston, December 8, 1844. He graduated at Harvard 
in 1783, in the class with Harrison Gray Otis, his 
brother and Artemas Ward. He studied law with 
Nathan Dane, of Beverly, and practiced in that town 
and in Salem. He removed to Boston in 1808 and in 
1818 was appointed a justice of the Common Pleas 
Court for Suflblk County, William Hickling Pres- 
cott, the historian, and Edward Gordon Prescott, 
Episcopal clergyman in New Jersey, were his sons. 
He received a degree of Doctor of Laws from Harvard 
in 1815 and from Dartmouth in 1826. 

Jame.s Prescott, Jr., was the son of Col. James 
Prescott, of Groton, and was born in that town April 
19, 1766. He graduated at Harvard in 1788 and 
studied law in Westford, where he practiced ten years. 
He returned to Groton and was appointed judge ol' 
Probate, to succeed his uncle, Oliver Prescott, and was 
afterwards chief justice of the Court of Common 
Pleas. He married Hannah, daughter of Ebenezer 
Champney, and died October 14, 1829. 

Jonathan Sewall was, for a time during hi- 
professional career, a resident of Middlesex County. 
He was born in Boston, August 24, 1728, and grad- 
uated at Harvard in the class of 1748 with only 
twenty-three associates. He was son of Jonathan 
Sewall and great-nephew of Stephen Sewall, chief 
justice of the Superior Court of Judicature. After 
leaving college he taught school in Salem until 1756, 
when he prepared himself for the law and settled iu 



BENCH AND BAR. 



xxxv 



Charlestown. He advanced rapidly in his profession, 
and in 1767 was a barristw and hiad been appointed 
Attorney- General for Massachusetts. In 1775 he re- 
moved to St. John, New Brunswick, where he was 
judge of the Vice-Admiralty Court until his death, 
which occurred at that place September 26, 1796. 

Homer Bartlett was born in Granby, in Hamp- 
shire County, July 19, 1795. He fitted for college at 
Westfield Academy and graduated at Williams in 
1818. He read law with Daniel Noble and Charles 
A. Dewey, of Williamstown, and was admitted to the 
Berkshire bar in 1821. After a residence of three 
years in Williamstown, after his admission, he re- 
moved to Ware in 1824, where he continued until 
1832 in the practice of his profession, in which year he 
was appointed agent of the Hampshire Jlanufactur- 
ing Company. In 1839 he was made manager of the 
Massachusetts Cotton-Mill, of Lowell, incorporated 
in that year, and removed to that city, entering on 
the duties of his new position on the ISth of October 
in that year. In January, 1849, he was appointed 
treasurer of the company, which position he held 
until his resignation, January 22, 1872. He was a 
representative from Ware in 1832, and from Lowell 
in 1849, Presidential elector in 1844, and a member 
of the Executive Council in 1854. Mr. Bartlett mar- 
ried, February 6, 1823, Mary, daughter of William 
Starkweather, of Williamstown, who died in Lowell, 
October 3, 1850. He removed to Boston while he was 
treasurer of the Massachusetts Mill.s, and married, 
June 4, 1861, Mrs. Louisa (Fowler) Hubbell, of 
Albany, who died May 27, 1873. He survived his 
second wife only a year and died March 29, 1874, and 
was buried at Mount Auburn. 

Mr. Bartlett was descended from John Bartlett 
and wife, Agnes (Bengan) Bartlett. of Cherington, 
Warwickshire, England, who died, one in 1613 and 
the other in 1615. Robert Bartlett, son of John, 
married, in 1603, Anne, daughter of Richard Livings- 
ton, and had nine children, of whom Robert, baptized 
March 8, 1606, came to New England in September, 
1632, and' settled in Cambridge. He afterwards re- 
moved to Hartford, and in 1655 to Northampton, 
where he lived until March 14, 1675-76, at which date 
be was killed by the Indians. Robert Bartlett had 
four children, of whom Samuel, born at Hartford in 
1639, married, in 1672, Mary Bridgeman, and, in 1675, 
Sarah Baldwin, and had by the second wife twelve 
children. One of these children, Ebeuezer, born in 
Northampton, September 27, 1685, married, Decem- 
ber 1, 1715, Martha Lyman, and had five children, of 
whom Ebenez.er, born in Northampton, August 28, 
1721, died in Granby in 1788. The la.st Ebenezer had 
seven children, of whom another Ebenezer, born in 
South Hadley in 1745, died in Granby, February 2, 
1798. He married Betsey Barton, of Ludlow, and 
had ten children, of whom Asahel,born in Granby in 
1758, married three wives — Hannah Burchard, Sally 
Bonner and Almira Melleu. By the first wife he had 



six children and by the second five, and the first wife 
was the mother of the subject of this sketch. 

Joseph Locke was born in Fitzwilliara, New 
Hampshire, in 1772, and graduated at Dartmouth in 
1797; he studied law with Timothy Bigelow in Groton, 
and was admitted to the Middlesex bar in 1800. In 
1801 he began the practice of his profession in Billerica, 
and there remained until 1833, when he removed to 
Lowell. While living in Billerica he presided eight 
years over the Court of Sessions, was Pre.sidental elec- 
tor in 1816, member of the Constitutional Convention 
of 1820, eight years a representative to the General 
Court, and in 1821-22 a member of the Executive 
Council. During his residence in Lowell he repre- 
sented that city one year in the General Court, and 
in 1834 was made judge of the Lowell Police Court, 
which position he held thirteen years resigning, in 
1847, at the age of seventy-five. His death occurred 
November 10, 1653. Judge Locke was a man of un- 
usual purity of character, and in whatever community 
he lived he always inspired reverence and love. 

Edward St. Loe Livermore was born in Ports- 
mouth, New Hampshire, April 5, 1762. He was the 
son of Samuel Livermore, chief justice of the 
Superior Court in that State, and his wife Jane, 
daughter of Rev. Arthur Browne. He was descended 
from John Livermore, who came to New England 
about the year 1634 and settled in Watertown, whence 
he removed in 1665 to Wethersfield, Connecticut, and 
later to New Haven. In 1670 the ancestor returned 
to Watertown and there died in 1685. Samuel Liver- 
more, a great-grandson of John, born in 1732, graduated 
at Nassau Hall, New Jersey, and read law at Beverly, 
Massachusetts, with Edmund Trowbridge and settled 
in Portsmouth, and became Attorney-General of the 
Province. His son Edward was educated at London- 
derry and Hoiderncss, New Hampshire, and read law 
with Theophilus Parsons at Newburyport. He 
began the practice of law' at Concord, New Hamp- 
shire, and married Mehetabel, daughter of Robert 
Harris. He afterwards removed to Portsmouth, and 
was appointed by Washington district attorney, 
which office he held until 1798, and became chief 
justice of the Superior Court of New Hampshire. In 
1799 he married Sarah Crease, daughter of William 
Stackpole, of Boston. In 1802 he removed to New- 
buryport, and while a resident there was a representa- 
tive to the General Court, and a member of Congress 
from Essex North District. In 1811 he removed to-» 
Boston, and on the 4th of July, 1813, delivered the 
usual annual oration in that city. At the close of the 
War of 1812 he removed to Zanesville, Ohio, but 
goon returned to Boston, and in 181f) took up his final 
residence in Tewksbury. He purchased there the 
Gedney estate of about 200 acres, which he called 
Belvidere, and there died September 15, 1832, his 
body being deposited in the Granary burial-ground 
in Boston. 

Elisha Glidden was born in Unity, New Hamp- 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



shire in 1789, and graduated at Dartmoutli in 1815. 
He read law in Dover, New Hampshire, and with 
Samuel Hubbard in Boston, and was admitted to the 
bar in 1818 or ISl'J. In 1820 he went to Townsend 
to take charge of the legal business of Colonel Walter 
Hastings, where he remained until 1823, during which 
time Colonel Hastings died. Mr. Glidden afterwards 
married Mrs. Hastings, and after a short residence in 
Boston removed to Lowell, where the writer believes 
he was associated at ditl'ei'ent times witli Luther Law- 
rence and with Thomas Hopkinson, who had been one 
of his students. He was a director in the Railroad 
Bank, and president of the Lowell Institution for 
Savings, and died April 2, 1835. 

LoAMMi Baldwin was a descendant of Henry 
Baldwin, one of the first settlers of Woburn. His 
father. Col. Loarami Baldwin, was an officer in the 
Revolution, and sheriff of Middlesex County. The 
subject of this sketch was born in Woburn, May 
16, 1780, and graduated at Harvard in 1800, in the 
class with Lemuel Shaw. He was admitted to the 
Middlesex bar in 1803, but abandoned liis profession 
and became a distinguished engineer. The dry-dock 
at the Charlestown navy-yard was built by him. He 
died at Charlestown, June 30, 1838. 

William Emerson Faulkner was the son of 
Francis Faulkner, and was born in Acton, October 
23, 1776. He graduated at Harvard in 1797, and read 
law with his brother-in-law, Jabez LTpham, of Brook- 
field, with whom he was afternards associated until 
his death, which occurred October 1, 1804. 

JosiAH Adams, the son of Rev. Moses Adams, was 
born in Acton, November 3, 1781, and graduated at 
Harvard in 1801. He read law with Thomas Heald, 
and after his admission to the bar in June, 1807, set- 
tled in Framingham. He died in 1854. 

Aaron Keyes was born in Westford in 1791, and 
read law in Bridgewater. He was admitted to the bar 
in 1822 and settled at Townsend Centre, where he was 
postmaster from 182C to 1835. He married, in 1824, 
Martha, daughter of Moses Warren, and died in 1842. 

Samuel Jackson Prescott, son of Dr. Oliver 
Prescott, of Uroton, w&s born in that town March 15, 
1773, and graduated at Harvard in 1795, in the class 
with Nathaniel Bradstreet and Benjamin Gorham. 
He read law with William Prescott, but left the pro- 
fession and embarked in business with Aaron P. 
Cleveland. Having suffered serious loss in conse- 
* (pience of the embargo, he finally retired from busi- 
ness and was for many years a popular notary public 
in Boston. He died in Brookline, February 7, 1857. 

Jonathan Porter was born in Medford Novem- 
ber 13, 1791, and graduated at Harvard in 1814, in the 
class with Benjamin .\pthorp Gould, Francis William 
I'itt Greenwood, Alvan Lamson, Pliny Merrick, Wil- 
liam Hickliug Prescott and James Walker. He 
studied with Luther Lawrence in Groton, and died in 
Medford, June 11, 1859. 

Joshua Pkescott was born in Westford November 



15, 1780. He read law with James Prescott in Gro- 
ton and died at Reading, January 1, 1859. 

TiiOM.vs Rice was born at Pownalborough (now 
Wiscasset), Maine, March 30, 1798, and read law with 
Timothy Bigelow at (rroton. He died at Wiiislow, 
Maine, August 24, 1854.» 

Samuel Emer.son Smith was born in Hollis, New 
Hampshire, March 12, 1788. He studied at the Gro- 
ton Academy and graduated at Harvard in 1808. He 
read law with Samuel Dana at Groton and died at 
Wiscasset, Maine, March 3, 1800. 

Augustus Thorndike was born in Beverly, July 
8, 1797, and graduated at Harvard in 1816, in the 
class with Samuel Dana Bell, George Frederick Far- 
ley, Oliver William Bourn Peabody and Joseph Wil- 
lard, and gave the college twenty thousand dollars. 
He read law at Groton with Luther Lawrence and 
died at Boston, July 8, 1S5S. He married Henrietta 
Stewart, of Annapolis, JIaryland, and had four chil- 
dren, of whom two sons, James Stewart and Charles, 
graduated at Harvard in 1848 and 1854. 

Ethan Shepley was born in Groton November 
2, 1789, and received his education at the academy in 
that town. He studied law in South Berwick, Maine, 
and in 1814 began practice at Saco, from which place 
he removed to Portland. From 1821 to 1833 he was 
United States district attorney of Maine, from 1833 
to 1836 United States Senator, from 1836 to 1848 asso- 
ciate justice on the bench of the Supreme Court of 
Maine, and from 1848 to 1855 chief justice. He re- 
ceived a degree of Doctor of Laws, from Colby Univer- 
sity in 1842 and one from Dartmouth in 1845, and 
died in Portland, January 15, 1877. 

Willarp H.vll was born in Westford, December 
24, 1780, and was the son of Willis and Mehetabel 
(Poole) Hall, of that town, and grandson of Rev. Wil- 
lard Hall, the first minister of WestforU. He gradu- 
ated at Harvard in 1799 and read law with Samuel 
Dana at Groton, and was admitted to the bar of Hills- 
boro' County, New Hampshire, in 1803. Immediately 
after his admission he went to the Stale of Delaware 
and settled in Georgetown, from whence he very soon 
after removed to Dover, in the same State. In 1812 he 
was Secretary of State, holding the office three years; 
from 1816 to 1818 he was a member of Congress, in 
1821 again Secretary of State and in 1822 a member of 
the Delaware Senate. On the 6tli of May, 1823, he 
was commissioned United States judge for the Dela- 
ware district, holding the office forty-eight years, and 
resigning in 1871. He was actively interested in the 
cause of education, and created and perfected the pres- 
ent educational system of his adopted State. He was 
forty-eight years president of the Delaware Bible So- 
ciety, many years president of the Wilmington Sav- 
ings Funds Society, president of the Delaware His- 
torical Society and an elder of the Presbyterian 
Church from 1829 to his death, which occurred May 
10, 1875. 

John Abhot, the oldest son of John Abbot, of West- 



BENCH AND BAIl. 



xxxvu 



ford, was born in that town January 27, 1777. He 
gratluated at Harvard in 1798, and for a time was 
preceptor of the ^V^estf()rd Academy. He read law 
in his native town and there began practice He was 
a trustee and tresisurer of tlie academy, State Senator 
and member of the Constitutional Convention in 1820. 
He was active and prominent in the Masonic order 
and otiiciated as Grand Master at the laying of the 
corner-stone of Bunker Hill monument June 17, 1825, 
He died April 30, 1854. 

JoHX WitKiiiT was born in Westford November 4, 
1797. He fitted for college at Phillips Academy and 
graduated at Harvard in 1823 in the class with Wil- 
liam Amory, Francis Hilliard, Daniel Putnam King, 
William Parsons Lunt and George Ripley. He stud- 
ied law in Groton and after a short season of practice 
became interested in manufactures and the agent of 
the Surtblk: Jlills of Lowell. He died in Lowell in 
1809. 

John Merrick was born in Concord February 7, 
1701, and graduated at Harvard in 1784 in the class 
with Prentiss Mellen, Benjamin Pickman and Samuel 
Webber. He read and j)racticed law in Concord and 
died August 15, 1797. 

William Jones, son of Samuel Jones, of Concord, 
was born in that town September 15, 1772, and grad- 
uated at Harvard in 1793, in the class with Charles 
Jackson, John Pierce and Samuel Thatcher. He 
read law with .Jonathan Fay, of Conciu'd, and after 
practicing a short time in that town removed to Nor- 
ridgewock, Maine, about 1801. He was appointed 
clerk of the Court of Common Pleas for Somerset 
County June 29, 1809, and on the 23d of April, 1812, 
clerk of all the County Courts. June 22, 1809, he 
was made judge of Probate. Aside from his civil 
offices he was brigadier-general in the Maine Militia. 
On the 4th of July, 1795, only two years after leaving 
college, he was selected to deliver the oration in his 
native town. He died at Norridgewock January 10, 
1813. 

Samuel Phillips Prescott Fay, son of .Tonathan 
Fay, of Concord, was born in that town January 10, 
1778, and graduated at Harvard in 1803, in the class 
with John Farrar, James Savage and Samuel Wil- 
lard. He was admitted to the Middlesex bar in 1803 
and first settled at Canibridgeport. He was a coun- 
cilor in 1818-19, member of the Constitutional Con- 
vention of 1820, and an overseer of Harvard College 
from 1825 to 1852. On the 12th of May, 1821, he was 
appointed judge of Probate and afterwards lived in 
old Cambridge until his' death, May 18, 1850. 

RoFi's Hosmer, son of Joseph Hosmer, of Con- 
cord, was born in that town March IS, 1778, and 
graduated at Harvard in 1800. He was admitted to 
the bar of Esssx County in 1803 and removed to 
Stow. 

Stephen Mixott, son of Jonas Minott, of Con- 
cord, was born in that town September 28, 177G, and 
graduated at Harvard in 1801. After admission to 



the bftr he settled in Haverhill, where he became a 
judge of the Circuit Court of Common tPleas. After 
the abolition of that court he was appointed in 1824 
county attorney for Essex, and resigned in 1830. 

Jonas Wheeler was the son of Jotham Wheeler, 
of Concord, and w'as born in that town February 9, 
1789. He graduated at Harvard in 1810, in the class 
with James Gore King and Theodore Lyman. He 
read law with Erastus Root, of Camden, JIaine, and 
settled in that town. He was both Representative 
and Senator in the Maine Legislature and died May 
1, 1820. I 

Edward Brooks was the oldest son of Peter C. 
Brooks, of Boston, and was born in that city in 1793. 
He graduated at Harvard in 1812 and read law in the 
office of his uncle, Benjamin Gorham. He was a rep- 
resentative in the General Court from Boston in 1834, 
1837 and 1842, and rendered important aid to Samuel 
G. Howe in establishing the Perkins Institution for 
the Blind. He became finally a resident of Medford 
and died in that town in 1878. 

Gorham Brooks, a younger brother of the above, 
was born in Medford, February 18, 1795. He fitted 
for college at Phillips Academy and graduated at 
Harvard in 1814. He read law with Joseph Lyman, 
of Northampton, but soon abandoned his profession 
and entered upon mercantile pursuits. In 1833 he 
was a member of the firm of W. C. Mayhew & Co., of 
Baltimore, and afterwards of the firm of Brooks & 
Harrison, in the same city. In 1840 he returned to 
Massachusetts and made Medford his residence. He 
was a member of the Legislature from Medford in 
1847 and died September 10, 1855. His wife was a 
daughter of R. D. Shepherd, of Shepherdstown, Vir- 
ginia. 

Ebenezer Bowman was born in Wilmington, July 
31, 1757, and graduated at Harvard in 1782. He 
practiced law at Wilkesbarre and died in 1829. 

Isaac Fletcher was born in Dunstable, November 
22, 1784, and gradiuited at Dartmouth in 1808. He 
read law with Prescott & Dunbar-at Keene, New 
Hampshire, and in 1811 removed to Lytulon, Ver- 
mont. He was eight years attorney for Caledonia 
County, a member of the Legislature in 1837 and 
1841, and a member at one time of the Governor's 
statf. He luarried, in 1813, Abigail Stone, and died 
October 9, 1842. 

Amo.s Kendall was the son of Zebedee and Alolly 
(Dakin) Kendall, of Dunstable, and was born in that 
town August U), 1787. Until he was sixteen years of 
age he worked on his father's farm and then fitted for 
college at the academy at New Ipswich and at the 
academy at Groton. He graduated first scholar at 
Dartmouth in ISll,and while in college taughtschoo! 
a portion of the time in his native town. lie read 
law in Groton with William M. Richardson, of 
Groton, and was admitted to the Middlesex bar. 
In 1814 he removed to Kentucky, where he was 
for a time a tutor in the family of Henry Clay. At 



XXXVlll 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Frankfort, Kentucky, he edited the Argus, and ii>1829 
was appointeifourth auditor of the United States Treas- 
ury, by Andrew Jackson. From 1835 to 1840 he was 
Postmaster-General and afterwai'ds devoted himself 
to his profession. He was the founder and the first 
president of the Deaf and Dumb Asylum at Washing- 
ton, and was for some years one of the trustees of 
Columbia College, in that city. He married, October 

1, 1818, Mary B. Woolfolk, by whom he had four 
children, and in 1826 he married Mary Kyle, by whom 
he had ten more, and who died in Washington in 
June, 1864. In 1849 he received a degree of Doctor 
of Laws from Dartmouth College. During his resi- 
dence in Washington he gave $115,000 to the Cavalry 
Baptist Church, $20,000 to the Deaf and Dumb Asylum, 
$25,000 to found two mission schools, and $6000 to 
establish a scholarship in Columbia College. In 
1862 he removed to Kendall Green, New Jersey, 
and in 1866 visited Europe and the Holy Land. He 
died in Washington, November 12, 1869. Mr. Ken- 
dall was descended from Francis Kendall, who came 
to New England from England about 1640 and settled 
in Woburn. Francis Kendall married Mary Tidd in 
1644, and had John, born 1646 ; Thomas, 1649; Mary, 
1651 ; Elizabeth, 1653 ; Hannah, 1655 ; Rebecca, 
1657 ; Samuel, 1659 ; Jacob, 1661 ; and Abigail, 1666. 
Jacob Kendall, one of these children, was the great- 
grandfather of Zebedee, the father of the subject of 
this sketch. 

WiLMAM Merchant Richardson was born in 
Pelham, N. H., Jan. 4, 1774, and graduated at Har- 
vard in 1797. He practiced law a few years in Gro- 
ton, and was a member of Congress from 1811 to 1814. 
Removing to Portsmouth, he became distinguished at 
the bar, and was chief justice of the Supreme Court 
of New Hampshire from 1816 to 1838. He was the 
author of the "New Hampshire Justice and Town 
Officer," and performed a great amount of work on 
the New Hampshire reports. He died at Chester, N. 
H., March 23, 1838. 

William Austin was born in Charlestown March 

2, 1778, and graduated at Harvard in 1798. He prac- 
ticed law in the courts of both Suffolk and Middlesex, 
but was a member of the Middlesex bar. In 1801 he 
delivered an oration at Charlestown, on the 17t,h of 
June, and in 1807 published a volume entitled " An 
Essay on the Human ("haracter of Jesus Christ." 
In 1805 he was wounded in a duel with James H. 
Elliott, the result of a newspaper controversy. He 
died in Charlestown June 27, 1841. 

William Brattle was the son of Rev. William 
Brattle, of Cambridge, and was born in that town in 
1702. He graduated at Harvard in 1722, in the class 
with William Ellery and Richard Saltonstal). He 
combined in his practice the occupation of a lawyer, 
preacher, physician, soldier and legislator. He was 
captain of an artillery company in 1733 and a major- 
general in the militia, and at various times a member 
of the General Court and of the Council. Being a 



Loyalist he removed to Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1776, 
and there died in October of that year. 

Richard Dana was the grandson of Richard 
Dana, who came early to New England and settled in 
Cambridge in 1640. He^vas born in Cambridge July 7, 
1699, and graduated at Harvard in 1718. He was 
eminent in his profession, and practiced in Marble- 
head, Charlestown and Boston. He married a sister 
of Edmund Trowbridge, and was the father of Francis 
Dana, already mentioned. He died in Cambridge 
May 17, 1772. 

Richard H. Dana was the son of Francis Dana, 
of Cambridge, and was born in that town November 
15, 1787. He graduated at Harvard in 1808, and 
read law with his father, and was admitted to the 
Suffolk barin 1811, and, not longafter, to the Baltimore 
bar. In 1812 he settled in practice in Cambridge, 
and at one time was a member of the General Court 
from that town. He is believed by the writer to have 
had no other experience in public life. His taste for 
purely literary occupation was early developed, and 
as an essayist and poet he had wide distinction. In 
1814 he delivered a Fourth of July oration, in 1818 
and 1819 he was associated with Edward Tyrrel Chan- 
niug in the editorial management of the North Ameri- 
can Review, and in 1839 and 1840 delivered a series of 
lectures on Shakespeare in Boston, New York and 
Philadelphia. As a poet, however, his name is better 
known. In 1825 he published in the Neiu York Be- 
view his first poems — " The Dying Raven " and the 
" Husband and Wife's Grave," and in 1827 he pub- 
lished " The Buccaneer, and Other Poems." In 1833 
a volume of his poetical works was issued, and in 
1850 two volumes of his poems and prose writings 
were issued, which included all his liter.ary efforts 
except his lectures on Shakespeare. He received a 
degree of Doctor of Laws from Williams College and 
died in 1867. 

Steven Scales, believed to have been born in 
Boston, graduated at Harvard in 1763, in the class 
with Josiah Quincy, Nathan Cushing, John .TeffVies, 
Samson Salter Blowers, Timothy Pickering and Caleb 
Gannett. He removed, in 1772, from Boston to 
Chelmsford, and died November 5th, in the same year. 

Jonathan William Austin, the son of Benjamin 
Austin, of Boston, was born in that town April 18, 
1751, and graduated at Harvard in 1769, in the class 
with James Winthrop, Peter Thacher and Theophi- 
lus Parsons. He read law with John Adams, and 
was admitted to the Suffislk bar July 27, 1772. In 
1773 he removed to Chelmsford and began his pro- 
fessional life. He was a member of the Middlesex 
Convention in 1774, and passed through the several 
grades of captain, major and colonel in the War of 
the Revolution. He died in 1778, while in the army, 
on one of the Southern campaigns. 

John Wythe, whose time and place of birth are 
unknown to the writer, graduated at Harvard in 
1760, in the class with John Lowell and William 



BENCH AND BAR. 



XXXIX 



Baylies. He settled .a-s a lawyer iu Chelmsford in 
1778, and subsequently removed to Lexington and 
Cambridge, at which latter place he died in ISll. 

Samuel Dexter, son of Samuel Dexter, of Bos- 
ton, was born in that town May 14, 1761, and gradu- 
ated at Harvard in 1781, in the class with .Tohn 
Davis and Dudley Atkins Tyng. He read law in 
Worcester and went to Chelmsford in 1786, subse- 
quently removing to Oharlestowii and finally to Bos- 
ton, where he became one of the most eminent 
lawyers of his day. He was a member of both 
the House and Sen.ate in Congress, serving in the 
latter capacity in 1799 and 1800, and was appointed, 
by President John Adams, Secretary of War in 1800, 
and Secretary of the Treasury in 1801. His chief dis- 
tinction, however, he won at the bar. He lived in days 
before oratory was a lost art in the courts, and his 
arguments were masterpieces of logic clothed in lan- 
guage delighting the ear and winning the heart and 
judgment of all who heard him. His peroration in 
his speech, in 1806, in defense of Thomas Oliver Self- 
ridge, indicted for the murder of Charles Austin, the 
writer heard repeated many years since by Judge 
Nalium .Mitchell, of East Bridgewater, who was in tlie 
court-room at the time of its delivery. Selfridge was 
a graduate of Harvard in 1797, and the father of Rear 
Admiral Selfridge, of the United States navy. He 
was a practicing lawyer and a prominent P'ederalist. 
Austin was the son of Benjamin Austin, an active 
and earnest Democrat, who, it was claimed by his 
son, had been abused in the newspapers by Selfridge. 
For this abuse Austin threatened to punish Self- 
ridge, and the two meeting in State Street, Boston, 
Selfridge, expecting an attack, fired the fatal shot. 
Both Selfridge and Austin occupied high social posi- 
tions, the hatter being the son of a distinguished mer- 
chant and the uncle of the late James Trecothic .Aus- 
tin, the Attorney-General of Miissachusetts from 1832 
to 1843 ; and intense excitement, both political and 
social, attended the trial. The writer remembers a 
capital trial about 1841, in which James T. .Austin, 
the Attorney-General, was opposed by Franklin De.x- 
ter for the defense, the son of Samuel Dexter, who 
successfully defonde<l Selfridge, the slayer of Mr. 
Austin's uncle, and it was uotdiflicultto detect, in the 
course of the trial, a trace of the ancient family feud 
which the events of 1806 had excited. The closing 
words of Mr. De.xter's speech were as follows : 

"I respect the dittates of the (.'iiristian religion ; I 
shudder at the thought of shedding human blood; 
but if ever I may be driven to that narrow pass where 
forbearance ends and disgrace begins, may this right 
arm fall palsied from its socket if I fail to defend 
mine honor." 

Mr. Dexter died at Athens, in the State of New 
York, May 4, 1816. 

Eli.sha Fuller was the sou of Kev. Timothy 
Fuller, of Princeton, and wa-s born in 1795 and grad- 
uated at Harvard in 1815, in the class with George 



Eustis, Convers Francis, Thaddeus William Harris, 
John Amory Lowell, John Gorham Palfrey, The- 
ophilus Parsons and Jared Sparks. He was admit- 
ted to the bar in 1823 and settled in Concord, whence 
in June, 1831, he removed to Lowell. He finally re- 
moved in 1844 to Worcester and died in 18r)5. 

Timothy Fuller, a brother of the above, w.os born 
in Chilmark, Massachusetts, .Tuly 11, 1778. He gradu- 
ated at Harvard in 1801, and read law in Worcester in 
the office of Levi Lincoln. He was State Senator from 
1813 to 1816, member of Congress from 1817 to 1825, 
Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representa- 
tives in 1825 and member of the Executive Council 
in 1828. He was the father of Sarah Margaret Ful- 
ler (Countess d'Ossoli), Arthur Buckminster and Rich- 
ard Frederick Fuller, all of whom were born in Cam- 
bridge during the residence of their father in that 
town. After many years' residence in Cambridge he 
removed to Groton and there died October 1, 1835. 

C.\LEB Butler was born in Pelham, New Hamp- 
shire, September 13, 1770, and graduated at Dart- 
mouth in 1800. He read law in Groton with Luther 
Lawrence and settled in that town, where he was the 
principal of the Groton Academy eleven years, and 
postmaster thirteen years. He devoted much of his 
time to literary pursuits and published a history of 
Groton in 1848. He died at Groton October 7, 1854. 

William L. Chaplin was the son of Rev. Daniel 
and Susan,na (Prescott) Chaplin, and was born Octo- 
ber 27, 1796. He died at Cortland, New Yoik, April 
28, 1871. 

Christopher Gore was born in Boston Septem- 
ber 21, 1758, and was the son of John Gore, of th.at 
town. He graduated at Harvard in 1776 and studied 
law with John Lowell. In 1789 he was appointed 
United States district attorney, and in 1796 was ap- 
pointed, with William Pinckney, commissioner under 
Jiiy's treaty to settle American claims against England. 
He was a member of both branches of the State Leg- 
islature, Governor of Massachusetts in 1809 and Uni- 
ted States Senator from 1813 to 1816. He died at his 
residence in Waltham March 1, 1827. 

Roger Sherman, one of the signers of the Decla- 
tion of Independence was a native of Middlesex 
County, and was born in Newton April 19, 1721. Un- 
til twenty-two years of age he followed the trade of 
shoemaker, and in 1743 went to North Milford, Con- 
necticut, where he engaged in trade with an older 
brother, and in 1745 was appointed county surveyor 
of lands. He subsequently read law and was admit- 
ted to the bar in 1754, at the age of thirty -three. He 
was at one time a member of the .\ssembly and in 
1759 was appointed a judge of the Court of Common 
Pleas. In 1761 he removed to New Haven and was 
appointed there in 1765 judge of the Common Pleas, 
an assistant in 1766 and later a judge of the Superior 
Court. In 1774 he was appointed member of Con- 
gress, became United States Senator and from 1784 
until his death was mayor of New Haven. In 1776 



xl 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



he was one of the committee of Congress appointed 
to draft the Declaration of Independence, and in 1783 
assisted in codifying the laws of Connecticut. He died 
at New Haven .July 23, 1793. 

Roger Minot Sherman, nephew of the above, 
was born in Woburn May 22, 1773, and graduated at 
Yale in 1792. He was admitted to the bar in 179G, 
and made Fairfield, Conn., his permanent residence. 
He was a member of the Assembly in 1798, of the 
Senate from 1814 to 1818, a member of the Hartford 
Convention in 1814, and judge of the Superior Court 
and the Supreme Court of Krrors from 1840 to 1842. 
He died at Fairfield December 30, 1844. 

AsHER Ware was born in Sherburne February 10, 
1782, and graduated at Harvard in 1804, receiving a 
degree of Doctor of Laws from Bowdoin in 1837. 
After leaving college he was tutor at Harvard from 
1807 to 1811, and Professor of Greek from 1811 to 
1815. After admission to the bar he practiced one 
year, 1816, in Boston, and in 1817 removed to Port- 
land. Upon the org.anization of the State of Maine, 
in 1820, he was made Secretary of State, and from 
1822 to 1866 was judge of the United States District 
Court. 

Simon Greenleaf, thougli not a member of the 
Middlesex bar, was so long a resident in the county as 
Professor in the Dane Law School at Cambridge that 
he ought not to be omitted in these sketches. Mr. 
Greenleaf was descended from Edmund Greenleaf, of 
Brixham, Devonshire, England, who came to New 
England very early and settled in Newbury in 1635, 
whence he removed about 1650 to Boston, and there 
died in 1671. The family is supposed to have been 
of French origin, and its name a translation of the 
Frencli Feuillevert. Jonathan Greenleaf, of the 
fourth generation, lived in Newbury, accumulating 
property by ship-building and taking an active part 
in public affairs as Representative, Senator and Coun- 
cilor. His son Moses was a ship-builder and re- 
moved to New Gloucester, Maine, where he died in 
1812. Moses Greenleaf married, in 1776, Lydia, 
daughter of Rev. Jonathan Parsons, of Newburyport, 
and Simon Greenleaf. the subject of this sketch, was 
his fourth child, and was born in Newburyport De- 
cember 5, 1783. After the removal of his father to 
New Gloucester, about 1790, Simon, left in the care ol 
his grandfather, attended the Latin School of New- 
buryport, under the instruction of Jlichael Walsh, 
and at the age of eighteen joined his father and began 
the study of law in the office of Ezekiel Whitman, 
afterwards chief justice of the Supreme Court of 
Maine. In 1805 he was admitted to the bar of Cum- 
berland County and began to practice in the town of 
Standish, Maine, whence he removed to Gray, and in 
1818 removed to Portland. When the district of 
Maine became a State in 1820, and a Supreme Court 
wa-s established, lie was appointed by the Governor 
reporter of decisions, and held office twelve years. 
During this period he published nine volumes of re- 



ports. In 1832 he resigned his position, and in 1833 
succeeded John Hooker Ashmun as Royall Professor 
in the Dane Law School, which situation he held 
until 1846, when, on the death of Judge .Joseph Story, 
he was transferred to the Dane Professorship. In 1848 
failing health induced his resignation, but until his 
death he held the position of Professor Emeritus. 

Besides his volumes of reports Mr. Greenleaf pub- 
lished in 1821 "a full collection of Cases Overruled, 
Denied, Doubted or Limited in their application, 
taken from .\merican and English Reports;" in 1842 
a "Treatise on the Law of Evidence," and at various 
times an " Examination of the Testimony of the Four 
Evangelists by the Rules of Evidence administered 
in Courts of Justice;" an edition of "Crui.se's Digest 
of the Law of Real Property ; " a " Discourse at his In- 
auguration as Royall Professor," and a " Discourse 
Commemorative of the Life and Character of the 
Hon. Joseph Story, LL.D." He received the degree 
of Doctor of Laws from Harvard in 1834, from Am- 
herst in 1845, from Alabama College in 1852, and the 
degree of Master of Arts from Bowdoin in 1817. He 
died at Cambridge October 6, 1853. He married, in 
1806, Hannah, daughter of Ezra Kingman, of East 
Bridgewater, Massachusetts, and had fifteen children, 
of whom only one survived him. 

Abner Bartlett was a descendant of Robert Bart- 
lett, who came to Plymouth in the "Ann " in 1623 and 
married, in 1628, Mary, daughter of Richard Warren, 
who came in the " Mayflower." He was the son of 
Abner and Anna (Hovey) Bartlett, of Plymouth, and 
was born in tliat town in 1776. His sister Anna mar- 
ried, in 1796, Ellis Bartlett, the grandfather of Wil- 
liam Lehman Ashmead Bartlett, who married Baron- 
ess Burdett-Coutts. He graduated at Harvard in 
1799 and married Sarah Burge.ss and settled in Med- 
ford. One of his daughters was the first wife of Rev. 
Dr. George W. Briggs, now of Cambridge. He died 
in Medford, September 3, 1850. 

Samuel Br.oDGET was born in Woburn, April 1, 
1724, and at the age of twenty-one was engaged in 
the expedition against Louisbourg, in 1745. He was 
before the Revolution judge of the Court of Commf)n 
Pleas for Hillsborough County. In 1791 lie became 
interested in the manufacture of duck, and in 1793 
began the construction of the canal round Amoskeag 
Falls, which bears his name. He died at Haverhill, 
September 1, 1807. 

John Hoar went from Scituat^about 1660and set- 
tled in Concord, where he died April 2, 1704. 

Daniel Bliss, son of Rev. Daniel Bliss, was born 
in Concord, March 18, 1740, and graduated at Har- 
vard in 1760. He read law with Abel Willard, of 
Lancaster, and was admitted to the Worcester bar in 
1765. He began practice in Rutland, removed to 
Concord in 1772, but retired to Fredericton, New 
Brunswick, at the time of the Revolution, where he 
became chief justice of the Provincial Court of Com- 
mon Pleas, and died in 1806. 



BENCH AND BAR. 



Thomas Heald was born in New Ipswich, New 
Hampshire, March 31, 1768, and graduated at Dart- 
miiuth in 1797. He read law with Jonathan Fay 
and was admitted to the bar in ISOO. He settled in 
Concord in 1813 and died at Blakeley, .\labaraa, in 
1821, -while a judge in that State. 

John Leighton Tuttle was born in Littleton 
and graduated at Harvard in 179G. He practiced 
law in Concord, where he was postmaster, county 
treasurer and Senator, and died at Watertown, New 
Vork, July 23, 1813. 

John Keyes waa the son of Joseph Keyes, of 
Westford, and was born in that town in the year 1787. 
He was the youngest son of a large family of twelve 
children, and until entering college lived with his 
father, working on his tarm during the summer and 
attending the district school in the winter. His fa- 
ther reared his family during the disastrous days 
which followed the Revolution on a farm of about 
forty acres of poor soil and without a market, where 
his ancestors during four generations had before him 
struggled for a livelihood. Young Keyes, with a 
mind stronger than his body, whose constitution, nat- 
urally delicate, had been further unfitted, by a severe 
accident in his fifteenth year, for the labors of a farm- 
er's life, gradually drifted into the paths of knowledge 
which led to a better education than that which 
most of his school and playmates were able to receive. 
With health somewhat restored he entered Westford 
Academy, boarding at home and walking daily three 
miles to school. He entered Dartmouth College in 
1805, and by careful economy and with the earnings 
of school-teaching in the winter he made the scanty 
supplies from home suffice for his college career, and 
graduated in 1809. Levi Woodbury, of New Hamp- 
shire, was the youngest in years and first in rank in 
his class, and it is said that the seventeen hours of 
study in the twenty-four which the robust constitu- 
tion of Woodbury permitted him without injury to 
endure, alone enabled him to compete successfully 
with his less fortunate classmate and friend. 

After leaving college he returned to Westford and 
entered as a student the" law-ofiice of John Abbott, 
then an eminent practitioner at the Middlesex bar, 
supporting himself partly by services rendered to his 
instructor and partly by teaching school. In the 
winter of 1811-12 he taught the school in Dis- 
trict No. 7, in Concord, boarding with Samuel 
Kuttrick, and Mar?h 12, 1872, entered his name in 
the law-ofiice of John Leighton Tuttle, of that town. 
At the September term of the Circuit Court of Com- 
mon Pleas in the last-mentioned year, before Judge 
Samuel Dana, he was admitted to the Middlesex bar, 
and at once took the ofiice of ]Mr. Tuttle, who had 
lieen appointed lieutenant-colonel of the Ninth Keg- 
iment for frontier service, and who died at Water- 
town, New York, July 23, 1813. Colonel Tuttle had 
been postmaster of Concord, and Mr. Keyes was ap- 
pointed his successor, holding the office from 1812 to 



1837, when he was removed by President Van Buren. 
Colonel Tuttle had also been county treasurer, and 
Benjamin Prescott, who was chosen to succeed him, 
having fiiiled to give bonds, Jlr. Keyes was appointed 
by the Court of Sessions in his place. He was sub- 
sequently rechosen annually until 1837, a period of 
twenty-four years. From the salaries of these offices 
he laid the foundation of a fortune which at his 
death was the largest ever inventoried in Concord. 

Mr. Keyes was early led into politics and warmly 
supported the Democratic party in opposition to that 
of the Federalists. Thealluring attractions of polit- 
ical work, together with the duties of the offices, he 
held, drew him somewhat away from the more sober 
paths of his profession ; but he acquired nevertheless 
a respectable and lucrative practice at a bar which in- 
cluded Artemas Ward, Samuel Dana, Timothy Big- 
elow, Asahel Stearns and Samuel Hoar among his 
seniors, and Hosmer, Fuller, Lawrence and Adams 
among his contemporaries. Though he was engaged 
in many important causes, he was, however, better 
known as a politician th.^n as a practicing lawyer. In 
1.S20 he was a delegate to the convention for the revi- 
sion of the State Constitution from Concord, and in 
1821 and 1822 he was a member of the Massachusetts 
House of Representatives. From 1823 to 1829 he 
was a member of the Senate, in which body he was of 
sufficient consideration to attract the shafts of his po- 
litical opponents, one of which was so libelous as to 
cause the editor who published it to be prosecuted 
and convicted. At the close of his first senatorial 
term he was nominated by the National Republican 
party for Congress, but was defeated by Edward Ev- 
erett, after a close contest. In 1832 and 1833 he was 
again a member of the Massachusetts House of Rep- 
resentatives, and during the illness of the Speaker, 
Julius Rockwell, was chosen Speaker y;/o letii. From 
1823 to 1833 his party was predominant in Jliddlosex 
County, and his counsels prevailed with his party, 
being, as he undoubtedly was, the most popular and 
intluential man within its limits. 

Mr. Keyes was prominent in the Masonic Order, at 
one time holding the second oflice in the State, and 
in the .-Vnti-Masonic excitementof 1834 he was an ob- 
ject of special attack, and in cmisequence lost his of- 
fice of county treasurer. In 18.!7, when removed 
from the post-office, he ended his public service. 

In town aflairs he was active, but declined office, 
; except that of moderator of town-meetings, to 
which he was frequently chosen. He was a good pre- 
siding officer and was selected to act as President of 
the Day at the bi-centennial celebration of the settle- 
ment of Concord. He was one of the projectors of 
the Mill Dam Company, the Insurance CVmipany, the 
Bank and Savings Institution in that town, and 
either president or director in these corporations. In 
the Lyceum, the schools and tlie parish he was earn- 
est and useful, and all of them have felt the impress 
of his hand and life. 



xli! 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



In 1816 Mr. Keyes married Ann S. Shepard, daugh- 
ter of Dr. T. Shepard, of Hopkinton, whose widow had 
removed to Concord and lived there, the wife 
of William Hildreth, sheriff of Middlesex County, 
from 1810 to 1815. He had five children, of whom 
two were girls and died young, and three were sons, 
of whom one, John S. Keyes, is mentioned in this 
narrative. Mr. Keyes died at Concord, August 29, 
1844, at the age of fifty-seven. 

Abraham FuUjER, son of Joseph and Sarah 
(Jackson) Fuller, was born March 23, 1720. He kept 
school in Newton four years; was town clerk and 
treasurer of that town tvventy-.seven years from 1766; 
representat've to the General Court eighteen years; 
delegate to the Provincial Court, Senator, councillor 
and judge of the Court of Common Pleas. He died 
April 20, 1794. 

Walter Hastings was horn in Chelmsford in 
1778 and gra<luated at Harvard in 1799. He read law 
with Judge Prescott at Groton, and opened an ofiice 
in Townsend, where he practiced until the War of 
1812, during which he was a colonel of a regiment. 
At the close of the war he returned to Townsend, and 
in 1814 married Roxanna,daughterof Moses Warren, 
and died June U, 1821. 

Nathaniel Gorham was born in Charlestown 
May 27, 1738. He was many years one of the select- 
men of the town, and its representative from 1771 to 
1775. He was a delegate to Provincial Congress, a 
member of the Board of War, a delegate to the State 
Constitutional Convention in 1779, a delegate to Con- 
gress in 1782-83 and in 1785-87, and its president in 
1786. He was also, for several years, a judge of the 
Court of Common Pleas. He died at Canandaigua, 
New York, October 22, 1826. 

Benjamin Gorham, son of the above, was born in 
Charlestown February 13, 1775, and graduated at 
Harvard in 1795. He studied law with Theophilus 
Parsons, and become an eminent lawyer at the Mid- 
dlesex and Suffolk bars. He was a member of the 
General Court, and in 1820, '21, '22, '23, '27, '28, '29, 
'80, '31, '33, '35 was a member of Congress. He died 
in Bo.'iton September 27, 1856. 

Daniel Hiahh Ripley, son of Rev. Ezra Ripley, 
of Concord, was born in that town in 1788, and grad- 
uated at Harvard in 1805. He died at St. Stephen's, 
Alabama, April 30, 1825. 

Joseph Story was neither a native of Middlesex 
County nor a practitioner at its bar, but he had his res- 
idence so long within its limits, and in the minds of 
persons living, who remember him, he was so identi- 
fied with Cainbridgeand the Law School, of which he 
was many years tlie head, that a chapter on the Mid- 
dlesex Bench and Bar would be incomplete without a 
reference to his professional career and the law pub- 
lications which he left as memorials of his legal 
knowledge and indefatigable industry. He was born 
in Marblehead, September 18, 1779, and was the son 
of Dr. Elisha Story, a native of Boston, and a surgeon 



in the Revolution. He graduated at Harvard in 1798, 
and received degrees of Doctor of Laws from Brown 
in 1815, H.arvard in 1821 and Dartmouth in 1824. 
The writer can do no better than follow the text of a 
sketch of .fudge Story published in another work, 
which contains all the facts necessary to relate, and 
which might as well be literally copied, as to be pre- 
sented in a merely remodeled form : 

Among his classmates were William P^llery Chan- 
ning, .lohn Varnum and Sidney Willard. His edu- 
cation before entering college was received in Marble- 
head under the direction of Rev. Dr. William Har- 
ris, afterwards president of Columbia College. He 
began his law studies in the office of Chief .Justice 
Samuel Sewall, in Marblehead, and continued them, 
after the appointment of Mr. Sewall to the bench, in 
the office of Samuel Putnam, of Salem. He was ad- 
mitted to the Essex bar in July, 1801. He was a 
Democrat in politics, and as such stood almost alone 
among the lawyers of the county. He was a member 
of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 
1805, '16and '17,a member of Congress in 1808, again a 
member of the Legislature from 1809 to 1812, and 
was chosen Speaker of the House of Representatives 
in January, 1811. 

In 1806 he advocated in the Legislature an increase 
of the salaries of the judges of the Supreme Judicial 
Court, in opposition to the prejudices of his ))arty 
against high judicial salaries, and more especially 
against Theophilus Parsons, whom it was proposed to 
put upon the bench, but who could not afford to 
relinquish a practice of $10,000 for a position having 
attached to it the paltry salary of $1200. Mr. Parsons 
was especially obnoxious to the Democrats, but Mr. 
Story, with that sturdy independence which always 
characterized him, advocated and carried a bill to 
increase the salary of the chief justice to $2500, and 
of the associate justices to $2400, and Mr. Parsons 
was appointed and accepted the appointment. In 
1809 he advocated and was largely the means of se- 
curing a further increase of the salaries of the chief 
justice and the associates to $3500 and $3000 re- 
spectively. 

On the 18th of November, 1811, he was appointed 
by Ma<lisnn as.sociate justice of the Supreme Court of 
United States, to fill the vacancy caused by the death 
of William Cushing, of Massachusetts, which oc- 
curred on the 13th of September, 1810. The appoint- 
ment had been previously offered to John Quincy 
Adams, who declined it. Mr. Story was then only 
thirty-two years of age, and his appointment reflects 
credit on the sagacity of Mr. Madison who discovered 
in so young a man the signs of promise which his 
career afterwards fully verified. In 1820, at the time 
of the separation of Maine from Massachusetts, he was 
a delegate from Salem to the Constitutional Conven- 
tion. In 1828, Nathan Dane, who, in founding the 
Law School at Cambridge, had reserved to himself the 
appointments to its professorships, appointed Judge 



BENCH AND BAR. 



xliii 



JStory, D.iue Professor of Law, and .lohn Hooker 
Ashmun, Royall Professor of Law, and in the next 
year, 1829, he removed from Salem to Cambridge, 
where he continued to serve until his death, on the 
10th of September, 1845. 

Aside from his learning in the law and that wonder- 
ful fluency in the use of language, both spoken and 
written, which made his learning av.ailable, nothing 
distinguished him more than bis industry. With the 
labors of a judge constantly pressing upon bim and 
the cares of his professorship, the press was kept busy 
in supplying the law libraries of the land with his 
commentaries and treatises and miscellaneous produc- 
tions. His first publication seems to have been a 
poem entitled the "Power of Solitude," published in 
Salem in 1804. In 1805 appeared "Selections of 
Pleadings in Civil Actions with Annotations." In 
1828 he edited the public and general statutes passed 
by Congress from 178',t to 1827, and in 1886 and 1845 
supplements to these dates. In 1832 appeared " Com- 
mentaries on the Law of Bailments with Illustrations 
from the Civil and Foreign Law;" in 1833 " Com- 
mentaries on the Constitution ; " in 1834 "Commen- 
taries on the Conflict of Laws, Foreign and Domestic, 
in Regard to Contracts, Rights and Remedies, and Es 
pecially in Regard to Marriages, Divorces, Wills, 
Successions and Judgments." In 1835 and 1836 ap- 
jieared " Commentaries on Equity Jurisprudence as 
Administered in England and America;" in 1838 
"Commentaries on Equity Pleadings and the Inci- 
dents Thereto according to the Practice of the Courts 
of Equity in England and America ; " in 1839 " Com- 
mentaries on the Law of Agency as a Branch of Com- 
mercial and Maritime . I iirisprudence, with Occasional 
Illustrations from the Civil and Foreign Law;" in 
1841 " Commentaries on the Law of Partnership as 
a Branch of Commercial and Maritime Jurispru- 
dence, with occasional illustrations from the Civil 
and Foreign Laws ; " in 1843 " Commentaries on the 
Law of Bills of Exchange, Foreign and Inland, as 
Administered in England and America, with occa- 
sional illustrations from the Commercial Law of Na- 
tions of Contiaental Europe; " in 1845 " Commenta- 
ries on the Law of Promissory Notes." His decisions 
in the first circuit from 1812 to 1815 are in " Gallison's 
Reports ; " from 1816 to 1830 in " Mason's Reports ; " 
from 1830 to 1839 in " Sumner's Reports," and from 
1839 to 1845 in "Story's Reports." Among his nu- 
merous other publications were an " Eulogy on Wash- 
ington," at Salem, in 1800; an "Eulogy on Cajjtain 
James Lawrence and Lieutenant Ludlow," in 1813 ; 
"Sketch of Samuel Dexter," in 1816; "Charges to 
Grand Juries in Boston and Providence" in 1819; 
" Charge to the Grand Jury at Portland," in 1820 ; 
" Address before the Sutiblk Bar," in 1821 ; " Dis- 
course before the Phi Beta Society," in 1826 ; " Dis- 
course before the Essex Historical Society " in 1828 ; 
" Address at his own inauguration as Professor," in 
1829; " Addiess at the dedication of Mount Auburn," 



in 1831 ; '' Address at the funeral services of Professor 
John Hooker Ashmun," in 1833 ; "Eulogy on .lohn 
Marshal," in 18.35 ; " Lectures on the Science of 
Law," in 1838; " Address before the Harvard .Alum- 
ni," in 1842, and a "Charge to the Grand Jury of 
Rhode Island on Treason," in 1845. In addition to 
this long list of his works might be mentioned a large 
number of essays and articles in magazines and re- 
views, and three unprinted manuscript volumes fin- 
ished just before his death, entitled " Digest of Law 
Supplementary to Comyns," which are deposited in 
the Harvard College Library. 

Nathan Crosby was born in Sandwich, N. H., 
February 12, 1798. He wa.s descended from Simon 
and Ann Crosby, who .settled in Cambridge in 1635. 
The descent was through Simon, of Billerica, Josiah, 
Josiah, Josiah and Asa, a physician, who married 
Betsey, daughter of Colonel Nathan Holt, and died in 
Hanover, N. H., April 12, 1836, at the age of seventy 
years. Nathan was one of seventeen children by two 
mothers, six dying young, five sons receiving degrees 
from Dartmouth and two daughters marrying profes- 
sional men. Three of the brothers of Nathan were pro- 
fessors at Dartmouth. He graduated at Dartmouth in 
1820, and married Rebecca, daughter of Stephen 
Moody, a lawyer of Gilmanton, N. H. He studied 
law with Mr. Moody and with Asa Freeman, of Dover. 
His wife died January 3, 1867, and he then married. 
May 19, 1870, Mrs. Matilda (Pickens) Fearing, daugh- 
ter of James and Charity (Mackie) Pickens, of Boston, 
and widow of Dr. Joseph W. Fearing, of Providence. 
In 1826 he removed from New Hampshire to Ames- 
bury, thence to Newburyport, and, in 1843, to Lowell, 
where he succeeded Joseph Locke as judge of the 
Police Court. 

John P. Robinson was born in Dover, N. H., in 
1799, and, after attending Phillips .\cademy, entered 
Harvard in 1819, and graduated in 1823. He read 
law in the oflSce of Daniel Webster, and in 1827 began 
practice in Lowell. He was a member of the House 
of Representatives in 1829, '30, '31, '33, '42, and a 
Senator in 1835. He was a scholar as well as a law- 
yer, and devoted no small portion of his time to classi- 
cal study. He married a daughter of Ezra Worthen, 
and died October 20, 1864. He was a man of some- 
what eccentric traits, and inveterate in his personal 
dislikes and quarrels. On one occasion, meeting a 
brother member of the bar, he said, while rubbing 
his hands with apparent satisfaction : "There will be 
hot work in hell to-night." " How is that, Mr. Rob- 
inson ? " asked his friend. " Farley died this morn- 
ing," he replied. 

WiLLiA.M W. Fuller, son of Rev. Timothy Fuller, 
and brother of Eiisha and Timothy, already men- 
tioned, graduated at Harvard in 1813, and practiced 
law in Lowell eight years, but removed to Illinois, 
where he died in 1849. 

Nathan Brooks, son of Joshua Brooks, of Lin- 
coln, was born in that town October 18, 1785, and 



xliv 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



graduated at Harvard in 1809. He settled in Con- 
cord in 1813, from which town he was Representative 
to the General Court in 1823, '24, '25. In 1827 he 
was appointed Master in Chancery, in 1820 lie was a 
member of the Executive Council, and in 1831 Sena- 
tor. He married, in 1820, Caroline Downes, and had 
Caroline, who married Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar. 
He married, second, Mary Merrick, and had George 
Merrick. He died in 18(i3. 

Samuel Farrar, son of Deacon Samuel Farrar, 
and biothcr of Timothy Farrar, already mentioned, 
was born in Lincoln, December 13, 1773, and gradu- 
ated at Harvard in 1797. He was tutor at Harvard 
one year, after which he read law and settled in An- 
dover, where he was at one time president of a bank 
and treasurer of the Theological Seminary, and died 
in 18G4. 

Joseph Farrar, son of Humphrey Farrar, of Lin- 
coln, was born in that town February 14, 1775, and 
graduated at Dartmouth in 1794. The writer is un- 
able to state where he practiced law. 

James Russell, son of Daniel Russell, of Charles- 
town, and brother of Chaml)ers Russell, already men- 
tioned, was born in Charlestown, August 5, 1715. He 
was a Representative from Charlestown thirteen 
years, from 1746, and May 16, 1771, was appointed a 
judge of the Court of Common Pleas. In 1775 he 
removed to Dunstable, andthencc to Lincoln, where he 
lived more than fifteen years. He married Katharine, 
Slaughter of Thomas Graves, who died in Lincoln, 
September 17, 1778. His children were Thomas, 
who married Elizabeth, daughter of George Watson, 
of Plymouth ; Charles, a graduate of Harvard in 
1757, who became a physician ; Chambers, who died 
in South Carolina ; Katharine, who married a Mr. 
Henly, of Charlestown ; Rebecca, who married Judge 
Tyng and Judge Bewail ; Margaret, who married John 
Codman, and Sarah and Mary, unmarried. Mr. Rus- 
sell died in Charlestown. 

Nathaniel Pierce Hoar, son of Samuel Hoar, 
of Lincoln, was born in that town September 2, 1784, 
and graduated at Harvard in 1810. He read law 
with his brother, Samuel Hoar, of Concord, and set- 
tled in Portsmouth, N. H., in 1813. He returned to 
Lincoln, and there died May 24, 1820. 

Thomas Fiske, son of Elijah Fiske,of Lincoln, was 
born in that town about 1799 and graduated at Har- 
vard in 1819. He settled in Charleston, South Caro- 
lina, in 1826 and died in 1830. 

Amos Spaulding, son of Zebulon Spaulding, of 
Carlisle, graduated at Dartmouth in 1805 and settled, 
as a lawyer, in Andover. As a citizen of that town 
he was ai one lime a Representative and Senator in 
the General Court. 

Joel Adams, son of Timothy Adams, of Carlisle, 
graduated at Harvard in 1805 and was admitted to 
the Middlesex bar in September, 1808. He settled in 
Chelmsford and died in 1864. 

Asa Green, son of Zaccheus Green, of Carlisle, 



graduated at Williams College in 1807 and settled as 
a lawyer in Brattleborough, Vermont, where he was 
at one time postmaster. 

Joseph Adams, son of Rev. Closes Adams, of 
Acton, and brother of Josiah Adams, already men- 
tioned, was born in Acton, September 25, 1783, and 
graduated at Harvard in 1803. He settled as a law- 
yer in West Cambridge and died in that town June 
10, 1814. 

Abiel Heywoop, son of Jonathan Heywood, of 
Concord, was born in Concord, December 9, 1759, 
and graduated at Harvard in 1781. He studied med- 
icine with Dr. Spring, of Watertown, and settled in 
his native town. In 1796 he was chosen town clerk 
and selectman; in 1802 he was appointed special 
judge of the Court of Common Pleas and was an 
associate justice of the Court of Se-sions from 1802 
to the time of the organization of the County Com- 
missioners' Court. He died in Concord in 1839. 

Jonathan Fay was the son of Captain Jonathan 
Fay, of Westboro', and graduated at Harvard in 1778. 
He settled in the law at Concord, where he married 
Lucy Prescott, and died June 1, 1811, at the age of 
fifty-nine years. 

Peter Clark, son of Benjamin Clark, was horn 
in Concord and graduated at Harvard in 1777. He 
settled in the law in Southboro' and died in July, 
1792, aged thirty-six years. 

Silas Lee, son of Joseph Lee, of Concord, was 
born in that town July 3, 1760, and graduated at 
Harvard in 1784. He settled as a lawyer in what is 
now Wiscasset, Maine, and in 1800 and 1801 repre- 
sented the district of Lincoln and Kennebec in the 
Sixth Congress. In January, 1802, he was appointed 
district attorney for the district of Maine, and in 
1807 judge- of probate for the county of Lincoln. He 
held the offices of district attorney and judge until 
his death, March 1, 1814. 

James Mitchell Vaenum was born in Dracut in 
1749 and graduated at Rhode Island College. After 
his admission to the bar he settled at East Greenwich, 
Rhode Island, and acquired an extensive practice. 
In 1774 he commanded the Kentish Guards and in 
January, 1775, was appointed colonel of the First 
Rhode Island Regiment. He was made brigadier- 
general February 21, 1777, and in the next winter he 
was at Valley Forge. He wa.s at the battle of Mon- 
mouth in .June, 1778, and in July engaged in General 
Sullivan's expedition to Rhode Island. In 1780-82 
and 1786-87 he was a member of the old Congress, 
and in 1788, having been appointed judge of the Su- ' 
preme Court in the Northwest Territory, he removed 
to Marietta, where he died, January 10, 1789. 

Samuel Hoar, of Concord, was descended from 
Charles Hoar, sheriff of Gloucester, England, who 
died in that city in 1634. His widow, Joanna, came 
to New England about 1640 with five children, the 
sixth and oldest child, Thomas, remaining in Eng- 
land. Of these five children, Joanna married Colonel 



BENCH AND BAR. 



Edmund Quincy; Margery married a Matthews in 
England, and in this country, when a widow, Rev. 
Henry Flint, of Braintree; Daniel went to England 
in 1(15?.; Leonard was president of Harvard College 
from ^^e|ltenlber 10, 1072, until his death, March I-"?, 
1074-75; and John settled in Scituate and removed 
to Concord about KSOO. The mother died in Brain- 
tree, December 23, 1061. John, who settled in Con- 
cord, by a wife Alice, who died June 5, 1097, had 
Elizabeth, who married Jonathan Prescott ; Mary, 
who married Benjamin Graves, and Daniel, who mar- 
ried, in 1077, JIury Stratton. Daniel had John, 
Leonard, Daniel, Joseph, Jonathan, Mary, Samuel, 
Isaac, David and Elizabeth. Of these Daniel, the 
thitd son, married, in 1705, Sarah Jones, and had 
four sons — John, Daniel, Jonathan and Timothy — 
and several daughters. Of these, John married Eliz- 
abeth Coolidge, of Watertown, and was the father of 
Samuel and Leonard, of Lincoln. Of these two sons, i 
Samuel married Susanna Pierce and was the father ; 
of the subject of this sketch. He lived in Lincoln | 
and was a lieutenant in the Revolution, a magistrate, 
Representative, Senator and a member of the Consti- 1 
tutional Convention of 1820. [ 

The subject of this sketch was born in Lincoln, ' 
May 18, 1778, and titted for college with Rev. Charles | 
Stearns, of that town, graduating at Harvard in 1802. i 
After leaving college he was two years a tutor in the j 
family of Colonel Taylor, of Mount Airy, in Virginia, : 
and at the close of his law studies with Artemas 
Ward, in Charlestown, was admitted to the bar in 
September, 1805, and settled in Concord. In 1800 
he declined the office of the professorship of Mathe- 
matics at Harvard, having already in his first year of 
professional life acquired a very considerable practice. 
He rose rapidly to the front rank of lawyers at the 
Middlesex bar, and in almost all important cases in 
the courts of that county he was counsel on one side 
or the other. It has been said of him that " so emi- 
nently practical and useful and so much to the point 
did he always aim to make himself, that one would 
not sjieak of Mr. Hoar as especially learned or saga- 
cious or eloquent, save when the precise condition of 
his cause needed the exercise of sagacity, of persua- 
sive speech or the support of learning. He threw 
away no exertion by misplaced eftbrts, but what his 
cause demanded he was usually able to furnish, and 
few men could judge as well as he by what means his 
object would be best accomplished. No man was 
more safe than he as an adviser; none more fully 
prepared to meet the varying exigenciesoftlie forum ; 
no one, whatever his gifts of speech, more favorably 
impressed or convincingly addressed a jury. His 
style as a speaker was calm, dignified, simple, direct 
and unimpassioned, but he si)olie as one who was 
first convinced, before he attempted to convince his 
tribunal. While he never went below the proper 
dignity of time, place and occasion, at the same time 
he would never fail to receive from all the juries and 



bystanders at a Jliddlesex yiisi priiis term the general 
award that he was the most sincere and sensible man 
that ever argued cases at that bar. Nor was this all. 
To the measure also of a greatness even to the sur- 
prise of his friends could he raise his efforts as an 
advocate when the occasion called for a full exhifei-. 
tion of his clear, strong, logical faculty, or excited* 
those genuine emotions from which spring the foun- 
tains of eloquence." It may be stated as an illustra- 
tion of the simple confidence reposed by the people 
of Middlesex County in his opinion and word, that on 
one occasion, when a jury failing to agree was called 
into court by the judge, the foreman said that there 
was no misunderstanding of the law on the evidence, 
but that they were embarrassed by the fact that while 
the evidence clearly proved the prisoner guilty, Mr. 
Hoar had said in his speech for the defense that he 
believed him innocent. 

Mr. Hoar devoted himself almost exclusively to the 
labor of his profession until 1835, when he took his 
seat as a member of the Twenty-fourth Congress. He 
had, however, previous to that time represented Con- 
cord in the convention for the revision of the Consti- 
tution in 1820, and was a member of the State Senate 
in 1820, '32 and '33. In Congress he succeeded Edward 
Everett as a Representative from the Middlesex Dis- 
trict. Soon after his single term in Congress he 
withdrew from the practice of law, and devoted him- 
self to literary and philanthropic pursuits. He was 
a member of the Harrisburg Convention, which nom- 
inated General Harrison for the Presidency in 1839, 
and until ten years later than that time he was an 
unwavering supporter of the Whig party. 

Not long after this time events occurred with which 
Mr. Hoar was personally connected, which served as 
one of the causes of that upheaval of public senti- 
ment at the North against the institution of slavery 
which was destined to extinguish that institution for- 
ever. On the I'Jth of December, 1835, the Legislature 
of South Carolina passed an act providing that any 
free negro or person of color coming voluntarily into 
the State should be warned to depart, and failing so 
to depart, on returning after such warning, should be 
publicly sold as a slave. Under this act colored 
stewards, or cooks, or sailors of vessels entering South 
Carolina ports were to be .seized and placed in jail, 
and there confined until the departure of the vessel in 
which they had come, and if they failed to dejiart 
with their vessels, or if they returned, they were to be 
sold as slaves. After several remonstrances made by 
Massachusetts against the treatment of her citizens 
under this Act, the I/egislature, in March, 1843, jyass- 
ed resolves authorizing the Governor to employ an 
agent in the port of Charleston, " for the purpose of 
collecting and transmitting accurate information re- 
specting the number and names of citizens of Massa- 
chusetts who have heretofore been, or may be during 
the period of his engagement, imprisoned without the 
allegation of any crime. The said agent shall also be 



xlvi 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



enabled to bring and prosecnte, with the aid of coun- 
sel, one or more suits in behalf of any citizen that 
may be so imprisoned, at the expense of Massachu- 
setts, for the purpose of having the legality of such 
imprlsenmeut tried and determined upon in the 
Supreme Court of the United States." On the Hilh 
of March, 1844, another resolve was passed, under 
which Governor George N. Briggs employed Mr. Hoar 
on the 11th of October in that year. It is unneces- 
sary to here recount the various incidents which pre- 
ceded the enforced return of Mr. Hoar to Massachu- 
setts. He reached Charleston on the 28th of Novem- 
ber, and on the ."ith of December the Legislature of 
South Carolina adopted the following resolutions : 

" Beaoh'ed, That the right to exclude from their territories seditious 
persons or others whoso presence may be dangerous to their peace, is es- 
sential to every independent state. 

"JieBotved, That free negroes and persons of color are not citizens of 
the United States within the meaning of the Constitution, which confers 
upon the citizens of one state the privileges and immunities of citizens 
in the several states. 

" Remlved, That the emissary sent by the State of Massachusetts to 
the State of South Carolina..\vith the avowed purpose of interfering with 
her institutions and disturijingher peace, is to be regarded in the char- 
acter he lias assumed, and to be treated accordingly. 

^' Resolved^ That his Excellency the Governor be requested to expel 
from our territory the said agent after due notice to depart ; and that 
the Legislature will sustain the executive authority in any measures it 
may adopt for the purpose aforesaid." 

An agent of the Governor to carry these resolutions 
into effect reached Charleston from Columbia, the 
capital, on the afternoon of Tuesday, the 6th of 
December; but Mr. Hoar, on the representation of the 
mayor and sheriff' and leading citizens, that he 
could not remain with safety, had that morning em- 
barked on his return. In the attempted performance 
of the duties of his mission he acted with coolness, 
composure, courage and good judgment. He did not 
fly from the danger, but yielded reluctantly to the 
necessities of the occasion, and Governor Briggs stated, 
in a special message to the Legislature, " that his con- 
duct under the circumstances seems to have been 
marked by that prudence, firmness and wisdom which 
has distinguished his character through his life." 
In seeming recognition of his services and approval 
of his course, the Legislature, in the following Janu- 
ary, by whom at that time the Executive Council 
were appointed, chose him one of that body. 

In 1848 Mr. Hoar, believing the nomination of Gen- 
eral Taylor an abandonment by the Whig party of 
its opposition to the extension of slavery, joined in 
the formation of the Free Soil party and presided at 
a convention at Worcester, June 28, 1848, to which 
all opposed to nominations of General Taylor and 
General Cass by the Whig and Democratic parties 
were invited. A national convention was afterwards 
held at BuflTalo, and Jlartin Van Buren and Cluirles 
Francis Adams were nominated for President and 
Vice-President. This ticket was supported by Mr. 
Hoar. 

In 1850 Mr. Hoar was chosen Representative to the 
Legislature, and by his eflbrts the removal of the 



•courts from Concord was postponed for a season, and 
largely through his influence and speech, Harvard 
College was preserved from State control. 

In 1854 and 1855 Mr. Hoar aided conspicuously in 
the formation of the Republican party, and the 
events initiating and attending the birth of that 
party were the last in which he publicly engaged. He 
died November 2, 1856. 

Mr. Hoar married Sarah, daughter of Roger Sher- 
man, of Connecticut, October 13, 1812, who died Oc- 
tober 30, 1866. Their children were: Elizabeth, born 
July 14, 1814, and died April 7, 1878; Ebenezer 
Rockwood, born February 21, 1816 ; Sarah Sherman, 
boru November 9, 1817 ; Samuel Johnson, born Feb- 
ruary 4, 1820, and died January 18, 1821; Edward Sher- 
man, born December 22, 1823 ; and George Frisbie, 
born August 29, 1826. 

Artemas Ward was the son of General Artemas 
Ward, of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, who was the 
commander-in-chief of the Massachusetts forces at 
the beginning of the Revolutionary War, and after- 
wards first major-general under General Washing- 
ton. General Ward held other important offices, both 
before and after the Revolution, and was known as a 
man of high principle and inflexible integrity. On 
the maternal side, Artemas Ward traced his ancestry 
to Dr. Increase Mather. He was born at Shrewsbury 
January 9, 1762. He graduated at Harvard (College 
in 1783. 

After finishing his law studies he began the prac- 
tice of his profes.sion in Weston, Massachusetts, where 
he became known and respected, both as a lawyer 
and a citizen. He was active in town affairs, being 
representative in the General Court in 1796, 1797, 
1798, 1799 and 1800, and holding other town oflices. 
He was captain of a company of light infantry raised 
in Middlesex County, from September 7, 1789, to 
March 31, 1798, when his resignation of his command 
was accepted. 

In 1800 when his brother-in-law, Samuel Dexter, 
the eminent lawyer, who held high oflices under the 
National (Tovernment, left Charlestown, to attend to 
his duties in Washington, Artemas Ward removed to 
Charlestown to take the place of Mr. Dexter. He 
was a member of the Executive Council in 1803, 
1804, 1805, 1808 and 1809. 

In 1810 he became a citizen of Boston, where he re- 
sided until his death. 

In 1811 he was one of the representatives from 
Boston in the General Court. He represented the 
Boston district in the Thirteenth and the Fourteenth 
Congress (from March, 1813, to March, 1817), declin- 
ing a re-election at the end of his second term. He 
was a member of the State Senate, from Suffolk ( 'ounty, 
in 1818 and 1819, and of the convention to revise 
the Constitution of Massachusetts in 1820. 

In 1819 he became judge of the Boston Court of 
Common Pleas, and upon the abolition of this tribu- 
nal and the establishment of the Court of Common 




o//. 



li^^ 



BENCH AND BAR. 



xlvii 



Pleas for the Commonwealth, in 1S21, he was aj)- 
pointed chief justice of the last-named court. This 
position he retained until 1839, when he resigned. 

At the height of his practice he was invited to ac- 
cept a seat on the bench of the Supreme Judicial 
Court, but declined for domestic reasons. 

He was a member of the Board of Overseers of 
Harvard College from 1810 to 1844, and received the 
degree of LL.D. from the college in 1842. 

He married Catharine Maria Dexter, January 14, 
1788. Miss Dexter was the daughter of Hon. Samuel 
Dexter, then a resident of Weston, and sister of Sam- 
uel Dexter, the distinguished lawyer. There were 
seveu children of this marriage, of whom the last 
survivor died iu 1881. 

During the last few years of his life he was in fee- 
ble health, and seldom left his house. He died Octo- 
ber 7, 1847. 

Such are the facts which have been found as to the 
life of Artemas Ward, gathered mostly from the rec- 
ords of his time. They tell us little of the real man, 
as he appeared to those among whom he lived, and 
who took part with him in the action of his day— 
though from the number of responsible offices to 
which he was called, it may be inferred that he 
showed himself faithful in the performance of duty, 
and had the respect and esteem of the cojnmunity. 

The present writer cannot hope to supply the defi- 
ciencies in this narrative, so as to give a true repre- 
sentation of Artemas Ward as he was. There seem to 
be no sources from which the necessary information 
can be procured. He left no writins of his own which 
may be referred to for the purpose, nor has much been 
written of him by others. His generation has passed 
away, and none who can properly be called his con- 
temporaries are left to tell of him. His children, who 
remembered him with warm love and a feeling which 
was almost reverence, are gone. His descendants now 
living knew him only as one who had already en- 
tered upon the period of old ago. But something 
may be added to make the account less imperfect. 

He was a man of solid and substantial qualities- 
with no taste for ostentation or display. As a lawyer 
he devoted himself to his i>rofession ; as a judge, to 
tlie duties of his position; in the various elective of- 
fices which he filled, he did the work that was to be 
done. In Congress he spoke sometimes, but not often. 

He was not a politician in the usual sense of the 
word.' Yet he held decideil political opinions, sym- 
pathising with the old Federal party till its dissolu- 
tion and afterwards with the Whig party. He had 
much anti-slavery feeling, being interested in the 
cause in its earlier days, before it had grown popular 
and its advocates had become a political power. 

It has been said of him ; " If we should select any 
one trait as |)articularly distinguishing him, by the 
universal consent of those who best and those who 
least knew him, it would be his inflexible regard to 
justice. . . , 



"Of his keen and resolute sense of justice others 
may speak besides his professional companions. It 
was seen in other relations than those which he sus- 
tained towards the legal interests of the Common- 
wealth. It was manifested in his political course. 
Conscientiously attached to one of the two great 
parties which then divided the nation, he gave 
a firm support to the measures which he thought 
right, and as strenuously resisted those which he 
deemed wrong. In his njore private connections 
he showed the same unswerving purpose of rectitude, 
the same disaiiprobation of whatever was false or 
mean, the same reverence for the right." ' 

The estimation in which he was held by those 
knowing him and practicing in his court, will appear 
from the proceedings at a meeting of the Suiiblk Bar, 
held Oct. 8, 1847, the day after his decease. 

Hon. Richard Fletcher, in offering resolutions at 
the meeting, spoke thus ; 

" The decease of the late Chief Justice Ward is an 
event which must be deeply felt by the members of 
this bar, and I presume there can be but one feeling 
and one sentiment as to the propriety of our ofi'cring 
some public testimonial of our respect for his memory. 
He had reached an advanced age, and his long life 
had been usefully and honorably spent. As a man, in 
all the relations of domestic and social life, he sus- 
tained a most exemplary and elevated character. As 
a member of our national Legislature, his duties 
were faithfully and ably performed. As a lawyer he 
acquired and maintained a high rank. But it is in 
his judicial character that he is most known and 
more particularly remembered by the present mem- 
bers of the bar. 

" He came to the bench as Chief Justice of the 
Court of Common Pleas, under its present organ- 
ization in 1821. It will, I presume, be universally 
admitted that he was eminently qualified for the 
duties of that oftice. He had a matured and estab- 
lished character. He had ample store of legal learn- 
ing and habits of business admirably adapted to the 
great amount of details in the business of his court. 
He had great patience and equanimity of temper- 
qualities of great value in any station of life, but 
essential to a judge. His conduct on the bench was 
marked by uniform courtesy and kindness — crowning 
qualities of any judge of any court, without which 
any judge of any court must lose most of his dignity 
and much of his usefulness." 

Among the resolutions adopted at the meeting were 
the following : 

" lirsolved. That this bar would honor his memory, 
as well for his great worth as a man, as for the distin- 
guished ability, learning, integrity, patience and 
fidelity with which, for a long course of years, he 
discharged the important duties of his judicial sta- 
tion. 



1 Sermon by Bov. E. S. Gannett, preached Oct. 17, 1847. 



xlviii 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



"Resolved, That the members of this bar hold in 
grateful remembrance the courtesy and kindness 
which on the bouch he uniformly extended to them in 
the pLTformance of their professional labors." 

ICphrai.m Wood was descended from William 
Wood, who settled in Concord in 1G38. William 
Wood died May 14, 1()71, at the age of eighty-nine 
years, leaving a son, Michael, and a daughter, Ruth, 
the wife of Thomas Wheeler. Michael died May 13, 
1(!74, having had .\braham, Isaac, Thomson, Jacob, 
.John and Abigail, who married Stephen Hosmer. ( )1 
these, Jacob married Mary Wheeler in 1(J97, and died 
October 6, 1728, having had Jacob, Mary, Ephraim, 
Dorcas, Hannah and Millicent. Of these, Ephraim 
married Mary Buss, and was the father of Ephraim, 
the subject of this sketch. The last Ephraim was 
born in Concord, August 1, 1733, and died in Concord, 
April 8, 1814. He learned the trade of shoemaker, 
but rapidly advanced both in social and political life. 
He was chosen town clerk in 1771, selectman, assessor 
and overseer of the poor, and served in these offices 
many years. He was one of the judges of the Court 
of Common Pleas under the Constitution, and in 
various ways rendered important services to the com- 
munity. 

James Temple, sou of Benjamin Temple, was born 
in Concord, September 20, 1766, and graduated at 
Dartmouth in 1794. He taught the gramnuir school 
in Concord in 17it5 and 1796, and read law with Jon- 
athan Fay, of that town. He settled in the law at 
Cambridge, and died IMarch 10, 1802. 

William Crosby was born in Billerica, June 3, 
1770, and graduated at Harvard in 1794. He read 
law with Samuel Dana, of Groton, and settled in Bel- 
fast, Maine, where he died March 31, 1852. 

Ei'iiRAlM BuTTRK'K, SOU of Samuel Buttrick, of 
Concord, was born in that town about 1790 and grad- 
uated at Harvard in 1819. He was admitted to the 
Middlesex bar in 1823 and settled in East Cambridge. 

Joux Milton Cheney, son of Hezekiah Cheney, 
of Concord, was born about 1801 and graduated at 
Harvard in 1S21. He settled as a lawyer in Concord, 
and was appointed cashier of the ( "oncord Bank in 
April, 1832. He did in 1869. 

Horatio Cook Merriam, born in Concord, grad- 
uated at Harvard in 1829, and settled in the law at 
Lowell. 

Daniel Neediiam was born in Salem, Massachu- 
setts, May 24, 1822. The branch of the Needhani 
family to which he belongs has for several generations 
consistently adhered to the doctrine and usages of the 
Society of Friends. 

Edmoud Needham, the first .Vmerican ancestor on 
his father's side, arrived in this country between the 
years 1635 and 1640. The date of his birth, the name 
of his birthplace in England and the date of his 
death are not known. His force of character and 
godliness of life were well known to his contempo- 
raries, and impressed themselves upon his will, which 



is dated "fourth month, 1677." The opening para- 
graph reads as follows : 

" The will and last testament of Edmond Needham, 
of Lyn, in New England being, blessed be God, in his 
perfect knowledge, memory, and understanding, tlio' 
otherwise ill in body mak ye writin by min on hand, 
and according to min on mind, to my children and 
grandchildren as follows:" 

He left two sons, of which Ezekiel was the elder ; j 
Edmond Needham (2d) was born in 1679 or 1680, \ 
and was married March 15, 1702. His family record, 
like those of the majority of the Friends, exhibits the 
principal lines of descent, but is extremely deficient 
in minor particulars, and fails to indicate the time of 
his birth. Daniel Needham, born December 5, 1703, 
was the father of Daniel Needham, who was born 
in 1754. He was a merchant by occupation 
and engaged in trade with Philadelphia. The 
names of his wife and the date of his death are alike 
unknown. His son James, born January 1, 1789, in 
Salem, was a tobacco manufacturer, and largely inter- ' 
ested in trade in South .\merica. His moral convic- I 
tions and humane sympathies were fully enlisted in 
the great anti-slavery agitation. The temperance re- 
form also found in him a wise and strong exponent. | 
He married Lydia, daughter of Benjamin Breed, of ' 
Lynn, who was born January 26, 1795, and who be- 
came the mother of his five children. He died in 
1845. 

Daniei, the subject of this sketch, the son of 
James and Lydia Needham, was educated in the cel- 
ebrated Friend's School, at Providence, Rhode Island. 
In 1845 he began the study of law in the office of 
Judge David Roberts, at Salem, and was admitted to 
the bar of IMiddlesex County in 1847. Prior to his 
qualifications for legal practice, Mr. Needham had 
been deeply interested in the Peterborough and Shir- 
ley Railroad, and, although quite young, had been 
made one of the board of directors. While officiating 
in this capacity his moral principles were subjected to 
the severest strain ; but they resolutely bore the test, 
and thus demonstrated the real excellence of the man. 
It had seemed a matter of necessity that the Board of 
Directors should endorse the paper of the corporation 
to the amount of $42,000. When the obligations ma- 
tured, other directors put their property out of their 
hands. Mr. Needham took a wholly different course. 
As it was, there was a probability of .accumulating the 
funds thus forfeited, but in case of practical repudi- 
ation there was no possibility of expunging the stain 
from his reputation. He therefore gave up his prop- 
erty to the value of $35,000, obtained an extension of 
time for the payment of the remainderof the debt and 
continued to prosecute his business. He secured from 
the New Hampshire Legislature authority to issue 
construction bonds. These he sold in the market on 
such favorable terms that his ultimate loss was less 
than $2000. The clear gain was an untarnished name, 
which the highest authority affirms to be of more value 








^^^ 



BENCH AND BAR. 



xlix 



than " great riches." Thus in hia twenty-sixth year 
the community held tlie key to the future of his 
career, which, from his known rectitude and decision, 
could not be other than honorable and beneficent. 
Fully prepared as he was for the pursuits of a legal 
practitionet, Mr. Needham prosecuted them to a lim- 
ited extent. 

Interesting himself in agriculture, he successfully 
conducted the management of several farms — one 
at Hartford, Vermont; one at Dover, Delaware; 
one at Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, and others in Mas- 
sachusetts. This continued for several years. In 
1857, iu association with others, he erected a woolen- 
mill at Montello, Wisconsin. He also bought a 
grain-mill situated on the same stream, on his own 
account. In 1865 he purchased the interests of his 
partners in the woolen-mill and became its sole pro- 
prietor. The business of both mills was then carried 
on by him until 1872. Both enterprises had been 
financially profitable. In 1866 Mr. Needham was 
one of three gentlemen who successfully introduced 
the "hand fire extinguisher" into the United States. 
He was the first president of the company organized 
for its manufacture. A French invention originally, it 
was improved iu several important respects, and com- 
manded a lucrative sale. 

He was appointed national bank examiner for 
Massachusetts in 1871, an office which he held from 
1871 to 1880. One hundred and eighty-five national 
banks were in his charge, and all of these, with two 
exceptions, were located in Massachusetts. During 
his term of office more oflicial defalcations were 
brought to light than in the united terms of all other 
national bank examiners. The first of these was at 
the Lechmere National Bank, in 1873. Then fol- 
lowed in quick succession notably those conected 
with the Merchants' National Bank, of Lowell, the 
Hingham National Bank, of Hingham, the First 
National Bank, of New Bedford, and the Pacific Na- 
tional Bank, of Boston ; more than a year before the 
collapse of the last-named institution he called atten- 
tion to the reckless manner in which its business 
was done ; but warning and advice were both un- 
heeded. The crash followed, and the bank itself 
came officially into Mr. Needham's hands on the 18th 
of November, 1881. Carefully husbanding its re- 
sources and adjusting its numerous complications, he 
partially reconstructed its organization, and by direc- 
tion of the Governinent returned it to the hands of 
the directors ; but owing to many of its .assets prov- 
ing worthless, it again passed into the hands of a 
receiver. 

In political life Mr. Needham's experience has 
been wide and various. In 1851 he was appointed 
to an official position on Governor Boutwell's stafi', 
with the rank and title of colonel. In 1853 he suc- 
ceeded C.deb Gushing as chairman of the Democratic 
Stale Committee and discharged his duties with great 
executive ability until 1854. In 1854 he was the 
J> 



Democratic candidate for Congress in the Seventh 
Massachusetts District, but was defeated by his 
Kuow-Nothing competitor. In 1855 Col. Needham 
purchased a large farm in Vermont and changed his 
residence from Massachusetts to tliat State. In 1857 
he was elected to the Vermont legislature from the 
town of Hartford. In 1858 he was reelected to the 
same position. Serving on the Committee on Educa- 
tion, he saw the necessity of a Reform School and 
earnestly advocated its foundation. Success was de- 
layed, but was ultimately attained, and largely 
through his efforts. In 185;) and 1860 he represented 
Windsor County in the Vermont State Senate, and was 
a member of the Senate at the special session of 1861. 

From 1857 to 1863 he rendered valuable service to 
Vermont as the secretary of the State Agricultural 
Society. In the last of these years he represented 
Vermont at the World's Exposition of Industry and 
Art in the city of Hamburg. There he secured for 
his State the first prizes for excellence of exhibited 
Merino sheep. European competitors were at first in- 
clined to be indignant at his success, but finally 
acknowledged that it was merited. In America his 
services received due meed of applause aud are still 
held in pleasant memory. 

Requested by the United States Government to pre- 
pare a report of the Exposition, he re-ponded to the 
demand, and the result of his mission to Germany is 
given to the country in the Patent Office Report of 
1863. 

Colonel Needham returned to the United States in 

1864, and re-established himself in his former home 
in Massachusetts. Elected to the lower house of the 
Legislature from Groton in 1867, he served on several 
important committees of that body. In 1868 and 
1869 he was returned to the Massachusetts State Sen- 
ate. As chairman of the committee charged with 
the duty of investigating the affairs of the Hartford 
aud Erie Railroad, whose managers wished to obtain 
aid from the State, he made a thorough examination 
of its organization, business and prospects; was 
chairman of the committee appointed to inquire into 
the advisability of permitting the Boston and Albany 
Railroad Company to issue stock to stockholders. On 
the question of granting authority to towns to sub- 
scribe for stock in aid of certain railroads, he voted 
with the minority. Subsequently, events vindicated 
the wisdom of his action. 

Colonel Needham was elected secretary of the New 
England Agricultural Society, at its organization in 

1865, and has since sustained that position. Singu- 
larly efficient in the exercise of his functions, his real 
zeal and abilities have been among the principal fac- 
tors of its success. This society has held agricultural 
fairs in all the New England States, and that with full 
share of public patronage and with exceptional pecu- 
niary success. At times responsible for the expenses 
incurred, he has skillfully conducted affairs so as to 
escape financial loss. 



lii 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX CQUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



and the discretion, coolness and judgment which 
characterized him during its continuance, gave him 
a national reputation which his subsequent career in 
the chair only served to enhance. In the autumn of 
1857 he was chosen by the Republican party Governor 
of Massachusetts, and on the 1st of January, 1858, 
resigned his seat in Congress to assume office. As 
Governor he fully met the expectations of the com- 
munity in the performance of his official duties, 
while an address which as Governor he was called 
upon to deliver at the dedication of Agassiz Museum, 
gave him a renown as a scholar, for which the literary 
world had not been prepared. 

After leaving the Gubernatdral chair he was made 
president of the Illinois Central Railroad, and occu- 
pied that position when the War of the Rebellion 
broke out. He at once offered his services to the 
President and received a commission as major-general 
of volunteers, dated May 16, 1861. He was soon iifter 
appointed to command the Annapolis Military Dis- 
trict, and subsequently that of the Shenandoah. No 
man had at this time a clearer conception of the char- 
acter of the war in which the nation had engaged, 
and of ita probable duration. In May, 1861, about 
the time of his appointment to the Annapolis Dis- 
trict, the writer, then on a tour of survey among Mas- 
sachusetts men in the field by order of Governor An- 
drew, met General Banks at Fort McHenrv, near Balti- 
more, where General Devens, then a major, was sta- 
tioned in command of a Worcester battalion. General 
Banks rode from the fort to Baltimore with him, and 
expressed his belief that the call for troops, which 
then had been made, was wholly inadequate for a 
struggle which he confidently expected would last at 
least four years. On the 24th of May, 1862, he was 
attacked in the Shenandoah by Stonewall Jackson 
and compelled to retreat. In the battle of Cedar 
Mountain, August 9, 1862, he commanded a corps 
under General Pope, and in December of that year 
succeeded General Butler as commander of the De- 
partment of Louisiana. He took Opelousas in April, 
1863 ; Alexandria in May ; and Port Hudson on the 
8th of July. In March, 1864, he commanded an ex- 
pedition to the Red River, the results of which were 
not fortunate. In May, 1864, he was relieved from 
command. Like other civilian generals in the war, 
it is probable that he failed to receive from officers of 
a military education that cordial cooperation and sup- 
port which are essential to success in operations in 
the field. He came out of the war with a reputation 
for honesty, fidelity, patriotism and courage, and for 
ability as a soldier fully up to the standard which it 
might have been expected that a man without mili- 
tary experience would reach. 

In 1865 General Banks was chosen member of 
Congress again to the Thirty ninth Congress, for the 
unexpired term of D. W. Gavit, and was re-elected 
to the Fortieth, Forty-first, Forty-second, Forty-fourth 
and Forty-fifth Congresses, and, March 11, 1879, was 



appointed United States marshal, serving until April 
23, 1888. In the autumn of 1888 he was chosen again 
to Congress — to the Fifty-first Congress — and is now 
serving in that capacity. 

Joseph Willard, son of Rev. Joseph Willard, 
president of Harvard College from 1781 to his death, 
in 1804, was born in Cambridge March, 14, 1798, and 
graduated at Harvard in 1816. He settled in the law 
in Cambridge, but removed to Boston in 1829. From 
1839 until 1855 he was clerk of the Common Pleas 
Court for Suffolk, and in that year he was appointed 
clerk of the Superior Court for the county of Suffolk. 
When that court was abolished, in 1859, he was 
chosen clerk of the Superior Court of the Common- 
wealih for the county of Suffolk, and so continued 
until his death. May 12, 1805. From 1829 to 1864 he 
was the corresponding secretary of the Massachusetts 
Historical Society, and in 1826 published a hiitory of 
the town of Lancaster, and in 1858 the life of Simon 
Willard. His son, Morgan Sidney Willard, was 
killed at Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862. 

George F. Farley. — It is always a difficult, if 
not impossible, task to portray the qualities and char- 
acteristics of an eminent man in a memoir or in his- 
tory so that he will be seen, known and judged by 
posterity as by his contemporaries. In this regard 
the painter has the decided advantage over the biog- 
rapher and the historian, for the painter, when poring 
over the face of a man, divinely, through all hin- 
drance, finds the man behind it, and so paints him 
that his face, the thape and color of a life and soul, 
lives for his children, ever at its best and fullest. 

In attempting to write a just, accurate and full 
biographical sketch of the late George Frederick 
Farley, the writer is convinced of the impossibility of 
performing this task with any measure of satisfaction 
to himself or of justice to its distinguished subject. 

He was the son of Benjamin and Lucy (Fletcher) 
Farley, and was born in Dunstable, in the Common- 
wealth of Massachusetts, April 5, 1793, and graduated 
at Harvard College in 1816. He read law in the office 
of his brother, Hon. B. M. Farley, of Hollis, in the State 
of New Hampshire, and Hon. Luther Lawrence, of 
Groton, in said Commonwealth. He was admitted to 
the bar and commenced the practice of his profession 
at New Ipswich in 1821. In the year 1831 he was a 
member of the New Hampshire General Court from 
New Ipswich, and in the same year removed to Gro- 
ton, in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, where 
he practiced his profession until his death, November 
8, 1855. 

He inherited a strong constitution, and always en- 
joyed vigorous health. He possessed a gigantic in- 
tellect, but it was associated with the finest emotions 
and the most genial feelings. He was " rich in sav- 
ing common sense and in his simplicity absolute." 

He had no disposition to enter into political life 
nor any ambition for its laurel". 

He gave his sole and undivided attention to the 



BENCH AND BAR. 



liii 



practice of his profession, which he dearly loved, and 
which was the fit arena for the exercise and display 
of his marveious powers. He met without fear the 
greatest lawyers of his day in New Hampshire and 
in Massachusetts — Webster, Mason, Dexter and others 
— and always held his own. This fact is a conclusive 
test and proof of his extraordinary ability as a law- 
yer and advocate. 

la a conversation with Mr. VVebster in the last year 
of his life, he used the following language in speak- 
ing of Mr. Farley: "I know him well — we have 
measured lances together. He is a very great law- 
yer." In his brief practice in New Hampshire he 
attained very high distinction, and was retained in its 
most important causes, and encountered its most emi- 
nent lawyers. 

Upon his removal to Massachusetts he quickly dis- 
covered, by his retainer in causes of magnitude in 
Middlesex, Worcester, Essex and Suffolk Counties, 
that his fame as a lawyer and advocate had preceded 
him. 

Among these cases was one when the late eminent 
lawyer, Samuel Mann, was his junior counsel — the fa- 
mous " Convent case," as it was called — where a large 
number of men were indicted for the alleged burning 
of the convent. It was one of the most' celebrated 
cases in the history of trials in Massachusetts. 

Mr. Farley defended all of the defendants, and with 
such consuram.ate skill and ability that all of his 
clients were acquitted. 

In this case the Lady Superior took the stand as a 
witness for the Government, attired in a thick veil, 
which completely concealed her face. Mr. Farley 
requested her to raise her veil. The Lady Superior 
refused. Mr. Farley addressed the Court, demand- 
ing that the witness should lift her veil, because, he 
claimed, that his client< had the constitutional right 
to look upon the witnesses against them face to face. 
The Court so ordered, and the veil was raised, much 
to the indignation and discomfiture of the Lady Su- 
perior, who found that the law of the convent was 
not the law of the courts. 

Among the notable criminal cases in which Mr. 
Farley was engaged, was a capital case, tried at 
Keene, New Hampshire, after he had established his 
residence in Groton. His client was indicted for the 
murder of his wife by poison. Prof. Webster, who 
analyzed the contents of the stomach of the wife, 
testified as a witness for the government. 

Mr. Farley in his keen, adroit and searching cross- 
examination of Prof. Webster, elicited the most im- 
portant fact for the defence, that he employed poisons 
as tests in his analysis, and put him into a furious 
rage by the suggestion of the probability that the 
poisons contained in his tests satisfactorily explained 
and accounted for the presence of poisons, which he 
testified he had found in the stomach. The cross- 
examination of Prof. Webster in this trial was merci- 
less, astute and triumphant, as the great lawyer ex- 



posed, with his imperturbable coolness and self-posses- 
sion and perfect confidence in his position, the intrin- 
sic weakness of his testimony as well as his ungov- 
ernable temper, and will be long remembered as one 
of the masterpieces of cross-examination in the courts 
of that State. The verdict of the jury in this ciise 
was for the prisoner, and wholly due to the transcen- 
dent skill and ability with which Mr. Farley conduct- 
ed the defence. 

Hon. John Appleton, ex-chief justice of the Su- 
preme Court of the State of Maine, who was the first 
law student in the office of Mr. Farley in New Ips- 
wich and whoalwaysenjoyed his friendship during his 
life, saysof Mr. Farley : " He was an intellectual giant. 
He was one of the foremost men at the bar of New 
England. It was in the logic of his argument that 
he was strong. Grant his premises, and the conclusion 
followed necessarily and irresistibly. He made prece- 
dents rather than followed them. His logical powers 
were superior to those of any man I ever met. As a 
student in his office I was on quite intimate terms 
with him. I think if I have acquired any reputaiion, 
it is due in no slight degree to the advice and instruc- 
tion I received from him." 

The Hon. Amasa Norcross, of Fitchburg, Massa- 
chusetts, says of Mr. Farley : " In the early years of 
my practice it was my privilege to be engaged in sev- 
eral cases where Mr. Farley was senior counsel. I 
then had an opportunity to observe the remarkable 
intellectual powers he possessed. I thought then snd 
now believe that he was not then nor has he been ex- 
celled by any member of our profession in the State 
in that he was able to present a cause to a jury upon 
its facts in a manner wholly unimpassioned — I maj 
say in a conversational way ; but with a precision of 
statement and with such an admirable selection of 
words as to carry to every mind the exact meaning he 
intended and to lead to the inevitable conclusion he 
was to reach. The simple, unadorned speech, yet 
most adorned with a forceful utterance and the sever- 
est logic, uttering no useless word, all supported the 
theory — the best possible for his client that could be 
constructed from the facts. His grasping of facts in 
support of his theory, with his ingenious arrangement 
of them, was simply marvelous. No case was tried by 
him without a theory and an application of evidence 
in a way that was best calculated to sustain it. As a 
man he secured the full confidence of whatever tribu- 
nal he addressed. The Worcester County jurors were 
wont to say of him that he was the fairest man in 
argument they ever heard. The simple, direct and 
graceful speech employed by him coutrollad their 
minds, as it tended certainly to the support of that 
view of the case he had determined in his mind as 
being best for his client. The statement of certain 
general principles involved in the case and a general 
statement of his theory, if accepted by the jury, de- 
termined the result, for the masterly argument that 
followed held the jury to the end. .His treatment of 



liv 



HISTORY OF .MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



the evidence in a given case was oft-times philosophi- 
cal, aud his t'eliciiious use of language secured the 
fullest attention of the tribunal he was addressing 
and the breathless attention of all within sound of 
his voice. His style of argument was said to be not 
unlike that of the distinguished lawyer, Jeremiah Ma- 
son, who was practicing in the courts of New Hamp- 
shire when Mr. Farley entered the profession. Sever- 
al important causes pending in the courts of that 
State were tried by Mr. Farley in the later years of 
his profession. He was then regarded, as I happen 
to know, by the best lawyers of that State as a man 
possessing a remarkable intellect, and the peer of 
Mr. Jlason, who also removed to Massachusetts from 
that State." 

Hon. Peleg W. Chandler, of Boston, in speaking of 
Mr. Farley, used this language : " Farley was a very 
great lawyer. I never knew his superior as a logician ; 
nor his equal, except in Jeremiah Mason." 

Hon. Josiah G. Abbott, of Boston, writes of Mr. 
Farley : "I knew Mr. Farley from the time I was a 
studcnt-at-law, and he was in the full maturity of his 
power as long as he lived. The last ten or twelve 
years of his life I knew him very intimately. 

" He was among the ablest and strongest men I ever 
knew. He was not merely a lawyer and nothing 
else. Not only was he a good classical scholar, espec- 
ially keeping bright his knowledge of Latin writers, 
but he was a most discriminating admirer of the best, 
English literature. This, I suppose, was not gener- 
ally known, for I think he always was somewhat in- 
clined to put on an appearance of brusqueness and 
carelessness in reference to matters usually reckoned 
«as accomplishmenls. 

" He had studied the law thoroughly and made him- 
self master of all its great principles and rules. 

" But through his whole life he passed no considera- 
ble time in looking up cases and authorities. 

"He looked upon the law as establishing great prin- 
ciples and rules, to regulate and govern the conduct 
of life, and whenever legal questions were submitted 
to him he settled them by a thorough and careful 
"consideration of the principles upon which they de- 
pended, as he believed, and then looked for the author- 
ities to confirm his judgment. Early in my acquaint- 
ance with him, he told me that a lawyer who de- 
pended mainly on the study and citation of cases was 
never 'worth his salt.' The true course, he con- 
tinued, for one who wishes to make himself a real 
lawyer, was to firmly and thoroughly ground himself 
on the great principles upon which the law was 
founded, and which pervaded and governed it in its 
application to human affairs, and to make them ab- 
solutely his own. His arguments and conduct of 
cases were always governed by such considerations. 
He discussed principles, making comparatively but 
slight use of cases, thus making authorities instead of 
being governed by them. 

" To bring him up to the full measure of his powers, 



it required a cause of importance or one having some 
features which thoroughly interested him. 

" I do not think in ordinary cases he by any means 
did justice to himself. They were not large enough 
to interest him. But when he was thoroughly inter- 
ested and aroused, either by the case itself or by the 
strength of the opposing counsel, no man couUl excel 
and but few — very few- — equal him. I never knew any 
man who was a more perfect master of logic than 
Mr. Farley. At his best, it was difficult to find any 
weakness in his chain of reasoning. Grant his prem- 
ises, and his conclusions were impregnable. But logic 
was by no means all that gave him at times his won- 
derful power. Logic alone was never very successful 
with juries of masses of men. There must be some- 
thing to give warmth and heat to logic to make it 
living, not dead — to so adapt it and so mould and 
warm those to whom it is addressed, that it shall con- 
trol their thoughts and reason. When aroused no 
man had a greater power of impressing himself upon 
those he addressed, making them take his thoughts 
and his reasoning as their own. Upon whatever that 
power depends, whether it is sympathetic or magnetic, 
to use a cant phrase, or comes from sheer power of 
will and force of mind, as I rather think it does, Mr. 
Farley certainly possessed it to a most remarkable 
degree. But I do not think he ordinarily manifested 
it to any great extent. I think I have heard four or 
five arguments by him, which I never did and never 
expect to hear excelled, hardly equaled. 

" In the ordinary run of cases there were men by no 
means his equals in power, who would appear as well 
as he. ,1 always thought and I think now that Mr. 
Farley never realized the extent of his powers. 
Whatever the occasion required, he was always equal 
to and answered the demand. But I do not believe 
that supreme time ever came to him which called for 
the full measure of the great powers with which he 
was gifted. 

" As I have said, he enjoyed the classics and the best 
English literature. 

" Besides, he was interested in all newdi^overiesand 
new phases of thought. He kept well abreast with 
all advances made in his time, and no man coukl dis- 
cuss questions outside of his profession better than he, 
when he met one capable of maintaining his part in 
the discussion. With a somewhat brusque and rough 
manner he had great warmth of feeling, and when he 
wa"] a friend, was one always to be relied upon. 

" Upon the whole, Mr. Farley impressed me as being 
one of the strongest and most remarkable men I have 
ever met with. But his case shows how very little 
there is in the life of the greatest lawyer that survives 
him long. Mr. Farley conducted trials and made ar- 
guments that showed he possessed more logic, more 
reasoning power, more mind, than is shown in many 
of the books that live for centuries or than was _ever 
shown by many of the statesmen whose names have 
gone into history; yet notwithstanding this, his lepu- 



I 



BENCH AND BAR. 



Iv 



tation is now not much more than a tradition, only 
personally known to and cherished by a few, who 
linger upon the stage. It is only another instance, 
added to the long list, that the life of the lawyer, 
however great may be his powers, is written on noth- 
ing more enduring than sand or water." 

Although Jlr. Farley tried causes all over the Com- 
monwealth and in New Hampshire, it was with the 
courts of Old Middlesex, where he won so many 
forensic victories, that his fame as a jurist must be 
most intimately associated as long as the gradually 
but surely failing memory of tradition shall hold it as 
its own. 

There he was easily and always the leader of its bar, 
which was distinguished by many strong and eminent 
lawyers. In one notable cause tried there against the 
Vermont & Massachusetts Railroad, in which the late 
Judge B. E. Curtis was retained and acted as counsel 
for the company and Mr. Farley for the plaintiff, he 
most conspicuously exhibited his ready sagacity and 
tact. Some verj" handsome plans had been intro- 
duced as evidence in the case by Judge Curtis. Mr. 
Farley, in his argument to the jury, discarded these 
beautiful pictures and borrowing from one of thejury 
a piece of chalk, which every Middlesex farmer car- 
ried in his pocket, he proceeded to chalk out a dia- 
gram of the place of the accident upon the floor in 
full view of the jury, and so ingeniously employed it 
in his argument that, to use the expression of the late 
Rev. Thomas Whittemore, the president of the rail- 
way company: "Mr. Farley chalked us out of the 
case." Mr. Whittemore was so much impressed with 
the powers of Mr. Farley as manifested in that case, 
that he at once gave him a general retainer as counsel 
for his road. 

Mr. Farley always had a peculiar habit of stating 
his cases to persons whom he met while the trial was 
going on, and whom he knew as possessing sound 
common sense, evidently with a view of seeing how 
the case struck them and of eliciting from them some 
thought or suggestion which he might use when he 
came to address the twelve men of sound '■ common 
sense " who were hearing and to pass upon the 
case. 

It was his custom, when consulted by clients in his 
office, toheartheirstatements patiently, and, after care- 
fuUyqucstioning them as to all the facts, to give them 
his opinion without consulting the reports or the 
books. After his client had left he would say to the 
students in the office, who had been attentive listeners 
to the interview: " Perhaps you had better look into 
the reports and see if the Supreme Court and I 
agree." 

It was his distinguishing habit to so exhaustively 
examine and consider his opponent's case that when 
he came to state their side of the case he surprised 
them by disclosing much stronger points than they 
had discovered, but only to their embarrassment and 
defeat by his convincing and triumphant replies 



thereto. Judge Appleton, in his letter concerning 
Mr. Farley, from which quotations have been made, 
further says, in speaking of his home, where he was 
always a welcome guest : 

" His wife was one of the saints that occasionally 
appear to bless her family and friends. Few men ever 
had a happier home than it was his forrune to enjoy. 
In his family he was genial and hospitable — delight- 
ful in conversation, a good talker — which in those days 
was estimated a high compliment. An amusing and 
true anecdote is told of Mr. Farley as a conversation- 
ist. Owing to some failure of the train from Boston 
to connect with the train at Groton .Junction, as it 
was then called, but now Aver, for Groton Centre, 
where Mr. Farley resided, he concluded, as it was a 
pleasant day, to walk from the Junction to his home, 
a distance of about four miles. He had for his com- 
panion in the walk the late Rev. Mr. Richards, 
formerly pastor of the Central Church, a highly 
cultivated and able man, whose acquaintance he made 
by chance at the Junction. Mr. Farley, in speaking 
of the walk and of Jlr. Richards afterwards to the Rev. 
Mr. Bulkley, of Groton, Mr. Farley's own minister, 
and whose pulpit Mr. Richards came to fill on ex- 
change with Mr. Bulkley said : ' That Mr. Richards 
is a most delightful man. I met him accidentally at 
the Junction and made his acquaintance and we 
walked up to Groton.' Mr. Bulkley enjoyed this 
praise of his friend Richards very much, as he re- 
called what Mr. Richards said of, Mr. Farley. He 
had told Mr. Bulkley, ' that he met Mr. Farley and 
had a highly enjoyable walk with him from the 
Junction. That he was ast(mished and charmed 
with Mr. Farley's wonderful conversational powers, 
for he talked all the way from the Junction to the 
Centre, while he was a delighted listener.' This is 
but another illustration of the well-known fact that a 
good talker likes a good listener." 

Mr. Farley's great and sure reliance was upon him- 
self. He was conscious of his strength, but, as is 
usual with truly great intellects, made a modest display 
of it. 

In the con>ideration of questions of law he made 
his own paths in the practice of his profession and 
did not seek or walk in the ways furnished by other 
minds in the published reports. He possessed an 
original creative legal mind. Firmly planted in the 
principles of the common law, he applied those prin- 
ciples to the various cases as they arose. 

In his gigantic mental laboratory al! his results 
were worked out. 

Mr. Farley, at his decease, left as surviving mem- 
bers of his family — his son, George Frederick Farley, 
for many years a merchant of Boston, but now de- 
ceased, and his daughter, Sarah E. Farley, and Mary 
F. Keely, wife of Edward A. Keely, a member of the 
Suffolk bar. 

In closing this necessarily very inadequate sketch of 
Mr. Farley, it is but simple justice to his memory to 



Ivi 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



say, upon the testimony furnished therein by the able 
contemporary juiists who l^new him so ^>ell, in weigh- 
ing his character, attainments, fame and success as a 
jurist and advocate, that he had but few equals at tlie 
bar of New England. 

Geokce FitisBiE HoAK, the youngest child of Sam- 
uel and Sarah Sherman Hoar, was born in Concord 
August 29, 1826. He studied at the Concord Acad- 
emy and graduated at Harvard in 1846. After study- 
ing law at the Dane Law School in Cambridge he 
settled in Worcester, where he was chosen representa- 
tive to the State Legislature in 1852, a member of the 
Senate in 1857 and city solicitor in 1860. He was 
chosen a member of the Forty-first, Forty-second, 
Forty- third and Forty-fourth Congresses, which cov- 
ered the period from 1809 to 1875, and declined a 
nomination for the Forty-fifth Congress. He has 
been in the Senate of the United States since 1877, 
and his third term, which he is now serving, will ex- 
pire March 4, 1895. During his service in the lower 
house of Congress he was one of the managers on the 
part of the House of Representatives of the Belknap 
impeachment trial in 1876, and in the same year one 
of the Eleiitoral Commission. He was an overseer of 
Harvard College from 1874 to 1880, presided over 
the Massachusetts State Republican Conventions of 
1871, 1877, 1882 and 1885 ; was a delegate to the Re- 
publican National Conventions of 1876 at Cincinnati 
and of 1880, 1884 and 1888 at Chicago, presiding over 
the convention of 1880; was regent of the Smithson- 
ian Institute in 1880 ; has been president and i.'' now 
vice-president of the American Antiquarian Society, 
trustee of the Peabody Museum of Archa;ology, trus- 
tee of Leicester Academy ; is a member of the Massa- 
chusetts Historical Society, of the American Histor- 
ical Society and the Historic Genealogical Society and 
has received the degree of Doctor of Laws from Wil- 
liam and JIary, Amherst, Vale and Harvard Colleges, 
and is a member of other organizations too numerous 
to mention. 

Edmund Trowbridge Dana was the son of Rich- 
ard H. Dana, the lawyer and poet, and brother of 
Richard H. Dana, Jr., the author of " Two Years Be- 
fore the Mast." He was born in Cambridge, August 
29, 1818, and graduated at Vermont University in 
1839. He read law in the Dane Law School at Cam- 
bridge and practiced a few years with his brother, 
when he went to Heidelberg to pursue his studies. 
He translated and edited works on international and 
public law and political economy after his return 
home and also resumed pitictice with his brother, 
He died at Cambridge May 18, 1869. The writer 
knew him well, and believes that no man in the Com- 
monwealth held out a brighter promise of prominence 
in the literature of law when his career was abruptly 
ended by death. He was a man of infinite humor, and 
his quaint illustrations of passing events are now in 
the writer's mind as he recalls his friend to memory. 

John William Pitt Abbott, son of John Ab- 



bott, already mentioned, was born in Hampton, Con- 
necticut, April 27, 1806, and graduated at Harvard in 
1827. He read law at Westford with his father and 
at the Dane Law School, was admitted to the bar in 
June, 1830, and settled at Westford, where he suc- 
ceeded his father as treasurer of the Westford Acad- 
emy, and practiced in his profession until his death in 
1872. He was a representative to the General Court 
in 1862, a senator in 1866 and for many years select- 
man and town clerk of Westford. 

John Bigelow was born in Maiden November 25, 
1817, and graduated at Union College in 1835. After 
his admission to the bar he practiced in New York 
City about ten years, mingling literary with profes- 
sional work. In 1840 he was the literary editor of 
77(6 Plebeian, and about that time an able contrib- 
utor to the Democratic Review. In 1848 he was made 
an inspector of Sing Sing Prison, and in 1850 became 
a partner of William Cullen Bryant, of the New York 
Evening Post. In 1856 he published a life of John 
C. Fremont, in 1861 was appointed consul at Paris, 
and from 1864 to 1866 resided in that city as Minister 
of the United States, succeeding William L. Dayton. 
He is now living in New York. 

Joseph Green Cole, son of Abraham Cole, of 
Lincoln, was born about 1801 and graduated at Har- 
vard in 1822, and read law with Governor Lincoln, of 
Maine, in which State he settled in his profession and 
died in 1851. 

Albert Hobart Nelson, son of Dr. John Nelson, 
of Carlisle, was born in that town March 12, 1812, 
and graduated at Harvard in 1832, afterwards reading 
law in the Cambridge Law School. He was appointed 
chief justice of the Superior dmrt for the County of 
Sufl'olk on the establishment of that court in 1855, 
and remained on the bench until his resignation in 
the year of his death. He died in 1858. 

Alpheus B. Alger, son of Edwin A. and Amanda 
(Buswell) Alger, was born in Lowell, October 8, 1854. 
He attended the public schools of his native towa 
and graduated at Harvard in 1875. He read law in 
the ofljce of Hon. Josiah G. Abbott, and was ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1877, since which time he has 
been connected with the law firm of Brown & Alger, 
of which his father is a member. In Cambridge, 
where he resides, he has been chairman and secretary 
of the Democratic City Committee, and in 1884 he 
was a member of the Board of Aldermen. In 1886 
and 1887 he was a member of the State Senate, and 
for several years preceding the present year he was 
the secretary of the Democratic State Central Com- 
mittee. 

John Henry Hardy, son of John and Hannah 
(Farley) Hardy, was born in HoUis, New Hamp.shire, 
February 2, 1847. He received his early education 
from the public schools of Hollis and the academies 
of Mt. Vernon and New Ipswich, and graduated at 
Dartmouth in 1870. After reading law at the Dane 
Law School and in the office of Hon. Robert M. 



BENCH AND BAR. 



Ivii 



Morse, Jr., he was admitted to the Suffolk bar in 
1872, and began practice in a partnership with Geo. 
W. Morse, which continued two -years. He then as- 
soci.ated hiin.-elf with Samuel J. Elder and Thomas 
W. Proclor, with whom he continued until he was ap- 
pointed, in 1SS5, associate justice of the Boston Jluni- 
cipal Court. At the age of fifteen Judge Hardy was 
a member of the Fifteenth Regiment of Massachu- 
setts Volunteers at the siege of Port Hudson, and, 
though young in years, exhibited a resolution and 
will worthy of veterans in the service. In 1883 he 
represented the town of Arlington in the House of 
Representatives. He married, in Littleton, August 
30, 1871, Anna J. Conaiit, a descendant of Roger C'o- 
nant, and daughter of Levi Conant. 

George As»os Beuce, son of Nathaniel and Lucy 
(Butterfield) Bruce, was born in Mt. Vernon, New 
Hampshire, November 19, 1839. He was fitted for 
college at the Appleton Academy, in Mt. Vernon, 
and graduated at Dartmouth in 1861. In 1862 he 
wiis commissioned Fiist Lieutenant of the Thiiteenth 
New Hampshire Regiment, and served as aide, judge 
advocate, inspector and assistant adjutant-general un- 
til he was mustered out, July 3, 1865. During his 
service he received three brevet promotions. He 
studied Law in Lowell, and was admitted to the Mid- 
dlesex bar in that city, in October, 1866. During 
that year he was a member of the New Hampshire 
Legislature from his native town. He began practice 
in Boston in 1867, where he lived until 1874, when 
he removed to Somerville, of which city he was may- 
or in 1877, 188U and 1881. He was a member of the 
Massachu.setts Senate in 1882, 1883 and 1881, and, in 
1884, its president. He married in Groton, in 1870, 
Clara M., daughter of Joseph F. and Sarah (Long- 
ley) Hall. 

N.iTHAxiEL Holmes, son of Samuel and Mary 
(Annan) Holmes, was born in Peterboro', New Hamp- 
shire, July 2, 1814. He received his early education 
at the public schools of Peterboro', and at the Chester 
and New Ipswich and Phillips Academies, and gradu- 
ated at Harvard in 1837. While in college he taught 
school in .Milford, New Hampshire, in Billerica and 
Leominster, and in Welds Academy, at Jamaica 
Plains, near Boston. After graduating he was for a 
time a private tutor in the family of Hon. John N. 
Steele, near Vienna, Maryland, and there began the 
study of law. His law studies were completed at the 
Dane Law School and in the oflice of Henry H. Ful- 
ler, and he was admitted to the Suffolk bar in Sep- 
tember, 1839. He settled in St. Louis, entering into 
partnership with Thomas B. Hudson, with whom he 
remained until 18-16, when he became associated with 
his brother, Samuel A. Holmes, with whom he contin- 
ued until 1853. In 1846 he was circuit attorney for 
the county of St. Louis, and at later dates a director 
of the St. Louis Law Association, counselor of the St. 
Louis Public School Board and of the North Missouri 
Railroad Company. Ic 1865 he was made a judge of 



the Missouri Supreme Court, and resigned in 1868 to 
accept the appointment of lloyall Professor of Law at 
the Dane Law School in Cambridge. In 1872 he re- 
signed his professorship and returned to St. Louis, 
but in 1883 retired from active practice and took up 
his residence again in Cambridge. 

John Quincy Adams Brackett was born in 
Bradford, New Hampshire, June 8, 1842, and is the 
son of Ambrose S. and Nancy (Brown) Brackett, of 
that town. He received his early education in the 
public schools of his native town and at Colby Acad- 
emy, in New London, in the above-mentioned State, 
and graduated at Harvard in 1805, in the class with 
Charles Warren Clift'iird, Benjamin Mills Pierce and 
William Rotcb. He received the degree of Bachelor 
of Laws from Harvard in 1868, and in the same year 
was admitted to the Suffolk bar, at which he has con- 
tinued to practice until the present time. In the 
earlier dayi of his practice he was associated in busi- 
ntss with Levi C. Wade two or three years, but since 
1880 has pursued his profession in company with 
Walttr H. Roberts, under the name of Brackett & 
Roberts. 

Almost continuously since his admission to the bar 
Mr. Brackett has been associated actively with poli- 
ties, and few names have been more widely known 
than his on the political platforms of the State. He 
has surrendered himself to the fortunes of the Repub- 
lican party, and little else than its dissolution would 
be likely to weaken his party loyalty. He was a 
member of the Common Council of Boston in 1873, 
'74, '75 and '76, and during the last year of his service 
was president of that body. He was a member of 
the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 
Boston in 1877, '78, '79, '80 and '81, and distinguished 
his legislative career by his advocacy and champion- 
ship of the establishment of co-operative banks, in the 
welfare of which he has maintained a deep interest. 
In 1889 he had become a resident in Arlington and 
again became a member of the House of Representa- 
tives, holding his seat three years, during the last two 
of which he was Speaker. In 1887, '88 and '89 he 
was Lieutenant-Governor, during a considerable por- 
tion of the last year acting as Governor in conse- 
quence of the continued illness of Governor Oliver 
Ames. In September, 1888, also, during an earlier 
illness of the Governor, he was called into service as 
his substitute, and in that capacity represented the 
State at the celebration in Columbus of the annivers- 
ary of the settlement of Ohio, in a manner reflecting 
honor on the Commonwealth. At the celebration at 
Plymouth on the 1st of August, 1889, he again repre- 
sented the Governor, and bis speech on that occasion 
stamped him as a master of the art which in his olU- 
cial capacity he has been so often required to test. In 
September, 1889, after a somewhat earnest contest, he 
was placed in nomination for Governor by the Re- 
publican |)arty and chosen in November following to 
serve for the year 1890. 



Ivii 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Few young men in Massachusetts have had a more 
successful career in the political arena. During the 
twenty-two ytars which have elapsed since his admis- 
sion to the bar, sixteen, with the present year, have 
been spent in public office, and his continued ad- 
vancement seems only to depend on the maintenance 
of power by the party he has served so long. 

Governor Brackett married, June 20, 1878, Angle 
M., daughter of Abel G. and Eliza A. Peck, of Ar- 
lington, and makes that town his home. 

MoNTiiESSOR Tyler Allen, son of George W. 
and Mary L. Allen, was born in Woburn, May 20, 
1844. He read law at the Boston University Law 
School, and was admitted to the bar in 1879. He 
married, in 1865, Julia Frances Peasley, and while 
practicing his profession in Boston makes Woborn 
his residence. 

Joseph O. Bdrdett was born in Wakefield, Octo- 
ber 30, 1848. He graduated at Tuft's College in 
1867, and read law in the office of John Wilkes Ham- 
mond, in Cambridge, and was admitted to the Mid- 
dlesex bar in April, 1873. In 1874 he removed to 
Hingham, where he married Ella, daughter of John 
K. Corthell. He has represented his adopted' town 
in the Legislature, and during the last three years has 
been chairman of the Republican State Central Com- 
mittee. He has a law-office iu Boston, but still re- 
sides in Hingham. 

William Amos Bancroft was born in Groton, 
April 26, 1855, and was the son of Charles and Lydia 
Emeline (Spaulding) Bancroft, of that town. He 
fitted for college at Phillips Academy, and graduated 
at Harvard in 1878. He read law at the Dane Law 
School and in the office of Wm B. Stevens, and was 
admitted to the bar in 1881. In 1885 he was ap- 
pointed superintendent of the Cambridge Street Rail- 
road, and in 1888 was appointed by the West End 
Street Railway Company its road-master, from which 
he has retired to resume his profession. Having 
given his attention soon after leaving college to mili- 
tary matters, he was made a captain in 1879 of Com- 
pany B, of the Fifth Massachusetts Regiment, which 
he had joined as a private during his freshman year 
in college, and in 1882 was chosen colonel of that 
Regiment, a position which he still holds. He has 
been a member of the Common Council of Cambridge, 
the place of his residence, and has represented that 
city three years in the Legislature. He married, Jan- 
uary 18, 1879, Mary, daughter of Joseph Shaw, of 
Boston. 

John James Gilchrist was born in Medford 
Feb. 16, 1809. His father, James Gilchrist, a ship- 
master, removed while he was quite young to Charles- 
town, N. H., and carried on the occupation of farm- 
ing. John, the son, fitted for college with Rev. Dr. 
Crosby, and graduated at Harvard in 1828, iu the 
class with Dr. Henry Ingersoll Bnwditch, George 
Stillman Hillard and Robert Charles Winthrop. He 
read law iu Charlestown, N. H., with William Briggs, 



and at the Dane Law School. After admission to the 
bar he became associated in business with Governor 
Hubbard, whose daughter, Sarah, he married in 1836. 
In 1840 he was appointed an associate justice of the 
Supreme Court, and in 1848, on the resignation of 
Judge Parker, was made chief justice. On the estab- 
li.--hment of the Court of Claims at Washington he 
was pl.aced at its head by President Pierce, and died 
at Washington April 29, 1858. He published a digest 
of New Hampshire reports in 1846, and it has been 
said of him that " in depth and extent of legal lore 
many of his judicial contemporaries may have 
equaled him, but only a few have excelled him." 

James G. Swan, the third son of Samuel and 
Margaret (Tufts) Swan, of Medford, was born in that 
town January 11, 1818. He went to California in its 
early golden days, and thence to Washington Terri- 
tory, where, in 1871, he was made probate judge. He 
was afterwards appointed inspector of customs in tlie 
district of Puget Sound, and stationed at Neah Bay 
three years, and, later, at Fort Townsend. Subse- 
quently he was appointed United States Commis- 
sioner of the Third Judicial District of Washington 
Territory, and in 1875 .went to Alaska as United Slates 
commissioner, to procure articles of Indian manufac- 
ture for the Centennial Exposition. In 1857 he pub- 
lished a book entitled "The Northwest Coast; or, 
Three Years in Washington Territory," and in 1880 
gave to the town of Medford a collection of Indian 
curios for the public library of the town. 

Thomas S. Harlow was born in Castine, Me., 
Nov. 15, 1812. In 1824 his family removed to Ban- 
gor, and in 1831 he came to Boston. He taught the 
grammar school in Medford, and graduated at Bow- 
doin in 1836. He read law with Governor Edward 
Kent, in Bangor, and for a short time edited a news- 
paper in Dover, Me. He was admitted to the bar in 
1839, and spent three years in Paducah, Ky. In 1842 
he returned to Massachusetts, and opened an office in 
Boston. In November, 1843, he married Lucy J. 
Hall, of Medford, and took up his residence in that 
town. He h.as always, during his residence there, 
been interested in town atfairs, and won the respect 
and confidence of his fellow-citizens. He has been a 
member of the School Committee and of the Board of 
Trustees of the Public Library, and is at the present 
time a special justice of the First Eastern Middlesex 
District Court, having within its jurisdiction the 
towns of North Reading, Reading, Stoneham, Wake- 
field, Melrose, Maiden, Everett and Medford, and 
holding its sessions at Maiden and Wakefield. 

Alfred Brewster Ely, the son of Rev. Dr. 
Alfred Ely, of Monson, was born in that town Jan. 
13, 1817. He fitted for college at the Monson 
Academy, and graduated at Amherst in 1836. After 
leaving college he taught the high school in Brattle- 
boro', Vt., and the Donaldson Academy, at Fayette- 
ville, N. C, and read law wiih Chapman & Ash- 
mun, in Springfield, Mass., where he was admitted 



BENCH AND BAR. 



lis 



to the bar. In 1848 be removed to Boston, 
where he established himself in the law, making 
Newton, a part of the time, his place of reridencei 
from which town he was representative to the General 
Court in 1872. He early became an active "Native 
American," and introduced into Massachusetts in 
1846 the " Order of United Americans," of which for 
a time he was the president. At one time be edited, 
and perhaps owned, the Boston Daily Times and the 
Boston Ledger, and held the offices of State director 
in the Western Railroad, and commi^sioner of Back 
Bay Lands. In 1861 he was quartermaster of the 
Thirteenth Connecticut Regiment, and aid-de-camp 
of Brigadier-General Benbam. In 1862 be was 
assistant adjutant-general of the Northern Division 
of the Department of the South, and was at Hilton 
Head and Fort Pulaski, and in the battles of Edisto 
and Stono, and afterwards on the staif of General 
Morgan. He resigned in 1863. He married, first, 
Lucy, daughter of Charles J. Cooley, of Norwich, 
and second, Harriet Elizabeth, daughter of Freeman 
Allen, of Boston, and died at Newton July 30, 1872. 

David H. Masox was born in Sullivan, New 
Hampshire, March 17, 1818, and graduated at Dart- 
mouth in 1841. He lived in Newton twenty-five 
years and there died May 29, 1873. He delivered the 
oration at the centennial anniversary of his native 
town, July 14, 1864; in 1800 he was a member of the 
Massachusetts Board of Education, and December 
22, 1870, was appointed United States district attor- 
ney. 

Joel Giles was born in Townsend in 1804, and grad- 
uated at Harvard in 1829, after which he was for a 
time a tutor in the college. He was descended from 
Edward Giles, who came from Salisbury, in England, 
and settled in Salem. He settled in Boston, and in 
1848 delivered the Fourth of July oration in that 
city. He was a member of both branches of the 
General Court, member of the Constitutional Conven- 
tion of 1853, and died in Boston. 

John Giles, brother of the above, born in Town- 
send in 180(3, graduated at Harvard in 1831, read law 
with Parsons & Stearns, in Boston, and died in June, 
1838. 

Luther Steaess CnsHiSfG, son of Edmund Gush- 
ing, of Lunenburg, and grandson of Colonel Charles 
Gushing, of Hingham, was born in Lunenburg, June 
22, 1803, and graduated from the Harvard Law School 
in 1826. After conducting for a time the Jurist and 
Law Magazine, he was appointed clerk of the Massa- 
chusetts House of Representatives in 1832, and 
aerved unt.l 1844. In the latter year he was chosen 
a representative from Boston, and in the same year 
appointed judge of the Court of Common Pleas, re- 
maining on the bench until 1848. In 1845 he publish- 
ed a " Manual of Parliamentry Practice." In 1854, 
as reporter of the Supreme Judical Court, to which 
position he was appointed after leaving the bench, he 
published twelve volumes of Reports. He also pub- 



lished " Elements of the Law and Practice of Legisla- 
tive Assemblies," " Introduction to the Study of 
Roman Law," and "Rules of Proceeding and Debates 
in Deliberative Assemblies." He died in Boston, 
June 22, 1856. 

Thomas Hopkinson was born in New Sharon, 
Maine, August 25, 1804, and graduated at Harvard in 
1830, in the class with Charles Sumner and George 
Washington Warren. He read law with Lawrence 
& Glidden in Lowell, and was admitted to the bar in 
1833. He was a representative from Lowell in 1838 
and 1847, Senator in 1845, and in 1848 was appointed 
judge of the Court of Common Pleas, resigning the 
next year to as.sume the position of president of the 
Boston and Worcester Railroad Company. He was 
city solicitor of Lowell in 1840, a member of the 
Constitutional Convention from Cambridge, in 1853, 
and died in that place on November 17, 1856. 

Frederick Augustus Worcester was bom in 
Hollis, New Hampshire, in 1807, and w-as the son of 
Jesse Worcester, of that town, and graduated at Har- 
vard in 1831. He had four brothers who were col- 
lege graduates, — Joseph Emerson, the lexicographer, 
who graduated at Yale in 1811, and died in 1865; 
Rev. Taylor Gilman, who graduated at Harvard in 
1823, and died in 1869; Rev. Henry A, who gradu- 
ated at Yale in 1828, and Hon. Samuel Thomas, who 
graduated at Harvard in 1830. He had two other 
brothers — Jesse, who entered Harvard in 1809 and 
died the same year, and David, who entered Harvard 
in 1828 and left college in his junior year. Frederick 
Augustus studied at Pinkerton Academy, in Derry, 
New Hampshire, and at Philips Academy before en- 
tering college. He read law with Benjamin M. 
Farley, at Hollis, and at the Harvard Law School ; 
and finished bis studies with George F. Farley in 
Groton. In 1835 he went to Townsend, thence to 
Banger, but returned. He married Jane M. Kellogg, 
of Amherst. 

John A. Knowles was born in Pembroke, New 
Hampshire, April 25, 1800, and died at his home on 
South Street, Lowell, Mas"., July 25, 1884, at the ags of 
eighty-four years. He was the sou of Simon and De- 
borah Knowles who were natives of Hopkinton, New 
Hampshire, and was the youngest of a family of thir- 
teen children. Like almost all other boys reared in 
the farming towns of New Hampshire in the begin- 
ning of the present century, he very early learned to 
rely for support upon his own exertions. At the age 
of fifteen years he left home and engaged in the trade 
of wagon-making in Hopkinton, New Hampshire. A 
part of his time, however, was devoted to attending 
school. He seems to have very early entertained the 
fixed resolve to attain by the cultivation of his intel- 
lect a higher position in life than that of an ordi- 
nary workman. Accordingly from the age of nineteen 
years to that of twenty-four years he devoted him- 
self alternately to a course of study and to teaching 
in district schools. Subsequently, however, on ac- 



Ix 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



count of his feeble health and his limited pecuniary 
ability, he relinquished the cherished hope of ob- 
taining a college education, and devoted himself for 
two years ro teaching school in Keene, New Hamp- 
shire, and Taunton, Massachusetts. 

Mr. Knowles came to Lowell in the autumn of 
1827, when twenty-seven years of age, and opened an 
evening school, in which penmanship (in which he 
was an expert) was the leading branch. This school, 
however, he soon relinquished, and commenced the 
study of law in the office of Elisha Glidden, who for 
nine years was an attorney-at-law in Lowell, and was 
at one time the partner of Luther Lawrence, second 
mayor of the city. 

After nearly five years spent in the office and fam- 
ily of Mr. Glidden, and in attending, at Dedham, the 
lectures of Judge Theron Metcalf, he was admitted 
to the bar in 1832, at the age of thirty-two years, and 
immediately opened a law-office in the city of Lowell. 
He continued the practice of law ij that city until 
increasing deafness demanded his retirement. As a 
lawyer he was distinguished, not for brilliant oratory 
or persuasive eloquence before a jury, but for the 
soundness of his counsel, the conscientious fidelity of 
his service, and the purity and uprightness of his 
character. These qualities secured to him for many 
years a large office practice, and gained for him not 
only a good estate, but also an enviable name as a 
man of exalted moral character. 

Few citizens of Lowell have been called to a larger 
number of positions of trust and honor. For several 
years he was clerk of the Police Court under Judge 
Locke. In 1833 and 1834 he was city solicitor. In 
1835, 1844 and 1845 he was a representative of Low- 
ell in the General Court of Massachusetts. In 1847 
he held the office of State Senator. For several years 
he wa< a member of the Board of School Committee. 
From 1847 for nearly thirty years he was president of 
the Appletou Bank, resigning the office at length on 
account of impaired eye-sight. From 1848 he served 
for several years as treasurer of the Lowell & Law- 
rence Railroad. 

In every position of resjionsibility Mr. Knowles 
displayed a character of transparent honesty and strict 
integrity. He was a man to be trusted. Though of a 
genial and complacent nature, yet, when occasion 
called and justice demanded, he knew how to " put 
his foot down firm." When he was president of the 
Citizens' Bank, an institution which, after a brief ex- 
istence, went down in the financial depression of 1837 
and the following years, he gained an enviable name 
by his firmness in resisting steadfastly every attempt 
of speculators to induce him to resort to doubtful 
methods of management. 

Mr. Knowles was fond of literary pursuits. His 
pen was not idle. By his sketchei of the early days 
and the early men of Lowell, read before the Old 
Residents' Historical Association, he did much to in- 
terest its members. There was in his mind a poetic 



vein, and he often repeated the flowing lines of 
Pope and other old poets which his memory had re- 
tained for fifty years. The writing of poems was to 
him a pleasant recreation. He was for many years 
a beloved officer of the Unitarian Church, of which 
he was one of the founders. 

Daniel Samuel Richardson was born in Tyngs- 
borough, Mass., December 1, 1816, and died at his 
residence on Nesmith Street, Lowell, March 21, 1890, 
at the age of seventy-three years. He was descended 
from a long line of New England ancestors, all of 
whom occupied such honorable positions in life that 
it is interesting to trace his genealogical descent from 
the early settlement of Mas.sachusett8. 

1. Ezekiel Richardson, his earliest American an- 
cestor, belonged to that large colony of Puritan Eng- 
lishman who, about 1630, under Governor John Win- 
throp, settled in Salem, Boston, Charlestown and 
the neighboring towns. He was a conspicuous man, 
having been on the first Board of Selectmen of 
Charlestown and representative of tnat town in the 
General Court. He subsequently served on the Board 
of Selectmen of the town of Woburn. 

2. His son, Captain Josiah Richardson, was promi- 
nent among the first settlers of Chelmsford, having 
been for fourteen years a selectman of the town. It 
is an interesting fact regarding him that he was once 
the owner of ^hat part of the territory of Lowell on 
which now stand most of the large manufactories of 
that city, having, in 1688, received it b}' deed from 
two Indians, John Nebersha and Samuel Nebersha, 
" for ye love we bear for ye aforesaid Josiah." 

3. His son, Lieutenant Josiah Richardson, was the 
clerk and a selectman of the town of Chelmsford. 

4. Captain William Richardson, son of the latter, 
represented the town of Pelham (then a part of Mas- 
sachusetts) in the General Court. He died in 1776, 
at the age of nearly seventy-five years. 

5. His son. Captain Daniel Richardson, resided 
also in Pelham. He was for three years a soldier in 
the Revolutionary Army, and was present at the bat- 
tle of Monmouth. He died in 1833, at the age of 
eighiy-four years. 

6. His son, Daniel Richardson, the father of the 
subject of this sketch, was a successful attorney-at- 
law in Tyngsborough, Mass., and served the town in 
the General Court of Massachusetts, both as Repre- 
sentative and Senator. Of his three sons, who were 
his only children, Daniel S. was the oldest, William 
A. is chief justice of the Court of Claims at Wash- 
ington, having formerly held the high office of Secre- 
tary of the United States Treasury, and George F. is 
one of the ablest lawyers of the bar of Middle^e-ic 
County. The three brothers all graduated from 
Harvard College and the Law School, all pursued 
the study of law, all practiced their profession in 
Lowell, and all in succession were elected to the 
presidency of the Common Council of that city. It 
is an interesting fact that for twenty-one years one at 




(2)..w/ /.(&u^r^ 



^ 



X 



I 



BENCH AND BAR. 



h 



least of the brothers was a member of the univer- 
(iity. 

Daniel S. I'lichardson fitted for college at the acad- 
emy at Dcrry, N. II., and graduated at Harvard in 
]8:{0, before he liad reacheil the afre of twenty years. 
In college he raiil^cd among the firHt Hcholars of his 
cIa"H, being a member of the I'hi Beta Kappa Society 
and receiving the Howdoin prize. He Bub.sequently 
graduated from the Law School. 

At the age of twenty-three years he commenced 
the [jractice of law in Lowell, occupying an office in 
a location on Central Street, in which he remained 
for more than fifty years. 

He loved his profession, and to it he devoted his 
highest powers. His cases were prepared with scru- 
pulouH fidelity, and all that patient research and un- 
remitting toil could do he freely gave to his clients. 
He was a lawyer and not an orator. Others might 
excel him in a popular harangue, but before a jury 
such was the force of his logic, the perspicuity of 
his language, the evident sincerity of his conviction, 
and above all the admirable thoroughness of hU 
preparation, that few advocates were his peers. In 
the Brut case which Mr. Kichardson argued before 
the lull bench of the Supreme Court the celebrated 
Chief . Justice Shaw so far departed from his habitual 
reticence as to say : " This case has been very well 
argued." 

Mr. Kichardson acquired a very extensive practice 
in civil cases. It is said that in the Massachusetts 
Rei)ort» there are more than three hi;ndred cases 
which he took to the Supreme Court. His office was 
a school for young lav/yers. Very few men have had 
around them »<) many students of the law. In him 
they found a patient and sympathizing instructor 
and friend whom they learned to love, and whose 
generous kimln^ss they still recall with affection and 
tenderness. The honor and esteem in which his 
compeers at the bar h"ld him were well expressed at 
the recent memorial meeting of the Middlesex bar 
by Oeneral Butler, who had intimately known him 
for fifty years, in th<; following words: " He was one 
of the few men I ever knew who apparently had no 
enemies. The practice of the bench shows no more 
fragrant name than that of Daniel S. Kichardson." 

Although the practice of the law was Mr. Richard- 
son's chosen vocation, yet his fellow-citizens recog- 
nized his merits by placing him in many positions of 
trust and honor. In 1842, ]84:> and 1847 he was a 
member of the General Court and was in the State 
Senate in 18G2. In 1840 and 1840 he served in the 
Common Council, and was, iti both years, president 
of that body, lie was in 1848 on the Board of Alder- 
men. He was for a very long time a director, and 
for sixteen years the president of the Prcscott Na- 
tional Bank. For fifteen years or more he was trus- 
tee of the .State Lunatic Asylum at Danvers. He 
was president of the Lowell Manufacturing Company 
and director in the Lowell Bleacbery and the Traders' 



and Mechanics' Insurance Company. He wa« presi- 
dent of the Vermont and .Massachusetts Railroad 
from 180.'{ to the lime of his death. He was also 
formerly president of the Lowell & Nashua Railroad. 
For three years hi; was chairman of the commissioners 
of Middlesex County. And even yet we have by no 
means comidcteu the full list of offices and trusts 
which occupied his busy and useful life. 

Mr. Richardson was, during all his life, a diligent 
student. He kept himself informed in the politics, 
science and literature of the day. In 1841 he was, 
for several months, the edit-ir of the Lowell Courier, 
but his law business forbade him to continue his 
work as a journalist. As editor his motto, as he de- 
clared in hiw valedictory, was expressed in the fol- 
lowing couplet: 

" I>o \Kil<l\y what you do, and let your jiajfe 
tiniile wimn it ftriiilcii, and wben itrag^s, rage." 

He adds, however, that he had leaned towards the 
smiling page. In religious sentiment he was a Uni- 
tarian and it has been said of him that bis creed was 
the Sermon on the Mount. In politics be was, in his 
early years, a Whig. After the Whig paity became 
extinct he was through life a firm and consistent 
Republican. 

GiLKH IlENKy Whitney, son of Abel and Abigail 
H. (Townsend) Whitney, of Lancaster, was born in 
Boston January 18, 1818. His father kept, in Boston, 
a private school for boys. The son Giles attended 
the Latin School from the age of eight to that of thir- 
teen, and finished bis preparation for college with 
Frederick F. I/everclt. He graduated at Harvard in 
1837, and after reading law with George F. Farley, of 
Groton, with Washburn and Hartshorn, of Worcester, 
and at the Harvard Law School, was admitted to the 
bar in September, 1H42. He practiced in Westminster 
until April, 1840, when he removed to Templeton, and 
in .June, 18.07, to Winchendon. He was in the Senate 
in 18.01, and in the House of Representatives in 18()4, 
1806 and 1881. He married, in November, 1850, 
Lydia A., daughter of Capt. Joseph Davis, of Tem- 
pleton. 

Hen'ky Vose was the son of Elijah and Rebecca 
Gorham (Bartlett) Vose, of Charlestown, and was born 
in that town May 21, 1817. Early afllicted with asth- 
ma, he was sent to Concord, where he lived several 
years in the family of a farmer. He fitted Ibr college 
at the Concord .\cademy and graduated at Harvard 
in 18;>7. During a part or the whole of his college 
life he was an inmate of the family of Rev. Henry 
Ware, .Jr. After leaving college he was, for a time, a 
family instructor in Western New York and read law, 
first in the office of George T. Davis, of Greenfield, 
and afterwards in that of Chapman & Ashmun, of 
Springfield, when he was admitted to the bar. He 
was a member of the Massachusetts House of Repre- 
sentatives in 18.08, and on the organization of the Su- 
perior Court in IHiJ'J he was appointed one of its 
judges. He removed to Boston soon after his appoint- 



Ixii 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



ment and made that place hia residence until his 
death, January 17, 1869. He married, October 19, 
1842, Martha Barrett Ripley, of Greenfield. 

Frederic T. Greenhalge was born in Clithero, 
England, July 19, 1842, and was brought to this coun- 
try by his father in his youth. He received his early 
education in the common schools of Lowell, and 
though he entered Harvard in 1859 he did not pursue 
the whole college course. He studied law and was 
admitted to the bar at Lowell in 18(55. He was a 
member of the Common Council of that city in 18G8- 
C9, and received a degree of Master of Arts from 
Harvard in 1870. He was also a member of the Low- 
ell School Committee from 1871 to 1873, mayor of the 
city in 1880 and 1881, delegate to the National Repub- 
lican Convention in 1884, a representative in 1885, 
city solicitor in 1888 and was chosen member of the 
Fifty-first Congress as a Republican, iu 1888. He is 
a man of fine scholarship as well as high legal at- 
tainments and of polished and winning eloquence- 
With life and health his further advancement is sure. 

Charles Theodore Russell, now living in Cam- 
bridge, is descended from William Russell, who came 
to Boston in 1040, and settled in Cambridge in 1045. 
Mr. Russell is the son of Charles and Persis (Hast- 
ings) Russell, of Princeton, and was born in that town 
November 20, 1816. His father was a merchant in 
Princeton, clerk of the town and postmaster, represen- 
tative eight years, four years a member of the Senate 
and four years a member of the Governor's Council. 
Mr. Russell fitted for college at the Princeton Acad- 
emy, under the care of Rev. Warren Goddard, and 
graduated at Harvard in 1837, delivering the Latin 
salutatory at his commencement and the valedictory 
on the reception of the degree of Master of Arts in 
1840. He read law in the office of Henry H. Fuller 
and at the Harvard Law School, and was admitted to 
the bar in 1839. The writer, a student at Harvard at 
the time Mr. Russell was in the Law School, remem- 
bers the ease and skill in debate shown by him in the 
Harvard Union, to whose discussions the law students 
were admitted. After admission to the bar he was as- 
sociated with Mr. Fuller two years, and in 1845 en- 
tered into partnership with his younger brother, 
Thomas Hastings Russell, who graduated at Harvard 
in 1843, and had theo become a member of the bar. 
Until 1855 be made Boston his residence and ihen re- 
moved to Cambridge, where he hassince lived. He was 
a representative from Boston in 1844, 1845 and 1850, 
and a Senator from Suffolk in 1851 and 1852, and from 
Middlesex in 1877 and 1878. He was mayor of Cam- 
bridge in 1861-62, has been professor in the Law 
School of Boston University, fourteen years one of 
the Board of Visitors of the Theological School at 
Andover and secretary of the board, a corporate mem- 
ber of the Commissioners for Foreign Missions, mem- 
ber of the Oriental Society, president of the Young 
Mens' Christian A4sociation, and delivered an address 
at its inauguration. He has written a short history 



of his native town and delivered a centennial oration 
there in 1859 and also delivered the oration in Boston 
on the 4th of July, 1852. The law-firm of which he 
is the senior member includes, besides bis brother, 
above-mentioned, his sons, Charles Theodore, Jr. and 
William E. and Arthur H., a son of his brother. Mr. 
Russell married, June 1, 1840, Sarah Elizabeth, daugh- 
ter of Joseph Ballister, of Boston. 

Richard H. Dana, Jr., son of Richard H. Dana, 
a sketch of whom has been given, and grandson of 
Francis Dana, ?.lso included in this chapter, was born 
in Cambridge, August 1, 1815. His mother was Ruth 
Charlotte Smith, of Providence. He entered Harvard 
in 1831, but owing to a severe affection of the eyes, 
he( was obliged to abandon study for a time, and as a 
sailor before the mast, sailed from Boston, August 6, 
1834, for the northwest coast. He reached Boston on 
his return September 20, 1836, and joined the class of 
1837, with which he graduated. He attended the 
Harvard Law School, and was admitted to the Suf- 
folk bar in 1840. He published in that year "Two 
Years Before the Mast," and at later times " The Sea- 
man's Friend," " Dictionary of Sea Terms," "Customs 
and Usages of the Merchant Service," "Sketches of 
Allston and Channing" and " To Cuba and Back, a 
Vacation Voyage." He entered at once on a success- 
ful practice, not a small portion of which, in the 
earliest years of his career, was in the defense of sea- 
men from unjust and hard usage. He was a member 
of the Constitutional Convention of 1853, and one ol 
the founders of the Free Soil party, and its successor 
the Republican party. In the trials had in Boston of 
persons charged with the unlawful rescue of a fugitive 
slave from the hands of United Slates officers, in the 
court-house in that city, he labored diligently and elo- 
quently, alone in some cases, and in others associated 
with Hon. John P. Hale, of New Hampshire, and se- 
cured their acquittal. He was appointed United States 
district attorney by President Lincoln in 1861, and 
held the office until 1865. In 1866 he received the 
degree of Doctor of Laws from his Aima Mafer. He 
married, August 25, 1841, Sarah Watson, of Hartford 
In 1881 he went to Italy and died at Rome, January 
6, 1882. 

Benjamin Robbins Curtis was born in Water- 
town, November 4, 1809, and graduated at Harvard in 
1829, receiving a degree of Doctor of Laws from his 
Alma Mater in 1852. He was admitted to the bar in 
1832, and began practice at Northfield, Massachusetts. 
In 1834 he removed to Boston, where he soon reached 
the front rank in his profession, meeting as his com- 
petitors in the courts Charles G. Levering, Rufus 
Choate, Sidney Bartlett and at times Daniel Webster. 
In September, 1851, he was appointed an associate 
justice on the bench of the Supreme Court of the 
United States, and resigned in 1857. In 1868 he was 
one of the counsel of President Andrew Johnson be- 
fore the Court of Impeachment, and before that time 
he was two years in the Legislattire. He published in 



BENCH AND BAK. 



1 857 " Eeports of the United States Circuit Court" in 
two volumes, and later twenty-two volumes of " Deci- 
sions of the United States Supreme Court" and a 
" Digest " of the same. 

Geoege Ticknor Curtis, brother of the above, 
was born in Watertown, November 28, 1812, and grad- 
uated at Harvard in 1812. He .was admitted to the 
Suflblk bar in August, 183(3, and was a representative 
in the General Court from Boston from 1840 to 1844. 
He has been a voluminous law writer, of sound 
though conservative mind, and a respected authority 
on all constitutional questions. Among his published 
law works are " Rights and Duties of Merchant Sea- 
men," " Digest of the Decisions of the Courts of Com- 
mon Law and Admiralty," " Cases in the American 
and English Courts of Admiralty," " American Con- 
veyances," "Treatise on the Law of Patents," 
" Equity Precedents," a tract entitled "The Rights of 
Conscience and Property," a treatise on the " Law of 
Copyright," " Commentaries on the Jurisprudence, 
Practice and Peculiar Jurisdiction of the Courts of 
the United States," and a " History of the Origin, 
Formation and Adoption of the Constitution of the 
United States." Besides these he has published a 
" Life of Daniel Webster." He is now a resident of 
New York, engaged in literary pursuits, and in prac- 
tice in the Unites States Supreme Court. 

William W. Story, son of Judge Joseph Story, 
was born in Salem February 12, 1819, and graduated 
at Harvard in 1838. He read law in the Harvard 
Law School, from which he graduated in 1840. His 
father removed from Salem to Cambridge when he 
was ten years of age, and during his college and pro- 
fessional life he was a resident of that town. He 
soon abandoned the law for the more congenial pur- 
suit of sculpture, in which he has won an enviable dis- 
tinction. Among his best known works are the statue 
of Edward Everett in the Boston Public Garden, and 
that of Chief Justice Marshall at the west front of the 
Capitol in Washington. He is now in Italy, where 
most of his artist life has been passed. 

GusTAVUS Adolphus Somerby, son of Samuel 
and Hannah (George) Somerby, of Newbury, was 
born in that town November 2, 1821. He was de- 
scended from Anthony Somerby, one of the clerks of 
courts in Essex County in the seventeenth century. 
He attended school at Wayland, and read law with 
Edward Mellen, being admitted to the bar in 1844. 
He practiced in Wayland until 1852, when he re- 
moved to Waltham and joined with Josiah Rutter in 
a law partnership, which continued until IS.jS, when 
he removed to Boston. During his career he occu- 
pied offices in Gray's Building on Court Street, in the 
old State-House and Sears Building. He died at 
South Framingham July 24, 1879, leaving a son, Sam- 
uel I^llsworth Somerby, who graduated at Harvard 
the year of his father's death. Mr. Somerby was a 
man of large frame and with mental powers in har- 
mony with his physical. He practiced largely at the 



Middlesex bar, where he early accustomed himself to 
the legal blows which its members were in the habit 
of giving and receiving. He was especially distin- 
guished and successful before a jury, and some of his 
greatest triumphs, in criminal cases particularly, were 
due to the boldness, almost heroic at times, with 
which he presented his case. The accjuittal of Leav- 
itt Alley, on trial in Boston in 1873 for murder, will 
ever stand as a monument to his courage and shrewd- 
ness. The line of his defense was a hint, so shrewdly 
given that it rather originated the suggestion in the 
minds of the jurymen themselves than passed his own 
lips, that the son of Mr. Alley was the real criminal. 
The prisoner's witnesses and the cross-examination of 
the witnesses for the Government were so handled as 
to necessarily convey, through unseen and unex- 
pected channels, this hint to the jury, and the refusal 
to put the boy on the stand, though it was well known 
that he was conversant with many of the incidents of 
the affair, served to carry this hint home with a force 
that w.as sure to have an eti'ect. The trial lasted ten 
or twelve days, and the strain upon nerve and brain 
was so severe that Mr. Somerby never fully recovered 
from the prostration which it induced. 

George Washington Warren was born in 
Charlestown October 1, 1813, and was the son of Isaac 
and Abigail (Fiske) Warren, of that town. He wiis 
descended from John Warren, who appeared in New 
England in 1630. He graduated at Harvard in 1830. 
He married, in 1835, Lucy Rogers, daughter of Dr. 
Jonathan Newell, of Stow, and had a son, Lucius 
Henry Warren, born in 1838, who gr.iduated from 
Princeton in 1860, and from the Harvard Law School 
in 1862. His first wife died September 4, 1840, and 
he married, second, Georgianna, daughter of Jona- 
than and Susan Pratt Thompson, of Charlestown, by 
whom he had two spns and three daughters. Mr. 
Warren settled in the practice of law in his native 
town, and in 1838 was a representative to the General 
Court, and senator in 1853-54. After the incorpora- 
tion of Charlestown as a city, by an act passed Feb- 
ruary 22, 1847, and accepted March 10, 1847, Mr. 
Warren was chosen its first mayor, and continued in 
office three years. From 1837 to 1847 he was secre- 
tary of the Bunker Hill Monument Association, and 
from 1847 to 1875 its president. He also wrote a his- 
tory of the association. In 1861 he was appointed 
judge of the Municipal Court of the Charlestown Dis- 
trict, and remained on the bench until his death, 
which occurred at Boston May 13, 1883. 

Charles Cowley was born in Eastington, Eng- 
land, January 9, 1832. He came to New England 
with his father, who settled as a manuliicturer in 
Lowell. With a common-school education, he read 
law in the office of Josiah G. Abbott, and was admit- 
ted to the Middlesex bar in 1856. He was in both 
the army and navy during the war. Mr. Cowley has, 
aside from his profession, devoted himself creditably 
to literary pursuits, and in politics has sought to pro- 



Ixiv 



HISTOKY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



mote the welfiire of the laboring man. Lowell has 
always been his residence since he came to America. 

Jeremiah Crowley was born in Lowell, January 
12, 1832, and is the son of Dennis Crowley, of that 
city. He was a member of the Sixth Massachusetts 
Regiment during its three months' campaign in 1861. 
He read law in the office of John F. McEvoy, of 
Lowell, and was admitted to the Middlese.x bar in 
1869. He has been a councilman and alderman of 
Lowell and a member of the State Senate. He is in 
the enjoyment of a lucrative practice in his native 
city. 

Benjamin Dean was born in Clithero, England, 
August 14, 1824, and was the son of Benjamin and 
Alice Dean. His father came to New England and 
settled in Lowell, where the subject of this sketch re- 
ceived his early education. After one year in Dart- 
mouth College, Benjamin, the son, entered, as a stud- 
ent, the law-office of Thomas Hopkinson, of Lowell, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1845. He practiced 
law in Lowell about seven years and then removed to 
Boston, where he has since resided. He has been a 
member of the State Senate three years, a member of 
the Boston Common Council four years and repre- 
sented the Third District in the Forty-fifth Congre-^s. 
For a number of years he has been a member of the 
Boston Park Commission. He married, in 1848, 
Mary A., daughter of J. B. French, of Lowell. 

Philip J. Doherty was born in Charlestown, 
January 27, 1856, and at the age of twenty graduated 
at the Boston University Law School. He was ad- 
mitted to the bar ia 1877 and has since practiced his 
profession in Boston. He has been a member of the 
House of Representatives and a member of the Board of 
Aldermen of Boston. He married, August 16, 1878, 
Catharine A. Butler, of Charlestown. 

George Stevens, son of Daniel and Tabitha 
(Sawyer) Stevens, of Stoddard, New Hampshire, was 
born in that town October 23, 1824. He was de- 
scended from John Stevens, of ChelmsTord, 1662, 
through John, Henry, Daniel and Daniel. He gradu- 
ated at Dartmouth in 1849, and read law with Ira A. 
Eastman, of Gilmanton, N. H., and with Moses N. 
Morris, of Pittsfield, Mass. After teaching school 
two or three years he was admitted to the bar in 1854, 
and settled in Lowell, where he established a lucra- 
tive practice and was city solicitor in 1867-68. He 
married, September 19, 1850, Elizabeth Rachel, 
daughter of James Kimball, of Littleton, by whom he 
had three children, one of whom, George Hunter 
Stevens, was his partner at the time of his death, 
which occurred at Lowell, June 6, 1884. 

John Sullivan Ladd, son of John and Profenda 
(Robinson) Ladd, of Lee, New Hampshire, was born 
in that town July 3, 1810. He graduated at Dart- 
mouth in 1885, and read law with John P. Robinson. 
After teaching two years he settled in Cambridge in 
1839, and married, in June, 1841, Ann, daughter of 
David Babson. September 5, 1847, he married Mary 



Ann, daughter of Samuel Butler, of Bedford. He 
represented Cambridge in the General Court, was a 
member of the Constitutional Convention in 1853, a 
member of the Common Council and in 1851 its pres- 
ident. He was trial justice some years, and in 1854 
was made judge of the Police Court in Cambridge, 
which position he held twenty-eight years. He died 
at Cambridge, September 5, 1886. 

Charles R. Train, son of Rev. Charles Train, of 
Framingham, was born in that town Oct. 18, 1817. 
His father had two wives — Elizabeth Harrington and 
Hepsibah Harrington, the latter of whom was the 
mother of the subject of this sketch. He was de- 
scended from John Train, of Watertown, an early 
settler. He attended the public schools of Framing- 
ham and the Framingham Academy, and graduated 
at Brown in 1837. He read law in Cambridge and was 
admitted to the bar in 1841. Ho settled in Framing- 
ham, representing that town in the General Court in 
1847, and in the Constitutional Convention in 185.'!. 
He was district attorney from 1848 to 1855, a member 
of the Council in 1857-58, member of Congress from 
1859 to 1863, again a member of the General Court 
in 1871 from Boston, and Attorney-General of 
Massachusetts from 1872 to 1879. He removed to 
Boston about 1866, and died at North Conway, New 
Hampshire, July 29, 1885. 

George Henry* Gordon was born in Charles- 
town, July 19, 1825, and graduated at West Point in 
1846. He entered the mounted rifles and served 
under General Scott in the Mexican War. He was 
severely wounded at Cerro Gordo and breveted first 
lieutenant for gallantry in the field. In 1853 he was 
made full first lieutenant, and resigned in 1854, en- 
tering the Cambridge Law School and being admitted 
to the .Suffolk bar. In 1861 he raised the Second 
Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers, and as its 
colonel was made military governor of Harper's 
Ferry. In 1862 he commanded a brigade under 
General JJanks and was made brigadier-general of vol- 
unteers June 9, 1862. He was at the second battle of 
Bull Run and at Antietam. He was also engaged in 
operations about Charleston Harbor in 1863-64, and 
against Mobile in August, 1864. He was breveted major- 
general of volunteers April 9, 1865, for meritorious 
services. After the war he was at one time United 
States collector of internal revenue, and practiced 
law in Boston until his death, about 1885 or '86. 

Thomas A. Beard was born in Littleton, New 
Hampshire, and practiced law in Lowell from 1842 
to 1856. He was appointed assistant treasurer by 
President Pierce and died November 6, 1862. m 

George Francis Richardson was born on Dec. 4 
6, 1829, at Tyngsborough, Mass. He is the son of 
Daniel and Hannah (Adams) Richardson, his father 
having been an attorney-at-law and a prominent 
citizen of Tyngsborough. The ancestors of both his 
parents were honorably identified with the early 
history of New England. A more extended notice 





vo.>.\i:.r 



^V^O^A^^ 



M 



4 



4 





{4/7% 




^n^{4r^^{^^7^z^. 



-/ 



BENCH AXD BAR. 



Ixv 



of the ancestry and family of Mr. Richardson is to 
be found iu the sketch of the life of his older brother, 
Daniel S. Richardson, on another page of this work. 

Having pursued his preparatory course of study 
in Phillips Academy, Exeter, Mr. Richardson en- 
tered Harvard College in 1S4G, at the age of si.Kteen 
years. Upon his graduation from college he en- 
tered the Dane Law School in Cambridge, from 
which, at the age of twenty-three years, he gradu- 
ated with honor, luiving received the first prize for 
an essay. 

After being admitted to -the bar and practicing 
law in Boston for two yea.-s, in 1S5S he entered as 
partner the law-office of his brother, Daniel S., be- 
ing in that position the successor of his brother, 
William A. who had been appointed judge of Pro- 
bate and Insolvency for Middlesex County. The 
firm of Daniel S. and Geo. F. Richardson has now 
continued thirty-two years, holding at the bar of 
^Middlesex County a very high reputation for legal 
learning and professional honors. 

Though devoted to the practice of his profession, 
Mr. Richardson never forgets that he is a citizen of 
Lowell. He is always alive to all that pertains to 
the welfare and honor of the city. Especially when 
the War of the Rebellion made its first demand up- 
on the self-sacrifice and patriotism of the people, he 
stood forth as the trusted and accepted leader, 
and inspired his fellow-citizens with courage and 
hope. By his efforts a company was promptly raised 
and equipped in Lowell, which h.ad the honor of 
being the first company of three-years' men formed 
in the State of Massachusetts. It was organized on 
the evening of the 19th of April, 18(il, the day on 
which the Sixth Regiment marched through Balti- 
more. In his honor it received the name of the 
Richardson Light Infantry. 

Mr. Richardson has been placed in very many po- 
sitions of trust and honor. In 1862 and 1863 he was 
a member of the Common Council, and occupied 
the same position, as president of that body, which 
his brothers, Daniel S. and William A., had filled 
before him. In 186-1 he was in the Board of Alder- 
men. In 1S67 andl86She wiismayorof thecity, having 
received his second election almost without a dis- 
senting vote. As mayor of the city he filled the 
position with great popular acceptance. His profes- 
.sional practice had well equipped him for the per- 
formance of the ordinary duties of the office, and 
his intellectual culture and graceful address brought 
honor to the city on all public occasions. In 1S6S 
he was a member of the Republican Convention at 
Chicago which nominated Gen. Grant for his first 
election. In 1871 and 1872 he was a member of the 
JIas-'achusetts Senate. At the close of his service as 
Senator, Mr. Richardson was brought to the deci-sion 
of a very important question in respect to his future 
career. On one hand was the alluring prospect of 
political advancement, for he bad already made a 

E 



flattering record, and he possessed all the qualities 
of a successful political leader. On the other hand 
was his chosen profession. He could not hold both ; 
he must choose one and reject the other. He de- 
liberately chose his profession, and now for eighteen 
years he has conscientiously and very successfully 
devoted himself to its arduous duties. Meantime he has 
filled such positions in social and civil life as came 
to him as a good citizen, having been city solicitor, 
member of the School Board, trustee of the City 
Library, president of Middlesex Mechanic Associa- 
tion, director of the Traders' and Mechanics' Insur- 
ance Company, a director of the Prescott National 
Bank, of the Stony Brook Railroad and of the Ver- 
mont & Massachusetts Railroad, and president of 
the Lowell Manufacturing Company. He has also 
been president of the Unitarian Club and of the 
Ministry-at-Large. As trustee of the Boston Water- 
Power, he has borne the important responsibility of 
the sale of land to the amount of about three mil- 
lion dollars. 

Mr. Richardson is fondof literary pursuits. He loves 
his library, which is especially rich in the old Eng- 
lish classics. Few literary men possess so large and 
so unique a collection of tlie various editions of the 
plays of Shakespeare. He is a connoisseur in 
Shakespearean literature, and his articles given 
to the pre^s in defence of the claims of William 
Shakespeare as the veritable author of the plays so 
long attributed to him, exhibit a thorough mastery 
of his subject and a wide range of literary attain- 
ments. 

Isaac 0. Barnes was in the practice of law in 
Lowell from 1832 to 1S35 inclusive. His name ap- 
pears in the first directory published in 1832 with an 
office on Central Street. It is possible that he may 
have been in Lowell before the directory was issued. 
In 1833 he was associated with Francis E. Bond, hav- 
ing an office iu Railroad Bank Building and boarding 
at the Mansi(W House. In 183-1: his office was in the 
same building and in 1835 he appears in the directory 
as associated with Tappan Wentworth in the same 
building. He probably removed to Boston in 1836 
where he w.as at one time United States marshal. He 
died at the Bromfield House on Bromfield Street in 
that city, if the writer remembers correctly, where he 
made his home for many years. 

Edward F. Sherman was born in Acton February 
10, 1821, and went when a child to Lowell, where ha 
remained until 1839. He graduated at Dartmouth in 
1843 and before entering on the study of law was for 
a time principal of the academy at Canaan, Jsew 
Hampshire, and of the academy at Pittsfield, Mass- 
achusetts. In 18-16 he returned to Lowell, where he 
read law with Tappan Wentworth, whose partner he 
was for eight years. In 1855 he was chosen secre- 
tary of the Traders' and Mechanics' Insurance Com- 
pany, and held this office sixteen years. He was a 
director in the Prescott National Bank, trustee of the 






Isvi 



HISTOKY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Mechanics' Savings Bank, representative in 1861 
and 1866, a member of the School Committee, in 
1870 a member of the City Government, and in 1871 
mayor. He died February 10, 1872. 

AVendell Phillips, son of John Phillips, the 
first mayor of Boston, was born in Boston, November 
29, 1811, and graduated at Harvard in 1831. He at- 
tended the Harvard Law School and read law in the 
offices of Luther Lawrence and Thomas Hopkinson at 
Lowell. He was admitted to the Middlesex bar in 
1834, but never practiced in Middlesex County. 

Chester W. Eaton was born in Wakefield Jan- 
uary 13, 1839. He graduated from the Scientific De- 
partment of Dartmouth College in 1859, and after 
reading law at the Dane Law School was admitted to 
the bar in 1864. After some years' practice in Wake- 
field and Boston he has devoted himself largely to lit- 
erary and business pursuits and has held various im- 
portant and responsible ofiices in his native town. 
He married, in 1868, Emma G., daughter of Eev. Giles 
Leach, of Rye, New Hampshire. 

George Miller Hobbs was born in Waltham 
April 11, 1827, and is the son of William and Maria 
(Miller) Hobbs, of that town. He graduated at Har- 
vard in 1850, and at the Dane Law School in 1857. 
He was admitted to the bar in Boston in 1858, and 
entered practice with Hon. Edward Avery, with whom 
he has ever since been associated. He has been a 
member of the House of Representatives and of the 
Eoxbury and Boston School Boards. He married, 
October 26, 1859, Annie M., daughter of Dr. Samuel 
Morrell, of Boston. 

Charles Sumner Lilley was born in Lowell 
December 13, 1851, and was the son of Charles and 
Cynthia (Huntley) Lilley, of that city. He read law 
in the office of Arthur P. Bonney, of Lowell, and was 
admitted to the bar in 1877. He has been a member 
of the Lowell Board of Aldermen, of the State Senate 
and the Executive Council. 

Charles John McIntire was bori#!n Cambridge 
March 26, 1842. He read law at the Dane Law School 
and was admitted to the Suftblk bar in 1865. During 
the pursuit of his law studies he served as a private 
in the Forty-fourth Massachusetts Regiment. He 
has been a member of the Cambridge Common Coun- 
cil, of the Board of Aldermen of that city and a mem- 
ber of the House of Representatives. For three 
years he was assistant district attorney for Middlesex 
County, and is now city solicitor of Cambridge. He 
married, in 1865, Marie Terese, daughter of George B. 
Linegan, of Charlestown. 

John H. Morrison was born in Westford Decem- 
ber 23, 1856, and is the son of John and Bridget Mor- 
rison, of that town. After a term at Harvard short- 
ened by sickness, he read law in the office of William 
H. Anderson, of Lowell, and at the Dane Law School, 
from which institution he graduated in 1878. He 
was admitted to the bar in 1879 and has since prac- 
ticed in Lowell. He has been a member of the Lowell 



School Board, of the House of Representatives and 
the State Senate. He married, in 1884, Margaret L., 
daughter of James Owen, of Lowell. 

Benjamin Franklin Butler is the grandson of 
Zephaniah Butler, of Woodbury, Connecticut, who 
served in the Continental Army in the War of the 
Revolution. The father of Benjamin was John But- 
ler, of Deerfield, New Hampshire, a captain of 
dragoons during the War of 1812, a follower in war 
and an admirer in peace of Andrew Jackson, for 
whom the eldest of his two sons was named. After 
the war John Butler engaged in trade with the West 
Indies and died in March, 1819, of yellow fever at 
one of the West India islands, leaving his widow, with 
two young children and only a scanty share of worldly 
goods, to make her way and theirs in the world. The 
younger child, Benjamin Franklin, the subject of this 
sketch, was born at Deerfield on the 5th of November, 
1818, only four months before his father's death. He 
was a delicate child, and, like many a delicate child be- 
fore and since, possessed a precocious mind, which 
sought with avidity wherever it could be found that 
mental food on which it was destined to develop and 
mature. He attended the common schools of his native 
town, and the few books which came in his way he ea- 
gerly devoured. It was as true with him as with others 
that a few books thoroughly read gave an impulse to 
thought and nourished the intellectual powers more 
surely than that desultory reading which the bounti- 
ful library often leads to, and which ends in a scatter- 
ing mind without definiteness of action or a power of 
concentration. A single book, no matter what its 
title or contents may be, read carefully and reread 
sentence by sentence will in every word suggest a 
thought which, in ever-widening circles, finally covers 
and includes the whole field which the mind of man 
is able to survey. As concentrated food nourishes the 
system more than a bountiful but unassimilating 
supply, so the few plain, simple books to which young 
Butler had access met exactly the wants of mental 
digestion, exercisiug and nourishing it without dis- 
tracting and disordering it. 

In 1828, Mrs Butler removed to Lowell, where, by 
taking a few boarders and carefully saving her gains 
she became able to give to her children a better edu- 
cation than she had ever dared to expect. Benjamin 
was sent to Phillips Academy at Exeter, and in 1834, 
at the age of sixteen, was sent to Waterville College 
in Maine. At that college there was a manual de- 
partment in which the students worked three hours in 
each day, thus earning a moderate amount of wages to 
help p.ay the cost of their education. Here young But-| 
ler earned something, but still left college in 18381 
somewhat in debt for his college expenses. During] 
his college life those keen powers of argument and! 
speech, which have since characterized him, mani-l 
fested themselves, and his fellow-students recall many] 
an arena in which he came off victorious. 

After leaving college, oppressed by debt and with I 





L 




^ 




BENCH AND BAR. 



Ixvii 



health impaired, he went with an uncle on a fishing 
voyage to the coast of Labrador, and, as he says him- 
aelt', "hove a line, ate the flesh and drank the oil of 
cod, came back after a four months' cruise in perfect 
health, and had not another sick day in twenty 
vears." The discussions in which he often took part 
at Waterville, were either the result of a naturally 
controversial taste, or were the means of developing 
one, and in seeking a course of life to follow, he 
almost as a matter of course selected the jirofession 
of law. He entered the office of Wm. Smith, of 
Lowell, the father of Henry F. Smith, whose name 
was afterwards changed to Duraut and who became 
di>tinguished at the Suffolk bar. 

In 1841 he was admitted to the Middlesex bar. On 
his examination for admission by Judge Charles 
Henry Warren, then holding a session of the Court 
of Common Pleas, questions were put to him whose 
answers impressed the judge with his acquirements 
in the principles of law. It happened that on the 
day of the examination a case was on trial before the 
judge in which the question of admitting certain evi- 
dence had somewhat puzzled him. The case was 
Robert Reed against Jenness Batchelder, which was 
carried finally to the Supreme Court on exceptions, 
and is reported in the first of Metcalf, page 529. It 
was an action of assumpsit on a promissory note given 
by the defendant, when a minor, to Reed & Dudley, 
July 2(5, 1835, and payable to them as bearer. The 
defence of course was infancy. But in July, 1839, 
while the note was in the hands of the promissees, 
and after the defendant had come of age, he verbally 
renewed his promise to pay, to Henry Reed, one of the 
firm of Reed & Dudley, and the note was subse- 
quently endorsed to Robert Reed, the plaintiff. The 
plaintiff's offer to put the renewal of the promise in 
evidence was objected to by the defendant's counsel, 
and on the day of the examination above referred to. 
Judge Warren had sustained the objection. Mr. 
Butler had been present during the trial, and the 
general question was asked him by the judge, what 
effect such a renewal of promise would have, and what 
he thought of his ruling. The student replied that 
he thought the ruling wrong and the note good. 
"Why," asked thejudge. " Because," said the student, 
"the note was not void but only voidable, and when 
the verbal promise was made the note became at once 
negotiable." The next day thejudge reversed his rul- 
ing, exception was taken and the case carried up. 
Judge Warren afterwards complimented Mr. Butler 
on his ready and just application of the principles of 
law to the case in question, and acknowledged the 
influence it had on his mind. Judge Shaw, in the 
opinion of the Supreme Court, overruled the excep- 
tion, and decided that though the renewal of promise 
was made verbally to Henry Reed, one of the firm of 
Reed & Dudley, it at once became negotiable, and in 
the hands of Robert Reed, to whom it was passed, 
was good. 



Mr. Butler settled in Lowell, and rose rapidly in 
his profession, as he could scarcely fail to do with hia 
learning in the law, his infinite resource, his boldnes-s 
and persistency in every case in which he was en- 
gaged, and his readine-.s, with or without fee, to re- 
lieve the suflVring and oppressed. His practice soon 
extended beyond the limits of his own county, and in 
the courts of Suffolk he became a familiar object of 
interest. It is unnecessary to say that the son of a 
friend and admirer of Andrew Jackson, he was 
from childhood a Democrat, fully imbued with those 
principles, not always kept in view, f(]r the support of 
which the Democratic party was created, and which 
will keep it alive through all mutations as long as our 
nation exists. He believed that a too great centrali- 
zation of power in the hands of the general govern- 
ment was a danger to be avoided, and that the rights 
of States, not to recede from the Union, but to main- 
tain and retain certain functions, were absolutely 
essential to our nation's permanent existence and wel- 
fare. A nation with all ihe strength and density of 
power at its central point, could be as weak as an 
army wilh depleted wings, which the slightest disorder 
would break and destroy. 

As a Democrat, Mr. Butler early engaged in politi- 
cal activity, and almost from the date of his admission 
to the bar his voice has been heard in political con- 
ventions and on the stump. His earliest essay in the 
political line was at Lowell, in which he successfully 
advocated the ten-hour rule, in the factories of that 
town. He was a member of the House of Represen- 
tatives of Massachusetts in 1853, and in the same 
year a delegate to the convention for the revision of 
the State Constitution. While a member of the 
House, George Bliss, of Springfield, was the Speaker, 
and the Whig party was in the ascendant. Otis P. 
Lord, of Salem, was the Whig leader of the House, 
and, by his great abilities and unconquerable will, 
held the Speaker under his control, and always obe- 
dient to his wish. The altercations between Mr. 
Butler and the Speaker were numerous, and Mr. 
Bliss was only extricated from the perplexities into 
which he was repeatedly led by the ingenious devices 
of his Democratic opponent on the floor, by the help- 
ing hand of Mr. Lord. Practically, while Mr. Bliss 
was the chosen occupant of the chair, Mr. Lord was 
Speaker, and Mr. Bliss was only his mouth-piece. On 
one occasion, when the Speaker, at the behest of Mr. 
Lord, had added another to the long list of rulings 
which Mr. Butler's points of order had received, he 
said, " Mr. Speaker, I cannot complain of these rulings. 
They doubtless seem to the Speaker to be just. I 
perceive an anxiety on your part to be just to the 
minority and to me, by whom at this moment they 
are represented, for, like Saul on the road to Damas- 
cus, your constant anxiety seems to be, " Lord, Lord, 
what wilt thou have me to do.' " 

Mr. Butler was in the State Senate in 1859-60, and 
in the former'year performed an important part in the 



Ixv 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



revision of the statutes. In that year the writer was 
with him in the Senate, and had abundant opportu- 
nities to observe and nieasure the various qualities of 
his head and heart. Though opposed to him in poli- 
tics, he was not sufficiently blind to fail to discover 
those traits of character which have attracted to him 
the circle of friends which, like satellites, he has 
always carried with him in his social and political 
orbit. He disclosed two sides — a sharp bitterness of 
antagonism, and the warmest of hearts ; a harshness 
of deportment at one time, and at another a polish 
of manner and conversation not easily excelled ; now 
inspiring those about him with fear, and again as 
gentle as a child, as afi'ectionate as a brother, as lov- 
ing as the dearest friend. His character seemed to 
consist of extremes; like the extremes of the magnet 
one attracted, the other repelled, and no one looked 
on him with entire indifi'erence. So, in his treatment 
of men, as he could be implacable in his antagonism 
he could never forget a friend or be faithless to bis 
interests. Indeed, it has seemed to the writer as if 
his regard ibr friendship and its obligations were the in- 
spiring cause of that seeming bitterness, which he has 
exhibited towards those who have attacked and de- 
nounced him. 

The Superior Court, established by the Legislature 
of 1859, was mainly the work of his hands. The old 
Common Pleas Court had, with the material of which 
it was mainly composed, evidently outlived its useful- 
ness, and the bill creating the new court was drawn 
by Mr. Butler, and has stood the tests of time and 
criticism. The retiring court, consisting of Edward 
Mellen, chief justice, and Henry Walker Bishop, 
George Nixon Briggs, George Partriilge Sanger, 
Henry Morris and David Aiken, associates ; gave 
way to the new court, consisting of Charles Allen 
Chief Justice, and with him as associates, Julius 
Rockwell, Otis Phillips Lord, Marcus Morton, Jr., 
Seth Ames, Ezra Wilkinson, Henry Vose, Thomas i 
Kussell, John Phelps Putnam and Lincoln Flagg 
Brigham. 

In 1860 Mr. Butler, having passed through the 
various preliminary grades, was brigadier-general of 
the militia, with headquarters at Lowell. In that 
year he was a delegate to the Democratic National 
Convention held at Charleston in April. His presence 
was a familiar one in Democratic National Conven- 
tions, as he had never failed to attend one since the 
nomination of James K. Polk in 1844. Mr. Parton 
says that " he went to Charleston with two strong con- 
victions in his mind. One was that concessions to the 
South had gone as (at as the Northern Democracy 
could ever be induced to go. The other was that 
the fair nomination of Mr. Douglas by a National 
Democratic Convention was impossible." General 
Butler was a member of the committee to construct a 
platform. The committee divided, making three 
reports — one by the majority adhering to the demand 
for a slave code for the Territories and protection to 



the slave trade; one by the minority, referring all 
questions in regard to the tights of property in States 
or Territories to the Supreme Court, and one by 
General Butler, reaffirming the Democratic principles 
laid down at the National Democratic Convention 
at Cincinnati in 185G. The report of General Butler 
was adopted, but a nomination failed to be made, and 
the convention adjourned to meet at Baltimore on the 
18th of June. At Baltimore the convention was 
again divided. The Douglas men nominated their 
chief for the Presidency, and Herschell Johnson, of 
Georgia, an avowed disunionist, for Vice-President. 
The other members of the convention retired and 
nominated for President John Cabell Breckenridge, 
of Kentucky, and Joseph Lane, of Oregon, for Vice- 
President. General Butler was one of the supporters 
of the latter nominations. The Douglas platform 
said, "We do not know whether slavery can exist in a 
Territory or not. There is a ditference of opinion 
among us upon the subject. The Supreme Court 
must decide and its decision shall be final and bind- 
ing." The Breckenridge platform said : " Slavery 
lawfully exists in a territory the moment a slave- 
holder enters it with his slaves. The United States 
is bound to maintain his right to bold slaves in a 
Territory. But when the people of a Territory frame 
a State Constitution they are to decide whether to 
enter the Union as a slave or free State. If as a slave 
State, they are to be admitted without question. If 
as a free State, the slave-owner must retire or emanci- 
pate." In addition to the two tickets of the Demo- 
cratic party, there was the ticket of what was called 
the Bell and Everett party, with John Bell, of Ten- 
nessee, for President, and Edward Everett, of Massa- 
chusetts, for Vice-President, which constructed no 
platform and expressed no opinion on the question of 
slavery then at issue, and the ticket of the Eepubli- 
can party, with Abraham Lincoln for President and 
Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine, for Vice-President, 
which distinctly opposed the extension of slavery 
into the Territories. 

General Butler returned to Massachusetts and to 
Lowell an unpopular man, but defended his course 
with ability, though without success. He was the 
candidate for Governor on the Breckenridge ticket 
and received only six thousand out of one hundred 
and seventy thousand votes. He had previously been 
the Democratic candidate for the same office, and 
received fifty thousand votes. 

In December, 1860, Mr. Lincoln having been chosen 
President in November, General Butler went to 
Washington, and, in company with Southern Demo- 
crats, declared himself in unmistakable terms against 
any attempts to break up the Union. No Republican 
was more emphatic in his denunciation of the 
treasonable language which he heard. His friends 
at the Soucli insisted that the North would not light 
against secession. He told them that the North would 
fight, and that if the South went into a war there 



BENCH AND BAR. 



Ixlx 



would be an end to slavery. " Do you mean to figVit 
yourself?" they asked. " I would," he said, " and by 
the grace of God I will.'' South Carolina seceded, 
and it was e.\pected that a delegation would come to 
Washington to present the ordinance of secession to 
the President. Mr. Black, the United States Attor- 
ney-General, had given it as his opinion that the pro- 
ceedings of South Carolina were legally definable as a 
"riot," which the forces of the United States could 
not be legally used in suppressing. General Butler 
said to the Attorney-General : " You say that the 
government cannot use its army and navy to coerce 
South Carolina in South Carolina. Very well, I do 
not agree with you ; but let the proposition be 
granted. Now, secession is either a right or it is 
treason. If it is a right, the sooner we know it the 
better. If it is treason, then the presenting of the 
ordinance of secession is an overt act of treason. 
These men are coming to the White House to present 
the ordinance to the President. Admit them. Let 
them present the ordinance. Let the President say 
to them: ' Gectlemen, you go hence in the custody 
of a marshall of the United States as prisoners of 
state, charged with treason against your country.' 
Summon a jury here in Washington. Indict the com- 
missioners. If any of your officers are backward in 
acting, you have the appointing power; replace them 
with men who feel as men should at a time like this. 
Try the commissioners before the Supreme Court, 
with all the imposing forms and stately ceremonies 
which marked the trial of Aaron Burr. I have some 
reputation at home as a criminal lawyer, and will 
stay here and help the District Attorney through the 
trial without fee or reward. If they are convicted, 
execute the sentence. If they are acquitted, you will 
have done something toward leaving a clean path for 
the incoming administration. Time will have been 
gained ; but the great advantage will be that both 
sides will join to watch this high and dignified pro- 
ceeding ; the passions of men will cool ; the great 
points at issue will become clear to all parties ; the 
mind of the country will be active, while passion and 
prejudice are allayed. Meanwhile, if you cannot use 
your army and navy in Charleston Harbor, you can 
certainly employ them in keeping order here." 

The war followed, and on the 15th of April, 1861, 
Fort Sumter had fiillen, and the President's procla- 
mation for troops was issued. A brigade of four regi- 
ments was called for from Massachusetts, to be com- 
manded b)' a brigadier-general. The Third, Fourth, 
Sixth and Eighth Regiments were selected to go. 
The Third and Fourth went by water to Fort Mon- 
roe ; the Sixth went by land, meeting its well-known 
experience in its passage through Baltimore, and on 
the ISth of April, with the Eighth Regiment, Gene- 
ral Butler, the brigadier-general selected, started by 
rail for Washington. From this point, during his 
service in the war, his history forms a part of the 
history of his country. His arrival at Anuipolis by 



water from Havre de Grace, his rescue of the frigate 
"Constitution," his possession of Annapolis and the Na- 
val Academy, his reconstruction of the railroad track 
to Annapolis Junction and his possession of Balti- 
more are related on too many hist(>ric pages to be 
repeated in this narrative. 

The occupation of Baltimore by General Butler 
was not approved by General Scott, who sent to hira, 
on the 14th of May, the following despatch: "Sir, 
your hazardous occupation of Baltimore was made 
without my knowledge, and, of course, without my 
approbation. It is a God-send that it was without con- 
flict of arms. It is also reported that j'ou have sent a 
detachment to Frederick ; but this is impossible. Not 
a word have I received from you as to either move- 
ment. Let me hear from you.'' This despatch struck 
the general with surprise, as the various despatches 
received by him from Colonel Hamilton, then on the 
staff of the lieutenant-general, certainly warranted 
the movement he had successfully made. General 
Butler was soon after remos'cd from the Department of 
Annapolis, which included Baltimore, and commis- 
sioned major-general of volunteers, in command of 
the Department of Virginia and North Carolina, with 
headquarters at Fort Monroe. In explanation of the 
conduct of Genera! Scott it may be said that he had 
planned a combined movement against Baltimore of 
12,000 troops, in four columns, marching from differ- 
ent posts, and was somewhat chagrined to find that 
General Butler had accomplished the occupation of 
the city with a small body of soldiers without blood- 
shed, and without even the semblance of resistance. 

The commission of General Butler as major gene- 
ral was dated May l(5th, two days after his occupa- 
tion of Baltimore, and thus he became, in reality, the 
senior major-general in theserviceof the United States. 
It is believed, however, that General McClellan and 
General Banks received ante-dated commissions after- 
wards, and thus on paper, but not in fact, became his 
seniors. The writer saw General Butler at Fort 
Monroe soon after he assumed command at that fort, 
and during the period of four days had an opportun- 
ity of observing his aptitude for military aff'airs and 
the growth of discipline among the three months' 
men stationed at the fort. 

Early in August General Butler was relieved of his 
command in the Department of Virginia and North 
Carolina, and General Wool was appointed in his 
place. His removal, however, was caused more by a 
desire on the part of the War Department to place a 
skillful and experienced officer of the army in active 
service than by any dissatisfaction with the manner in 
which General Butler had performed his duties. One 
of the first acts of General Wool was to i)lace Gene- 
ral Butler in command of the volunteer troops out- 
side the fort. This command included nearly all the 
troops in the department. Few were in the fort itself, 
but the constantly-arriving regiments were stationed 
at Hampton, Newport News and other points in the 



h 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



vicinity. Most of these were fresh troops, lately en- 
listed and equipped, and needed the most rigid over- 
sight and discipline to prepare them for active ser- 
vice. Not long after he was placed in command of 
an expedition to reduce the forts at Hatteras Inlet, 
which sailed August 22d, and proved successful. On 
his return from that expedition his command of the 
troops outside Fort Monroe ceased and he returned 
to Washington. From Washington he came to Mas- 
sachusetts, having received from the War Department 
an order, issued September 16, 1861, "to raise, or- 
ganize, arm, uniform and equip a volunteer force for 
the war, in the New England States, not exceeding 
six regiments of the maximum standard of such arms, 
and in such proportions and in such manner as he 
mav judge expedient ; and for this purpose his orders 
and requi^it^ons on the quartermaster, ordnance and 
other staff departments of the army are to be obeyed 
and answered; provided the cost of such recruitment, 
armament and equipment does not exceed, in the ag- 
gregate, that of like troops now or hereafter raised for 
the service of the United States." 

These troops embarked from Boston Feb. 20, 1862, 
under the command of General Butler, and after the 
reduction of Fort St. Philip and Fort Jackson, on 
the Mississippi River, and their surrender to Admiral 
Farragut, May 1st, he took possession of New Or- 
leans, and remained in command of the Department 
of the Gulf until the arrival of General Banks, on 
the 14th of December, 1862, who, under a general 
order dated November 9;h, assumed command. The 
cause of his removal was doubtless a diplomatic one, 
in which the French government was involved, hav- 
ing its origin in the treatment of French neutrals by 
General Butler, which our government really ap- 
proved, but which, through French spectacles, it 
might seem to disapprove by the removal of the gen- 
eral at whose hands it was received. If General But- 
ler had done nothing in the war prior to the occupa- 
tion of New Orleans, and nothing after he w.as re- 
lieved of his command of the Department of the 
Gulf, his administration of affairs in that city alone 
would secure to him abundant and lasting fame. The 
limits fixed for this narration will not permit a de- 
tailed account of its brilliant incidents. It is a little 
singular that by his acts in that city he should have 
dulled the glory of Andrew Jackson, the master of 
his youth and age, by robbing him of one of his titles, 
and becoming himself the hero of New Orleans. 

He was appointed to the Department of Virginia 
and North Carolina, and during the campaign of 1864 
he participated in the military operations before 
Petersburg and Richmond as commander of the Army 
of the James. In December, 1864, he commanded 
an expedition against Fort Fisher, and in November, 
1865, resigned his commission. From 1866 to 1871 
he was a member of Congress from the Essex Dis- 
trict, and in 1868 one of the managers of the im- 
peachment trial of President Johnson. At the Re- 



publican State Convention in 1871 he was a candi- 
date for nomination for Governor, and defeated by 
William B. Washburn. In 1879 he wasan independ- 
ent candidate for Governor, and in 1882 he was 
chosen Governor by the Democratic party, and served 
through 1883. In 1883, on his re-nomination, he was 
defeated by George D. Robinson. He is still, at the 
age of seventy-two, enjoying and successfully man- 
aging a large practice, and as a statesman and poli- 
tician may be said to have, though perhaps not the 
largest, yet the most enthusiastic following of which 
any public man in our country can boast. 

Charles Edward Powers was born in Townsend 
May 9, 1834, and is the son of Charles and Sarah 
(Brooks) Powers, of that town. He graduated at 
Harvard in 1856, and, after studying medicine for a 
time, read law at the Dane Law S>;hool, and gradu- 
ated in 1858. He settled in Boston, and has since 
made that city his place of residence and business. 

Francis Winnie Qua was bom in Lisbon, N. Y., 
Sept. 2, 1845. He was admitted to the Middlesex bar 
in 1878, and settled in Lowell. He was a member of 
the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1888 
and 1889, and served with credit to himself and to 
his constituents. He married, September 6, 1879, 
Alice L., daughter of Michael Harden, of Ogdensburg. 

Robert xVlexander Southwortii was born in 
Medford May 6, 1852, and is the son of Alexander 
and Helen Southworth, of that town. He graduated 
at Harvard in 1874, and, after studying law in the 
office of Charles Theodore and Thomas H. Russell, 
was admitted to the Suffolk bar in 1876. He has been 
assistant clerk of the Massachusetts House of Repre- 
sentatives, and secretary of the Republican State 
Central Committee. In 1888 he was a memberof the 
State Senate. He now practices law and resides in 
Boston. 

George Clark Travis was born in Holliston, 
August 19, 1847, and graduated at Harvard in 1869. 
He was admitted to the Middlesex bar in 1872, and, 
after practicing law in his native town several years, 
removed to South Framingham, where he lived and 
practiced until 1881), when he removed to Groton, his 
present place of residence, continuing his oflBce in 
Framingham and occupying one also in Boston. He 
married, April 5, 1871, Harriet March, daughter of 
Austin G., and Mary Charlotte (March) Fitch, of Hol- 
liston. 

John C. Dodge was born in New Castle, Maine, 
in 1810, and graduated at Bowdoin College in 1834. 
In 1842 he opened a law-otfice in Boston and made a 
specialty of maritime law. He represented Cambridge 
in the House of Representatives, and was a member 
of the Massachusetts Senate. He was president of 
the Board of Overseers of Bowdoin, and received from 
that college, in 1875, the degree of Doctor of Laws. 
He married, in 1843, Lucy Sherman, of Edgecomb, 
Maine, and died in Camliridge, where he had resided 
many years, July 17, 1890. 



BENCH AND BAR. 



Ixxi 



George Bemis was born in Watertown in 1816, 
and graduated at Harvard in 1835. He read law at the 
Harvard Law School and was admitted to the bar in 
18.39. He practiced law in Boston until 1858, when 
a severe hemorrhage of the lung.s so far impaired his 
health as to cause him to abandon ordinary profess- 
ional employment and to spend a large part of the 
remainder of his life abroad. He was employed in 
connection with Judge Phillips in the preparation of 
a code of criminal law for Massachusetts, which, how- | 
ever, was not adopted by the Legislature. He dis- 
tinguished himself in the trial of Abuer Rogers a con- 
vict who killed the warden of the State Prison, being 
associated in the defence with George T. Bigelow, 
afterwards chief justice of the Supreme Court. He 
was also associated with John H. Clifford, Attorney- 
General, in the prosecution of Dr. Webster for the mur- 
der of Dr. Parkman, and the preparation of that cele- 
brated case was the work of his hands. His own earn- 
ings, with some inherited property enabled him to 
devote the last twenty years of his life to the study of 
public law, and, especially after the Rebellion lo the 
subject of belligerent and neutral rights and duties. He 
rendered valuable assistance to the State Department 
in the discussion of the claims of the United States 
against Great Britain for the depredations of the 
Alabama and other cruisers from British ports against 
our commerce, and published several spirited and 
able pamphlets as a contribution to the controversy. 
He died at Nice, in Italy, January 5, 1878. 

JoHX W. Bacox was born in Natick in 1818 and 
graduated at Harvard in 1843. After leaving college 
he taught for a time in the Boston High School, and 
after reading law was admitted to the Middlesex bar 
in 1846. He practiced law in Natick fourteen years, 
and from 1859 to 18i32 was a member of the State 
Senate. In 1866 he was appointed by Governor Bul- 
lock chief justice of the Municipal Court of Boston, 
and in 1871 by Governor Claflin one of the justices 
of the Superior Court. He died at Taunton, March 
21, 1888. 

William Whiting was born in Concord, March 
3, 1813, and graduated at Harvard in 1833, and after 
teaching private schools at Plymouth and Concord, 
read law at the Harvard Law School and was ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1838. He opened an office in 
Boston, and very early, by assiduous labor and an ex- 
haustive preparation of all cases placed in his charge, 
won a pUice in the front rank of the Massachusetts 
bar. He married Lydia Cushing, daughter of Thomas 
Eussell, of Plymouth, and William G. Eussell, a 
Harvard graduate of 1840, and brother of his wife, 
read law in his office and became his partner in busi- 
ness. In 1864 he was appointed solicitor of the War 
Department and served three years. In 1868 he was 
a Presidential elector and in 1872 was chosen Repre- 
sentative to Congress, but died before he took his 
seat. In 1862 he published a work entitled "The 
War Powers of the President and the Legislative 



Powers of Congress in Relation to Rebellion, Treason 
and Slavery." He also published various pamphlets, 
chiefly legal arguments before the United States 
Courts, and a memoir of Rev. Joseph Harrington. 
He died at Roxbury Highlands, June 29, 1873. 

John Cochran Park was born in Boston, June 
10, 1804, and graduated at Harvard in 1824, in the 
class with George Lunt and Elias Hasket Derby. 
He was admitted to the bar about 1827 and lived to 
be the oldest member of the SufTolk bar. In the early 
days of his practice he was active in military matters 
and at various times commanded the Boston City 
Guards, the Bo>ton Light Infantry and the Ancient 
and Honorable Artillery Company. He joined the 
last-named company in 1829, was ilsadjutant in 1837, 
its second lieutenant in 1845, its first lieutenant in 
1850 and its captain in 1853. He was also the clerk 
of the company from 1830 to 1833. For many years 
he was an active and prominent member of the Whig 
party and one of the most fluent and popular speak- 
ers in its ranks. He passed through the Free Soil 
party into the Republican party, and continued his 
connection with that party until the Presidential 
campaign of 1888, when he voted for Grover Cleve- 
land. In 1851 he was appointed by Governor Bout- 
well district attorney for the Suffolk District and re- 
mained in ofBce until 1853. In 1860 he removed to 
Newton, where he continued to reside until his death, 
which occurred April 21, 1889. He married twice, 
his first wife being a daughter of Abraham Moore, 
already referred to as an attorney, first in Groton and 
afterwards in Boston. At his death he left a widow 
and one son, another son having died of wounds re- 
ceived in the war. 

In Newton Mr. Park was appointed by Governor 
Long, in 1881, judge of the Newton Police Court, and 
remained on the bench until his death. The social 
atmosphereof Newton was especially congenial to him. 
Thrown into a circle of educated and scholarly men, he 
found a happy opportunity for the display of the rare 
literary and conversational powers which he possessed. 
In the church with which he was connected, in its 
Sunday-school and in various movements for reform, 
he found a welcome field for his naturally refined 
and philanthropic tastes. The various papers read 
by him in the Newton Tuesday Cmb, of which he 
was a member, show both the tendency of his mind 
and its strength and clearness to the last. In 1877 
he read a paper on the " Morals of the Young," in 
1878 one on "Prose Writers of Fiction," in 1879 
"The Government and the Indians," in 1880 " The 
Poor and Pauperism," in 1881 "Marriage," in 1883 
" Orators and Oratory," in 1884 "Political Parties" 
and "A Mi.ssion of Peace to the South," in 188G 
" Communism, Socialism and Strikes " and "Parlia- 
ment and Congress," and in 1888 " We, the People." 

Judge Robert C. Pitman, a member of the club, in a 
fitting memorial, says of Mr. Park: "His career was 
as versatile as it was protracted. But few have 



Ixxii 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



touched life at so many points. We were reminded 
by the honors paid at his funeral of his early and 
long-continued interest iu military life. We know 
the traditions of his fascinating oratory nJien Web- 
ster and Everett and Choate and Phillips were in 
their prime; he served in both branches of the Legis- 
lature ; at the bar be had a long and varied career 
upon the civil and criminal side, which was crowned 
at last with faithful years of judicial duties; always 
jirompt to turn aside for any service in education, 
charities or reforms, and having a life-long interest 
in religion, its services and instructions." 

John Spaulding was born iu Townsend, Augdst 
8, 1817. He is descended from Edward Spaulding, 
who c.'irae to New England about 1630, and first set- 
tled in Braintree. Edward, the ancestor, was made a 
freeman in 1C40, and was one of the original grantees 
and settlers of Chelmsford in May, 1655. By a wife, 
Margaret, who died in August, 1640, he had John 
about 1633, Edward about 1635 and Grace. By a sec- 
ond wife, Rachel, he had Benjamin in 1643 ; Joseph 
1646; Dinah, 1649. and Andrew 1652. Of these chil- 
dren, Andrew, who was born November 19, 1652, and 
died May 5, 1713, married Hannah Jefes, of Billcrica, 
April 30, 1674, and had Hannah, Andrew, Henry, 
John, Rachel, William, Joanna, Benoni and JIary. 
Of these, Andrew, who was born in Chelmsford, 
March 25, 1678, and died November 7, 1753, married 
Abigail Warren, February 5, 1701, and had .Andrew, 
Jacob, Henry, Josiah, Ephraim, Isaac, Abigail, Jo- 
anna, James, David, Benjamin and Sarah. Of these, 
Isaac, who was born in Chelmsford, October 28, 1710, 
and died March 4, 1776, married Sarah Barrett, and 
removed to Townsend, where his farm is still in the 
family. His children were .Jonathan, Lydia, Sarah, 
Benjamin, Abigail, Lucy and Esther. Of these, Ben- 
jamin was born in Townsend, August 14, 1743, and 
died May 27, 1832. He married Mary Heald Decem- 
ber 5, 1765, and had Benjamin, Peter, Mary, David, 
Joel, Abel, Isaac, Sarah, Ephraim and Nancy. Of 
these, Benjamin, born in Townsend, April 17, 1767, 
died May 21, 1842. He married, first, Sibyl Wallace, 
March 19, 1789; second, Sibyl Sanders, August 1, 
1797, and third, Mrs. Betsey Searle, May 2, 1822. 
His children were Sibyl, Benjamin, John, Polly, 
Levi, Peter, Jonas, Abigail, Susan, Samuel and Amos. 
Of these, John, born in Townsend, May 10, 1794, 
married Mrs. Eleanor Bennett, of Boston, in 1814; 
second, Eliza Lawrence Spalding, of Shirley, June 3, 
1830, and third, Esther Pierce, of Townsend, May 22, 
1834. His children were Eliza Ann, born October 1, 
1814; John, August 8, 1817; Mary Heald, April 6, 
1820; Sibyl, September 12, 1822; Caroline Matilda, 
October 18, 1824; Abel, September 21, 1831; Ellen 
Maria, November 13, 1842; Theodore Lyman, April 
21,1845; Lyman Beeoher, February 25, 1847; Theo- 
dore Eddy, May 3, 1849, and Ellen Rebecca, Febru- 
ary 23, 1854. 

Of these, John, the subject of this sketch, received 



his early education in the public schools of his native 
town and at Phillips Academy. In 1842 he entered 
Yale College, but on account of ill health was obliged 
to leave his class in its senior ye.ar and thus failed to 
receive a degree in regular order. At a subsequent 
period, however, the degree of Master of Arts was 
conferred on him. The education which he finally 
secured was due chiefly to his own love of learning 
and his indomitable energy and perseverance. AVhile 
working on his father's farm he was only able to at- 
tend school during eight or ten weeks in the winter, 
and the instruction thus received was supplemented 
by voluntary study during evenings and rainy days 
at other seasons of the year. At the age of seven- 
teen he had prepared himself for teaching school, and 
for a short time pursued that occupation with eminent 
success. With strong health, great self-reliance and 
precocious will and energy, but with inadequate finan- 
cial aid he succeeded in obtaining a liberal education. 
In 1850 he graduated at the Dane Law School, in 
Cambridge, and, after a period of study in the law-of- 
fice of George Frederick Farley, of Groton, was ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1851. By his own unaided ef- 
forts he entered on his professional career, and having 
paid his own wavi he opened an office in Groton, owing 
no man a dollar and with a small sum securely in- 
vested in profitable railroad stock. 

While in the oflice of Mr. Farley he was placed in 
charge of cases in the Magistrates' Court and thus ac- 
quired some experience iu the trial of cases before he 
lauuched his own professional bark. In this way he 
secured a class of business which, after he began 
practice on his own account, naturally fell into his 
hands — a practice which gradually extended even be- . i 
yond the borders of Middlesex County, and which, I 
skillfully managed as it was, secured to him at a very 
early p>eriod a prominent and lucrative standing in 
his profession. 

His settlement in Groton was made in response to 
the request of many prominent citizens, who were 
anxious to have a young, active lawyer in their town, 
and they not only provided him with an office as an 
inducement for him to remain with them, but their 
continued encouragement and aid were of essential 
service to him in getting a firm foothold at the bar. 
Mr. Spaulding remained in Groton about ten years. 
When the south part of that town became a promi- 
nent railroad centre he followed the popular wave and 
practiced in that section until 1872, when he removed 
to Boston. It was largely due to his efibrts and influ- 
ence that Groton Junction as it was called, and a part 
of the town of Shirley were incorporated, in 1871, as 
a new town under the name of Ayer. 

While practicing in Middlesex County the District 
Courts were established, and when the First Northern 
Middlesex Court was established Mr. Spaulding de- 
clined the appointment of judge, but accepted the po- 
sition of special justice, which he now holds. The 
necessary sacrifice of a large portion of his lucrative 





'f/'Ay^ ^ U/i tiii^^'-'^'^ '"j 



\ 






^c^^^. 



BENCH- AND BAR. 



Ixxiii 



practice would scarcely, in his opinion, be justified by 
the honor which such a judicial position would bestow. 

Judge Spauldiiig now resides in Boston Highlands, 
and is in the enjoyment of a well-earned and lucra- 
tive legal business, which is not likely to be soon im- 
paired by any failure of his strong mental and phys- 
ical powers. He married, in 1S02, Charlotte A., 
daughter of Alpheus Bigelow, of Weston, who died 
June 24, 1S89, leaving no children. 

Judge Spaulding has, until now, well advanced in 
life, devoted himself assiduously to his professional 
pursuits, neither seeking nor accepting office, believ- 
ing that in our country few higher positions can be 
attained than that of a well-read, sound, successful 
lawyer. 

Akthur p. Boxxey, the son of Isaac and Abi- 
gail (Stetson) Bonney, of Plympton, Massachusetts, 
was born in that town July 9, 1828. He attended the 
common schools of his native town and afterwards 
those in Lowell. He also attended the Dracut Acad- 
emy, and in the study of the languages had the advan- 
tages of a private tutor. He first studied medicine 
for a time, but finally entered as a student the law- 
office of Seth Ames & Thomas Hopkinson, then in 
full practice in Lowell. After his admission to the 
bar in 1848 he opened an office in Lowell and prac- 
ticed alone until he entered the firm of his old instruc- 
tors, which assumed the name of Hopkinson, Ames & 
Bonne}'. In 1849 Mr. Hopkinson was appointed a 
justice of the Common Pleas Court, and the firm con- 
tinued under the name of Ames & Bonney until 1859, 
when Mr. Ames was appointed one of the justices of 
the Superior Court established in that year. Since 
that time Mr. Bonney has continued in a gradually 
enlarging business until his practice, now cliieHy con- 
fined to corporations, has placed him in the front rank 
of Lowell's most prominent and wealthy citizens. In 
1855 he was city solicitor, and in 1857, 1858 and 1861 
he was a member of the State Senate. In 1858 the 
writer was with him at the Senate board, and remem- 
bers him, though the youngest, yet one of the ablest, 
members. From 18G4 to ISSO he was president of the 
First National Bank of Lowell, and from 1880 to the 
present time has been president of the Merchants' Na- 
tional Bank. He has been also a director in the 
Lowell and .\ndover Railroad Corporation. He is a 
Kepublican in politics and a L^nitarian in religion, 
and a prominent and active member of both organi- 
zations. He married Emma A., daughter of Dr. Royal 
Hall, of Lowell, and has one child, a daughter. 

Hon. Tappan Westworth was born in Dover, 
New Hampshire, February 24, 1802, and died in 
Lowell, Massachusetts, June 12, 1875. The Went- 
worth family is one of the most prominent in the 
history of England, and Tappan W'entworth was a 
lineal descendant of Thomas Wentworth, the Earl of 
Straft"ord, whom the genius of Macaulay has made for- 
ever famous. 

William Wentworth was the first immigrant of his 



name to America, and was one of the Rev. John 

Wheelwright's company at Exeter, in 1638. 

After that he resided at Wells and then in Dover, 
in the church of which he was a ruling elder. 

He was the father of four sons, from one of whom 
Governor Jcriin Wentworth was descended ; from an- 
other, the Hon. John Wentworth, of Chicago, and 
from the other two, by a union in the line, the Hon. 
Tappan Wentworth. 

Three of the Wentworths were Governors of New 
Hampshire. Of these, John Wentworth was commis- 
sioned Lieutenant-Governor in 1711 ; Benning Went- 
worth was appointed Governor in 1741, and held the 
office until 1767; John Wentworth, his nephew and 
successor, held the same dignity until the com- 
mencement of the Revolutionary War. In that mem- 
orable struggle for human rights he conscientiously 
' adhered to the Royal cause. 

The Wentworth Governors had granted the charter 
of Dartmouth College, and had endowed it by giving 
the lands upon which its edifices now stand, and had 
fostered it so long as they had the power. 

William W^entworlh, the first American founder of 
the family, was twice married ; was the father of 
ten children, and died March 16, 1696. Benjamin 
Wentworth, his youngest son, born in Dover, married 
Sarah Allen, in 1697, by whom he had eleven chil- 
dren, and died in August, 1728. William Wentworth, 
eldest sou of Benjamin, was born August 14, 1698, 
and was twice married. Of his twelve children, 
Evans was born December 25, 1750, married Dorothy, 
daughter of Ezekiel Wentworth, March 19, 1772, and 
died in August, 1826. Of his nine children, Isaac, 
father of Tappan, was born August 13, 1776; married 
Eleanor, daughter of Thomas Gowdey ; was the father 
of eleven children, and died in 1827. 

Tappan Wentworth received his elementary educa- 
tion at the common schools and the classical school at 
Dover. 

During his early manhood he spent about three 
years at Portsmouth, employed in a grocery store, 
from whence he went to South Berwick, Maine, and 
served successively in the stores of Benjamin Mason 
and AlphonsoGerrish, asclerk. 

But Tappan Wentworth possessed abilities, force 
and ambiiion that demanded a wider field than that 
within the limits of a country store. He manifested 
deep interest in politics. A spirited article written 
by him, advocating the re-election of William Bur- 
leigh member of Congress from the Yorly District, at- 
tracted that gentleman's attention, and induced him 
to offer his tuition in the study of law to Tappan 
Wentworth. The offer was accepted, the course of 
legal preparation finished, and he was admitted to 
the bar of York County in 1826. 

Seven years of successful practice in South Berwick 
and Great Falls fi)llowed his admission. In Novem- 
ber, 1833, he removed to Lowed, with savings to the 
amount of about $7000 in his possession. 



Ixxiv 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



. Mr. Wentworth'a first public service was rendered 
as a member of the committee wliicli drafted the first 
city charter of Lowell in 183(j. He was the Whig 
lawyer on the committee, and Joseph W. Mansur the 
Democratic. He was elected to the Common Council 
the same year, re-elected iu 1837, '39, '40, '41, and ofB- 
ciatod as president the last four years. In 1848-49 
he represented his fellow-citizens in the Senate of 
Massachusetts. In 1851 he was returned as represen- 
tative to the lower house of the State Legislature, and 
also in 1859, 1860 and 1803. In 1865-66 he was again 
representative in the State Senate. He was an active 
Whig advocate — a statesman of the Webster school 
throughout the best days of the Whig organization — 
and on tlie "stump "displayed the qualities of a prac- 
tical and an argumentative orator. 

In the fall of 1S52, Tappan Wentworth was elected 
as a Whig to the National Hou.^e of Representatives, 
by a vote of 4341, as against 4240 cast for Henry 
Wilson, Coalitionist. 

The Worcester ^gis, at the time of his election, 
said : " The election of this gentleman to Congress 
from the Eighth District over Henry Wilson, the 
master-spirit of coalition, has given great satisfaction 
to the Whigs in all parts of the State. 

" To any who know Mr. Wentworth, it is needless 
to say that his election is an important contribution 
to the talent and ability of the next Congress — as a 
clear-headed and forcible speaker, he will have no 
superior in the Massachusetts delegation, while as a 
working member he will be eminently useful." 

While in Congress he was a member of the House 
Committee on Commerce, and introduced several im- 
portant measures. Among them was a resolution to 
see what legislation is necessary to regulate or pro- 
hibit the iutroduction into the United States by any 
foreign government or individual of any foreigners, 
either insane, blind or otherwise disabled. On this 
resolution he spoke at considerable length. 

The matter was referred to the Committee on Com- 
merce, which subsequently reported a bill that passed 
into law, and that covers the entire subject. In 
1854 he delivered a powerful and eloquent speech, in 
opposition to the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska 
Bill. 

The cordial relations which had so long existed be- 
tween Mr. Wentworth and President Pierce, and also 
between himself and Attorney Genera! Caleb Cushing, 
were of great advantage to him, although he was in 
the Whig opposition to their Democratic administra- 
tion. Through them he quickly established friendly 
relations with the several members of the Cabinet, and 
also with the Democratic Speaker, who showed bis 
appreciation of Mr. Wtntworth's abilities when he 
appointed the different Standing Committees. These 
relations with the chiefs of the existing administra- 
tion, which enabled him to serve his constituents 
more beneficially than he otherwise could have done, 
were used by his opponents to create distrust of his 



fidelity, and to defeat him when a candidate for re- 
election. 

The public life of Mr. Wentworth was closely iden- 
tified with the growth and prosperity of the city of 
Lowell, and he was already ready to assist in any 
public enterprise, and liberally supported all the city 
institutions. 

He was projector and president of one of the State 
railways, and at the time of his death was president 
of the National Eubber Company, of Providence and 
Bristol, R. I. 

His life-work, however, was his profession, and to 
that were given his talents, which were of a com- 
manding character. 

He always received the careful attention of both 
judge and jury. His legal record was brilliant and 
successful, and his place in the profession was in the 
front rank. 

Judge Nathan Crosby, in his eulogy on Mr. Went- 
worth, said : " He was not long in selecting Dartmouth 
as his donee. He was a New Hampshire man, his 
kindred had laid the foundation of the State, and had 
chartered and founded the college." 

His will bequeathed all his property, which he said 
would not take long to reach $500,000 to Dartmouth 
College in the following words : " All my real estate 
stocks in corporations and debts due me, I give, devise 
and bequeath to Dartmouth College, in fee simple, 
and forever, to be used for the purposes of said Col- 
lege, in such manner as the proper officers who may 
have the management and control of the general 
funds of the College, may from time to time deter- 
mine." 

The bequest was charged with limited legacies and 
annuities, and will bear in all coming time, one-half 
the expenses and reap one-half the benefits and glory 
of this college. " In all the relations of life," wrote 
an early friend familiar with him as husband, father, 
sen and brother, "he most emphatically and nobly did 
his duty, and his record is written on high." 

" When he once gave his friendship, remarked Mr. 
John McNeil, his biother-in-law, " it was for life, and 
to the end. Even if the object jjroved unworthy, he 
let go with more reluctance and regret than most men." 

A large portion of his law library was bequeathed 
to the city of Lowell, for the use of the bar of Lowell, 
practicing in the Police Court. Mrs. Wentworth after- 
wards furnished in good taste and fitness a library- ^j 
case for the books, surmounted with the Wentworth ^' 
coat-of-arms, with the superscription " Wentworth 
library,' and also gave largely from her own library 
to fill its shelves. 

After the death of Mr. Wentworth a largely attend- 
ed meeting of the Middlesex bar passed some highly 
eulogistic resolutions, expressive of their appreciation 
of his character and abilities, and of their sense of' 
his loss. 

Tappan Wentworth was married, on the 20th of 
January, 1842, to Anne, daughter of Genl. Solomon 




4 



( 



BENCH AND BAK. 



Ixxv 



McNeil, of Hillsboro', N. H., a granddaughter of 
Gov. Pierce, and a niece of President Franklin Pierce. 
In all respects she was a help-raeet for him. An onlj' 
child, a son, Frederick Tappan Wentworth, was born 
March 7, 1S43, and died April 17, 1853, of a sudden 
illness. His death was a sore afliiction to his parents. 
Mrs. Wentworth, surviving her noble husband, has 
gracefully and touchingly completed the great act of 
his life. 

JosiAH G. Abbott, now living in Boston, is de- 
scended from George Abbott, of Yorkshire, England, 
who came to New England about 1640, and settled 
at Audover, in 1643. The ancestor married, in 
1647, Hannah, daughter of William and Annie 
Chandler, and died December 24, 1681. His widow 
married Rev. Francis Dane, the minister of Andover, 
and died June 11, 1711. William Abbott, son of the 
ancestor, boru November 18, 1657, married, June 2, 
1682, Elizabeth Gray, and had a son Paul, born 
March 25, 169", who removed from Andover to Pom- 
fret, Connecticut, about 1722. Paul had a son 
Nathan, born in Andover April 11, 1731, who mar- 
ried, in 1759, Jane Paul, and had a son Caleb, who 
married Lucy Lovejoy, and for a second wife, Debo- 
rah Baker. Caleb had a sou Caleb, born February 
10, 1779, who was a merchant in Chelmsford, and 
married Mercy, daughter of Josiah Fletcher. The 
children of the last Caleb were — Mercy Maria, born 
January 24, 1808, deceased August 21, 1825; Lucy Ann 
Lovejoy, born Sept. 16, 1809; Caleb Fletcher, born 
Sept. 8, 1811, who graduated at Harvard in 1831, and 
settled as a lawyer in 1835 in Toledo, Ohio ; Josiah 
Gardner, the subject of this sketch, and Evelina Maria 
Antoinette, born Sept. 14, 1817. 

Josiah Gardner was born in Chelmsford, Novem- 
ber 1, 1S15, and attended the Chelmsford Academy, 
at one time under the care of Ralph Waldo Emer- 
son, principal. He recalls with special interest 
the impression which Mr. Emerson, then unknown, 
by his gentle seriousness and great purity, made 
on his youthful mind. He graduated at Harvard 
in 1832, in the class with Henry Whitney Bel- 
lows, Charles T. Brooks, George Ticknor Curtis, 
E'ites Howe, Charles Mason, Albert Hobart Nelson, 
I Samuel Osgood, George Frederick Simmons and 
many others who acquired position and fame. In 
such a class, though the youngest member, Mr. 
Abbott secured a creditable rank. After leaving 
college he read law with Nathaniel Wright and Amos 
Spaulding in Lowell, and at the Dane Law School in 
Cambridge. He was prepared for admission at the 
bar in September, 1835, but a serious illness delayed 
his admission until December of that year, when, 
barely twenty years of age he entered on his profess- 
ional career as a partner with Mr. Spaulding, one of 
his instructors. After a business connection of two 
. years with Mr. Spaulding he practiced alone until 
'! 1840, when he became connected with Samuel Apple- 
ton Brown. 



On the 21st of May, 1855, the Common Pleas 
Court, so far as Suffolk County was concerned, was 
discontinued by law, and the Superior Court for the 
County of Sutiblk was established. The judges com- 
missioned for this court by Governor Gardner were, 
Albert Hobart Nelson, chief justice, and Judges Hunt- 
ington, Nash and Abbott, the subject of this sketch, 
associates. On the resignation of Chief Justice Nel- 
son, who died in 1858, Charles Allen was appointed 
by Governor Banks as his successor. Judge Abbott 
resigned in June, 1858. In 1859 both the Common 
Pleas Court and the Superior Court for the County of 
Suffolk were abolished, and the Superior Court for 
the Commonwealth was established. It was due to 
the manner in which he and his associates adminis- 
tered the Superior Court that the Court of Common 
Pleas was abolished and courts on the same basis as 
the Superior Court established for all the State. 
Judge Abbott, on his return to practice, still lived in 
Lowell, but had his office in Boston, and engaged, 
however, in a law business which extended into many 
of the counties of the State. In 1860 he declined a 
seat on the bench of the Supreme Judicial Court, and 
in 1861 removed to Boston, where he has since that 
time lived. 

In 1837, at the age of twenty-two he was a member 
of the House of Representatives and in 1842 and 1S43, 
member of the Senate. In the latter year he was 
chairman of the Judiciary Committee of the Senate, 
an unusual honor for one who had served so short a 
time, and was also editor of a tri-weekly paper in Low- 
ell for the year 1840, the year of the hard cider cam- 
paign. He was also a member of the staff of Gov- 
ernor Marcus Morton. In 1853 be was a delegate 
from Lowell to the convention for the revision of the 
Constitution, and in 1875 and 1876 was a member of 
Congress. While in Congress he was a member of the 
commission to determine the election of President, and 
has been the Democratic candidate for Governor 
several times and repeatedly the Democratic caudi- 
date in the Legislature for United States Senator. 
He has been a delegate to the Democratic National 



Conventions of 1844, '64, '68, 



76, '80 and '84; 



a delegate at large, and chairman of the Massa- 
chusetts delegation at all but that of 1844. He 
has been at various times intimately connected with 
corporations and business enterprises, having been 
president of the Hamilton Manufacturing Company 
of Lowell, of the Atlantic Cotton-Mill of Lawrence, 
of the Hill Manufacturing Company and the Union 
Water-Power Company of Lewiston, Maine, and of 
the Boston and Lowell Railroad Company. He has 
also been a director of the North American Insurance 
Company of Boston, and vice-pretident of several 
savings institutions. Throughout his career, how- 
ever, he has always made poliiics and tinancial and 
other occupations subservient to his professional voca- 
tion, and never permitted them to distract his mind 
from his legitimate professional studies and pursuits. 



h 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



His business in the courts has brought him in con- 
tact with the ablest men of the Massachusetts bar, 
including Choate, Curtis, Bartlctt and Whiting, of 
the Suffolk bar, and Farley, Butler and Sweetser, of 
the Middlesex bar, and in the contests with these 
giants in the law in which he has engaged he has 
shown himself their peer. With General Butler in 
his earlier years he was often associated as his se- 
nior, and in later times he has often been pitted 
against him in the legal arena. With Mr. Choate he 
was obliged to exert all his powers, and make use of 
all his learning. With Mr. Butler it was necessary 
to be armed at all points and be constantly on the 
alert against surprises while Mr. Farley at times dis- 
played a wonderful keenness of logic which needed 
all his legal and forensic strength to meet and if pos- 
sible overcome. No man at the bar in our Common- 
wealth has been more industrious in bis profession or 
performed more unremitting labor. It is safe to say 
that during fifteen years of his career he was engaged 
in the trial of causes before the courts or referees or 
auditors or committees of the Legislature three hun- 
dred days out of the three hundred and .sixty-five in 
the year. The writer has had the opportunity of ob- 
serving his skill in the management of important 
causes, and has discovered in him a faculty, not com- 
mon among lawyers of tersely and concisely selecting 
and treating the strong points in his case before a 
jury, making them the means of a counter-attack 
against the strong points of his opponent, and, like a 
skillful general, piercing the centre of his antagonist's 
line of battle while the movements against his wings 
were left unopposed. 

Judge Abbott married, July 18, 1838, Caroline, 
daughter of Edward St. Loe Livermore, chief justice 
of the Supreme Court of New Hampshire, and has 
had two daughter and seven sons. His two daughters 
were Caroline, who married George Perry, son of the 
late Dr. Marshal S. Perry, of Boston, and Sarah, who 
married William P. Fay. Of his sons, Edward Gard- 
ner was born September 29, 1840, and graduated at 
Harvard in 1860. At the breaking out of the war of 
1861 he raised the first company of three years' vol- 
unteers for the Second Regiment of Massachusetts, 
and as brevet major was killed at the battle of Cedar 
Mountain. Henry Livermore, born January 21, 1842, 
also graduated at Harvard in 1860, at the age of eigh- 
teen years, and while major of the Tiventieth Regi- 
ment of Massachusetts and brevet brigadier-general 
was killed in the Wilderness. Fletcher Morton, born 
February 18, 1843, was commissioned captain in the 
Second Regiment of Massachusetts and served on the 
staff of General William Dwight. Though in many 
battles, in which ho exhibited conspicuous gallantry, 
he served three years in the war without a scratch. 
He afterwards studied medicine, but is not in prac- 
tice. Samuel Appleton Browne was born March 6, 
184C, and graduated at Harvard in 1866. He enlisted 
at the age of sixteen in the New England Guards 



Regiment, but was not called into service, and entered 
college. He is now engaged in the profession of law. 
Franklin Pierce, the fifth son, attended the Dane Law 
School at Cambridge, and is now practicing law- 
Grafton St. Loe graduated at Harvard in 1877 and is 
also in the law. Holker Welch Abbott, the seventh 
son, is an artist. Judge Abbott received the degree 
of Doctor of Laws from Williams College in 1862. 
He is now living in Boston, and at the age of seventy- 
four assiduously engaged in the labors of his profes- 
sion, with mind and body unimpaired and with the 
promise of years of labor for his own honor and credit 
and for the community in which he is held in uni- 
versal respect. 

Theodore Harrison Sweet.ser was born in 
Wardsboro', Vermont, in 1821, but attended the com- 
mon schools of Lowell and Phillips Academy in his 
youth and entered Amherst College. He left college 
before graduation and taught school in Lowell and 
afterwards entered as a student the law-office of 
Tappan Wentworth, in that city. After his admission 
to the bar he was associated for a time with Mr. 
Wentworth in business and afterwards at different 
times with Benjamin Poole and William Sewall 
Gardner. He was in the Common Council of Lowell 
in 1851, city solicitor in 1853, '54, '59, '60 and '61, in 
the Legislature from Lowell in 1870, and the Demo- 
cratic candidate for Governor and member of Con- 
gress. In 1H79 he removed to Boston and there died 
Miiy 8, 1882. His mother was a sister of Solomon 
Su'ong, one of the judges appointed to the bench of 
the Common Pleas Court when it was established, in 
1821. Mr. Sweetser was recognized by the members 
of the bar as one of the ablest in their ranks, and his 
ability and reputation drew to him a large and lucra- 
tive business. He married a Miss Derby, who died 
before him, and their only daughter, the wife of Willis 
Farrington, lives in Lowell. 

George Merrick Brooks, the son of Nathan and 
Mary (Merrick) Brooks, of Concord, w.as bcrn in that 
town in 1824, and graduated at Harvard in 1844. 
He read law with Hopkinson & Ames, of Lowell, and 
at the Dane Law School in Cambridge, and was ad- 
mitted to the bar in Lowell in 1847. He settled in 
his native town and married, in 1851, Abba Prescott, 
who died leaving no children. In 1865 he married 
Mary A. Dillingham, of Lowell, who is the mother of 
two children, both daughters, the older of whom is 
nineteen. Mr. Brooks has been selectman five years, 
was in the Massachusetts House of Representatives 
in 1858, and in the Senate in 1859. In 1869, '70, 
'71, '72 he was a member of Congress, hav- 
ing been chosen at his first election to fill the vacancy 
occasioned by the resignation of George S. Boutwell 
to take the position of Secretary of the Treasury under 
President Grant. Before the close of the second Con- 
gress, of which he was a member, he resigned to take 
the position of Judge of Probate for Middlesex 
County, to which he had been appointed by Governor 




U^M'^^^;>/ j/ /^^,A^2 ,7/j^-?^ , 



BENCH AND BAE. 



Ixxvii 



Washburn. He has been president of the Middlesex 
Institution for Savings, a director in the Concord 
National Baulc, and a trustee of the Concord Public 
Library. He is still Judge of Probate and held in 
the highest esteem throughout the county. 

Joux SiiEPAED Keyes, SOU of John and Ann S. 
(Shepard) Keyes, of Concord, was born in that town 
Sept. 19, 1821, and attended, in his youth, the com- 
mon schools of his native town, and Concord 
Academy, and fitted for college under the care of 
private instructors. He graduated at Harvard in 
1S41, and read law with his lather and Edward 3Iel- 
len, of Waylaud, and in the Dane Law School, at 
Cambridge, and was admitted to the bar in March, 
1844. He opened an ofiice in Concord, and until 
1853 was engaged in practice. In 1849 he was a 
member of the Massachusetts Senate, and in 1853 was 
appointed sheritf of Middlesex County, and served 
under his appointment until his ofiice was made 
elective, when in 18o(j he was chosen by the county, 
and served until 1800. In 1860 he attended, as a 
delegate, the Eepubliean National Convention at 
Chicago, and in April, 1861, was appointed by Presi- 
dent Lincoln United States marshal for Massachu- 
setts, and served until August, 1866, when he re- 
signed. He then retired to his farm in Concord, was 
water commissioner and road commissioner, and in 
1874 was appointed by Governor Talbot, acting Gov- 
ernor, standing justice of the Central Middlesex 
District Court, and still holds that office. He deliv- 
ered the oration at Concord on the Fourth of July 
in the centennial year 1870, and was president of the 
day on the celebration of the 250th anniversary of 
the settlement of the town, in 1885. 

An interesting incident in the life of Mr. Keyes is 
one connected with his membership of the Senate, in 
1849. In that year tbe Senate consisted of forty 
Whigs, and the House of Representatives had 260 
members. Forty years after, in 1889, only two of the 
Senators were living, and only four of the House 
could be heard of as yet in active life. In that year 
these six, including Charles Devons and John S. 
Keyes, of the Senate, and George S. Boutwcll, Nathan- 
iel P. Banks, William Claflin and Henry L. Dawes, 
dined together, and the record of the men is suf- 
ficiently remarkable to be stated in this narrative. 
Three of the six had been Governors of Massachu- 
setts, four Ilepresentatives in Congress, three United 
States marshals for Massachusetts, two members of 
the President's Cabinet, two United States Senators, 
two major-generals in the army, one president of the 
jMassachusetts Senate, one Lieutenant Governor of 
Massachusetts, one Speaker of both the Mass- 
achusetts and United States House of Representa- 
tives, two judges. In 1849 three were Whigs and 
three Democrats, and in 1889 all Republicans. 

Mr. Keyes married, Sept. 19, 1844, Martha Lawrence 
Prescolt, of Concord, and has had six children, two 
of whom died in infancy. Two daughters are living, 



one of whom is married, and a son, Prescott Keyes, 
who graduated at Harvard in 1879, read law with 
Charles R. Train and at the Dane Law School, in 
Cambridge, and is now in practice in Suffolk and 
Middlesex. 

Edward Mellex was born in Westboro', in Wor- 
cester County, early in the century and graduated at 
Brown University. After admission to the bar he 
settled in VVayland, in Middlesex County, where he 
soon acquired a large practice. He was a hard stu- 
dent and became so well versed in the reports that 
on almost every point of law which had been decided 
in the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts he 
could readily quote the case in which it was involved. 
He was leading counsel in many important cases, 
and it is said that at the December Middlesex term 
of the Court of Common Pleas in 1843 he tried twen- 
ty contested cases and secured verdicts in nineteen. 
In 1847 he, with Charles Edward Forbes, was ap- 
pointed to the Common Pleas bench to fill vacancies 
occasioned by the resignation of Emory Washburn 
and Harrison Gray Otis Colby. In 1854 he was 
made chief justice on the death of his predecessor, 
Daniel Wells, and retained that position until the 
court was abolished, in 1859. During his career as 
judge he was most assiduous in the performance of 
his duties, shirking no work, always taking volumin- 
ous notes and making exhaustive charges to the jury. 
After he left the bench he settled in Worcester, 
where be continued in successful practice until his 
death, which occurred at Way land in 1875. 

William Adams Richardson, son of Daniel and 
Mary (Adams) Richardson, was born in Tyngsbor- 
ough, S"ovember 2, 1821. His father, a native of 
Pelham, New Hampshire, was a brother of William 
M. Richardson, who, for twenty years, was the chief 
justice of that State and married Mary, daughter of 
William Adams, of Chelmsford, for whom the subject 
of this sketch was named. William Adams Richard- 
son prepared for college at the Groton (now Law- 
rence) Academy, at Groton, of which institution he 
has been for nearly thirty years one of the trustees. 
He graduated at Harvard in 1843 and at the Dane 
Law School in 1846. He also read law for a time in 
the office at Lowell of his brother, Daniel S. Rich- 
ardson, whose sketch has already been given, and was 
admitted to the bar in Boston July 8, 1846. On the 
next day after his admission he went into busine.ss 
with his brother, under the firm-name of D. S. & 
W. A. Richardson. This partnership continued until 
1858, when he was appointed judge of Probate and 
Insolvency for Middlesex County. He then left, his 
brother removing his office to Boston, and not long 
after changing his residence to Cambridge. 

In 1849 he was chosen to fill a vacancy in the 
Common Council of Lowell and being again a mem- 
ber of the Council in 1853 and 1854 was, during both 
of these years, president of that body. In November, 
1846, he was appointed judge advocate of the second 



Ixxviii 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



division of Massachusetts Volunteer Militia with the 
rank of a major, and held that office several years. 
In 1850, the last year of the service of Governor 
Briggs, heVas a member of the staff with the rank of 
lieutenant-colonel. In March, 1855, he was ap- 
pointed one of the commissioners to revise the Stat- 
utes of Massachusetts, who reported the revision 
which finally became the General Statutes of 1860. 
On the 27lh of December, 1859, he was appointed 
with George Partridge Sanger, by a resolution of the 
Legislature of Massachusetts, a commissioner to edit 
and superintend the publication of the General Stat- 
utes and prepare an index to the same. 

On the 7th of April, 185G, he was appointed judge 
of Probate for Middlesex County, holding office uniii 
July, 1858, when that office was abolished, and, as 
has been stated, he was appointed judge of Probate 
and Insolvency. In 1863 he was chosen by the Leg- 
islature of Massachusetts one of the overseers of 
Harvard College for the term of six years, and the 
law under which the overseers are chosen by the 
alumni was based on a plan devised by him. In 
1869 he was chosen for another term of six years by 
the alumni, but before the expiration of his term he 
removed from the State. 

On the 27th of March, 1867, he was appointed with 
Judge Sanger, already mentioned, as his associate in 
editing and publishing the General Statutes, an edi- 
tor of the annual supplement to the " General Stat- 
utes," which was continued until the " General Stat- 
utes " were superseded by the " Public Statutes " in 
1882. 

On the 20th of March, 1869, he was appointed 
assistant secretary of the treasury, and held that 
office until March, 1873, when, on the retirement of 
George S. Boutwell, the secretary, he was appointed 
his successor. On the 23d of April, 1869, he was ap- 
pointed one of the justices of the Superior Court of 
Massachusetts, but declined the appointment to con- 
tinue in the office of assistant secretary of the treas- 
ury. 

After the great fire in Boston had burned and de- 
stroyed the stereotype plates of the " General Stat- 
utes" and "Supplement," he was associated in 1872, 
with Judge Sanger under a resolution of the Legisla- 
ture in preparing and editing a second edition of 
both. On the 17lh of March, 1873, he was appointed, 
as has been stated. Secretary of the Treasury, and held 
that office until he was appointed in June, 1874, one 
of the judges of the Court of Claims at Washington, 
being promoted January 20, 1885, from the position 
of associate judge to that of chief justice, which he 
still holds. His associates on the bench are Charles 
C. Nott, Glenni W. Schofleld, Lawrence Weldon and 
John Davis. 

On the 7th of June, 1880, he was appointed by Con- 
gress to edit and publish a supplement to the Revised 
Statutes of the United States, with notes and refer- 
ences, which was issued in 1881, and contains the ' 



legislation from 1874 to that year. Since 1880 Mr. 
Richardson has been one of the professors of law in 
Georgetown University, and has received a degree of 
Doctor of Laws from Columbia University in 1873, 
Georgetown in 1881, Howard in 1882 and Dartmouth 
in 1886. 

In April, 1890, Congress passed an act continuing 
the publication of the supplement to the Revised 
Statutes of the United States down to March, 1891, 
to be prepared and edited by Mr. Richardson. 

At various times during the residence of Mr. Rich- 
ardson in Lowell he was a director in the Appleton 
State and National Bank, president of the Wamesit 
State and National Bank, one of the corporators, trus- 
tees and finance committee of the Lowell Five Cent 
Savings Bank, and one of the directors of the Merri- 
mack Manufacturing Company. He was also vice- 
president and president of the Middlesex Mechanics' 
Association. 

Mr. Richardson married, October 29, 1849, Anna 
M. Marston, of Machiasport, Me., who died in Paris, 
France, March 26, 1876, leaving one child, Isabel 
Richardson, now the wife of Alexander F. Magruder, 
surgeon in the navy, now living in Washington. 

The record of Mr. Richardson shows him to have 
been an active, industrious man, not only learned in 
the law, but possessing business habits and general 
traits of character which have deserved and won the 
confidence of the world. • 

Samuel Appleton Browne, was born in Ipswich 
November 4, 1810, and read law with Nathan D. Ap- 
pleton at Alfred, Me. He practiced law in Lowell 
after his admission to the bar in 1840, and was asso- 
ciated with Josiah G. Abbott until Mr. Abbott was 
appointed to the bench of the Superior Court for the 
County of Sufl>)lk in 1855. He was a member of the 
Massachusetts Senate two years, and died January 
27, 1867. 

William Eustis Russell is the son of Charles 
Theodore and Sarah Elizabeth (Ballister) Russell, of 
Cambridge, whose sketch has already been given, and 
was born iu that city. He graduated at Harvard in 
1877, and, haviog studied law with his father, was 
admitted to the Suffolk bar, and is in business with 
his father, Charles Theodore Russell ; his uncle, 
Thomas Hastings Russell ; his brother, Charles Theo- 
dore, Jr.; and his cousin, Arthur H., the son of 
Thomas Hastings, and has his office in Boston. 
Though so young a man, he has been the mayor of 
his native city from 1885 to 1889, and in 1888 and 
1889 was the candidate for Governor of Massachusetts 
of the Democratic party. The two campaigns in 
which he was engaged were, on the whole, the most 
remarkable gubernatorial campaigns ever made in 
Massachusetts. His speechep, which were numerous 
and able, gave him a national reputation, which 
promises a career of brilliancy and advancement. 

William Ellison Parmentee is the son of 
William Parmenter, of East Cambridge, who is re- 




'QW^:- 



1 




m 




v^^^. 




BENCH AND BAR. 



Ixxix 



membered as a distinguished Democratic politician. 
He graduated at Harvard in 183(5, and, after reading 
law, was admitted to theSutfolk bar. He always had 
his office in Boston until his appointment to the 
bench of the Jlunicipal Court in that city, of which 
he is the chief justice. His residence is in Arlington. 

John Wilkes Hammond ' was born in that part of 
Rochester, in Plymouth County, Massachusetts 
which is now Mattapoisett, December 16, 1837, being 
the first-born of two children of John Wilkes Ham- 
mond and Maria L. (Southworth) Hammond. His 
ancestors had been residents of Plymouth County 
for more than two centuries. His father was a 
house carpenter, — an intelligent and respectable 
man, — who, dying when the .subject of this sketch 
was five years old, left a widow and two children 
without property. The name of their son, who 
had been christened James Horace Hammond, was 
changed by act of the Legislature, after the death of 
his father, to John Wilkes Hammond. 

His mother, an intelligent woman, and of great 
energy and perseverance, provided for her children 
by teaching school, keeping boarders, and such other 
means as her ingenuity suggested, giving them the 
benefit of good mental and moral training. Jobn was 
apt to learn, but was not physically strong, and for 
his health, in the summer of 1855 he went upon a cod- 
fishing cruise, of several months, to the Grand Bank 
of Newfoundland, in a schooner from Plymouth. 

Supplementing what he had learned in the public 
schools of Jlattapoisett by an attendance of some 
months in the Barstow Academy of that village, he 
entered Tufts College in the autumn of 1857. Here, by 
school-keeping and other means, he worked his way 
through college, graduating at the head of his clats 
in July, 1861. 

Finding himself, at this time, about five hundred 
dollars in debt, he taught in the high schools of 
Stoughton and Tisbury, until September, 1SG2, when 
he enlisted as a private in Company I, Third Massa- 
chusetts nine-months' Infantry, and served with this 
regiment until it was mustered out in June, 1863. 

During his service in the army he narrowly es- 
caped being taken prisoner at the attack of the rebels 
on Plymouth, N. C. 

After his return froih the war he commenced the 
study of medicine, but finding it not to his taste, 
abandoned it, and taught for a time in the high 
schools of South Reading (now Wakefield) and Jlel- 
lose, — studying law, the latter part of the time, in the 
office of Sweetser & Gardner, in Boston. 

With this preparation, and an attendance of one 
term at the Harvard Law School, he was admitted 
to the bar, at the Superior Court,, Cambridge, in Feb- 
ruary, 1866. 

In March he commenced practice in Cambridge, 
where he has ever since resided. 

1 Contributed. 



On August 15th of the same year he married Clara 
Ellen, only child of Benjamin F. and Clara (Foster) 
Tweed. Of the issue of this union there are three 
children, — Frank Tweed, Clara Maria, and John 
Wilkes. 

Mr. Hammond began practice with a high ideal of 
the legal profession, regarding it as a means of pre- 
venting rather than promoting litigation. Acting on 
this conviction, he uniformly advised clients to settle 
ditficulties, if possible, without recourse to trial. 

Though an entire stranger in Cambridge, and des- 
titute of the aid of influential friends, he soon gained 
the confidence of the community, as was shown by 
his election to several municipal offices — as member 
of the School Committee and of the Common Council. 
In 1872 and 1873 he represented Cambridge in the 
General Court. 

In the mean time his legal practice had rapidly in- 
creased, and in 1873 he was elected city solicitor, — an 
office which he held continuously, by annual election, 
until March 10, 1886. At this time, having been 
appointed by Governor Robinson associate justice of 
the Superior Court, he left a large and increasing 
legal practice, resigned the office of city solicitor and 
entered at once upon his duties as judge. 

Members of the bar, who practiced in the courts 
with him, uniformly speak of him as having attained 
a high standing both as a counselor and an advo- 
cate. 

As an advocate he showed excellent judgment in the 
presentation of the evidence before the jury, and was 
per-sistent in behalf of his client. His arguments 
were never long, but strictly confined to the points at 
issue, and were delivered with a straightforward ear- 
nestness that was very effective with juries. He was 
equally strong before the bench. 

The experience which Mr. Hammond had in the 
courts, and especially that as city solicitor, were 
an admirable training for his duties as judge. The 
opinions which he had been called upon to give to 
the several departments of the city government, and 
which, in case of litigation, it became his duty to 
maintain in court, were largely of a judicial char- 
acter. As a judge he fully maintained the reputa-' 
tion he had acquired as a lawyer. 

Charles Edward Powers,^ son of Charles and 
Sarah Brooks Powers, was born in Townsend, May 9, 
1834, [See biographical sketch of Charles Powers.] In 
his boyhood he attended the public sciiools, and had the 
advantages and full benefit of a thorough education, 
having graduated from the institution of New Hamp- 
ton, N. H., and was afterwards private pujjil of Prof. 
Knight, of New London, N. H., in the higher mathe- 
matics, for which he had great fondness. He entered 
Harvard University, at Cambridge, in 1853; gradu- 
ated and took the degree of A. B. in 1856, after 
having passed a rigid examination, and was awarded 

2CoDtributed. 



Ixxx 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



the grade of "magna cum laude." After taking the 
degree it was his iutention to study medicine and 
Burgery, with the view of becoming a surgeon, and for 
that purpose he entered the medical school in Boston. 
He had, however, but commenced his new studies, 
when he learned of the very sudden death of his 
esteemed father, which event obliged him to leave the 
school and devote himself to his father's business, 
which he very successfully carried on for a time, and 
after settling up the estate he concluded to study 
law, and entered the Law School of Harvard Uni- 
versity for that purpose, from which he graduated, 
and took the degree of LL.B. in 1858. In 1859 he 
formed a co-partnership with Hon. Linus Child and 
Linus Mason Child, under the firm-name of Child & 
Powers, " attorneys and counselers-at-law," and 
opened law offices in the city of Boston, where they 
have since remained, Mr. Child, Sr., having died 
some years ago. 

Soon after commencing the active practice of the 
law the street railways of Boston were beginning to 
he built and put in operation. Mr. Powers was 
one of the few only, in those eaiyly days, who believed 
in their success, and he at once embarked in the 
enterprise, became a large owner, and was made 
a director and president in several of them. For 
many years, he and his firm were the acting counsel 
for many of them, and remain so to this day. 

Soon after becoming a resident of Boston Mr. 
Powers became a very active Free Mason. He was 
made the Master of a lodge ; for several years was the 
Eminent Commander of Boston Commandery of 
Knights Templar ; and for several years was the 
Grand Master of the Select and Koyal Masons of 
Massachusetts. 

Mr. Powers has never been an aspirant for political 
office. Some years since, and immediately after the 
gi-eat fire in Boston, he was prevailed upon to accept 
the nomination for the City Council of Boston, and 
thereupon both political parties put him in nomina- 
tion, and for two years he was unanimously elected. 
After serving the two years in the City Council, he was 
nominated and elected on the " Water Board " of the 
city, where he served until the water-works were put 
into the hands of commissioners. It may be said of 
Mr. Powers that he is regarded as an energetic, saga- 
cious man, quick to apprehend, fertile in resource, and 
one who does thoroughly that to which he turns his 
attention. 

Mr. Powers was married in 1858 to Miss H. E. 
Fessenden, daughter of Hon. Walter Fessenden, of 
Townsend, and has two daughters — Marion (Mrs. 
Lamar S. Lowry) and Florence Agnes (Mrs. Henry 
McLellan Harding). They have both received an 
European education, having been abroad six or seven 
years for that purpose; and while thus abroad, Mr. 
Powers visited tliem every year, and made extensive 
travels with them. J n religion Mr. Powers is a Uni- 
tarian, having become a member of the College 



Chapel Church in 1856. He has always enjoyed the 
best of health, never having had a sick day in his life. 
To a large degree he inherited his father's noble 
physique and constitution, and we trust that he may 
continue to enjoy good health for very many years to 
come. 

Samuel King Hamilton' comes from Maine, the 
good old State that has been nursing mother to so 
many sons of genius, v;ho have by worthy deeds in 
other fields, reflected honor on the gracious parent 
who bore them. 

Mr. Hamilton was the youngest son of Benjamin 
R. and Sarah (Carl) Hamilton, and was born July 27, 
1837, at Carl'.s Corner, in Waterborough, York County, 
Maine. He was descended from a sturdy, strong- 
headed Scottish ancestry, which first took root in 
American soil at Berwick, Me., about 1666. The 
boyhood and youth of Mr. Hamilton were spent on 
the horae farm, where he became used to the rugged, 
healthful life of the New England husbandman, and 
early learned " what trees make shingle,'' while a 
naturally strong mind developed with all the rapidity 
of which surrounding circumstances would permit. 
A district school furnished the rudiments of knowl- 
edge, but a hungry and restless mind soon compassed 
its curriculum, and reached out with still eager long- 
ing for something larger and better than it had 
known. 

The parents recognized in the last of their six stal- 
wart sons, as in others before him, the presence of a 
spirit too aspiring for its native acres, and wisely pi'o- 
vided him an opportunity to pursue his studies at 
Limerick Academy, and later in the Saco High School, 
where, with enthusiastic diligence under accomplished 
instructors, the youth of Waterboro' made rapid strides 
in the educational course, and in February, 1850, had 
the courage to apply for the the position of teacher of 
a village school, and first wielded the emblem of mag- 
isterial authority in the Ford District of his native 
town, with conspicuous success. 

Leaving the High School in Saco in 1856, with hopes 
of future usefulness crystallizing into earnest pur- 
pose to deserve success, and still following the beck- 
oning hand of fair Science, young Hamilton entered, 
in September, 1856, the Chandler Scientific Depart- 
ment of Dartmouth College, and graduated with honor 
in the class of 1859. He had mostly paid his own 
way through by teaching school in winters and by 
other employment, and now with resolute courage and 
glowing hopes he pressed forward for the final equip- 
ment for his chosen profession of the law. Before 
graduating from college he had already entered as a 
student the busy office of Hon. Ira T. Drew, at Al- 
fred, Maine, where, remaining several years, varied by 
teaching school at Wakefield, Massachusetts, and as 
principal of Alfred Academy, and assisting in a large 
general practice in York County, he so demonstrated 

' By Chester W. Eatoo. 





/^^ 



.^ 



BEJ^CH AND BAR. 



hij capacity and abilitj' in the legal profession, thit 
in 1862, having been admitted to the York County 
bar, he was received by Mr. Drew as a partner under 
llic firm-name of Drew & Hamilton. There was no 
kicking of heels for clients in that office, but the bus- 
ness of the partnership rapidly expanded, and the 
firm had a high reputation all over the country. In 
1S67 ibe partnership was dissolved, and Mr. Hamil- 
ton opened an office in Biddeford, where he estab- 
lished his residence and met with ample success. He 
was an alderman of the city two years, and in 1871 
was chosen, as a Democrat, to represent Biddeford in 
the Maine Legislature, where he made his mark as a 
busy, influential member. In December, 1872, Mr. 
Hamilton moved to Wakefield, Massachusetts, enter- 
ing into partnership with Chester W. Eaton, a col- 
lege classmate, with law-offices at Bostou and Wake- 
field. This partnership was dissolved in 1878, Mr. 
Hamilton continuing his office in Boston, where his 
soundness as f,n adviser and his ability as an advocate 
were becoming more and more recognized in the bus- 
iness world. He retained his residence in Wakefield, 
where he was highly valued as a citizen and a lawyer. 
Mr. Hamilton has been greatly interested in the pros- 
perous development, and especially the educational 
concerns, of his adojjted town. He has served nine 
years on the Board of School Committee, six years of 
which time he was chairman of the Board, as chair- 
man of selectmen two years, and many years as chair- 
man of trustees of Beebe Town Library, and has as- 
sisted in the promotion of various important enter- 
prises in the town. In 1883, when the people of 
Wakefield were about erecting a handsome and com- 
modious brick school-house they voted unanimously 
in open town-meeting that the same should be called 
the " Hamilton School Building," in recognition of 
Mr. Hamilton's valuable and [uihlic-spirited services 
in behalf of the Wakefield schools. Mr. Hamilton has 
been treasurer of the Pine Tree State Club, of Boston, 
since i's organization, and was delegate to the 
National Democratic Conventi(jn in 1880, from the 
Fifth Congressional District of Massachusetts. 

Though the business office of Mr. Hamilton has 
been located in Bo-ton, his practice has extended 
largely over Middlesex County, and his form and 
voice are well known to court and jury in Boston, 
Cambridge, Lowell, Maiden and Wakefield. His 
office practice is also large, and he has obtained a 
special distinction for legal knowlege and acumen 
in respect to the organization and management of 
corporations. Mr. Hamilton has been in demand as 
a platform speaker in many hot political campaigns, 
ami by his abounding good nature and ready wit is 
popular even among his opponent". He still resides 
in Wakefield, and is one of the foremost in all local 
movements for public improvements. 

Mr. Hamilton was married in Newfield, Maine, 
February 13, 1867, to Annie E., daughter of Joseph 
B. and Harriet N. Davis. They have no children. 
F 



William H. Andee.son's' earliest American an- 
cestor was James Anderson, one of the sixteen origi- 
nal proprietors of the town of Londonderry, N. H., a 
class of sturdy, uncompromising Presbyterians, who, 
seeking greater religious freedom, emigrated from 
Ireland to New England in the year 1719. 

Their ancestors, many years before, had fled from 
the persecutions which the Presbyterian Church suf- 
fered in Scotland, and, crossing the narrow channel, 
had settled in the fertile fields of the North of Ireland. 

James Anderson settled in that part of London- 
derry now called Derry, and his oldest son received 
his father's "second division," or "amendment land," 
which comprised a large tract lying on Beaver Brook, 
in the southern part of the town. A portion of this 
tract has been handed down from father to son for 
five generations, to the subject of this sketch. Such 
instances are now quite rare even in New England, 
and it is not strange that, combining so many natu- 
ral attractions and historic associations, Mr. Ander- 
son has delighted to improve it and make it a place 
of his frequent resort. 

On this fiirm Mr. Anderson was born Jan. 12, 1836. 
His father, Francis D. Anderson, was a well-known 
resident of the town, and was frequently placed by his 
fellow-townsmen in offices of trust and honor. His 
mother, Jane Davidson, of the adjoining town of 
Windham, N. H., although a life-long invalid, is well 
remembered for her supeiior qualities of mind and 
heart and her Christian fortitude and patience under 
great suffering. 

Mr. Andersen, after passing his boyhood on his 
father's farm, pursued his preparatory course of liber- 
al study at Kimball Union Academy, Meriden, N. H., 
and at Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass. He 
entered Yale College in 1855, at the age of nineteen 
years, and graduated in 1859. After graduation he 
went to Mi-ssi^ippi, and was a tutor in a private fam- 
ily in Natchez, in thatState,and in New Orleans until 
the autumn of 1860, when ill health compelled him 
to return North. 

He commenced the study of law in the office of 
Morse (Isaac S.) and Stevens (George) in Lowell, and 
continued in their office till his admission to the 
bar in December, 1862. The firm of Morse & Stev- 
ens being then dissolved, he became a partner with 
Mr. George Stevens on the 1st of January, 1863. This 
business relation continued until April, 1875, a period 
of nearly thirteen years, and only ceased because of 
the election of Mr. Stevens as district attorney for 
Middlesex County. 

Messrs. Stevens and Anderson were the first tenants 
of the building known as Barristers' Hall, at the cor- 
ner of Central and Jlerrimack Streets, after its 
change from religious to secular use.s, atd Mr. Ander- 
son has now (1890) occupied the same office for more 
than twenty-five years. 

' Contributed, 



Ixxxii 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



In 1868 and 1869 Mr. Anderson was a member of 
the Common Council of Lowell, and in the latter year 
he was president of that body. For several years he 
was a member of the School Committee. In"1871 and 
1872 he was a member of the Massachusetts House 
of Representatives. 

Since the latter date he has held no public office, 
but has devoted himself closely to the practice of his 
profession, having found by experience that the law 
is indeed a jealous mistress and that she cannot be 
too assiduously wooed. 

Mr. Anderson possesses qualities which admirably 
adapt him to the practice of his profession. Cool and 
deliberate in judgment, thoughtful and dignified in 
manner, patient and thorough in investigation, he 
readily impresses upon his clients the conviction that 
their interests are safe in his hands. He enjoys an 
extensive practice and holds a high position at the 
bar of Middlesex County. 

The eleeant residence of Mr. Anderson, on the 
heights of Belvidere, overlooking the Merrimack, is not 
surpassed in attractiveness and beauty by that of any cit- 
izen of Lowell. The broad and well-shorn lawn in front, 
the wood-crowned heights of Centralville across the 
stream, the charming views both up and down the 
river combine to form a scene of no ordinary loveliness. 

On Oct. 1, 1868, Mr. Anderson married Mary A., 
daughter of Joseph Hine, of Springfield, Mass. His 
only child, Francis W, was born Dec. 20, 1877. 

Marcellus Coggan.' — The subject of this sketch 
belongs distinctly to the class of self-made men. 
He was born in Bristol, Lincoln County, Maine, 
the second of four children of Leonard C. and Betsey 
M. Coggan. He obtained his early education in the 
district school of his native town, and later followed 
the sea in the coasting trade between Maine and the 
southern ports and the West Indies. Not satisfied to 
follow a seafaring life, when a young n^n he entered 
Lincoln Academy, New Ca«tle, Me., and there pre- 
pared for Bowdoin College, which he entered in 1868, 
and through which he made his way by hard work, 
teaching in public schools and academies during the 
winters, and graduating with honor in 1872, at tlie 
age of twenty-five. 

Immediately afterwards he was engaged as princi- 
pal of Nichols Academy, in Dudley, Worcester 
County, Mass, and remained there until 1879. Nich- 
ols Academy is an old institution of learning, well- 
known in Worcester County, and at times in its his- 
tory had enjoyed great prosperity, but when Mr. Cog- 
gan took charge it was undergoing a period of de- 
pression. With the management of the new princi- 
pal it took on new life and energy, and entered upon 
a new period of prosperity, which it has since main- 
tained. While in Dudley Mr. Coggan took an active 
part in town atfairs, and was a member of the School 
Committee for four years. 

1 Contributod. 



During all this time, and ever since leaving college, 
Mr. Coggan had the legal profe.^sion in view, and read 
law steadily while engaged in teaching. In 1879 he 
gave up his position as principal, and removed his 
residence to Maiden, entering at the same time the 
law-oflfice of Child & Powers, in Boston. In 1881 he 
was admitted to the Suffolk bar, and his success in 
practice was immediate and steady. In 1886 he 
formed a partnership with William Schofield, at that 
time instructor in the Law of Torts at the Harvard 
Law School, and the firm have since done business 
under the name of Coggan & Schofield in Maiden 
and Boston, and have risen steadily in business and in 
the estimation of the public. 

Upon taking up his residence in Maiden Mr. Cog- 
gan at once became active in public affairs, joining 
various local organizations. In 1880 he was elected 
a member of the School Committee, and was an active 
and efficient member of the board lor three years. 
During that time questions of great importance to 
the educational interests of the city were agitated, 
and Mr. Coggan impressed himself upon the citizens 
as a man of decided opinions, and of the courage to 
maintain them. In 1884, by the persuasion of 
friends, lie ran as an independent candidate for the 
office of mayor, against the regular nominee of the 
city convention, and was defeated; but his friends 
were so encouraged by the resul.s of his canvass that 
he was induced to run again as an independent can- 
didate in 1885, and was elected over the regular 
nominee, Hon. Joseph F. Wiggin. 

Mr. Coggan assumed the office of mayor of Maiden 
in January, 1886, and was the fourth in succession in 
that office since the incorporation of the city — a sig- 
nal tribute to his character and ability, since he had 
been a resident of the city only since 1879. His ad- 
ministration as mayor was succei-sful, and in 1886 he 
was re-elected, without opposition, by an almost 
unan-mous vote, for the ensuing year. Perhaps the 
strongest feature of Mr. Coggau's administration was 
his enforcement of the prohibitory law. The city, in 
1885, had voted "No License," and during the first 
year of Mr. Coggau's mayoralty this vote of the 
people was thoroughly enforced, in a manner which 
attracted wide altenlion, and with results which were 
very gratifying to the friends of temperance. In the 
second year of his office Mr. Coggan continued in all 
departments the vigorous policy which had marked 
his first year. He refused a nomination for a third 
term, and retired from office at the end of 1887. 
Since that time he has taken no active part in poli- 
tics, but has devoted himself exclusively to his pro- 
fession. In his |)olitical principles Mr. Coggan has 
been a consistent and life-long Republican. 

In 1872 Mr. Coggan married Luella B.' Robbins, 
daughter of C. C. Robbins and Lucinda Robbins, of 
Bristol, Me., and three children have been born to 
them of that marriage. 

Mr. Alfred HEStENWAY, one of the leading law- 





6-^>--g^.^-- 



BENCH AND BAR. 



Ixxxiii 



yers of the Massachusetts bar, was born in Hopkin- 
ton, Mass., August 17, 1839. He fitted for college in 
his native town and graduated at Yale University Id 
the class of 1861. He studied law at the Harvard 
University Law School, and was admitted to the bar 
in Suflblk County July 13, 1803. He has since then 
resided and practiced in Boston, and has steadily 
risen in his profession, alike in the extent of his prac- 
tice and in reputation as a lawyer. He has delivered 
law lectures at the Lasell Seminary, is one of the ex- 
aminers for admission to the Suflblk bar, and has 
been president of the Yale Alumni Association in 
Boston. But he has mainly confined his attention to 
the immediate duties of his profession, in which he is 
a close student, and in which he is recognized as one 
of the must successful members. His familarity with 
the reports and the readiness with which he cites the 
cases bearing on any mooted point have especially 
won him reputation. Very few lawyers are better 
grounded in the principles of the law or so familiar 
with its authorities. He is much in court, tries cases 
with ability, is now largely engaged as senior counsel, 
and before a jury or the court has a ready speech, an 
agreeable manner, and an earnest, convincing and 
logical power of statement and argument. He is a 
member of the law-firm of Allen, Long & Hemenway, 
his partners being Stillman B. Allen, Esq. and ex- 
Governor John D. Long. Mr. Hemenway was ten- 
dered an appointment u|)on the bench of the Superior 
Court by (rovernor Ames, but he declined the honor. 
It cannot be expected that in this narrative sketches 
would be given of all the prominent members of the 
Middlesex bar. Already the space assigned to this 
chapter has been exceeded, and the writer must ex- 
clude from his list the names of many lawyers who 
deserve a place in this record. There are General 
James Dana, of Charlestown, recently deceased, the 
son of Samuel Dana, already referred to; Marshal 
Preston, of Billenca; Constantine C. Estey, of Fra- 
mingham ; Theodore C. Hurd, clerk of the courts ; 
B. B. Johnson, of Waltham, who has been mayor of 
that city, and is active and prominent in the prohib- 
itory cause ; Henry F. Durant, sun of William Smith, 
who changed his name, and who, after a short prac- 
tice in Lowell, became a successful member of the 
Suflblk bar; Richard G. Colby, city solicitor of Low- 
ell in 1842; Isaac S. Morse, city solicitor of Lowell 
from 1850 to 18-52, and afterwards district attorney; 
Alpheus A. Brown, city .solicitor of Lowell in 1858 
and 18ti2 and lSt)3 ; William B. Stevens, of Stone- 
ham, district attorney for the Northern District; J. H. 
Tyler, register of Probate and Insolvency ; Arthur 
W. Austin ; Thomas Wright, of Lawrence, son of Na- 
thaniel Wright, of Lowell ; J. t_J. A. ( irifliji, tlie bril- 
liant lawyer and legislator, cut ofl' in the full prom- 
ise of an eminent career ; Sherman Hoar, of Walt- 
ham, and Josiah Kutter, of W^altham — but all these 
must only be referred to by name, while many 
more, worthy of mention, must be omitted altogether. 



The chapter will close with a list, as complete as the 
writer has been able to make it, of the lawyers now 
practicing in the county. 

The following were, in 1889, engaged in practice in 
the towns set against their names : 

ActoD — F. C. Nasb, X. A. Wyman. 

Arlington— John H. Handy, Wm. Parnienter, W. H. H. Tuttle. 

Ashby— S. J. Bradlee. 

Ashland — George T. Hlgley. 

Ayer — Warren H. Atvvtiod, C A. Batchelder, George J. Burns, Jameg 
Cierrish, Levi Wallace. C. F. Worcester. 

Bedford — George R. Blinn, Eliliu G. Loomis, George Skiltnn. 

Belmont — Frederick Dodge. 

Cambridge — Augustine J. Daly. 

Canibridgeporl— George C. Bent, John Cahill, H. C. Holt, Ednin H. 
Jose, J, E. Kelley, G. A. A. Pevey, Charles G. Pope, I. F. Sawyer, Henry 
n. Winslow, 

East Cambridge— Felix Conlou. Freeman Hunt. Edward B. .Alalley, 
Charles J. SIcIntire, Lorenzo iMarrett. 

Concord — G. M. Brooks, George Heyvvood, Ebeu Rockwood Hoar, 
Samuel Hoar, .lohn S. Keyes. Prescott Keys, George A. King, Charles 
Thompaon. C. H. Walcott. 

Everett— Dudley P.Bailey, C. C. Nirhols, George A. Saltmarsh, G E. 
Smith. 

Framingbam (South)— Walter Adams, John W. .\llard, Constantine C. 
Esty, Charles S. Forbes, Ira B. Forbes, W. A. Kingsbury, Sidney A. 
Phillips. 

HollistoD — \\\ A. Kingsbury. 

Hudson — James T. Joslin, Ralph E. Joslin. 

Lexington — Robert P. Clapp, George H. Reed, J. Russell Reed, Augus- 
tus E- Scottt. 

Littleton — George A. Sanderson. 

Lowell. — Julian Abbott, James C. .\bbott, W.U.Anderson. Wm. P. 
Bjirry, George W. Batchelder, C. R. Blaisdell, A. P. Blaisdell, Harvey 
.\. Brown, C. E. Burnham, George .\. Byam, James H. Carmichael, G. \V. 
Clement, Ch. H. Conant, Wm. F. Courtney, Charles Cowley, Jeremiah 
Crowley, John Davis, Dan Donahue, Thos. F. Enright, Philip J. Farley, 
Peter A. Fay, Fred. A. Fisher, John F. Frve, F. T. Guillet, Jos. H. Guil- 
let, Ch. S Hadley, S. P. Hadley, John J. Harvey, J. T. Haskell, vP. J. 
Hoar, J. J. Hogon, John L. Hunt, Louis H. Kileski, J. C. Kimball, Jona. 
Ladd, .\lfred G. Lamson. G. F. Lawton, F. Lawtoo, Cli. S. Lilley. Fred P. 
Marble, John Marreu, J, N. 5Iarsbali, Martin L. Hamblet, .lobn T. Mas- 
terson, John W. McEvoy, Ed, D. MeVey, Albert M. .Moore, Jno. H. Mor- 
rison, Isaac S. Moore, Wm. F. Courtney, James Stuart Murpby. Bernard 

D. O'Connell, Myron Penn, J. J. Pickman, George W. Poore, Irving S. 
Porter, Nathan D. Pratt, Ed. B. Quinn, Francis W. Quay, John W. ReeJ, 
Dan M. Richardson, George F. Richardson, George K. Richardson, J. 
F. Savage, C. W. Savage, A. P. .Sawyer, Luther E. Sbepard, George H. 
Stevens, Sotou 'W. Stevens, L. T. Trull, A. C. Varnnni, George M. Ward, 
Herbert R. White, S. B. Wyman. 

MaUieu— Charles E. Ahl.ott, George D. Ayers, Harry H, Barrett, Har- 
vey L. Boutwell, C. M. Bruce, Orren H. Carjieuter, Marcellus Coggau, 
W. B. do Las Casas, E. E. Eaton, Charles R. Elder, George H. Fall, J. 

E. Farnham, P. J. McGuire. Edwin G. Mclnues, J. H. Milletl, J. W. 
Pettingill, M. F.Stevens, .\rthur H. Wellman. 

Marlboro' — Samuel N. Aldrich, W. N. Davenport, Heman S. Fay, 
Gale I. McDonald, Edward F. Johnson, J. W. McDonald, J. F. J. Otter- 
son. 

Maynard— Thomas HiUis, J. W. Reed. 

Medford— Thomas S. Harlow, Benjamin F. Hayes, F. H. Kidder, W. 
P. Martin, C. F. Paige, B. E. Perry, C. G. Plunkett, D. A. Gleason 
(West), George J. Tufts (West). 

alelrose— E. C. Morgan, W. H. Roberts. 

Natick— P. H. Cooney, F. M. Forbush, James McManus, H. C. Mulli- 
gan, H. G. Sleeper, Charles IJ. Tirrell,G. 1). Tower, L. H. Wakefield. 

Newton — J. C. Ivy, J. C. Kennedy, George A. P. Codwire (Lower 
Falls). 

Keailing— Solon Bancroft, Chauncey P. .ludd, E. T. Swift. 

Sonierville — Selwyn Z. Bowman, Brow-n A .\lger, John Haskell But- 
ler, .lohn E. f'asey, Herbert A. Chapin, D. K. Crane, Joseph Cumniirigs, 
Samuel ('. Darling Michael F. Farrell, Oren S. Knapp, Charles S. liiu- 
coln, Thomas F. Maguire, A. A. Perry, Charles (t. Pope, Isaac Story, 
Francis Tufts, L. R. W'entw-orth. 

Slouebam— B. F. Hriggs, A. V. Lynde, A. S. Lynde, William B. 
Stevens. 



Isxxiv 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS 



Tewkebury— fharles R Blaisdell. 

Wakefield— Dean Dudley, Chester W. Eaton, Freeman Evans, S. K. 
Hamilton, Winfield C. Jordan, \Vm. K. Rogers, George H. Towle, Ed- 
ward A. I'ljton. 

Waltliara— Allen J. Maybeiry, Thomas Curley, T. B. Eaton, D. 
French, John L. Harvey, Sherntan Hoar, B B. Johnson, A. J. Lathrop, 
Dudley Roberts, R. M. Start, Charles F. Stone, F. M. Stone, T. H. Arm- 
strong. 

Walerlown— I. V. Beniis, F. E. Crawford, J. J. Sullivan. 



Wayland— R. T. Lombard. 

Weston— Andrew Fieke, Charles H. Fieke. 

Wilmington — Chester W. Clark. 

Winchester— A B. Coffin, S. J. Elder, S. H. Folsom, fieorge S. Little 
field, Eugene Tappan, -\. C. Vinton, J. T. Wilson. 

Woburn— Charles D. Adams, M. T. Allen, B. E. Bond, Parker L. Cm 
verse, Francis P. Curran, I. W. & E. F. Johnson, John G. Magtiire, 
Wm. N. Titus. 



CITIES AND TOWNS. 



CHAPTER I. 



CAMBRIDGE. 



INTRODUCTION. 



BY JOHN HOLMES. 



We have been urged on the score of long residence 
in the county, to write something for this book. 

Under so vague a commission, many to|)ics suggest 
themselves, and we fall back on our native town of 
Cambridge, where the qualification above mentioned 
is most available. 

We have a few words to say about Revolutionary 
recollections connected with our town, Imt rely 
chiefly on our topographic memory to give pleasure 
in noting the changes wrought by time. First, how'- 
ever, a loyal word for our county. 

It is a fair territory. It has its mounts of vision, 
whence one beholds spread out beneath him the 
plenty, prosperity and peaceful content which, viewed 
thus largely, belong to the domain of poetry. We 
have our two, (sufliciently) broad rivers, which pay 
their daily tribute to Ocean and receive back a 
briny acknowledgment of their loyalty ; others are 
accessories only to larger streams. We have silvery 
lakes in which secluded Nature views herself with 
satisfaction. We have, here and there, pleasant sug- 
gestions, at least, of forest. 

Without prejudice to sister counties, we think we 
have all the gradations from wild nature, to a comely 
civilization, in fair proximity to perfection. The his- 
tory before us, tells of our progress, from the one point 
to the other. 

Middlesex is rich in Revolutionary incident. Cam- 
bridge was a part of the route by which both detach- 
ments of the British troops went to Concord on the 
19th of April, 1775. The first party of 800 was con- 
veyed from Boston to Lechmere's Point (now East 
Cambridge) in boats, and passing over the marshes to 
what then, and also in our boyhood, was called Milk 
Kow, in Cambridge, went by that avenue from the 
Charlestown, to the West Cambridge (now Arlington) 
road. 

The reinforcement under Lord Percy, coming over 
Brighton Bridge, must have proceeded straight from 



Harvard Square up North Avenue. About 18JC a 
venerable inhabitant of our town told us that on the 
19th of April, being then a boy apprentice to a tailor, 
he saw from a building just north of our present post- 
oltice (which we remember) Lord Percy's detach- 
ment pass by. 

It is well enough to fix the spot whence the young 
'prentice gazed unconsciously at the beginning of a 
Revolution. Such places seem like telegraphic 
points l)etween the past and the present for the imag- 
ination. 

Somewhere about 1850 a venerable colored man 
appeared at our doors asking some transient hospi- 
tality. His extreme age suggested inquiry. It ap- 
peared that he was living in Lexington in 1775, and, 
as it seemed, belonged to a Captain Parker of that 
town. By his own account he lived on very easy 
terms in the household. Being asked if he remem- 
bered what is called the Battle of Lexington, he 
replied that he saw it, and knew all about it. Here, 
then, was an eye-witness of a memorable event. Unso- 
phisticated as he appeared, he was the very man to 
give some simple incident of the day whose pictur- 
esque effect he might not himself appreciate. 

When refreshed he was put on the witness stand. 
"Now then tell us about the battle." " Well, you see I 
had Cap'n Parker's horse to take care on that day. 
Well I come out there and the dust was a flyin' and 
the guns a firin' and the blood a runnin'. You see, I 
had taken care of Cap'n Parker's horse." This was the 
amount of what could be got from him about the 
Battle of Lexington. He was then asked if he re- 
membered anything about Bunker's Hill. "Yes, I 
was there. I remember all about it." " Well, how 
was that?" "Well, the British Gen'l he come out 
and drawed his sword and the 'Merican Gen'l he 
come out and drawed his sword, an' then they all 
went at it and fit till the blood run knee deep." So 
much for our antiquarian discovery. 

In our boy days many small story-and-a-half build- 
ings (so-called) on the present North' Avenue re- 
minded one of the Revolutionary epoch. They had 
witnessed the passage of Lord Percy's nine hundred, 
and had probably added their part, to the number of 
his assailants. 

These memories of the beginning of the war are 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



continued in Cambridge by the occupation of the 
college buildings by our troops, and by Washington's 
occupation of the present Longfellow house as head- 
quarters. 

We now turn to Harvard College at its foundation. 

Governor Winthrop came to Salem, which was 
already settled, and thence to Boston, in 1630, bring- 
ing the charter of the Colony with him. To quote 
from a note to his journal : " 7th mo., 14th day, 1638, 
John Harvard, Master of Arts in Emanuel College, 
Cambridge, deceased, and by will gave the half of 
his estate, amounting to about 700 pounds, for the 
erecting of the college." The General Court had in 
1636 "agreed to give 400 pounds toward a school or 
college. ..." From Winthrop we find that on the 22d 
of August, 1642, "Nine bachelors commenced at Cam- 
bridge ; they were young men of good hope and per- 
formed their acts so as gave good proof of their pro- 
ficiency in the tongues and arts." 

"The general court had settled a government or 
superintendency over the college, viz.; all the 
magistrates and elders over the six nearest churches 
and the president, or the greatest part of them. 
Most of them were now present at this first com- 
mencement, and dined with the college, with the 
scholars' ordinary commons, which was done of pur- 
pose for the students' encouragement, etc., and it gave 
good content to all." 

This was such an occasion as one endeavors to re- 
produce to his fancy by the dim light of the time. 
The simple procession (for we are sure there must 
have been one) marched silently, with no incident of 
pomp, save possibly the square cap ; and whether 
even the president wore that, is a question beyond 
us to answer. The squirrel crossed its track, and 
when arrived wild woodland sounds intruded on the 
Latin disputations. Doubtless a group of cows from 
the " Great Pasture " gathered not very far from the 
present new gateway, and watched, ruminating, 
the unaccustomed gathering. For all the little 
world around Cambridge that could quit work, came 
to that commencement and admired the new college, 
magnificent to eyes now so accustomed to homely 
surioundings. The college yard, now so called, must, 
we think, have been in a very rough state in 1642. 
The trees or their stumps muse have occupied a 
considerable portion of it. The ground where Uni- 
versity Hall now stands must have been a bog or a 
swamp. 

While our college was being thus peacefully in- 
augurated, civil war was beginning in England, 
where the Puritan soon proved the afiinity between 
religious, and civil, liberty. But for political pre- 
caution we should probably have had our Cromwell 
and Ireton and Desborough Streets in Boston. 

We should like to know how and how far our first 
commencement was made a holiday. Probably the 
services of the day were a sufficient excitement to 
the sober, industrious settlers. Possibly a little 



" strong waters" circulated in a serious manner; that 
article had so many sanitary aspects that coincided 
with a festive inclination. It was good to keep out 
the cold in winter. It coalesced beneficially with the 
heat in summer. It was good in a general way as an 
antidote to climatic influences and a hopeful sort of 
application in almost all exigencies. Although our 
fathers had not learned to judge it with the severity 
of our times, they were cautious in its use. They had 
disused the practice of drinking toasts because of its 
tendency to excess. Whatever the mode of enjoy- 
ment after the services were over, it was quiet and 
decorous, and all broke up in good season for their 
return by daylight over such paths as might ihen be. 
Our cows were driven home from the Great Pasture 
at sundown, and all the village was probably asleep 
by nine. 

Our fathers confined themselves so much to Scrip- 
ture knowledge and discussion that one would hardly 
have expected them to open the gates of classical 
learning to their children. One would suppose that 
the ungodly miscellany of the heathen mythology 
would have been as obnoxious to them as the cross in 
the colors. Perhaps they curtailed that portion of 
literature. But Latin was the Lingua Franca of 
theology ; Greek was the language of the New Testa- 
ment and Hebrew of the Old. Their first object 
was to raise up a body of learned ministers who 
should defend and preserve their theological opinions 
to the latest generation. To do this a knowledge of the 
language was deemed necessary. 

We who view the college and country now well ap- 
preciate the interest of that first commencement. 
The university of to-day, with its 1200 students and 
its 150 or so of instructors, casts a kindly look back 
on its alter ego of 1642. The tide of youth has now 
flowed through it for two and a half centuries, run- 
ning Iree and strong and ever increasing in volume. 

It is a pleasant feature of the college that grim 
Time within its precincts assumes his nearest to a 
cheerful and beneficent aspect. He dispenses very 
much with his scythe, and is content to show his 
hour glass to the young men to remind them of the 
disintegrating tendency of the hour and the minute. 

One turns from the tumultuous succession of ob- 
jects and sounds in the outside world to rest his eyes 
on the calm of the college precincts, where the com- 
merce is all in ideas and all the working day is "High 
Change." 

The " scholars," as they used to be styled, have 
always made an amicable society among themselves, 
the personal relations of the individual being mostly 
confined to hia class, in which every good fellow, 
whatever his circumstances, was cordially regarded 
by all. 

The college and the town grew up from infancy to- 
gether, and have always maintained pleasant relations 
with each other. 

This book is designed to give a minute view of 



CAMBRIDGE. 



each town, as well as a history of the collective 
county. We think a to|i()graphic sketch of our 
town as it was seventy years since would be interest- 
ing, to the elder inhabitants at least, who do not en- 
joy so large a retrospective privilege iis ourselves. 
Cambridge, with its numerous in-dwellers from all 
parts of the country, who contract associations with 
the town, is somewhat cosmopolitan, and has many 
more than its citizens to be interested in its history. 
The Cambridge of our childhood seventy years since 
must have very much resembled itself of seventy 
years earlier. It had been, like other inland j^laces, 
a farming town until its growth in the neighborhood 
(if the college precluded that occupation there. We 
of that neighborhood spoke of going to Harvard 
Square as going " down in town ; " those more remote, 
as going " down to the village.'' In the now Harvard 
Square stood '' Willard's Hotel," the same building 
in which now (May, 1890) the passenger-room of the 
railroad is. " Willard's" was the resort of the mod- 
erns — i. e., the less "advanced" people — men whose 
memorie-j were of General Bonaparte, of the Embargo 
and the last war. Porter's tavern was the presu- 
mable resort of the ancients, whose remembrance 
might reach back to Bunker Hill, or possibly to the 
massacre at Fort William Henry. 

This building was of two stories, gambrel roofed and 
of hospitable aspect, with a more modern hall for 
dancing attached, the great place for public gayeties in 
our boyhood. This building is still standing, devoted 
to new purposes. On the left of Willard's, and on the 
corner of Dunster Street, was our principal grocer; 
on the right another grocer's shop, with the post- 
office in the rear ; then a passage way, and then our 
only efi'ective dry-goods shop, at the corner of 
Brighton Street. All these buildings are still stand- 
ing. At the easterly corner of Dunster Street, facing 
on Main, was a house of some antiquity, where our 
first regular apothecary's shop made its appearance. 
Thence to Holyoke Street was vacancy. On the east- 
erly corner of Holyoke, facing on Harvard Street, 
stood our book-store, with a priuting-oflice on the 
second floor, and wooden stairs on the outside on 
Holyoke Street — a thin, long, three-story building ; 
next, east of that, a very old red house, with a tradi- 
tional flavor about it of Bradish, a famous pirate of 
our colonial times. We have some notion that Cap- 
tain Kidd was mentioned as a fellow-lodger. If evi- 
dence is asked for, we can add that there have been 
rumors of an iron pot of coin discovered in the cellar. 
This all will allow to be corroborative. But tradition 
alone, being vox populi, is sufficient for our purpose. 
This incident imparts a fine aroma of maritime ad- 
venture to Harvard Street. 

Next to the red house wa-s a small bake-house, and 
at the westerly corner of Linden Street a three-story 
wooden house. Piissing Linden Street, the whole 
square next, we think, may have been occupied by 
the quite stately Borland house, which stands far 



back from Harvard Street. Passing Plympton Street, 
there was a i)iece of land running from a point one or 
two hundred feet down Plympton Street, round to 
and a little distance down Bow Street. It contained 
pear and mulberry trees only. 

Opposite this land, on the present Harvard Street 
(which in our boyhood was called from there the 
Middle Road), stood the old parsonage, and next this, 
easterly, the modern Dana house, built in our boy- 
hood. There was no building in sight beyond this 
on Harvard Street, and on Main Street from Bow 
Street there was no dwelling visible but the Judge 
Dana house between the present Dana and Ellery 
Streets. Beyond this there was one house on the left; 
none on the right before reaching the present Innian 
Street. 

The open ground extending from Church Street to 
Waterhouse Street was called, except the part occu- 
pied by roads, the Common. Agriculture lingered 
in the neighborhood of the college. Jarvis Field 
was still occupied as farm land. We have seen Indian 
corn growing where the Scientific School, and Gym- 
nasium now staud. 

There were no street lamps save, for a few years, 
four, on the walk in front of the college buildings. 
People walked at night by faith — that is, such confi- 
dence as they might have in their knowledge of the 
ups and downs that lay in their invisible path. There 
were no names of streets ; people in giving a direc- 
tion, approximated as well as they could : " Down by 
the ' meetinus,' " " Down by the Hayscales," " Down 
by the Mash " (marsh), " Up by Miss Jarvis's.'' 

The present Kirkland Street was built up about 
1821. There was then standing there, a little below 
Oxford Street, a dilapidated, untenantable " Fox- 
croft" house. The present Cambridge Street, then 
" Craigie's Road," had one house, visible from the 
Delta, on it. The road presented then quite a forest 
vista to those looking down it. At the end of the 
Delta was what was called the Swamp. This extend- 
ed some little distance till it met the woods on the 
left side of the road. 

On Brattle Street, from Ash Street, there was but 
one house, the Vassal house, on the southerly side, as 
far as Elmwood Avenue, and considerably beyond ; 
on the northerly side there were six or seven. Mount 
Auburn Street from the present police station, to 
Elmwood Avenue was a solitude. 

We had a true old Puritan "meeting-house," which 
did credit to our artificers of 17oG. We recollect those 
who were men in our childhood with much respect as 
excellent workmen and citizens. Since the introduc- 
tion of machinery the skill required, of the carpenter 
at least, is very much diminished. Within our "meet- 
inus," as it was usually called, all w.as creditable to 
the workmen employed and to the liberal zeal of the 
parish. The pulpit was quite elaborate and in good 
taste. The pews had their panels and mouldings (if 
that is the right term). The spire was perhaps a 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



little wanting in bulk, but as an emblem of man 
dwindling as he approaches the celestial regions it 
was good. The pews were left to the proprietor to 
paint, or not, as he pleased. The " Boys' Gallery " 
which perhaps was somewhat akin to a penal colony, 
was unpaiuted. 

The Massachusetts colonists early established a 
trade with the West Indies, exchanging their fish and 
lumber for sugar and molasses. Their abundant wood 
enabled them to turn the latter article into rum. 
This became a very cheap commodity; if we remem- 
ber rightly a quart of new rum could be bought for 
six cents in our young days. We all know the evils 
that rum brought with it and the gradual awakening 
of the country to appreciation of them. 

In our town, rum (considering that as the repre- 
sentative liquor) gave rise to a set of philosophers, 
who lucferred desultory labor, with frequent intervals 
for reflection and contemplation. They were gener- 
ally good-natured and pleasantly disposed, and per- 
haps somewhat relieved the picture of steady industry 
in town and college. They had a strong social bent, 
considering society as the most obvious and easy 
means of enlarging the mind. 

One incident will show their genial and hospita- 
ble turn. A young man, a neighbor of ours, on a 
summer evening met another young man at one of 
their gatherings, who professed himself a stranger in 
town. After a long and hilarious session our neigh- 
bor asked him if he would not come and lodge with 
him that night. He accepted the offer gratefully and 
they set out. When they came into the Common our 
neighbor stopped, took his coat and hat off and threw 
them down. "Hello! what are you up to?" said 
his friend. " Why this is where I sleep," said our 
neighbor. The very broad philanthropy of the act 
strikes one. This man was a stranger ; it was enough, 
he shared his bed with him. 

Our friend undoubtedly frequented a three-cent 
place of entertainment. At Willard's a " drink " was 
six cents, at the .stores three ; at Willard's, too, "soda 
water" was sold, then something phenomenal, which 
as boys we only heard of. 

We might tell of the wages paid in our boyhood, as, 
for instance, ten or twelve dollars amonth (with board) 
to first-rate young men from the country, for care of 
barn and wood-house, with occasional farm work. A 
dollar a week to young women of the same quality, of 
our Spanish silver currency of four-pences (or fo'pen- 
ces) 6 J cents, uine-pences 12.?, pistareens 20 and 
dollars, besides our own bank-notes and cents, and it 
may be some silver. We might speak of the heredi- 
tary household economics, of the salt-fish, sternly util- 
itarian, the brown bread, the Indian pudding (which 
we respect, but do not love) and other articles suggest- 
ing the necessary frugality of earlier times. For 
prices, we think we recollect Java coffee at fourteen 
cents the pound, beef and mutton at twelve and a 
half (i. e. nine-pence); but let us remind the householder 



that money was but a third as plenty as to-day, or less. 
Meanwhile the fare in the four-horse stage-coach that 
went twice a day to Boston was twenty-five cents. 

We ought to mention the dame school, where very 
little children, sat on wooden blocks and larger ones 
on benches, where virtue was rewarded by a tinsel bow 
pinned (temporarily) on shoulder; and her froward sis- 
ter naughtiness, with head down, a tear in the eye and 
a finger in the mouth, was obliged to stand a certain 
time with a black one attached in the same way. It 
was here that we read in Miss Hannah Adams' History 
of the Due d'Anville's unfortunate naval expedition, 
and how the admiral of the fleet "fell on his sword," and 
sawasweread, from timetotime, themastofthecollege 
sloop looking over the opposite bouse ; thus associat- 
ing the Duke and the College Sloop in our memory. 

We have said nothing of our navigation. It consist- 
ed entirely of the above-mentioned college sloop. 

She was a good, honest, innoctnt craft, and lies 
pleasantly at anchor in our memory. 

We have said nothing of our nearest neighbor, Cam- 
bridgeport, whom we ought to mention as having fur- 
nished a very good private school for our and her 
own boys, which has left many friendly memories. 



CHAPTER II. 



CAMBRIDGE— (C'onlinued). 

THE INDIANS OF CAMBRIDGE AND VICINITY. 
BY REV. GEORGE M. BODGE. 

An account of the Indians of Cambridge must nec- 
essarily involve a partial history of the Massachusetts 
tribe, since the Indians of all this region were known 
generally under that name; and because the arbitrary 
limits of patents, grants and plantations were all un- 
known to them, and they had no idea of town, county 
or colony lines. Moreover, the Indians seldom had 
any permanent dwelling-place, and were accustomed 
to move at diflerent seasons and in different years 
into various parts of the country. We begin then 
with a brief account of the Massachusetts tribe or di- 
vision of the New England Indians. For the present i 
purpose we need not go back further than 1604-5, 
when Sieur Samuel de Champlain, with his captain, 
Sieur de Monts, sailed along the coast from the St. 
Croix River as far as Eastham harbor, upon Cape 
Cod. It was Champlain who named Mont Desert, 
because, unlike most of the islands and headlands 
along the coast, it was "destitute of trees." He lo- 
cated "Norumbegue" as our Penobscot River, and 
upon this the Indians who swarmed along the shores 
told him lived their great "King," Bessabez (the 
English called this "King" Bashaba). The Indians 
hereabouts he called the " Etechemins," (and the name 



CAMBRIDGE. 



included the Indians of the Kennebec at the same 
time). These Indians conducted him to the falls of 
" Norumbegue," and there " Bessabez " came to visit 
him, the place of their meeting being doubtless the 
site of the present city of Bangor. The interest of 
this voyage to us now is the record of the numerous 
crowds of Indians all along the shores. Champlain 
describes the natives of the Maine coasts as "swarthy, 
dressed in beaver-skins, etc.," of large stature and, in 
general, intelligent and friendly, until after Wey- 
month's sojourn in their vicinity and his capture of 
some of their people, after which they were suspi- 
cious and timid. It was in June, 1G05, that they 
passed beyond the Kennebec and along the lower 
part of Maine to Massachusetts. Champlain calls 
the inhabitants the Almouchiquois. Everywhere the 
shores seemed full of natives hunting, fishing and 
paddling out in canoes to trade with the strangers. 
From his descriptions and maps the course of his 
voyage may be traced quite accurately, although the 
names he gave have mostly pa.ssed away. His ship 
anchored inside "Richmond Island," as it was after- 
wards called, and the Indians came down upon the 
shore on the mainland and built a huge bonfire and 
danced and shouted to attract their attention. Cham- 
plain gives a very minute account of this locality, 
from Black Point to beyond the river which he wrote 
Choiiacoet, as he understood the Indian name, but 
which the English called Saco. They mingled freely 
with the natives and traded with them. The Indians 
are described as prosperous and well-favored, with 
many plantations upon which they were engaged in 
cultivating the soil. He says they had not before 
noticed any tilling or cultivating by the Indians. 
Their method, as he marked and described it here, ap- 
plies, doubtless, to that of the Massachusetts Indians. 
In place of ploughs the Indians used a aort of 
wooden spade. They dropped three or four kernels 
of corn in a place, and then piled about a quantity of 
loose earth mixed with the shells of the " Signoc," 
or what we call the " Horsefoot-crab," of which there 
were immense numbers along the shores. These hills 
were about three feet apart. In the "hill" with the 
corn they also dropped a few beans. They planted 
squashes and pumpkins also among the "hills," and 
this method has been but little changed since their 
day. They planted in May and gathered in Septem- 
ber. Coasting southward along the lands which he 
describes, his vessel at last entera Boston harbor, 
and is anchored, probably, nearly opposite Charles- 
town Navy Yard, and near the East Boston shore. 
From this anchorage they observed many fires all 
along the surrounding shores, and many of the In- 
dians coming down to the shores to see them. Some 
of their crew were sent on shore with presents and 
with the Penobscot Indian, Panounias, and his wife ; 
but these Indians could not understand the natives, 
who were of the same tongue as those at Saco. They 
did not therefore find out the name of their chief 



All around the shores there was "a great deal of laud 
cleared up and planted with Indian corn." He says: 
"The country is very pleasant and agreeable, and 
there is no lack of fine trees. The Indians here had 
the 'dug-out' wooden boats instead of the birch-bark 
canoes ; they had not seen any of these before, and 
he says, they were constructed by the slow process of 
burning out the trunk of a tree from one side with 
hot stones. They used stone hatchets and axes to cut 
down the trees ; and their weapons were pikes, clubs, 
bows and arrows. Continuing southward, crowds of 
Indians came to the shores at all points, showing that 
at the time the country was populous and, as it 
seemed, the natives were prosperous and at peace. 
It was midsummer, 1605, when Champlain visited 
Massachusetts. He did not at this time explore the 
rivers of the Bay, but mentions the Charles, which 
he named the " Du Guast," in honor of Pierre du 
Guast, commander of the expedition, whose title was 
"Sieur de Mont-s." The English named it for their 
King. Champlain supposed this river flowed from 
the AVest, from the country of the Iroquois. Such, 
in brief, was the general condition of the Indiana 
along the coast in 1605. We pass now to a more par- 
ticular account of their condition, as the English set- 
tlers found them in 1620, and onward. It will be 
remembered that Champlain called all the Indians, 
from the Kennebec to the South, as far as he went, by 
the general name, "Almouchiquois." 

The earliest definite accounts we have of the In- 
dians, who lived upon the peninsula between the 
Mystic and Charles Rivers are somewhat meagre and 
unsatisfactory. They belonged to, and seem to have 
been the central portion of the formerly large and 
powerful tribe of the Massachusetts. Some of their 
old men told our earliest settlers that the dominion of 
their great Sachem had once extended as far as the 
Wampanoags and Narragansetts on the south, to the 
Connecticut River on the west, and to the Penna- 
cooks on the north. Nothing, however, as to the 
limits, is certain. There is a tradition, apparently 
supported by evidences which will appear further on, 
that upon the peninsula between the Mystic and 
Charles was situated the rendezvous of this formerly 
great tribe. It was here that they used to gather from 
the south, bringing their products of the land and 
water; from the north, with the barter of beaver and 
other furs, and from the interior, where the pcojjle 
were called, by those living on the coast, Nipmucks, 
or " fre.sh-water " Indians. All the Bay, from Xahaiit 
toCohasset, seems to have been a sort of capital, with 
many considerable sub-tribes and sagamores, subject 
to this great Sachem of the Massachusetts, whose 
chief seat is said, by one tradition, to have been 
within the limits of Dorchester, upon a hill near the 
place now callefl Squantum. 

But the strength and glory of this great tribe had 
departed long before the English came in contact 
with them, and even before that terrible plague of 



6 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



1615-17, which swept away hy far the greater part 
of the coast Indians, from the Kennebec to Rhode 
Island. Of that devastating scourge we have many 
corroborating accounts, among which one of the most 
vivid is given by Mr. Thomas Morton, of "Merry 
Mount" fame, in that curious book of his, entitled 
"Now English Canaan." It will be seen that, like 
all accounts of that period, it is mixed with strange 
and crude superstitious. He relates the destruction 
of the crew of a French ship, by the Wampanoags, 
and tells that one of the Frenchmen, who was spared, 
rebuked them for their wickedness, and told them that 
God would punish and destroy them ; whereupon the 
Indians answered that "they were so many that God 
could not kill them." "In a short time after," says 
Morton, — 

"The hand of God fell heavily upon them with such a mortall 
etroake tliat they died on heaps, as they lay in their houses, and the 
living that were able to shift for themselves, would runne away and let 
them dy, and let their carkases ly above the ground without burial. 
For in a place where many inhabited there hath been but one left alive, 
to tell what became of the rest ; the living being (as it seems) not able 
to bury the dead. They were left for crowes, kites, and vermin to pray 
upon. And the bones and skulls upon the severall places of their habi- 
tations made such a spectacle after mycomming into these parts, that as 
1 travailed in that forrest nere the Massacbussets, it seemed to me a 
new-found Golgotha." 

There is, also, in Captain John Smith's account of 
New England (written in England in 1030), a pa.ss- 
age giving a similar story of the great plague, and 
adding the particulars that the pestilence carried off 
"all the Massachusi^tts, some five or six hundred in 
number, leaving only thirty living, of whom their 
enemies killed all but two." Captain Smith says he 
cannot vouch for the truth of this, but that " it is 
most certaine that there was an exceeding great 
plague amongst them, for where I have scene two or 
three hundred, within three years after remained 
scarce thirty." His first visit was in 1614, his second 
in 1617. We learn, also, from the writings of Sir 
Ferdinando Gorges (whose agent, Richard Vines, 
with a comrade, spent the winter of 1615-16, prob- 
ably, at Winter Harbor, and lodged in the wigwams 
with the natives who died by scores of the plague, 
while these two were unalfected by it), that pre- 
vious to this plague the Indian tribes along the 
coast had been greatly decimated by some powerful 
tribes who had fallen upon them, plundering and 
destroying, from Casco Bay to Plymouth and the 
country beyond. These fierce invaders came along 
the coast from the east, and were known to the Massa- 
chusetts as TarratineSj and were said to have as their 
great Sachem that mystical personage whom the East- 
ward Indians called the " Bashaba," whose chief seat 
was upon the Penobscot River, whom Chaniplain 
called Bessabez, as above noted ; and the Indians who 
met the first explorers of the coast of Maine declared 
that this "Bashaba" was the great king of the whole 
country, as far as they knew. There are some evi- 
dences that the Mohawks had been api)ealed toby the 
tribes of Massachusetts, and had helped them to beat 



back the Tarratines, but, in their turn, had fallen 
upon their allies and injured them more even than 
the enemies bad done. After that came tlie great 
plague, and again, after that had passed, it is proba- 
ble that the Tarratines or Mohawks, or both, invaded 
the remnants of the tribes, who, perhaps, for -safety, 
allied themselves with the Wampanoags, as, at the 
coming of the Pilgrims in 1620, their Sachem, Massa- 
soit, seems to have been the acknowledged head of 
the tribes as far north as the Merrimack. 

The territory embracing the parts to the north and 
west of Boston was, during the years preceding the 
coming of the Pilgrims, owned by the Sachem Nane- 
pas-hemef, to whom also the local tribes were in sub- 
jection, while the inland tribes, the Nipmucks — prob- 
ably their kindred— were in friendly alliance. While 
each chief of a tribe seems to have been independent 
in the control and discipline of his own people, there 
was always an authority referred to by most of the 
Sachems. 

Massasoit seems to have owned no such authority 
himself, nor did any of his people refer to any higher 
than his. The same is true of Philip, his son, after 
the death of his father and brother. Miantonomah 
and his son Canonchet, Sachems of the Narragan-setts, 
acknowledged no higher rulers. Passaconaway, of 
the Pennacooks, seems to have been of like rank ; and 
tne indications are that Nanepashemet, in bis day, 
had held a like position before pestilence and war 
had wasted his people. 

It is said that, before the war with the Tarratines, 
Nanepashemet had lived at Lynn, and after that re- 
tired to the peninsula formed by the Mystic and 
Charles Rivers, and there fortified a hill against the 
approach of his enemies. The Pilgrim, Bradlbrd, in 
his journal, says that the Eastern Indians came at 
harvest time to plunder the ]\[as,sachusetts of their 
corn. Mr. Hubbard, of Ipswich, writing fifty yenrs 
later, said that the Tarratines made war upon these 
Western Indians " upon the account of some treachery 
of the latter." 

The first authentic reference we have to the Massa- 
chusetts, as a tribe, is found in the early annals of the 
Pilgrims, in a work published in England in 1622 by 
G. Mourt, and popularly known since as "Mourt's 
Relation." G. Mourt was probably George ^Morton, 
one of the Plymouth Company, and an associate of 
Bradford and Winslow, who doubtless furnished the 
items of his " Relation " from their journals. 

Part IV. of his work gives an account of a journey 
of a party of the Pilgrims from Plymouth to the home 
of the Massachusetts, " and what happened there." 
The account begins : 

'* It seemed good to the Company in geneiall that, though the Massa- 
chusets had often threatened lis (as we were informed), yet, we should 
go amongst them, partly to see the countrey, partly to make peace with 
them and partly to piocure their triickc. For these ends the tiovernour 
chose ten men, fit for the liurpose, and sent Tis<iuantnm and two other 
Salvages to bring us to speech with the people and interpret for us. We 
set out about miduight ; the tyde then serving for us; we supposing it 



CAMBRIDGE. 



to be ncerer then it is, thought to be there next inoi'ning betimes; 
but it proved we!) necretwentie Leagues from New Pliinouth. 

'•Wee came to the bottome of the Bay, but being late wee anchored 

and l^y iu the Shallop, not having scene any of the people, Ac " 

The account tells that on the next day they went 
on shore and sent Tisquautuni (S'luauto) tQ find the 
Indians, who were at a distance up in the country. 
The place where they landed, and where they found 
a quantity of lobsters which had been caught by the 
natives, was near a "cliffe," and was probably the 
rocky point in Quincy Bay known as " the Chapel," 
at Squantum Head. 

They found the Sachem of the tribe here dwelling 
to be Obbatinewat, who owned allegiance to Massa- 
soit, and treated them kindly. He told them he did 
not dare to remain in any stated place, for fear of the 
Tarratines, and he said, too, that the Squaw-Sachem, 
dwelling across the Bay beyond the river (the Charles), 
was his enemy. ^He referred to the Squaw-Sachem as 
the " Queene of the Massachusetts," or gave the Pil- 
grims that idea. Obbatinewat next day consented to 
accompany them to visit this "Queen." 

They crossed the Bay, with its "at lest fiftie 
islands," and at night came to the place where the 
Squaw-Sachem lived ; but the Indians, going on shore, 
found no one, and so they returned and all remained 
on board the shallop all night. On the next day 
they went ashore, leaving two men to care for the 
shallop (this was on October 1, 1621), and " marched 
in Armes" three miles up into the country, where 
they found corn-fields where some corn had just been 
gathered, and a house, probably a common wigwam, 
had been pulled down. Going on a mile or more, 
they came to a hill, on the top of which was a house, 
altogether different from any other Indian houses 
which they had noticed. This was built upon a 
scaffold raised upon poles some six feet from the 
ground. This house would seem to have been a sort 
of observatory. Beyond this hill, "iu a bottome," 
they found a fort, covering a circle, some forty to fifty 
feet in diameter, and enclosed with poles thirty or 
forty " foote " long, as " thick as they could be set one 
by another." A trench was dug on each side of this 
palisade, "breast high." Atone point there was an 
entrance to this fortress across a bridge. In the midst 
of this fortification there was the frame of a house, 
and here Xanepashemet, their former king, was 
buried. The location of this fort is supposed to have 
been to the southeast of Mystic Pond, in West iled- 
ford ; and near the supposed site, in 1862, a skeleton 
was exhumed, which was thought by some to be that 
of the old Indian "King," as there was found with it 
a pipe with a copper mouthpiece. About a mile 
farther on, upon the top of a hill, the Pilgrims found 
another such fort, and they were told that here Nane- 
pashemet had been killed, and no one had lived here 
since his death. It is probable that he was killed in 
the raid of the Tarratines in 1619, when the pesti- 
lence had left him defenceless, and too old and weak 
to escape by flight. 



The English remained upon this hill and sent their 
Indian guides forward to find the people and reassure 
them, so that they might have a talk and trade with 
them. They found the Indian women not far away, 
and having pacified them, they brought the English 
to them, within a mile of the fort on the hill. These 
women had fled before them, but carrying a large 
amount of corn, some of which they now prepared 
for the entertainment of the English. It was long 
before any of their men could be induced to appear; 
and at last only one, and he shaking with fear. The 
English traded with them what they could, using them 
kindly and dealing fairly, promising to return again 
before long with more means of trade and asking the 
Indians to save all their furs for them, which they 
promised. Nearly all the women followed them down 
to their boats for the sake of trading, selling the fur 
clothes which they wore, and replacing them with 
boughs of trees lashed about them. And so they 
parted with them amicably ; though their Indian 
guides urged them to plunder the women and take 
their furs without paying for them. 

They missed their chief purpose, which was to gain 
an interview with the Squaw-Sachem, or Queen of 
the Massachusetts. The Indian women reported her 
a long distance away, so that they could not go to her. 
The journey here described seems to have been 
through the present limits of Charlestown, Somerville 
and Medford, to the southeast side of Mystic Pond, 
the party probably following along the high land by 
the old trail, well known, of course, to their guides. 

The picture shows how weak and helpless the once 
powerful tribe of the Massachusetts had become. It 
is probable that the main body of the tribe was with 
the " Queen," but in all there could have been only 
a few hundred who were inhabiting the country be- 
tween the two rivers, and as far back as Concord, 
where the eminent historian of that town, Mr. Shat- 
tuck, thinks the " Queen " had her residence at this 
time. The contrast here shown with the condition of 
the Indians in 1605 declares the terrible havoc of the 
plague and their wars. Little more is known of this 
tribe after this, until the settlements were begun in 
Massachusetts Bay. In April, 1(>29, in their direc- 
tions to those who came over to settle the plantation 
iu the bay, the authorities of the " New England Com- 
pany," say : 

"If any of the Salvages pretend right of inheritance to all or any part 
of the lands granted in our pattent, we pray you endeavor to purchase 
their tytle that we may avoyde the least scruple of Intrusion." 

According to this direction, the settlers sought to 
obtain the lands of the Indians by fair purchase, 
though the prices paid would seem to us now in- 
credibly small, some trinket or article of clothing, or 
arms and ammunition being paid for a tract of land. 
But we must remember that the people had a whole 
continent of free land before them; and on their part, 
the Indians had no idea of land values or titles, and 
only a few of their wisest began to think of the re- 



8 



HISTORY OF MIDPLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



suit of this constant giving up of their land. Their 
attacliment to any particular locality was tribal rather 
than personal; and when the English sought to obtain 
a title by purchase, it was found that the ownership of 
the land was in a vague sort of way vested in the 
Sachem or sagamore of the tribe. The first settlers in 
Boston and vicinity were careful to secure titles to their 
lands from the highest authority of the Massachusetts 
tribe. At the time of their coming that authority was 
the Squaw-Sachem, widow of Nanepashemet, who, 
some time after his death, married the chief Pow-wow, 
or " Medicine-Man " of the tribe, whose name was 
Webcowitsor Wibbacowits. This marriage, however, 
did not transfer any of her hereditary rights or titles 
to him; and he seems not to have been recognized as 
a ruler, or anything more than a Pow-wow, as before 
the alliance. It was probably by the precaution of 
the English that he was joined in the deeds given by 
the Squaw-Sachem. Just when the earliest of these 
deeds were given is uncertain, but not certainly until 
after 1029-30. It is probable that at the beginning 
of the settlements upon the peninsula between the 
Myslic and Charles Rivers, and the surrounding ter- 
ritory, the settlers, as soon as might be, obtained 
deeds from the Squaw-Sachem. In order that there 
might be no question about the titles gained from the 
Indians, the General Court, March 13, 1038-39, em- 
powered Major Edward Gibbons to agree with the 
Indians for the laud within thebounds of Watertown, 
Cambridge and Boston. Subsequent deeds and rec- 
ords show that the conveyance was made by the 
Squaw-Sachem to Watertown and Cambridge, 
although no deed or copy of deed has been preserved, 
so far as is known. The first deed, relating to any of 
these lands given by the Squaw-Sachem, was dated 
April 18, 1039. 

Deed of Sijuttuf-Sachern and Webcoirct to Vie inhabitants of Ckarlestowne. 

"Wee, Webcuwet & Squaw Sachem, do sell uuto Ibe iuhabitants of 
Charlestowue, all the laud within the linea granted them by the Court 
excepting the farmes & the ground on the West of the two Great Ponds 
called MisticUe Ponds from the South side of Mr. Nowell's lott, neere 
the upper end of the ponds, unto the little runnet that Cometh from 
Capt. Cooke's mill, which the .Siiuaw reserveth for their own use for her 
life, for the Itidians to plant and hunt upon ; and the wenre above the 
ponds they also reserve for the Indians to fish at while the Squaw 
(Saclicni liveth, and after the death of Squaw Sjichem shee doth leave al 
her lands from Mr. Mayhues house to neere Salem to the present Gov- 
ernor .lolin Wiiithrop, Sen'., Mr. Increase Nowell, Mr. John "Wilson & 
Mr. Kilward Gibuus, to dispose 4)f, and all Indians to depart, and for sjit. 
tisfactioti from Charlestown, Wee acknowledge to have received in full 
sattisfaction, tweuty and one coates, nineteen fathoms of Wampnm A 
three bushelsof Corne. In witness whereof, wee have hereunto set our 
hands the day Si yware above named. 

" the Marke of Squa Saciikm, 
the Markc of Wkucowkt." 

In the Middlesex Court Piles, in the case of "Charles- 
towne vs. Glaison," relative to the possession of some 
of these lands, dated April 1, 1002, there are several 
very intere.sting papers, among them the original of 
the above deed, and a deposition of Edward Johnson 
concerning this conveyance of Squaw-Sachem. It is 
here given on account of its casual references to the 
Indian Queen, etc.: 



" Edward Johnson, aged CO years, witnesseth : 

" That ah* one or two and twenty years agoe the deponent being at 
the wigwam of Squa Sachem, there was p'sent M'. Increase Nowcll, 
Major Edward Gibbons, Leift. Sprague and Edward Converss, and some 
others of CJmrlestowne. at w't" time, according to the interpretation of 
her and her husband's nifauiug by the above named Major ICdwai'd Gib- 
bons, they did grant and sell unto Charlestowne, all their laud within 
the limittsof Charleatowne except tliat on the West side of the ponds 
called Misticke, where their Wigwam then stood, w^t^ they reserved for 
term of her life, A after her decease they did then declare it should 
come and n-maine to Jn" Winthrop Esq', Mr. Increase Nowell, Mr. Jn« 
Wilson A the above named Major Edward Gibbons, & the persons and 
contract this deponant, at his returne Homo, did enter into his day-booke 
from remembrance y' of this is y« whole truth rembered, so sayth 

"Sworne in Court 4 (2) 1C60 Edwabu Johnson. 

as attest Thomas Dakforth, itecord'. 
** Vera Copia 

Thomas DANFORTit, R." 

It was evidently considered the safest course for 
the inhabitants to secure the reversion of all the 
Indian lands reserved, in order thai after the Squaw- 
Sachem's death they might not be ti#ubled with any 
heirs or other claimants, and might also be rid of the 
Indians. And for these and other reasons Major 
Edward Gibbons (who was well acquainted with the 
Indians and their language, and possessed apparently 
special influence over the Squaw-Sachem, as well as 
power in the colony) again became active in the mat- 
ter, and this time the Squaw-Sachem executes a deed 
of gift to Jotham Gibbons, the young son of Major 
Gibbons, conveying the reversion of all her lands 
hitherto reserved. The following is the deed : 

" Be it knowne unto all men by these presents that wee, Webcowites 
and the Squa Sachem of Misticke, wife of the said Webcowites, calling; 
to cninde and well considering the many kindnesses and benefitts we 
have received from the hands of Captaine Edward Gibones, of Ituston, 
in New England, in parte of requital! whereof and for our tender love 
and good respect that wee doe bear to Jotham Gibones Sonne and heiro 
apparent of the said.Captain Gibones, doe hereby, of oui own motion and 
accord, give and grant unto the said Jotham Gibones the reversion of 
all that parcell of land which lyes against the pondes at Misticke afore- 
said, together with the said pondes, all which wee reserved from Charles- 
towne and Cambridge, late called Newtowne, and all hereditaments and 
appurtenances thereunto belonging after the death of me, the said Squa 
Sachem. To have and to hold the said Reversion of the said parcell of 
lands and pondes and all and singulare the premises with the appurte- 
nances unto the said Jotham Gibones, his heires and assignes forever. 
In witnesse whereof wee liave hereunto sett our hands and scales the 
thirteenth day of the Eleventh moneth in the year so declared by 
Christians One thousand six hundred thirty and nyne, and in the fif- 
teenth yoHre of the Raigne of King Charles of England, and wilting 
that these be recorded before our much honored tfriends, the Governor 
of the Massachusetts Bay in New England and the rest of the Magis- 
trates there for perpetuall leiuembrance of this thing. 

" Signed, scaled and delivered 
in the presence of 

*' RoHimT Li'CAR, The Squa Sachem's niarke. 

El>MONn QtJINSKV, 

RoiiEUT GiLLAM. Webcowites' niarke.*' 

This original document is preserved in the court 
files of Middlesex County. An imperfect copy also 
is in the Massachusetts Archives, volume 30, page 1. 

The transactions with the Squaw-Sachem went on 
up to near IGOO. The English seem to have treated 
her with marked consideration, and to have faithfully 
performed their promises to her in their payments of 
corn, ''coates," etc. Many items appear in Cambridge 
Records relating to the.^e tran.sactions. 



CAMBRIDGE. 



It would appear that after the death of Nanepashe- 
met, the Squaw-Sachem exercised little control over 
any of the Massachusetts Indians south of the Charles 
Kiver. These seem to have become subject to ^lassa- 
soit. There were several noted Sachems among 
them, like Chickatawbut, who claimed to be rightful 
owner of the lands about Boston, and from whom the 
Boston settlers bought them ; Kutshamakin, who 
lived upon the Neponset River, and sold what is now 
Milton to the English; Wampatuck, son of Chickataw- 
but, etc. To the north, Masconomo, Sagamore of Ag- 
awam (Ipswich). These repudiated the authority of 
the Squaw-Sachem, and, indeed, all authority was 
merged into English rule, when the Sachems, in 
1643, formally submitted to the General Court and 
put themselves under the protection of the English. 

It is said that Nanepashemet left five children, and 
four of their names are given in the "History of the 
Lynn," by Mr. Lewis, viz.: 1. Montowampate, Sachem 
of Saugus, called by the English "Sagamore James." 

2. A daughter, called by the English " Abigail." 

3. Wonohaquaham, Sachem of Winnesimet, known 
to the settlers as " Sagamore John." 

4. Winuepurkitt, or "George Eumneymarsh," but 
after he succeeded his brother " James" as Sachem of 
Saugus, called " Sagamore George." It was Winue- 
purkitt who, according the story in Morton's " New 
Canaan," married the daughter of Passaconaway, the 
great Sachem of the Pennacooks. Upon Morton's 
story is founded the legend of Whittier's poem, " The 
Bridal of Pennacook." 

Squaw-Sachem died sometime before 1602, as in 
April of that year suit was begun by the town of 
Charlestown to recover the lands granted to Jotham 
Gibbons in reversion, from F. Gleison, who was then 
in possession, Maj. Gibbons and his son having died 
several years before. The small-pox scourge of 1033, 
almost utterly destroyed the people of Xanepashemel's 
sons at Rumneymarsh, Saugus, Nahant and Marble- 
head. 

The glowing accounts of the first explorers of the 
coast of Xorth America were greatly disappointing 
to those who came into the country to settle in 102U 
and soon after. We have seen that the pestilence and 
war had been especially destructive to the great Mas- 
sachusetts tribe. The death of their chief Sachem 
had broken the tribe into factions, which neither the 
Squaw-Sachem nor any one of the lesser Sachems of 
the tribe seems to have had the disposition or power 
to re-unite. But the pestilence and war and poverty 
and constant fear had broken their spirits, and they 
had no feeling of hostility or resi.stance when the 
English came, but rather found them a protection 
from their hereditary enemies. The Massachusetts 
Indians had nothing but their lands which the English 
wanted, and these, by comnian<l of the government, 
they easily obtained in a legal way. The Indians 
were glad to be allowed to remain in the vicinity of 
their old homes and near the English, and to be tolera- 



ted even through half-contemptuous pity and ill-con- 
cealed distrust. 

The people of the town of Cambridge seem to have 
maintained unbroken terms of friendship with the 
Indians, and to have tacitly allowed them many 
privileges which elsewhere had been refused. They 
made them useful also in many ways, employing them, 
both men and women, upon their farms, though they 
did not generally consider them reliable, capable or in- 
dustrious. There is no doubt that their hereditary ten- 
dency to vagrancy still clung to them. The people of 
the Squaw-Sachem, as we have seen, after the settlement 
of Charlestown and Cambridge, etc., gathered to the 
lands reserved for them at the Mystic Ponds. There 
was another company of Indians on the south side of 
Charles River at Nonantum, within the bounds of 
what was then Cambridge (now Newton.) These 
Indians were under the Sachemship of Kutshamakin, 
who claimed to be " Sachem of Massachusetts." 
Waban was the chief man of this Nonantum colony, 
though not a Sachem. His wife was Tasunsquam 
daughter of Tahattawan, Sachem of Concord, which 
relation doubtless gave him some authority ; but he 
was a man of intelligence and ability, and it was 
largely due to these qualities in him that, under the 
earnest Christian zeal of John Eliot, of Roxbury 
and the equally earnest and wise direction of Major 
Daniel Gcokin, of Cambridge, this small village at 
Nonantum reached the highest point of Christian civil- 
ization ever attained by any American Indians. The 
history of this little colony on Nonantum is, however, 
synonymous nearly with the history of the Christian 
Indians, which is not properly a matter for this chapter, 
but as that movement had its actual formal beginning 
here in the wigwam of Waban at Nonantum, it may 
be proper to note a few points. We may see at a 
glance, what I think has never been particularly 
referred to in a published account, that the forlorn 
condition of the Massachusetts Indians, their help- 
lessness, abject poverty and broken spirit, put them 
in a condition to receive any word of life from the 
English, which might in any way give them courage 
or restore a way of hope. And then again, opposition 
to the efforts of Mr. Eliot to convert the Indians, was 
based upon the same reason of their Sachems and 
rulers, which they gave for not formally submitting 
to Englis-h laws : either process destroyed the author- 
ity of the hereditary ruler of the tribe. The Massa- 
chusetts Indians in the vicinity of Boston and Cam- 
bridge, had come almost imperceptibly under the 
control and direction of the colonial laws. The result 
was that hardly more than the name of authority was 
left to the Sachems, and little objection was made to 
the christianizing endeavors of Mr. Eliot and Major 
Gookin. 

Rev. Mr. Eliot, who came over in 1631, and was 
settled over the church in Roxbury, early appreci- 
ated the opportunity and realized its importance. He 
began soon to fit himself for the work, by gaining a 



10 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



thorough knowledge of the Indian language; and also 
prepared the public, especially of Eugland, for assist- 
ing the work, by publishing tracts in London, giving 
account of the great field for missionary enterprise, in 
which the French Catholics had been so succe-sful. 
In both his personal preparation and in the public 
mind he wa.s successful. His tracts published in Lon- 
don stirred up the whole kingdom with a missionary 
fervor, and from the churches and from benevolent 
people contributions poured into the fund of the 
"Society for Propagating the Gospel in New Eng- 
land," until about £12,000 had been collected and 
invested in real estate in England, the income of 
which was to be expended in missionary work among 
the Indians of New England, to pay the w.iges of 
school-teachers and missionaries. But the General 
Court of Massachusetts were not behind in zeal, and 
in 1646 (before the society in London had been 
organized) passed an act for the same end as above. 

Upon the 2Sth of October, 1646, Mr. Eliot, in com- 
pany with Major Gookin and two others, went to 
Nonantum, and there, in the large wigwam of Waban 
for the first time preached (in their own language) to 
an Indian congregation, mainly called together by the 
endeavors of Waban, the chief man, though not 
Sachem, of Nonantum. Mr. Eliot continued preach- 
ing through a part of the winter and the following 
spring. Many of the prominent ministers and laymen 
often attended these meetings, and sympathized and 
assisted as actively as possible in his work. Among the 
foremost of these were Rev. Thomas Shepard, Major 
Gookin and Mr. Duiister, of Cambridge. It was early 
realized that these Indians must be reduced to ways 
of civilized life as well as taught Christian doctrine. 
It was soon seen that they must be taught something 
of the industrial arts. A large tract at Nonantum 
was set apart for the occupancy of the Indians, and it 
was sought to gather all within the neighboring towns 
to this place. Those who came were encouraged to 
cultivate farms and build better hou.ses. They were 
furnished with farming and carpenter's tools, etc. 
They surrounded their town with ditches and atone 
walls, planted orchards and laid out regular roads and 
streets, enclosing their fields with fences. The young 
men were taught trades ; many learned farming by 
working upon the farms of the English. 

At Nonantum (where all Indian history for Cam- 
bridge and other towns near by centres at this 
period) the first civil laws for regulating an Indian 
community were established. The success of the 
colony at Nonantum had encouraged Mr. Eliot to 
widen his efforts, and itinerant teachers were fitted 
among the natives and sent to the various tribes to 
open the way for Mr. Eliot ; and six communities of 
"Christian Indians" had been established by the ef- 
forts of Mr. Eliot and Major Daniel Gookin, who had 
been made superintendent of the general work in New 
England. These communities were located in 1674 
in what are now the towns of Canton, Grafton, 



Marlborough, Tewksbury, Littleton and Hopkinton. 
Some five or .six others, called the " New Fraying 
Towns," were started. But we must follow the for- 
tunes of the Nonantum village. 

In 1650, at the earnest wish of the friends of the 
Christian Indians, led by Mr. Eliot, a township of 
six thousand acres, on the Charles Kiver, at Natick, 
was granted for the use of said Christian Indians for a 
town. This Indian town was regularly laid out in 
1651, and thither that year Waban and the Nonantum 
Indians removed, and thereafter became identified 
with that flourishing community. 

In Bacon's " History of Natick " this town is de- 
scribed as consisting of '' three long streets, two on 
the north side and one on the south side of the river, 
with a bridge eighty feet long, and eight feet high, and 
stone foundations, with the whole being built by the 
Indians themselves. To each house on these streets 
was attached a piece of land. The houses were in the 
Indian style." But one of the houses was built in 
English style, large and commodious. This was used 
on week-days as a school-house, and a.s a church on 
Sundays. 

Waban was chosen ruler of the town and proved a 
wise, prudent and useful leader. He was active in 
gathering the Indian church at Natick. He died in 
fullness of years, hav'ug survived the terrible disap- 
pointments and shared the persecutions imposed 
upon the Christian Indians by the bitter prejudices of 
the people at large during the war with Philip and 
his allies, 1675-77. When, to satisfy the .popular 
rage, their village was broken up, and all were seized 
and carried down the harbor and imprisoned upon 
Deer Island through the winter and spring, Waban, 
then seventy-five years old, went with them and shared 
all their privations, and lived to return again with 
them to their village, though, as Major Gookin relates, 
he was near dying at their return to Cambridge, where 
they were received and kindly treated by many who 
had formerly known them. Waban himself and 
some others of those who were very sick were received 
into Major Gookin's own house and cared for by him- 
self and wife and friends till they recovered. There 
was no place where the Indians had more friends, or 
more powerful friends, than in Cambridge. Captain 
Thomas Prentice was the first of the military leaders 
to conduct the friendly Indians as soldiers into the 
war, and commended them earnestly for what they 
accomplished. The leading men of the Colony, the 
Governor and Council and the magistrates, and nearly 
all the military leaders believed in the Christian In- 
dians, and urged their employment in the war ; but 
the bitter jealousy and prejudice of the people pre- 
vailed for the time, and the Indians, so willing and 
proud to serve, and so much more capable of carrying 
on the peculiar tactics of Indian warfare than the 
slow and cumbersome ranks of the colonial militia, 
were thus shut out, persecuted, insulted, and many 
driven into hostility by the popular frenzy against all 



CAMBRIDGE. 



11 



Indians. When the General Court finally decided, by 
the advice of all the highest military leaders, that an 
Indian company should be raised and put into the 
field, and carried out the order, with Ciipt. Samuel 
Hunting as the captain, our arms first began to pre- 
vail and the hostile Indians to lose heart. An at- 
tempt, also at Cambridge, was made to impart a lib- 
eral education to some choice Indian youths; Mr. 
Eliot proposed and the London Society were pleased 
to try the experiment. Many youths were started 
upon the course, but few survived the training to enter 
the colleges. Most of them died from confinement or 
changed habit of diet, or got disheartened by their 
unequal competition with Englishmen. There were 
two very promising youths from Martha's Vineyard, 
named Joel and Caleb. Joel, the most hopeful of 
these, when within a few months of taking his degree, 
went home for a brief visit, and on the return passage 
the vessel was wrecked off Nantucket Island and Joel 
was drowned. Upon the Triennial Catalogue of 
Harvard College, in the year 1665, appears the name 
of the only one of these Indians ever graduated — 
"Caleb Cheeshahteaumiu?k, Indus." Caleb, not long 
after he took his degree, died at Charlestown of con- 
sumption. The history of the Indians of Cambridge 
closes really with the end of the Nonantum Colony 
and its merging in Natick. The latter continued as 
an Indian town from 16-il-1762. Thomas Waban, 
son of the first Waban, was fairly well educated and 
was town clerk for many years. Thomas Waban, Jr., 
was his son, and both joined in a deed to Samuel 
Unipatowin iu 1719. The church was formed in 
1660, and was broken up in 171(3. In 1749 the 
Indian population of the town was 166. In 1797 it 
was twenty, and in 1826 none were left. 

Besides Rev. Mr. Eliot and Major Gookin, the prin- 
cipal men engaged in this efibrt to Christianize the 
Indians lived in Cambridge, so that the town may 
well deserve its distinction as the seat of America's 
first and greatest University. The General Court 
appointed one of the English Magistrates to join with 
the chief ruler of the Indians in keeping a higher 
court among them ; and this court had the power of 
the usual County Court. The first magistrate ap- 
pointed was Daniel Gookin, in 1656; and for about 
three years of his absence, soon after, Major Hum- 
phrey Aiherton was appointed ; but he dying at the 
end of that time. Major Gookin was again appointed, 
and served until the abrogation of the Colonial Char- 
ter, in 168(). The record of a court held by him 
among the Indians at Wabquissit in 1674, illustrates 
his course of proceeding. 

Mr. Eliot preached a sermon, and " then I began a 
court among the Indians. And first, I approved their 
teacher, Sampson, ar>d their constable. Black James, 
giving each of them a charge to be diligent and faith- 
ful in their places. Also I exhorted the people to 
yield obedience to the gospel of Christ, and to those 
set in order there. Then published a warrant, or 



order, that I had prepared, empowering the constable 
to suppress druDkenness, Sabbath-breaking, especially 
pow-wowing and idolatry ; and, after warning given, 
to apprehend all delinquents, and bring them before 
authority to answer for their misdemeanor; the .smaller 
faults to bring before Wattasacompanum, ruler of the 
Nipmuck country ; for idolatry and pow-wowing, to 
bring them before me." 

It may be of interest to <idd, that the Society for 
the Propagation of the Gospel among the Indiana has 
held its organization to the present, having been 
active, more or less, in dispensing the funds among 
the remnants of the New England tribes; and nearly 
always, I think, the directors have been chiefly resi- 
dents of Cambridge, and worthy successors of Eliot 
and Gookin. 



CHAPTER III. 

CA 3IBRIDGE -(Continued). 

ECCLESIASTICAL HI.STORY. 
BY REV. ALEXANDER MCKENZIE, D.D. 

The founding of Cambridge was a part of the great 
religious and political movement of the sixteenth and 
seventeenth centuries. It was a Puritan movement, 
having its rise in England, but accomplishing its 
chief work in this western continent. Our own emi- 
nent historian has written : " Civilized New England 
is the child of English Puritanism. The spirit of Puri- 
tanism wiis no creation of the sixteenth century. It 
is as old as the truth and manliness of England." 
Another of our historical writers has given it as his 
judgment that if it had not been for Puritanism po- 
litical liberty would probably have disappeared from 
the world ; and that the time of Cromwell's triumph 
was the critical moment of history. 

It is not necessary to trace the course of events which 
the name Puritan suggests. The connection of our 
own history with it can be briefly told. The authority 
of the Church of Rome had been renounced, but there 
came in its place the authority of the Church of Eng- 
land. Ecclesiastical government was vested in the 
King and the nobility. They ruled, and the people 
were expected to submit. The statutes were many 
and explicit, and there were enough martyrdoms to 
prove their force. " The truth and manline.s8 of Eng- 
land " could not render an unbroken assent and an 
unfailing obedience. Many refused to be content 
with the transfer of authority and the advantage 
which had come with it. They wanted a larger refor- 
mation. From the nature of their demand they were 
called Puritans. Their demands were broad and 
were steadily enlarged. Liberty, reform, purity, re- 
ligion mark the progress of their thought and the in- 
crease of their purpose. For the most part, they pro- 
posed to remain in the national church, there to 



i:; 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



work for its improvement. To what they deemed 
wrong they would not consent, but they would not 
separate themselves from the church which they loved 
and in which they had all the rights to which any 
were eptitled. Against them was turned the force of 
State and Church. The Court of High Commission 
was set up for their harm and the cruelty of the 
English Inquisition directed against as good and loyal 
men as England ever knew. Clergymen were de- 
posed, imprisoned, killed. Against Englishmen such 
methods have never prevailed. Violence failed of its 
end when it encountered such men. When James 
came to the throne the Puritans hoped for better 
things. They appealed to him for a truer Sabbath, a 
shorter liturgy, better music in the churches, and for 
ministers who should combine ability, fidelity and 
integrity. The King granted them an interview at 
Hampton Court and replied to them in terms which 
left no hope. "If this be all your party have to say, 
I will make them conform, or I will harry them out of 
this land, or else worse." That was in 1604. In 
160.5 Thomas Shepard was born. 

There was nothing good to be looked for in Eng- 
land. Was there any hope beyond its shores? Some 
thought so and crossed to the Low Countries. Some 
concealed themselves and waited. Some had already 
left the National Church. As early as 1567, perhaps, 
there was " the Privye Church in London." About 
1580 there was a permanent Congregational Church 
of Englishmen. The new churches had their own 
teachers and conducted their own affairs. The Congre- 
gational Church at Scrooby, in Nottinghamshire, with 
Clyfton, Robinson, Brewster, and Bradford, removed 
to Amsterdam and Leyden^ and finally crossed the 
wide sea and found a sanctuary and a home, and made 
an illustrious record of faith and devotion. 

Yet, in 1620, only a few of the Puritans were Pil- 
grims. But their principles were gaining power. 
The contests with James during his troubled reign 
increased the force of the people as against the au- 
thority of the King. His methods were not suited 
to win approbation. "I hear our new King hath 
hanged one man before he was tried. 'Tis strangely 
done." Four years before James disappeared the 
Court of High Commission renewed its severity and 
made it more certain that liberty must consent to 
exile. Buckingham sought to beguile men whom he 
could not suppress, and hindered their action by the 
hopes he aroused. By degrees they came to see that 
all this meant nothing ; more and more, there was 
talk of making a New England. John White, rector 
of Trinity Church in Dorchester, on the Channel, 
proposed to the shipowners to found a settlement on 
these shores, that the sailors who came here might 
have a home when they were not at sea, so that their 
spiritual interests might be cared for when they were 
far from the churches. Not very much came of the 
project, which perhaps meant more than was avowed. 
Soon men of means were planning a colony here. 



They obtained the charter under which Massachusetts 
lived for fifty-five years, and other ships sailed "into 
the West as the sun went down." Naumkeag was 
settled and became Salem. The charter said nothing 
of religious liberty. It is probable that the colonists 
thought they could secure this by sailing three thou- 
sand miles, and that the government thought it could 
be prevented, however far away. Four weeks from 
the arrival at Naumkeag the colonists formed them- 
selves into a church, assenting to a covenant and or- 
daining a minister. It does not appear that they at 
first intended to leave the Church of England. But 
they had come " to practise the positive part of church 
reformation, and propagate the Gospel in America," 
and this was the form which their wisdom approved 
and their position demanded. If they had not formally 
anticipated this, they were, at least, prepared for it. 
Here was another Congregational Church upon our 
coast. 

The Puritan spirit continued to assert itself in Eng- 
land. In 1629, Aug. 26th, John Winthrop and eleven 
others entered into an agreement at Cambridge, " be- 
neath the shadows, and, perhaps, within the very 
walls of that venerable University, to which New 
England was destined to owe so many of her brightest 
luminaries and noblest benefactors '' — " Upon due con- 
sideration of the state of the Plantation now in hand 
for New England, . . . it is fully and faithfully 
agreed amongst us, and every one of us doth hereby 
freely and sincerely promise and bind himself, on the 
word of a Christian, and in the presence of God, 
who is the searcher of all hearts, that we will so 
really endeavor the prosecution of this work, as, by 
God's assistance, we will be ready in our persons, with 
such of our several families as are to go with us, and 
such provisions as we are able conveniently to furnish 
ourselves withal, to embark for the said Plantation 
by the first of March next, at such port or ports of 
this land as shall be agreed upon by the Company, to 
the end to pass the seas (and in God's protection), to 
inhabit and continue in New England." There were 
certain provisions which prudence dictated, but which 
proved no impediment, and in 1630 they came in the 
"Arbella'' to Salem, bringing their charter, and with it 
the government of the colony. Before the close of 
that year seventeen vessels had crossed from the Old 
World to the New, and a thousand persons had come 
in them. The new colonists found much distress at 
Salem, from sickness and scarcity of food. After less 
than a week for rest and inquiry, Winthropsetoutwith 
a party to find a place of settlement which would be 
open to them and more promising. Mishawum, or 
Charlestown, was fixed upon as the capital town, 
and on the 30th of July, 1630, a church was organ- 
ized with a covenant, and on the 27th of August 
the Reverend John Wilson was chosen teaching- 
elder and solemnly set apart for his sacred office. Mr. 
Wilson had been for several years a minister in the 
Church of England, but had been suspended and si- 



CAMBRIDGE. 



13 



lenced for non-conformity, and was ready to identify 
himself with those who were seekinj; a larger liberty. 
There was diffiiulty in securing a good supply of 
water at Charlestown, and many of the church moved 
across the river. Among these were the Governor, 
the minister, and other leading men. In this way the 
Church became the First Church in Boston, of which 
"some have been heard to say, they believed it to be 
the most glorious church in the world." 

It is well to ask who these men were who were thus 
making a permanent political and ecclesiastical estab- 
lishment on this continental Western Reserve. There 
can be no better witness thau our own historian, Pal- 
frey. He quotes the words of " the prejudiced Chal- 
mers " : "The principal planters of Massachusetts 
were English country gentlemen of no inconsiderable 
fortunes ; of enlarged understandings, improved by 
liberal education ; of extensive ambition, concealed 
under the appearance of religious humility." For 
himself he writes in a more genial temper: "The 
Puritanism of the first forty years of the seventeenth 
century was not tainted with degrading or ungraceful 
a.ssociations of any sort. The rank, the wealth, the 
chivalry, the genius, the learning, the accomplish- 
ments, the social refinements and elegance of the time 
were largely represented in its ranks." " The lead- 
ing emigrants to Massachusetts were of the brother- 
hood of men who, by force of social consideration as 
well as of intelligence and resolute patriotism, 
moulded the public opinion and action of Eugland in 
the first half of the seventeenth century." " In pol- 
itics the Puritan was the liberal of his day." " They 
will live in history," said another eminent citizen, 
" as they have lived, the very embodiment, of a noble 
devotion to the principles which induced them to es- 
tablish a colony, to be 'so religiously, peaceably and 
civilly governed ' as thereby to incite the very 
heathen to embrace the principles of Christianity." 

Such were the men who began the ecclesiastical 
history of the JIassachusetts Colony to which New- 
town belonged. The circumstances under which they 
came here have been already alluded to, yet it is just 
to let one of their own number speak. John Winthrop 
had been chosen Governor before he left England. 
He was then forty-two years old, a scholar, a statesman, 
of good rank and generous property. " Commanding 
universal respect and confidence from an early 
age, he had moved in the circles where the highest 
matters of English policy were discussed by men who 
had been associates of Whitgift, Bacon, Essex and Ce- 
cil." He has left a statement of " Reasons to be con- 
sidered for justifieinge the undertakers of the intended 
Plantation in New England, and for incouraginge such 
whose hartes God shall move to ioyne them in it." 
These reasons need not be given here in full ; yet they 
should be read, that we may know what purposes and 
thoughts moved those into whose labors we have 
entered. A few points may be cited here. 

" 1. It will beaservice to the Church of great conse- 



quence to carry the gospel into those parts of the 
world. 

" 2. All other churches of Europe are brought to 
desolation, and our sinnes, for which the Lord be- 
ginnes allreaddy to frowne upon us and to cutte ua 
short, doe threaten evil times to be coming upon 
us, and whoe knowes but that God hath provided 
this place to be a refuge for many whom he means to 
save out of the generall callamity ? . . . 

"•3. This land growes weary of her inhabitants. 

"4. The whole earth is the Lord's garden, and he 
hath given it to the sonnes of men; . . . why then 
should we staud striving here for places of habita- 
tion, etc.? . . . and in the mean time sufter a whole 
continent as fruitful and convenient for the use of 
man to lie waste without any improvement? 

"G. The Fountains of Learning and Religion are soe 
corrupted as (besides the unsupportable charge of 
their education) most children are perverted, cor- 
rupted and utterlie overthrowne by the multitude 
of evill examples, etc., etc. 

" 9. It appears to be a worke of God for the good of 
his Church, in that he hath disposed the hartes of 
soe many of his wise and faithful servants, both min- 
isters and others, not only to approve of the enter- 
prise, but to interest themselves in it. some in their 
persons and estates, others by their serious advise and 
helpe otherwise, and all by their praiers for the weal- 
fare of it." 

Having considered this general statement of the 
motives and sentiments of the leading minds which 
were first here, we are prepared to take up our local 
history. But we must return to England to find the 
beginning of our church life. The early history of 
Cambridge, much more than the later, centres in a 
few men, whose personal character and teaching gave 
form to the thought and action of the churches. 
This was especially true at the beginning and war- 
rants, indeed requires, a presentation of the men \|tho 
were the leaders. Cambridge was peculiar in having 
had a double beginning, under the guidance of men 
of special eminence. 

The first man to be named was Thomas Hooker, 
who was born in Leicestershire, England, in 1586. 
He w.os a graduate and lellow of Emmanuel College, 
Cambridge. Of his youthful promise Cotton Mather 
makes this record : " He was horn of parents that 
were neitherunable nor unwilling to bestow upon him 
a liberal education-; whereunto the early, lively 
sparkles of wit observed in him did very much en- 
courage them. His natural temper was cheerful and 
courteous ; but it was accompanied with such a sen- 
sible grandeur of mind as caused his friends, with- 
out the help of astrology, to prognosticate that he 
was born to be considerable." He began to preach 
while he was connected with the university. He 
pursued his ministry at Chelmsford and had great 
success in it. An incident which has been preserved 



14 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



illustrates his fervor. He preached from time to 
time in his own county, and one of the chief bur- 
gesses of the town of Leicester, who was for some 
reason greatly opposed to him, set a company of tiddlers 
to play in the church-yard to counteract and break 
up the preaching. But the preachers voice was strong 
and clear, and was easily heard above the noise of the 
hostile strings. The burgess found himself listening to 
the preacher and went to the church-door that he 
might hear better, and was won by the earnest 
minister and made a friend of the faith which he 
had striven to oppose. Results of this kind were of 
small account to those who were ruling the church 
in their own interests. Mr. Hooker was a firm ad- 
herent to the doctrines of the Church of England, 
but to some of its ceremonies he could not conform. 
He was too conspicuous to be tolerated in his dissent, 
when obscure men were sent to the prison and 
beyond. In 1630 Mr. Hooker was silenced for non- 
conformity by a spiritual court in session at Chelms- 
ford. It is a testimony to the man that forty-seven 
ministers of the Church of England sent to the 
Bishop of London a petition in his behalf, in which 
they bore witness "that they knew Mr. Hooker to be 
orthodox in his doctrine, honest in his life and con- 
versation, peaceable in his disposition, and in no 
wise turbulent or factious." It was of no avail. The 
decree had been signed and sealed. But he con- 
tinued to labor for the religious welfare of the com- 
munity in private ways. Even this he could not 
pursue. He had been ordered to appear before the 
Court of High Commission, and put under a bond 
of fifty pounds. His friends advised him to forfeit 
the bond and avoid the perilous trial. They paid 
the bond and he crossed over to Holland, where for 
three years he carried on his ministry. For a part of 
the time he was associated at Rotterdam with the 
Rev. William Ames, who was abroad for the same 
reasons which had exiled Hooker. Mr. Ames is re- 
potted to have said that " he had never met a man 
who was equal to Mr. Hooker as a preacher or a 
learned disputant." But he was not willing to re- 
main in a strange and foreign land. At that time 
the Puritan emigration was going forward, and among 
those who had gone out seeking after a country of 
tlieir own were many who knew Mr. Hooker and ap- 
preciated his greatness. Some had been under his 
ministry. There was a strong desire that he should 
go with them across the sea and be their teacher in the 
New World. He regarded this as a divine call. It 
was enforced by the impossibility of remaining in 
England. He had returned, but the oiHcers of the 
law were at once in pursuit of him. He decided to 
accede to the request which had been made. He 
kept out of the public view as much as he could until 
July, 1633, when he sailed from the Downs. Even 
then he was constrained to hide himself until the 
ship was well out at sea. After a voyage of six weeks 
the ship reached Boston Harbor. There were two 



other passengers who were to be honorably prominent 
here — John Cotton, who at once was chosen teacher 
of the First Church in Boston ; and Samuel Stone, 
who was to be Mr. Hooker's associate through all his 
ministry in New England. The voyage must have 
been interesting. The men enjoyed their liberty 
and improved it. There was a sermon every day, 
and usually three. To Mr. Cotton a child was born, 
who, after his baptism in Boston, was named Seaborn. 
The name has a quaint look in the Latin Quinquen- 
nial of Harvard College, with the class of 1651, — 
Marigena Cotton. It is the second name in the list, 
which indicates the rank of the father. It is said 
that there was no playfulness among the Puritans, 
but it is at least in tradition that the people, said re- 
garding the ministers who came in the " Griffin," 
that three great necessities would now be supplied, 
for they had Cotton for their clothing, Hooker for 
their fishing, and Stone for their building. 

The ministers were warmly welcomed, and with 
good reason. They were an accession of strength. 
The colonists at that time were " men of eminent 
capacity and sterling character, fit to be concerned in 
the founding of a State." Dr. Palfrey has finely 
said : " In all its generations of wealth and refine- 
ment, Boston has never seen an assehibly more 
illustrious, for generous qualities or for manly 
culture, than when the magistrates of the young 
colony welcomed Cotton and his fellow-voyagers at 
Winthrop's table." 

Samuel Stone was born at Hertford, in England, 
and was educated at Emmanuel College. He was for 
a time a minister at Towcester, in Northamptonshire, 
where his ability and industry were conspicuous. But 
he could not yield a full conformity to the ceremonies 
of the Established Church, and it seemed to be good to 
him, as to so many others, to seek a more open country. 
His connection with Mr. Hooker was a fortunate one 
for them both. Those who had invited Mr. Hooker 
to be their minister preceded him. They began to 
make their settlement at Mount Wollaston, in what 
is now the town of Quincy, where Captain Wollaston 
had come, with some thirty or forty persons, a few 
years before. But in Governor Winthrop's journal, 
under the date of August 14, 1632, we have this entry • 
"The Braintree company, which had begun to sit 
down at Mount Wollaston by order of court, removed 
to Newtown. These were Mr. Hooker's company." 
It is supposed that they were called the Braintree 
Company because they came from Braintree, a town 
about forty miles from London. What Newtown was 
at that time will be learned from another part of this 
history. But the coming of these settlers was a nota- 
ble addition to its numbers and character. The set- 
tlement had begun in 1631. There was a project for 
a town which should be the seat of government for 
the colony. In the judgment of the Governor and 
assistants and others '' it was a fit place for a beautiful 
town." The project was not carried out, but the new 



CAMBRIDGE. 



15 



town was a place of importance and had the promise 
of growth. The town was carefully laid out and made 
a good appearance. A visitor early described it as 
"one of the neatest and best compacted towns in New 
England, having many fair structures, with many 
handsome contrived streets. The inhabitants most of 
them are very rich and well stored with cattle of all 
sorts." There were very few persons here, but there 
were men of force and enterprise among them, and 
they were destined to permanence and renown. How 
many came from the Braintree Company cannot be 
told. But there was a notable growth, so that in 
1032 there were nearly a hundred families in the 
town. But there was no church here and no minister, 
and there is no record of public religious services. 
But Prince's Annals for 1G32 tell that in " this year 
is built the first house for public worship at Newtown 
(after called Cambridge), with a bell upon it.'' The 
records of the town do not mention this house, but 
there is an agreement in December, 1632, " that every 
person under subscribed shall meet every first Monday 
in every month, within the meeting-house, in the 
afternoon, within half an hour after the ringing of the 
bell." The meeting-house was on the west side of 
Water, (now Dunster) Street, near its iutersection with 
Spring, now Mt. Auburn Street. The site is marked by 
a stone in the foundation of the modern building now 
upon the ground. It must have been small and plain. 
There is no description of it, but the church erected 
about the same time in Boston had mud-walls and a 
thatched roof. An order had been passed that in 
Newtown no man should " build his chimney of wood, 
nor cover his roof with thatch." It is probable that 
the house here was of logs. Many years after its 
erection a vote was passed in town-meeting that the 
church should be repaired " with a four square roofe, 
and covered with shingles." It was a startling change 
to those who were accustomed to the cathedrals and 
stately churches of England, to come into these dark 
and narrow walls. It was a part of the price they 
paid for the liberty they sought, and they were not 
the men to complain of the terms. They were equal 
to the demands of their place and their work. 

Upon their arrival " Mr. Hooker and Mr. Stone 
went presently to Newtown, where they were to be 
entertained." We can imagine the gladness of the 
coming. On the 11th of October, 1633, Winthrop 
makes the brief record. "A fast at Newtown, where 
Mr. Hooker was chosen pastor and Mr. Stone teacher 
in such a manner as before at Boston." The church 
was the eighth gathered in the Massachusetts Bay 
colony, but the precise date of its organization has not 
been preserved. 

Only a few months later than this the people of the 
town were planning for a removal. At the General 
Court, in May, 1634, "Those of Newtown complained 
ofstraitness for want of land, especially meadow, and 
desired leave of the Court to look out either for en- 
largement or removal, which was granted." At the 



session in September, 1634, this question of the re- 
moval of Newtown occupied nearly all the time. In 
the previous July, "Six of Newtown went in the 
'Blessing' (being bound to the Dutch plantation) to 
discover Connecticut River, intending to remove their 
town thither." The report was favorable, and the 
town asked permission to move. "It was alleged by 
Mr. Hooker as a fundamental error, that towns were 
set so near each to other." Much objection was 
made, and enlargement was offered by Boston and 
Watertown, and the removal was not effected. It was 
but a temporary arrangement. In Ifay, 1636, Gov- 
ernor Winthrop has to enter in his journal, "Mr. 
Hooker, pastor of the Church at Newtown, and the 
rest of his congregation, went to Connecticut ; his 
wife was carried in a horse-litter, and they drove 160 
cattle, and fed of their milk by the way." Trum- 
bull's account of the journey is worth copying. 
"About the beginning of June, Mr. Hooker, Mr. 
Stone, and about a hundred men, women and children, 
took their departure from Cambridge, and traveled 
more than a hundred miles, through hideous and 
trackless wilderness, to Hartford. They had no guide 
but their compass, made their way over mountains, 
through swamps, thickets, and rivers, which were not 
passable but with great difficulty. They had no cover 
but the heavens, nor any lodgings but those which 
simple nature afforded them. They drove with them 
a hundred and sixty head of cattle, and by the way 
subsisted upon the milk of their cows. Mrs. Hooker 
was borne through the wilderness upon a litter. The 
people generally carried their packs, arms and some 
utensils. They were nearly a fortnight on their jour- 
ney. This adventure was the more remarkable, as 
many of this company were persons of figure, who 
had lived in England in honor, affluence and delicacy, 
and entire strangers to fatigue and danger." Thus 
did Newtown found Hartford. 

Although Mr. Hooker was here but a short lime, 
still his work, and through him the influence of the 
Church, were extended. His influence in ecclesias- 
tical affairs reached beygnd the limits of his own 
township. There was need of svise leadership. The 
principles of church life were clear, but the methods 
were not so plain. The conditions were new and 
there was no definite agreement upon modes of ad- 
ministration, "until Mr. Cotton and Mr. Hooker 
came over, which was in the year 1633, who did clear 
up the order and method of Church government, ac- 
cording as they apprehended was most consonaat to the 
Word of God.'' Their maturity and experience were 
of the highest value to the new churches and com- 
munities. Hooker worked with the other ministers 
for the common good of the colony. He was one of the 
preachers at the Thursday Lectures. He was a coun- 
selor and friend of men in public station. He was 
appointed by the General Court "to dispute" with 
Roger Williams in his controversy with the authori- 
ties. When EndicotI cut the cross from the English 



16 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



flag, Mr. Hooker yielded to public and private im- 
portunity and wrote his opinion "Touching the Crosse 
in the IJanncrs." He wrote calmly and plainly : "Not 
that I am a friend to the crosse as an idoll, or to any 
idollatry in it ; or that any carnal fear takes me asyde 
and makes me unwilling to give way to the evidence of 
the truth, because of the sad consequences that may 
be suspected to flowe from it. I blesse the Lord, my 
conscience accuseth me of no such thing ; but that as 
yet I am not able to see the sinfullness of this banner 
in a civil use." It is plain that the influence of this 
minister was much wider than his parish bounds, and 
that the influence was for order and peace, and for 
the establishment of the stable principles of life. 
His influence did not end with his removal to Con- 
necticut. But at this point of his removal the ecclesi- 
astical history of Cambridge begins again. We may, 
for the present, take leave of Hooker with the elegiac 
lines written by Cotton in his honor: — 

** To see three things was holy .\ii8tin'a wish, — 
Kome iu her flower, Clirist Jesus in the flesh. 
And Paul in the pulpit ; lately men might see 
Two first, and more, in Hooker's ministry. 

*' Zion in heauty is a fairer sight 
Than Rome in flower, with all her glory dight ; 
Yet Zion's beauty did most clearly shine 
In Hooker's rule and doctrine, both divine." 

The history which we are tracing begins again with 
the Puritan movement in England. Again it is one 
man with whom, at first, we have to do. 

Mention has already been incidentally made of 
Towcester. It is a small town in Northamptonshire. 
The old brick houses are, for the most part, on one 
street, which has a very red appearance as the visitor 
looks upon it. He is struck with the unusual num- 
ber of inns — The Talbot, Albion, Plough, Dolphin, 
Wheat Sheaf, Nelson's Arms — and is unable to 
account for their presence, or to find for them any 
visible means of support. They are easily accounted 
for by the fact that the town was once on the stage 
road between Chester and London. Then, doubtless, 
there was a stir of travel and business. This is of the 
past. Quiet prevails in the houses and in the bear- 
ing of the people. There is a fine stone church, a 
part of which dates from the end of the twelfth or 
the beginning of the thirteenth century. The mas- 
sive tower goes back to Edward IV. Around the 
church are the graves of many generations, and near 
by is the pleasant vicarage, where the Rev. James 
Mountain resides. Across the lane is a cabinet- 
maker's establishment, which, in the old time, was a 
home for monks. In the wall around the yard are 
niches which once must have held sacred images. 
Here the good men had their daily walk and medita- 
tion. At a later day the house was used for the parish 
schools. Something of modern life is seen in the 
.town in a fine building devoted to municipal pur- 
poses. A Congregational and a Baptist Church, and 
perhaps others, mark the presence of dissent, though 
they are much less impressive than the house of the 



establishment. There are two or three hamlets out- 
side the main town, and nearly three thousand people 
now inhabit the pleasant quietness. 

With this English town Cambridge has a natural 
and interesting connection. For it was in Towcester 
the man was born whose name was to be historic 
among us. The old church-book in Towcester has 
one brief record before which a Cambridge man 
pauses in reverence. In the long list of baptisms 
reaching through centuries, he reads: "Thomas 
Sonne to William Shepard, 9 November." He was 
borne on the fifth of November, 1605, 'called the 
Powder Treason Day,' at that very houre of the day 
when the Parliament should have been blown up, 
. . . which occasioned my father to give me the 
name Thomas, because he sayed I would hardly be- 
lieve that ever any such wickedness should be 
attempted by men against so religious and good 
Parlaraent." William Shepard was a prosperous 
grocer, "a wise, prudent man, the peacemaker of 
the place." As there was in Towcester no preaching 
which satisfied him, he removed to Banbury that he 
and his household might be " under a stirring minis- 
try." The mother died when Thomas was four years 
old. His childhood had little brightness or promise 
in it. He was sent, when very young, to his grand- 
parents at Fossecut, "a most blind town and corner," 
where he was "put to keep geese, and other such 
country work," while his own interests were neglected. 
Then he was sent to his uncle at Apthorp, "a little 
blind town," where he learned "to sing and sport, as 
children did in those parts, and to dance at their 
Whitson-Ales." When he returned home he was 
harshly used by his stepmother, and his father 
sent him to a free school in Towcester, kept by a 
Welshman, who was very cruel to him, so that he 
was discouraged in his lessons, and often wished he 
was a keeper of hogs and beasts instead of a school- 
boy. He was ten years old when his father died, and 
his brother took the place of both father and mother 
to him. He had been in a hard school ; but he had 
received strong religious impressions and had taken 
an earnest hold upon life. At fourteen, though " very 
raw and young," he was admitted a pensioner at 
Emmanuel College. Here he faced new perils. He 
became proud of his attainments, neglected his relig- 
ious duties, and strayed into bad company and evil 
ways. Shame and remorse came to him, and the 
searching preaching of the master of the college per- 
suaded him to make for himself a serious and manly 
life. "I saw the Lord gave me a hart to receive 
Xt., with a naked hand even a naked Xt., and so hee 
gave me peace." He left college with a high reputa- 
tion for scholarship and with the customary honors 
of the university, and with new purposes and desires. 

Before we go further we ought more distinctly to 
note the influence of Emmanuel College upon our 
ecclesiastical life. It was the college of Thomas 
Hooker, Samuel Stone, Thomas Shepard, John Har- 



CAMBRIDGE. 



17 



vard. At Cambridge the Puritan influence was 
especially strong, and at Emmanuel the strongest. 
It was the heart of the greatest movement of modern 
times. Emmanuel was founded in 1584. Walter 
Mildmay, chancellor and counselor of Elizabeth, 
purchased the ground, on which a university of the 
Black Friars, the Preaching Friars, had stood, and 
on this rose the college which he founded and en- 
dowed. He was a leader among the Puritans, and he 
sought in his way to advance and extend their prin- 
ciples. The story goes that the Queen met him soon 
after the college was opened, and greeted him with, 
"So, Sir Walter, I hear you have erected a Puritan 
foundation." " No, madam, far be it from me to 
countenance anything contrarj- to your established 
laws ; but I have set an acorn, which, when it be- 
comes an oak, God alone knows what will be the fruit 
thereof." Fifty years later, when Harvard was a 
student. Fuller wrote: "Sure I am at this day it 
hath overshadowed all the university." Even then 
its shadow, rather its brightness, had fallen on a land 
three thousand miles away. It was a stubborn, wil- 
ful college. The traditions required that churches 
and chapels should be built on a line running east 
and west. Mildmay set his chapel on a line running 
north and south. The breaking from tradition was 
the assertion of liberty. On the lofty pediment are 
the arms of the college — a lion rampant, holding a 
chaplet, which drew out this tribute in Greek : 

'* Thy emblems fair, anJ liuu boM, 

WeU pleased Emmatiiiers House, I see ; 
If such a rack thy lions hold, 

What mighty thiugs thy men must be !" 

This was the place, this was the life, into which 
the b<iy Thomas Shepard entered, whose air he 
breathed, whose teachings he received, whose mas- 
ters he revered, whose scholars whe knew, from 
which he came forth a man. He took his Bachelor's 
degree in 1H23 and became Master of Arts in 1627. 
His life was beginning; what should he do next? He 
had been used to Puritan training from his youth up ; 
but, nut without scruple, he received deacon's orders 
in the Established Church. He was given an ap- 
pointment as a lecturer. This was a Puritan office, 
designed to furnish preachers where there was no 
proper ministry. The appointment was for three 
years. It was a needy place to which he was sent, 
but his labors were successful, and there he won to 
himself his steadfast friend, Roger Harlakenden, 
whose mortal part was afterwards laid in our old 
burying-ground where Shepard was to join him. 

It is almost telling Hooker's story over again to 
relate that the young minister was not allowed to do 
his work in peace. He was charged with being "a 
non-conformable man, when for the most of that time 
I was not resolved either way." He finished his 
three years and remained a few months longer, at the 
request and charge, of the people, when he was sum- 
moned before Laud, the Bishop of London — " our 



great enemy," Winthrop calls him. The Bishop was 
more angry than was becoming to his sacred office, 
and his sentence was more explicit than pastoral : 
" I charge you that you neither preach, read, marry, 
bury, or exercise any ministerial functions in any 
part of my diocese ; for if you do, and I hear of it, 
I'll be upon your track and follow you wherever you 
go, in any part of this kingdom, and so everlastingly 
disenable you." Laud was building better than he 
knew. The story need not be followed out in its 
details. The young man spent a few months with 
the Harlakendens, becoming more fixed in his Puri- 
tan ideas. " Then the Bishop fired me out of this 
place." He accepted an invitation to Yorkshire, where 
he was chaplain to the family of Sir Richard Darley. 
There he was kindly treated, very kindly, inasmuch 
as the knight's kinswoman, Margaret Tauteville 
became JIargaret Shepard. But the old hostility 
found him out and he came to Northumberland. He 
removed again and was silenced again. Then he 
" preached up and down the country, and at last pri- 
vately in Mr. Fenwick's house." While he was thus 
being loosed from Church and country, divei's friends 
in New England asked him to come over to them, and 
many in Old England desired him to go and promised 
to accompany him. He resolved to accede to their 
reiiuest. His " little booke,"with his own account of 
his life, remains as an invaluable memorial of the 
man. In this he gives the reasons for his consent to 
leave the country. " I saw no call to any other place 
in Old England." " 1 saw the Lord departed from 
England when Mr. Hooker and Jlr. Cotton were gonei 
and I saw the harts of most of the godly set and 
bent that way, and T did think T should feel my 
miseries if I stayed behind." " My dear wife did much 
long to see me settled there in peace and so put me 
on to it." " Tho' my ends were mixt and I looked 
much to my own quiet, yet the Lord let me see the 
glory of those liberties in N. England, and made 
me purpose, if ever I come over, to live among God's 
people as one come out from the de.ad, to his praise." 
" I did hope ray going over might make them to fol- 
low me." " Jly liberty in private was dayly threat- 
ened." 

He sailed with his wife and child late in the year 
16.34. They encountered a violent storm and were 
nearly lo.st. They reached the land, where his child 
soon died and was privately buried. He began to 
question if he had gone too far in separating from 
the " Assemblies in England." He spent the winter 
in Norfolk, busy with his pen now that his lips were 
closed. In the spring he went up to London, where 
with difficulty he evaded the officers of the law, and 
in August, 1635, he sailed the second time, with his 
wife and another son, his brother, Harlakenden, and 
other precious friends. It was in the shij) " Defence",'' 
"very rotten and unfit for such a voyage." Through 
many storms and many fears they were biought in 
safety ; and on the 3d of October, 1635, they 



18 



HTSTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



reached Boston, where they were welcomed by many 
friends. On the .secund day after their arrival Shep- 
ard and his family came U> Newtown, where he found 
Hooker and Stone, whom he had known in England. 
Hooker had been his teacher and counselor. Stone 
had succeeded to his lectureship, and had taken it to 
Towcestcr, where he had done much for his towns- 
lieople. It must have been helpful to Shepard to 
tind these men ready to receive him and introduce him 
to his new work. The new-comers enjoyed for a few 
months the society of the veterans of 1632 and 1638, 
who were about to seek the wilds of Connecticut. 
Very serious and interesting their intercourse must 
have been. The arrival was well timed, for Shepard 
could take up the work of Hooker, the new settlers 
could puichase the houses which were to be deserted, 
and the new church could stand in the place of the 
old. The account of the transfer is given in the " lit- 
tle booke; " " Myself and those that came with me 
found many lionses empty and many persons willing 
to sell, and here our company bought off their houses 
to dwell in until we should see another place fit to 
remove into, but having been here some time diverse 
of our brethren did desire to sit stille and not to re- 
move farther, partly because of tlie fellowship of the 
churches, partly liecause they thought their lives 
were .short and removals to near plantations full of 
troubles, partly because they found sufficient for them- 
selves and their company. Hereupon there was a 
purpose to enter into ciiurch fellowship, which we did 
the yeare after, about the end of the winter." 

The minister's house was in what is now the 
college yard, on the site now occupied by Boylston 
Hall. There Hooker lived and Shepard after him. 
The place of the meeting-house has been already 
mentioned. A few of the old families remained when 
their neighbors had gone, and became a part of the 
new community ; for the aflairs of the town passed into 
new hands and there was a new church. On 
the 1st day of February, 168(i, the church was 
organized. The record of that day must be copied 
from the journal of Governor Winthrop, who was 
undoubtedly more than an eye witness : 

"Mr. Shepard, a godly minister, came lately out 
of England, and divers other good christians, intending 
to raise a church body, came and acquainted the 
magistrates therewith, who gave their approbation. 
They also sent to all the neighboring churches for 
their elders to give their assistance at a certain day 
at Newtown, when they should constitute their body. 
Accordingly at this day there met a great assembly, 
where the proceeding was as Iblloweth : 

" Mr. She]iard and two others, who were after to 
be chosen to office, sat together in the elder's seat ; 
then the elder of them began with prayer ; after this 
Ml-. Shepard prayed with deep confession of sin, 
etc., and exercised out of Eph. v., that he might make 
it to himself a holy, etc., and also opened the cause 
of their meeting ; then the elder desired to know of 



the churches assembled what number were needful 
to make a church, and how they ought to proceed in 
this action. Whereupon some of the ancient ministers 
conferring shortly together gave answer: That the 
scripture did not set down any certain rule for the 
number; three (they thought) were too few, because by 
Matt, xviii. an appeal was allowed from three, but 
that seven might be a fit number; and for their pro- 
ceeding they advised that such as would join should 
make confession of their faith and declare what 
work of grace the Lord had wrought in them, which 
accordingly they did. Mr. Shepard first, then four 
otheis, then the elder and one who was to be deacon 
(who had also prayed) and another member; then 
the covenant was read and they all gave a solemn 
assent to it. Then the elder dtsired of the churches 
that if they did appoint them to be a church, they 
would give them the right hand of fellowship. Where- 
upon Mr. Cotton (after a short speech with some 
others near him), in the name of the churches, gave 
his hand to the elder with a short speech of their 
assent, and desired the peace of the fiord's presence 
to be with them. Then Mr. Shepard made an ex- 
hortation to the rest of his body about the nature of 
their covenant, and to stand firm to it, and commended 
them to the Lord in a most heavenly prayer. Then 
ihe elder told the assembly that they were intended 
to choose Mr. Shepard for their pastor (by the 
name of the brother who had exercised), and desired 
the churches that if they had anything to except 
against him, they would impart it to them before the 
day of ordination. Then he gave the churches thanks 
for their assistJince, and so left them to the Lord." 

In this simple, reverent, democratic method the 
church entered upon a career wtiich has already 
lasted for more than two hundred and fifty years. It 
was the union oi, men and women who were of one 
faith and of one character and purpose, and who were 
living together, and in fellowsliip with their neigh- 
bors, who were of a like mind. The covenant to 
which they agreed has not been preserved. We can 
readily believe that it was essentially the same as 
that of the First Church in Boston, which was probably 
written by Governor Winthrop : 

" In the name of our Lord .lesus Christ, and in 
obedience to his holy will and divine ordinance. 

"We, whose names are hereunder written, being 
by his most wise and good providence brought 
together into this part of America, in the Bay of 
Massachusetts ; and desirous to unite ourselves into 
one congregation, or church under the Lord Jesus 
Christ, our head, in such sort as becometh all those 
whom he hath redeemed and sanctified to himself, 
do here solemnly and religiously (as in his most holy 
presence) promise and bind ourselves to walk in all 
oxix ways according to the rule of the gospel, and in all 
sincere conformity to his holy ordinances, and in 
mutual love and respect each to other, so near as God 
shall give us grace." 



CAMBRIDGE. 



19 



Concerning this covenant and its adoption on the 
other side of the river, the present distinguished re- 
presentative of the name of the first Governor has 
said : " That old covenant is one under which any 
man might well be willing to live and to die. . . . 
Beyond all doubt, that day, that service, that coven- 
ant, settle the question that ( 'ongregationalisni was 
to be the prevailing order, and for a long time the 
only order in early New P^ngland. Nor, let me add, 
have I ever doubted for a moment that Congregation- 
alism was the best and the only mode of planting and 
propagating Christianity in this part of the country 
in those old Puritan times." 

This ancient covenant, with the necessary change 
in the opening sentence of the covenant proper, is 
still in use in the First Church in Cambridge. 

The fathers did not think it necessary to make a 
statement of doctrine which should be original and 
peculiarly their own. They agreed substantially with 
other reformed churches. They had separated from 
the Church of England chiefly upon matters of wor- 
ship, discipline and government, and found it desir- 
able to make a certain confession for their churches; 
Accordingly in 1648 they formed and published " The 
C-'ambridge Platform of Church Discipline, gathered 
out of the AVord of God, and agreed upon by the 
elders and messengers of the churches assembled in 
Synod." The name of this platform indicates the 
placeof its formation. The Westminster Assembly had 
just made its historic statement of faith, and to this 
the Cambridge iSynod uuanimou.sly expressed its 
assent. In the Preface it is said, " This Synod, having 
perused and considered, with much gladness of heart, 
and thankfulness to God, the Confession of Faith 
published of late by the reverend assembly in Eng- 
land, do judge it to be very holy, orthodox and judicious 
in all matters of faith ; and do therefore freely and 
fully consent thereunto, for the substance thereof 
Only in those things which have respect to church 
government and discipline, we refer ourselves to the 
platform of church discipline agreed upon by this 
present assembly; and do therefore think it meet, 
that this Confession of Faith should be commended 
to the churches of Christ amongst us, and to the 
honored Court, as worthy of their due consideration 
and acceptance." 

We have, therefore, the constitution under which 
the church here began its work. The documents are 
of the highest interest, not only for their use here, 
but as a part of the history of the times, and a me- 
morial of the thought and life of earnest men who 
were working out a great purpose. 

The date of Mr. Shepard's ordination is not 
known. At the organization of the church notice 
was given that it w;is proposed to make him their 
pa-stor, and his ordination must have soon followed. 
The Shepard company numbered some sixty persons, 
as nearly as can now be determined, and with them 
were some who had remained when the Hooper com- 



pany went away. The new church included among 
its members men of influence, whose names were 
prominent in otber relations. There was Eoger Har- 
lakenden, of that house which protected and sup- 
ported the young Shepard and his family in the days 
of their persecution, who came with them to this 
country. " He was a very godly man, and of good use 
both in commonwealth and in church ;" and Richard 
Champney, ruling elder, descended from Sir Henry 
Champney, one of the thirty brave warriors who 
fought in 10(i6 under William the Coiic|ueror; and 
Samuel (ireen, who came in Iti.SL', for fifty years a 
printer, whose greatest work was the Indian Bible; 
and Matthew Day, the first known steward of the 
college; and Thomas Cheeaeholme, the second stew- 
ard of the college; and Edward Winship, lor many 
years honored by election to public ottice ; and 
Nathaniel Eaton, of whom we do not boa-it. though 
he was the first head of the embryo college ; and the 
first of the Sparhawks, the house which in different 
generations gave the church four deacons, and served 
the community in other offices of trust; and Edward 
Collins, the deacon, father of famous sons ; and Henry 
Dunster, the first president of the college, "as true 
a friend," says Mr. Quincy, " and as faithful a ser- 
vant as this college ever possessed ;" and Thomas 
Danforth, Daniel Gookin, Herbert Pelham, Elijah 
Corlet. These selected names suggest a goodly list 
for the day of beginnings. We should add John 
Bridge, who owned land here in 10.S2, who was 
early made a deacon in the church, and was select- 
man and representative, wlioni Thomas Shepard 
named when he was giving his reasons for coming 
hither. " Diverse people in Old England of my 
dear friends desired me • to goe to N. E., there 
to live together, and some went before and writ to 
me of providing a place for a company of us, one of 
which was John Bridge, and I saw diverse families 
of Xtian freends, who were resolved thither to goe 
with me." The statue of this stout-hearted Puri- 
tan stands on Cambridge common, in front of the 
church which bears the name of Shepard. 

In any account of the early religious life of Cam- 
bridge special mention should be made of JIargaret 
Shepard. She was evidently a woman of strong char- 
acter, and her influence over her husband was constant 
and helpful. She was unwilling to stay at Butter- 
crambe, where he found her, and she came with him 
into the diflicuities which were besetting him. Her 
faith and hope reached out to the land beyond the 
sea. She longed to see him established here in peace, 
and urged him to yield to the persuasions of his 
friends. His description of her and his manner of 
alluding to her are worth noting by those who imag- 
ine there was nothing tender in the Puritan character. 
"The Lord taught me much of His goodness and 
greatness, and when He had fitted a wife for me He 
then gave me her, who was a most sweet, humble 
woman, full of Christ, and a very discerning Xtian; 



20 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



a wife who was most incomparably loving to rae, and 
every way amiable and holy and endowed with a very 
sweet spirit of prayer." The ocean voyage was very 
hard for her, with her young child. To his son he 
writes that his mother " did loose her life by being 
careliill to preserve thine, for in the ship thou wert so 
feeble and froward, both in the day and night, that 
hereby she lost her strength and at last her life. The 
ship, in a storm, tumbling suddenly on the one side, 
my wife, having the child in her arms, was almost 
pitched with her head and child in her armes agaynst 
a post in the ship; and, being ready to fall, shee felt 
herself pluckt back by shee knew not what, whereby 
shee and the child were agayne preserved; and I cannot 
ascribe this to any other but the angels of God, who 
are ministering spirits for 'the heirs of life." When 
he has mentioned the formation of the church he 
adds: "A fortnight after my deare wife Margaret 
dyed, being first received into Church fellowship, 
which, as she much longed for the Lord did so 
sweeten it unto her, that she was hereby exceedingly 
cheered and comforted with the sense of God's love, 
which continued until her last gaspe." 

The full plan of the New England fathers contem- 
plated five church officers — the pastor and teacher, 
who were called elders, the ruling elder, deacon and 
deaconess. It does not a|)pear that Cambridge had 
a deaconess, at least under that name. These officers 
were to be chosen and ordained by the church in 
which they were to serve. The pastor's special work 
was to "attend to exhortation, and therein to admin- 
ister a word of wisdom." He was to apply the pre- 
cepts of the Scriptures to the conduct of men. The 
teacher was to " attend to doctrine, and therein to 
administer a word of wisdom." The one, therefore, 
had what we should term the practical, and the other 
the doctrinal part of the present clerical office. Both 
were to administer the sacraments of the Church. 
Hoth, also, were " to execute the censures." The 
earliest church here had both pastor and teacher, 
Hooker and Stone, but in the church which took its 
place the two officers seemed to have been combined 
from the beginning. The ruling elder was to attend 
to the discipline of the church and to take the lead in 
all matters of business. "To feed the flock of God with 
a word of admonition, and, as they shall be sent for, 
to visit and pray over their sick brethren." The of- 
fice was not of long continuance. In fifty years from 
the settlement of the country it had fallen into com- 
parative disuse, although it was continued here until 
near the close of the century. The deacon was to be 
a man proved and found blameless. His was " to re- 
ceive the offerings of the church and to keep the trea- 
sury of the church, and therewith to serve the tables 
which the church is to provide for — as the Lord's table, 
the table of the ministers, and of such as are in neces- 
sity, to whom they are to distribute in simplicity." 
Some churches had one deacon, some two, some three. 
The number of elders varied in different churches. 



The ruling elders in Cambridge, so far ae there is 
any record, were Edmund Frost, who was made a 
freeman in 1636, aad died in 1672; Richard Champ 
ney, a freeman in 1636, died 1669 ; James Clark, a free- 
man in 1647, ordained ruling elder in 1682, died 
1699; James Stone, a freeman in 1665, ordained 1682, 
died 1683. 

The deacons who served in the seventeenth century 
were Thomas Marriot, John Bridge, Nathaniel Spar- 
hawk, Edward Collins, Gregory Stone, Thomas Cheese- 
holme, John Cooper, Walter Hasting, Nathaniel Spar- 
hawk. 

We have seen something of the appointments of 
the church in men and in principles; it maybe in- 
teresting to look at some of the methods of their eccle- 
siastical life. "The public worship," says an early 
writer, " is in as fair a meeting-house as they can pro- 
vide; therein, in most cases, they have been at great 
charge.''." If we could go within the simple building 
which first served for a sanctuary, we should find a 
rough room, divided by a central passage, and fur- 
nished with benches. On one side of the house the 
males would sit, and the females on the other. Veiy 
likely some of the men would have carnal weapons, 
for jirudential reasons. The pulpit would be a stand 
or desk within a railing, and, in its plainness, in 
keeping with its environment. On the Lord's Day 
the bell would call the people, although, for some rea- 
son, we find that a drum was used at one time. In 
the town records for 1646 is an entry of " fifty shil- 
lings, paid unto Thomas Langhorne for his service 
to the town in beating the drum these two years past." 
It was common to have an hour-glass in the church, 
by which to measure the time of the services. When 
the people became able to arrange the meeting-house 
according to their idea of the fitness of things, (he 
ruling elders had a seat below the pulpit, and the 
deacons a seat a little lower down, where they faced 
the congregation. The pulpit was then an elaborate 
structure, under a sounding-board. The boys had a 
place by themselves in one of the galleries, with a 
tithingman for their particular benefit. In 1666 
" Thomas Fox is ordered to look to the youth in time 
of public worship." In 1669 there was complaint 
that sundry persons were spending their time unprof- 
itably outside the meeting-house, and the constable 
was ordered to see " that they do attend upon the 
public worship of God." 

In many cases the meeting-house was finished and 
furnished by degrees. At first benches were ])ut in ; 
then a man would obtain a deed of a space on the floor, 
some six feet square, and erect a pit, or pew, upon it. 
He was to keep his pew in repair and "maintain all 
the glass against it." When there was no such pri- 
vate arrangement the people had seats assigned to 
them according to rank or property or age. This was 
called "dignifying" the house. Here is an order for 
1658: "That the elders, deacons and selectmen for 
the time being shall be a constant and settled power 



CAMBRIDGE. 



21 



for regulating the sitting of persons in the meeting- 
house from time to time as need shall require." We 
have the appointment for l(i(j'2 ; it runs thi.s way: 
"The Committee for ordering the seating of people 
in the meeting-house, being met at the ordinary, ap- 
pointed — 

" Bro. R. Jackson's wife to sit there where Sister 
Kempster was wont lo sit. 

" Mrs. Upham with her mother. 

" Ester Sparhawke in the place where Mrs. Up- 
ham is removed from. . . . 

" Joanna Winship in the place where Ester Spar- 
hawke was wont to sit. . . . 

" Ens. Samuel Greene to sit at the table. . . . 

" Goode (iates at the end of the Deacons' seats." 

The congregation usually walked to the meeting- 
house or rode on horseback. For the convenience of 
those who rode, in 1065 " the Townsmen do order the 
Constables to make a convenient horse-block at the 
meeting-house and causeway to the door." 

In the New England customs the congregation met 
as early as nine o'clock on Sabbath morning and 
about two in the afternoon. The services consisted of 
prayer, singing, reading and expounding the Scrip- 
tures, for it was generally considered improper to 
read them without e.Kposition — " dumb reading," they 
called it. There was also a sermon by the pastor or 
teacher. As they accounted a man a minister only to 
his own congregation, when one was in the pulpit of 
another clergyman it was common for the ruling 
elders of the place to give bim authority to speak in 
some such form as this : " If this present brother hath 
any word of exhortation for the people at this time, 
in the name of God let him say on." To "say on " 
was to " prophesy." An hour was regarded the 
proper length for a sermon, although upon occiisions 
the preacher might "take another glass." The ser- 
mon was usually preached without a manuscript in 
the early days. The prayer was, of course, extempo- 
raneous. Children were baptized in the meeting- 
house, generally on the next Sabbath after their birth. 
The pastor or teacher htood in the deacons' seats, as 
that was an " eminent place," and, with an address to 
the church and the parents and two prayers, adminis- 
tered the ordinance. "No sureties were required." 
The Lord's Supper was administered once in each 
month at the morning service. The form was very 
much like that which now prevails in Congregational 
Churches. Persons were received to membership in 
the church in public, but with more of examination 
and profession than is common now. There is now in 
the library of the New England Historic Genealogical 
Society a small manuscript volume in Mr. Shepard's 
writing, entitled, "The Confessions of Diverse Pro- 
pounded to be Received and were Entertained as 
Members." There are fifty confessions, some of them 
very brief and some quite extended. Cases of disci- 
pline were more openly dealt with than is common 
now. This was in accordance with the spirit of the 



times. Every Sabbath afternoon ihere was a contri- 
bution. One of the deacons stood up in his place and 
said, " Brethren of the congregation, now there is 
time left for contribution ; wherefore as God hath 
prospered you, so freely offer." " On some extraordi- 
nary occasions," says an old writer, " as building and 
repairing of churches or meeting-houses or other 
necessities, the ministers press a liberal contribution, 
with elfectual exhortation out of Scripture." Then 
the people passed up to the deacons' seat with tlieir 
ofl'erings. " The magistrates and chief gentlemen 
went first, then the elders, then all the congregation 
of men and most of them that are not of the church, 
all single persons, widows, and women in absence of 
their husbands." Money and papers were dropped 
into a box. If the offering were "any other chattel, " 
it was set down before the deacons. The writer first 
quoted says, " I have seen a fair gilt cup, with a cover, 
oftered them by one, which is still used at the Com- 
munion." It wa.s customary for visitors in the con- 
gregation to make an offering, which was called "the 
strangers' money," and was often stipulated for by 
the clergyman as a perquisite of his office. At first 
the minister's salary was paid from the voluntary 
contribution made on the Sabbath, but this soon gave 
way to the system of taxation. In 1057 there is a 
vote in the town records, appointing the deacons or 
other townsmen "to make a levy of two hundred and 
forty pounds for the maintenance this year and full 
payment of the debts of our reverend pastor." In 
1665 the selectmen " ordered that all persons that do 
contribute to the ministry of this place do, upon the 
first second day of May next, appear before the dea- 
cons and selectmen, to clear the payment of their 
dues for time past, or send in writing a receipt 
thereof under the hand of our pastor or deacons, and 
that for the future every one do annually attend the 
order at the same time; the place of meeting to 
be at the meeting-house, and the time by eight of the 
clock in the morning." In the list of salaries given 
to different ministers during the first twenty years 
of the Massachusetts Colony, Mr. Shepard's sal- 
ary is stated at seventy pounds. This was among the 
largest salaries of the time. Two are given at ninety 
pounds, and they decrease gradually to thirty pounds. 
At almost every point we can see where the fathers 
were swinging away from the customs of the church 
with which they had formerly been connected. Thus, 
marriage was not a sacrament, but a civil contract, 
entered into by the parties before a magistrate. This 
marrying by a magistrate was for the Pilgrims " ac- 
cording to the laudable example of the Low Coun- 
tries in which they had lived." To perform this 
ceremony was nowhere found in the New Testament 
to be laid on the ministers as a part of their office. 
Winthrop mentions a great marriage to be solemnized 
in Boston, when the bridegroom invited his minister 
to preach on the occasion. "The magistrates sent to 
him to forbear. We were not willing to bring in the 



22 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



custom of ministers performing the solemnity of mar- 
riage, which sermons at sudi times might induce ; 
but if any minister were present, and would bestow a 
word of exhortation, etc., it was permitted." 

In a similar way funerals were stripped of the cere- 
monies which had attended them abroad. The dead 
were no longer buried with imposing rites beneath 
the floor of the church or in consecrated ground, but 
were laid in some convenient enclosure without even 
a prayer, Lechford, writing in 1(541, says : "At bur- 
ials nothing is read, nor any funeral sermon made, but 
all the neighborhood, or a good company of them, 
come together by tolling of the bell, and carry the 
dead solemnly to bis grave, and then stand by him 
while he is buried. The ministers are most com- 
monly present." No burial was allowed on the Sab- 
bath, except by leave obtained from a justice. It was 
long the custom at the burial of a woman for the wo- 
men to walk first in the procession ; the men when 
the funeral was that of a man. Funerals were some- 
what expensive, although not in the same way as at 
present. This was especially the case when a person 
of note had died. Wine, cider, gloves were provided. 
In one case, at Ipswich, at the funeral of a minister) 
in 1768, the bearers were furnished with gold rings, 
one of which was given to "a candidate who was 
preaching for them," and the attending ministers re- 
ceived eighteen pairs of white leather gloves. At 
length an act \^a3 passed to retrench extraordinary 
expenses at funerals. 

They kept none of the former holy days except the 
Lord's Day, as.sociating the observance of the other 
days with superstition and (>i)pression. But they in- 
stituted days of public fasting and thanksgiving. In 
addition to the Sabbath services there was a weekly 
lecture. They gave great heed to the training of the 
young in religion and good learning. Cambridge was 
early divided into districts, which were assigned to 
certain persons who were to see to the catechizing 
and educating of the youth. In " New England's 
First Fruits," published in London in l()4o, we read: 
"And by the side of the Colledge a faire Grammar 
School, for the training up of young schollars, and tit- 
ting of them for Academical Learning, that still as 
they are judge<l ripe, they may be received into the 
Colledge; of this schoole Master Corlet is the Mr., 
who has very well approved himselfe for his abilities, 
dexterity and painfulnesse in teaching and education 
of the youth under him." Mr. Corlet taught for 
nearly fifty years and acquired a high reputation. 
Cotton Mather speaks of him as "that memorable old 
schoolmaster in Cambridge, from who.se education 
our colledge and country have received so many of its 
worthy men, that he is himself worthy to have his 
name celebrated." 

** 'Ti8 Curlet's puins, and Cheever'B, we must own, 
That thou, New England, are not Scythta grown." 

In 1648 is an order that a part of the Common shall 



be sold "for the gratifying of Mr. Corlet for his pains 
in keeping a scliool in the town." In 1644 the Gene- 
ral Court granted, on the petition of Cambridge and 
Charlestown, one thousand acres of land to be for- 
ever appropriated to a grammar school, and also made 
a grant of two hundred acres to ]\Ir. Corlet. In l(i62 
his scholars were so few that the town made him an 
allowance often pounds. The town afterwards voted 
him an annual grant of twenty pound.s. 

The instruction in the family and school was sim- 
ple compared with that which is now given. There 
were no spelling-books, no English grammars — little 
of what is now considered essential. Children learned 
to read from the Bible, taking in moral and religious 
instruction with the letters and words. An out-of- 
door life gave the youth object-lessons and teaching 
in practical mechanics. 

Printing in tliis part of America began here. The 
first printer was Stephen Day, who brought out "The 
Freeman's Oath," in 1639. An Almanac by William 
Pierce, Mariner, came in the same year, and the next 
year a Psalm-book. The singing in the churches 
was without instrumental accompaniment. This was 
thought to be forbidden by the words of Amos, " I will 
not hear the melody of thy viols." It was compared 
to the idolatrous performance which Nebuchadnezzar 
delighted in — "the sound of the cornet, fiute, liarp 
sackbnt, psaltery and dulcimer, and all kinds of mu- 
sic." Through the first century there were not more 
than ten different tunes, it is said, and few congrega- 
tions could sing more than five. In the singing it 
was customary for the ruling elder, or deacon, or some 
other proper person, to read the hymn line by line 
and give out the tune. The amount read at each 
time was increased in some cases, and finally the 
whole hymn was read at once by the minister. The 
version of the Psalms in use here was probably that 
made by Sternhold and Hopkins, which was printed at 
the end of the Bible. This was not satisfactory, and 
a number of prominent divines were appointed to 
make a new version. Thomas Shepard gave the com- 
mittee instruction in a stanza which makes ua recon- 
ciled to the omission of his name, — 

" Vou Roxb'ry poets, Iteep clear of tlie crime 
Of missing to give ua very good rhyme — 
And you of Itorchester, your verses lengthen. 
But witli the text's own words you will tliem streiigt-tien." 

The book came out in 1640, and was well received. 
It was revised by Mr. Dunster and received the addi- 
tion of "Spiritual Songs." It passed through seventy 
editions, and was used extensively in Great Britain, 
especially in Scotland. It was in use in some Ameri- 
can churches till after the Revolution. It was entitled 
"The Bay Psalm Book," and afterwards "The New 
England Version of the Psalms." One verse from 
the Twenty-third Psalm will give some idea of the 
character of the work : — 

"The Lord to niee a Shepheard is. 
Want therefore shaH not T. 



CAMBRIDGE. 



23 



Hee in the folds of tender-gni^uo, 

Duth ciiuHU iiiue (lowne tu Uo; 
To waters cftliiu! He gently It-iuls, 

Restores my soiile ilotli Heo : 
lie <lotl) ill patlis uf righteolisiies 

For His imnie'e sake leati tiieo." 

It has seemed well to glance at the custdms of the 
fathers, that we may see something of the life which 
was once going on here. Many of their usages seem 
strange to ua, but if we had been born into them 
they would have suited us as well as they did others. 
The men and their ways must l)e estimated with 
reference to their time and place and work. It should 
be kept in mind that the ruling spirits here were men, 
gentlemen, scholars. Newtown had her share of the 
choice wheat which came from the sifting of a nation. 
These men knew literature. Shakespetire died in 
1(110, and possibly some of these men knew him. 
Bacon died in l('>2t;. Milton was born in 1()08. Our 
fathers stood close to them. Sir Henry Vane >vas 
chosen Governor of Massachusetts in Jlarch of the 
same year in which the present First Church in Cam- 
bridge was organized. 

" Vane, yoiing in years tjut in sage counsel old, 
Ttian wlioni a better Senator ne'er held 
The helm of Rome— * * * 

* On thy firm hand Religion leans 
In peace, and reckons thee her eldest son." 

It was a goodly company which was here, in an 
open country. Liberty, intelligence, piety were re- 
vered and enjoyed. We are reclaiming some of their 
methods, for their principles were e.xeellent even 
when their administration was at fault. There was 
life here. The woods and streams offered recreation 
to the boys when their tasks were done. The girls 
had i(uiet enjoyment in their homes. Morality was 
abroad. '"One may live there from year to year, and 
not see a drunkard, hear an oath, or meet a beggar." 
In this practical age it should stand for much, that in 
their great endeavor they were successful. 

But it is time that we resumed the history of events 
connected with the church. The early annals are not 
complete, but we have enough to enable us to trace 
the course of events from the beoinning. There are 
no full records of the church before Kiyii. But there 
is a church book, which was opened in 1637 or 1638, 
in which are matters of interest, although the book 
was largely devoted to financial matters. Shepard's 
autobiography reveals some things which were per- 
sonal to him, but also of interest to the church. The 
records of the town are closely related to the history 
of the church. There are biographies and histories 
which treat of men and events with which the church 
here was intimately connected. There is material for 
a much fuller hist«ry than can be given in these pages. 
The reader whf) desires more will find iiuich satisfac- 
tion in the " History of Cambridge,'' by Rev. Lucius R. 
Paige, D.D. To his work any one must make con- 
stant reference who attempts to write of Cambridge. 
A book of " Lectures on the History of the First 



Church in Cambridge" was published in 1873, and 
some portions of the lectures are reproduced here. 
The list of freemen in the Colony is of great service 
in determining who were members of the church, so 
long as only church members could be full citizens. 
Mr. Mitchel prepared an interesting catalogue, which 
he entitled "The Church of Christ at Cambridge, in 
N. E. ; or, the Names of all the members thereof that 
are in Full Communion; together with their children 
who were either baptized in this Church, or (coming 
from other churches) were in their minority at their 
present joyning ; taken and registered in the 11 
month, 1(158." The catalogue was continued through 
Mitchel's ministry. Beginning with 1696, we have a 
full list of members. There are two subordinate 
lists, which also begin in 1690, — "Persons who owned 
the Covenant and were baptized;" "Persons who 
owned the Covenant in order to their children being 
baptized." Of the meaning of these titles there will 
be occasion to speak hereafter. 

As a part of the ecclesiastical history ol' Cam- 
bridge, should be reckoned the founding of Harvard 
(Jollege. In 1636, the same year in which the present 
First Church in Cambridge w.as organized, in the 
autumn of the year, the General Court made an ap- 
propriation " equal to a year's rate of the whole 
colony," for the establishment of a college. "The 
Court agree to give Four Hundred Pounds towards a 
School or CoUrr/c^ whereof Two Hundred Pounds shall 
be paid the next year, and Two Hundred Pounds 
when the work is finished, and the next Court to ap- 
point where and what building." In 1637 the Gen- 
eral Court appointed twelve prominent men " to take 
order for a College at Newtown." The name of the 
town was soon afterward changed to Cambridge, be- 
cause so many who were interested in the new college 
had been educated at the University of t!ambridge. 
In 163S John Harvard, a non-conforming clergyman, 
a minister at Charlestown, bequeathed half his prop- 
erty and his library, of some three hundred volumes, 
to the new college, upon which his name was ])laced. 
"The value of this bequest was more than double the 
entire sum originally voted by the Court." In that 
year the first college class was formed. On the new 
college gate is the inscription which relates the pur- 
pose of the men who thus established the institution, 
as it was written in 1642: " .\fterGod had carried us 
safe to New England, and we had builded our houses, 
provided necessaries for our livelihood, reared con- 
venient places for God's worship, and settled the civil 
government, one of the next things we longed for 
and looked after was to advance learning and perpet- 
uate it to posterity, dreading to leave an illiterate 
ministry to the Churches when our present ministers 
.sh.all lie in the dust." Thomas Shepard was one of 
the twelve men to whom the establishment of the 
college was intrusted. The reasons given for erecting 
the college here were that this was "a place very 
plea.sant and accommodate," and "under the ortho- 



24 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



dox and soul-flourishing ministry of Mr. Thomas 
Shepheard." It has been said that that Massachu- 
setts Assembly was " the first body in which the peo- 
ple, by their representatives, ever gave their own 
money to found a place of education." Thus upon 
the shore of the unplauted sea, three thousand miles 
from the schools in which they had been nurtured, 
on the borders of an untraversed wilderness, among 
perils and privations, in the greatness of their hearts 
these exiles, builders, prophets, founded their school 
of learning and religion. They gave it a worthy 
name. Of John Harvard, Thomas Shepard wrote, 
"This man was a scholar and pious in his life, and 
enlarged toward the country and the good of it in 
life and death." This was a college of the people. 
John Harvard was the son of a prosperous butcher. 
His mother was the daughter of a Stratford alderman. 
She was three times married, and there came into the 
hands of her eldest son money from the butcher, 
cooper and grocer, and money from his brother, a 
cloth-worker. It was a college for the people, and 
devoted to their advantage. Its method and spirit 
were to make men, that a nation might be made. The 
influence of the t'olonial clergy was naturally pro- 
nounced in the college, as it was in the community. 
In 1642 the Board of Overseers wiis established, and 
the teaching elders of Cambridge, Watertown, Charles- 
town, Boston, Ro.xbury and Dorchester were made 
members of it. The ministers gave as they were able, 
and the people aided their generous design. The list 
of donations is as pathetic as it is creditable. Out of 
the homes came the benefactions,— a great silver salt 
and a small trencher salt, a silver tankard and a pew- 
ter flagon, a silver goblet and a silver bowl, a fruit- 
dish and a sugar-spoon, thirty ewe sheep and nine 
shillings' worth of cotton cloth. Friends abroad sent 
their gifts and blessing to a cause which they held in 
honor. 

There is no need that the history of the college 
should be told here. But it should be marked that 
its establishment was a part of the religious life of 
the Colony and that from the beginning it was closely 
connected with the Cambridge church. We find Mr. 
Shepard at one time addressing a memorial to the 
commissioners of the United Colonies, asking a general 
contribution for the maintenance of poor scholars, to 
the end " that the Commonwealth may be furnished 
with knowing and understanding men, and the 
churches with an able ministry." He begs that it 
may be recommended to every family throughout the 
plantation, able and willing to give, to contribute a 
fourth part of a bushel of corn, or something equiva- 
lent to this, as " a blessed means of comfortable pro- 
vision for the diet of such students as stand in need 
of support." The plan was approved and adopted. 
This was the first provision made in New England 
for the benefit of indigent scholars. What he asked 
others to do he did himself What was done in other 
churches was done in his church. 



The administration of Nathaniel Eaton, the first 
principal of the college, was very unpromising and 
must have given the church much trouble. His 
faults were notorious, and he was dismissed from his 
oflice and excommunicated from the church. He 
entered the Church of England and became the vio- 
lent enemy of those who had trusted him and been 
deceived. Mr. Shepard's relation to this man, and 
his conscientiousness and charity, are revealed in 
the record in his little book: "The sin of Mr. Eaton 
was at first not so clearly discerned by me; yet after 
more full information I saw his sin great, and my 
ignorance and want of wisdom and watchfulness over 
him very great, for which I desire to mourn all my 
life and for the breach of his family." 

It must have been to Mr. Shepard and the church 
a great relief and an especial joy when, in 1640, the 
Reverend Henry Dunster was made president of the 
college. Of him Mr. Shepard writes : " The Lord 
about a year after graciously made up the breach by 
one Mr. Dunstar, a man pious, painfull and fit to 
teach and very fit to lay the foundations of the 
domestical 1 affairs of the college; whom God hath 
much honored and blessed." 

Mr. Shepard seems to have been at this time in an 
unusually happy frame of mind. "Thus the Lord 
hath been very good unto me, in planting the place 
I lived in with such a mercy to myselfe, such a bless- 
ing to my children and the country, such an oppor- 
tunity of doing good to many by doing good to stu- 
dents, as the school is." 

Thus the church and the college began to move 
on together, with one general design. It has been 
noticed that Margaret Shepard died very soon after 
reaching Newtown. In 1637 Thomas Shepard mar- 
ried Joanna, the daughter of Thomas Hooker, his 
predecessor here. His record is as follows : " Oct., 
1637. The yeare after these wars in the country, 
God having taken away my first wife, the Lord gave 
me a second, the eldest daughter of Mr. Hooker, a 
blessed store ; and the Lord hath made her a great 
blessing to me to carry on matters in the family with 
much care and wisdom and to seeke the Lord God of 
her father." She is described as a woman of remark- 
able loveline-ss and wisdom. But after less than 
nine years of married life she, too, was taken away. 

Those were exciting days in which things were 
starting in this new world. The events may not 
seem to us very large, but they were of vast import- 
ance in that time of beginnings. When the church 
here was organized trouble had already started in the 
Colony in connection with that resolute and restless 
woman whose name is " dismally conspicuous in the 
early history of New England." Mrs. Ann Hutchin- 
son had been attracted from England by her desire to 
continue to enjoy the preaching of Mr. Cotton. Her 
husband, who had left a good estate in Lincolnshire, 
is described as " a man of very mild temper and weak 
parts, and wholly guided by his wife." She was des- 



CAMBRIDGE. 



25 



tined to encounter men who would not be so submis- 
sive. They came in the fall of 1(!.34, and she soon 
showed herself a kind neighbor, especially to the 
sick, and won the esteem of the people, over whom 
her attentions and abilities gave her influence. She 
became connected with the Boston Church and be- 
fore long avowed doctrines at variance with those 
commonly held here. Her house in Boston was 
where the Old Corner Book Store now stands. • 

In October, 10-S(i, Governor Wintlirop gives this 
account of her : " One Mrs. Hutchinson, a member of 
tlie church in Boston, a woman of ready wit and bold 
.spirit, brought over with her two dangerous errors : 
1st, that the person of the Holy Ghost dwells in a 
justified person. 2d, that no sanctification can help 
to evidence to us our justification. From these two 
grew many branches, as 1st, our union with the Holy 
Ghost, so as a Christian remains dead to every spir- 
itual action, and hath no gifts nor graces other than 
such as are in hypocrites, nor any other sanctification 
but the Holy Ghcst himself." A person was to find 
the evidence that he was a Christian in an immediate 
revelation made to his own soul. To receive this doc- 
trine was to be under a " covenant of grace." To de- 
pend upon other evidence, such as conduct and prom- 
ise, was to be under " covenant of works." There 
were thus two parties. The party which Mrs. Hutch- 
inson headed was called by two borrowed name.s^ 
Familists and Antinomians. We need no testimony 
to tell us what the people of t'ambridge were talking 
about in those days. We can readily reproduce the 
ecclesiastical life, as it was manifested in sermons and 
discussions, in the meeting-house and on the street. 
But we have Thomas Shepard's record : " No sooner 
were we thus set down aud entered into church fel- 
lowship, but the Lord exercised us and the whole 
country with the opinions of Familists, begun by .Mrs. 
Hutchinson, raised up to a great height of Mr. Vane, 
too suddenly chosen Governor and maintained too 
obscurely by Mr. Cotton, and propagated too boldly by 
the members of Boston and some in other churches." 
Mrs. Hutihinson's views spread rapidly. She gath- 
ered weekly assemblies of women before whom sheex- 
pounded her opinions and denounced the ministers 
who were opposed to her. Ignorant men and women 
were put forward as preachers, with the boast that they 
could excel the "black coats" who had been trained 
at the " Xinniversity." The associations of common 
life became infected by the disputes. Even the 
marching of troops which had been raised to assist 
Connecticut against the Indians was opposed on " the 
ground the officers and soldiers were too much under 
a covenant of works." It is difticult to comprehend 
this, until we remember that religious opinions were 
intimately and vitally connected with public and 
private affairs. Even English congregations in Hol- 
land had gone to pieces by falling upon similar con- 
tentions. The Colony here was in serious peril. The 
towns and churches in the country were, for the most 



part, opposed to the troublesome woman. Boston 
was her stronghold, though even there she was stoutly 
resisted by Winthrop, Wilson and others. Vane, the 
boy Governor, entered into the strife " with all possible 
zest." The majority of the General Court were against 
Mrs. Hutchinson, and ordered that its session of 1G37 
should be held at Newtown. Here, on the 17th of May, 
the court met, in an excitement which threatened civil 
war. Mr. Wilson, the minister, in his zeal, got upon 
the bough of a tree, and there made a speech, advis- 
ing the people to look to their charter, etc., etc. 
There was an election of Governor, and Winthrop was 
chosen. Vane soon afterwards returned to England, 
and one element of the strife was removed. After 
discussion there was the prospect of a peaceful settle- 
ment of the difficulties, and the ministers, with the 
consent of the magistrates, called an ecclesiastical 
synod. It was the first synod held in America, and it 
met with the church in Newtown. It was a grave 
and reverend assembly which was thus convened in 
the humble meeting-house near the river. Mr. Shep- 
ard opened the firstsession with a " heavenly prayer." 
Mr. Hooker, of Hartford, and Mr. Bnlkeley, of Con- 
cord, were the moderators. The sessions contin- 
ued for several weeks. Eighty-two opinions were con- 
demned with great unanimity. Among these were the 
peculiar views of Mrs. Hutchinson and her adherents 
Certain questions of church discijiline which had 
arisen were decided, and with freedom of speech mat- 
ters were carried on peaceably and " concluded com- 
fortably in love." Mr. Shepard made a record of 
the chief business in thiswise : " These errours.thorow 
the grace and power of Christ, were discovered, the de- 
fenders of them convinced and ashamed, the truth 
established, and the consciences of the saynts settled ; 
there being a most wonderful presence of Christ's 
spirit in that assembly held at Cambridge, lti37, 
about August, and continued a month together in 
publike agitations ; for the issue of the synod was 
this: I. The Pekoat Indians were fully discomfited, 
for as tbe opinion* aro.se, wars did arise, and when 
these began to becrusht by the ministry of the Elders 
and byopposing Mr. Vane and ca.sting him and others 
from being magistrates, the enemies began to be 
crusht and were perfectly subdued by the end of the 
synod. 

" 2. The magistrates took counsel and exiled Mr. 
Wheelwright, Mrs. Hutchinson and diverse Ilanders 
whom the Lord did strangely discover, giving most of 
them over to all manner of filthy opinions, until 
many that held with them before were ashamed of 
them ; and so the Lord within one year, wrought a 
great change among us." 

Mrs. Hutchinson was tried before the General Court 
for railing at the ministers an<l continuing her lectures 
in defiance of the Synod. A sentence of banishment 
was passed, but as it was winter she was committed to 
a private house in Roxbury. Her conversation there 
wa.s so otTeusive that the church in Boston cited her to 



26 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



appear and answer to the charge of holding gross 
errors. She retracted simie of her opinions and was 
admonished for holding others. She was placed 
under instruction, and not only retracted all the 
peculiar opinions imputed to her, but went so far as to 
say that she had never held theiu. A ([uestion of 
veracity was raised and decided against her, and she 
was excommunicated lor h.aving " impudently per- 
sisted in untruth.'' This was the end of her power and 
party here. She was ordered to leave the juris- 
diction. With some of her friends she went first to 
Rhode Island. In her banishment her heart turned 
to Vane and she wrote him of her experience. In 
1G38, or near that time, we find Rof;er Williams 
writing of these exiles: " I find their longings great 
after Mr. Vane, although they think he cannot returne 
this year ; the eyes of some are so earnestly fixed 
upon him that Mrs. Hutchinson proposeth if he come 
not to New, she must to Old England." Her after- 
life was troubled and troublesome. She became a 
widow, and finally moved to a place within or near 
the Dutch border, where the whole family, except a 
daughter of eigl*. years, was murdered by the Indians. 
But after her dejiarture from Massachusetts a long 
period of tranquillity was enjoyed here. Mr. Shep- 
ard gratefully acknowledges that by God's great care 
and goodness this town had been " kept spotless from 
the contagion of the opinions." This was un- 
doubtedly due in large measure to Mr. Shepard's 
influence, and it is given by him as one of the reasons 
which led the General Court to decide to place the 
new college here. 

There were many matters to be settled by study and 
experience in the new enterprise which had been 
undertaken in the New World. The founders were 
not quite separate from those who had been left. In 
the year in which Shepard began his ministry 
here, some of the Puritan ministers in England, 
hearing that the churches on this side had adopted 
a new and questionable mode of discipline, sent a 
letter of inquiry upon the matter. The questions were 
concerning a form of prayer and a liturgy ; the 
proper subjects of infants' baptism and admission 
to the Lord's table ; the removal of members from 
one church to another; the relation of a minister to 
his own church and to oilier churches, and similar 
things. There was a careful discussion, in which 
Shepard bore his part, and he joined with Mr. Allen, of 
Dedham, in the publication of a work explaining and 
defining the usages here. This solved various per- 
plexing matters and gave satisfaction to the English 
brethren. Upon the principles which it expounded 
the churches conducted their allaira, until it became 
desirable to have a more formal constitution. In 
1646 the General (Jourt took up the matter of calling 
a Synod. It was seen at once that it would not do 
for the government even to seem to impose any laws 
or methods upon the churches. They had done with 
all that. But it was recommended that a Synod 



should be called. This was done, and the Synod met 
in Cambridge in the autumn of 1646, and after 
necessary adjournments was finally convened in 
1648. It was a noble gathering. There were men in 
it who had won fame in the mother-land and were 
illustrious here. An old writer has truly said, 
"They were Timothys in their houses; Chry.sostoms 
in their pulpits ; Augustines in their disputations." 
Of the Cambridge platform mention hiis been made 
in another connection. Its promotion was a notable 
event in the ecclesiastical life, audita name is a house- 
hold word. 

(Jur national connection with the Indians is far 
from satisfactory. It is pleasant to relieve the picture 
by brighter shades from the earliest times. The set- 
tlers had it as a distinct purpose to be of service to 
the heathen whom they found here. Preaching was 
sustained among them by legal permission. Their 
rights were protected by a special court. The people 
sought to be just in their dealings with them. The 
college turned its attention to their education. A 
brick building was erected fiir their accommodation 
by the Society for Propagating the Gospel, and was 
known as the Indian College. Several entered as 
students, but only one attained to academic honors. 
There was an etibrt to train up a native ministry, but 
this proved inefl'ectual. John Eliot has gained an 
immortal name by his eflbrts for their benefit. In his 
labors he had the counsel and assistance of Thomas 
Shepard. Eliot's first permanent missionary station 
was established at Nonantum, in Cambridge, in 
1646. To the congregation gathered there Shepard 
gave his care and work. He wrote tracts which were 
translated into the Indian tongue. A long letter writ- 
ten by him to a friend in England is entitled, " The 
Clear Sunshine of the Gospel Breaking Forth Upon 
the Indians in New England." He called it " An 
Indian Sermon." 

Daniel Gookin, a member of the Cambridge 
Church, was an earnest co-worker with Eliot and 
Shepard. He removed here from Virginia in 1644, 
and attained military and political station. He was 
made superintendent of all the Indians who had sub- 
mitted to the government of Massachusetts ; was one 
of the licensers of the printing-press, and in 1681 was 
apjiointed major-general of the Colony. He was a 
man of integrity and force. His monument is in the 
old church-yard. His son was the fourth pastor of 
the Cambridge Church. 

Eliot's translation of the Indian Bible was printed 
here by Samuel (ireen and Marmaduke Johnson. 
This was the first Bible printed in America. It was 
followed by numerous works in the Indian language. 
The Reverend Dr. Albro has said, " Thus Cambridge 
has the honor of furnishing the first Protestant tract 
in a heathen language, as well as the first heathen 
mission and the first Protestant translation of the 
Bible." 

Several events of less importance may properly find 



CAMBRIDGE. 



27 



a place at this point in the narrative. It is interest- 
inj; to find the name of the minister and the aflairs of 
llie church in the public records. The General Court 
which met here in U)3t> niiule a grant of fifty pounds 
to I\[r. Thomas Shepard. In thetown records of 1G38 
is a grant to him of two and two-thirds acres of land 
on the road to Charlestown. In 1(547 there is a grant 
of six acres of meadow land. In 1G50 there is an en- 
try stating that three hundred acres of land beyond 
Watertown Hill had been formerly given to Mr. 
Shephard and also two hundred acres more near Mr. 
Samuel Shepard's farm. In 1(;40 Mr. Shepard was 
brought into great embarrassment through the de- 
pressed financial condition of the colonists. It 
was a time of extremity. Tliere was no money. 
Mr. Shepard's salary was then seventy pounds, payable 
in corn, which in this year was made legal tender for 
new debts. The emergency was so pressing that a 
removal to Connecticut was discussed. Mr. Hooker 
urged this removal u]ion his son-in-law in a lay letter 
which has been preserved.' He wrote, " I cannot see 
in reason but if you can sell and the Lord afford any 
comfortable Chapman, but you should remove. For 
why should a man stay until the house fall on his 
head'.' . . . If I were in your places, I should let 
those that must and will transport themselves as they 
see fit, in a way of providence and prudence. I would 
reserve a special comjiany, but not many, and I would 
remove hither. " The matter w.as of painful iiiterest. 
To ^Ir. Shepard it was of deep personal concern. It 
threw him upon his habit of almost morbid self-ex- 
amination and self-depreciation. In his "Meditations 
and Experiences," under date of Feb. 14, lt)40— 11, he 
writes, " ^V'hen there was a Church meeti»(/ to be re- 
solved (tliout our goiiKj (iii'ay, [viz., to Ma(abesccJ:'\, I 
called on myself as poor, and as unable to resolve 
myself, or to guide others or myself in any action, as 
a Beast." In October, 1640, the Court proposed to 
make to Cambridge a grant of Shawshine for a village. 
In 1043-44 the grant was made. Lands at Shawshine 
were assigned to some persons, which gave others more 
room, and the church and elders stayed in their 
place. 

In 1048, at a general town -meeting, it was voted 
that there should be a farm laid out of a thousand 
acres, and improved for the good of the church, and 
that part of the church that shall here continue. In 
l<)5r> Shawshine was incor|iorated as Billerica. The 
thought of removal seems in this adjustment to have 
passed away. The census of 1047 gives as the number 
of ratable persons in the town, one hundred and 
thirty-five, with ninety houses. 

.\mong the entries in the old church-book are some 
which are characteristic of the simplicity of the 
times. "Item, Mr. Harlakingdon gave the church a 
legacye of 20/. wch we received a young cow for it of 
Mr. Pelham in the beginning of the year 1640. We 

* Paige'd '* History of Cambridge," p. 4(j. 



gave the summers milk of the cow to brother Towne 
and brother John French ; the first calfe dyed. The 
winteringe cost to John Stone, 25'. wch sum the sec- 
ond calfe was sold for. The second summers milke wee 
gave to sister Manninge and brother John French. 
The 3d summers milke w.as yelded Elder Frost and 
alsoe all the winteringe of it. The beginning of the 
year 1643 we yelded it Elder Frost for his owne ; at 
that time it was worth but 5'." This fall in the value 
of the church cow was due to a general decline. In 
104(1 Winthrop says that "cattle and all commodities 
grew very cheap." In Roger H.arlakenden's will, in 
1638, is a bequest of forty pounds to Mr. Shepard, 
" and to our elders that wch is in their hands, and to 
the jiore brethren of our congregation twentye pounds 
to be ordered by Mr. Shepard." 

There is a list of the weekly contribution which in 
nine months came to nearly fifty pounds. There are 

records like these : 

£ s. <;. 

Inipriiuis for eleven quarts of red wine for tlie use of the Lords' 
tabell upon the It"' day the tenth uiontli at IriJ H quart . ... 01.'^ 9 

A nd for bread for the Lords' table at that time 8^. For a mes- 
senger to go for the wine 1'2'' 1 8 

Pd for a letlier pillow to put in the cushion to the desk 5» ; it 
wayed .'>''"• 5 

Payd for aendiuge a messenger (goodman Crackbone) to Char- 
lestowne and Roxbury to alayne helpe for preachinge in our 
pastor's weakness 20 

Payd to goodman Line for 5 quarts and J^ pint of wine . . . . o 6 6 

Payd by brother Towne for his half year's allowance I 5 

.\nil payd him ft>r .'» times goinge with messages to the church . 3 4 

(]iven to our brother Hall the 11'*' of the 4"' month toward the 

rearing of his house that was blown down 1 u u 

For the n-freshiiig of my brother Sill in time of fayntnes, sent 
him 4 pints of sack, 23 4'i 2 4 

Payd to my l>rotber Oaue for goinge to Salem for a message to 
Mr. Philips when he was about to come to us 5 o 

Payd the hyman that brought Mr. Philips and for his goods, 
bringing from Salem when he removed to us 

There are several other entries relating to Mr. 
Philips. He was the Rev. John Phillips. It is clear 
from this record, that it was proposed to make him the 
associate of Mr. Shepard, as the teacher of the church. 
He came here from Salem in 16311, and in li)40 "took 
office " in Hedham. It is not known why this change 
was made in his plans. At Dedham it was regarded 
as a special providence that he had not settled else- 
where, but could come with his gifts and his fame to 
bethe ministerthere. The house which hebuilt "anent 
Charlestowne lane, with the land adjoining and wood 
lot," was sold by the town to Thomas Danforth, the 
Dejiuty for fifty pounds, and the property long 
remained in the Danforth family. 

A few more extracts may be made from the old 
accounts : 

S. «. d. 
(16,30.] To Elder Frost we sent the Vi of the f>"' month in beefe, 

cheese, candle and money to buy corne, in all 20^ 1 

Payd my brother Towne his half year's allowance 30» 1 10 

I'uyd liini for paynes taken more than ordinary in making 

cleane the meetinge house in the tinie of its repayreinge 128 o 12 
Payd for 9 times going to call the church together at H-^ a time 

G< C 

[1643,] Payd our brother Manninge for a belrope t 6 

[1644-1 Payd Mr. Palgrave for physic for our sister Albone ..026 



28 



HISTORV OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



For 4 years' rent for our sister Albone (beside 6 months' time al- 
lowed her for about "• charges in repayer w* she did) I say 4 
years * U 

[1045.] Payd for a gout for goiidy Albone to goodman Prentiss .Oil 

Elsewhere we find these records: 164G, Nov. 5. 
The Townsmen ordered " that there shall be fifty 
shillings paid unto Tho. Langhorne, for his service 
to the town in Ueatinj; the drum, this two years last 
past." 

In 1642 " It is ordered that, accordino; to an order 
of Court, made the last General Court for the towns- 
men to see to the educating children, that .John Bridge 
shall take care of all the families of that side the 
liighway hisown house stiinds to by Bro. Winship's," 
and so on dividing the town into six ])arts. 

In the course oftime the meeting-hou.se came to need 
attention. It deserved it, for its constant and its 
occasional service. There the church had its beginning. 
There, it appears, the first Harvard commencement 
was held in 1(142. There the Cambridge Platform was 
framed in 1(J48. Other events of great importance to 
the community found a place within its lowly walls. 

In Febru.ary, 1649, at a meeting of the whole town, 
" it was voted and agreed by a general consent, that the 
meeting-house shall be repaired with a 4-square 
roof and covered with shingles, and -the charge there- 
of levied upon the inhabitants of the town by equal 
rate. "Either because it was found cheaper to build a 
new house, or a new house was desired, or another site 
was preferred, three weeks later : " It was voted and 
agreed that the five men chosen by the town to repair 
the meeting-house shall desist from the same and 
agree with workmen for the building of a new 
house about forty foote square, and covered as was 
formerly agreed for the other.'' It was also agreed that 
the new house should stand on " Watch-house Hill. 
This was very near the place where Dane Hall now 
stands, and near the parsonage. 

But it was not to be given to Thomas Shepard to 
fill the new sanctuary with the sound of the "silver 
trumpet, from whence the people of God had often 
heard thejoyful sound of thegospel." His constitution 
had never been vigorous, and his labors and trials 
must have impaired his health. Hedescribes himself as 
" very weak and unfit to be tossed up and down and to 
bear persecution." Besides his public sorrows, there 
were afflictions in his own house which grieved his sen- 
sitive heart. One chii<l had died in England; two 
children died here. His wife died soon after his com- 
ing. His second wife died in less than nine years 
aftter their marriage. Yet his life was not altogether 
sad. He married for the third time. The third wife, 
Margaret Boradell, or Borrowdale, the sister of ".lohn 
Borrowdale, of London, (Jentleman," became the wife 
of his successor. Four sons remained to him when 
he died, three of whom served in his own profe.ssion. 
The fourth died in his youth. 

In August, 1G49, when returning from a meeting of 
ministers at Rowley, "he fell into a quinsie, with a 



symptomatical fever," and on the 25th day of the 
month he passed away from earth. A writer of his 
own time mentions the death of Mr. Hooker, and Mr. 
Phillips, of Watertown, and that of" the holy, heavenly, 
soul-affecting, soul-ravishing minister, Mr. Thomas 
Shepard, pastor of the church at Cambridge, whose 
departure was very heavily taken by all the people of 
Christ round about him ; and now New England, that 
had such heaps upon heaps of the riches of Christ's 
tender, compassionate mercies, being turned from his 
dandling knees, began to read their approaching rod, 
in the bend of his brow and frowns of his former favor- 
able countenance towards them." 

On the day of his death, with perfect memory and 
clear understanding, Mr. Shepard made his will, 
with a brief statement of his faith, and gave small be- 
quests to his sons and a few friends, and left the rest of 
his estate to his wife. The inventory of his posses- 
sions amounted to £810. Some of his last words have 
been preserved. To several young ministers who 
visited him not long before the end, he said, " Your 
work is great, and calls for great seriousness. As to 
myself I can say three things : that the study of every 
sermon cost me tears; that before I preached a sermon 
I got good by it myself; and that I always went up 
into the pulpit as if I were to give up my account to 
my master." He was solicitous regarding the one 
who should take his place, and when he found that 
the man of his choice had commended himself to his 
people, he was content to depart. So he died, in the 
forty-fourth year of a large life. His mortal part was 
laid in the village graveyard. But nothing now 
marks the spot. His work is his memorial. 

*' His name and office sweetly did agree ; 
Shepard by uanie, and in his ministry." 

It is evident that Mr. Shepard was greatly esteemed 
and with good reason. He was a thoughtful, labor- 
ious man. He was a scholar. His words are good 
reading to-day. Some one has made the calculation 
that in Jonathan Edwards' famous " Treatise con- 
cerning the Religious Affections," of the two hundred 
and thirty-two quotations, more than one-half are 
from Shepard. He took time to prepare himself for 
his public work. It is said that he always finished 
his preparation for the pulpit by two o'clock on 
Saturday afternoon, accounting " that God would 
curse that man's labors who goes lumbering up and ' 
down in the world all the week, and then upon Satur- 
day goes into his study, when, as God knows, that 
time were little enough to pray in and weep in and 
get his heart into a frame fit for the approaching Sab- j 
bath." Some of the terms in which he was named 
have been given. He was " that gracious, sweet, 
heavenly-minded, and soul-ravishing minister, in , 
whose soul the Lord shed abroad his love so abund- 
antly that thousands of souls have cause to bless God 
for him." " A man of a thousand, and endowed with 
abundance of true, loving knowledge for himself and 



CAMBRIDGE. 



29 



others; yet his natural parts were weak, but spent to 
the full." 

" Shepheard's sweet sermons from thy blessing came " — 
" Oh Christ why dost thou Shepheard take away, 
In erring times, when sheepe moat oft do stray .' " 

We are permitted to see the influence of Mr. Shep- 
ard upon certain iudividuaLs, and from them to infer 
his influence on others. This belongs in the annals 
of the early church as a part of the church life. 

Edward Johnson came hither for the second time 
in 1636, a zealous Puritan. He arrived when the 
Antinomian conversation wiis at its height, and was 
nearly beside himself through the commotion. Leav- 
ing Charlestown, " turning his face to the sun, he 
steered his course toward the next town ; and after 
some small travel, he came to a large plain. No 
sooner was he entered therein, but hearing the sound 
of a drum, he was directed toward it by a broad 
beaten way. Following this road, he demanded of 
the next man he met what the signal of the drum 
meant. The reply was made that they had as yet no 
bell to call men to meeting, and therefore made use 
of a drum. ' Who is it,' quoth he, ' lectures at this 
town ? ' The other replies, ' I see you are a stranger 
new come over, seeing you know not the man ; it is 
one Mr. Shepard.' 'Verily,' quoth the other, 'you 
have hit the right. I am new come over, indeed, and 
have been told since I came, that most of your min- 
isters are legal preachers; and, if I mistake not, they 
told me this man preached a finer covenant of works 
than the others. But, however, I shall make what 
haste I can to hear him. Fare ye well." Then has- 
tening thither, he crowdeth through the thickest; 
where having stayed while the glass was turned up 
twice, the man'^was metamorphosed; and was fain to 
hang down the head often, lest his watery eyes should 
blab abroad the secret conjunction of his affections, 
his heart crying loud to his Lord's echoing answer, to 
his blessed spirit, that caused the speech of a poor, 
weak, pale-complexioned man to take such impres- 
sion in his soul at present, by applying the word so 
aptly, as if he had been his privy counselor ; clearing 
Christ's work of grace in the soul from all those false 
doctrines which the erroneous party had aflTrighted 
him withal ; and he resolves, the Lord willing, to 
live and die with the ministers of New England 
whom he now saw the Lord had not only made zeal- 
ous to stand for the truth of his discipline, but also 
for the doctrine, and not to give ground one inch.' 
Mr. Johnson was a man of learning and property 
and had a leading part in the erecting of a church 
and town at Woburn and in the administration of 
public affairs. 

As we read the names of those who were in college 
during these years, we have another indication of the 
influence of the church. Out of this happy semi- 
nary, writes Cotton Mather, " there proceeded many 
notable preachers, who were made such very much 
by their sitting under Mr. Shepard's enlightening and 



powerful ministry." Among these young men was 
William Hubbard, long the most eminent solicitor in 
Essex County ; and Samuel ^father, of that house 
whose name and deeds are intertwined with the 
early church history of the Colony; and Samuel 
Danforth, tutor and fellow of the college; and Wil- 
liam Ames, and John Brock. There were John 
Rogers, president, and William Oakes, pastor and 
president; and Leonard Hoar, jiresident; and Samuel 
Phillips, "an incomparable man, had he not been 
the father of Samuel." 

There was another student, of whom special men- 
tion must be made. This carries our narration for- 
ward. At the head of the names of the class of 1647 
stands Jonathan MItchel, Mr. Socius. He was born 
in 1624 in Yorkshire, " of pious and wealthy par- 
ents," who sought " to make him learned by a proper 
education." In his tenth year he had a "sore fever,'' 
which " settled in his arm with such troublesome 
effects, that his arm grew and kept a little bent, 
and he could never stretch it out right.'' When 
he was about eleven years of age his parents were 
driven out of England by the " unconscionable impo- 
sitions and persecutions of the English hierarchy." 

They reached Boston in August, 163.5. The family 
settled in Connecticut, and for several years the boy 
was employed in secular affairs. But he longed for 
a " learned education,'' and prevailed on hi.-> father to 
allow him to enter college, which he did iu 164.'). 
" He had a clear head, a copious fancy, a solid judg- 
ment, a tenacious memory, and a certain discretion, 
without any childish laschete or levity in his be- 
havior, which commanded respect; ... so that 
. . . they that knew him from a child, never knew 
him other than a man." He ha.s come down to us 
as the " Matchless Mitchel." His serious impres- 
sions began very early, and were deepened and 
guided in the village church. In his own words : 
"Unless it had been four years living in heaven, I 
know not how I could have more cause to bless Gofl 
with wonder, than for these four years." After grad- 
uating he was made a fellow of the college, and was 
for a time a tutor. 

His services as pastor were sought by several of the 
most considerable churches in the country. " The 
Church of Hartford in particular, being therein 
countenanced and encouraged by the Reverend Mr. 
Stone, sent a man and horse above one hundred 
miles to obtain a visit from him, in expectation to 
make him the successor of their ever-famous 
Hooker." There he preached his first sermon, and 
on the next day he was invited to become the minis- 
ter of the church. Large inducements were offered 
him. He did not accept the proposals, because 
before his journey Mr. Shepard, with the principal 
persons here, had prayed him to return to them, " as 
he did upon divers accounts most belong to Cam- 
bridge, and Cambridge did hope that he would yet 
more belong unto them." He preached here on the 



30 



HISTORY OF MIDDLEISEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



12th of August, 1649. In the evening Mr. Shep- 
ard told him "This is the place where he shoukl, by 
right, be all the rest of his days ; and inquiring of 
some good people how Mr. Mitchel's first sermon was 
approved among them, they told him very well. 
Then said he, my work is done ! " In less than a 
fortnight Shepard's work was indeed done. Mitchel 
received a unanimous invitation to become the pastor 
in his place, and he was ordained on the 21st of 
August, 1650. The neighboring pastor performed 
the service of ordination, and the Reverend John 
Cotton gave him the right hand of fellowship on be- 
half of tbe minister.s and churches. His esteem for 
those who had made him their minister is manifest 
in his own words : " They were a gracious, savowry- 
spirited people, principled by Mr. Shepard, liking an 
humbling, mourning, heart-breaking ministry and 
spirit ; living in religion, praying men and women. 
Here I might have occasion of many sweet heart- 
breakings before God, which I have so much need 
of" 

His entrance into his parish was complete. He 
was to have married Sarah, the daughter of Mr. Cot- 
ton. When he " addressed himself unto the vener- 
able old Mr. Cotton for leave to become his son-in- 
law," Mr. Cotton, "prognosticating the eminence 
which he would arrive unto, gave leave unto it." 
" But the immature death of that hopeful young 
gentlewoman" prevented "so desirable a match." 
" The young gentlewoman whom his predecessor had 
married a little before his decease, he now also mar- 
ried upon the general recommendations of that 
widow unto him ; and the epithalamiums with which 
the students of the college then celebrated their mar- 
riage withal were expressive of the satisfaction 
which it gave unto all the good people in the vicin- 
ity." Thus, on the 19th of November, 1650, Marga- 
ret Shepard became Margaret Jlitchel. In the fol- 
lowing May the (icneral Court confirmed a deed 
" Wherein is conveyed to Mr. .Tonathan Mitchell, 
now husband of Margaret, the relict of the said Mr. 
Sheapheard, a dwelling-house, yards, orchards, and 
seven acres of laud adjoining thereunto, in behalf of 
his said wife." 

Thus hopefully, hapi>ily, the second pastorate of 
the church began. The man was prepared tor the 
work, but there came with it enough of adversity to 
make proof of his courage and constancy. It is sin- 
gular that his first public trial came from one from 
whom he could have e.xpected only comfort and sup- 
port. Henry Dunster, president of the college, 
was, to use the language of Cotton Mather, " unac- 
countably fallen into the briars of antipadobaptism ; 
and being briar'd in the scru|)les of that persua- 
sion, he not only forbore to present an infant 
of his own unto the Baptism of our Lord, but also 
thought himself under some obligation to bear his 
testimony in some sermons again.st the administra- 
tion of baptism to any infants whatsoever." Mr. 



Dunster had come from England in 1640, holding or- 
ders, it is supposed, in the English church, but in 
strong sympathy with the Puritan movement. He 
had a high reputaiion for piety and learning, and was 
almost immediately called to preside over th^ col- 
lege, with the title of president. Mr. Shepard de- 
scribes him as " a man pious, painlul and fit to teach, 
and very fit to lay the foundations of the domesticall 
atUiirs of the College, whom God hath much honored 
and blessed." He was received to tbe church here as 
an accession of strength. He preached in the neigh- 
boring churches with great acceptance. After Mr. 
Shepard's death he was called " to supply " the va- 
cant pulpit. He was in accord with the doctrines of 
the church, although he thought that baptism by im- 
mersion was to be preferred. In his confession he 
said, concerning baptism : " I believe that only be- 
lievers and their seed ought to be received into the 
church by that sacrament. . . . And as children, 
so those that come to mature age ought to be re- 
ceived into the church by bajitism. And concerning 
the outward elements, something there is concerning 
sprinkling in the Scripture; hence not offended 
when it is used." It appears to have been in 1652 
that he changed his views regarding the baptism of 
children. The change, which he publicly announced 
and deiendeil, created a marked sensation. It must 
have made the staple of much of the social and eccle- 
siastical life of the community. We quote again 
from the " Magnolia : " " The brethren of the 
church were somewhat vehement and violent in their 
signifying of their dissatisfaction at the obstruction, 
which the renitencies of that gentleman threat- 
ened on the peaceable practice of infant bapti.sm, 
wherein they had iiilherto walked ; and judged it 
necessary for the vindication of the church's name 
abroad in the country, and for the safety of the 
congregation at home, to desire of him that he 
would cease preaching as formerly, until he had bet- 
ter satisfied himself in this point now doubted by 
him." "The overseers of the college became solici- 
tous that the students there might not be unawares 
ensnared in the errors of the President. Where- 
fore they labored with an extreme agony, either to 
rescue the good man from his own mistake, or to re- 
strain him from imposing them upon the hope of the 
Hock." The points at issue cannot be discussed here. 
They were of the greatest importance in the minds of 
those who had the church and the college in their 
charge. The doctrine in question was a part of their 
life, and was hallowed by the most sacred associations. 
If Dunster could claim consideration on account of 
his character and office, it was, on the other hand, 
specially important that such a man should be right. 
This they felt and they acted on their conviction. 
Their fear went further than this. For a hundred 
years the name Anabaptist hdd been connected with 
fanaticism and extravagance. In Germany this sect 
denied the authority of magistrates, opposed all laws, 



CAMBRIDGE. 



31 



made war against governments, rejected nearly all 
the Christian doctrines, and was guilty of the most 
seditious and vicious practices. There is no ne- 
cessary connection between the belief out of which 
the name sprang and the enormities into which many 
rushed who held it. Nothing could be further from 
such conduct than the behavior of Dunster. It 
is not the only time that men have been frightened 
bya word. The name increased the dread with which 
the opinions of the president were regarded. In 
view of the horror which belonged with the name of 
Anabaptist, it is not very surprising that in 1(144 
there was a decree of the Court that any person who 
should openly condemn or oppose the baptizing 
of infants, or should go about secretly to draw others 
from the approbation or use of the ordinance, or 
should purposely dejiartfrom the congregation where 
it was administered, or deuy the lawful authority of 
the magistracy, and should obstinately continue in this 
opposition after due time and means of conviction, 
should be sentenced to banishment. Two years after 
this decree the Court declared, " For such as dilTer 
from us only in judgment, . . . and live peaceably 
amongst us, without occasioning disturbance, etc., 
such have no cause to complain ; for it hath never 
been as yet put in execution against any of them, 
although such are known to live amongst us." It 
was hard for the church to rebuke a man like 
President Dunster, who had been to them as a pas- 
tor. It was a bard position in which Mitchel was 
placed. He felt himself " embarrassed in a contro- 
versy with so considerable a person, and with one who 
had been his tutor, and a worthy and a godly man." 
He was slow to proceed to the action which seemed 
to be demanded. He thought the church too much 
e.Kcited, and said " that some light'and less heat 
would do better." But he was greatly oppressed. 
"This business did lie down and rise up, sleep and 
wake with me." He labored in private with Dunster, 
but it was of no avail. He fasted and prayed ; he 
sought help from neighboring ministers ; then pub- 
licly and formally opposed the new teaching of his 
venerated president. " It was a dismal thing to me, 
that I should live to see truth or peace dying and 
decaying in poor Cambridge." He is said to have 
" preached more than half a score of ungainsayable 
sermons" upon the subject which occupied the mind 
of the church, and to have rendered service to other 
churches in the same cause. 

The magistrates asked the ministers to examine 
into the matter and to inform them " how the matter 
stands with him in respect of his opinions." Accord- 
ingly a conference of ministers and elders was held 
for two days in Boston, in February, 1053-54. The 
president could not be drawn from his opinions 
by persuasion or argument, and on the od of .May, 
1054, the General Court commended it to the over- 
seers of the college and the selectmen of the several 
towns, not to permit any person to be continued in 



the office of instructing the youth in the college or 
schools who "have manifested themselves unsound 
in the faith, or scandalous in their lives, and not giving 
due satisfaction according to the rules of Christ." 
The president probably thought that this vote was 
directed against himself, and he thereupon addressed 
a letter to the General Court tendering the resignation 
of his office. The Court referred the matter to the 
overseers, instructing them "to make provision, in case 
he persist in his resolution more than one month (and 
inform the overseers), for some meet person to 
carry on and end that work for the present." He 
could have retained both his office and his opinions, if 
he could have consented to be silent in regard to his 
dis.senting views. This was out of the question. 

On the 30th of July, 1054, " Jlr. Dunster spoke to the 
congregation in the time of the public ordinance, to 
the interruption thereof, without leave, which was 
also aggravated in that he, being desired by the Elder 
to forbear and not to interrupt an ordinance of Christ, 
yet notwithstanding he proceeded in way of com- 
plaint to the congregation, saying I am prohibited to 
speak that in ( 'hrist's name which I would have testi- 
fied. Bli^, "in his following speech" he decbired his 
views regarding the baptism of children, in which he 
was at variance with the church. In the following 
April he was indicted by the grand jury " for disturb- 
ance of the ordinances of Christ upon the Lord's day 
at Cambridge ... to the dishonor of the name 
of Christ, his truth and minister." The Court, after 
hearing the evidence, ordered that " at the next Lec- 
ture at Cambridge," Mr. Henry Dunster " should (by 
such magistrates as should then be present) be 
publicly admonished, and give bond for his good be- 
havior." He acknowledged that he had said, in sub- 
stance, the things which were alleged, but he denied 
that he was conscious of doing or saying anything 
contemptuously or in open contempt of God's word or 
messengers. In .fuly, 1055, the overseers informed 
Mr. Dunster that the welfare of the college and of the 
colony made his removal necessary. In October he 
gave in his final resignation. Thus his fourteen 
years of zealous and helpful service came to an end. 

Mr. Dunster was left in a peculiarly difficult posi- 
tion. With no office and a blemished repute, though 
with a blameless life, in which way could he turn? 
He petitioned the General Court that he might re- 
main in his house until his accounts were settled, and 
that he might be allowed to "prosecute the spiritual 
and temporal weal of the inhabitants" of the colony, 
" in preaching the Gospel of Christ, teaching or train- 
ing up of youth, or in any other laudable or liberal 
calling, as God shall chalk out his way, and when, and 
where, and in what manner he shall find acceptance." 
His petition wiis denied. The reidy was signed R. 
Bellingliam, Governor. Mr. Dunster sent in another 
petition begging for himself and his family the privi- 
lege of remaining in the president's house till a re- 
qpoval could be more easily accomplished. The first 



32 



HISTORY OF ^MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



reason he gave for his request shows the propriety of 
it. " The time of the year is unseasonable, being now 
very near the shortest day, and the depth of winter." 
The Court granted him leave to remain till the 
following March. In due time Mr. Dunster moved to 
Scituate, where for a few years he was employed in 
the ministry, .serving, though probably not as pastor, 
the church which had for about twelve years enjoyed 
the teaching of the Rev. Charles Chauncy, who was 
made Dunster's successor in the presidency. He died 
in ItidO. In his will he mentions his "reverend and 
trusty friends and brethren, the president of the col- 
ledge and the pastor of the church of Cambridge.'' 
He gave gifts to both and made them appraisers of 
his library. He directed that his body should be 
taken to Cambridge, there to be interred by his lov- 
ing wife and other relatives. He was brought back as 
he desired and laid in the old church-yard. The stone 
which marked the grave has disappeared. A new 
slab, with an elaborate J^atin inscription in Dunster's 
memory, lies over the grave in which probably Mr. 
Mitchel was laid. The monument should be removed, 
but the fame of Dunster will survive though the place 
of burial is not known. The esteem in which he was 
held by Mr. IMitchel is evinced by an elegy which 
he wrote in his memory, a portion of which may well 
be copied to show the spirit of the writer : 

"iWhert^ faith in Jesus is sincere, 
That soul, lie saving, pardoneth ; 
What wants or errors else be there, 
That may and do consist therewith. 

"Anvi though we he imperfect here, 
And in one mind can't often meet, 
Who know in part, in part may err, 
Though faith he one all do not see't. 

'* Vet ni,av we well the rest obtain 
In everlasting bliss above, 
Where Christ with perfect sainta doth reign, 
In perfect light and perfect love ; 

"Then shall we all like-minded be, 
Faith's unity is there full grown ; 
There one truth all both love and see, 
And theuce are perfect made in one." 

President Chauncey was inaugurated November 27, 
1654. He was a notable addition to the church. He 
was of Trinity College, Cambridge, and a successful 
and eminent minister in the English Church. But 
he was of those who could not consent and conform 
to all which Wius rei^uired, and he was .suspended and 
silenced by America's benefactor — Archbishop Laud. 
" Few suffered more for non-coinformity than he, by 
fines, by gaols, by necessities to abscond, and at last 
by an exile from his native country." He came to 
New England and found a home in Scituate. But 
things improved in England, and he was invited to 
return to his former charge at Ware, in Hert- 
fordshire. He came to Boston, intending to em- 
bark, when the invitation to the college changed his 
plans. He was then sixty-two years old. His salary 
was a hundred pounds per annum. For seventeep 



years he held his important office, "and by the man- 
ner in which he filled his station fully sustained his 
high character for talents, learning and piety, and 
satisfied the expectation of the public." " It is a re- 
markable fact that the church in Cambridge, with 
which he connected himself, considered his residence 
at that place so great a blessing that in a year or two 
after he came there they kept a whole day of thanks- 
giving to God for the privilege by which they were 
thus distinguished." 

There was another important discussion upon th« 
subject and subjects of baptism in which Mr. Mitchel 
had a prominent part. The first settlers here were 
for the most part members of the church, and their 
children were duly baptized. But iu the course of time 
there came on another generation of children, many 
of whose parents had not renewed their baptismal ob- 
ligations and had not connected themselves with the 
church. By the rules then in force these persons 
could not have their children baptized. Yet it was 
felt that the children of persons who had been bap- 
tized should be regarded differently from Indians or 
others who were living in paganism. It was held by 
many that if baptized persons, even if not considered 
regenerate, were willing to renew the baptismal cove- 
nant and become subject to church discipline, their 
children could properly be baptized. This feeling 
and practice were growing in the churches, when a 
synod of the elders and messengers of the churches 
was called. This was held in Boston in the spring of 
1662. Mr. Mitchel was a member of the synod. The 
result of its deliberations was the declaration of the 
intlependence of each church and the duty of the 
communion of churches — that is, Congregationalism. 
In regard to baptism, the synod framed what is his- 
torically known as the Half-way Covenant, which 
granted baptism to the children of certain persons 
who were not considered qualified for admission to 
the Lord's table. The result was chiefly composed 
by Mitchel, and its defense fell largely upon him. It 
was an important element in the ecclesiastical life of 
the town. In connection with this there arose the 
practice of administering baptism to adults who were 
not esteemed regenerate, but who owned the covenant 
and submitted themselves to the care of the church 
and were of proper moral character. This gave such 
persons a better standing in the community, and was 
of especial value so long as suffrage was confined to 
church members, and there were many persons who 
otherwise would be denied the full privileges of citi- 
zens, though fitted for it by age and character. The 
Cambridge records have three lists of persons in some 
kind of connection with the church. These have 
already been mentioned. 

The list of the " Persons, adults, who owned the Cov- 
enant and were baptized " extends to 1782, and is 
quite largely made up of negro servants. The use of 
the Half-way Covenantgradually became less common, 
until it finally ceased. A recent writer remarks : 



CAMBRIDGE. 



33 



'The Half-way Covenant, the concession of the 
church, in order to a more pliable connection with 
the State, was still in force afier the State had been 
practically divorced from the Church — a continual 
source of weakness and depression. It had been, 
indeed, one object of the Half-way Covenant to over- 
come the Anabaptist principle by attaching increased 
importance to ba|)tism." In his time, Jonathan Ed- 
wards took strong ground against it. " Most of the 
Puritan churches accepted his principles, banished 
the Half-way Covenant, and took on the form whieli 
they still retain." During Mitchel's ministry there 
was excitement in Cambridge from a very different 
source. In KJStJ " an accursed and pernicious sect of 
heretics, lately risen up in the world, who are com- 
monly called Quakers," made their appearance in 
Boston. The severe measures which were taken to 
-suppress them did not accomplish their purpose. 
There was not much trouble in Cambridge, but 
enough to disturb the little scholastic community. 
" Elizabeth Horton went crying through the streets 
that the Lord w;is coming with fire and sword to 
]ilead with them." She was " laid hold of by a blood- 
thirsty crew, and early in the morning had before 
Thomas Danfort and Daniel Coggings (two wicked 
and bloody magistrates), who committed her, and 
whose jayler thrust her into a noisome, stinking dun- 
geon, where there was nothing to lie down or sit on, 
and kept her there two days and two nights, without 
helping her to bread or water; and because one Be- 
nanuel Bower (a tender Friend) brought her a little 
milk in this her great distress, wherein she was like 
to have perished, they cast him into prison for enter- 
taining a stranger, and fined him five pounds. They 
ordered her to be sent out of their coasts towards 
Rhode Island, and to be whipped at three towns, ten 
stripes at each, by the way." 

She came back to Cambridge, was again put in 
prison, and whipped three times, as before. Thus she 
passes out of this history. But Benanuel Bowers 
remains. His wife was Elizabeth Dunster, whom 
President Dunster, in his will, calls "my Cousin 
Bowers," with a legacy of five shillings apiece to her 
and her children. The Bowers family held all those 
of the Cambridge congregation who are known to 
have openly avowed the sentiments of their distin- 
guished kinsman. In 1650 Mr. Bowers was arraigned 
before the County Court " for absenting himself from 
the ordinance of baptism, and was only admonished." 

It appears to have been in 16C2 that the first Qua- 
ker missionaries came to Cambridge. Benanuel Bow- 
ers was then a Quaker, and the law was enforced 
against him by Danforth and Gookin. His wife and 
daughter suffered with him in the same faith. At the 
County Court in 1663 he was convicted of absenting 
himself from church for about a quarter of a year and 
of entertaining Quakers in his family. He WdS fined 
twenty shillings for his absence from church, and four 
pounds for his hospitality, with three shillings by way 
3 



of costs. Year after year he was fined for the absence 
of himself and wife from church. In 1666 he was 
fined for coming into the meeting-house with his hat 
on; in 1673 for "slandering and reviling the court, 
and for servile labor upon the Lord's Day; " in 1676, 
for " profane and wicked cursing." After a time he 
refused to pay fines, and passed more than a year in 
prison. 

From time to time he petitioned for release. He 
claimed tbat he had attended worship according to 
his own faith and conscience. He complained of 
hard usage. He appealed to those who knew him to 
bear witness to his character. " I am about sixty 
years of age, thirty of which I have dwelt within 
about a mile of Cambridge town. What my life and 
conversation hath been amongst them, and what I 
have suffered these fifteen years for not going to the 
public meeting, is well known to many of my neigh- 
bors." In 1677 the court ordered that the marshal- 
general should levy upon the estate of Bowers the 
fines which had been imposed on him, and that there- 
upon he should be set at liberty. 

But his troubles were not ended by his release. 
While in prison he vented his rage at his treatment 
in "a paper of scurrilous verses, wherein the honored 
Mr. Danforth and others were defamed." He sent 
the verses by his wife to the house of Mr. Danforth, 
who laid the matter before the Court. The magis- 
trates sentenced Bowers to be severely whipped with 
twenty stripes or to pay a tine of five pounds. 

Mr. Bowers went to church on one occasion, at least, 
in 1677, when, after the services were closed, he stood 
on a bench and began to speak to the people. Mr. 
Cakes, who was then the minister, tried to stop him, 
but did not succeed. He gave him leave to reply to 
anything which had been said if he would do it on a 
week-day. JIajor Gookin commanded the constable 
to carry him out of the meeting-house, but he con- 
tinued to bring his charges against Magistrate Dan- 
forth, and desired the church to take notice thereof. 
In December Bowers and his wife were convicted of 
slandering the magistrate, and were sentenced to be 
openly whipped fifteen stripes apiece and to jiay five 
pounds apiece in money, and to stand committed un- 
til the sentence was executed. This is substantially 
the history of the sad Quaker episode, so far as the 
records of Cambridge present it. 

In 1681 and 1682 Mr. Bowers was fined for non-at- 
tendance on public worship, but of the latter years of 
his life very little is known. 

The witnesses of his will were men of prominence 
— one of them the president of the college, and the 
others orthodox ministers. " This fact," remarks Dr. 
Paige, "justifies the presumption that he did not re- 
gard them as persecuters, and that they did not con- 
sider him to be an arch-heretic." 

From this more public life of the Cambridge Church 
and minister we return to local afl'airs. What was 
Cambridge then? From an estimate made by the 



34 



HISTURY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



selectmen in 1647, two years before Shepard's death, 
it appears that there were here 135 ratable persons, 
ninety houses, about 2(500 acre^ of land, 208 cows, 131 
oxen, twenty horses, with other property of diflVrent 
kinds, making up a valuation of less than £2000. 
Johnson describes Cambridge in 1052, as "compact 
closely within itself, till of late years some few strag- 
gling homes have been built. It hath well-ordered 
streets and comely, completed with the fair building 
of Harvard College. The people are at this day in a 
thriving condition in outward things." He confirms 
what others have said, " that they have hitherto had 
the ministry of the word by more than ordinary in- 
strument. ' Attention was given to the cultivation of 
orchards. The orchard of the college is mentioned in 
the town record. The first license for an inn appears 
to have been given in 1652. In 1656 a committee was 
appointed to execute the order of the General Court 
for the improvement of all the families in spinning and 
clothing. Iq 1662 Mr. Mitchel and Captain Daniel 
Godkin were appointed " Licensers of the press.'' 
About the time of Mr. Mitciiel's nomination the 
second meetinghouse was completed on Watch-house 
Hill. It must have been a conspicuous building as it 
stood "forty foot square'' on that eminence. In 
1652 the church agreed to divide the farm in Shaw- 
shine, and assigned 500 acres to Mr. Mitchel. In 1656 
the people on the south side of the river requested 
that they might have " the ordinances of Christ 
amongst them, distinct from the town." The town 
did not think it expedient to grant this request and 
thus divide the church. A few years later the inhab- 
itants of Cambridge village had become so numerous 
that they formed a distinct congregation, and they 
were freed from contributing towards the ministry on 
the north side of the river, so long as an able ministry 
was sustained on the south side. In 1664 a new 
church was organized in (Jambridge village. The 
village was incorporated as a distinct town in 1687-8, 
and in lO'Jl received the name of Newtown, which 
had long before been surrendered here. The protest 
which Cambridge made against the ambitious design 
of the village is almost ludicirous as we read it now. 
' Now that Cambridge cannot spare what they desire 
we shall thus prove : " " That our town is thus situa- 
ted, narrow and long on each wing, Watertown and 
Charlestown nipping ns up close on each side, there 
needs no proof. . . . We must be no town, nor 
have no Church of Christ nor ministry among us, in 
case we be clipped and mangled as the petitioners 
would have." "These long-breathed petitioners, 
finding that they had such good success that they 
could never cast their lines into the sea but something 
was catched, they resolved to bait their hook again." 
It is strange reading now, but it was very serious deal- 
ing then. 

The records preserve various matters of detail in the 
parish life. In 1660 sundry young men received per- 
mission "to build a gallery on the south beam." 



In 1666 Mr. Mitchel received a further grant of land. 
Among financial affairs is a vote in 1657 appointing a 
committee to make a levy of £240 for the mainten- 
ance this year, and for the payment of the debts of 
our reverend pastor, Mr. Mitchel. In the accounts 
are these items : 

S. J. d. 

20,3,67. to bro. Okea when he went to Rehoboth, in silver, 

22, 4. 07. Payd to Daniell Cheavers for veall to Mr. Chauncy 

when be was sick 050 

3, 12, 67-8. Payd to Mra. Danforth in her husband's absence 
in silver, the sume of 25 shillings for wine, 
sugar and spice at the buriall of Mrs. Chaun- 
cy who deceased the 24 of the 11'*" 07 ... . 150 

27, 4, 68. Paid to John Sheapheard for a fower gallon bot- 

' tell to bring sack for the sacrament 3;* 

The times which we have been reviewing were 
eventful days for England. Thomas Shepard died in 
the year in which Charles I. was beheaded, and the 
Commonwealth declared. It was a jjeriod which 
called for all the prudence of the Colonies. They ad- 
mired the valor of Cromwell, who was the champion 
of their own ideas. But they refrained from asking 
any favors from the Puritan Parliament. Massachu- 
setts kept silent when Cromwell was made a monarch. 
She was able to shelter three men who had signed the 
death-warrant of the King and fled from the ven- 
geance of Charles II. Of these, Whalley and Goffe came 
immediately to Cambridge, where they intended to 
reside. The Act of Indemnity from which they were 
excluded did not reach this country for several 
months. Meanwhile, and for months afterward, they 
were treated with consideration, though at last there 
was a division of feeling among the magistrates re- 
garding their duty. They were admitted into the best 
society here. They attended public worship and lec- 
tures, and took part in private devotional meetings, 
and were received to the Lord's Table. In showing 
them such favors, Mr. Mitchel was not aware of their 
exact relation to their government. He wrote after- 
wards in his own vindication : "Since I have had op- 
portunity, by reading and discourse, to look into that 
action for which these men suffer, I could never see 
that it was justifiable." It is plain that the peojjle 
had enough to talk about during Mitchel's pastorate. 
There was the case of Dunster, and of the Quakers. 
The Half-way Covenant was a lasting theme for con- 
versation. Events of interest were taking place 
beyond the seas. The Waldenses were persecuted by 
the Piedmontese : Pascal died, and Jeremy Taylor ; 
the first idea of a steam-engine was suggested. "The 
Pilgrims' Progress" was published. Eliot's Bible was 
printed. London was smitten with the great plague 
and devastated by the great fire. The Triple Alli- 
ance was formed for the protection of the Nether- 
lands, and there were other events of importance, of 
which tidings came in the ships whose arrival was 
eagerly awaited. 

But the end came to the busy and prosperous min- 
istry of the "matchless Mitchel." In the summer of 
1668, "in an extreme hot season," after he liad been 



CAMBRIDGK. 



35 



preaching from the words, " I know that thou wilt 
bring me to death, and to the houje appointe<l for all 
living," a putrid fever arrested him with a mortal 
malignity, and on the Dth of July " it pleased God 
to taite him to rest and glory," in the forty-fourth 
year of his age. His departure caused a great lamen- 
tation among his own people and throughout the 
churches. " The chief remaining pillar of our min- 
istry," as Hale ventured to designate him, had fallen. 
Only one sentence has come down to us from his last 
hours. To a young man standing by his bed he said : 
"My friend, as a dying man, I now charge )ou that 
you don't meet me out of Christ in the day of Christ." 
In the old church records is an entry of £8 13s. Gd., 
paid in silver, by the appointment of the committee 
for the minister's house, unto the Deputy-Governor, 
Mr. Francis Willoughby, for the discharge of Mr. 
Mitchel's funeral. There is this entry, also: "To 
Goodman Orton, of Charlestown, for making a tapaul- 
ing to wrap Mr. Michell, and for doing something to 
his cotfing that way, 4«." This was made necessary 
by the time and manner of his death, and his own 
condition ; for, as Cotton Mather narrates, " Mr. 
Mitchell had, from a principle of godliness, used 
himself to bodily exercise ; nevertheless he found 
it would not wholly free him from an ill habit of 
body. Of extreme lean, he grew extreme fat." His 
body was wrapt in the cerecloth, tansy was strewed 
about it, and he was laid in " God's Acre," in all 
probability in the grave now covered by Henry Dun- 
ster's memorial slab. 

The testimony to the life and work of Mr. Mitchel 
does him the highest honor. Mather pronounced it 
an eminent favor of God to the church to have "their 
great breach thus made up, with a man so much of the 
.spirit and princii)les of their former pastor, and so 
e.xcelkntly qualified with respect to the college." 
His labors were "wonderfully blessed; for very many 
of the scholars bred up in his time (as is observed) do 
savor of his 8i)irit for grace and manner of preach- 
ing, which was most attractive." He " was a mighty 
man in prayer, and eminent at standing in the gap." 
Mather says: "Though he was all along in his 
preaching as a very lovely song of one that hath a 
pleasant voice, yet, as he drew near to the close of 
his exercises, his comely fervency would rise to a mar- 
vellous measure of energy. He would speak with 
such a transcendent majesty and liveliness that the 
people would often shake under his dispensations as 
if they had heard the sound of the trumpets from 
the burning mountain, and yet they would mourn to 
think that they were going presently to be dismissed 
from such an heaven upon earth." 

He took a prominent part in the affairs of the col- 
lege of which he was an alumni and a fellow. 
"The college was nearer unto his heart than it was to 
his house, though next adjoining it." He was a hard 
student himself, an "over-hard student," one says, 
and "he loved a scholar dearly; but his heart was 



fervently set upon having the land all over illumin- 
ated with the spirit of a learned education. To this 
end he became a father to the college which had been 
his mother." President Chauncy said : " I know 
no man in this world that I could envy so much as 
worthy Mr. Mitchel." Richard Baxter said of him, 
" that if there could be an (Ecumenical Council of the 
whole Christiiin world, that man would be worthy to 
be the Moderator of it." Increase Mather exhorted 
the members of the college: "Say each cf you, 
Mitchel shall be the example which I shall imitate." 
The Quinquennial Catalogue gives the names of many 
who must have come under his influence. Among 
the students of his time were William Stoughton, 
Leonard Hoar, Michael Wigglesworth, Thomas Shep- 
ard, Increase Mathers, Samuel Willard, Solomon 
Stoddard, Abraham Pierson, and others whose names 
came to be well known. While we read such tributes 
to the man, it is almost painful to look upon his 
estimate of himself. He wondered what the people 
of God saw in him, that they so much desired his 
labors among them. Kept from preaching by a hoarse 
cold, he makes this record : " My sin is legible in 
the chastisement: cold duties, cold prayers (ray 
voice in prayer, (. e., my spirit of prayer, fear- 
fully gone), my coldness in my whole conversa- 
tion — chastisement with a cold; I fear that I have 
not improved my voice for God formerly as I 
might have done, and therefore he now takes it from 
me." He wrote long lamentations at the death of 
several lovely children in their infancy, and humbled 
himself with his bereavement. The churches sought 
his assistance in difficult matters and relied on his 
judgment; yet he felt his own unfitness for such ser- 
vice. "Sometimes I am ready to resolve to put forth 
myself no more in public work, but keep myself silent 
and unengaged, as I see others do." lu view of 
death he " fell to admiring the manifold grace of God 
unto him, and exclaimed : ' Lord, thou callest me 
away to thee ; I know not why, if I look to myself; 
but at thy bidding I come.' " When he was gone " it 
was feared there would be few more such ripe grapes 
to be seen growing in this unthankful wilderness." 
Mr. Sibley writes: "The universal sentiment and 
grief were expressed in several quaint epitaphs like 
the following :'' 

** An epU*tph upon Out deplored death of that sitper-emiueiU miuinter of th& 
gogpel, Mr. JonaUian Mitchell. 

" Here lyes the darling of his time, 
.Mitchell, expired in liis prime ; 
Will) fuur yearf* short of forty-seven 
Was found full ripe and plucked for Hc-avon. 
Waa full of prudent zeal and love, 
Faith, Tatieuce, Wisdom from ahovo ; 
New Eunlanil's stay, next ages story, 
The Churches Gemnie ; the colledf^o glory — 
Angels may siMiak liim ; Ah I not I, 
(Whose W4)rth 's ahove hyperbole) 
But for our loss, wer't in my power, 
I'd weep an everlm,ting shower." 



36 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESKX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



** Epitaphium. 

Here lies witbin this coniprebensive upnn. 

The Churches, CuurteaiiJ Countries Juualhan, 

He thut spenlfs Mitchell, gives the school the lie, 

Friendship in Him gained an ubiquity." 

Vivet post fttnera virtue, 

F. D. 

It was more than three years before the church had 
another pastor. In the interim the pulpit was occu- 
pied by President Chauncy and others. In 1669, De- 
cember 20, the town voted that " fifty pounds be paid 
to Mr. Chauncy and such as labor among us in preach- 
ing the word," and thirty pounds to " Mistris Mitchell.'' 
A year later forty-five pounds was voted to Mr. Chaun- 
cy and thirty to Mrs. Mitchell. The religious work 
of the church was carried on, although there was no 
pastor. In February, 1668-69, certain fitting men were 
appointed to catechize the youth of the town. The 
town was divided into districts for this purpose. In 
May, 1669, " The selectmen, taking into considera- 
tion, upon the complaint of some of the idleness and 
carelessness of sundry persons in the time of public 
worship, upon the Sabbath day, by keeping without 
the meeting-house, and there unprofitably spending 
their time, whereby God's name is dishonored, — they 
do order, for the time being, that the constable shall set 
a ward of one man during the time of public worship, 
one in the forenoon and another in the afternoon, to 
look unto such persons, that they do attend upon the 
public worship of God, that God's name and worship 
be not neglected nor profaned by the evil miscarriage 
of such persons." The town also improved the time 
and prepared for a new minister by building a par- 
sonage. The ministers had hitherto lived in their own 
house. In 1669, July 5, a committee was appointed 
" to take present care to purchase or build a conve- 
nient house for the entertainment of the minister that 
the Lord may please to send us to make up the breach 
that his afflicting providence hath made in this place; 
and that the charge thereof be levied on the inhabit- 
ants, as is usual in proportion in the maintenance of 
the ministry." In the following September the church 
voted to sell its farm at Billerica, and that the pro- 
ceeds be improved for the building of a house for the 
ministry. In the ancient church-book there is the 
record of a committee which was "chosen for that 
purpose, which tooke care for the same, and to that 
ende bought fower akers of land of widdow Beale to 
set the house upon, and in the yeare 1670 theare was 
a house earected upon the sayd land of 36 foote long 
and 30 foote broad ; this house to remayne the 
church's and to be the dwelling place of such a min- 
ister and officer as the Lord shall be pleased to supply 
us withal, during the time hee shall supply the place 
amongst us. The chargis laid out for the purcbas 
of the land and building of the house and barne, in- 
closing the orchyard and other accommodations to 
it: 

£ >. d. 

The purchas of the land in cash 40 o 

The building and finishing the house 2G3 S fl 



The building the barne 42 

The iuclosing the orchyard and yards, and repayring the 
fencis, building an office-house, and planting an orchyard 
with trees, and seeling some part of the house, and laying 
a dubie floore on some part of it 27 1 10 

The house was on the north side of Harvard Street, 
nearly opposite Chestnut, now (Plympton) Street, 
within the present college grounds, and on a glebe of 
four acres. We may follow the house-building a step 
further by copying another record. 

" In the yeare 1676 the hall and hall-chamber were 
sealed, and another floore of bords was layed upon 
the chichin chamber. The particular chargis : 

£ s. d. 

20 busheles of lime and the feching it 1 1 8 

800 of earth, 6' 8'', a bushel of hayer, !■ 7 8 

3 peckes of— it looks like— shreds, I" 6^; lampblack, S"" ... 2 2 

35C0 nails, 8«, IW/i^ 8 10}^ 

The inaaons' norke 1 4 

For brickes, and sand, and help to brick the kicben .... 4 G 4]^ 

We may copy two other records which belong to 
this period. 

March 6, 1668-9. To Deacon Stone by a pair of shooes and a 
pound of sugar, because the deacon had 
silver though they cost him 4^ fA, had but 3 6 

26, 4, 1670. Payd in silver, by the apoyntment of the Comittee 
for the mynister house unto the deputie gover- 
nor, Mr. Francis Willoughbly, by Deacon Stone 
and Thomas Chesholm, as appears by his dis- 
charg wch Deacn Stone hath for the discharg 
of Mr. Mitchell's fnnerall the sum of eight 
pounds, thirteen shillings, six pence. I say the 
sum of 813 6 

In 1668, the year in which Mr. Mitchel died, the 
church invited Mr. William Stoughton, or Stoutton, 
as the old record gives it, to become the pastor. He 
graduated in the class of 1650, and afterwards studied 
divinity and preached in England with acceptance. 
He returned to New England in 1662, and was re- 
peatedly asked to become the minister of Dorchester, 
his birth-place. Though he was "an able preacher 
and very pious," he was not "persuadable to take 
any office charge in any church." He was therefore 
" chosen into the magistracy, and he rendered much 
important service to the colony. His benefactions to 
the college exceeded those of any other person dur- 
ing the century." Not long before his death he 
erected a College Hall which took his name. This 
Hall was taken down in 1780, and in 1804-5 another 
Stoughton Hall was erected on a site nearer the north 
side of the yard. Failing to secure Mr. Stoughton as 
the minister, the church turned its eyes to one who 
had been favorably known as a student. The old 
record must tell the story. "After sume time of seek- 
ing God by prayer the Lord was pleased to guide the 
church to make theare application to Mr. Urian 
Oakes in Old England, which to further the same 
theare was a letter sent from the church with a mes- 
senger namely, Mr. William Manning with a letter ; 
alsoe sent by seaverall magistrates and ministers to in- 
vite him to come over and be an officer amongst us, 
which he after counsell and advice did except but 



CAMBRIDGE. 



37 



devine providence did hinder him for that yeare by 
resson of a sickness the Lord was pleased to visit his 
wife withall acd afterward tooke her away by death 
which hindered him for that yeare. The church the 
next yeare renewed againe theare call to him by 
another letter, but then he was hindered by an ague 
that he was long visited withall in the yeare 1,070. 
Thease providences interfering, the church was in 
doupt wheather to waight any longer, but after sume 
debate the church was willing to waight till che 
spring in the yeare 1671, and then had an answer 
early in the yeare of his purpose to come over that 
summer, which was accomplished by the good provi- 
dence of God, bee arriving in New England July the 
3, 1671, and finding good acceptance both by the 
church and towne and in the country and joined a 
member with our church and was ordained pastur of 
our church November the eight 1671." 

Urian Oakes was born in England about 1631, 
and was brought to New England in his childhood. 
He " was a lad of small, as he never was of great stat- 
ure." But he seems to have been an amiable boy, 
for observers "make this reflection. If good nature 
could ever carry one to heaven, this youth has enough 
to carry him thither." He was precocious, and pub- 
lished "a little parcel of astronomical calculations." 
He graduated in 1649, and continued to reside at the 
college and board in Commons till 1653. "He 
returned into his native country about the time of 
the Rump." After serving for a time as chaplain to 
a person of note he was settled in the ministry at 
Tichfield, in Hampshire, where he labored with great 
devotion. In 1662 he was silenced with other non- 
Conformists; but after a time, " when the heat of the 
persecution was a little abated, he returned unto the 
exercise of his ministry." His friends here watched 
his course, and when the time came invited him to 
come back and be the minister of Cambridge. To 
this he consented, aa we have seen, and as the 
"Magnolia" expresses it, "The good stork flew over 
the Atlantic Ocean to feed his dam." In the public 
records is an account of a meeting of the church and 
town to express thanks to Mr. Oakes for leaving Eng- 
land and coming hither, and the continued desire 
that he would join in fellowship here, that he might 
be made the pastor, and to entreat him to remove 
himself and his family into the new minister's house. 
The deacons were authorized to provide for his ac- 
commodation, and it was voted "that half a year's 
payment forthwith be made by every one, according 
to their yearly payment to the ministry ; and the one- 
half of it to be paid in money, and the other in such 
pay as is suitable to the end intended." We have this 
record: "August the 9th 1671. Delivered to Wil- 
liam Manning sixty pounds in silver to pay Mr. 
Prout toward the transportation of Mr. Urian Oakes, 
his family and goods, and other disbursements and 
for John Taylor his passage, I say payed him the just 
sum of 60^.0. 0. Let it be taken notice of that Mr. 



Prout does demand thirteen pounds moredue to him." 
Another record shows that Mr. Prout's claim was 
satisfied; "Disbursed for Mr. Oakes' transportation 
from Old England with his family 73/." Mr. Oakes 
was ordained to the ministry here, November 8, 1671. 
The expenses of the ordination are worth mentioning 
for the light they throw on the customs of the times: 

f .. d. 
u 



a 


9 

9 



It. 3 bitsbeU of wbeate o 15 

It. 2 bushels ^ of lualt o 10 

It. 4 gallons of wine o is 

It. for beefo \ 10 

It. for mutton i 4 

It. for 30' of butter l.'i 

It. for foules OH 

It. for sugar, spice and fruite aod other small things I 

It. for labour 1 y 5 

it. for waabiDg the table lining 6 

It. for woode 7" 7 

It. suit 7", 3'i. ; bread 6« 9 



9 17 3 
£ •. d. 



Gathered by contribution of the church the Saboth before th 
ordination for the sayde occasion ' 4 7 1 

.\nd the remainder of the charge was defrayed out of the week- 
ly contributions 5 10 2 



9 17 3 



In 1673, Mr. Oakes preached the annual election 
sermon, in which he declared himself heartily " for 
all due moderation." " Many a man hath a good 
heart and affections under the bad conduct and ill 
steeridge of a very weak head. Nevertheless I 
must adde (as I have great reason) that I look upon 
an unbounded toleration as the first born of all 
abominations." He reminded his hearers that New 
England " is originally a plantation not for trade but 
for religion." Mr. Oakes was elected a fellow of the 
college soon after his ordination. After the death of 
Mr. Chauncy, Leonard Hoar, a clergyman and 
physician, was chosen president of the college. He 
was the first graduate to be placed in this exalted 
position, which has since always been filled by a 
graduate. President Hoar had not been in office 
long before trouble came to him. The account of 
them does not belong in this narration. But the mati 
" who was last year highly courted to accept the 
place, was now by some wished out of it again." 
There soon came to be " uncomfortable notices and 
debates." The students took a strong dislike to the 
president, and did what they could to annoy and 
injure him. Cotton Mather says, they " turned 
cudweeds and set themselves to travestie whatever he 
did and said." " I can scarcely tell how," but he fell 
"under the displeasure of some that made a figure 
in the neighborhood. ... In a day of temptation 
which was now upon them, several very good men did 
unhappily countenance the ungoverned youths in 
their ungovernableness." Mr. Oakes was closely 
connected with college aflNiirs, but his relations to the 
president are not clearly defined. In 1673, with 
Thomas Sliepard and two others, he resigned his seat 
in the corporation. He was reelected, but did not 



38 



HISTORY OF MIDDLES KX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



accept the appointment till March 15, 1675, the day 
on which President Hoar resigned. Mr. Cakes 
suffered much at the time of these difficulties in the 
college. "Mr. Oakes hath had a distemper hang 
upon him, which hath much weakened him, the 
greatest occasion of which is, I think, some exercise 
of mind." Governor Lovett adds that Mr. Oakes 
" thinks it is the remayne of his sickness long . 
agoe in England. I have been afraid lest he may 
be of noe long continuance with us, but a graine of 
hopes that he may get over it." Mr. Oakes was 
asked to accept the presidency of the college. This 
he declined to do. He was asked to accept the office 
2)ro tempore. " In answer thereto he declared a deep 
sense of his unfitness for the work ; yet, considering 
the present exigency the society was now in and con- 
fiding in the overseers seasonably to endeavor the 
settling a fit person for that work, manifesting his 
willingness to accept of that place for a time, God 
enabling by health and strength, and so far as his 
church consented." The Legislature " ordered an 
allowance of one hundred pounds in money by the 
year." In October, 1675, the General Court thanked 
him for his care and pains, and desired him "to con- 
tinue hi.= labors as President of the said College) 
which hath been, by the blessing of God, of so great 
advantage." " He did the services of a President even 
as he did all other services, faithfully, learnedly, in- 
defatigably." In February, 1679-80, he was again 
unanimously chosen president by the fellows, and 
the House of Representatives voted that "for the 
better encouragement of himself and also of the 
church for providing help for carrying on that work, 
which hereby he may be in part diverted from, or 
need assistance, this Court doth order that fifty 
pounds per annum, in country pay, be allowed the 
Reverend Mr. Oakes, in the considerations aforesaid, 
over and above the hundred pounds in money alrendy 
settled, provided he accept the presidentship." He 
finally consented to this persistent appeal and was 
inaugurated on Commencement Day, 1680. He 
was not to serve the college much longer. 
He had been long subject to a quartan ague, 
and "was at last seized with a malignant 
fever." " When he had lain sick about a day or 
two, . . . his church coming together with ex- 
pectation to have the Lord's Supper on the Lord's 
Day administered unto them, to their horror found 
the pangs of death seizing their pastor, that should 
have broken to them the bread of life." The end 
came on the 25th of July, 1681, in the tenth year of 
his ministry here and in the fiftieth year of his age. 
He was borne to his grave in the ancient God's 
Acre. The memorial slab which marked the grave hns 
been taken away for some ignoble use, tut another 
stone, with an elaborate inscription in Latin-, has 
supplied iti place. There is one memento of his 
burial in an entry in the college books, where are 
"charges of £16 16s. 6rf. for scarfs and gloves, and 



£8 14s. for twelve rings at Mr. Oakes' funeral." 
Increase Mather's testimony may stand for many which 
could be given: " It may, without reflection upon any> 
be truly said, that he was one of the greatest lights 
that ever shone in this part of the world, or that is 
ever like to arise in this horizon." 

Mr. Oakes' ministry fell in disturbed times. Not 
only was the college in a disorganized state, but the 
Colony itself was in peril. The reading of Dr. 
Palfrey's " History of New England " will recall the 
continuous events which kept the whole community 
excited and alarmed. It was a day when every man 
who loved New England and believed in its liberty 
and loyalty was forced to do his best thinking. The 
men of Cambridge were not lacking in this. It is a 
part of the civil history, but it is a part of the 
ecclesiastical history also. The encroachments of 
the British government upon the privileges of the 
charter were unceasing A few months afier 
Oakes' death the King declared his resolution to have 
the charter, with all its powers, " legally evicted and 
made void." In 1684 a decree was passed vacating 
the charter. " Massachusetts, as a body politic was 
no more. The elaborate fabric, that had been fifty- 
four years in building, was leveled with the dust." 
We have only to read of these things to know what 
ministers and people were saying and doing in those 
days which tried their souls. 

There was much excitement, too, through the re- 
newed activity of the Anabaptists abd Quakers. Rev. 
Samuel Danforth, in a letter to his brother Thomas, in 
1670, writes: "The truth is, matters are so circum- 
stanced that a man can hardly come into any company 
and enter into any discourse, but before he is aware 
he finds himself in the like fan and sieve as that 
wherein Satan winnowed Peter in the high priest's 
hall." The views and teachings of Mr. Oakes on the 
limits of toleration have been already given. In 
June, 1671, just before the arrival of Mr. Oakes from 
England, the freemen of Cambridge presented to the 
General Court a long memorial, in which they recited 
their afflictions because of Quakers, Anabaptists and 
Familists, and petitioned "that the laws here estab- 
lished against the wicked practices of these obstinate 
offenders may be fully executed, all discontentments 
that may tend to give any discouragements thereto 
notwithstanding." 

The witchcraft delusion, which had its centre in 
Salem and thence spread widely, was at a period later 
than that we are reviewing. There was trouble from 
this cause here, as in other places. A woman " crazed, 
distracted and broken in mind " was imprisoned on 
suspicion, but was acquitted when tried. A woman 
named Kendal was accused and put to death through 
false witness. But as early as 1659 there had been 
trouble here. The widow Winifred Holnian and her 
daughter, Mary, who lived where the Botanic Garden 
now is, were accused by her opposite neighbor, John 
Gibson, and his wife and son and daughter. A war- 



CAMBRIDGE. 



39 



rant was issued for the arrest of the Holmans, but 
there is no account of their trial, and it is probable 
that no indictment could be found against them. But 
they were not content with this termination of the 
matter, and they brought suit against their accusers 
for defamation and slander. The church came to 
their help. Deacons John Bridge and Gregory Stone 
and others certified that Winifred Holman was well 
known to them, and that she "is diligent in her call- 
ing, and frequents public preaching and gives diligent 
attention thereunto." Judgment was given against 
the mother, but the daughter sustained her case 
against John Gibson, Jr., and he was required to ac- 
knowledge that he had "wronged and scandalously 
slandered her," or eUe to pay her five pounds. He 
chose to make the acknowledgment and to have her 
forgiveness of his trespass. Those who wish to read 
the mass of wearisome testimony are referred to Dr. 
Paige's " History of Cambridge." 

As we pass from the third minister of the church 
we may set at the line of transition a portion of the 
elegy which he composed in memory of one whom 
he describes as " that reverent, learned, ea:inently 
pious, and singularly accomplished divine, my ever- 
honored brother, Mr. Thomas Shepard, the late faith- 
ful and worthy teacher of the Church of Christ, at 
Charlestown, in New England: 

" Oh ! that I were a poet now in grain ! 
How would I invocate the mtises all 
To deign their presence, lend their flowing vein, 
And help to grace dear Sbepard's funeral ! 

How woulil I paint onr grieft, and succors borrow 
From art and fancy, to limn out our sorrow ! 

Cambridge groans under this so heavy cross, 

And sympathizes witli her sister dear — 
Renews her grief afresh for her old loss 
Of her own Shepard, and drops many a tear^ 

Cambridge and Charlestown now joint mourners are, 
And this tremendous loss between them share." 

It has seemed best to make this narrative of the 
early history of Cambridge somewhat full, because it 
is the beginning of a long course of events, and the 
remoteness of the time gives a special interest to all 
which is connected with it. From this point the 
record must be more general. But for nearly eighty 
years longer the ecclesiastical history of Cambridge 
is the history of one church and is, therefore, in good 
measure, the property of all the churches which have 
gathered around it. 

In the old church-!)ook good Deacon Cooper places 
this among "severall providencis of God to the 
church of Cambrigd : " "Mr. Oakes, our pastor, being 
chosen to be president of the college about a year 
before his death, it pleased the Lord to guide our 
church to give Mr. Nathaniel Gookin a call to be helpful 
in the ministry in order to call him to office in time 
convenient, which some time after our pastor's death 
our church did give him a call to the office of pastor 
which call he did accept of and was ordained pastor 
of our church November 15, 1682. Also, there were 
ordained the same day two Ruling Elders of our 



church, namely, Deacon John Stone and Mr. Jonas 
Clarke, to the office of Ruling Elders." 

The account of the ordination expenses resembles 
that which has been given in the case of a former 
minister. It includes: "Provision for 80 persons. 
For burnt wine, sugar, brandy before dinner. Wine 
for the messengers in the morning; for cakes and 
ro.sewater, loaf sugar and s[)ice, butter and pork." 
The total cost was £13 14s. 2d. The Rev. Nathaniel 
Gookin was a son of Major-General Daniel Gookin, 
the associate of the Apostle Eliot in his labors for the 
Indians, and a man distinguished for his integrity 
and benevolence. The son was born in Cambridge, 
October 22, 1G56. He graduated in 1675. He was, 
therefore, twenty-six years old when he was ordained. 
Less is known of him than of the other ministers of 
the church. The records of his time are very incom- 
plete. It is strong testimony to his ability and char- 
acter that he was called to be the associate of Presi- 
dent Oakes, and was afterwards placed over the 
church. Judge Sewall gives an account of the ordi- 
nation: ''Mr. Sherman ordains Mr. Nath. Gookin 
pastor of Camb. Church. Jlr. Eliot gives the right 
hand of fellownhip, first reading tlie Scripture that 
warrants it. Mr. Sherman, Eliot and Mather laid on 
hands. Then Mr. Gookin ordained Deac. Stone and 
Mr. Clarke Ruling Elders. The presence of God 
seemed to be with his people. Mr. Jona. Dan forth, 
the Deputy Governor's only son, lay by the wall, 
having departed on Monday morning (13th) of a 
consumption." 

Mr. Gookin married Hannah, the daughter of Ha- 
bijah Savage, who was the grandson of the noted 
Ann Hutchinson. Mr. Gookin was a fellow of Har- 
vard College. His son and grandson were succes- 
sively ministers of Hampton, N. H., and were highly 
commended for their worth and work. Of the latter 
it is said that he was " both ways descended from those 
who have been stars of the first magnitude." 

There are not many traces of the ministry of our 
Mr. Gookin. There is an account of the money paid 
him from time to time for his services. The amounts 
vary, being sometimes le3S than a pound, at other 
times ten pounds or more. There is a record of the 
contributions on the Sabbath. The sum collected in 
this way was usually about one pound. Of the pas- 
tor's salary about fifty pounds appears to have been 
collected in the church. It is interesting to notice 
the care which was taken of the poor. Contributions 
for their relief — and frequently for a single person — 
were made on the Sabbath. We have the careful 
record of the sums raised and the uses to which they 
were applied. There were collections occasionally 
for the redemption of captives. .Vt one period "the 
scholars" made their contribution, which was en- 
tered by itjself and appropriated, according to their 
wish, for the benefit of the minister. The students' 
contribution is only found, however, in the interval 
after Mr. Gookin's death. These items are signifi- 



40 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



cant. Contributions were taken in 1683 for Joseph 
Green, in 1084 for Moses Eyers, in 1085 for Tlioinas 
Gould, wlio were in " Turkey slavery." In 1680 there 
was a collection for poor Frenchmen who had come 
here for shelter, and in 1692 for "York captives with 
the Indians." In 1686 seven pounds were given to 
John Parker, at tlie "Village," whose house had been 
burned. Another contribution was for the relief of 
Widow Crackbone and her son, " her being dis- 
tracted." In 1689 Widow Arrington and her fiimily, 
"they being under the afflicting hand of God, her 
sons were taken away by death, and her daughter and 
a grandchild." The .sum in cash was £0 lS.s. The 
sum in common pay was £1 2n. Gd. 

In 1080 statistical returns were made by a commit- 
tee in response to an order of the General Court, — 121 
families were reported, and 169 ratable polls, or 
males sixteen years of age. The annual allowance to 
the pastor is given as £.'>1 in money; in goods and 
l>r()viaions £78 1.3s.; "Sum is £129 13s. Orf., with his 
dwelling in the house built for the ministry, with four 
acres of land adjoining thereunto ; also about twenty 
loads of wood annually carried to his house." That was 
for Mr. Oakes. In June, 1680, it was voted to give Mr. 
Gookin £100 for that year and to pay the remainder 
to Mr. Oakes. June 28, 1680, it was " Voted and 
agreed that five hundred acres of the remote lands, 
lying between Oburne, Concord and our head-line, 
shall be laid out for the use and benefit of the minis- 
try of this town and place, and to remain to that use 
forever." In 1082 the "Farmers" who were living 
in what is now Lexington complained that they were 
too far from the church, the nearest of them being 
five miles distant, and petitioned the General Cuurt 
that they might be set off as a separate parish. Cam- 
bridge made opposition and the petition was refused. 
It was made again in 1684, and yet again in 1691, 
when it wasgranted, and the " Farmers " were allowed 
" to provide for themselves a person that may be meet 
atid able to dispense unto them the word of God." 
A separate service was soon established, but it was 
not till 16!)0 that a church was formed and a minister 
ordained. 

Nothing of marked importance seems to have been 
done in the town during Mr. Gookin's pastorate. Mr. 
Mitchel was still kindly remembered, for in 1087 a 
grant often pounds was made to "Mistress Mitchel." 
The corporation of the college in 1091 appropriated 
five pounds toward the repairing of the meeting- 
liouse, " provided that this present allowance shall 
not be drawn into a precedent for the future, and that 
the selectmen shall renounce all e.xpectation of such 
athingfor the future." But if things werequiet in the 
town there was enough abroad to engross the minds 
of the people, for in this time James II. ascended 
the throne and entered on his troubled and bloody 
reign, to be thrust down and driven out when William 
and Mary assumed the crown at the hands of the 
pcojile, and brought in a new era, with new liberties 



for these Colonies. The " Glorious Revolution " must 
have stirred the subjects of the English throne who 
were 3000 miles away, and must have entered into the 
thanksgiving and the preaching and talking along 
the streets, and in the church and the home. In 1689 
the new sovereigns were proclaimed in Boston with 
much ceremony. Doubtless Cambridge was there, 
bearing its part in all which was done. Then fol- 
lowed the war with the French and Indian.s, in which 
the Cambridge people shared the common burden 
and peril. In Massachusetts, in connection with the 
expedition against Canada, in 1690, the first paper 
money was issued by the Colonies. It was a curi- 
osity which the students and towns-people must have 
seen and talked about. 

Meanwhile the minister's work wenton. In asmall, 
oblong, leather-covered book, now the property of the 
Shepard Historical Society, and having in it the names 
of Joseph Baxter, of the class of l(i93, and Benjamin 
Collman, of the class of 1092, afterwards the first min- 
ister of the Brattle Street Church in Boston, are re- 
ports of sermons preached by Mr. Gookin in 1090, when 
these young men were in college. Occasionally there 
is the report of a sermon by some other preacher. 
The sermons were on thoughtful, vigorous themes, 
and we may believe were worthy of the preacher and 
bis hearers. In doctrine they were in accord with 
the faith of the churches. Mr. Gookin seems to have 
attended closely to his personal work, and not to have 
been diverted from it by public affairs. 

At length we come upon this entry in the old book : 
" Mr. Nathaniel Gookin, our pastor, departed this 
life 7th day of August, 1092, being the Sabbath day 
at night, about nine or ten o'clock at night." It 
must, however, have been the 14th of August that the 
end came. The record was made some time after the 
event, and continues : " Elder Clark departed this 
life 14th January, 1699 or 1700, being the Sabbath 
day. Our pastor Mr. Nathaniel Gookin's wife, 
Hannah, died 14th day of May, 1702, and was buried 
lOth day of Jlay at the town's charge." Her grave is 
in the old burying-ground and is plainly marked ; 
the grave of Mr. Gookin is not now marked, but a 
monument by the side of his wife's, from which the 
inscription has crumbled away, is supposed to cover 
the spot where the fourth minister of the Cambridge 
Church was buried. In the November after his 
death, at a public meeting of the inhabitants of the 
town, it was voted that " the selectmen should make 
a money-rate to pay the expenses and defray the 
charges, which amounted to about £18 in money, of 
our Pastor Gookin's funeral charges." 

We close the record of this brief life with entries in 
Judge Sewall's diary— "Monday, August 15, Mr. 
Joseph Eliot comes in and tells me the amazing news 
of the Eev''. Mr. Nathaniel Gookin's being dead ; 'tis 
even as sudden to me as Mr. Oakes' death. He was 
one of our best Ministers, and one of the best friends I 
had left. 



CAMBRIDGE. 



41 



" August IG, 1692. I went to the Fast at Roxbury 
and from thence to the Funeral of Mr. Gookin. Mr. 
Mather, Allen, Morton, Willard, Bayly, Hobart, 
Bearers. Has left a Widow, a Son and Daughter." 

After the deatli of Mr. Gookin the pulpit was filled 
by various preachers. We have a long list of their 
names, with the amount paid to each. Among the 
names are Mr. Mather and Mr. Brattle. The amount 
paid for a single sermon was ten shillings ; for a whole 
day's service one pound was the regular stipend. The 
gifts of the students seem to have been added to the 
amount granted by the people. There is a pleasant 
record which tells us that during this interval Mr. 
Increase Mather preached much, and gave his pay to 
Jlrs. Hannah Gookin, widow. She was also paid for 
entertaining the ministers who preached at this time. 
The Rev. Increase Mather was unanimously invited 
to assume tlie pastoral care of the church ; but the 
people among whom he had labored for thirty-six 
years were not willing to release him, and this, with 
other obstacles to his removal, led him to decline the 
proposal. But it is a sign of the importance and 
standing of the church, that it dared look so high for 
a minister, and call a man of Mr. Mather's promi- 
nence. 

After the office had been vacant for four years, the 
Rev. William Brattle was invited to become the min- 
ister of the church, and he accepted the call. He 
had supplied the pulpit after Mr. Gookin's death and 
he was ordained as the minister November 25, 1G96. 
He was thirty-four years old and came of a wealthy 
and prominent family. He graduated in 1G80, and 
was alterwards tutor and fellow in the college. He 
wa-i one of the first to be made Bachelors of Divinity. 
In 1688-89, he was in Europe with his friend Samuel 
Sewall, who wished to be with Mr. Mather, who was 
seeking to advance the interests of the Colony, which 
was without a charter or a settled government. Judge 
Sewall's diary has records of the visit: "February 
7th. Mr. Brattle ."howed me Gresham College, by 
Mr. Dubois his kindncf^s and cost. 

"February 11th. Air. Brattle and I wcnttoCovent 
Garden and heard a Consort of Musick. 

" July 8th. Went with Mr. Brattle and swam in 
the Thames, went off from the Temple Stairs, and 
had a wherry to wait on us. ... I think it hath 
been healthful and refreshing to me." 

The church records are complete from the time of 
5Ir. Brattle's accession. He made an entry of the day 
when he ''succeeded the Rev. Mr. Nathaniel Gookin, 
and was ordained a minister of Jesus Christ and a 
pastor to the flock at Cambridge, November 25, 1696, 
per the Rev. Mr. Inc. Mather. The Rev. Mr. Morton, 
Mr. Allen and Mr. Willard laid on hands. The Rev. 
Mr. Sam' Willard gave the right hand of fellow- 
ship. JJeus sit i/lorin, Amen." He preached his own 
ordination sermon from ihe words, "I have planted, 
ApoUos watered; but God gave the increase." A 
sermon was preached on the same occasion by Mr. 



Mather from Revelation i. 16 : "And he had in his 
right hand seven stars." Mr. Brattle's independence 
was shown in his refusal to have an elder, who was a 
layman, join in the laying on of hands. The charges 
of the ordination are entered as about £20. There 
was "laid out about the repairing of the ministerial 
house for Mr. Brattle £10 18' 8"." The salary of the 
minister had been fixed after Mr. Gookin's death, 
when the town voted "to give to the next minister 
that the church and town shall settle among them 
ninety pounds per annum, in money, so long as he 
shall carry on the work of the ministry in Cambridge." 
In 1712-13 it was "voted, that the sum often pounds 
per annum be added to the salary of the ministry in 
this part of the town, instead of the annual custom of 
carting of wood ; so that the said .salary is an hundred 
pound per annum.'' But the custom of carting wood 
to the parsonage was not entirely abandoned at that 
time. There are long lists of the donors of wood. In 
1697 Mr. Brattle received twenty-two loads, and he 
usually received more than that till the custom was 
changed. There are also accounts of wood for which 
he paid. There is in 1697 a long list of donations 
headed : " Sent in since Noveml)er 3d, the day that I 
was married." The list extended through more than 
a year, and is composed of articles for his table, with 
the names of the givers and the value of their gifts. 
The beginning is in this way : 

"Goody Gove, 1 pd. Fresh Butter, 8".; Mrs. Bord- 
man, 1 pd. Fr. Butter, 8'*.; Doct. Oliver a live Pork, 
2'.; Sarah Ferguson, 1 pig, V. 9^." The Cutter Gene- 
alogy has a list of gifts to Mr. Brattle, in '97, in- 
cluding from Mrs. Amsdel a " rib-spair of pork." 

There are in the records accounts of similar dona- 
tions afterwards. His private affairs are closely as- 
sociated with his public relations, and we have an- 
other account which is entitled : " Housekeeping 
Dr., since we were married November 3, 1697." The 
list opens with " 2 powthering Tubs, 9'.; 1 Tub of 
Beef 154 pds. salted October 29, £1 18". 6".; wine w" 
married and wine to 7"' day, £3; Bear 19'. 6'^." 

At the end of the church-book are various state- 
ments regarding the minister's gardening, the weather, 
etc. Of 1697 we read, "The winter this year was a 
very severe winter for cold and snow. The ground 
was covered with snow from the beginning of Decem- 
ber to the middle of March; many snows one upon 
another; in February it was judged to be three foot 
and a half deep on a level." " Charlestown ferry was 
frozen up so that the boat did not go over. once from 
January 17 to February 28, in which time I rode over 
upon the ice." The summer following this hard win- 
ter was a very fruitful summer. In February and 
March, 1700, he was planting his garden. 

In 1696-97 there was inijiortant action by the 
church concerning the reception of members. The 
subject occasioned much discussion. The result wjis, 
in brief, that persons dt-siring to enter the church 
should be excused, if they eo desired, from a public 



42 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



relation of Iheir religious experience, and should 
privately give satisfaction to the elders regarding 
their religious character. The minister was to state 
to the church the ground of his satisfaction with the 
candidates some time before they were to be admitted, 
and they were to be propounded in public, that if any 
one knew any reason which should justly bar them 
from communion he could privately inform the elders. 
The vote of the church upon receiving persons who 
had been duly propounded was to be taken by 
" handy vote, or silence, or any other indifferent 
sign," at the discretion of the elders. Those who 
were accepted by the church were publicly to make 
" profession of their faith and repentance in their 
covenanting with God." This method does not differ 
essentially from that which is now employed in Con- 
gregational Churches. It leaves the whole matter 
with the church, and the application of the general 
principles will depend upon the spirit of each church 
in each case. During Mr. Brattle's ministry of twenty 
years, 364 persons were admitted to the church ; 724 
children were baptized. 

In February, 1700, Mr. Brattle was " taken sick of 
a feaver," and was " very ille, near to death." In 
about a fortnight he was able to be out — "Deo sit 
gloria. Amen." He was often interrupted during 
his ministry by pains and languishraents. At length 
the end came to him, also. February 15, 1716-17, 
" The Rev". Mr. Brattle, Pastur of the church of 
Christ in Cambridge, departed this life." He had 
borne hi.s sufferings " with great patience and resigna- 
tion, and died with peace and an extraordinary 
serenity of mind." " He was greatly honored at his 
interment." It was the day of " The Great Snow," 
and the principal magistrates and ministers were 
detained here for several days. 

Let Judge Sewell give his account of these events : 
"1716-17, February 15, 6. The Rev". Mr. William 
Brattle died last night at midnight. He was a Father 
to the Students of Harvard College and a Physician, 
My Fast Friend. I wish it be not portentous that 
Two such great men should fall in one week. Deus 
aver/nf omen." The reference is to the Rev. Ebenezer 
Pemberton, of Boston, who died on the 13th. 

"Febr. 16, 7. Is a great Storm of Snow and Sleety 
so that the burying of Mr. Pemberton is put off to 
Monday, and notice sent accordingly. Feb. 18, 2. 
G'eat storm of snow; yet good going under foot. 
Mr. Pemberton is buried between 4 and 5, in Mr. 
VVillard'sTomb. Feb. 20. . . . About A an hour past 
one my son and I set out for Mr. Brattle's Funeral in 
Capt. Belcher's slay ; got thither in good time. 
Bearers, President Mr. Auger, Mr. Hancock, Mr. 
Wadsworth, Mr. Bradstreet, Mr. Stephens. Scarves 
and Rings. Governour and Govr. Dudley went first; 
Govr. Usher and Sewall 2d. Were many ministers 
there; Mr. Rogers and Fitch, from Ijiswich, came 
home from the Buryiug-place. Cousin Elithrop 
drove. Got home very seasonably. Another snow 



coming on. Latis Deo. Feb. 21, 5. Extraordinary 
storm of snow ; yet many were at Lecture to hear 
Mr. Colman preach the Funeral Sermon of Mr. Pem- 
berton and Mr. Brattle, from Jno. 9 : 4. Compared Mr. 
Pemberton to Elijah ; Mr. Brattle to Moses. After 
Lecture the storm increases much, grows more vehe- 
ment." Mr. Brattle remembered the church in his 
last testament: " As a close to this part of my will, 
it is my desire to consecrate, and with humility I 
bequeath and present to the Church of Christ in Cam- 
bridge (my dearly beloved flock), for a Baptismal 
Basin, my great silver basin, an inscription upon 
which I leave to the prudence of the Reverend Presi- 
dent and the Rev. Mr. Simon Bradstreet." 

The character of Mr. Brattle was held in general 
esteem. He was a man of marked politeness and 
courtesy, of compassion and charity. He had a large 
estate and he scattered his gifts with a liberal hand, 
yet without ostentation. He was patient and pacific 
in his temper, and ".seemed to have equal respect to 
good men of all denominations." " With humility 
he united magnanimity ; and was neither bribed by 
the favor nor overawed by the displeasure of any 
man." He was of "an austere and mortified life, yet 
candid and tolerant towards others." He had great 
learning and ability, and bore a high reputation as a 
preacher. His manner in the pulpit was " calm and 
soft and melting." His sermons show that he was 
thoroughly of the Puritan school in theology; yet in 
ecclesiastical usages he was liberal. When the Brat- 
tle Street Church was founded in Boston, by men who 
sought larger liberties in the ordering of their ecclesi- 
astical affairs, the movement enlisted his sympathy. 
When Mr. Colman was called to this Manifesto 
Church, Mr. Brattle wrote to him : " As for my own 
part, I shall account it a smile from heaven upon the 
good design of these gentlemen, if you can send them 
answer of peace." Of himself he wrote in 1715: "I 
can't but look upon myself as a standing instance of 
the infinite power and infinite goodness of God." 
His friend, Mr. Colman, said of him: "They that 
had the happiness to know Mr. Brattle knew a very 
religious, good man, an able divine, a laborious, 
faithful minister, an excellent scholar, a great bene- 
factor, a wise and prudent man, and one of the best 
of friends. The promotion of religion, learning, 
virtue and peace everywhere within reach was his 
very life and soul, the great business in which he was 
constantly employed, and in which he principally 
delighted. Like his good Lord and Master, he went 
(or sent) about doing good. His principles were 
sober, sound, moderate, being of a catholic and pacific 
spirit." 

His relation to the college has been mentioned. 
In the absence of President Mather in England "the 
administration of the college," writes Mr. Sibley, 
" was carried on by the Tutors, John Leverett and 
William Brattle. . . . These two wise and effi- 
cient olBcers appear to have constituted the whole 



CAMBRIDGE. 



43 



College Faculty, and to have had almost exclusive 
direction of the studies and discipline." After the 
death of his brother, in 1713, Mr. Brattle, who was 
his sole executor, acted as treasurer of the college for 
two years, "and iu 1715 delivered to his successor 
nearly three thousand eight hundred pounds of per 
sonal estate, and a real estate yielding two hundred 
and eighty pounds.'' 

A little is known of Mr. Brattle's* life in smaller 
matters. He was a singer. Judge Sewall has an 
entry in 1701: "I went to the Manifesto Church. 
. •. . They sang the second part of the sixty-ninth 
Psalm. Mr. Brattle set it to Windsor tune." At an 
earlier date 3Ir. Brattle sets Oxford tune. 

In 170<S the judge remonstrates with Mr. Henry 
Flint regarding the application of saint to the apos- 
tles and evangelists. " He argued that saying Saint 
Luke was an indifferent thing; and 'twas commonly 
used; and therefore he might do it. Mr. Brattle 
used it." 

Again, he cites Mr. Brattle as one of the men who 
had respect to nature and uid not cut off their hair 
and put on a wig. In 1702 he had this cheerful 
entry : " Mr. Brattle came to us and smoked a pipe." 

The town records give us the close: "6th Febru- 
ary, 1716-17. At a meeting of the inhabitants 
orderly convened, voted, that the charges for wines, 
scarfs, and gloves for the bearers at the funeral of our 
late Pastor, Rev. Mr. William Brattle, be de.''rayed by 
the town, under the direction of the deacons and se- 
lectmen." 

There are here and there in the public records 
items of more or less interest in connection with the 
church. There is a vote that a pew be made and set 
up in the southwest corner of the meeting-house for 
the family of the minister; Mr. John Leverett and 
Dr. James Oliver have convenient places provided 
for their families. Here is a tax ordered, payable in 
money, for repairing the meeting-house, ringing the 
bell and sweeping. The little meeting-house bell was 
given to the farmers and anew one was received from 
Captain Andrew Belden, who received thanks in re- 
turn. The school-house was ordered to be rebuilt. A 
public contribution was taken for the relief of suf- 
ferers of a recent fire. A grant was mad& to Mrs. 
Hannah Gookin to pay her house-rent in 1701. The 
selectmen, with the consent of the pastor, who was 
deeply interested in the transaction, were "empow- 
ered to rent about five hundred acres of land laid out 
for the ministry, so that it shail become profitable to 
the university." Then, in February, 1703, at a town 
meeting, it is voted "that the inhabitants apprehend 
it necessary at this time to proceed to the building a 
new meeting-house, and in order thereunto there 
was chosen" a committee of seven, "to consider of 
the model and charge of building said meeting-house, 
and report of the same to the inhabitants." In 1706 
the third meeting-house was built on or near the site 
of the second, and the first service in it was held on 



the 13th of October in that year. The corporation 
of the college voted £60 towards the building of this 
house, and instructed Mr. Leverett and the treasurer 
to "take care for the building of a pew for the Presi- 
dent's family," and about the students' teats; "the 
charge of ihe pew to be defrayed out of the college 
treasury." 

There was, in 1722, special interest in the church, 
when "Mr. Judah Monis, a .Tew hy birth and educa- 
tion, being converted to the Christian faith, owned 
the covenant, and v.'as baptized and declared a mem- 
ber in full communion with the Church of Christ, 
after a prayer and discourse made by Mr. Colman, 
from John v. 46, and a discourse of his own from 
Psalm cxvi. 10, answering the common objections of 
the Jews against Christ's being already come, and 
giving a confession of his faith in the close. Sang 
part of the 110th Psalm, which solemnity was per- 
formed in the College Hall. Soli Deo Gloria." Mr. 
Monis was a useful member of the church, and a fund 
left by him is still used for the benefit of the widows 
and children of Congregational ministers. He was 
an instructor in the college from 1722 to 1760. "All 
the students, except the freshmen, were obliged to 
attend, four days in the week, the exercises of Judah 
Moms, a converted Jew, who was instructor in Hebrew, 
unless specially exempted." 

The period we have just been reviewing presents 
many events which must have engaged the minds of 
the good people here. Queen Mary died in 1694, and 
William III. in 1702. In 1697 the peace of Ryswick 
closed the war between England and France. The 
next reign was largely occupied by the " War of the 
Spanish succession." Thus even this country was for 
twenty-five years preceding ihe peace of Utrecht kept 
in the commotion of war, which reached this side of 
the sea. A large part of the men were in actual ser- 
vice, while those at home were compelled to guard 
their houses and families against treacherous foes. It 
is estimated that during these wars not less than eight 
thousand of the young men of New England and 
New York fell in battle or by disease contracted in 
the service. Most of the households mourned for 
friends dead or earned into cruel captivity. It was a 
gloomy time ; the resources of the counlry were 
greatly reduced, fields were unfilled, towns lay in 
ashes. The reign of Anne was marked by the con- 
stitutional union of England and Scotland, which 
ended the prolonged contest between those countries. 
The reign was marked, also, by i's progress in .science 
and literature. It was the time of Addison, Steele, 
Pope, Swift, Locke and Newton. Some of the glories 
and advantages of England's " Augustan Age" were 
enjoyed in the New England. 

We return to our own modest history. After Mr. 
Brattle's death the church proceeded carefully to se- 
lect a man who should enter into the place he had 
left vacant. A meeting of the church was held April 
19, 1717. President Leverett opened the meeting 



44 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



with prayer. After deliberation nominations were in 
order, and three clergymen were proposed for the 
office to be filled : Henry Flint, Jabez Fitch and Na- 
thaniel Appleton. A ballot was taken and Mr. Ap- 
pleton was found to have thirty-eight votes and Mr. 
Flint eight. An effort was made to make the vote 
unanimous by a hand ballot, and all but two are said 
to have lifted up their hands. '' The moderator con- 
cluded the meeting with returning thanks to God for 
the peaceable and comfortable management of the af- 
fairs of the church. Laus Deo." The election gave 
great pleasure to the corporation of the college, who 
chose the new minister to be a fellow in Mr. Brat- 
tle's place, not even waiting for his ordination. 

Mr. Appleton was born at Ipswich December 9, 
1693, and was the son of the Hon. John Appleton, 
one of the King's Council, and for more than twenty 
years a judge of Probate in Essex County. His 
mother was the eldest daughter of the Reverend 
President Rogers. He graduated in 1712, and, 
although receiving generous proposals to enter into 
business, adhered to his purpose to prepare himself 
for the ministry. He was ordained pastor of the 
church October 9, 1717. Dr. Increase Mather preached 
on the occasion from Ephesians iv. 12, and gave the 
charge. Dr. Cotton Mather extended the right hand 
of fellowship. Mr. Angier, of Watertown, and Mr. 
Rogers, of Ipswich, joined them in the laying on of 
hands. This was the beginning of a ministry which 
reached into its sixty-seventh year, the longest which 
the church has known. The written records of his 
labors as pastor comprise little more than long lists 
of persons received to the church, of adults and 
children baptized and of persons married. The 
summing up gives us 2048 children baptized and 90 
adults. There were 784 admitted to the fellowship of 
the church. But figures give but a poor idea of The 
work of so long a ministry and of its results. 

His connection with the college continued until 
1779 — more than sixty years. He filled the office of 
fellow with fidelity and discretion, and essentially 
promoted the interests of this "important seminary." 
At the commencement in 1771 the college conferred 
on him the degree of Doctor of Divinity, in consider- 
tion of his " having been long an ornament to the 
pastoral character, and eminently distinguished for 
his knowledge, wisdom, sanctity of manners and use- 
fulness to the churches, and having for more than 
fifty years exerted himself in promoting the interests 
of piety and learning in this society, both as a min- 
ister and as a Fellow of the Corporation." This honor 
was the more marked in that it had only once been 
conferred, and that instance was seventy-eiglit years 
before, when Increase Mather was the recipient. 

Traces of his faithfulness as a minister are to be 
f<e«n through the church records, with the mention of 
events which concerned his relation to the church. 

We come upon his vigilance in 1731 and after- 
wards, when certain persons had fallen into open sin. 



In February, 1734-35, the church and congregation 
met in solemn assembly and spent the forenoon in 
prayer and preaching. The sermon was from Ezra 
xiv. 5, 6. In the afternoon several votes were passed> 
expressing the apprehension of a sad decay of piety, 
and rehearsing the many ways in which persons had 
proved false to their covenant, and run into innumer- 
able temptations and hazarded their souls. They 
feared that these evils resulted from a neglect to 
watch over one another, as they had covenanted to 
do. With deep contrition they promised to amend 
their lives, to discountenance sinful practice.s, and to 
deny themselves even their lawful liberty to prevent 
others from stumbling. They promised to be watch- 
ful and helpful. They voted, finally, that a suitable 
letter should be prepared by the pastor and sent to 
the inn-holders and retailers of ardent spirits, exhort- 
ing them to do all they could to prevent intemper- 
ance,, gaming or any disorder at their houses. These 
general measures do not seem to have been sufficiently 
effective, for two years later, at a meeting of the 
church, a committee was appointed to consult with 
the pastor " about such measures as shall be thought 
most likely under the Divine blessing to reform the 
growing disorders that are among us." The commit- 
tee in its report advised that nine of the brethren be 
appointed " to inspect and observe the manners of 
professing Christians, and such as are under the care 
and watch of this church." They were to inquire into 
any sinful and disorderly behavior of which they 
might hear, and administer admonition with faithful- 
ness and tenderness. If such private treatment did not 
succeed, they were to advise with the pastor about more 
public action. In the case of such open and scanda- 
lous offences as required the notice of the church, 
they were to bring the matter properly before the 
church. But the appointment of the committee was 
not to excuse other Christians from the usefulness to 
which they were pledged. The committee was ap- 
pointed and entered upon its work. The plan ap- 
pears to have worked well, for year by year afterwards 
we have a record like this: "The brethren voted to 
choose a Committee to inspect the manners of pro- 
fessing Christians, etc., according to the method 
agreed upon April 19, 1737." The church was evi- 
dently striving to fulfill its own obligations, and at 
the same time not to encroach on the freedom of any 
person. The offences were real, would be real now, 
and there was an honest effort to bring them to an 
end. 

Another matter entering largely into the records 
concerns the lands belonging to the church. These 
have already been mentioned more than once. There 
is a catalogue signed "N. A.," and entitled "Lands 
belonging to the Church and Congregation in Cam- 
bridge for the Use of the Ministry." The list in- 
cludes three small lots of four, eight and three acres, 
and a lot of forty acres in Menotomy, called Bare 
Hill. Besides these there was a lot of twenty acres in 



CAMBRIDGE. 



45 



Newton, " the gift of Mr. Thomas Beale to the church 
of Christ in this place and town of Cambridge, 
whereof he was a member." There was, also, a farm 
of five hundred acres at the farther end of Lexington, 
towards Bedford, given in former time by the pro- 
prietors of the town for the use of the ministry. It 
was found expedient early in Mr. Appleton's minis- 
try to sell the land in Newton and Lexington. The 
proceeds of the former were invested in bonds, and 
the income was to be used as the church should 
direct. Of the money received for the Lexington 
lands, £130 was reserved for the erection of a parson- 
age ; the rest was applied to the purposes of the orig- 
inal donation. Inasmuch as the proceeds of the 
Lexington farm were to be for the minister's benefit, 
he made an arrangement with the town whereby he 
was to receive two-thirds of the interest which ac- 
crued from the investments of the money received 
by the sale of the land. The remaining third was to 
be added, by the minister's proposal, to the princi- 
pal. The fund was to be in the hands of a treasurer 
nominated by the minister and approved by the 
town. Mr. Appleton solemnly charged the peoi)le of 
the parish to abide strictly by the arrangement which 
had been made, and never suffer the third of the in- 
terest to be applied to any other use than the increasing 
of the fund. He expressed the hope that no succes- 
sor of his in the ministry would ever desire or de- 
mand more than two-thirds of the interest money. 
" Nay, let me add, what some of you may easily 
compute, that by keeping this vote and agreement, 
of adding one-third of the interest to the principal, 
sacred and inviolable, that by the 3d or 4th generation 
it will of itself afford a comfortable and decent sup- 
port for a minister, without any tax upon the people." 
We can trace this matter further. The minister of 
1800 writes that this fund, by its own accumulation, 
and by the addition of the product of ministerial 
lands sold in 1795, has become greatly auxiliary to 
the support of the ministry. From time to time a 
committee was appointed to examine into the state 
of the church stock of moneys, bonds or notes in the 
hands of the deacons. In 1773 such a committee 
made a long report, in which they recommended that, 
after allowing the funds to increase by interest for 
fourteen years, for the next fifteen years one-third of 
the interest ehould be used for the support of the 
ministry, and that after that time two-thirds of the 
fund should be employed in this way, and the re- 
mainder added to the principal. In order that the 
fund might be fiirther increased, the committee rec- 
ommended, also, to the members of the church that, 
whenever they came together " to commemorate the 
death and sufferings of Him who spared not to shed 
His precious blood for us, they would express their 
thankful remembrance of the benefit they have re- 
ceived, by cheerfully contributing a small part of the 
substance with which God has blessed them for the 
important purposes of continuing and spreading 



amongst mankind that pure and undefiled religion 
which Christ appeared on earth to prop.agate." They 
entered into an elaborate statement "to show that a 
very small part of our substance, properly applied, 
would produce a very considerable effect " in enlarg- 
ing the resources of the church. 

The church records present various matters which 
were of importance in their day and are still interest- 
ing. We have Mr. Appleton's wood account, begin- 
ning in 1729 : " My good friends and neighbors have, 
for several years past, in the fall of the year, brought 
me a cousiderable quantity of wood gratis, some 
years between thirty and forty loads, sometimes 
above forty loads, which good and laudable custom, 
that had been dead for some years before the Rever- 
end Mr. Brattle's death, was revived by good Father 
Pattin about ten years ago, and continued by the 
friendship of the people." Then follow the names of 
the donors year by year, with the quantity of their 
gifts. In 1732 the people of the northwesterly part 
of the town were formed into a separate precinct, 
and in 1739 a church was gathered there. To this 
new church the church here gave £25 " to furnish 
their communion-table in a decent manner." In 
1731 and 1734 additions were made to the commu- 
nion service of the church here by private gifts. In 
1740 " the Hon. Jacob Wendell, Esq., from his re- 
gard to this place," presented " to the minister of the 
first church, for the time being, a large handsome 
Bible for the use of the church," and the gift was 
suitably acknowledged. 

There was another change in regard to the method 
of receiving members. Those who wished had al- 
ready been excused from a public recital of their re- 
ligious experience. In 1757, at a church-meeting, 
"some of the honorable brethren of the church 
moved that for the future it might not be insisted 
upon with such who should be admitted into the 
church to come forth and stand in the front alley or 
aisle at the time of their admission ; alleging that it 
was disagreeable and surprising to some persons, and 
had been offered by way of objection by some per- 
sons, and had been such a stumbling-block to them 
as to prevent their offering themselves for admission ; 
and considering it was but a mere circumstantial 
thing, and a matter of indifference, and considering 
also that the practice of other churches allowed per- 
sons to stand in their own proper places, all the time 
of admission. Therefore, the brethren agreed to 
leave the matter to the discretion of the pastor, at the 
same time manifesting that they did not insist upon 
the standing in the aisle or alley, and that they 
should be well satisfied if they appeared in any of the 
seats or pews that joined upon the front alley, so as 
to be fairly before the pastor and in view of the as- 
sembly : and to this no one of the brethren offered 
the least objection, although they were desired to do 
it if they had any objection to offer." This action 
marks the willingness of the church to regard the 



46 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



wishes of each person in all matters which had not a 
distinct and essential religious character. 

We are brouglit in our survey to the days of the Rev- 
olutioo. As early as 1765 the people of the town 
had formally instructed their representatives to give 
no aid to the operation of the Stamp Act, but to do 
all they could for its repeal. They ordered that their 
action should be recorded in the town-books, " that 
the children yet unborn may see the desire that their 
ancestors had for their freedom and happiness." The 
part which Cambridge had in the events of the weary, 
costly, glorious years which followed is not to be 
told here. Cambridge was long the headquarters of 
•the American army, and the meeting-house stood in 
the midst of stirring scenes. It opened its doors and 
extended its kind offices to the soldiers who mustered 
around it. There Washington and his companions 
in arms came to worship. There the delegates from 
the towns of the States met in 1779 and framed 
the Constitution of' the Commonwealth, which the 
next year was ratified by the people. The preaching 
of the pastor, his prayers, those of his church, glowed 
with patriotic fire. We know the men. Here in 
177-1, when public and private affairs wear a gloomy 
aspect, they are found keeping a day of humiliation 
and prayer, as in other places. Yet they kept up the 
work of the church, for on this very Fast Day they 
chose two deacons. 

There is a glimpse at the times in the simple 
receipts which are in the church-book, signed by the 
minister in acknowledgement of his salary. There 
is one when he received £3. 2s. in Continental bills, 
which, " although they are exceedingly depreciated 
yet, considering the contributions and subscriptions 
they have afforded for my relief, and considering the 
additional grant they have made to my salary for 
1778, 1 accept of this in full for my salary for the year 
1777." His salary had been £100, and could not 
have been greatly increased, yet the next year he 
gave a receipt for £600, and the next for £750, and in 
1783 for £2000 paper currency, and £25 silver cur- 
rency. There is a touching pathos in the statement 
by the good man as he took his bills and called them 
money, " although they are greatly depreciated." 

He was close upon ninety years of age. We find the 
fact of his advanced years creeping quietly into the 
records. 1777, April 25 : " Whereas our Rev. and 
very aged pastor is at present under such bodily in- 
firmities as to render it doubtful whether he will be 
able to administer the sacrament on the approaching 
Sal)bath, voted, in such case, it is agreeable and is the 
desire of this church that the Hon. and Kev. Presi- 
dent Langdon should administer the same, and at any 
other time wlien necessary occasion calls for it." The 
following Thursday was to have been a day of " Public 
Fasting and Prayer," but " the aged pastor, through 
bodily disorders was unable to carry on the services of 
the Fast, neither could help be obtained, so that there 
was no public service on the Fast." By 1782 the peo- 



ple had come to talk seriously of the need of "a more 
fixed and settled provision for the preaching and ad- 
ministering the gospel ordinances among them," and 
it was decided by the church that it was desirable to 
settle another minister if the right man could be 
procured, and the parish committee was desired to 
consult the parish in regard to the matter. We have 
Mr. Appleton's record of July 30, 1783, which " was 
observed as a day of Fasting and Prayer by the 
church and congregation to seek of God divine direc- 
tion and assistance in the important affair of procur- 
ing a more fixed and settled preaching and adminis- 
tration of the word and ordinances among us, con- 
sidering the very advanced age and growing infirmi- 
ties of their aged pastor. The Rev. Mr. Eliot began 
with prayer; Rev. Mr. Cushing preached a.m.; Rev 
Mr. Jackson began with prayer ; Rev. Mr. Clarke 
preached P. M." As the general desire of the brethren 
of the church, " as well as in compliance with his 
own inclination and earnest wishes," the pastor called 
a meeting of the church for the purpose of choosing 
one to be his colleague in the ministerial office, 
if the church should see fit. When the meeting was 
held the pastor was unable to attend and Deacon 
Aaron Hill was moderator. A committee was ap- 
pointed " to wait on the President of the University 
and request him to pray with the brethren on the 
present occasion." The president complied with the 
request, and received the thanks of the brethren. It 
was voted by a large majority to proceed to the 
choice of an associate pastor, and the Rev. Timothy 
Hilliard was chosen to that office. The parish con- 
curred in this action and Mr. Hilliard accepted the 
invitation. A council of the churches of the vicinage 
was called, and on the 27th of October, 1783, Mr. 
Hilliard was installed. He preached on the occasion 
from Titus ii. 15 : " Let no man despise thee." The 
Rev. Mr. Clarke, of Lexington, prayed before the 
charge, which was given by the Rev. Dr. Cooper, of 
Boston. The Rev. Mr. Cushing, of Waltham, gave 
the right hand of fellowship. "The greatest order, 
decency and sobriety were observable through the 
whole. Soli Deo G/oria." 

Mr. Appleton soon g.ave over the church-book into 
the care of his colleague, which was virtually the re- 
linquishment of the staff of office, which his decrepit 
hand could no longer hold. In the following Febru- 
ary "he departed this life, in the ninety-first year of 
his age and sixty-seventh of his ministry." 

" 1784, February 15. This day his funeral solem- 
nity was attended. The body was carried to the 
meeting-house. Rev. Mr. Cushingof W.iltham, prayed. 
The surviving pastor of this church delivered a fun- 
eral address. A funeral anthem was sung, after which 
the procession advanced to the burying-place, and the 
body was admitted to the tomb." 

A long Latin epitaph covers the stone upon his 
grave. After the Latin are two lines in his own tongue: 
" They that be wise shall shine as the brightnesir of the 



CAMBRIDGE. 



47 



firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness, 
as the stars forever and ever." 

We have had many indications of the character of 
the sixth minister of the First Church in Cambridge, 
and of the esteem in which he was held. Testimony 
to the man is abundant — in his work, in his published 
discourses, and in the tributes of those who knew him. 
The words of Dr. Holmes, one of his successors, are 
plain and strong :• "Dr. Appleton, if venerable for 
his age, was more venerable for his piety. His relig- 
ion, like his whole character, was patriarchal. Born 
in the last century, and living till near the close of 
this, he brought down with him the habits of 'other 
times.' In his dress, in his manners, in his conversa- 
tion, in his ministry, he maybe classed with the Puri- 
tan ministers of revered memory, who first came to 
New England. His natural temper was cheerful ; 
but his habitual deportment was grave. Early conse- 
crated to God, and having a fixed predilection for the 
ministry, he was happily formed by the union of good 
sense, with deep seriousness, of enlightened zeal with 
consummate prudence, fur the pastoral office. He 
preached the gospel with great plainness of speech, and 
with primitive simplicity. Less concerned to please 
than to instruct and edify, he studiously accommoda- 
ted his discourse to the meanest capacity. To this end, 
he frequently borrowed similitudes from familiar, some- 
times from vulgar objects ; but his application of them 
was so pertinent, and his utterance and his air were so 
solemn, as to suppress levity and silence criticism. . . 
So great was the ascendency which he gained over 
his people, by his discretion and moderation, by his 
condescension and benevolence, by his fidelity and piety 
that, while he lived, they regarded his counsels as 
oracular ; and, since his death, they mention not his 
name, but with profound regard and veneration." 

Dr. Appleton was esteemed a wise man by the 
neighboring churches, and his advice was sought. 
His own church was "respectable for wealth, influ- 
enceand numbers," but his influence was fell through- 
out the province. His portrait l>y Copley hangs among 
those of other worthies, on the college wall, and fit- 
tingly represents him holding in his hand a volume 
of Dr. Watts, entitled, " Orthodoxy and Charity." 
His manuscripts were burned in Boston in the fire of 
17SI4. But a goodly number of his sermons are in print, 
with a work published in 1728 with the title, "The 
Wisdom of God in the Redemption of Man.'' He left 
a legacy of forty pounds for the benefit of the poor of 
the church; and one of twenty -six pounds Massachusetts 
currency, to the colk-g^ for a scholarship, in addition 
to thirty pounds previously given by him. 

Mr. Appleton was m.irried, in 1720, to Margaret 
daughter of the Rev. Henry Gibbs, of Watertown. 
The tradition of the manner in which he obtained his 
wife, by a device which sent his rival in pursuit of 
his runaway horse, indicates that while his prudence 
was "consummate," his deportment in his youth was 
not always severely grave. Twelve children were born 



to him. One son was a merchant in Boston and a 
zealous patriot during the Revolution, and for many 
years was commissioner of loans. Two daughters 
married clergymen. 

Before we pass to the next ministry there are a few 
others events which should be mentioned. Alter Mr. 
Appleton had been invited to the church, a committee 
was appointed by the town to consider the expediency 
of raising the meeting-house, so that an upper tier of 
galleries could be put in. The college agreed to bear 
one-seventh part of the expense of this alteration, on 
condition that certain parts of the house should be 
reserved for the use of the scholars. The project seems 
to have been abandoned. In 1746 the parish proposed 
to repair the meeting-house, and the college agreed to 
pay a portion of the cost. There was a difference of 
opinion regarding the work which should be done, 
and the extensive repairs were given up; but it would 
appear that the immediate necessity was met by mak- 
ing the roof tight, and mending the windows, doors 
and seats. 

It is very probable that some thought the time was 
not remote when a new house would be required, and 
that it would not be good economy to spend much 
money on the old building. In 1753 the inhabitants 
voted, to build a new meeting-house upon some part of 
the hill, ou which their house was then standing. The 
college agreed to pay one-seventh part of the cost 
upon certain conditions, and with proper care that 
their action should not be taken as a precedent. The 
students were to have the improvement of the whole 
front gallery, and one of the best pews was to be set 
apart for the president. A petition was sent to the 
General Court, asking such help in theafl'air as should 
seem meet to the legislative wisdom and generosity. 
The college afterward agreed to add twenty pounds 
to its previous subscription. There was' a protracted 
negotiation with the college, but at last, November 17, 
175<i, the house was raised. Divine service was first 
performed in it July 24, 17r)7. This, the fViurth meet- 
ing-house, remained until 1S3;>. President Quincy 
has said of it, " In thisedificeall the public commence- 
ments and solemn inaugurations during more thati 
seventy years were celebrated, and no building in 
Massachusetts can compare with it in the number of 
distinguished men who at different limes have been 
assembled within its walls." There Washington and 
his officers worshipped. There the Constitution of 
Massachusetts was framed. There Lafayette received 
the address of welcome in 1824. A large stone from 
the foundation, one which had very likely served the 
preceding houses, has been built into the walls of the 
Shcpard Memorial Church, inscribed with the date 
1750. 

In 1749-50 a committee was appointed by the par- 
ish "to treat with the governors of the college, in 
order to their assisting of said precinct in the support 
of Mr. Appleton." 

A law was passed that if any dog was (bund in the 



48 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



meeting-house on the Lord's Day, in time of public 
worship, the owner should be fined. 

Provision was made tor the care of the " French 
neutrals." 

The court-house was to be rebuilt, as far as possi- 
ble, from the materials of the meeting-house about to 
be taken down. 

In 1761 an Episcopal Church was opened here, at 
the desire " of five or si.\ gentlemen, each of whose 
incomes was judged to be adequate to the mainten- 
ance of a domestic chaplain. A missionary was ap- 
pointed to the care of the church by the English So- 
ciety for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts." 

In 1764 the college suffered asevereloss by the burn- 
ing of Harvard Hall, which contained the library, 
the philosophical apparatus and other things of value. 
This was of great interest to the church. 

In 1747 the inhabitants on the south side of the 
river had made known their desire to be formed into 
a separate religious precinct. There was opposition 
to this, and the proposal wiis defeated. It was re- 
newed with much pertinacity in 1748, 1749, 1758, 
1774. Religious services were held there, and a 
meeting-house erected, and in 1779 the people on the 
south side were incorporated " as a separate precinct, 
with authority to settle a minister, and to provide for 
his support by a parish tax." Certain persons were 
by name exempted from the taxing, so long as they 
preferred not to be reckoned in the new precinct. 

In 1780 the church members on the south side of 
Charles Elver in Cambridge presented a petition to 
the church, signifying their desire to be dismissed 
and incorporated into a distinct church, for enjoying 
the special ordinances of the gospel more conven- 
iently by themselves." The church complied with 
the request, and, on the 23d of February, 1783, the 
church was organized. The Rev. John Foster was 
ordained to the pastoral care of the church November 
4, 1784. 

It was during Dr. Appleton's ministry that George 
Whitefield was arousing and exciting the country by 
his marvelous preaching. In 1740 he came to Cam- 
bridge to see and to preach, and he made a sad report 
of what he saw. 

He found the college with the president, five tutors 
and about a hundred students. As he viewed mat- 
ters, the college was " not far superior to our univer- 
sities in piety and true Godliness. Discipline is at too 
low an ebb. Bad books are become fashionable 
amongst them. Tillotson and Clarke are read in- 
stead of Shepard and Stoddard and such like evan- 
gelical writers; and, therefore, I chose to preach on 
these words : ' We are not as many, who corrupt the 
Word of God ; ' and God gave me great freedom and 
boldness of speech. A great number of neighboring 
ministers attended, as, indeed, they do at all other 
times. The president of the college and ministers of 
the parish treated me very civilly. In the afternoon 
I preached again, in the court. I believe there were 



about seven thousand hearers. The Holy Spirit 
melted many hearts." President Quincy intimates 
that ^\^hitefield had been misinformed about the col- 
lege by some disaffected persons. His preaching here 
seems to have had results which were approved. The 
visiting committee of the overseers, in 1741, reported 
that "they find, of late, extraordinary and happy im- 
pressions of a religious nature had been made on the 
minds of a great number of students, by which means 
the college is in a better order than usual, and the 
exercises of the professors and tutors better attended." 

Tutor Flynt wrote of Whitefield: "He appears to 
be a good man, and sincerely desirous to do good to 
the soul of sinners ; is very apt to judge harshly and 
censure in the severest terms those that ditl'er from 
his scheme. ... I think he is a composition of a 
great deal of good and some bad, and I pray God to 
grant success to what is well designed and acted by 
him." 

The college faculty retaliated the charges brought 
against the college in the hot discussions of the time 
by publishing their testimony against Whitefield, call- 
ing him very hard names. He replied, and the con- 
troversy went on. " Whitefield was sore beset. In 
letters to various friends he expressed more diffidence 
than might have been expected from a young man 
who had drunk so deeply into the intoxication of 
popular applause." He saw something of his error. 
" I certainly did drop some unguarded expressions in 
the heat of less experienced youth, and was too pre- 
cipitate in hearkening to and publishing private in- 
formation." He assured the faculty of his "sorrow 
that he had published his private information ... to 
the world." Twenty years later, when the library had 
been burned, he gave to ihe college his "journal and 
a collection of books; and also by his influence he 
procured a large number of valuable books from 
several parts of Great Britain." 

In all these events the church in Cambridge was 
most deeply concerned. The times required ail the 
discretion of the ministers. At a meeting of the As- 
sociation of Cambridge and the neighboring towns, in 
January, 1744-45, "the Rev. Mr. Appleton, having 
applied to his brethren" for advice, after prayer and 
di.scussion, "it was unanimously voted that it i^ not 
advisable, under the present situation of things, that 
the Rev. Mr. Appleton should invite the Rev. Mr. 
Whitefield to preach in Cambridge. And they ac- 
cordingly declared, each for themselves respectively, 
that they could not invite the said gentleman into 
their pulpit." , 

June 27, 1745, there appeared this notice in the 
Boston Weekly News Letter: "WHEREAS, it is reported 
in the Gazette or Journal, of this week, that the Rev. 
Mr. Whitefield preached last Saturday at Cambridge, 
to prevent misapprehension and some ill consequences 
which may arise from thence, you are desired to give 
your readers notice that he preached on the Common, 
and not in the Puli)it ; and that he did it, not only 



CAMBKIDGE. 



49 



without the consent, but contrary to the mind of the 
Rev. Mr. Appleton, the minister of the place." 

But the churcli here felt "The (ireat .\ wakening" 
which had beKiin at Nortliampton in 1734, under the 
powerful preachinjj of Jonathan Edwards, and had 
spread to Ihe surrounding towns and quickened the 
Boston churches. The visits of Whitefield and Ten- 
uent enlarged the interest which the church&>j here 
were feeling. We have the testimony of Tutor 
Flynt's diary: "Many students appeared to be in a 
great concern as to their souls, first moved by I\[r. 
Whitetield's preachinj;, and after by Mr. Tennent's 
and others, and by Mr. Appleton, who was more close 
and affecting in his preaching after Mr. Whitefield's 
being here." 

With this we close our account of Mr. Appleton's 
ministry and pass to that of his associate and succes- 
sor. The death of Dr. .\ppleton left his colleague 
the sole pastor of the church. This had doubtless 
been foreseen in his settlement. The Rev. Timothy 
Milliard was the son of a worthy farmer and deacon, 
and was born in Kensington, N. H., in 1746. In his 
youth he showed an unusual facility in acquiring 
knowledge, and manifested an amiable and cheerful 
disposition. President Willard, who was his contem- 
jiorary in college, bore witness that " while he was a 
student he made such advances in the various 
branches of useful learning us laid the foundation for 
that eminence in his ]irofessi(in to which he afterward 
attained. . . . Hm puljiit performances Irom the first 
were very acceptable," whereon he was called to 
preach. He graduated with high honor in 1764. In 
1768 he was appointed chaplain of Castle William. 
After a few months in that service he was appointed 
a tutor in Harvard College. He discharged his du- 
ties with tidelity anil success for about two years and 
a half when he w;is invited to become the minister of 
Barnstable, where he was ordained, April 10, 1771. 
He remained in that position about twelve years, dis- 
charging its duties with his usual diligence. He was 
highly esteemed as a preacher and a pastor, not only 
in his own parish, but through that part of the coun- 
try. The chill, damp air of the sea had an unfavor- 
able effect upon his health, and he was obliged to 
resign his charge. He was soon invited to Cam- 
bridge, and wiis installed here, as we have already 
seen. He continued in the ministry here until his 
death, which occurred on the Lord's Day morning, 
May 9, 1700, when he was in the seventh year of his 
ministry here, and the forty-fourth year of his age. 
The records of his pastorate are made up of the usual 
parochial events. There were one hundred and forty- 
live baptisms, and twenty-three persons were received 
to the church. The " Committee to inspect the man- 
ners of professing Christians " seems to have been 
discontinued after Dr. .Vppleton's death. Care wa.s 
taken of the funds belonging to the church, provision 
was made for the poor, and the legacy of the late pas- 
tor was applied according to his directions. The years 
4 



of the Revolution, and those which immediately fol- 
lowed it, were a dreary time for the churches. Many 
|>ersons had been drawn away from the restraints of 
the law and the intluencc of the sanctuary and ex- 
|)Osed to the excitement and temptation of a soldier's 
life, often among the unprincijjled strangers from 
other lands. With the war uppermost in men's 
minds, religion suffered a decline. Errors of belief 
and practice, corrui)tions of divers kinds, came in like 
a riood. The Sabbath lost its sacredness, the Bible 
its authority, the church its sanctity. The preacher's 
task was doubled. The minister here felt the force 
of the couffict and the greatness of the issue. Mr. 
Hilliard was thoroughly in earnest. Both the learned 
and the unlearned were profited by his judicious, in- 
structive, practical teachings. His sermons were of 
cost to him, and hence were of value to his hearers. 
The government of the college regarded him as "an 
excellent model for the youth under their care who 
were designed for the desk, and considered his intro- 
duction into this parish a most happy event.'' He 
excelled in public prayer, and was "tenderly atten- 
tive to the sick and affficted." His temper was ami- 
able, candid, liberal. While not ranking among 
what are called popular preachers, he had tine pulpit 
talent, and his ministrations were highly acceptable 
to the churches. His reputation was increasing 
when he died. He had much influence in ecclesias- 
tical councils and associations, and his brethren paid 
liim a marked respect. He was watchful of the wel- 
fare of the College of which he was a son and an 
overseer. In person he was rather spare, of a medium 
height, with an intellectual and attractive counte- 
nance. His portrait in the library of the Shepard 
Memorial Church [ire.sents him with a grave face and 
the jtspcct of a m;in thoroughly devoted to his sacred 
calling. His last illness was very short, and he met 
death with the calmness which was becoming in such 
a man. He mentioned his [leople wiih affection, and 
with satisfaction testified ' that he had not shunned 
to declare to them the whole counsel of Cod, having 
kept nothing back through fear or any sinister views." 
His "bereaved, affectionate ffock" erected a monu- 
ment to his memory, and inscribed upon it the vir- 
tues that adorned his life, — " In private life cheerful, 
affable, courteous, amiable ; in his ministerial charac- 
ter, instructive, serious, solemn, faithful." 

Dr. Holmes tells us that "all the ministers, since 
Mr. Mitchel, have resided at the parsonage." The 
minister's house, which was built in 1()70, became di- 
lapidated in the course of years, and in 171"^ the town 
made a grant " of two hundred and fifty pounds for the 
building of a new parsonage-house, provided the sum 
of one hundred and thirty pounds of the said money be 
procured by the sale of town, proprietary or ministry 
lands." It would appear, however, that additions were 
made to the old house. Dr. Holmes states, in ISOO, that 
"the front part of the present house at the parsonage 
was built in 1720." In 1843 the house was taken down. 



50 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Mr. Hilliard died in 1790. His publications were 
five sermons, including a Dudleian Lecture. 

It was to be nearly two years before the church had 
another minister, and his ministry was to be most 
eventful. There were then in Cambridge a few 
more than two tliousand people. In ten years there 
was a growth of three hundred and thirty persons. 
The buildings and grounds of the college gave char- 
acter to the town, and near at hand were the meet- 
ing-house of the First Church, the Episcopal Church, 
the county court-house and jail, and the Grammar 
School-house. In 1800 the historian writes : "West 
Boston Bridge, connecting Cambridge with Boston, is 
a magnificent structure. ... It is very hand- 
somely constructed ; and when lighted by its two 
rows of lamps, extending a mile and a quarter, pre- 
sents a vista, which has a fine effect. The bridge 
was opened for passengers November 23, 1793, seven 
mouths and a half from the time of laying the first 
pile. The bridge cost $76,700. A toll was "granted 
to the proprietors for seventy years." " The erec- 
tion of this bridge has had a very perceivable influ- 
ence on the trade of Cambridge, which, formerly, was 
very inconsiderable." There were then in the town 
"five edifices for public worship, and six school- 
houses." " The grounds of Thomas Brattle, Esquire, 
are universally admired, for the justness of their 
design, and the richness, variety and perfection of 
their productions. In no part of New England, prob- 
ably, is horticulture carried to higher perfection 
than within his enclosure." 

Cambridge wiisan inviting place of residence when 
the eighth minister came to the ancient church. He 
was born in the town of Woodstock, now in Connec- 
ticut, but then within the bounds of Massachusetts. 
He graduated at Yale College in 1783. His college 
life lay within the days of war. He felt the stir of 
the times, but pursued his studies with diligence and 
was considered one of the most accomplished schol- 
ars in his class. In his sophomore year he connected 
himself with the College Church. In the year fol- 
lowing his graduation he was in South Carolina. 
While there the church and society at Midway, Ga., 
learning that he intended to enter the ministry, in- 
vited him to preach for a year, and, in 1783, he be- 
gan his labors there. This church and society had 
removed from Dorchester, Mass., about the year 1700, 
and had first settled in South Carolina, at a place 
which they named Dorchester. Some fifty years 
later they moved to Georgia. The society was 
broken up and dispersed by the war, and the meetingr 
house, with most of the dwellings and the crops, 
were burned by the British troops. On the return of 
peace the people came back to their old home and 
resumed their common life. It was at this new 
beginning that Mr. Abiel Holmes, then in the twen- 
ty-first year of his age, was called to their service. 
When he was about to return to the North, in the 
following year, he was earnestly solicited to obtain 



ordination and then to resume his ministry in Geor- 
gia. He consented to this, and was ordained in the 
College Chapel at New Haven, on the 15th of Sep- 
tember, 1785. The sermon, by the Rev. Levi Hart, 
of Preston, Conn., was entitled : " A Christian min- 
ister described, and distinguished from a pleaser 
of men." The jjrayer of ordination was by President 
Stiles. He went back to Georgia and continued 
his labors there for about four years longer, when it 
was found that his health was unfavorably affected 
by the Southern climate, and he resigned his charge 
and came to New England. Mr. Holmes was in- 
vited to preach at Cambridge with a view to his set- 
tlement, and was soon called to the pastorate. He 
replied : " In respect to the ofiice of which you 
have asked my acceptance, I can truly say that I con- 
sider it above my years and improvements. But the 
singular candor with which you received me and my 
ministrations while I was with you, and the remark- 
able unanimity with which the transactions relative 
to my proposed settlement among you were con- 
ducted, silence my objection on this head." A coun- 
cil was called in the usual manner and it met at the 
parsonage. President Willard was chosen moderator. 
After the examination the council adjourned for din- 
ner at Mr. Owen Warland's. After dinner the 
brethren of the church received the pastor-elect to 
membership. Then the council, with the pastor-elect, 
preceded by the church and as many of the other in- 
habitants of the parish as were jflesent, proceeded 
to the meeting-house, where the services of installa- 
tion were held. The sermon was by Rev. James 
Dana, D.D., of New Haven , from the words, " My 
doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me." The 
record closes in this way : " Throughout the whole 
process the greatest order, decency and harmony were 
observable. Soli Deo Gloria." 

Thus the Rev. Abiel Holmes entered upon his long 
pastorate here. In his first sermon after his installa- 
tion he said : " The place in which I stand- reminds 
me of my venerable predecessors in the ministry. 
. . . Other men labored, and I am entered into 
their labors. Such an one as Paul the aged no 
longer addresses you from this pulpit, but a youth 
who would have esteemed it a singular honor, as a 
son with a father, to have served with him in the 
gospel. May the examples and counsels of your 
worthy pastors who have gone to rest be long kept in 
faithful remembrance among you ; and may the re- 
collection of their excellent characters excite your 
present minister to fidelity in the very arduous and 
important work to which he is reservedly devoted." 

The records of the church during Mr. Holmes' 
ministry are in his own handwriting, which is almost 
as plain as printing, and they exhibit the method 
and accuracy which marked his whole life. From 
these records and collateral sources we are able to 
make out the history of those years. The chrono- 
logical order will be followed, for the most part. 



CAMBRIDGE. 



51 



The first matter in the records proper of this period 
is the report in 1792 of " a committee appointed to 
inquire into the state of the church stoclc and of the 
fund appropriated to the poor of the church." It 
appears that the deacons had in their charge £356 
19«. 8id., which was nearly all invested and drawing 
interest. One-third of the interest was to be paid to 
the treasurer of the parish, by vote of the church. 
In the account of the fund for tlie poor, the deacons 
were charged with £82 7s. 621/., which had been 
properly distributed, or was still invested, except a 
very small balance. The deacons declared their 
agreement to the report of the committee. The 
church passed a vote of thanks to "Deacon Hill for 
his generous services in providing for the communion 
and negotiating the funds of the church." This ex- 
amination was repeated annually, and the vote of 
acknowledgment was regularly passed for several 
years, enlarged, however, by thanks " to the deacons 
in general for their services in behalf of the Church." 
The last of these monetary statements was made in 
1830, when the funds of the church had increased to 
$3236.99, and the fund for the poor to .*667.18. 

The first statement made by the deacons is signed 
by Aaron Hill, (lideon Frost and .lames Munro. In 
the same year Deacf>n Hill died after a service of 
eighteen years, and Captain John Walton was chosen 
to fill the vacancy. He died thirty-one years after- 
wards, in 1823. In 1803 Deacon Frost died, after 
serving twenty years, and Mr. William Hilliard was 
chosen in his place. Concerning him the pastor 
wrote, in a note: " He is in his twenty -sixth year, is 
a son of my worthy predecessor in the ministry, and, 
though recently admitted into our church, has been 
several years a member of a church in Boston, and 
has had frequent communion with us." He remained 
in office until his death, in 1836 — a period of thirty- 
two years. Deacon Munro died in 180-1, having been 
twenty-one years in this office. In his place, Mr. 
.Tosiah Moore was chosen. He served for nine years, 
and died in 1814. His house stood where the Shep- 
ard Memorial Church was afterwards erected. 

In 1818 Mr. James Munroe was elected deacon. 
The record proceeds in this way ; " Sept. 6. — After 
the morning sermon (Lord's Day), the pastor, having 
admitted four members in full communion into the 
church, mentioned the election of Brother .lames 
Munroe to the office of Deacon, and his acceptance. 
The deacon-elect, signifying his acceptance by taking 
his seat, this day, with the deacons, near the Com- 
munion-table, rose, on being addressed by the pastor, 
who briefly stated to him the duties of the office to 
which he was elected, exhorted him to fidelity, and 
announced him a deacon of this church. In the 
concluding prayer, immediately following, he was 
commended to the peace and blessing of God." He 
remained in this office until his death, in 1848. Of 
Deacons Hilliard and Munroe a later pastor said : 
" In many respects dissimilar, they were alike in 



their love of the truth, in their zeal for the glory of 
Christ, and in their efforts and sacrifices for the 
welfare of the church." 

In this connection we may bring together a few 
changes in regard to the Communion of the Lord's 
Supper. It had been the usage of this church to 
have this ordinance administered once in eight weeks. 
This caused inconvenience, as the particular days 
were not specified. Accordingly, in 1797, at the 
suggestion of the pastor, the church decided to have 
the communion on the first Lord's Day of every 
other month, beginning with January. 

In September, 1816, there is this entry : " It had 
been the usage of the church, at the Communion ser- 
vice, for the members to remain in their own pews. 
To lessen the time and to facilitate the duties of this 
service, on the suggestion of the deacons, the pastor 
recommended it to the communicants to seat them- 
selves in the pews on the broad aisle. These pews 
were, accordingly, occupied at the Commun,ion this 
day." In 1825 the time for the lecture preparatory 
to the communion was changed to the evening, and 
it was voted '' that the examination of the annual 
accounts of the church take place at the lecture pre- 
vious to the first Sunday in March." At the same 
meeting it was voted that the Sabbath service from 
September to March should begin at half-past two 
o'clock, and during the rest of the year at half-j)ast 
three. In 1826 "two of the tankards and two cups 
were recast, and two cups altered in such a manner 
as now made seven cups of a uniform shape and size. 
A new silver spoon and six Britannia-ware dishes, 
more adapted to the use for which they are designed, 
were also procured." 

There are three cases of church discipline on rec- 
ord in this period. All were for offences which would 
at any time demand attention, and the proceedings 
were marked by carefulness and fidelity. The first 
case was settled by the satisfactory confession of the 
offender, after the admonition of the pastor had 
brought him to repentance. The second resulted in 
excommunication, after persistent efi'orts to bring the 
ofl'ender to amendment. Four years afterwards, upon 
her contrition and desire for forgiveness and restora- 
tion, she was taken again into the fellowship of the 
church, and the pastor " exhorted the members to 
conduct toward her accordingly." The third instance 
was that of a man who had "renounced his Christian 
profession . . . and proved himself to be, not merely 
an apostate from the Christian Church, but an enemy 
to the Christian religion." The earnest efforts of the 
church to reclaim him were ineffectual, and he was 
finally cut off from the membership which he had 
renounced. 

Let us turn to pleasanter things. In 1805 a com- 
mittee, consisting of the pastor and two others, was 
appointed to consider the expediency of "procuring 
religious books for the use of the members of the 
church. The report recommended that a coutribu- 



52 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



tion should be made by the church for that purpose, 
and this course was adopted. The committee prepared 
a list ol' aljoiit twenty volumes, which were deemed 
suitable for the designed object. The list began with 
" The Holy Bible." Then followed " Leslie's Short 
and Easy Method with Deists," Baxter's " Saints' 
Rest," Doddridge's "Rise and Progress of Religion," 
" Wilberforce on Christianity," and kindred works. 
It is clear tliat the reading was to be of a very de- 
cided character. The books named were highly and 
deservedly approved in the churches. If they are 
not much read now, it is to be doubted whether works 
of a higher order have supplanted them. The esti- 
mated cost ipf the books proposed was $l:i.50. The 
deacons were desired to solicit donations of money, or 
of any of the books which had been designated, that 
the library might be started. The response was gen- 
erous, and the library was established and placed under 
the care of the church, which was annually to choose 
a librarian and a committee on books. The title 
agreed upon for the new organization was "The Li- 
brary of the First Church." The pastor was chosen 
librarian. Probably the project was his in the begin- 
ning. A catalogue was printed, embracing 109 books. 

This is the place to bring together a few other mat- 
ters of a similar character. In the summer of 1815 a 
Sabbath-school was opened at the meeting-house, with 
the design of promoting " the moral and religious im- 
provement of children and youth." During three 
summers the school was taught by Miss Mary Mun- 
roe and Miss Hannah Tenney. Five other young 
ladies came to their assistance, and Mr. James Farns- 
worth, master of the grammar school, tendered his- 
services for the instruction of boys. " More than 
eighty children of both sexes received instruction at 
the Sabbath-school. They were taught to read and 
to commit to memory select portions of the Bible, 
catechisms, hymns and prayers, and to answer Cum- 
mings' (luestions on the New Testament. Books and 
tracts were early provided for their use. In 1819 the 
pastor presented the design and needs of the school to 
the cougragation, "and a collection was afterwards 
taken for purchasing small books to be distributed 
among the children as an encouragement for punc- 
tual attendance, correct lessons and good behavior." 

"In 1827 books and tracts were collected by sub- 
scription for a juvenile library." A Board of Trustees 
AYiis chosen, of which the pastor was the head. He 
was also librarian. In July, 1831, seven trustees 
were elected, and Miss Mary Ann Sawyer became 
librarian. The trustees were authorized to make se- 
lections from the library in order to form a Sabbath- 
school library for the Shepard Sunday-school. Weare 
now carried beyond Dr. Holmes' pastorate, but it 
seems best to continue this account of the school. In 
1832 it was voted that " Mr. Stephen Farwell, then 
superintendent in the Sabbath-school, be appointed 
and requested to deliver the books selected for the 
use of the Sabb.ath-school." Afterward, in 1835, a 



Sabbath-school society was formed " for the purpose 

of promoting more effectually Sabbath -school instruc- 
tion," and both libraries for the young were trans- 
ferred to its care, and were brought together under 
the name of " Juvenile and Shepard Sabbath-school 
Library." 

We now come to transactions affecting the connec- 
tion between the church and the college. From the 
first they had held their Sunday services together, 
and the relation had been very intimate. In 1814 
the corporation and overseers decided that it was best 
for the members of the college to hold religious ser- 
vices by themselves. It was thought that this change 
would secure services which would be more directly 
appropriate to those connected with the college, and 
would give an opportunity for transferring to Sunday 
certain discourses which had been delivered on a 
week-day. The approved practice of other colleges 
favored the change. The completion of University 
Hall, which contained a commodiou.s chapel, made 
a good occasion for the proposed measure. It was 
designed to have a church organized and to have re- 
ligious ordinances duly administered. Members of 
the college government, with their families, and 
students, graduates and undergraduates were to be the 
only stated communicants. A committee, including 
the reverend president, was appointed to notify the 
minister and congregation of the parish of the design, 
and " to express the sentiments of regard and frater- 
nity felt by the members of the several college Boards, 
and the desire of Christian and friendly communion 
between the two societies." President Kirkland, as 
chairman, addressed a letter to the pastor, and the 
church and congregation, laying the matter before 
them in appropriate terms. He said: "The ties of 
neighborhood and friendship, the sympathy and re- 
gard naturally produced by a comnuinion in religious 
acts, and the experience of edification and comfort in 
attendance upon your services, combine to make us 
wish to continue going to the house of God in com- 
|)any." The committee expressed the belief that the 
separation, although in some respects painful and un- 
desirable, would, on being viewed in all its bearings, 
receive approval. A conference was held to determine 
the future relations of the parish and college. When 
the proposals of the college had been received, the 
church voted " that the reasons assigned for the pro- 
posed measure, so far as it respects this church, are 
entirely satisfactory, and that the church is ready to 
concur in the change.'' Those who were to leave the 
old church for the new one were to be dismissed in the 
customary manner. Five delegates, with the pastor, 
were appointed to assist in the formation of the new 
church, and the pastor was " requested to reciprocate 
the assurance of regard and fraternity so kindly ex- 
pressed by the university toward us.'' The pastorac- 
cordingly replied to the letter of the president in 
words full of feeling. He said: "Allowing ourselves, 
however, to be influenced on this occasion by no other 



CAMBRIDGE. 



53 



consideration than a regard to the best interests of 
the university, we cannot but acquiesce in a measure 
designed for its benefit. Our prayer to God is that it 
may, in all respects, be of Icindly and salutary inHu- 
ence, and paiticularly that it may conduce to the re- 
ligious interests of the university — a seminary conse- 
crated ' to Christ and the Church.' " The president 
and fifteen others signed the covenant upon which the 
church wiis to be formed. This is dated " Harvard Col- 
lege, November 6, 1814." The record of the church 
closes with the statement that " on the morning of 
Lord's Day, (5 November, 1814,- the church was organ- 
ized at University Hall, in the presence and by the as- 
sistance of the pastor and delegates of the First Church 
in Cambridge." It was an interesting and important 
event in the history of both church and college. 

In the following year the pastor made a discovery 
of great interest and value. There was no catalogue of 
the members of the church in its earliest years, though 
many names could be inferred from the fact that a 
freeman was of necessity a member of the church. 
Even with this method but a portion of the names 
could be obtained. But in 1815 Dr. Holmes found 
among the collections of the Rev. Thomas Prince, 
who had been the minister of the old South Church 
in Boston, and who died in 1758, a manuscript regis- 
ter, in the handwriting of Rev. Jonathan Mitchel, 
containimr a list of the members of the church under 
this title: "The Church of Christ at Cambridge, in 
New England. The names of all the members thereof 
that are in full communion; together with their 
children who were either baptized in this church or 
(coming from other churches) who were in their mi- 
nority at their parents' joyning, taken and registered, 
in the 11 montii, 1658." Dr. Prince was a noted col- 
lector of books and papers relating to the history of 
New England, and he doubtless regarded this paper 
as of rare worth. The church directed that this list 
should be bound up with the records, and that blank 
leaves should be left for the record of other papers. 
It is much to be regretted that the list of members 
cannot be continued through the years which inter- 
vened before the settlement of Mr. Brattle. This is 
now impossible. 

Another blank-book was to be procured " for the 
preservation of the reports on the state of the church 
stock, etc.," and other important papers suitable to be 
preserved with them ; such its Acts of the Legislature 
relative to parish and ministry lands, the setting otf 
of parishes within the town of Cambridge, etc., etc. 

In 1807 Dr. Holmes left the ancient house in which 
the ministers had so long resided, and removed to the 
house in Holmes' Place, so well known through the 
writings of his sou, < >liver Wendell Holmes. "The 
gambrel-roof house" remained in the family until a 
few years since, when it pa.ssed into the possession of 
the college. It was subsequently taken down ; but 
the work of the photographer will preserve the fa- 
miliar appearance of it. 



In 1807 a meeting-house was erected in that part 
of the town which was already rejoicing in visions of 
commercial prosperity, and which, in anticipation of 
its importance, had heen made a port of entry and 
was designated as Carabridgeport. That part of the 
town had been under the care of the minister of the 
First Church, "who was wont in his visits to dis- 
tribute catechisms and hymn-books, and to (|ue.stion 
the children upon religious doctrines and duties." 
The new church will have its own place in this nar- 
ration. But some things concerning it properly be- 
long here. " In 1805 Royal Makepeace and others 
were incorporated for the purpose of building a meet- 
ing-house, by the name of Cambridgeport Meeting- 
House Company, and the next year they proceeded 
to ereit a large brick edifice on Columbia Street, be- 
tween Harvard Street and Broadway, which was dedi- 
cated Jan. 1, 1807, and wa.s the first house of public 
worship in Cambridgeport." The sermon of dedica- 
tion was preached by Dr. Holmes. " By an act passed 
March 1, 1808, the proprietors of the meeting-house, 
together with all the inhabitants and estates in the 
Fifth School District in Cambridge, east of Dana 
Street and a line extended in the same direction 
northerly to Charlestown (now Somerville), and south- 
erly to the river, were incorporated as the Cambridge- 
port Parish; and, Feb. 2, 1800, the proprietors (re- 
serving private ownership of pews) conveyed to the 
parish the meeting-house and lot, c(uitaining two 
acres, together with a parsonage lot at the northeast- 
erly corner of Harvard and Prospect Streets." A 
church was organized in connection with the new 
parish, July 14, 1809. The first pastor was settled in 
1814. In a small book, entitled "Two Hundred 
Years Ago; or, a Brief History of Cambridgeport 
and East Cambridge, with details of some of the early 
settlers. A Christmas and Birthday gift for young 
persons," we are taken back to that day. "At the 
clo.se of this year we had the satisfaction of knowing 
that we were to have a permanent minister, Mr. 
Thomas Brattle Gannett having accepted our unani- 
mous call, to the great joy of all the parish. He was 
installed pastor of the Cambridgeport Parish .lanuary 
1st, 1814. Notwithstanding the roads were almost 
impassable, the church was filled to overfiowing." 
Dr. Holmes preached at the ordination of Mr. Gan- 
nett, from the words "I am made all things to all 
men, that I might by all means save some." One 
who afterwards wrote the history of that church, said 
of the sermon and the preacher, " It reads as placid 
as he looked. ... It is another instance of that 
now lost art of felicitously weaving in Scripture lan- 
guage with the texture of every sentence and the 
expression of every thought, which gave such pecu- 
liar unction to the most common utterances of the 
older divines." Mr. Gannett was born in tJambridge, 
February 20, 1789, and graduated at Harvard College 
in 1800. He remained with the church for twenty 
years, when he was dismissed at his own request, after 



54 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



" a singularly blameless ministry." He took no act- 
ive part in the theological contest which here fell in 
the years of his paatonite, " but devoted himself en- 
tirely to the inculcation of those moral duties and 
Christian graces which become the true disciples of 
Christ." After his resignation he resided in Cam- 
bridge for ten years, holding |the office of town clerk 
in 1840-42, and serving as a Representative in the 
General Court in 1834, 1835, 1837, 1838. He removed 
to South Natick in 1843, and there ministered to the 
Unitarian Church. There he died, April 19, 1851. 

Among other memorials of Dr. Holmes' ministry is 
"A sermou delivered at the Episcopal Church in 
Cambridge, by the request of the Wardens and Vestry, 
December 25, 1809, in celebration of the nativity of 
our Blessed Saviour. By Abiel Holmes, D.D., Minis- 
ter of the First Church in Cambridge." The text 
was, "The desire of all nations shall come." At 
that time the Episcopal Church was for the most part 
supplied by lay readers. Affixed to the sermon is 
this note: "At a meeting of the congregation be- 
longing to the Protestant Episcopal Church in Cam- 
bridge, January 7, 1810 — voted. That the thanks of 
this Society be presented to the Rev. Dr. Holmes 
for the learned and appropriate discourse by him de- 
livered in this Church, on the last Christmas day ; 
and that be be requested to furnish a copy of the same 
for the press." The note is signed William Winthrop, 
Sen. Warden. 

In connection with the service of song in the house 
of the Lord it is of interest to find one of Dr. Holmes' 
sermons inscribed, " Tliis day Watts's Psalms and 
hymns introduced instead of Tate and Brady." It was 
preached in the afternoon of June 29, 1817. The 
text was. "Let the word of Christ dwell in you 
richly in all wisdom ; teaching and admonishing one 
another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, 
singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." 

Some extracts from the sermon will show its spirit 
and show, also, the hope of the preacher. " To the 
skilful performance of the choir we are much indebted 
for the order and harmony, the solemnity and effect, 
with which this part of Divine service is performed. 
The style of sacred music is, of late years, essentially 
improved ; and the exclusion of light and unhallowed 
airs, so foreign to the solemnity of the subject and the 
place, is itself highly favorable to our improvement 
in piety and devotion and, at the same time, more 
easily admits the union of a great proportion of the 
assembly in this common duty, — the social praise of 
Almighty God. Let us not, then, leave this interest- 
ing, improving and delightful service to be performed 
wholly by others. Let none be listless, or indifferent 
to it. Let none regard it as a mere entertainment. 
Above all, let none either porform, or hear it per- 
formed, with levity. Let us all be supplied with 
books. Let those who can, with any propriety, bear 
a part in singing the high praises of God ; and let the 
rest have their eyes fixed on the psalm or hvmn 



that is suug, and join with the understanding and 
affections in the sublime employment, and thus make 
melody, at least in their hearts, to the Lord. And 
here, my brethren, I would suggest to you the pro- 
priety of performing this part of the service, even 
when we do no more than perform it in heart, in a 
standing rather than in a sitting posture." 

An organ was placed in the church in 1827, and the 
sermon on music was repeated, with the insertion of 
these remarks : " The introduction of an organ, 
instead of diminishing, should increase the number 
of singers in the congregation. It is not, you will re- 
member, intended as a substitute for the voice, but as 
an aid to it. It may be accompanied by those who 
are not thoroughly skilled in music, though great 
care should be taken not to violate either the time 
or the harmony. In the use of this instrument, it is 
hoped and believed great regard will be shown to the 
spiritual nature of the worship which it is in- 
tended to aid. It is not meant for an entertainment, 
but for an improvement; not simply to delight the ear, 
but to inspire the heart. It will not, I trust, be suf- 
fered to overpower the vocal music, of which it should 
be but an accompaniment. Let us have the distinct 
articulation of the human voice, that it may not give 
an uncertain sound, or be so merged in the sound of 
an instrument, that the meaning cannot be under- 
stood. Let us remember, my brethren, that we are 
required to sing with the spirit and with the under- 
standing." Whatever improvements the years may 
have brought, the opinions and Jesir&s of Dr. 
Holmes are as timely to-day as when they were first 
expressed. 

We are brought now to events of a more weighty 
and less pleasing nature. In 1827 there was formed 
" The First Evangelical Congregational Church in 
Cambridgeport." The distinctive word in this title 
is " Evangelical." That word had come to bear a pre- 
cise, and, in some degree, a denominational signifi- 
cance. It marks the controversy which engaged the re- 
ligious world in this region and had very serious results 
for many churches. Into the general movement we 
do not propose to enter. We are only to recall facts, 
without opinions. So far as the First Church in Cam- 
bridge is concerned, the facts are in print, in rare 
pamphlets and in local histories, and need only a 
brief rehearsal in these pages. 

On the 20th of July, 1827, a memorial, signed 
by sixty-three members of the parish, was presented 
to Dr. Holmes, remonstrating with him for discon- 
tinuing professional exchanges with certain clergy- 
men, and recommending a return to his former cus- 
tom. It was not a question of courtesy, but one of a 
much graver nature. We must go back a little. As 
early as 1787 Unitarianism, which had been adopted 
by many persons, ministers and others, became a 
"substantial reality " in this community by the action 
of the society worshipping in King's Chapel, Boston, 
which modified the English Liturgy it had been 



CAMBRIDGE. 



55 



using. The minister had changed his own doctrinal 
views, and the change in the service of the church 
followed. For many years this remained the only 
conspicuous church in New England which was con- 
fessedly Unitarian. The new views, however, extended 
and became very intiuential. By the time which we 
are now reviewing, a large part of the ministers of the 
churches in this neighborhood had embraced the new 
principles of belief. "The Unitaiian Association" 
was formed about this time. Of course, all this 
changed the relations in which ministers stood 
toward one another. Freedom of professional inter- 
course became restricted. There were men of all 
degrees of conviction and confession, with extreme 
men on both sides and those of moderate views 
standing between them, some nearer one end and 
some nearer the other. The minister liere knew all 
this, and was alfected by the movement in which he 
was not disposed to take a prominent part. But itcame 
to pass here, as elsewhere, that some ministers who 
had been invited to his pulpit no longer received 
such proposals. It was less the fact than the occa- 
sion and meaning of it which attracted attention and 
led to the action which has already been mentioned. 
A large majority of the legal voters in the affairs of 
the parish were found on the Unitarian side. They 
complained of the change in the pastor's practice, 
and asserted that he was changing the policy of the 
church, and deviating from the custom of his immedi- 
ate predecessors, and departing from the views which 
had governed his own procedure and shaped his 
own preaching. They complained that, while he 
excluded some ministers whom they liked to hear, 
he introduced other preachers whose teaching was 
offensive to them. Out of this state of things grew 
the memorial, in which the signers gratefully testi- 
fied to the order, peace and harmony with which the 
church and society had walked together, and ex- 
pressed their fear lest there should arise disart'ection 
and disunion in consequence of the pastor's action. 
They requested him "to exchange a reasonable pro- 
portion of the time with such respectable clergymen 
of liberal sentiments in this vicinity as had hereto- 
fore been admitted into his pulpit, and with others of 
similar character." The pastor replied, in dignified 
terms, that he thought a personal interview with him 
would have been more favorable to truth and peace. 
To show that the charge complained of was not alto- 
gether on one side, he said that some liberal ministers 
were of the opinion that such exchanges as were pro- 
posed were not desirable. He added: "The subject 
is believed to be uniformly left to the discretion of 
the pastors, who are, or ought to be, the best judges 
of what is profitable for their hearers, and who are 
bound religiously to determine what is right and 
consistent for themselves." We cannot pursue the 
controversy, which was prolonged and intense. The 
effort of the parish was to secure the preaching of 
Unitarian ministers for a portion of the time by 



exchanges, or by the settlement of a colleague, or by 
the introduction of such ministers at times when 
there was no established service. To neither of 
these measures would Dr. Holmes consent. He 
claimed that he must adhere to the principles of the 
church during its entire history ; that he could not 
depart from them, or suffer others to lead the people 
away from them. The Shepard Historical Society 
has a written document which he prepared and en- 
titled, "Religious Principles of the Ministers of Cam- 
bridge." By citations from their writings, he traces 
the line of doctrinal teaching from Shepard to him- 
self, and adds : " Doctrines held and taught by the 
present pastor from the commencement of his min- 
istry here to this time ; collected from his discourses on 
the anniversary of his installation." The object was 
to show that he was continuing the instruction for 
which he was called to the church. The church 
upheld the pastor in his course, and expressed their 
approval of his teaching. They remonstrated in 
writing against the action of the parish. " Let us 
not attempt to drive from us a man by urging upon 
him a course of measures which, should he submit 
to them, would render him a stranger among his 
brethren, not satisfy those who make the demand, 
and would leave him dishonored in his own eyes and 
in theirs. . . . We also apprehend that, were the 
females of this parish allowed to come here and 
speak, a majority of them would entreat you to for- 
bear ; and we would hope that we shall not be regard- 
less of their feelings, because they are not allowed the 
poor privilege of begging you to consider them." It 
became evident that the matter was not to be settled 
by discussion, and men turned to the congregational 
metliod of relief. The parish proposed to the pastor 
that an ecclesiastical council shoul<l be called to 
advise in the premises. The churcli and a minority 
of the parish declared that usage in New England, 
and invariably in this parish, required that the 
church and parish should concur in all matters 
touching the settlement or the removal of a min- 
ister. It was, therefore, proposed that the church 
should be a party in calling the council. To this 
the parish refused to accede. The parish said that 
if the church were admitted " they would make all 
the resistance in their power to the attempts of the 
parish to remedy the evils of which they complained, 
and would give Dr. Holmes all their assistance and 
support in his opposition to the principles and wishes 
of the parish." The church was not allowed to join 
in calling the council. Dr. Holmes said "that he 
was not at liberty to overlook or to interfere with the 
equitable claims of the church, and that he would 
consent to a mutual ecclesiastical council, if regularly 
called, according to the usage of our churches; that 
is, by the church and parish together." 

The discussion effected nothing, and the parish 
proceeded to call an ex parte council, which assembled 
in the Old Court-House on the 19th of May, 1829. It 



56 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



was composed of the representatives of six Unitarian 
churches. A copy of tlie complaint against the pas- 
tor was given to liini before the meeting of the coun- 
cil. When the council assembled Dr. Holmes denied 
its jurisdiction, and the church and a minority of the 
parish also remonstrated. The council, by a commit- 
tee, gave Dr. Holmes and the remonstrants an oppor- 
tunity to present further information. The pastor 
received the committee with his accustomed courtesy 
and replied " that he had no further communication 
to make to this council." The complaint of the par- 
ish was heard, evidence was received, an argument 
was made by the conusel of the parish, Hon. Samuel 
Hoar. The council finally voted " that the First Par- 
ish in Cambridge have sufficient cause to terminate 
the contract subsisting between them and the Rev. 
Dr. Holmes as their minister, and this council recom- 
mend the me.isure a-s necessary to the existence and 
spiritual prosperity of the society."' The parish ac- 
cepted and confirmed the "result" and voted, June 
. 8, 1829, that the " Jlev. Dr. Abiel Holmes, be, and he 
hereby is, dismissed from his office of minister of the 
gospel and teacher of piety, religion and morality in 
said parish, and that all connection between said 
Holmes as such minister, or teacher, and said par- 
ish, do and shall henceforth cease." A grant of three 
months' salary was made " to said Holmes, on equit- 
able principles, but not as legal right," and he was to 
have the use and occupation of the re.al estate held by 
him as pastor of the parish "until the 2.5th day of 
January next, but no longer." 

In a communication made on the I'ith of June the 
committee of the parish inform Dr. Holmes that 
'they have employed a preacher to supply the pulpit 
in the meeting-house of the First Parish in Cam- 
bridge on the next ensuing Sabbath, that they will 
procure and employ a preacher or preachers tor the 
succeeding Sabbaths, and that your services will not 
be required or authorized in the public religious ser- 
vices in the meeting-house in said parish hereafter." 
Dr. Holmes had not consented to the council, but 
had entered his protest against it. He did not accept 
its result. He wrote in reply to the notice which had 
been served on him : " I now give notice to you, and, 
through you, to the inhabitants of the parish, that I 
still consider myself as the lawful minister of the par- 
ish, and hold myself ready to perform any and all the 
duties, in or out of the pulpit, which belong to my 
office as pastor of the First Church and Society in 
Cambridge." The closing communication was ad- 
dressed to Dr. Holmes by the parish committee. 
They say, " In answer to your said letter, said com- 
mittee, in behalf of said parish, state to you that said 
council had jurisdiction of the complaint exhibited to 
said council against you ; that said result is legal and 
valid; that said dismission from said office conforms 
to said result and to law ; that your connection with 
said parish as their minister is legally dissolved; that 
you are not the minister or past(U- of said parish, nor 



have you been such minister or pajitor since said dis- 
mission ; that as such minister or pastor you do not 
owe any such duties as aforesaid to said parish, and 
that said parish refuses to accept from you any ser- 
vice, or services, as such minister or pastor thereof. 
Hereafter you cannot occupy nor use the pulpit of the 
meeting-house of said parish, as it will be exclusively 
appropriated to such preacher or preachers as said 
parish shall employ to supply it." 

Thus the pastor of thirty-eight years was turned 
from the door of the meeting-house. There was but 
one course open to the church, and that was to with- 
draw from the meeting-house from which their min- 
ister was excluded. The church and pa.stor crossed 
the street and began religious services in the Old 
Court House, in the presence of "a full, attentive and 
solemn a.ssembly." On his last Sabbath in the meet- 
ing-house Dr. Holmes preached from the words, " I 
have no greater joy than to hear that my children 
walk in truth." The next Sabbath morning he 
preached from the words, " Beloved, think it not 
strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, 
as though some strange thing happened unto you ; but 
rejoice inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's suf- 
ferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye 
may be glad also with exceeding joy." The encour- 
agement was commended to " all who are in affliction, 
and especially to the church and the attendant wor- 
shippers constrained to assemble in this place." 

"The whole number of members belonging to the 
church at that time was about ninety, fully two-thirds 
of whom followed the pastor and attended upon his 
ministry. The number of male members was twen- 
ty-one, fifteen of whom were the uniform friends and 
supporters of the pastor, and two only took an ac- 
tive part in the measure s of the parish "' for his di.s- 
mission. Of the whole number who usually wor- 
shiped in the meeting-house previous to the separa- 
tion, about one-half withdrew and worshiped 
statedly w here the church and pastor continued their 
services. 

On the 17th of June, 1829, an advisory council 
met at the invitation of the church and jiastor. 
.After hearing the statements which were made by 
those who sought advice, the council reached this 
" result : " " As Dr. Holmes is still, according to ec- 
clesiastical usage, the pastor and minister of the 
First Church and parish in Cambridge, and as the 
parish has by its votes excluded him from it.s pulpit, 
the council approve the course pursued by him in 
continuing to perform parochial duties whenever and- 
to whomsoever he may have opportunity, and advise 
him and the church and other friends of truth not to 
forsake the assembling of themselves together, but 
to maintain Divine worship and the celebration of 
Divine ordinances." The church accepted this ad- 
vice and resolved to follow it faithfully. As the 
church was now separated from the parish, after a 
union of nearly two hundred years, it was necessary, 



CAMBRIDGE. 



57 



iri accordance with the custom of the times, to or- 
ganize another society, which shouUl include persons 
who were not members of the church, and should be 
in the place of an organized parish in cdaneotion 
with the church. Such a society was formed, and it 
was voted unanimously that it should be called 
" The Holmes Congregational Society." Dr. Holmes 
declined the prott'ered honor, and advised that the new 
society should bear the name of the first minister 
of the church. In accordance with this wi^h the 
new body took the title which it still bears- 
" The Sliepard Congregational Society." The pastor 
could not connect himself with this organization, 
because he held that he had not been legally or reg- 
ularly dismissed from his connection with the old 
parish, which he had served so long. But the church 
joined itself to the new society in order to main- 
tain " the worship and ordinances of the gospel, ac- 
cording to the established principles and usages of 
Congregational churches in this Commonwealth." 

In the records is an account of a meeting of the 
church held on the 20lh of November, 1829, at the 
house of Mr. Jacob H. Bates. The record is too 
long to be copied here, and it is already in print. It 
begins : " Whereas the Rev. Dr. Holmes, the pastor 
of this church, has been excluded by a committee of 
the First Parish in Cambridge from the desk and 
sanctuary where he has so long officiated, under pre- 
tence that he is legally dismissed from office," and 
after declaring the views of the church in regard to 
Dr. Holmes and the parish, continues: "In consid- 
eration of all the circumstances, and having con- 
sulted with the Eev. Dr. Holmes, our pastor, whose 
relation to us as a church we wish to hold sacred and 
inviolate, and finding that in present circumstances 
the choice of a colleague pastor meets with his en- 
tire approbation ; therefore, voted, 1st, that until 
such time as our rights, with those of our pastor, shall 
be respected, and the privileges of the gospel minis- 
try be enjoyed, as heretofore, in connection with the 
First Parish in Cambridge, we will, as a church, ac- 
cede to the invitation of the Shepard Congregational 
Society and co-operate with it. . . . Voted, 2d, that 
in pursuance of their i)bject, and subject to the sev- 
eral conditions expressed in the first vote, the church 
now unite, and call Mr. Nehemiah Adams, Jr., who 
has been heard by us for several Sabbaths with high 
approbation, and in whom we have full confidence, 
to the office of colleague pastor in this church in 
connection with the Rev. Dr. Holmes as senior pas- 
tor." The society concurred in this vote, and Mr. 
Adams was called. The salary offered him was $850 
for the first year, to be increaseil $50 each year 
until $1000 was reached. It is said, however, that 
by private subscription the salary was made |1, 000 
from the beginning. The invitation was given and 
accepted. The Baptist Church of Cambridgeport 
kindly offered its house for the service of ordination. 
The council met on the 17th of December, 1829. 



Twenty-three churches were represented. The list 
of ministers contains many names well known then 
and afterwards. There were John Codman, William 
Jenks, Lyman Beecher, Edward Beecher, Benjamin 
B. Wisner, Moses Stuart, George W. Blagden, Sam- 
uel M. E. Kettle, better known as William M. 
Rogers. Dr. Codman was moderator. The action 
of the previous advisory council was submitted by 
the church, and a remonstrance which had been pre- 
sented to the pastor-elect by a committee of those 
members of the church who had remained with the 
parish. After the preliminary proceedings com- 
mon in such cases the services of ordination were 
held. The sermon was preached by Professor Stuart, 
and Dr. Holmes gave the charge to the ]>astor. Mr. 
Adams was born in Salem, Mass., February 19, 1800, 
and graduated at Harvard College in 1826, and at 
Andover Theological Seminary in 1829. His ser- 
vices were sought elsewhere, but he was persuaded 
to accept the Cambridge invitation. It was thought 
by many that he was especially needed at a time 
when the faith of churches and individuals was 
in question. Dr. Holmes was in his sixty-sixth 
year, and did not feel equal to the labors which were 
incident to the new conditions of the church. 

Dr. Holmes' sermons, at this period, give an insight 
into the state and feeling of the people. One manu- 
.script is marked, " June 7,1829: in meeting-hou.se." 
Aniither, "June 14, 1829: a.m. Camb. Court-house." 
These have been already mentioned. One sermon 
is marked: " Dec. 20, 1829, a.m., 1st Sabbath after 
ordination of Mr. N. Adams." The text was happily 
chosen: " Now if Timothens come, see that he may 
be with you without fear ; for he worketh the work 
of the Lord, as I also do." He said : " Receive him. 
Treat him with candor ami eciuity ; preserve unity 
and peace ; and pay an attentive and serious regard 
to his ministry." 

The services of the Sabbath were divided between 
the two ministers — the senior preaching in the morn- 
ing and the junior in the afternoon and evening. 
The congregations were good, especially in the even- 
ing, when many visitors would come to hear the new 
minister in a place usually devoted to other purposes. 
There were large additions to the membership of the 
church. Meetings for prayer and religious confer- 
ence were held for a time in private houses, and were 
tinally established in a large room fitted up for that 
purpose, in the house at the northwest corner of Mt. 
Auburn and Brighton Streets. There were times 
when the people carried their own lamps for the 
evening services, which gave the bystanders a chance 
to use their cheap wit. 

When they felt able to do so, the church and so- 
ciety erected a meeting-house on the corner of Mt. 
Auburn and Ilolyoke Streets. To do this they needed 
and procured the assistance of many friends, near 
and remote. Indeed, they were assisted, at first, in 
supporting their regular services. It is believed that 



58 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



the aenioi' pastor drew no salary after the separation. 
The land for the new house was given hy Miss Sarah 
Ann Dana. It is said that Dr. Holmes was the 
largest contributor to the building fund. Ground 
was broken at six o'clock on the morning of the 5th 
of August, 1830. On the 21st of September the 
corner-stone was laid with an address by Rev. Sam- 
uel Green, of Boston. One sentence will show some- 
thing of the feeling which marked the occasion : 
" We speak with pride and boldness, as becometh the 
descendants of Puritans on Puritan ground.'' On 
the 23d of February, 1831, the house was dedicated 
with a sermon by the senior pastor from Jeremiah 
vi. 16: "Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, 
and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good 
way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your 
souls." The new house was much admired. Henry 
Greenough was the architect. Washington Allston 
furnished the plan of the house and had much pride 
in the building. He liked to take strangers at even- 
ing to a particular spot, about a hundred yards south- 
east of the church, where he would bid them mark 
the simple beauty of the unassuming structure, re- 
peating the familiar lines: 

" If thou would'Bt view fair Melrose aright. 
Go visit it by the pale moonlight.'* 

A silver plate enclosed in a box of lead was placed 
under the corner-stone, with this inscription : 

" To .JeBus ChriBt and the Church, The Pillarand Ground vi' the Truth 
— Fityt Church and Shepard Society, in Cambridge : 

Abiel Holmes, ) „ 

XT . 1 Pastors ; 

Neuemiah Adams, > 

William Hilliabd, "i „ 

, -, y Deacons. 

James Munroe, i 

xxi September, MDCCCXXX." 

But the troubles were not over. In 1831 Abel 
Whitney, deacon of the First Parish Church, de- 
manded certain articles of church property, to wit : 
the church fund, the poor's fund, the communion 
service and baptismal basin, the church record and 
papers, the library and a few minor things. The 
demand was refused, and a suit at law was begun 
against Deacons Hilliard and Munroe, as represent- 
ing the church, and they were held to answer in the 
sum of five thousand dollars. The church appointed 
a committee to take legal advice and to defend the 
church so far as it could be done, or, if it was neces- 
sary, to surrender the property. They found that by 
a decision of the Supreme Court of the State the 
church could not retain the property and it was ac- 
cordingly given up under the constraint of the 
decision. The decision under which they were 
obliged to do this was given in 1820, in what is 
known as the Dedham case, or, more exactly, Baker 
and another vs. Fales. The rule laid down was this: 
" Where a majority of the members of a congrega- 
tional church separate from the majority of the par- 
ish, the members who remain, although a minority, 
constitute the church in said parish, and retain the 
rights and property belonging thereto." The Court 



drew a broad distinction between the church in its 
civil and its ecclesiastical position: "That any num- 
ber of the members of a church, who disagree with 
their brethren, or with the minister, or with the par- 
ish, may withdraw from fellowship with them and 
act as a church in a religious point of view, having 
the ordinances administered and other religious 
offices performed ; it is not neces-sary to dem^, indeed, 
this would be a question proper for an ecclesiastical 
council to settle, if any should disjtute their claim. 
But as to all civil purposes, the secession of a whole 
church from the parish would be an extinction of the 
church; and it is competent to the members of the 
parish to institute a new church, or to ingraft one 
upon the old stock if any of it should remain; and 
this new church would succeed to all the rights of the 
old in relation to the parish." It was not denied tha,t 
there could be a church without a parish "in an 
ecclesiastical sense." There was nothing to be done 
under this construction of law but to give up the 
property. This was done and a receipt was taken on 
the 28th of December, 1831, for " the church fund 
and poor's fund, belonging to said church, amount- 
ing, in money and securities for money, to the sum 
of four thousand one hundred and fifty-four dollars 
and three cents; also, the communion service 
of said church, consisting of four silver tankards, 
seven silver cups, one silver spoon, six britan- 
nia dishes, two napkins, one table-cloth and basin, 
four books of church records, and sundry files 
of papers, and a trunk and box containing the same; 
also, the library of books, with the shelves for the 
same, and nine dollars and ninety-nine cents for the 
same." The church fund was originally constituted 
by the gift of fifty pounds by a member of the church, 
and largely increased by contributions of the church 
members at the Lord's Supper. "A part of the 
church plate was given to the church, and the rest 
was purchased with its own funds." The baptismal 
basin was the gift of the Rev. William Brattle, "to 
the church of Christ in Cambridge, my dearly beloved 
flock." 

Those were trying days for the men who had left 
the parish, but their faith was strong. For a time 
they used private plate at the communion services. 
Then the junior pastor came into the possession of 
the "small book" of Thomas Shepard, and by its 
publication a communion service was obtained. 

In September, 1831, the senior pastor found that 
his age and increasing debility prevented him from 
performing the duties of his oflice and he asked re- 
lease. The church consented to his request. He 
preached his farewell sermon October 2, 1831, from 
the text : "For now we live, if ye stand fast in the 
Lord." He bore witness to the steadfastness of the 
people in the time of their trial and to the goodness 
of God. " Let this house which we have built for 
the honor of his name be at once a monument of 
our gratitude and a temple for his praise.'' The 



CAMBRIDGE. 



59 



impression was unspeakably touching when, after his 
sermon, he gave out the seventy-first Psalm : 

" God of my childhood and my youth, 
The guide of all my days, 
I have declared thy heaveuly truth, 
Aud told thy wondrous ways. 

" Wilt thou forsake my hoary hairs, 
And leave my fainting heart '.' 
Who shall sustain my sinking yeal^, 
If God, my strength, depart?" 

But Dr. Holmes was still to live among his old 
friends, and where his presence and counsel would be 
at the service of the church and the town. He 
preached a double sermon in February, ISSti, ou 
the two hundredth anniversary of the founding 
of the church. He preached his last sermon 
to his people on the 22d of February, 1837. The 
subject was : "The vanity of life a reason for seeking 
a portion in heaven." An illness of a few weeks 
brought his long and useful life to a close. A severe 
paralytic shock rendered him almost helfiless. But 
the end was in peace and charity. He said that he 
wished his injuries written in sand. He died on 
Sunday morning, June 4, 1837, in the seventy-fourth 
year of his age. The church-bells were ringing as he 
passed away ; they were afterwards tolled in tribute 
to his worth, and in witness to the respect of the 
community. His first wife was the daughter of 
President Stiles. His second wife, the daughter of 
Hon. Oliver Wendell, long survived him and re- 
ceived the affectionate homage of ail who knew her. 
The body of Dr. Holmes was at first laid in the 
ancient burying-place, but was removed to Mount 
Auburn. 

The ministry of Dr. Holmes wa.s, with one ex- 
ception, the longest which the church has known. 
He stood at the centre of the parish and the town, 
and his influence was widely felt. He was a friend 
to the college of which he was an overseer. He wa-s 
greatly interested in historical studies and published 
a " History of Cambridge " in 1800. He printed many 
sermons, preached on special occasions. His largest 
work was "The Annals of America from 1492 to 
182G.'' He was actively connected with the Massa- 
chusetts Historical Society. He was one of the 
founders of the Society for Promoting Christian 
Knowledge, and of the American Education Society, 
and was a member of the American Academy of Arts 
and Sciences. He received the degree of Doctor of 
Divinity from the University of Edinburgh about 
1805, and was made Doctor of Laws by Alleghany 
College in 1822. His life was long and full and 
helpful in every direction. His old friend, Dr. Jenks, 
said of him : " That blending of moderation and 
modesty with firmness and decision of character, 
where decision and firmness are needed, constitute, if 
I mistake not, an enviable or rather a desirable dis- 
tinction. . . . Never in extremes or chargeable 
with extravagance, his deportment and character I 



united, in no common degree, the gentleman, the 
scholar and the Christian." Some who were children 
in his day recall his kindly manner towards them, 
and they like to tell how, as he walked the streets 
with his well-remembered cane, he would pause at a 
group of children, and, with a ple.asant cjuestion and 
a word of counsel, would draw from his capacious 
pocket a handful of confectionery and distribute it 
among the listeners, who had learned to expect it. 
They tell how, a few weeks before his death, he stood 
before the pulpit and gave a good book to each 
member of the Sabbath-School as they passed before 
him. His name is engraven on the tablet in the 
Shepard Memorial Church, and his initials are on one 
of the pillars at the door. His name is on the mon- 
ument in the church lot in the Cambridge Cemetery. 
But his best memorial is his work, .\tthe installStion 
of his successors in 183.J and in 1867, at the dedication 
of the meeting-house in 1872, at the 250th 
anniversary of the foundation of the church, a hymn 
written by him was sung. With the last two verses 
we close this sketch of his ministry : 

" Here may the church thy cause niaintaiD, 
• Thy truth with peace and love. 
Tin her last earth-born live again 
With the first-born above. 

"O glorious change ! From conflict free, 
The church, — uo danger nigh, — 
From militant ou earth, shall be 
Triumphant in the sky." 

For nearly three years after the retirement of Dr. 
Holmes, Mr. Adams remained the pastor of the 
church. In February, 1834, he was invited to be- 
come the pastor of the Essex Street Church and 
Society in Boston. He thought it his duty to accept 
this invitation. With reluctance the church gave its 
consent, and he was released from his office here, 
with the approval of a council, on the 14th of March. 
This is the only instance in the long history of the 
church in which a minister had left it to ai-sume the 
care of another church. Mr. Adams was here in a 
critical time, when his labors were especially needed, 
and large results attended his work. After a long and 
fruitful ministry in Boston, Dr. Adams died in 1878. 
He had published many religious books, which were 
widely read and which will preserve his name and 
character when those who knew him and enjoyed his 
friendship have all passed on. 

For thirteen months the church had no pastor. 
But Dr. Holmes was here, still a father to his people. 
In October, 1834, a call was extended to Rev. Oliver 
E. Daggett, but this was declined. A call was ex- 
tended to Rev. John A. .\lbro, and this was accepted, 
and he was installed April 15, 1835. Mr. Albro was 
born in Newport, Rhode Island, August 13, 1799. He 
studied for the law and entered upon its practice at 
Mansfield, Connecticut, and there he united with 
the First Church. After spending about two years in 
the law, he entered tbe Theological Seminary at 



60 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Andover, to prepare for the ministry. He graduated 
in 1827, and Wius ordained at Middlesex Village, in 
Chelmsford, Massachusetts. There came a division 
there as there came here, and in many other places. 
After about two years there he became the minister 
of the Calvinistic Congregational Church in Fitch- 
burg, Massachusetts, where he was installed in 1832. 
Three years later he came to Cambridge, where he 
was to have a jiastorate of thirty years. The popula- 
tion of the town was then about G,000. The church 
was still small and its pecuniary ability limited. 
But the place was attractive and he was qualified to 
enjoy it and adorn it. His salary at first was $8.')0 
and was to be increased $.')0 each year till it was 
$1000. He was to have a suitable dwelling-house at 
a rent not exceeding $200. If his .salary for the 
secofld and third years did not cover his expenses be 
was to have a further grant, not exceeding $.50 per 
year. Soon after his installation a ])arsonage was 
built on Holyoke Street, and in this he resided until 
his death. The original meeting-house contained 
sixty-six pews. In 1840 ten pews were added. In 
1844 the house was enlarged and twenty more pews 
were provided. In 1852 there was another enlarge- 
ment, making room for 130 pews on the floor. There 
was a small gallery at the south end of the house. At 
his installation the church had 101 members. In 1852 
there were 244 and in 1865 there were nearly 300. 

In 1848 Mr. Albro was made a Doctor of Divinity by 
Bowdoin College and in 1851 Harvard conferred the 
same honor upon him. In 1852 he visited Europe, 
through the liberality of his people. In 18(50 the 
twenty-fifth anniversary of his installation was cele- 
brated by the church and society, when abundant 
witness was borne by his own people, and his neigh- 
bors, and by the college, to the esteem in which he 
was held for his learning and character and fidelity. 
His labors were not restricted to his parish. He 
served on the School Committee. He gave the address 
at the ccmsecration of the Cambridge Cemetery. He 
WH.S a manager in the Massachusetts Sabbath-School 
Society, and always enlivened the meetings of the 
Publication Committee " by his genial and keen 
criticisms, and made them instructive by his learn- 
ing." 

He was the friend and advocate of the Puritan 
faith and order in the churches. He was conserva- 
tive in temper and h.ad no fondness for innovation. 
His preaching was Scriptural and logical, and help- 
ful to his hearers. He could lead the songs of tlie 
church with his voice and direct them by his taste 
and skill. He excelled in conversation, and it was a 
rare enjoyment to listen to him as his spirit and wit 
illumined his words. He had for many years a class 
of college studenta with whom he read portions of 
the Greek Testament, which he expounded with the 
wealth of his learning and his piety, hearingand ask- 
ing que-stions. " Many theologians refer to the 
principles of interpretation which he gave them as 



laying the foundation of their interest and success in 
Biblical studies." 

On the 12th day of March, 1865, the congregation 
was surprised by a letter from the pastor in which he 
resigned his office. He had contemplated taking 
this step at the close of thirty years of service, and 
the time was at hand. The resignation was accepted 
with deep emotion and many expressions of affection 
and gratitude. On the 15th of April, 1865, his pas- 
torate ended. But he remained in the parsonage and 
was in many ways still the minister of the people, 
preaching and serving in other offices of religion. 
He had no desire for another settlement, but he 
preached in neighboring churches. On the 16th of 
December, 1866, he preached for the last time. It 
was at West Roxbury. When near the close of his 
sermon a pallor overspread his face. He laid his 
hand on his heart, and then on his head. He finish- 
ed the service, resumed his seat and became insensi- 
ble. He was removed to his temporary home at the 
house of a deacon of the church, where he regained 
consciousness, and with it his wonted calmness and 
peace. Quietly, patiently, in faith and hope, he 
waited till the end came on the 20th. On Monday 
his venerated form was brought to his old church and 
a few daj's later the last ministries of religion were 
performed in the darkened church. He was laid to 
rest in the Cambridge Cemetery, as he had desired, the 
first tenant of the lot belonging to the church — the 
Shepard lot. An appropriate stone marks his grave, 
a granite monument bears his name, with the names 
of all the ministers of the church who have finished 
their course. 

This longuarrative has reached its closing sentences. 
In October, 1865, the minister of the South Church and 
Parish in Augusta, Me., was invited to become the 
minister of the First Church in Cambridge. The in- 
vitation was necessarily declined. It was renewed in 
December, 1866, and under changed conditions it was 
then accepted. Accordingly the Rev. Alexander 
McKenzie (Harvard 1859, Andover 1861, S.T.D. 
Amherst 1879) was installed January 24, 1867. In 
1872 a new church of stone was opened and dedicated 
on Garden Street, corner of Mason. The chapel on 
Mason Street was finished in the following year. 
The parsonage on Garden Street was built in 1872. 
Dr. McKenzie is still the minister of the First 
Churcli in Cambridge and the Shepard Congrega- 
tional Society. The Rev. Leonard S. Parker, A.M., 
is the assistant minister. 

It has been most convenient, and according to pre- 
cedent, to trace to its present estate the history of the 
church "in an ecclesiastical sense." The church, 
" as to all civil purposes," to borrow another phrase 
of the Supreme Court, is'best known as the First 
Parish Church. The names are sufticiently distinct 
to prevent confusion. We h.ave now to trace the 
course of the First Parish Church from the time of 
the separation — on the 12th of July, 1829. Abel 



CAMBRIDGE. 



61 



Whitney was chosen deacon and Sylvanus Plyinpton 
clerk or scribe of the church. Tlie Rev. William 
Newell was called to the pastoral office. ^Ir. Newell 
was horn in Littleton, Mass., February 25, 1804. 
His school and college career was very brilliant- 
He entered the Boston Latin School in 1814, and 
graduated at Harvard College in 1824, the second 
scholar in his class. Dr. John Pierce wrote in his 
diary, " The II. oration of Newell, on early prejudices, 
was finely written and delivered." His subject, as 
given by his son and biographer, was, " Duties of 
College Students as Men and as Citizens." In 182.5 
he was appointed usher in the Latin School. The 
tendencies of his mind carried him towards the min- 
istry^ and he entered the Harvard Divinity School, 
where he graduated in 1821*. He wished to delay his 
settlement for a year at least, as his health was uncer- 
tain. But he was sought by the church in Cam- 
bridge, as we have seen, and he was here ordained 
May 19, 1830. His salary was 11000 for the first four 
years, and then .11200, in equal (luarterly payments. 
"His active connection with the parish was severed 
March 31, 1868. But his heart never could be sep- 
arated from bis people, fn the long interval between 
bis own retirement and the settling of a successor 
many parochial duties continued to fall to his share." 
" He came to Cambridge in delicate health, and 
found himself, without any accumulated stock of ex- 
perience or any store of addresses, obliged to con- 
tribute two sermons a week, and to conduct the min- 
isterial duties of a large parish — a parish, too, .some- 
what formidable from its connection with the college 
and the number of retired ministers who had come to 
.settle in the university town ; while, on the other 
hand, a section of his auditors stood on tlie level of 
plain, practical life. . . . He succeeded as well as it 
was possible to succeed in satisfying the natural 
claims of one class and the other." In 1832 the 
parish sold to the college the land on which its meet- 
ing-house stood, and the house now occU|iied by tbe 
parish church was erected. It was dedicated Decem- 
ber 12, 1833. The college had certain reserved rights 
in the house, and the commencement exercises were 
held there until 1873. When Mr. Newell was settled 
there was a partial connection of Church and State, 
by which every townsman was required to pay his 
]iart toward the support of public worship. Changes 
in the law were made in 1833 and 1835, and it was 
declared that no person " shall hereafter be made a 
member of any parish or rel'gious society without his 
consent in writing." The whole matter was compli- 
cated and made more perplexing by the financial 
connection between the church and the college. 

Mr. Newell came to Cambridge in tbe year follow- 
ing the division of the church. A protest against his 
settlement as minister of the parish was presented to 
the ordaining council, but, like other protests, had no 
effect. " He met the storm of hostility by absolutely 
refusing to engage in religious controversy and by ig- 



noring enmity." AVhen the twenty-fifth anniversary 
of Dr. Albro's settlement was celebrated, Dr. Newel! 
wrote a letter, expressing his " respect for your able 
and faithful pastor, with whom, during the whole pe- 
riod of his ministry, my persona! relations, notwith- 
standing our theological difl'erences, have always 
been pleasant and friendly." He spoke of " the 
kindly feeling wliich I h(»pe will always subsist, not 
only between your pastor and myself, but also be- 
tween the societies with whicli we are connected — 
branches as they are of the same old stock, descended 
from the same old Congregational family, looking 
back, amidst their honest differences of opinion, with 
common pride to a common ancestry." Dr. Albro 
expres.ied the comfort be bad in knowing that he had 
lived ill so much hariminy with his " neighbors of 
different persuasions." 

Mr. Newell received the Doctorate of Divinity from 
Harvard College in 1853. We may quote again from 
his filial biographer: " His manners were as courteous, 
his heart as open and his attentions as constant to the 
poorest as to the richest member of his congrega- 
tion. ... As the years of his ministry jiassed on, and 
as age approached, his face seemed to grow constantly 
more radiant and benignant. Some have felt such a 
presence on the streets and in the marts of business 
as a benediction which seemed to leave bebind a 
sweetening and consecrating influence." His suc- 
cessor said of him : "The most marked characteristic 
of his habit of mind was its complete and childlike 
simplicity, a sweet, gracious, unstudied naturalness, 
whose ways were so plain and straight that formal 
phrases could not fitly follow them." He said there 
was no need to recall the beauty of the life which tor 
fifty years bad been lived in this community by the 
'faithful man and earnest minister. 

Dr. NewelTs last illness was prolonged and painful, 
but was borne with wonderful patience and cheerful- 
ness and faith and hope. What seemed to others tbe 
valley of shadows was to him the valley of light. 

His releitse came on the 28th of (Jctober, 1831, " in 
the presence of those dearest to him. Conscious al- 
most to the end, bis last characteristic farewell was 
thanks for the happiness which their love had con- 
ferred on his life." 

The Ilev. Francis O. I'eabody, Harvard 18(59, be- 
came the next minister of this church, and was 
succeeded by the Ilev. Edward H. Hall, Harvard 
1851. Under his charge the church has remained in 
continued prosperity. 

It has seemed best to trace the history of the First 
Church and Parish as fully as the limits of this work 
will allow, inasmuch as it is, for the most part, a his- 
tory to which all the churches of Cambridge are re- 
lated. For the greater [)ortioii of the time this is the 
entire ecclesiastical history of the town. As we are 
now brought into times much nearer to our own, the 
historical sketches may well be briefer and in more gen- 
eral terms. The wiser plan appears to be to group the 



62 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



churches of each name and class, instead of present- 
ing them in chronological order. It is proposed, 
however, to make the order of the groups and the 
arrangement within each group chronological. In 
accordance with this principle we continue the ac- 
count of the Trinitarian Congregational Churches of 
Cambridge. 

In the preparation of these historical sketches con- 
stant use has been made of Ur. Paigne's invaluable 
" History of Cambridge." Other material has been 
furnished by different churches, and will be used, so 
far as practicable, in the form in which it was pre- 
sented. 

It does not seem necessary in this account of the 
churches of Cambridge to continue the history of the 
churches which have been at different times set oft' 
from the First Church, and are now in other towns. 

CoNGEEGATlONAl. CHURCHES.— TAe First Church 
ill Cambridije was organized February 1 , 16.36. 

The FirKt Evaiu/eliea/ Congregational Church in 
Cambridgeporl was organized September 20, 1827. 
Towards the close of the year 1826 the Rev. Dr. Beeeher 
commenced a course of public weekly lectures at 
Cambridgeport. " It was instituted at the request of a 
few individuals who had, for some time previous, 
been connected with the Hanover Street Church in 
Boston, under the pastoral care of the Rev. Dr. 
Beeeher. . . . They were kindly furnished by the 
Baptist Society, under the pastoral care of the Rev. 
Bela Jacobs, with the use of their meeting-house for 
this purpose." This was at the time when theologi- 
cal controvery was agitating and dividing the 
churches. It was thought expedient to found a church 
in Cambridgeport which should maintain and teach 
the Trinitarian or " Evangelical " doctrines. Meet- 
ings were held at the house of Dr. J. P. Chaplin, on 
Austin Street, where the project was considered and 
plans were laid for carrying it into effect. There the 
council met to organize the church — on the same day 
on which the new meeting-house was dedicated. This 
house was on Norfolk Street, at the corner of Wash- 
ington Street. Evening meetings were usually held 
at Dr. Chaplin's house until September, 1841. A vestry 
was built after the meeting-house, probably iu 1834. 
The meeting-house was of wood and was several times 
enlarged. But it was found necessary to provide a more 
commodious place of worship, and a brick house was 
erected on Prospect Street, which is still used by the 
church. The old house was sold, and was used for lec- 
tures and other purposes until it was burned, Novem- 
ber 7, 1854. The new house was dedicated June 30, 
1852. The cost of the house was $23,184.01. The 
first pastor of the church was Rev. David Perry, from 
April 23, 1829, to October 13, 1830. He was followed 
by Rev. William A. Stearns, from December 14, 1831, 
to December 14, 1854. This was much the longest 
pastorate which the church has enjoyed, and it was 
rich in its usefulness. The first meeting-house was 
twiceenlarged and the new house erected. Dr. Stearns 



was a man of learning and wisdom, of prudence and 

charity, and of a many-sided efficiency. The church was 
greatly strengthened during his ministry, and he had 
the esteem of the whole community for his goodness 
and dignity and ability. He resigned to accept the 
presidency of Amherst College, which he held for the 
rest of his life. Mr. Stearns was born in Bedford, 
Massachuseets, March 17, 1805 ; graduated at Harvard 
College in 1827, and at the Andover Seminary in 1831. 
He died June8, 1S76. 

Dr. Stearns was followed by the Rev. Edward W. 
Gilman, (Yale, 1843) who was pastor from Septem- 
ber 9, 18,56, to October 22, 1858. 

Rev. James O. Murray (Brown University, 1850) 
was installed May 1, 1861, and served until Febtuary 
6, 1865. He is now profc-sgr in Princeton College, 
which made him Doctor of Divinity in 1867. 

Rev. Kinsley Twining (Yale, 1853) was installed 
September 12, 1867, and resigned April 28, 1872, to 
become pastor of the Union Congregational Church 
in Providence, R. I. Rev. William S. Karr (Amherst, 
1851) was pastor from January 15, 1873, to November 
22, 1875, when he became professor in Hartford Theo- 
logical Seminary. Rev. James S. Hoyt (Yale, 1851) 
was installed September 14, 1876. 

He was afterwards pastor of the Congregational 
Church in Keokuk, Iow8, until his death, in 1890. 
Rev. David N. Beach (Yale) was installed 1884, and 
is now pastor of the church. By the last report the 
church had 600 members. 

As a part of the history of the church in Prospect 
Street, a place should here be given to its work at 
Stearns' Chapel. ,\ Union Sabbath-School was es- 
tablished in 1852, which after a few years passed into 
the control of the Congregational Church. In 1863 
a chapel was built on Harvard Street, to which the 
name of Stearns was given. Rev. Edward Abbott 
(University of ihe f 'ity of New York, 1860) took charge 
of this mission January 1, 1865. November 21, 1865, 
a church of fifty-one members was organized as the 
StearnsChapel Congregational Church, and Mr. .\bbott 
installed as pastor. Mr. Abbott retired in November 
1869, after efficient service, and Rev. George R. Leavitt 
(Williams, 1860) was installed May 4, 1870. The 
chapel, which had been enlarged in 1867, became 
too small for the growing church which went out and 
became the Pilgrim Congregational Church. Ser- 
vices were continued in the chapel under the care of 
Rev. Edward Abbott, and another church, was formed 
October 16, 1872, as the Chapel Congregational 
Church, and Rev. John K. Browne (Harvard, 1869) 
was installed as its pastor. lie retired September 16, 

1875, and was appointed a missionary of the Ameri- 
can Board at Harpoot, Eastern Turkey. Rev. Robert 
B. Hall (Williams, 1870) was installed December 29, 

1876, and after a promising beginning of his work was 
removed by death November 2, 1876. 

Rev. Marvin D. Bisbee became the acting pastor 
April 1, 1877, and on the 18th of April, 1878, he was 



CAMBRIDGE. 



63 



installed as pastor. On account of impaired health 
he resigned his office and was forinally dismissed July 
3, 1881. He is now librarian of Dartmouth College. 
September 4, 1881, Rev. Thomas K. Bickford assumed 
the duties of acting pastor. March 2, 1S88, the church 
was incorporated as the "Chapel Congregational 
Church in Cambridgeport." About the same time 
Mrs. Caroline A. Wood, the widow of Caleb Wood, 
and a member of the church in Prospect Street, made 
a very large gift for the erection of a meeting- house, 
on condition that it should be called the Wood Me- 
morial Church, in memory of her husband. The gift 
was accepted and a commodious and attractive house 
was erected on the corner of Austin and Columbia 
Streets. It was dedicated April 30, 1884, and on the 
following day Mr. Bickford was installed as pastor. 
By act of the Legislature February 28, 1884, the name 
of the church was changed to "Wood Memorial 
Church in Cambridgeport." 

Stearns' Chapel was again at the disposal of the 
church which had built it, and sustained in good mea- 
sure tjie services in it. Religious services, including 
preaching and a Sunday-school, were resumed, and 
Rev. Robert E. Ely, from the Union Theological Sem- 
inary, was placed in charge of the work which is under 
the supervision of the church in Prospect Street, by 
which the mission is chiefly sustained. The affairs of 
the mission are prospering, and it is thought that an- 
other Congregational Church will soon be Ibrmed in 
Stearns' Chapel. 

Second Eoangelical Congregational Church. — This 
church was organized March 30, 1842, by persons who 
were generally " Zealous advocates of the immediate 
abolition of slavery." They erected a meeting-house 
at the corner of Austin and Temple Streets, and dedi- 
cated it January 3, 1844. The first minister, Rev. 
Joseph C. Lovejoy (Bowdoin, 1829), was installed Janu- 
ary 2(5, 1843, and he continued in office until May 10, 
1853. Rev. Charles Packard (Bowdoin, 1842) was the 
minister from April 26, 1854, to March 21, 1855. Rev. 
Charles Jones was the minister from May 25, 1855, to 
I »ctuber It), 1857. Rev. George E. Allen (Brown 
University, 1850) was in?talled May 20, 1858, and he 
resigned July 12, 1861. After a series of discourage- 
ments, by advice of a council, the church was dis- 
banded October 3, 1865. Many of the members 
united with the Pilgrim Church, furnishing more than 
$1200 to aid in building the church on Magazine 
Street. The meetinghouse, which was no longer 
needed by the society, was sold, and was burned Sep- 
tember (?, 1865. 

The Evangelical Church at East (Cambridge was or- 
ganized September 8, 1842. In 1843 a meeting-house 
was erected at the northeasterly corner of Second and 
Thorndike Streets. The first pastor was Rev. Fred- 
erick T. Perkins (Yale, 1839), who was ordained Jan- 
uary 11, 1843, and resigned May 26, 1851. He was 
followed by Rev. Joseph L. Bennett (Amherst, 1845), 
who was installed July 1, 1852, and resigned Febru- 



ary 18, 1857. Rev. Richard G. Greene was pastor 1858- 
60; Rev. William W. Parker 1861-64; Rev. Nathan- 
iel Mighill (Amherst, 1860), 1864-67; Rev. Heman 
R. Timlow was acting pastor in 1867-70. Then Samuel 
Bell was installed November 1, 1870, and resigned 
May 29, 1872. Rev. D. W. Kilburn supplied the pul- 
pit afterwards. In 1876 the meeting-house was pre- 
sented to the Day Street Church in West Somerville, 
and was taken down and removed for the use of 
that church, by which it is now occupied. The East 
Cambridge Church had become greatly reduced in 
numbers by the removal of its members and the 
changes in the population around it, and it was there- 
fore disbanded. 

The North Arenue Congregational Church, was or- 
ganized September 23,1857. It was at first calied the 
Holmes Congregational Church, and was connected 
with the Holmes Congiegational Society, which was 
formed in North Cambridge in September, 1857. In 
1866 the name North Avenue was substituted for 
Holmes. A chapel was built in 1857, and called the 
Holmes Chapel. In this worship was maintained 
until it was too small tor the congregation, when it 
was sold to a new Methodist Society. The Holmes 
Society bought the meeting-house of the old Cam- 
bridge Baptist Church, and moved it bodily to the 
corner of North Avenue and Roseland Street. It was 
dedicated by its new owners Sei)tember 29, 1867. It 
was afterwards enlarged to meet the wants of the 
growing congregation, and it is still the home of the 
church. The church at its formation had forty-three 
members, some of whom were from the First Church. 
At the last report there were 512 members. 

The first pastor was Rev. William Carruthers 
(Bowdoin, 1853), who was installed January 2, 1861, 
and dismissed February 21, 1866. Rev. David O. 
Mears (Amherst, 1865) was ordained and installed 
October 2, 1867. After a successful ministry he re- 
tired .Tuly 1, 1877, to become the pastor of the Pied- 
mont Church, in Worcester. Rev. Charles F. Thwing, 
(Harvard, 1876, Audover, 1879) was ordained and in- 
stalled September 25, 1879, and resigned October 29, 
1886, to become the pastor of Plymouth Church in 
Minneapolis. Rev. Walters .Ue.xander, D.D. (Yale, 
1858, Andover, 1861), was installed October 28, 1886, 
and has remained the pastor of the church until his 
recent resignation of the office. 

Pilgrim' Coiigregntiniial Church. — An account of the 
origin of this church has already been given. The 
fuller sketch which follows has been prepared by one 
of the officers of the church and is printed in full. 

In 1852 a mission Sabbath-school v/as established 
in the lower part of Cambridgeport, which was for 
some time carried on by the First and Second Con- 
gregational, the Methodist and the Baptist Churches, 
acting together. Within a few year.s, however, all 
these churches except the First (congregational relin- 
quished their connection with the work. In 1863 
the Stearns Chapel was built on Harvard Street, near 



64 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Winsor, primarily for tlie accommodation of this 
school. The chapel was soon opened for religious 
meetings on Sunday and Wednesday evenings, and 
preaching services were held on Sunday afternoons 
with a good degree of regularity. The success of 
these etlbrts was such that the First Cliurch was led 
to consider the question of organizing another 
church. 

In the autumn of 18(j4 Rev. Edward Abbott was 
invited to " take charge of the Stearns Chapel for 
one year." He began his work Sunday, January 1, 
1865, and on November 2l8t of the same year a 
church of fifty-one members wiis formed. It was 
called the Steams Chapel Congregational Church, 
and Mr. Abbott was installled as its first pastor. Of the 
fifty-one members, eighteen came by letter from the 
First Congregational Church, seventeen from the 
Second Congregational Church (which disbanded at 
about this time), and four from churches outside of 
Cambridge; while twelve made their first public con- 
fession of faith. 

The growth of the church was rapid. In Decem- 
ber, 1867, it became necessary to enlarge the chapel. 
Mr. Abbott resigned the pastorate in November, 1869, 
and on the 4th of the following May Rev. George R. 
Leavitt was installed as his successor. It had now 
become evident that the church ought to leave the 
mission chapel, and build a larger meeting-house. 
A majority of the attendants at the Stearns Chapel 
lived on the southerly side of Main Street, in a part 
of the city where there was no Congregational 
.,('hurch. It was consequently decided to build in 
that section, and a lot was bought at the corner of 
Magazine and Cottage Streets, in April, 1870. The 
corner-stone of the new house was laid May 13, 1871, 
and the building was dedicated January 4, 1872. 
The cost of the lot and the building was nearly forty 
thousand dollars. 

Early in 1871 the name of the organization was 
changed to The I'ilgrim Congregational Church, and 
a petition was laid before the Legislature for a special 
act of incorporation, giving the church the right to 
hold property and do all its own business, without a 
parish or society. At that time such a form of 
church life was almost unknown, and was impossible 
without special legislative enactment. The petition 
was granted, however, and The Pilgrim Church be- 
came a legal corporation. February 22, 1885, Mr. 
Leavitt tendered his resignation, in consequence of a 
call to Cleveland, Ohio, and on the 10th of March he 
was formally dismissed by an ecclesiastical council. 
Soon afterward a call wsus extended to Rev. George 
A. Tewksbury, of Plymouth, Mass., and on the 7th 
of May lie was installed as the third pastor of Pil- 
grim Church. He held this office about four years, 
and was dismissed March 5, 1889. Rev. Charles 
Olmstead, formerly of Oswego Falls, N. Y., suc- 
ceeded Mr. Tewksbury, being installed July 9, 1889. 
At the outset the church adopted the plan of free 



sittings and voluntary offerings. None of the pews 
are assigned to individuals or families, but all are 
strictly free. The expenses of the church are met 
entirely by the free-will offerings of the peojile, which 
are gathered by i)assing boxes throughout the house 
at each Sunday preaching service. The old custom 
of having two sermons every Sunday, forenoon and 
afternoon, has never been abandoned. 

The church has received a total of over eleven 
hundred members, and its present membership is 
about six hundred and fifty. 

Wood Memorial Church. — An account of the forma- 
tion of this church has been given. It moved from 
Stearns' Chapel to its new house in 1884. Mr. Bick- 
ford retired from the pastorate May 26, 1887, after a 
ministry which had been of signal advantage to the 
church. Rev. Isaiah W. Sneath became the acting 
pastor September 1, 1887, and was finally installed as 
pastor June 20, 1888. The church had in February, 
1890, a membership of 195, with a Sunday-school of 
395 members. 

Unitarian Churches. — The First Parish Church 
was organized February 1, 16.36. The account of this 
church has already been given. 

Cambridf/eporl Parish. — An account has already 
been given of the organization of this parish. The 
meeting-house corporation was formed in 1805, the 
meeting-house dedicated January 1, 1807, the parish 
organized in 1808, and the church formed .luly 14, 
1809. The first minister. Rev. Thomas Brattle Gan- 
nett, was ordained January 19, 1814, and was the pas- 
tor till 1834. He died in 1851, at the age of sixty- 
two. 

The second pastor was the Rev. Artemas B. Muzzey 
(Harvard, 1824), who was installed January 1, 1834, 
and continued in the office until 1846. Mr. Muzzey is 
still living in Cambridge. He has been especially in- 
terested in historical studies, and as a native of Lex- 
ington has appropriately published a book of 
" Reminiscences and Memorials of Men of the Revolu- 
tion, and their Families." The third minister was 
the Rev. .lohn F. W. Ware (Harvard 1838), who was 
installed November 29, 1846, and retired April 1, 1864. 
He resigned to take charge of a society in Baltimore, 
and afterwards was the minister of the Arlington St. 
Church, in Boston, until his death, in 1881. 

Rev. Henry C. Badger was installed January 15, 
18ti5, and he resigned on account of ill health Octo- 
ber 1, 1865. He is now connected with the Cartographi- 
cal I)e])artment of the library of Harvard College. 

The Rev. George W. Briggs, D.D., was installed 
Ai)ril 3, 1867, and is still pastor of the church. He 
graduated at Brown University in 1825 and at the 
Harvard Divinity School in 1834. He received his 
Doctorate of Divinity from Harvard in 1855. The 
Rev. John Tunis, a graduate of the Harvard Divinity 
School in 1882, was installed as colleague pastor April 
11, 1889. 

During Mr. Ware's ministry the society increased 



CAMBRIDGE. 



65 



largely, and in 1854 the church was remodeled and 
new pews took the place of the ol<l ones. After Dr. 
Briggs' accession to the pastorate of the church the 
society was so much enlarged that in 1872 it was 
found necessary again to remodel the church and to 
increase the number of pews. A new vestry was fit- 
ted up in the basement. The first meeting-house was 
of brick, and stood on the west side of the square 
bounded by Broadway and Harvard, Columbia and 
Board man Streets. This house was so much injured 
by the wind in 18.33 that it was abandoned, and the 
new house was erected on Austin Street. This is now 
the home of the church, — the place of worship, and 
the centre of its religious and philanthropic activities. 
A Sunday-.school wa.s established by the society in 
1814 

Tke Third CoiKjregntlonal Society was incorporated 
June 16, 1827, and in that year it erected a brick 
meeting-house at the corner of Thorndike and Third 
Streets, East Cambridge. The church was organized 
March 3, 1828. The first pastor was Rev. Warren 
Burton (Ha>vard, 1821). He was installed March 5, 
1828 and resigned in 1829, and the Rev. James D. 
Green (Harvard, 1817) was installed .January 6, 1830. 
He resigned in 1840 and afterward filled various civil 
ofiices. He was the first mayor of Cambridge. His 
successors were Rev. Messrs. Henry Lambert, George 
G. IngersoU, Frederick W. Holland, Frederick N. 
Knapp, William T. Clarke, Henry C. Badger, Rufus 
P. Stebbins, Stephen G. Bulfinch and Samuel W. 
McDaniel. The latter resigned in 1874. The changes 
in that part of Cambridge made it impracticable to 
continue the services in the church. In 1887 the 
Carabridgeport Parish and Church in Austin Street 
received the fund of the society and became responsi- 
ble for its custody and use. In connection with this 
arrangement the society in Austin Street, by an act of 
the Legislature, took the name of the Third Congrega- 
tional Society in Cambridge. The house in East 
Cambridge was sold in 188(5, with the organ and bell, 
and has since been used by the Church of the Ascen- 
sion (Episcopal). 

T/ie Lee Street Society was organized in 1846. Mo-<t 
of the original members, with the first pastor, had 
been connected with the Cambridgeport Parish. The 
church was organized April 9, 1847. The first meet- 
ing-house was built on Lee Street and dedicated 
Mirch 25, 1847, and burned May 20, 1855. Another 
house was erected on the same lot and dedicated 
January 23, 1856. 

Rev. Artemas B. Muzzey was the pastor from Sep- 
tember 7, 1846, till February 20, 1854, when he re- 
signed. He was followed by Rev. Henry R. Harring- 
ton (Harvard, 1834), from February 11, 1855, to April 
1, 18G5. He was followed by Rev. Abram W. Stevens, 
who was installed November 26, 1865 and retired 
November 1, 1870. Rev. John P. Bland, of the 
Harvard Divinity School (1871), was ordained Sep- 
tember 6.1871. But the Lee Street Society had become 
5 



reduced in strength by the death or removal of 
most of its original members, and it was at length 
thought best to accept a cordial invitation to re- 
turn to the church and society in Austin Street. 
"The result was accomplished satisfactorily to all 
concerned and the union was consummated without a 
dissenting voice." 

The church on Lee Street was bought by the city, 
and is now temporarily used by the Latin School. 

The Alien Street Cungreyational Society ( Unitarian) 
was organized October 8, 1851, in North Cambridge. 
Several of the members resided over the line, in 
Somerville. A meeting-house was built at the corner 
of Allen and Orchard Streets, on land given for that 
purpose by Mr. Walter M. Allen. The house was 
finished in February, 1853, and was destroyed by fire 
March 19, 1865. Another house, erected on the same 
site, was completed in December, 1865, and was after- 
wards enlarged. In 1869 it was found expedient for 
the society to unite with the Universalist denomina- 
tion, and its latest history will be found in connection 
with the Uuiver-salist Churches. 

University Church. — An account has already been 
given of the organization of a church in connection 
with Harvard College in 1814. That was nearly 
fifteen years before the separation of the First Church 
from the parish, and the new church was formed with 
the approval and assistance of the old church and its 
minister. But the new church became allied with 
the Unitarian movement and its ministers were from 
that branch of the church. Services were held in the 
new College Chapel in University Hall and the pres- 
ident with the Faculty of the Theological School, 
officiate. In 1858 Appleton Chapel was completed, 
and the services of the College Church have since been 
held there. The pastors and preachers, in addition to 
President Kirkland, have been Rev. Henry Ware, 
D.D. (Harvard, 1785), from 1814 to 1840; Rev. Henry 
Ware, D.D., Jr. (Harvard, 1812), from 1840 to 1842; 
Rev. Convers Francis, D.D. (Harvard, 1815), from 1842 
tol855 ; Rev. Frederic D. Huntington, D.D. (Amherst, 
1842), from 1855 to 1860; Rev. Andrew P. Peabody, 
D.D. (Harvard, 1826), from I860 to 1881. Since that 
time the services of the University Church have been 
discontinued. After Dr. Peabody's resignation the 
chapel pulpit was supplied by different ministers who 
were invited by the college authorities. In 1886 Rev. 
Francis G. Peabody (Harvard, 1869), was appointed 
Plummer Professor of Christian Morals, and a board 
of five preachers was appointed to administer with 
him the religious afl'airs of the college. The five 
preachers were Rev. Edward Everett Hale, D.D., 
Rev. Phillips Brooks, D.D., Rev. Alexander McKen- 
zie, D.D., Rev. Richard Montague, Rev. George .\. 
Gordon. The preachers are appointed annually. 
Rev. Theodore C. Williams, Rev. William Lawrence, 
Rev. Ijyman Abbott, D.D., Rev. Brooke Ilerford, 
D.D., and Rev. Henry Van Dyke, D.D., have been 
added to the board, from which some of the original 



66 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



members have retired. The Plummer professor and 
the preachers conduct the service of morning prayer, 
and a Sunday evening service in which they are 
assisted by other clergymen. 

Protestant Episcopal Churches. — Christ 
Church. — The introduction of the Episcopal Church 
into Cambridge has been mentioned already in its 
chronological place. A fuller account can be given 
here, compiled, for the most part, from the n.Trrative 
written by Rev. Dr. Hoppin for the "History of the 
American Episcopal Church." " Several worthy gen- 
tlemen of the town of Cambridge," members of the 
Church of England, petitioned the Society for the 
Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts to grant 
them a missionary who i-hould otBciate for them and 
for others in neighboring towns, and for such college 
students as were in the English Church. They named 
the Rev. East Apthorp, a Fellow of Jesus College, 
Cambridge, England, as a suitable man for this ser- 
vice. Mr. Apthorp was appointed in 1759. Arrange- 
ments were made for building a church. The original 
subscription for this purpose is dated at Boston, April 
2-5, 1759. The building committee was composed of 
well-known men: Henry Vassal, Joseph Lee, John 
Vassal, Ralph Inmau, Thomas Oliver, David Phips. 
They employed "a masterly architect," Mr. Peter 
Harrison, of Newport, R. I." " Christ Church, built 
from his designs, at a cost, not including the land, of 
about £1300 sterling, seems to have been always re- 
garded as an edifice of superior elegance." Mr. Ap- 
thorp spoke of it as " adding to the few specimens 
we have of excellence in the fine arts." Archdeacon 
Barnaby, in his " Travels," published in 1760, says of 
the house and the minister, "The building is elegant, 
and the minister of it, the Rev. Mr. Apthorp, is a very 
amiable young man of shining parts, good learning, 
and pure and engaging manners," The establishment 
of the Church of England ia this colony was met 
with resistance. Mr. Apthorp, published in 1763, 
" Considerations on the Institution and Conduct of 
the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel." The 
Rev. Jonathan Mayhew replied, the Archbishop of 
Canterbury replied to him, and Dr. M.ayhew and Mr. 
Apthorp continued the controversy. Upon his settle- 
ment here, Mr. Apthorp " built a spacious and costly 
mansion, the unwonted splendor of which caused many 
remarks." Dr. Mayhew wrote : " Since the mission 
was established in Cambridge, and a very sumptuous 
dwelling house (for this country) erected there, that 
town hath been often talked of by Episcopalians, as 
well as others, as the proposed place of residence for 
a bishop." Dr. Hoppin wiites: " No doubt Mr. Ap- 
thorp's situation in Cambridge was rendered uncom- 
fortable by this controversy, and he the more readily 
embraced theopi)ortuiiity of preferment in England." 
He received in 1765 an appointment from Archbishop 
Seeker, and returned to England, where " he died at 
the advanced age of eighty-four, and was buried with 
great honor in the chapel of Jesus College, Cam- 



bridge." His death occurred on the 16th of April, 
1816. 

The church was erected on Garden Street, on land 
adjoining the old burying-ground. " A piece cf land 
one hundred feet square was bought of Mr. James 
Reed for £16 2s. IJf/., lawful money." " This, with 
the same quantity bought of the Proprietors of the 
common and undivided lands of the Town of Cam- 
bridge and taken in from the commons, foimed the 
church lot. The price paid to the Proprietor was £13 
6s. 8(/., lawful money, the church also paying for the 
removal of the Pounds." The church was opened 
for divine service October 15, 1761. After Mr. Ap- 
thorp's retirement the Rev. Mr. Griffith ofEciattd 
from December, 1764, to May, 1765. In June, 1767, 
the Rev. Wiuwood Serjeant became the missionary 
for the church, and he remained in this ofiice until 
the breaking out of the War of the Revolution. Dr. 
Caner writes to the society, June 2, 1775: "Mr. Ser- 
jeant of Cambridge, has been obliged, with his family, 
to fly for the safety of their lives, nor can I learu 
where he is concealed. His fine church is turned 
into barracks by the rebels, and a beautiful organ 
that was in it broke to pieces." Another writes in 
1778: " Mr. Serjeant's parish at Cambridge is wholly 
broken up. The elegant houses of these gentlemen 
who once belonged to it are now occupied by the 
rebels." Mr. Serjeant died at Bath, England, Sep- 
tember 20, 1780. 

While the American Army was in Cambridge it is 
probable that service was occasionally performed in 
the church. There is a record of a service held on 
Sunday, the last day of 1775, " at the request of Mrs. 
Washington. There were present the General and 
lady, Mrs. Gates, Mr. Custisand a number of others." 
But the house " was left for many years in a melan- 
choly and desecrated condition, the doors shattered 
and all the windows broken cut, exposed to rain 
and storms, and every sort of depredation ; its 
beauty gone, its sanctuary defiled, the wind howling 
through its deserted aisles and about its stained and 
decaying walls; the whole building being a disgrace 
instead of an ornament, to the town." No effort ap- 
pears to have been made for the renewal of divine 
worship till the beginning of the year 1790. The 
edifice was then repaired, and on the 14th of July 
was reopened for service, and Rev. Dr. Parker, rector 
of Trinity Church, Boston, preached from Ephesians 
ii. 19-22. " The Rev. Joseph Warren had been ' put 
into Deacon's orders ' by Bishop Seabury, for Christ 
Church, and officiated till Easter, 1791. The 
Rev. Dr. Walter and the Rev. William Montague, 
as assistant, then served conjointly for a time. 
Readers were employed, among them Theodore 
Debar, afterward Bishop of South Carolina, and Jon- 
athan Mayhew Wainwright, afterward Provisional 
Bishop of New York." In 1826 the building was re- 
paired and reopened July 30, 1826, " a sermou 
being preached by the Rev. George Otis, A. M., one 



CAMBRIDGE. 



67 



of the faculty of Harvard College. Of those who have 
in later days served this ancient parish as rectors, two 
are now bishops of the church, the Right Rev. Drs. 
Vail and M. A. De Wolfe Howe. Of those who have 
temporarily served in this congregation, the Rev. Dr. 
John Williams is now Bishop of Connecticut, and the 
Rev. Horatio Southgate was the Missionary Bishop 
in Turkey." Mr. Otis was chosen rector, and declined 
the office on account of his college engagements, but 
" he continued to officiate for the church, and was vir- 
tually its minister, till his lamented and untimely 
death, at the age of thirty-two, February 25, 1828." 
Rev. Thomas W. Coit, D.D., was rector from Easter, 
1829, to Easter, 1835; Dr. Howe for a fevf month.s in 
18.36 and 1837; Dr. Vail from Easter, 1837, to Easter, 
1839. The Rev. Nicholas Hoppin became the rector 
in November, 1839. He was a graduate of Brown 
University in 1831. The congregation increased 
under his rectorship, and in 1857 the church edifice 
was enlarged by an addition of twenty-three feet to its 
length. Changes were also made in the inteiior. A 
chime of thirteen bells was procured by subscription 
arid placed in the belfry of the church, where they 
were rung for the first time on Easter morning, 18C0. 
After a succe.-sful ministry of thirty-four years, much 
the longest which the church has known. Dr. Hoppin 
resigned, April 20, 1874. He continued to reside in 
Cambridge, where he was held in great respect. 

The next rector of Christ Church was the Rev. 
William Chauucy Laugdon, D.D., who, after a few 
years of faithful service, resigned the parish, and wa» 
succeeded by the present rector, Rev. James F. Spald- 
ing, D. D. 

iSf. Peter's Church,' Main Street, Carabridgeport. — 
This parish was organized October 27, 1842. A lot of 
land on Magazine Street, near Perry, was given as a 
site for the church, but this location being considered 
entirely out of town, it was exchanged for a lot on 
Prospect Street, near the corner of Harvard, on 
which a church was at once built. The parish was 
admitted into union with the Diocese at the annual 
meeting of the convention in 1843. 

The movement for a new church building began in 
1864, and the ibundation of ihe present church, cor- 
ner of Main and Vernon Streets, was laid in that 
year. The work proceeded slowly; in September, 
1866, worship was begun in the Sunday-school room, 
and the church w as opened for service on the Sunday 
after Christmas, 1867; but owing to the fact that it 
was not fully paid for, its consecration could not take 
place until October 2, 1873, when that ceremony was 
performed by Right Rev. B. H. Paddock, it being his 
first public official act after his consecration as 
Bishop of the Diocese. 

In the forty-seven years of its history the parish 
has been in charge of nine different clergymen. 
Rev. Edward M. Gushee (Brown University, 1858) 

1 Commuuicated. 



was rector from Easter, 1875 ; but at the present time 
(February, 1890) the rectorship is vacant. 

St. Philip's Church,' AUston Street. — This church 
was built by Rev. Edward M. Gushee while he was rec- 
tor of St. Peter's Church, chiefly at his own expense. 
The formal benediction of the foundation took place 
on Sunday, November 28, 1886, and the church was 
opened for service on Sunday, June 12, 1887. Mr. 
Gushee continued to serve both churches until Eas- 
ter, 1888, when he resigned the rectorship of St. 
Peter's and devoted himself entirely to St. Philip's, 
of which he still remains in charge. In the summer 
of 1888 the church was enlarged by lengthening 
both chancel and nave and the addition of a tran- 
sept. The congregation is not represented in the 
meetings of the Diocesan Convention, not having 
been admitted into union with the Diocese. 

The Church of ihe Ascension,^ East Cambridge, and 
St. Bartholomew's, Cambridgeport, are canonically 
called " Missions," having no parochial organization 
and no representation in the Diocesan Convention, 
but they are not dependent on any parish. 

St. Bartholomew's has been in existence about two 
years and is now under the care oii Rev. David G. 
Haskins, D.D. 

The first service for the Mission of the Ascension 
was held on Whit-Sunday, 1875, by Rev, Wm, War- 
land in the present church, which was then owned by 
the Third Congregational Society. 

In May, 1886, the building, with the organ and bell, 
was bought for the Church of the Ascension. There 
is no clergyman in regular charge at the present time. 

St. James' Parish,^ Cambridge. — The circumstances 
Itading to the organization of this parish are of more 
than ordinary interest, as its growth has been orie of 
the noticeable features of the religious life of the city. 
In 1860 the Rev. Frederic D. Huntington, D.D., 
Pluramer Professor of Christian Morals in Harvard 
University, and previously a Unitarian, had been 
ordained to the ministry of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church. Four years later he resigned his office in the 
university. His organization and rectorship of Em- 
manuel Church, Boston, followed this step. Another 
result was the organization of the " Church Union," 
a fervent society of young churchmen of Boston and 
vicinity, dedicated to aggressive etfort in the line of 
church extension. Living at this juncture in Cam- 
bridge, and connected with the mother parish of 
Christ Church, was the Rev. Andrew Croswell, a 
retired Episcopal clergyman in impaired health. 
Stimulated by the zeal and activity around him, he 
looked about for a suitable place at which himself to 
try a mission work, and pitched upon North Cam- 
bridge, then an almost outlying and detached precinct 
of the city, beginning a mile or more above the col- 
lege buildings at Harvard Square. There he hired a 
hall, and, with the co-operation of Samuel Batchelder 



- CopimiiuicateiJ, 



•) CommuDicatcd. 



68 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



and George Dexter, two devoted laymen, honored 
Cambridge names, the first service was held on the 
evening of Christmas Day, 1864, the rector of 
Emmanuel Church, Boston, now Bishop of Central 
New York, preaching the sermon. The hall was 
Atwill's, on the corner of North Avenue and Russell 
Street. Here the mission continued under Mr. Cros- 
well's ministry until its growth led to its removal to 
the abandoned bank building on the avenue near 
Porter's Station, which was fitted up for a chapel and 
occupied as such until 1871. Meantime a parish of 
the Episcopal Church had been organized under the 
legal title of the Free Church of St. James, on the 
18th of June, 1866, with the Rev. Andrew Croswell as 
rector, which position he filled till the building 
of the little church on Beech Street, the gift of a 
Cambridge lady deeply interested in the mission, 
and erected on land secured by Mr, Croswell with the 
aid of other friends. The corner-stone of this church 
was laid June 30, 1871, and the building was conse- 
crated December 21st following. Mr. Croswell's 
health obliging him about this time to retire from 
the rectorship, he was succeeded by the Rev. W. H. 
Fultz, and he in turn, in 1873, by the Rev. T. S. 
Tyng, a grandson of the Rev. Dr. Stephen H. Tyng, 
of New York. Fresh from the Episcopal Theologi- 
cal School in Cambridge, Mr. Tyng brought to this 
his first rectorship great ardor and indefatigable 
industry, and during the five years of his ministry 
the parish, though still small and feeble and strug- 
gling, made steady gains. The planting of St. 
John's Church, Arlington and the building of St. 
Jamfs' Chapel, West Somerville, were part of the 
visible fruits of Mr. Tyng's energetic work. In 1878 
Mr. Tyng resigned, having offered himself as a mis- 
sionary to .Japan, and was succeeded by the Rev. 
Edward Abbott, formerly a Congregationalist min- 
ister, and a resident of Cambridge since 1865 
(founder and first pastor of what is now the Pilgrim 
Congregational Church), who had lately been con- 
firmed in the Episcopal Church, and was about be- 
coming a candidate for its ministry. Mr. Abbott vir- 
tually took charge of the parish in September, 1878, 
and is now (1890) still its rector. The growth of the 
parish in the past twelve years has been vigorous and 
marked. The purchase of land in the rear of the 
Beech Street Church and the erection thereon of a 
Parish House, and later the purchase of the si>:htly 
and historic Davenport estate, on the corner of the 
avenue and Beech Street, and the completion thereon, 
in 1889, of a large, new and beautiful stone church, 
are the two most notable outward signs of their pro- 
gress. Of this church Bishop Huntington laid the 
corner-stone in August, 1888. The new St. James' 
Church is considerablv the largest Episcopal Church 
in the city, and in many respects one of the most im- 
pressive and attractive of all its religious edifices, 
having a capacity of nearly, if not quite, 800 per- 
sons, and possessing one of the most spacious and 



beautiful chancels in the State. This feature of the 
building is a memorial to the late James Greenleaf, 
of Cambridge, with whom the late Rev. Andrew 
Croswell, first rector of the parish, was connected by 
marriage. Through all these years the parish has 
been deeply interested and earnestly active in all 
good works, especially in behalf of nu!<sions at home 
and abroad, and has been a liberal giver according to 
its means. A flourishing Sunday-school, a numerous 
Ladies' Missionary Society, a Men's Benefit Society, 
a Young Men's Guild, a Young People's Missionary 
Society and a temperance society are among its activ- 
ities. Its present number of communicants is about 
2.50. 

The Episcopal Theological School. — "This institu- 
tion was incorporated in 1867. It had long been felt 
that a theological seminary was needed to provide a 
ministry for the church in New England, and espe- 
cially when Cambridge offered so excellent an oppor- 
tunity to recruit and prepare candidates." " Several 
attempts to establish the seminary had been made, 
but had not been successful. The Rev. J. H. Hop- 
kins, later Bishop of Vermont, for nearly two years 
taught several young men in a house which he occu- 
pied in Cambridge. But as he was elected to the 
episcopate, and expectations in regard to finances were 
not realized, the matter was given up." 

But in 1867 Benjamin T. Reed, of Boston, revived 
the scheme and conveyed to trustees selected by him- 
self, the sum of $100,000, " accompanied by an inven- 
ture of conditions." The title of the property is in 
the hands of five lay trustees who till their own vacan- 
cies. There is also a Board of Visitors consisting of 
the bishop of the Diocese, with three clergymen and 
three laymen. la regard to the instruction : " The 
aim has been to be independent of all schools of 
thought or parties, and to make the teaching as com- 
prehensive as the church itself, and as impartial to- 
wards all loyal members thereof." 

In 1869, Mr. R. M. Mason built St. John's Memo- 
rial Chapel " for the free accommodation of officers 
and students of the school and of Harvard College, 
and of the public on such terms as the trustees may 
fix." In 1873 Mr. Amos A. Lawrence built a dormi- 
tory, which was completed in 1880. In 1874 Mr. 
Reed gave the library and class-room building, and at 
his death, soon after, bequeaihed to the seminary the 
reversion of his estate. In 1875 Mr. John A. Burn- 
ham built the refectory. There have been other gifts 
of money and land. " The actual donations have 
amounted to $426,500." The " property actually on 
hand is worth $381,500." " The ultimate reversion 
of the estate of the founder will render the endow- 
ment of the school one of the largest in America." 
The buildings make a very attractive group on Brat- 
tle Street, and the affairs of the school are in a flour- 
ishing condition. The Rev. John S. Stone, D.D., was 
dean of the school until 1876, when he retired. The 
Rev. George Zabriskie Gray, D.D., was then chosen 



CAMBRIDGE. 



69 



dean, and filled the office with great usefulness and 
acceptance until his death in 1889. The Rev. Wil- 
liam Lawrence (Harvard, 1871) is now the dean of the 
school. 

The course of study covers three years, with pro- 
vision for post-graduate studies. The catalogue of 
the school for 1 889-90 gave 4S students. About 200 
students have been connected with the school. 

Baptist Churches. — The First Baptist Church} 
— The First Baptist Church was organized " at the 
house of Mr. Samuel Hancock," in Cambridgeport, 
Dec. 17, 1817, seventeen males and twenty-nine fe- 
males then subscribing to the " Articles of Faith and 
a Covenant." Measures had been taken already to 
erect a house of worship. February 10, 1818, Wil- 
liam Brown and Levi Farwell were chosen deacons, 
both of whom acted in that capacity for twenty-six 
years. February 2.5, 1818, the church was publicly 
recognized in its own house of worship, situated on 
the c< rner of Magazine and River Streets. The house 
was built of wood and was three times enlarged to 
meet the wants of the increasing congregation. It 
was burned January 22, 1866. December 25, 1867, on 
the 50th anniversary of the organization of the 
church, a new and elegant structure of brick, cost- 
ing $90,000, was dedicated. This house was also 
burned to the ground February 3, 1881, but a new and 
still finer building was erected and dedicated, free of 
debt, October 15, 1882. 

The first pastor of the church was Bela Jacobs, for- 
merly of Pawtuxet, R. L, who filled the ofiice from 
1818 to 183.3. The time of his ministry was one of 
great prosperity, and though the church was, during 
this period, the mother of three other churches, she 
was compelled to enlarge her own facilities to accom- 
modate the increasing congregation. A .short and 
uneventful pastorate of two years succeeded, during 
which Stephen Lovell, of New Bedford, was the in- 
cumbent of the office. This was followed by the call 
of Joseph W. Parker, a student in Newton Theolog- 
ical Institution, who was ordained and installed as 
pastor Dec. 11, 1836. This pastorate continued seven- 
teen years, and was one of great prosperity to the 
church. The congregation greatly increased, though 
eighty-three members of the church with their fami- 
lies were dismissed to form the Old Cambridge Bap- 
tist Church. March 25, 1855, Sumner R. Mason, of 
Lockport, N. Y., was installed, whose labors were 
greatly ble-ssed through sixteen years. August 26, 
1871, Dr. Mason was killed in the terrible railroad 
disaster at Revere. During this period the Broad- 
way Baptist Church went forth from the First Church 
Jan. 1, 1873, H. K. Pervear, of Worcester, became 
pastor and continued in the office for seven years. 
Large additions were made to the church, the net in- 
crease being from 423 to 538. Sept. 1, 1879, W. T. 
Chase, of Lewiston, Me., entered upon the duties of 

1 Communicated, 



the pastorate and remained with the church until 
1884, the church numbering at the close of his pastor- 
ate 656. He was followed by the present incumbent, 
James McWhinnie, of Portland, Me., May 18, 1884. 

The "Inman Square Mifsion" is under the care of 
this church. In 1887 a commodious chapel was pro- 
vided for the use of the mission. A flourishing Sun- 
day-school and regular Sunday and weekly services 
are held there. Among the deacons of the church 
Josiah W. Cook has held the office for forty-six years. 
Deacon Joseph A. Holmes has been clerk of the 
church for more than forty-five years. 

The Second Bapli.it Church. — In 1824 a Sabbath - 
school was established in East Cambridge by members 
of Baptist Churches in Boston, who subsequently sus- 
tained preaching on one evening of the week in a 
room of the Putnam School-house. In 1827 a meet- 
ing-house was built on Cambridge Street, at the 
corner of Fourth. This bouse was burned April 14, 
1837. -A. house of brick was erected on the same site, 
and dedicated January 11, 1838. A church was or- 
ganized September 3, 1827. The first pastor was 
Rev. John E. Weston, who was ordained October 10, 
1827, and resigned April 4, 1831. His successor was 
Rev. Jonathan Aldrich, (Brown, 1826), from June 3, 
1833, to June 19, 18.35. Rev. Bela Jacobs was in- 
stalled August 23, 1835, and served until May 22, 
1836, when his sudden death ended his useful and 
honored life. His successors have been Rev. Nathan- 
iel Hervey, 1836 to 1839; Rev. William Leverett, 
1840 to 1849; Rev. Amos F. Spalding, 1852 to 1856; 
Rev. Hiram K. Pervear, 1858 to 1865; Rev. Frank 
R. Morse, 1865 to 1867; Rev. George H. Miner, 1868 
to 1872; Rev. Hugh C. Townley, 1873 to 1875; Rev. 
George W. Holman, Rev. H. R. Greene, Rev. N. M. 
Weeks and Rev. Burton Crankshaw, who is now the 
pastor. Mr. Crankshaw came to this country from 
England in 1872. He graduated at the Newton 
Theological Seminary in 1889. Under his ministry 
the church is pursuing its work with renewed energy 
and hope. 

The Old Cambridge Baptist Church^ was organized 
August 20, 1844, with a membership of nearly ninety 
persons, almost all of whom had formerly belonged 
to the First Baptist Church in Cambridgeport. Its 
first house of worship was on land bought from Har- 
vard College, at the corner of Kirkland Street and 
Holmes Place. Services of dedication and of recog- 
nition of the church and installation of the first pas- 
tor. Rev. E. G. Robinson, D.D., LL.D., in after-years 
president of Brown University, were held October 23, 
1845. Just twenty-one years later, October 23, 1866, 
the building was sold, and after removal to the corner 
of North Avenue and Roseland ■Street, where it now 
stands, became the church-house of the North Avenue 
Congregational Society. The land was resold to Har- 
vard College, and what was perhaps the most desirable 

2 Communicated. 



70 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



place in Cambridge for a church, had not its limits 
then been so small, became by enlargement a. fine 
site for the attractive Hemenway Gymnasium of the 
University. With the proceeds of the sale of house 
and land, and with what Dr. Paige, in his "History of 
Cambridge," calls "contributions on a magnificent 
scale," provision was made for the present place of 
worship, between Harvard and Main Streets, near 
Quincy Square, the dedication of which took place 
September 29, 1870. 

In the Civil War the church had its doers of patri- 
otic service at home and its martyrs in the field. 

The most striking recent event in this summary of 
the church's external history was the fire on Sunday, 
January 20, 1889, by which the interior of the cliapej 
was destroyed and the main building damaged. After 
an interval of nine months, during which the hospi- 
talities of the University and of the First Parish were 
enjoyed (those of the Shepard Congregational Soi-iety 
being proffered with equal kindness), the house was 
reopened October 27, 1889. 

At the date of writing, February, 1890, the church 
has been without a minister for nearly a year and a 
half, the pastorate of the Hev. Franklin Johnson, 
D.D., which began with the year 1884, having termi- 
nated in September, 1888. The church at present 
numbers some 450 members. 

With its history of only forty-five years it seems al- 
most a new-comer among the venerable institutions 
of this ancient home of piety and learning ; yet the 
communion to which it belongs had here a notable 
representative of its genius and tendencies at a very 
early period of the history of Cambridge, in the per- 
son of the first president of the college, whom it re- 
gards with just fondness as a spiritual ancestor. 

The pastors of this church have been Rev. EzekielG. 
Robinson, D.D. (Browu University, 1838), from Octo- 
ber 23, 1845, to September 13, 1846. 

Rev. Benjamin L. Lane, from December 30, 1846, 
to March 8, 1849. 

Rev. John Pryor, D.D., from March 25, 1850, to 
July 26, 1861. 

Rev. Cortland W. Anable, D.D., from June 21, 1863, 
to October 27, 1871. 

Rev. Franklin Johnson, D.D., from December 31, 
1873, to September, 1888. 

The North Avenue Baptist Church^ had its origin 
in a Mission Sunday school. The first session was 
held on the last Sunday of September, 1846. 

In the territory now known as the Fifth W.ard of the 
city there was then no religious service held and no 
religious society existing. At the first gathering 
there were present forty-five persons. Permission to 
use a room in the Winthrop School-house was ob- 
tained from the city government, through the Hon. 
James D. Green, first mayor of the city. The history 
of this religious interest is coSval with the corporate 

^ Cuuiuiuuicuted. 



life of the city. The privilege of occupying a room 
in the school-house was suddenly withdrawn on the 
18th of July, 1852. This withdrawal left the young 
interest in straits, but the apparent calamity was only 
a blessing in disguise. It threw faithful Christian 
workers back on God and their own resources. A lot 
of laud on North Avenue, near the corner of Russell 
Street, was at once leased from the city, plans for a 
small chapel were secured, the funds for its immedi- 
ate erection subscribed, and on the 31st day of Octo- 
ber, of the same year, the little company entered their 
new abode. The city government kindly permitted 
the school to occupy its old quarters during the erec- 
tion of the chapel. 

This chapel was named "Our Sabbath Home," by 
the first superintendent, Mr. E. R. Prescott. The 
prime movers in this enterprise were chiefly members 
of the West Cambridge (now Arlington) and Old 
Cambridge Baptist Churches. 

As early as February, 1848, the school was admitted 
into the "Boston Baptist Sabbath School Teachers' 
Convention," During the winter of 1852-53 reli- 
gious services were held weekly, on Thursday even- 
ings, in the chapel. In May, 1853, regular Sabbath 
services were begun. Rev. A. M. Averill, of the 
Newton Theological Institution became the "perma- 
nent supply." In this work of maintaining the 
preaching of the Gospel, Christian people of other 
faiths generously participated. 

An organization known as the North Cambridge 
Evangelical Association was formed, and for a short 
time controlled the business affairs of the new enter- 
prise. It was soon deemed advisable, however, to or- 
ganize a regular Baptist Church, as a large majority 
of those interested were already members of that de- 
nomination. Accordingly, on the 22d day of March, 
1854, a company of thirty men and women formed 
themselves into such a body, adopting articles of faith 
which, "for substance of doctrine," were in accord 
with the tenets and usages of the Baptist denomina- 
tion. Public recognition services were held on the 
6th of April, following. Mr. Averill became the reg- 
ular pastor of the young church, and under his ad- 
ministration it greatly prospered. In the meantime 
there had been formed the "North Cambridge Baptist 
Society." This body was composed of prominent 
members of the church and congregation. Under 
the existing laws, a church, as such, could not legally 
hold property. The aid of Dr. J. R. Morse, a well- 
known physician, justice of the peace, and afterward 
deacon of the North Avenue Congregational Church, 
was invoked. The forms of law were duly observed 
and the society commissioned for its import:\nt work. 
Some of the leading members of that day are still 
foremost in activity and fidelity. Mr. Henry R. 
Glover, the first chairman, still magnifies that office, 
having been elected to it each successive year since. 
Mr. Warren Sanger, the first clerk, filled that office 
for twenty-one consecutive years; is still a member 



CAMBRIDGE. 



71 



of the society and retains an unabated interest in its 
welfare. The society has been called upon during its 
brief history to build three houses of worship. In 
all three cases, the chairman of the Building Com- 
mittee has been Mr. C. W. Kingsley, — a fact which 
needs no comment. The organization of this society 
was demanded by the growth of Sunday-school and 
church. The question of location was long and anx- 
iously discussed, and at last settled by the generous 
gift from Mr. Henry Potter of a lot of land upon 
which the present edifice in part stands. Of many 
sites considered this has proven the most eligible, and 
the Older members of the church and society still 
keep the donor's "memory green." 

During 1854 the first meeting-house was built, and 
dedicated to the worship of God in February, 1855. 
The chapel was moved across " The Avenue " and 
attached to the rear of the church, affording ample 
facilities for work, as was supposed, for many years to 
come. In less than ten years, however, the Sunday- 
school had outgrown its surroundings, and in the sum- 
mer of 1S65 the chapel was enlarged and beautified, 
and on the nineteenth anniversary reopened with 
appropriate services. In the year 1884 the Sunday- 
school and church were once more straitened for room. 
The question of enlargement could be deferred no 
longer. In April, 1885, the work of removing the 
chapel, enlarging and remodeling the old meeting- 
house, was begun. In November the new and com- 
modious chapel was opened for divine service, and on 
the 18th of May, 1886, theentire edifice was rededicated 
to the worship of God. The whole cost of the enlarge- 
ment and renovation was fifty-four thousand dollars. 

The spacious lot of land on the northerly side of the 
church, containing nine thousand square feet, was the 
gift of Mr. Henry R. Glover. 

The original chapel was given to the First Baptist 
Church, and is now known as the Inraan Square 
Baptist Mission Sunday-school. The church during 
its life of thirty-six years has had four pastors : Rev. 
A. M. Averill (Newton Theo. Inst.), Rev. Joseph A. 
Goodham, (D. C. 1848 1, Rev. Joseph Colver Wight- 
man, (B.W. 1852.) Rev. Wm. S. Apsey (Madison 
Univ., IStJl). The last-named became pastor in 
October, 1868, and is the present incumbent. From 
the first the work of the Sunday-school has been a 
prominent feature. The church was the child of the 
school. The progress of the school has been solid and 
uninterrupted. It looks now (1890) as if the stakes 
would soon have to be strengthened, and the cords 
lengthened of this promising deiiartment of Chris- 
tian endeavor. 

The Broadway Baptist Church^. — A Sabbath-scliool, 
consisting of twenty-eight scholars and fifteen teach- 
ers, was opened December 16, 1860, in a room at the 
corner of Harvard and Clark Streets, under the 
patronage of the First Baptist Church. In 1861 a 

1 Cominunicuted. 



commodious chapel was erected for the school and 
for religious meetings, on the southerly side of Har- 
vard Street, near Pine Street. The school held its 
first meeting in this chapel January 12, 1862. It 
was dedicated as a house of worship February 9, 
1862. 

It was deemed advisable to open the chapel for 
regular public worship on the Sabbath Services 
were commenced on the first Sabbaih in March, 1863, 
the committee having secured the services of Rev. 
William Howe (Waterville College, 183.3), founder 
and pastor of Union Church, Boston, (now Union 
Temple). 

The attendance so increased that within the year 
the chapel was enlarged. Subsequently it was sold 
and removed to the corner of Harvard and Essex 
Streets. 

This Christian enterprise became so successful that 
it was deemed advisable to constitute a gospel church. 
Accordingly, on May 9, 1865, a church, consisting of 
fifty members, was organized and Rev. Willijm Howe 
chosen pastor. The public services of recognition of 
pastor and church were held in the First Baptist 
Church June 25, 1865. 

Enlarged accommodations being required, measures 
were taken to secure a suitable house of worship, 
which resulted in the purchase of a lot on Broadway, 
corner of Boardman Street, and the erection of an 
edifice sixty-eight feet by sixty-four, which was dedi- 
cated November 22, 1866, with appropriate religious 
services; sermon by the pastor. 

Rev. Wm. Howe continued his pastorate until ill 
health and advancing age compelled him to resign in 
July, 1870. He received the degree of D.D. from 
Colby University July, 1885. Dr. Howe continues 
to reside in Cambridge, without pastoral charge. 

October 25, 1870, Rev. Henry Hinckley, H. U., 
received a unanimous call to the pastorate and was 
installed December 13th following. After serving the 
church very acceptably eight years, he resigned 
October, 1878, to accept a call from the church in 
East Lynn, Mass. 

In February, 1879, Rev. A. C. Williams, from New 
Jersey, was called to the pastorate as successor to Mr. 
Hinckley. Mr. Williams resigned in May, 1882, and 
removed to Hinsdale, N. H., where he died suddenly 
July 12, 1883. 

A call was extended, September 22, 1882, to Rev. 
E. K. Chandler (Madison University); former pas- 
torates: Rockford, 111., Saco, Me. Mr. Chandler 
entered upon his duties as pastor November 1. After 
a successful pastorate of seven years, he resigned 
September 15, 1889, to accept a call from the church 
in Warren, R. I. He received the degree D.D. in 
1884. 

June 26, 1889, the church edifice was damaged by 
fire, which made it necessary to make quite exten- 
sive repairs. It was accordingly enlarged and re- 
modeled at an expense of about §17,000. 



72 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



January 17, 1890, Rev. Asa E. Reynolds (M. U.) 
former p.astorates : Natick, Mass., Wallingford, Conn. 
— received the unanimous call to the church to be- 
come its pastor. He entered upon his worlc March 
2d, and was publicly recognized March 20, 1890, 
when the church ediiice was rededicated and opened 
for public services. 

Charles River Baptist Church}— The Charles River 
Baptist Church had its origin in a Sunday-school, 
which was begun by members of the First Baptist 
Church, 1870, in the upper rooms of a dwelling-house, 
No. 8 Magazine Court. The first session was held 
April 3d, with an attendance of twenty-four children. 
Meetings for prayer and teaching the children con- 
tinued to be held in this place until October 30, 1870, 
when a new chapel, which had been erected during 
the summer at an expense of about $8500, on the 
corner of Magazine Street and Putnam Avenue, was 
occupied. This was of wood, Gothic in style, seventy 
feet long and thirty-three feet wide, with an addition 
in the rear for the infant class of the Sunday-school 
capable of seating about seventy-five persons. The 
main room had seats for about 300. This chapel was 
dedicated November 29, 1870. 

The school at this time numbered 180 teachers and 
scholars. Regular preaching services were begun in 
July, 1874, and continued under the charge of Rev. 
J. P. Thoms, and subsequently Rev. G. T. Raymond, 
to the time of the formation of the church — 1876. 
The congregation at this time averaged about 120 
in attendance. 

In June, 1873, an incorporated association had been 
formed, called the Charles River Baptist Chapel As- 
sociation, which held the property under a trust deed, 
meeting quarterly. This association, acting con- 
jointly with a committee chosen each year by the 
First Baptist Church, sustained and continued the re- 
ligious interest. April 10, 1876, a meeting was held 
to consider the matter of church organization. The 
outcome of this meeting and another held April 25th 
was the formation of the present church, adopting the 
old incorporated name, with the change of " chapel " 
to " church." Soon after the Articles of Faith, the 
covenant and constitution and by-laws were adopted 
and signed by forty persons, all presenting letters of 
dismission from some Baptist Church. The council, 
composed of delegates from neighboring Baptist 
Churches, convened June 8, 1876, and public recogni- 
tion services were held the same evening. Moder- 
ator, Rev. H. K. Pervear; clerk. Rev. Henry Hinck- 
ley. Rev. D. C. Eddy, D.D., preached the sermon. 
The church was received into the Boston North Bap- 
tist Association in September, 1876. 

October 5, 1876, a reorganization of the church was 
made for the purpose of forming the present corpora- 
tion, with some changes in the by-laws. The pur- 
pose of the corporation, as set forth, is " to maintain 

• CoinmuDJCAted. 



the public worship of God, to support evangelical 
preaching, and to observe the ordinances appointed 
by Christ, according to the usuages of the Baptist 
denomination." In 1878 the church asked for and re- 
ceived a release of the trust-deed from the First Bap- 
tist Church to enable a title deed to be made for 
them. Thus the new church became the owners of 
the land, building and personal property at a nominal 
cost to them of $3000. 

June 16, 1889, the cornerstone of the present house 
of worship was laid, and during the summer and the 
early part of the following year the edifice was 
erected. The building is a handsome brick structure, 
with brown-stone trimmings, located on the original 
lot, the old chapel being removed to the rear for ves- 
try purposes. The style is Romanesque. The audi- 
torium contains a number of memorial windows ; 
seating capacity, about 550. The present membership 
of the church is 220. 

The following have been the pastors of the church : 
Rev. F. B. Dickinson, from 1876 to 1878; Rev. C. H. 
Rowe, from 1878 to 1881 ; Rev. G. E. Horr, from 1882 
to 1883 ; Rev. W. C. Richmond, the present pastor, 
settled 1884. 

Union Baptist Churches. — The meeting-house 
of the Union Baptist Church, upon Main Street, was 
erected in 1882. The pastor of the church is Rev. 
Jesse Harrell. The society is flourishing under his 
charge. 

Universalist Churches.— TAe First Universalist 
Society in Cambridge was incorporated February 9, 
1822. For some years there had been occasional re- 
ligious services conducted by Rev. Hosea Ballon and 
others in a school-house on Franklin Street. The 
society erected a meeting-house at the junction of 
Main and Front Streets, and this was dedicated De- 
cember 18, 1822. A church was organized June 19, 
1827. The first pastor was Rev. Thomas Whittemore, 
who was born in Boston January 1, 1800. He served 
the church from April, 1822, until May, 1831. He 
was prominent in his denomination and an active 
citizen after his retirement from the pastorate of this 
church. He died March 21, 1861. His successor was 
Rev. Samuel P. Skinner, who began to preach for the 
church in 1831. In 1832 he removed to Baltimore. 
He died in 1858. He was followed by Rev. Lucius 
R. Paige, who was born in Hardwick March 8, 1802. 
He began to preach in 1823, entered upon his minis- 
try here in 1832, was installed July 8, 1832, and re- 
signed July 1, 1839. He received the degree of A.M. 
from Harvard College in 1850, and of D.D. from 
Tufts College in 1861. He preached for nearly thirty 
years after his retirement from the pastorate. Dr. 
Paige has continued to reside in Cambridge, where 
he is held in the highest esteem. He has served as 
town clerk and city clerk, as treasurer of the Cam- 
bridgeport Savings Bank, and cashier and president 
of the Cambridge Bank. He has published various 
religious books, and also a history of his native town. 



CAMBRIDGE. 



73 



He has ako published a " History of Cambridge," which 
is invaluable to any who would know the long story of 
the origin and growth of the town, and especially to 
any one who has occasion to write concerning it. Dr. 
Paige is an active and honored member of the Massa- 
chusetts Historical Society. 

Rev. Lemuel Willis was the nex^ minister, from 
1842 to 1845. Rev. Luther J. Fletcher was installed 
in 1846, and he resigned in 1848. Rev. Edwin A. 
Eaton was the minister from 1849-52. Rev. Charles 
A. Skinner was installed in 185.3 and he resigned in 

1867. Rev. Benjamin F. Bowles was installed in 

1868, and resigned in 1873. Rev. Oscar F. Saflbrd 
wijs installed in 1874, and he served until 1885. The 
present pastor is Rev. Alphonso E White (Dartmouth 
College. 1865), who was installed October 13, 188B. 
In 1889 the meeting-house was moved from the con- 
spicuous place it had occupied — in order that Front 
Street might be widened to make a proper approach 
to the Harvard bridge — and was placed on Inman 
Street, where it has been greatly improved. and fur- 
nishes a convenient and attractive place of worship. 

The Second Universalist Society was incorporated 
February 11, 1823. For a time meetings were held in 
a school-house on Third Street, East Cambridge, and 
afterwards in the meeting-house of the Unitarian 
Society. In 1834 a hall was hired for the services, 
and in 1843 this was purchased and enlarged and con- 
verted into a meeting-house. In 1865 this was sold 
and a house was built on Otis Street. This was dedi- 
cated September 26, 1866. Rev. Henry Bacon was 
the first settled pastor; he began in 1834 and resigned 
in 1838. He was followed by Rev. Elbridge G. 
Brook.'., 1838 to 1845; Rev. William R, G. Mellen, 
1845 to 1848; Rev. Massena Goodrich, 1849 to 1852; 
Rev. Henry A. Eaton, 1855 to 1857 ; Rev. Henry W. 
Rugg, 1858 to 1861 ; Rev. S. L. Roripaugh, January, 
1862, to the end of the year; Rev. James F. Powers, 
1863 to 1866; Rev. Henry I. Cushman, 1867 to 1868; 
Rev. Frank Maguire, 1868 to 1871 ; Rev. Sumner 
Ellis, from 1872 to 1874. Rev. Henry I. Cushman was 
"stated supply" from November 11, 1874, and Rev. 
William A. Start from September 4, 1875. Rev. 
William F. Potter supplied the pulpit from 1879 to 
1881. Rev. Clarence E. Rice was the pastor from 1883 
to 1887. Rev. Isaac P. Coddington, a graduate of the 
Theological School in Canton, N. Y., became the 
pastor in 1889, and now fills that office with success. 

The Third Universalist Society was the successor of 
the Allen Street Congregational Society (Unitarian), 
an account of which has been given in connection 
with the Unitarian churches. This society assumed 
its new name and new relations in 1874. The first 
minister of the new Universalist parish and church 
was Rev. James Thurston, who was installed in 1853 
and resigned in 1854. Rev. Caleb D. Bradlee fol- 
lowed, 1854 to 1857. Rev. John M. Marston was in- 
stalled 1858, and resigned in 1862. Rev. Frederick 
W. Holland served for two years, when Mr. Marston 



resumed the pastorate.. He resigned in 1867. Mr. 
Charles E. Fay preached statedly for the church for 
about a year, when he was appointed a professor in 
Tufts College. Rev. William A. Start was installed 
April 10, 1870. Under his ministry the society in- 
creased and the church building was enlarged. He 
resigned in 1874. Rev. Isaac M. Atwood became the 
pastor in 1874, and remained until 1879. During his 
pastorate a new brick church was erected in a promi- 
nent place on North Avenue. Mr. Atwood was made 
the president of the Theological Department of the St. 
Lawrence University, Canton, N. Y. Rev. Charles 
W. Biddle, D.D., of Lynn, was called to the pastoral 
office, and entered upon his duties December 1, 1879. 
Under his care the society is enjoying an enlarged 
prosperity. 

Methodist Episcopal, Churches. — The First 
Methodist Episcopal Society was formed in East Cam- 
bridge in 1813. Before that thoge who were connected 
with this denomination attended church in Boston or 
Charlestown. The first meetings were in private 
houses. The first " Class" was formed in 1818. The 
first Methodist sermon in Cambridge, it is believed, 
was preached in the house of William Granville, by 
Rev. Enoch Mudge. Worship was sustained for a 
time in a school-house. In 1823 a small chapel was 
built. The first stated preacher at Lechmere Point 
was Rev. Leonard Frost, in 1823. In 1825 a brick 
house of worship was dedicated, at the corner of 
Cambridge and Third Streets. After about forty-five 
years this house was demolished and a larger house 
was erected on the site. This was of brick, and was 
dedicated December 12, 1872. The church has had a 
very active and useful career. Its history has been 
written by the Rev. Albert Gould and was published 
in the Cambridge Daily, March 11, 1889. 

The ministers since the close of Dr. Paige's list are 
as follows : Rev. George W. Mansfield, retired in 
1878; Rev. George Whitaker, D.D., served 1879-81 ; 
Rev. John N. Short, 1882-84 ; Rev. Samuel L. Gracey, 
1885-86; Rev. Albert Gould, 1886-89; Rev. S. E. 
Breen, 1889-90 ; Rev. C. H. Hannaford is now the 
minister in charge. 

Harvard Street Church. — In 1831 a " Class" of six 
members was formed, according to the usage of the 
Methodist Church. At first it met in or near Har- 
vard Sijuare, but was removed to Cambridgeport. 
From this " Class " has grown the Harvard Street 
Church. Meetings for public worship were held in 
" Fisk Block," on Main Street, and afterwards in the 
Town House. In 1842 a meeting-house was built on 
Harvard Street at a cost of about 86,000. This was en- 
larged in 1851, and burned in 1857. Another house 
was built on the same site, at an expense of iil7,- 
000, dedicated October 13, 1858, and burned Jlarch 
15, 18G1. The present brick meeting-house was ded- 
icated November 19, 1862. During Dr. Chadbourn's 
pastorate, 1882-84. the house was thoroughly reno- 
vated, and was enlarged by an addition on the west 



74 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



side for a ladies' parlor. In March, 1890. the mem- 
bership of the church was 375. The average attend- 
ance at the Sabbalh-school was about .3G0. The 
Young People's Society numbered ninety. The con- 
gregations are large and the work of the church is 
pursued with elliciency and success. A lady is em- 
ployed as a parish mis-ionary and her work is of 
great value. All the affairs of the church are re- 
ported as in excellent condition. 

The church appears in the minutes for the first 
time in 1841, when the first appointment was made. 
The ministers who have followed those given in 
Paige's History are as follows : Rev. W. E. Hunting- 
ton, 1877-79 ; Rev. Joseph Cummings, D.D. (W. U., 
1840), 1880-81 ; Rev. G. S. Chadbourn, D.D. {W. U., 
1858), 1882-84 ; Rev. W. H.Thomas, D.D., 1885-87; 
Rev. C. S. Rogers, D.D. (W. U , 1858), 18S8. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church in Old Cam- 
bridcjc was organized -.rune 3, 1868. A chapel for- 
merly owned and used by the Holmes Congregational 
Society had been jjurchased and removed to a lot on 
North Avenue, opposite the Common. This was re- 
dedicated on the day the new society was formed. 
It has been used since that time by the Methodist 
Church. 

The ministers of this church have been Rev. Abra- 
ham D. Merrill and Rev. James Mudge, 1808-69; 
Rev. Samuel Jackson, 1870-71; Rev. Pliny Wood, 
1872; Rev. James Lansing, 1873; Rev. Mr. Beiler, 
1873 ; Rev. David K. Merrill, 1874-75 ; Rev. Charles 
Young, 1876 to 1878; Rev. Alexander Dight, 1878 to 
1881 ; Rev. Austin H. Herrick, 1881 to 1882 ; Rev. J. 
W. Barter, 1882 to 1885; Rev. W. H. Marble. 1885 
to 18S8. Rev. George H. Cheney assumed the charge 
of the church in 1888 and remains in the pastoral 
office. 

Grace Methodist Episcopal Church.^ — This churcli 
originated in a Sunday-school which began its work 
in Williams Hall, April 17, 1870, in connection with 
the Cambridge Temperance Reform Association, the 
first officers being J. A. Smith, superintendent; A. P. 
Rollins, assistant superintendent ; S. C. Knights, 
secretary; G. C. W. Fuller, treasurer, and D. B. 
Harvey, librarian. 

Representatives of the Methodist, Baptist and Con- 
gregationalist Churches were associated in the work, 
which was so prosperous that within two months of 
its organization eighty-seven members, with an aver- 
age attendance of seventy-five, were reported. 

The sessions were held in the morning till Octo- 
ber, when they were changed to the afternoon, upon 
which change nearly all who were in any way con- 
nected with the Baptist and Congregationalist 
Churches — about two-thirds of the school — withdrew. 

Notwithstanding this, the secretary reported a 
membership January 1, 187], of ninety-three and a 
library of 275 volumes. 



1 ('uniuiutiicatciJ. 



The feeling becoming very strong that there ought 
to be a church organized in connection with this 
school, and as preliminary to that, a lot of land on 
Cottage Street was secured for a chapel. 

As nearly all the workers were now Methodists, it 
was decided at a meeting at the house of A. P. 
Rollins, in March, 1871, to organize a church to be 
known as the Cottage Street Methodist Episcopal 
Church of Cambridgeport. This was done at a 
meeting at the house of W. J. A. Sullivan, April 5, 
1871, when seventeen persons, principally members of 
Harvard Street Methodist Episcopal Church were so 
organized by Rev. David Sherman, D.D., presiding 
elder. 

The Sunday services were held in Williams' Hall 
till Oct. 15, 1871, when they were transferred to Odd 
Fellows' Hall, where they were continued till the 
chapel was dedicated in June 19, 1872, with a debt 
ujjon it of $4000. This soon became too small for the 
people. 

In 18S2 a church site on the corner of Magazine 
and Perry Streets was purchased for 15500, and on 
the 16lh of November, 1886, the corner-stone of the 
church was laid, and on June 19, 1887, the week of 
dedicatory services began. 

In August, 1872, the trustees organized under arti- 
cles of incorporation as the "Trustees of the Cottage 
Street Methodist Episcopal Church of Cambridge- 
port." 

The pastors of this church have been chronologi- 
cally as follows : 

Rev. David Patten, D.D., Rev. Luman Boyden, 
Rev. Isaac Row (afterwards missionary to India); 
Rev. W. L. Lockwood, Rev. Jarvis A. Ames, Rev. J. 
W. Barker, Rev. Duncan McGregor, Rev. Alfred 
Noon, Rev. J. W. Higgins, Rev. N. R. Fisk, Rev. 
Albert Gould, Rev. S. E. Breen, who is now the min- 
ister of the church. 

St. Paul's African Methodist Episcopal Church is at 
the corner of Portland and Hastings Streets. The 
organization of the church was made in 1873. It was 
reorganized in 1878. 

The Hush African Methodist Episcopal Church for 
several years worshiped in a hall on Main Street. 
In 1888 a convenient house was erected on School 
Street. The present minister is Rev. G. L. Black- 
well. 

Another Methodist society, in 1890, began services 
in a hall on lower Main Street, under the care of Rev. 
Mr. Brockett. 

The Reformed Episcopal CnuEtii, under the 
name of St. Luke's, was organized a few years since 
in Cambridgeport, and has since maintained religious 
services. It has no church building as yet, hut is do- 
ing its work quietly and steadily for the public good. 
The present pastor is the Rev. C. H. Tucker. 

Roman Catholic Churches.— TAc Parish of St. 
Peter's Church was f(?rraed in January, 1849, by Rev. 
Manasses P. Dougherty. His pastorate was long and 



CAMBRIDGE. 



75 



fruitful, and he was hisrhly esteemed within his par- 
iah and beyond its bounds. St. Peter's Church, on 
Concord Avenue, was consecrated in 1849. Rev. Mr. 
Dougherty died in July, 1877. He was succeeded by 
Rev. J. E. O'Brien, who died in July, 1888. Hewas fol- 
lowed by Rev. John Flatley, who is now in charge 
of the parish, assisted by Fathers Broderick and 
Doody. 

St. Marifs Church.^ — " The parish of St. Mary's 
Church was organized, in 186(5, by Rev. Manasses P. 
Dougherty, who performed the duties of pastor in 
connection with his charge of St. Peter's Church 
until May, 1867, when he was succeeded by Rev. 
Thomas Scully, who had previously served " as 
chaplain of the Ninth Jlegiment of Massachusetts 
Volunteers. The spacious brick church of the parish 
is on Norfolk Street, at the corner of Harvard Street. 
The sketch which follows has been prepared for this 
work and begins with the erection of the church. 

The site was first occupied by the Cambridge Town 
Hall, which was destroyed by fire. It was purchased 
by Catholic citizens for the purpose of building a 
church. June 7, 1866, work was begun on the 
foundation, and on Sunday, July 15, 1866, the corner- 
stone was laid with impressive ceremonies • of the 
Catholic ritual by Rij;ht Rev. John J. Williams, as- 
sisted by Revs. M. P. Dougherty, J. Donahue, J. 
Scully aud other priests. The sermon was preached 
by Father Hitzelberger, S. J., and there were present 
about 4000 people. In May, 1867, the Bishop of the 
Diocese appointed Rev. Thomas Scully to this new 
parish, formed from the East Cambridge and Cam- 
bridge Parishes, and commonly called Cambridgeport. 
The new church was unfinished and just roofed. 
Sunday, June 9, 1867, the pastor of this new mission 
took formal charge. On Sunday, March 8, 1868, the 
church was formally dedicated bf Bishop Williams. 
The preacher was Rev. G. F. Haskins, of Boston. 
The architect was Mr. James Murphy, of Providence, 
R.I. 

Two valuable estates adjoining the church, known 
as the Luke and Howe estates, were, within a short 
time, purchased by the parish. The Luke house be- 
came the pastoral residence and a convent school for 
girls was erected on the Howe estate, and given in 
charge to the sisters of the congregation of Notre 
Dame, whose Mother House is in Montreal, P. Q. 
In 1875 a building sixty-five feet square, three stories 
high, was erected on land close to the church, and in 
September, of same year, opened as a parochial 
school for boys. In 1876 the sisters of the congrega- 
tion were recalled to Montreal and the sisters of 
Notre Dame took charge of the girls' school with 
twelve classes. In the spring of 1876 the Dodge 
estate, on Essex Street, adjoining the church prop- 
erty, was purchased and became the residence of the 
sisters of Notre Dame. 

I f.'ommunicateO. 



In 1884 the Fiske estate, corner of Harvard and 
Norfolk Streets, was purchased by the parish, which 
erected on it Aquinas Hall, which is used for parish 
meetings, exhibitions, lectures, school, class exer- 
cises, etc. The Cheney land and building adjoining 
the convent school were purchased the same year. 
In 1886 Father Scully erected a large gymnasium on 
his own land, corner of Howard and Prospect Streets, 
and presented it to the parish. Dr. Sargent, profes- 
sor in charge of the Hemenway Gymnasium, pr9- 
nounces it one of the very best equipped in the 
country. Besides evening classes for young men, 
there are regular forenoon and afternoon classes for 
the children of the parish schools, given by a compe- 
tent master. In 1889 Father Si;ully purchased about 
six acres of the Hovey estate on Cambridge Street, 
and presented the same to an association of Catholic 
young men, chartered by the State for the purposes 
of mora), intellectual and physical improvement, and 
known as the Father Scully Gymnasium (Incorpor- 
ated). 

St. PauPs Catholic. Church,'' situated on the corner 
of Holyoke and Mt. Auburn Streets, was purchased 
from the Shepard Congregational Society by the 
Rev. M. P. Dougherty, then pastor of St. Peter's 
Church, in 187.3, and opened by him for public wor- 
ship the same year. It was organized into a separate 
and distinct parish in 1875, with the Rev. William 
Orr, the present incumbent, its first resident pastor. 
It had, at the time of its organization, a membership 
— counting young and old — of about 2000 souls; now 
(1890) its members, at the same rate of computation, 
amount to about 3.500. 

Besides the church, the congregation possess a 
good pastoral residence, and in 1889 purchased the 
house and land known as the " Gordon McKay 
estate," adjoining Mt. Auburn, De Wolfe and Arrow 
Streets, which is intended for a new church and 
school. The house on the estate has been already 
remodeled for a convent and temporary school for 
younger children only. Sisters of St. Joseph were 
installed therein, and the school opened in the begin- 
ning of September, 1889, with an average attendance 
of 200 children. A new school is now being erected 
on the lately purchas»d site, and it is proposed to 
build on the same premises, at no very distant day, a 
new church of ecclesiastical architecture and an 
ornament to Cambridge. 

In 1877 the Archbishop appointed an assistant 
priest to this parish, and in 1889 a second assistant. 
The present assistants are Rev. .John .1. Coan and 
Rev. John J. Ryan, both of whom received their 
preparatory education in Boston College, and their 
ecclesiastical education in St. John's Seminary, 
Brighton, Mass. 

The pastor received his preparatory education in 
St. Charles' College, near Ellicott City, Md., and his 

- Communicatctl. 



76 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



theological education in the Seminary of St. Sulpice, 
Baltimore. 

St. John's Parish' (Church of the Sacred Heart).— 
Until 1842 the Catholics of Lechmere Point were 
of the congregation worshiping in St. Mary's Church 
on Kichmond Street, in Charlestown, but a Sunday- 
school for the children had been for some years held 
in the Academy building then at the northwest corner 
of Otis and Fourth Streets, with Daniel H. South- 
wick as its superintendent. The first meeting for the 
purpose of erecting a church was held January 17, 
1842, at the Academy building and John W. Loring 
was the chairman, William Gieeson, secretary. D. W. 
Southwick, J. W. Loring and William Gieeson were 
made a committee to wait on the Bishop and ask that 
a priest be assigned to assist in the erection of a 
church. Thirty-six hundred dollars was subscribed 
and the meeting adjourned till January 30th, when 
it met at Master Kice's School on Third Street, and 
appointed a committee to purchase a site. On Feb- 
ruary 6th the committee reported selecting lot on 
Fourth Street, and on February 20th it was voted to 
call the building " Saint John's Cnurch." On March 
19th the deed of the land passed from Amos Birney 
to Bishop Fenwick, and on October 9th the building 
was advanced so far that services were held for the 
first time in the basement by Rev. John B. Fitz- 
patrick, afterwards Bishop of Boston, who was the 
first pastor and organizer of the parish. This church 
was dedicated September 3, 1843. The parish then 
comprised all of the towns of Cambridge and Somer- 
ville. March 24, 1844, Father Fitzpatrick was made 
coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese, and April 22d of the 
same year Rev. Manasses P. Dougherty took charge 
of the parish. In 1847 Woburn was added to the 
parish, and continued as a part until about 18r>8. In 
1848 Old Cambridge was set off and Father Dougherty 
left and took charge of the new parish of Saint Peter. 
The Rev. George T. Riordan succeeded him in No- 
vember, 1848, and in December, 1851, he left for the 
West, when the parish was taken in charge by Rev. 
Lawrence Carroll, who died in ofiice November 23 
1858. During the illness which preceded Father 
Carroll's death, and until January 7, 1859, Rev. 
George F. Haskins was the temporary pastor. On the 
latter date Rev. Francis X. Branigan was permanently 
appointed, who resigned at the end of 1860, and died 
June 25, 1861. Until 1862 the church was in tempo- 
rary charge of Rev. Joseph Coyle and other priests of 
Boston. Rev. John W. Donahue was appointed in 
1862 and died in charge March 5, 1873. Cambridge- 
port was set off and made a parish in 1866. In 1870 
Somerville was also set off, which reduced the terri- 
torial limits to what they now substantially are, com- 
prising all of Ward 3, or East Cambridge, together 
with that portion of Cambridgeport which lies north 
of Plymouth Street, between the Boston and Albany 

1 ComrouuiCiited. 



Railroad and Winsor Street. On March 8, 1873, the 
Rev. John O'Brien was assigned to the parish from 
Concord, Massachusetts, and he at once set about 
erecting the new Church of the Sacred Heart at the 
corner of Sixth and Otis Streets. July 23, 1873, the 
site was secured ; October 4, 1874, the corner stone 
was laid ; November 12, 1876, divine service was 
first held, and January 28, 1883, the building was ded- 
icated. This is the largest and handsomest Catholic 
Church in the city, of 75 x 150 feet dimen.sions, 
built in the decorated Gothic style, of blue slate with 
granite trimmings. The nave is 65 feet high and the 
spire 180. It has seating capacity for 1800, and con- 
tains a beautiful and artistic Gothic altar, which was 
especially modeled and carved by eminent sculptors 
in London, England, of white Caen stone. It is fifty 
feet high, and contains four groups or representations 
from the. life of our Saviour sculptured in nearly 
human size. Father O'Brien is still the pastor in 
charge of the parish, assisted by three curates. The 
parish has 7000 souls. 

The old Church of St. John, on Fourth Street, has been 
abandoned for church services, the congregation being 
removed to the new Church of the Sacred Heart. The 
Old building is, however, still owned and used by the 
parish for meetings, etc., and the parish still goes by 
the name of that of St. John. 

The New Jerusalem Church.- — In 1816 several 
young men in Harvard College became interested in 
the interpretation of the Bible contained in the 
works of Emanuel Swedenborg. The view of God 
as threefold in essential Divinity, Divine Humanity 
and Providential Grace, seemed to them more in 
accord with Scripture and reason than either the 
tri-personalor the humanitarian views then prevalent. 
To this were added the convictions that the Divine 
Word contained a spiritual as well as a historical 
meaning, that the judgment was the end of the first 
period of Christianity rather than a cosmical convul- 
sion, that there is a spiritual world related to the 
material world as the soul to the body, and that the 
promised Second Advent is to be understood of the 
Lord as the spirit of Truth and of the opening of the 
Word to men. 

These persons, including Thomas Worcester, The- 
ophilus Parsons, John H. Wilkins, Sampson Reed 
and others, joined with others in Boston in forming 
a society of the New Church in 1818, which then had 
twelve members and had, in 1888, 624 members. 
Several societies had been foruaed from it, in Roxbury 
Dorchester, Brookline, Newton and Waltham, but no 
movement was made in Cambridge in a direct way 
till 1888, when services were held in a hall in Har- 
vard Square, by Rev. James Reed, pastor of the Bos- 
ton Society. These services had continued to be 
held Sunday afternoons for some months when it was 
decided by the managers of the Theological School of 

sCoramuDicated. 



CAMBRIDGE. 



77 



the New Church to remove it to Cambridge from its 
temporary quarters in Boston. The estate at the 
corner of Quincy and Kirkland Streets was pur- 
chased, a chapel for temporary use was provided in 
the house .standing upon the property and formerly 
the residence of President Sparks, and the services 
were transferred thither. 

The officers of the school are as follows : Corpora- 
tion : Wm. Albert Mason, judge of Superior Court of 
Massachusetts, president; Henry F. May, A.M., 
clerk ; E. A. Whiston, M.D., treasurer, and fourteen 
directors. FaeuHy : Rev. John Worcester, president 
and Professor of Theology; Kev. S. F. Dike, D.D., 
Proftssor of Ecclesiastical History ; Rev. T. O. Paine, 
LL.D., and Rev. J. E. Warren, Professors of Bible 
Languages; Rev. T. F. Wright, A.M., Professor of 
Homiletics and Pastoral Care. 

Mr. Wright (Harvard College, class of 1866) is the 
only member of the faculty in residence, as the school 
is small, having but seven students in attendance. 
He conducts service in the chapel on Sunday morn- 
ing and afternoon, and has a congregation of about 
100 persons. A fund for building a chapel has been 
opened. 

No formal society has yet been instituted, but the 
affairs are in the hands of a committee consisting of 
Charles Harris, Thaddeus W. Harris, Charles H. 
Taft, Clarence H. Blake and Charles R. Shaw. A 
Sunday-school is held after morning service. A 
lending library of New Church books is in use, and a 
museum of Bible objects is in process of collection. 

Cambridge Young Men's Christian Associa- 
tion.' — The Cambridge Young Men's Christian 
Association was organized Sept. 6, 1883, with eighty- 
four charter members. The object of the organization 
was to create a society of men, so organized as to 
seek in its work the development of young men 
morally, physically, intellectually and socially. The 
membership was opened to all men of good moral 
j character, the voting and office-holding power being 
confined to the active membership, the conditions of 
this active membership being that all men so enrolled 
should be members of some evangelical church. 

Ever since its organization the association has 
proved itself to be a valuable addition to the benevo- 
lent societies of the city. Its work has been of in- 
estimable value as an economic safeguard to the young 
men of Cambridge. 

At the end of its first year the public-spirited 
business men, recognizing the value of the work, 
pledged money sufficient to purchase the beautiful 
and well-located building at Central Square ; $50,- 
000 has been expended on the property. 

The following gentlemen have filled the important 
offices of the association : Presidents, Warren Sauger, 
E. D. Leavitt, O. H. Durrell ; General Secretaries, 
L. W. Messer, W. A. Magee and A. H. Whinford. 

* CommuDicated. 



The present membership is 600. A junior depart- 
ment of 225 members and a woman's auxiliary of 700 
gives a total membership of 1525 in all branches 
of work. 

The association is a public institution. The build- 
ing, open every day in the year, welcomes young men 
to helpful influences. The work has proved itself of 
peculiar value as an auxiliary to the churches of the 
city. 

The East End Mission has been incorporated by 
the State, and is now conducting a Union Sunday- 
school in the Lower Port. It is proposed to purchase 
or erect a building in that part of the city, where 
religious services may be held, and a general work 
maintained by means of a reading-room, a library 
and other social appointments. The work will, in 
many respects, resemble that of the Social Union in 
Old Cambridge. 



CHAPTER IV. 
CAMBRIDGE— ( Continued). 

harvard university.* 

BY WILLIAM R. THAVER. 
I. CORPORATE AND MATERIAL GROWTH. 

On Thursday, September 8, 1636, the General 
Court first assembled which, in the course of its pro- 
ceedings on October 28th, passed the following 
resolution : — " The court agree to give Four Hundred 
Pounds toward a School or College, whereof Two 
Hundred Pounds shall be paid the next year, and 
Two Hundred Pounds when the work is finished, 
and the next Court to appoint where and what build- 
ing." The next year it appointed twelve of the most 
eminent men in the Colony " to take order for a 
college at Newtown ; " among these are the names of 
Winthrop, the Governor; Shepard, Cotton and Wil- 
son, among the clergy ; and Stoughton and Dudley, 
among the laymen. The name of Newtown was soon 
changed to Cambridge, as a mark of affecion for the 
English town at whose university many of the 
colonists had been educated. This was the official 
beginning of the College, but little had yet been done 
when, in 1638, the Reverend John Harvard, a young 
dissenting minister, who haviog taken his degree at 
Emanuel College, Cambridge, in 1637, came to the 
Colony and settled at Charlestown,^ died, and 

2 In compiliDg this sketch I have been under great obligation to 

Quincy'a BUtory of Harvard Univeraity, 2 vols., 1840; to T}te Harvard 
Book, 2 vela., 1874 ; to College Words ami Cuatomn, 1850 ; antl to a ralu- 
able series of articles by the late Prof, Jai-quinot in the Hcvuc interna- 
twnale de V Enseignetnent, Parid, 1881-84. 

8 In 1828 a monument was erected by the ahimni over .John Harvard's 
grave at Charlestown, In 1883 a bronze statue, by French, was given to 
the College by S, J. Bridge, and erected in the Delta, west of Memo- 
rial Hall. 



78 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



bequeathed one-half of his property and his entire 
library to the School at Newtown. His estate 
amounted to £779 17a. 2d., of which the College 
received nearly £400 ; his library contained 2(J0 vol- 
umes, chiefly theological and classical. Out of grati- 
tude for this munificence, the Court, in March, 1639, 
bestowed Harvard's name on the seminary. The 
example of the young founder stirred the generosity 
of the colonists ; the magistrates gave to the library 
books to the value of £200 ; individual gifts 
of £20 or £30 followed ; and persons of smaller 
means, but of equal public spirit, contributed accord- 
ing to their substance. "We read," says Peirce, 
" of a number of sheep bequeathed by one man, of a 
quantity of cotton worth nine shillings presented by 
another, of a pewter flagon worth ten shillings by a 
third, of a fruit-dish, a sugar-spoon, a silvor-tipt jug, 
one great salt, and one small trencher-salt by others ; 
and of presents or legacies, amounting severally to 
five shillings, one pound, two pounds, etc." ' 

The choice of Cambridge as the site of the College 
has had a deep eflect upon its character. In early 
times, when access to Boston could be had only 
thiough Charlestown and thence by ferry, or by a 
roundabout way through Roxbury, the isolation of 
the College was almost complete : in our own day, 
when Boston can be leached in twenty minutes from 
Harvard Square, the College has the advantage of 
being near a large city, while at the same time 
Cambridge has retained many of the desirable 
features of a university town. 

The first building devoted to the uses of the' 
"School" was put up by Nathaniel Eaton in 1637, 
somewhere near the present site of Wadsworth House. 
Eatonenclosedaboutanacreof land with a high paling, 
set out thirty apple-trees, and, according to Governor 
Winthrop, had " many scholars, the sons of gentlemen 
and others of best note in the country." Nathaniel 
Briscoe, "a gentleman born," assisted Eaton as usher; 
but the "School" did not long thrive. Briscoe 
complained of having received " two hundred stripes 
about the head," the scholars complained of bad food 
and harsh treatment, and in September, 1639, Eaton 
was dismissed and fined by the General Court. Mr. 
Samuel Shepard was next designated to superintend 
the building and funds, which he did until the arrival 
in the Colony of the Kev. Henry Dunster, a man 
whose reputation lor learning had preceded him, and 
who was immediately oflered the position of Pi%si- 
dentof Harvard College. With Dunster's appointment, 
in 1640, the unbroken history of Harvard begins. 
The following early description of the institution is 
from a work published in Loudon in 1643: "The 
edifice is very fair and comely within and without, 
having in it a spacious hall, where they daily meet 
at the Commons, Lectures, Exercises, and a large 
library with some books to it, the gifts of divers of 

1 Quoted by Quiiicy, i, 12. 



our friends; their chambers and studies also fitted for 
and possessed by the students, and all other rooms of 
office necessary and convenient; and by the side of 
the College a fair Grammar School for the training 
up of young scholars and fitting them for academical 
learning, that siill as they are judged ripe they may 
be received into the College." ^ 

Under Dunster, " a learned, conscionable and 
industrious man," the College prospered so rapidly, 
that, in 1642, it held its first Commencement, and 
that same year (Sept. 8) the General Court passed 
an " Act E-itablishing the Overseers of Harvard Col- 
lege." This Act, the first relating to the goverment 
of the institution, deserves to be quoted, as showing 
the theocratical ideal of the Colonists. It runs as 
follows : 

" WhereaSy through the good haud of God upon us, there is a Collego 
founded in Cauibiidge, in the County of Middlesex, called Hakvard 
College, fur the encouragement whereof this Court has given the sum 
of four huudred pounds, and also the revenue of the ferry betwixt 
Charlestown and Boston, and that the well ordering and managing of 
the said College ia of great concernment, — 

" It is therefore ordered by this Court and the Authority thereof that 
the Governor and Deputy -Governor for the time being, and all the mag- 
istrates of this jurisdiction, together with the teaching elders of the six 
next adjoiuiug towns, viz.; Cambridge, Watertown, Charlestown, Bos- 
ton, Roxbury and Dorchester, and the President of the said College for 
the time being shall, from time to time, have full power and authority 
to make and establish all such orders, statutes and constitutions as they 
shall see necessary for the instituting, guiding aud furthering of the 
said College and the several uiembei"s thereof, from time to time, in 
piety, morality and learning ; as also to dispose, order and manage to 
the use and behoof of the said College and the members thereof all gifts, 
legacies, bequeaths, revenues, lauds and donations, as either have been, 
are or shall be conferred, bestowed, or any ways shall fall or come to 
the said College. 

*'.4)((i wliereas it may come to pass that many of the said magistrates 
and elders may be absent, or other^yise employed in other weighty af- 
fairs, wlieu the said College may need their present help and counsel, it 
is therefore ordered that the greater number of magistrates aud eldera 
which shall be present, with the President, shall have the power of the 
whole. Provided, that if any constitution, order or orders by them 
made shall be found hurtful unto the said College, or the members 
thereof, or to the weal public, then, upon appeal of the party or parties 
grieved unto the company of Overseers first uientioned, they shall repeal 
the said order or orders, if they shall see cause, at their next meeting, 
or stand accountable thereof to the next General Court." ^ 

This Act provided amply for the general oversight 
of the College, allotting that oversight to the State, on 
the one hand, and to the clergy on the other; but it 
was soon found necessary to define more exactly the 
duties and qualifications of its immediate ofiicers. 
Accordingly, on May 31, 1650, the "Charter of the 
President and Fellows of Harvard College, under the 
Seal of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay" was grant- 
ed. By this Charter the Corporation was established, 
to consist of "a President, five Fellows, and a Treas- 
urer or Bursar," to be, in name and fact, "one body 
corporate in law, to all intents and purposes." The 
Corporation had the power to elect persons to fill va- 



2 Rarvard Booh, i, 26. 

3 The first College seal, adopted December 27, 1043, consists of a shield 
with three open books {presumably Bibles), on which is the motto Ver- 
itas. Soon afterwards the motto was changed to In Cbristi Gloriain. 
About IG94 the motto ChrUto el Eecleaite was atlopted. 



CAMBRIDGE. 



cancies in its own body; to appoint or remove officers 
or servants of the College; and to administer its 
finances: but in all cases the concurrence of the Over- 
seers was necessary. The General Court further or- 
dered " that all the lands, tenements, or hereditaments, 
houses, or revenues, within this jurisdiction, to the 
aforesaid President or College appertaining, not ex- 
ceeding the value of five hundred pounds per annum, 
shall from henceforth be freed from civil impositions, 
taxes, and rates, all goods to the said Corporation, or to 
any scholars thereof appertaiiiing.shall be exempted 
from all manner of toll, customs, and excise whatso- 
ever ; and that the said President, Fellows, and schol- 
ars, together with theservants, and other necessary offi- 
cers to the said President or College appertaining, not 
exceeding ten, viz. : three to the President and seven 
to the College belonging, — shall be exempted from all 
civil offices, military exercises or services, watchings 
and wardings; and such of their e-tates, not exceed- 
ing one hundred pounds a man, shall be free from all 
country taxes or rates whatsoever, and none otheis." 

By an appendix to the College Charter, under date 
of October 14, 1657, a somewhat larger liberty was al- 
lowed to the Corporation in " carrying on the work of 
the College, as they shall see cause, without depend- 
ence upon the consent of the Overseers : proviilcd al- 
wai/.'i, that the Corporation shall be responsible unto, 
and these orders and by-laws shall be alterable by, the 
Overseers, according to their discretion." 

Thus constituted, the Government of the College 
has existed down to the present day. The Corpora- 
tion may be regarded as a sort of Senate, which shapes 
and executes the general policy, and administers the 
funds of the institution ; the Overseers are a repre- 
sentative and consultative body, which approves or re- 
jects the acts of the Corporation, and deals more di- 
rectly with the alf'airs of the students. The Corpora- 
tion still consists of the President and Treasurer ex 
officio, and o(i\\e Fellows, and has authority to fill 
vacancies in its membership ; the composition of tiie 
Board of Overseers, on the contrary, has changed, and 
these changes, as we shall see, have marked the liber- 
ation of the College, first from clerical, and after- 
wards from political control. 

Under President Dunster the College grew, in spite 
of difficulties. He urged the Court to provide more 
generously for the maintenance and repair of the 
buildings, and suggested that each family in the Col- 
ony should contribute annually one shilling for the 
support of the seminary. An attempt was also made 
to discourage graduates from returning to England — 
a -s^ry common practice ; they ought, it was justly ob- 
served, to "improve their parts and abilities in the 
service of the Colonies." But the intense theologi- 
cal temper of that age was at last excited against Dun- 
ster's open opposition to the baptism of infants: he 
was indicted by the grand jury, convicted by the 
court, sentenced to a public admonition on Lecture 
Day, and required to give bonds for good behavior. 



Even these stern measures did not appease the wrath 
of the Pa^dobaptists, and in October, 1654, he was 
compelled to resign his office. The veneraljle Presi- 
dent pleaded that the time was unseasonable — that his 
wife and youngest child were sick and could not be 
removed without danger — that he had exhausted his 
means in behoof of the College. The General Court 
heard his plea and reluctantly allowed him to remain 
in the President's house until the following Jlarch, 
when be removed to Scituate, and died soon after- 
wards. 

His successor was the Kev. Charles Chauncy, for- 
merly Professor of Greek and Hebrew at Trinity Col- 
lege, Cambridge. Having incurred the charge of her- 
esy through his opposition to certain Anglican forms, 
he recanted. Coming to the Colony, he declared him- 
self in favor of total immersion in baptism, and of 
celebrating the Lord's Supper in the evening — doc- 
trines which clashed with Plymouth orthodoxy. But 
his was a yielding character, and when the Presidency 
of Harvard was offered to him, he accepted it, on con- 
dition of " forbearing to disseminate or publish any- 
thing on either of those tenets, and promising not to op- 
pose the received tenets therein." He soon complained 
that the grant allowed by the General Court for his 
subsistence was insufficient: "his country pay, in 
Indian corn," he said, "could not be turned into food 
and clothing without great loss." He seems not to 
have got relief, for again, in 1663, he presented a pe- 
tition, in which he declared that he had been brought 
into debt, and " that the provision for the President 
was not suitable, being without land to keep either a 
horse or a cow upon, or habitation to be dry or warm 
in ; whereas, in English Universities, the President 
is allowed diet, as well as stipend, and other necessary 
provisions, accoiding to his wants." The Court, in 
reply, asserted that " the country have done honor- 
ably towards the petitioner, and that his parity with 
English Colleges is not pertinent." Notwithstanding 
his personal straits. President Chauncy did not desert 
his charge, although the College also was suffering at 
that time from the embarrassments incident on 
the restoration of the Stuarts in England, which 
caused the colonists to fear that their liberties would 
be taken from them. This uncertainty so affijcted the 
prosperity of the College, that, since the General 
Court did not come to its rescue, the outlook was in- 
deed black. But then, as so often since, private lib- 
erality supplied the wants due to official neglect. 
"The loud groans of the sinking College" came to 
the ears of the good people of Portsmouth, N. H., 
who pledged themselves to pay "sixty pounds sterling 
a year for seven years ensuing (May, 1G59)." Sub- 
scriptions were added from all parts of the Colony, and 
amounted to more than £2600. In 1672 anew build- 
ing was begun, but, so slow was the payment of sub- 
scriptions, ten years elapsed before the new College 
could be completed. 

On the death of President Chauncy, Leonard Hoar, a 



80 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



minister and physician and a graduate of Harvard, in 
the class of 1650, although of English birth, was chosen 
to succeed him (July, 1672.) He enjoyed a brief pop- 
ularity, and was then, in 1675, dismissed by tlie Court 
" without further hearing." The cause of his dismissal 
is uncertain : it appears that, "some that made a fig- 
ure " in Cambridge excited the students against him, 
and that others, stirred by envy and ambition, en- 
couraged his enemies. The students strove " to make 
him odious," and four members of the Corporation 
resigned, among whom was the Rev. Urian Oakes, who, 
we remark, when importuned to take the presidency, 
refused, but served with the title of superintendent for 
four years. Then, being again elected President, he 
accepted, and died after a brief term in 1681. The 
post was evidently shunned, because we find that four 
persons to whom it was offered, declined it within as 
many years. The Rev. John Rogers served but one 
year, 1683-84; then, after another interregnum, the 
Rev. Increase Mather, was, on June 11, 1685, re- 
quested " to take special care of the government of 
the College, and for that end to act as President until 
a further settlement be made." Mather was one of the 
most conspicuous men in the Colony, and it was lioped 
that his name would strengthen the College : but, 
although he was sincerely interested in its welfare, he 
was equally interested in the political and religious 
disputes of the Colony, and he refused to reside in 
Cambridge, except for a few weeks, during all the six- 
teen years of his presidency. He was pastor of the 
North Church in Boston, which, he said, he would 
not give up for the sake of " forty or fifty children," 
and so he used to ride to and fro, the charge of shoe- 
ing or baiting his horse, or of mending his saddle, 
being defrayed by the College. He was among the 
persecutors of the witches at Salem, and when the 
book ofoneCalef condemning this persecution reached 
Cambridge, it was burnt in the College Yard. 

In 1692 the English sovereigns, William and Mary, 
granted a new charter to the Colony, and Mather used 
his influence to such purpose, that the General Court 
gave a new charter to the College, whose privileges were 
considerably increased thereby. Mather at once pro- 
ceeded to re-organize the Corporation and the affairs 
of the College in the interests of the Calvinist sect 
of which he was the leader, not waiting for the 
charter to receive the royal signature. But,' in 1696, 
the decisive news came that the King had withheld his 
consent. There was continual difficulty among the 
President, the Corporation and the Legislature for sev- 
eral years; another charter was drafted, so distastelul 
to Mather in many particulars, that he proposed to go 
again to England and apply to the King in person ; 
the religious dis.-ensions already rife throughout the 
Colony, broke out among the Overseers and ofticers of 
the College. The struggle, briefly stated, was between 
the old Presbyterians and Congregatioualists on one 
side, and those who were both more liberal in theirown 
view.s, and t derant of the views of other sects. At last, 



in 1701, Mather was dismissed from the Presidency, on 
the ground that he had persistently refused to live at 
Cambridge. The Rev. Samuel Willard, who had pre- 
viously been appointed Vice-President, served in that 
capacity until his death, in 1707. He was "quiet, 
retiring, phlegmatic and unpretending ;" well-fitted, 
therefore, to allay the angry passions which Mather's 
excitable and restless character and domineering 
manner had only exasperated. Thomas and William 
Brattle, who had been among Mather's strongest 
opponents, were reinstated in the Corporation, which 
was thenceforward composed of liberals, whereas the 
old orthodox party had the majority in the Board of 
Overseers. The charter of 1650 was revived in 1707, 
largely through the efforts of Governor Dudley, who, 
says (^uincy, "of all the statesmen who have been 
instrumental in promotingthe inlerestsofHarvard Col- 
lege, was most influential in giving its constitution a 
permanent character." 

This period, dating from 1692, marks the end of the 
first epoch in the history of the Massachusetts Colony, 
and likewise in thaf of the College. In the government 
established by the Puritans, " neither subscription to 
creed," says Quincy, "nor articles of belief was re- 
quired, nor were they necessary. The principle that 
none should be a freeman of the State who was not a 
member of the church, sufiiciently secured the suprem- 
acy of the religious opinions of ihe predominant party. 
The inquisitional power was vested in the church and 
its officers." But the charter of William and Mary 
convened the Colony into a province, and, what was 
all important, it " made property, instead of church 
membership, the qualification for the enjoyment of 
civil rights." In the coursic of seventy years Puritanism 
had become diversified into sectarian shades more of 
less intense; then, too, immigrants belonging to the 
Anglican Church were coming over in greater num- 
bers : so that, at the end of the seventeenth century, 
New England no longer wore its original uniform 
aspect of Puritarism. The party which held the old 
Calvinist doctrines undiluted were quick to see that 
the royal charter which replaced theological quali- 
fications by those of property undermined the theo- 
cratic Constitution of the State ; and, although they 
were not able to prevent this revolution in politics, 
they were for a long time successful in resisting 
a similar change in the government of the College. 
It was with this purpose that Increase Mather and his 
son Cotton strove and intrigued, and fomented sec- 
tarian animosity ; it was for this purpose that they 
attempted to insert a religious test in the charter of 
the College; and it was owing to the chagrin and 
alarm felt by the Calvinist sect at their failure, that 
Yale College was founded (1700), to be a true " school 
of the prophets," where the brimstone doctrines of Cal- 
vin should not be quenched by waters of liberalism. At 
Yale a religious test was exacted so vigorously, that 
it closed the doors of that institution to all but simon- 
pure Calvinists. At Harvard, as I have said, the Cor- 



CAMBRIDGE. 



81 



por.ation was thenceforth composed of those whom we 
may call, for luck of a better word, liberals, while the 
majority in the Board of Overseers was Calvinist : 
the struggle between them was long, and often very 
bitter, and produced a deadlock, so that one party 
could not push the College forward, nor the other 
drag it back. Through the decisive action of Governor 
Dudley, the Legislature passed, in 1707, that vote 
which re-established the College charter of 1630; 
and although, in so doing, Dudley [ilaiuly overstepped 
his powers, it cannot be denied but that he greatly bene- 
fited the College. The re-invalidated charter never re- 
ceived the royal sanction, why, weareuot told; nor was 
it objected to by the Crown ; and it has remained in 
force, with some changes in the clauses relating to the 
qualifications of Overseers, down to the present day. 

We may pause here for a moment to survey the 
material growth of the College during its first seventy 
years. From the Colony it had received in grants 
sums amounting to about £650 sterling, and £3720 in 
currency. It enjoyed also exemption from taxation on 
property to the amount of £.300, and the earniugj of 
the ferry between Charlestown and Boston. In 1657 
it received a grant of 500 acres of land ; in 1653, 2000 
acres, and in 1082, " Merriconeag, in Casco Bay, with 
1000 acres adjoining," but the last two grants were 
never obtained. During the same period the dona- 
tions from private sources aniounted to £9302 2?. Hid. 
sterling, and £6748 19?. Cid. in currency. To these sums 
must be added several thousand volumes of books. 
The gifts came not only from the Colonists and from 
benefactors in England, but also from other lands. 
It is pleasant to record, for instance, that in 1658 
the inhabitants of a certain place, supposed to be 
Eleutheria, Bahama Islands, "out of their poverty," 
gave £124 sterling ; and in 1642 some gentlemen of 
Amsterdam gave £49 " and something more toward 
furnishing of a printing-press with letters." This 
printing-press, the first that was operated in what is 
now the United States, was brought from England 
in 1638 by Joseph Glover. Glover died on the pas- 
sage, but his widow settled in Cambridge, where the 
press was set up and worked by Stephen Daye. Pres- 
ident Dunster married Mrs. Glover, and had charge 
of the press, which was run in the President's house 
until 1655. The first publication was " The Freeman's 
Oath," followed by an almanac, a Psalm-Book, a Cate- 
chism, and the "Liberties and Laws of the Colony." 
In 1658 was printed John Eliot's Indian translation 
of the Bible. 

Among the other noteworthy bequests were that of 
Edward Hopkins, of £500 (1657); that of William Pen- 
noyer,of £680 (1670); and that of Sir Matthew Hol- 
worthy, of £1000 (1681). 

The first school building was erected, as has been 
stated, by Eaton in 1637. President Dunster built a 
dwelling for himself, which was known as the Presi- 
dent's House. In 1682 a new hall — the first Harvard 
Hall — was dedicated, the cost of which was met by 
G 



public subscriptions. Finally, in 1699, Governor 
Stoughton built at his own expense (£1000) a hall, 
which bore his name, and which stood near the pres- 
ent site of the University. 

Thus it will be seen that even in the early life of 
the College it owed more to private benefactors than 
to the liberality of the State — a sure proof that its 
importance was recognized by the community, and an 
omen that by-and-by it would grow so strong that it 
could dispense with all oflicial support whatsoever. 
But while its prosperity at the end of the seventeenth 
century was far greater than Winthrop or Dunster 
could have foreseen, the College was still hampered 
in its means, as the following extract will show : "At 
a meeting of the Corporation, April 8, 1695, Voted, 
That six leather chairs be forthwith provided for the 
use of the Library, and six more before the Com- 
mencement, in case the treasury will allow of it." 

In 1707, on the death of Willard, the Rev. John 
Leverett was elected President. He had the backing 
of Governor Dudley, upon whom the Mathers, rank- 
ling at the defeat of their faction, heaped scandalous 
accusations. According to them, he was guilty of 
covetousness, lying, hypocrisy, treachery, bribery, 
Sabbath-breaking, robbery and murder ; and they 
expressed "sad fears concerning his soul," and be- 
sought that " in the methods of piety he would re- 
concile himself to Heaven, and secure his happiness 
in this world and the world to come." The Governor, 
however, refused to purchase eternal salvation by hu- 
miliating himself before the Mathers, and these able 
but repulsive fanatics failed to get control of the 
College, but did not cease to foment discord. 

Leverett was an energetic administrator, seconded 
by Thomas Brattle, the Treasurer, and by William 
Brattle, Ebenezer Penibcrton and Henry Flynt, his 
coadjutors in the Corporation. The financial condi- 
tion of the College was improved, but the quarrels 
between the Fellows and the Overseers did not cease. 
In 1718 the President refused to confer the second 
degree on a graduate named Pierpont, on the ground 
that he had contemned, reproached and insulted the 
government of the College, and particularly the tutors, 
for their management in the admission of scholars. 
Pierpont threatened to prosecute Sever, the tutor who 
had brought forward the charge, in the civil court. 
It was suspected that Pierpont had been instigated by 
ex-Governor Dudley and his son; the Fellows, in 
alarm, requested the Overseers "to take the first 0|>- 
portunity to discourse " with the supposed instigators. 
The Ov'erseers did nothing; whereupon the Fellows 
appealed to Governor Shute, Dudley's successor, to 
summon the Overseers to a meeting. The meeting 
was largely attended ; both Pierpont and Sever were 
heard — the former, according to Leverett, speaking 
with "confusion, impertinence and impudence," and 
the latter "with plainness, modesty and honesty.'i 
The Overseers secretly supported Pierpont, and Shute 
supported the Overseers, so that the Corporation waS 



82 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



left in a position "whicli threatened the dissolution 
of the College." Happily, the courti of law (jiiashed 
Pierpoiit's case against Sever, and thus wai prevented 
the resignation of the President and Fellows — the 
consummation aimed at by the Overseers in second- 
ing the contumacious Pierpont. 

The enemies of Leverett and the Corporation did 
not rest. At a meeting called "to petition the Gen- 
eral Court to enlarge the building (Massachusetts 
Hall) they were then erecting for tlie College from 
fifty to one hundred feet," Judge Sewall rose and 
said: "I desire to be informed how the worship of 
God is carried on in the Hall, and to ask Mr. Presi- 
dent whether there has not been some intermission of 
the e.xposition of the Scriptures of late." President 
Leverett replied that the question was out of order, 
aid interrupted the special business' of the meeting. 
The Governor supported this ruling, and the petition 
was passed ; but the action of Sewall illustrates the 
persistence of the malcontents. The swift changes 
in politics caused the union of men who had previ- 
ously been opposed. Thus Dudley, who had beeu, 
while Governor, on the side of the Corporation, joined 
the other faction after be was superceded by Sluite. 
Sewall, too, was now fighting with the Calvinists, 
although he had formerly been quite other than 
friendly to the Mathers, who led the Calviuiats. In 
his diary, for instance, under date of October 20, 
1701, there is the following amusing entry: "Mr. 
Cotton Mather came to Mr. Wilkiiis' shop, and there 
talked very sharply against me, as if I had used his 
father worse than a negro. He spake so luud that 
the people in th^ street might hear him. Mem. On 
Ihe yth of October I sent Mr. Increase Mather a 
haunch of very good venison. I hope in that I did 
not treat him worse than a negro." 

But we cannot follow the quarrels of the sectarians, 
nor do more than indicate wherein they affected the 
fortunes of the College. The next occasion on which 
the conflict broke out was at the endowment of a 
professorship of divinity by Thomas Hollis, a Lon- 
don merchant. Hollis is, after John Harvard, the 
anan among the early benefactors of the College who 
most deserves its gratitude. Of a wise and generous 
character, his liberal and CJhristian behavior seems 
all the more admirable when contrasted witli the 
narrow and bigoted sectarianism of the coloniits 
upon whom he bestowed his gifts. He wrote to Dr. 
Colman, a member of the Corporation, ou January 
28, 1721 : "After forty ycar-s' diligent ajiplication to 
mercantile business, my God, whom I serve, lias 
mercifully succeeded my endeavors, and, with my 
increase, inclined my heart to a proportional dis- 
tribution. I have credited the promise: He that 
giveth to the poor, lendeth to the Lord, and have found 
it verified in this life.'' In his own faith he was a 
Baptist, but in founding a professorship he was 
guided by no sectarian motives. All that he asked 
was that no one .should bo rejected on account of 



Baptist or other principles, save that the incumbent 
should subscribe to the belief " that the Scriptures 
of the Old and New Testaments are the only perfect 
rule of faith and manners." " I love them," he wrote 
to Colman (August 1, 1720), " that show by their 
works that they love Jesus Christ. While I bear 
with others who are sincere in their more confined 
charity, I would that, they would bear with me in my 
more enlarged. We search after truth. We see but 
in part. Happy the man who reduces his notions 
in a constant train of practice. Charity is the grace 
which now adorns and prepares for glory. May it 
always abide in your breast and mine, and grow more 
and more." On February 14, 1721, he executed the 
instrument of endowment. Leverett and the Corpor- 
ation accepted it, but the Calvinist majority in the 
Overseers were at first inclined to refuse the gift as 
being likely to encourage unorthodox doctrines ; 
then, having accepted it, they proceeded, by action 
which, to speak mildly, was deceitful, to contravene 
the terras of Hollis's foundation. The Rev. Edward 
Wigglesworth was chosen to fill the new chair (1721), 
but he was subjected to a theological test, in which 
he "declared his assent: 1. To Dr. Ames' 'Medulla 
Theologiie.' 2. To the Confession of Faith contained 
in the Assembly's Catechism. 3. To the doctrinal 
Articles of the Church of England. More particu- 
larly: 1. To the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. 2. 
To the doctrine of the eternal Godhead of the blessed 
Saviour. 3. To the doctrine of Predestination. 4. To 
the doctrine of special efficacious grace. 5. To the 
divine right of infant baptism." Several years elapsed 
during wdiich negotiations were carried on between 
Hollis and the College, but it does not appear that 
he was treated candidly, nor that, to the day of his 
death, "the constiuction which substituted, in place 
of the simple declaration required by him, an exam- 
ination and declaration of failh in all the high points 
of New England Calvinism,'' was ever communicated 
to him.' 

Simultaneous with this controvtrsy, there broke out 
another of equal violence to trouble the stormy ad- 
ministration, of Leverett. Ou June 23, 1721, the 
Overseers received a memorial from Nicholas Sever 
and William Welsteed, two College tutoiv, claiming 
their right to seats iu the Corporation. They based 
their claim on the fact that, being engaged in instruc- 
tion, and receiving a stipend, they were Fellows of the 
College, and that the charter of 1050 designateil the 
President, Treasurer and Fellows to be members of the 
Corporation. Their pretension, it will be seen, hung 
on the ambiguous meaning of the word Fellow. In 
1650, when the Charter was granted, there wore no 
Fellows iu the sense in which that word is used at 
Englidi Universities, which was the sense that Sever 
and Welsteed attached to it; and for along time after 
that date it was not applied to any instructor who was 



1 Quiiicy i, 203. 



CAMBKIDGE. 



83 



not also a member of the Corporatiou. Tlie majurity 
of the five Fellows were nou-resideuts, for it could not 
be expected, as (.iuincy remarks, that these officers, 
whose duties involved only an occasional superintend- 
ence of the afl'airs of the College, would agree to live 
in Cambridge, without salary, when the institution was 
still too small to require their daily presence. About 
the beginning of the 18th century the habit grew of 
calling tutors Fellows ; but in order to distinguish 
them, the expression "of the House" was added; 
while the others were known as "Fellows of the College 
or Corporation." This distinction was clearly enough 
observed, for, in April, 1714, we find the record that 
Holyoke was chosen "a Fellow of the Corporation," 
and Robie " a Fellow of the House." Three years 
later the Corporation passed a vote " that no Tutor, or 
Fellow of the House, now or henceforth to be chosen, 
shall hold a fellowship with a salary for more than 
three years, except continued by a new election." 
Experience had shown that it was unwise to make 
unlioiited appointments. 

The Overseers heard the petition of Sever and Wel- 
steed, which seems to have been inspired not so much 
by the desire to have a mootpoint settled as to oust 
Colman, Appleton and Wadsworth from the Corpora- 
tion and to embarrass President Leverett. A commit- 
tee was appointed, consisting chiefly of malcontents. 
Meanwhile the Over.seers petitioned the General Court 
to make a "convenient addition to the Corporation, 
and therein to have regard to the resident Fellows, or 
Tutors, that they may be of that number." But the 
malcontents, perceiving that their petition, if granted, 
would merely introduce their partisans into the Cor- 
poration, without removing from it the members at 
whom the intrigue was aimed, resolved that an increase 
of number was undesirable, and that " it was the in- 
tent of the College Charter that the Tutors, or such as 
• have the instruction and government of the students, 
should be Fellows and Members of the Corporation, 
provided they exceed not five in number ; and that 
none of said Fellows be Overseers." Evidently, our 
pious ancestors lacked not the wisdom of the serpent 
on this occasion ; under this seemingly innocent reso- 
lution they hid a scheme for revolutionizing the gov- 
ernment of the College. Their report was actually 
accepted by the House of Representatives and by the 
Council ; the Governor, however, refused to consent to 
it unless Wadsworth, Colman and Appleton should 
remain in the Corporation. Then it appeared, both 
from the action of the Legislature and from that of 
the Overseers, that their intent had been to get rid of 
those three obnoxious members. Sever and Welsteed 
presented two other memorials; but the matter was 
finally disposed of (August 23, 172.3) by the refusal of 
the Council, which now stood by Governor Shute and 
the Corporation, to concur in the policy of the House 
of Representatives, which still sided with the Over- 
seers. 

The firmness displayed throughout the struggle 



by the President and three Fellows, acting solely from 
a sense of duty in the interests of the College, is 
worthy of admiration. When we remember, moreover, 
that the President depmded upon the Legislature for 
the annual grant of his salary, we shall appreciate his 
courage the more justly. He was frequently obliged 
to petition that his salary should be more promptly 
paid, and his petitions were so often disregarded that 
he feared the Representatives intended " to starve him 
out of the service." " If such be their mind," he 
added, " it is but letting me know, and I will not put 
the House to exercise that cruelty." He died in May, 
1724, after an arduous and honorable administration, 
leaving debts to the amount of £2000 to attest his de- 
votion to the College and the meanness of the State, 
which was in honor bound to provide for his decent 
subsistence. His term was one of the most critical ia 
the history of the College. As we have seen, he held 
office just at the time when the colony was breaking 
asunder the original Puritanical limits ; when the 
eflects of the change in the political constitution were 
beginning to appear ; when a considerable part of the 
population no longer belonged to the Calvin ist Church ; 
when a rival college had sprung up at New Haven. 
Himself of a liberal cast, he struggled to stamp a more 
liberal policy upon Harvard, and to thwart the efforts 
of the more bigoted majority to regain complete con- 
trol of the College and to subvert its charter. That he 
succeeded was due in part to the co-operation of the 
Governors, Dudley and Shute, but chiefly to his own 
wisdom and firmness and to the support of his col- 
leagues in the Corporation. 

The Corporation elected the Rev. Joseph Sewall to 
succeed Leverett. There were many aspirants, in- 
cluding the irrepressible Cotton Mather, who records 
in his diary : " I always foretold these two things of 
the Corporation ; first, that, if it were possible for 
them to steer clear of me, they will do so ; secondly, 
that, if it were possible for them to act foolishly, they 
will do so. The perpetual envy with which my es- 
says to serve the kingdom of God are treated among 
them, and the dread that Satan has of my beating 
up his quarters at the College, led me into the Ibrmer 
sentiment ; the marvellous indiscretion with which 
the affairs of the College are managed, led me into 
the latter." Sewall declined, and the Rev. Benja- 
min Colman was chosen ; but his experience as Fel- 
low had warned him what harsh treatment he might 
receive from the Legislature, and he, too, would not 
take the Presidency. In June, 172.0, the Rev. Kenja- 
min Wadsworth was elected, and he consented to 
serve. Thus, thrice within a year Cotton Mather was 
painfully reminded that Satan ruled the decisions of 
the Harvard Corporation. The Legislature, to re- 
lieve Wadsworth of justifiable apprehension, pledged 
itself to pay his salary [iromptly, and further appro- 
priated £1000 for the erection of a suitable dwelling 
for the President. This house, still called after 
Wadsworth, its first occupant, was not completed un- 



64 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



til 1727, when the College had paid £800 beyond 
the State api)ropnation. A portion of the Presi- 
dent's salary was derived from the rents of Massachu- 
setts Hall (built, as stated above, in 1720), but the 
payment of the remainder, for which he had to look 
to the Legislature, was, in spite of promises, preca- 
rious. 

Wadsworth was a man of "firmness, gentleness, 
and good judgment" — qualities which were soon put 
to the test by a new religious discussion which spread 
consternation throughout the orthodox in all parts of 
the Colony, and centred at the College. This time 
the dispute was no longer between factions of Cal- 
vinists, nor between Calvinists and Baptists, but be- 
tween the orthodox and the Anglicans. As early as 
1682, Edward Randolph had suggested that the doc- 
trines of the Church of England might be propagated 
in the Colony by means of funds sent from the 
mother country ; and he even went so far as to pro- 
pose, in a letter to Bancroft, Archbishop of Canter- 
bury, "that able ministers might be appointed to 
perform the offices of the Church with us, and that 
for their maintenance a part of the money sent over 
hither and pretended to be expended amongst the 
Indians should be ordered to go towards that charge." 
That fund for converting the Indians had been begun 
soon after the founding of Harvard; a school for In- 
dians had been built in Cambridge; some of the na- 
tives had been taught in it; but, on the whole, the 
effort had failed. A few Indians had entered the 
College, but only one, Caleb Cheeshahteaumuck.had 
taken the Bachelor's degree, in 1665. The others 
proved themselves either incapable of attaining the 
rjquired standard in studies, or they fell sick and 
died of consumption. This was the case with Larnel 
a member of the Junior Class in 1714, who died at 
about the age of twenty, " an acute grammarian, an 
extraordinary Latin poet, and a good Greek one." 
Eliot's translation of the Bible and his mission to 
the Indians seem to have been the chief fruits of 
this endeavor to Christianize them. That Randolph 
should propose to pervert this fund from the intent 
of its contributors, and apply it to strengthen Epis- 
copalianism in New England, might surprise us, had 
we not already had glimpses of the power of secta- 
rianism to blind the honor and dull the conscience of 
those who were its victims. We have no evidence 
that Sancroft or his successor connived at this scheme; 
but other moneys were subscribed in England, and 
missionaries were sent over to the Colony, and the 
tenets of the Established Church were diligently 
spread. When King's Chapel was dedicated in Bos- 
ton, the orthodox took alarm ; but the membership 
of the Anglican Church increiised, and the orthodox 
felt ag.ain their old dread of being persecuted by the 
Church which had the British Crown and State be- 
hind it. The crisis came in 1727, when the Rev. Dr. 
Cutler, a graduate of Harvard, in 1701, then minister 
of the church at .Stratford, Coun. (1709), and Rector 



of Yale College (1719), and then a convert to Episco- 
palianism, presented a memorial to the Lieutenant- 
Governor " that he might be notified to be present at 
the meetings of the Overseers." He claimed that as 
a minister of Boston he was ex officio, according to the 
Charter of 1650, entitled to a seat in the Board. The 
Rev. Mr. Myles, rector of King's Chape!, presented a 
similar petition. The Overseers declared that Cutler 
and Myles had no such right. The petitioner.-", never- 
theless, persisted : they affirmed that the orthodoxy of 
their church was questioned by no sound Protestant ; 
that its members bore an equal proportion in all pub- 
lic charges in support of the College; that its minis- 
ters were " equally with any others qualified and dis- 
posed to promote the interests of religion, good litera- 
ture, and of good manners ; " that they were " teach- 
ing elders" in the sense intended by the Charter. To 
this the Overseers replied that the question concern- 
ing the definition of a " teaching elder " could be de- 
cided only by referring to the meaning of that term 
in 1650, when the Charter was granted ; that then it 
plainly applied only to the ministers of the Congie- 
gational churches, because there were no adherents 
of other denominations in the Colony ; that the term 
had never been known in the Anglican Church ; and 
that, therefore, since it belonged only to Congrega- 
tional ministers, they alone had the ex officio right to 
be Overseers. The memorial was accordingly re- 
jected, and the Council and the Lieutenant-Governor 
concurred in the vote. 

On the accession of George II, in 1727, the corpor- 
ation sent an address of congratulation for Mr. Hollis 
to present to the sovereign. The address had been 
prepared four years before, on the discovery of a con- 
spiracy against George I, and was now merely re- 
touched to suit the occasion. Mr. Hollis saw that its 
provincial style would hardly be acceptable at court, 
and he recommended that it be revised. " Your com- • 
pliments," he wrote, " are fifty if not one hundred 
years too ancient for our present polite style of court ;" 
[yours is] " a Bible address, says one ; a concordance 
address, says another ; though I think it an honest- 
meaning Christian address. What have courts to do 
to study Old Testament phrases and prophecies ? It 
is well if they read the Common Prayer-Book and 
Psalter carefully." It does not appear that the Cor- 
poration, after learning this frank advice, sent any 
congratulation to the King. 

During Wadsv.'orth's term the discipline of the 
College seems to have given a part, at least, of the 
Overseers grounds for finding fault. But, as the com- ■ 
mon device of the malcontents was to circulate re- H 
porta that the worship of God was scandalously 
neglected in the Hall, we m.ay doubt whether there 
was unusual laxity at this period. A Committee of 
visitation was appointed, however, and, after investi- 
gating, it proposed a revision and more stringent en- 
forcement of the laws, to which I shall refer later. 
The recognition of the College Faculty was formally 



i 



CAMBRIDGE. 



85 



made in 1725, although as early as December 14, 170S, 
its existence in fact is attested by the record that a 
student had been expelled by "the President and resi- 
dent Fellows, with the advice and consent of the non- 
resident Fellows of this House." In the course of 
time, experience must have made it necessary that 
the President and Tutors (or resident Fellows, as they 
had come to call tbemselve.'!) should decide matters 
of daily discipline and government, without consult- 
ing the Overseers, who met only occasionally ; thus 
the Faculty came to be recognized as a distinct body, 
whose records date from September, 1725. Two 
other events of Wadsworth's administration deserve 
notice. Longloissorie, a Frenchman, instructor in 
the French language, was charged with dissemina- 
ting doctrines " not consistent with the safety of the 
College." He asserted, the charge ran, that he saw 
visions, and that revelations were made to him, such 
as the " unlawfulness of magistracy among Christians, 
and consequently of any ttfuiporal punishments for 
evil-doers from man ; [and] that punishment from 
God in the future state would be sure not to be 
eternal, nor any other, nor perhaps, more, even for a 
time, than what wicked men now suffer in this world, 
by being abandoned to the outrage of their own and 
others' passions." "These extraordinary things 3Ion- 
sieur did not broach all at once," but as soon as the 
authorities heard of them, they dismissed him and 
forbade all students from attending his lectures (1735). 

The second incident illustrates how often at that 
epoch the relations between the Corporation and Over- 
seers were strained. In June, 1736, a student named 
Hartshorn applied for the Master's degree. He had 
never received the Bachelor's, and the Corporation 
deemed him unqualified. Thereupon the Overseers 
voted him his degree, although the C )llege law de- 
clared that " no academic degree shall be given but 
by the Corporation with the consent of the Overseers." 
At Commencement three of the Corporation rose and 
opposed Hartshorn's being graduated, and the Presi- 
dent pronounced it to be illegal. Thereupon the 
Governor rose and declared that Hartshorn was en- 
titled to the degree; there was a long debate, and then 
the Governor quitteil the assembly. The Corporation 
won this time, but the next year they came to terms 
with the Overseers, and granted the degree. 

In 1727, Thomas Hollis endowed a second professor- 
ship, that of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, 
and his benefactions to the College ceased only with 
his death, after which his nephews and descendants 
continued their i)atronage for more than fifty years. 
No other family has furnished so many members to 
whom the College is indebted, as the Hollis family; 
and their assistance came at a time when it was rel- 
atively far more precious than much larger bequests 
later. 

In spite of the untoward conditions the College 
grew steadily during the terms of Leverett and Wads- 
worth. In the thirty years, 1707-36, there were 719 



Bachelors graduated, an average of nearly 24 to a 
class; the smallest class, that of 1713, numbered 5; 
the largest, that of 1725, numbered 45. The average 
under Leverett (1707-24) was 20 ; under Wadsworth 
it was nearly 34. In 1732 the estate of the College 
produced an income of £72S 7s. (not including the in- 
come on property bequeathed for special purposes), 
an increase of about £100 per annum during the 
previous decade. President Wadsworth died in 
March, 1737. 

Two months later the Rev. Edward Holyoke was 
elected to the Presidency, in which he served longer 
— thirty-two years — than any of his predecessors or 
successors. He had been minister at Marblehead, 
but had served in the Corporation. The Corporation 
and Overseers before voting joined in prayer, in order 
to be guided aright. Their choice first fell on the Rev. 
William Cooper, who immediately declined. Then 
they elected Holyoke unanimously, an event hitherto 
unprecedented. Moreover, although they deemed it 
necessary to catechise a candidate for the professorship 
of Mathematics as to his orthodoxy, they subjected the 
President-elect to no such test. The General Court 
granted him a salary of £200, in addition to the rents 
of Massachusetts Hall, and soothed the parish of 
Marblehead by a grant of £140 to his successor there. 
Holyoke was inaugurated Sept. 28, 1737. The 
ceremonies on that occasion are thus described by 
Quincy : "The Governor, Overseers and Corporation 
met in the library. At the hour appointed the 
Governor led the President from the library down to 
the Hall, preceded by the Librarian, carrying the 
books, charter, laws and College seal, and by the 
Butler, bearing the Keys ; and followed by the Over- 
seers, Corporation, students and attending gentlemen. 
After prayer by Dr. Sewall, a speech in Latin was 
made by the Governor, in the course of which he 
delivered to the President the charter, keys, etc. The 
President replied in Latin. A congratulatory oration, 
by Mr. Barnard, Master of Arts, succeeded, and the 
ceremonies were concluded by singing a part of the 
seventy-eighth Psalm, and a prayer by the Rev. Thomas 
Prince. After which there was a dinner in the Hall, 
and in the evening the Colleges were brilliantly 
illuminated." '■ 

One of Holyoke's first duties was to preside at the 
removal of Isaac Greenwood, Hollis Professor of 
Mathematics. He had been graduated in the class 
of 1721, had gone to London and preached there 
with some success ; had become acquainted with Mr. 
Hollis, and persuaded him to found immediately a 
Professorship of Mathematics, instead of leaving a 
bequest for that purpose, as had been his intention. 
Hollis was at first pleased with Greenwood, and in- 
clined to recommend him to the new chair. But even 
before Greenwood quitted England, Ilollis's doubts 
were excited. Greenwood had left his lodgings with- 

1 Quincy, i), 11. 



86 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



out paying his bill, had run into other debts, had spent 
in a short time £300 in conviviality, and, among other 
extravagances, had bought "three pair of pearl- 
colored silk stockings." HoUis communicated his 
doubts to the Oorporatiou, sounded them to know 
whether a friend of his, a Baptist, would be accepted; 
but, finding sectarian prejudice still high— (although, 
as he asked, what had the dispute of Baptism to do 
with teaching mathematics?) — he consented to Green- 
wood's appointment. The latter was a man of keen 
intellect, but habitually intemperate, and after frequent 
relapses, admonitions from the Corporation, promises 
to reform, and renewed backsliding, he was removed 
in 1738. Three years later similar charges were 
preferred against Nathan Prince, Tutor and member 
of the Corporation. The Overseers began pro- 
ceedings for his dismissal, although they therein 
overstepped their legal prerogatives, " their juris- 
diction being appellate and not original;" but the 
Corporation waived the technical illegality and con- 
curred in the examination of Prince. Among the 
charges proved against him were, " speaking with 
contempt of the President and Tutors as to learn- 
ing ; " " charging the President with making false 
records with design ; " calling one Tutor a "puppy," 
another a " liar ; " " accustoming himself to rude and 
ridiculous gestures;" "speaking out in time of 
public worship so as to excite laughter ; " " negligence 
of his pupils ; " and " intemperance in strong drink." 
On Feb. 18, 1741-42, it was voted to remove him, and 
although he appealed to the Genera! Court, he was 
not reinstated. These unpleasant experiences led to 
two permanent results: the custom of appointing 
Tutors for only three years, instead of without limit, 
became fixed ; and the custom of admitting, almost 
as a matter of course, the two Senior Tutors to mem- 
bership in the Corporation was dropped. 

Another wave of religious excitement swept at this 
time over the Colony, and broke upon the College. 
As early as 1736, Jonathan Edwards, pastor of the 
church at Northampton, had begun to inflame the 
imagination, not only of his parishioners, but of 
all New England, by his vivid presentation of Calvin's 
doctrines. In intellectual ability he surpassed any 
theologian who had yet been born in this country ; 
and his intense, but narrow mind, seizing hold of the 
Calvinistic doctrines 'of original sin, predestination 
and similar articles of the brimstone creed, infused 
into them his own fire and made them terribly 
lifelike to his hearers. Let it suffice to quote his de- 
scription of hell, as illustrative of the vehemence and 
vividness of his imagination : " The world," he says, 
" will be probably 'converted into a great lake or 
liquid globe of fire; a vast ocean of fire, in which 
the wicked shall be overwhelmed, which will always 
be in tempest, in which they shall be tossed to and 
fro, having no rest day or night; vast waves or 
billows of fire continually rolling over their heads." 
" They shall eternally be full of the most quick and 



lively sense to feel the torment . . . not for one 
minute, nor for one day, nor for one year, nor for one 
age, nor for two ages, nor for a hundred ages, nor for 
ten thousand or millions of ages, one after another, 
but for ever and ever, without any end at all, and 
never, never be delivered." By such language as 
this, Edwards frightened New Englanders into that 
state of panic terror which was supposed to be 
equivalent to Christlike devoutness and charity ; and 
religion was in this condition when, in Sept., 1740, 
George Whitefield, an English itinerant preacher, 
began his remarkable " revivals " in New England. 

He preached to the College students in the First 
Church at Cambridge, and wa's courteously received by 
President Holyoke. He was shocked at the lack of 
true godliness in the institution, declaring Harvard 
to be almost as corru2)t as the English Universitie?. 
" Tutors," he wrote, " neglect to pray with, and ex- 
amine the hearts of, their pupils. Discipline is at 
too low an ebb. Bad books are become fashionable 
amongst them. Tillotson and Clarke are read instead 
of Shcpard and Stoddard, and such like evangeliral 
writers." Whitefield's denunciations and eloquence 
"wrought wonderfully" upon the hearts of many of 
the students. The visiting committee of the Over- 
seers reported, in June, 1741, "that they find of late 
extraordinary and happy impressions of a religious 
nature have been made, ... by which means the 
College is in better order than usual." Tutor Flynt, 
who estimated Whitefield very justly as a " zealous 
man," " but over censoiious, over rash, and over con- 
fident," says that at their revival meetings some of the 
students " told of their visions, some of their convic- 
tions, some of their assurances, some of their consola- 
tions. One pretended to see the Devil in the shape 
of a bear coming to his bedside. Others burst into a 
laugh when telling of the day of judgment; another 
did so in prayer, which they imputed to the Devil's 
temptation ; some were under great terrors; some had 
a succession of clouds and comforts ; some spoke of 
prayer and amendment of life as a poor foundation of 
trust, advising to look only to the merits and right- 
eousness of Christ ; some talked about the free grace 
of God in election, and of the decrees. . 
Many, if not all, mean well. Some have extravagan- 
cies and errors of a weak and warm imagination." 

The enthu'^iasm, or frenzy, could not last long ; 
within two years the reaction came; but before this 
the College authorities deemed it their duty to reply 
to the aspersions cast by Whitefield on " the school of 
the prophets." President Holyoke declared in a ser- 
mon that never within his memory, extending back 
nearly five and thirty years, had the condition of Har- 
vard been so favorable as then. In December, 1744, 
" the President, Professors, Tutors .and Hebrew In- 
structor" published a pamphlet containing testimony 
" against the Rev. George Whitefield and his Con- 
duct; " and when Whitefield replied, Dr. Wiggles- 
worth (April, 174.5) answered him in an open letter. 



CAMBRIDGE. 



S7 



It is our duty, he said, to examine our own heart, but 
it is not so clear that we ou,;ht to examine the hearts 
of others, {'hrist has said, '• I am he who searches 
the reins and hearts;" "would you have Tutors in- 
vade His prerogative? or would you introduce tlie 
Popish practice of auricular confession ? " Holyol^e 
closed the controversy in an appendix to Wiggles- 
worth's Letter, telling Whitefield that " whatever 
good was done, hath been prodigiously overbalanced 
by the evil ; and the furious zeal with which you had 
so fired the passions of the people hath, in many 
places, burnt up the very vitals of religion ; and a 
censorious, unpeaceable, uncharitable disposition 
hath, in multitudes, usurped the place of a godly jeal- 
ousy." 

Jonathan Edwards, too, zealot that he was, had 
early perceived the excesses caused by the revival, a;id 
while he endeavored "to deaden and direct the flame 
he had assisted to kindle," his own vehement and ter- 
rible doctrines were attacked by two liberal clergy- 
men of Boston, Charles Chauncy and Jonathan May- 
hew, who deserve to be gratefully remembered not 
only f )r their more humane and charitable tenets, but 
also for the courage with which they announced them. 
In the history of Harvard this religious controversy 
is important, because the Government of the College 
then squarely took its place on the liberal side, and at 
DO tmie was there more danger lest it should relapse 
into the control of the more bigoted sectarians. As a 
result, the latter concentrated their hopeson Yale Col- 
lege, and strove to make it the vessel of uudefiled 
Calvinism. And whilst these dissensions perturbed 
the orthodox, the Society for Propagating the doc- 
trines of the Church of England renewed its eilurta, 
and made many converts. It opened a Church in 
Cambridge, where students wh') were Anglicans 
might worship, and it proposed that a bishop should 
be sent over from England to take charge of the grow- 
ing parishes. These indications of growth, although 
they must have been di-tisteful to the orthodox, no 
longer filled them with consternation ; and we may 
say that, about the year ITiJO, the various sects in 
Boston and its neighborhood were so well tstablished, 
that no one could openly persecute all the otliers.and 
that they had begun to live together in tolerance. 
The College, which drew its scholars from all quarters 
and classes, was naturally disposed to mitigate its 
prejudices ; but for a long time to come, the dominant 
influence was Presbyterian, and Presbyterian of a type 
which would now be called extreme. 

During the French War (IToG-GS) the number of 
students fell off a little, but in 1765 the graduating 
class had fifty-four members. On the accession of 
George III (17G0), Governor Bernard suggested that 
it would be fitting for the College to congratulate the 
new monarch. Accordingly six prizes of a guinea 
each were offered for the best oration, poem, elegy on 
the late King and ode in Latin, and foi- an English 
poem and ode. Graduates and undergraduates com- 



peted, and a volume containing thirty-one pieces and 
entitled Pkfas et Gratuhitio Colh-gii Cantabrigieusis 
apud Novan(/los was sent to England to be presented 
to the King. To this work Governor Bi^rnard him- 
self contributed five effusions, and President Holyoke 
anode said to be"trulv Horatian." So far as we 
can learn, George III took no notice of this, the last 
address the English sovereign Aver received from the 
Corporation and students of EDirvard as his subjects. 
In 1702 a petition reached the Legislature to grant a 
charter to a college to be founded in Hampshire 
County. The petitioners belonged to the strict ortho- 
dox sect, which regarded Harvard as too liberal. The 
petition passed the Legislature, and Governor Ber- 
nard had signed a bill for the incorporation of the 
new institution, when the Harvard Overseers in alarm 
drew up a long list of objections. They pointed out 
that there was no need of another college ; that it 
would injure Harvard, to whose support the Colony 
had been pledged for nearly 130 years; that it was 
desirable to maintain a high standard of learnine, and 
that this would be impossible were another institu- 
tion permitted to confer degrees, because were the 
means now devoted to one divided belween two, the 
standard of both would be lowered ; that jealous- 
ies and dissensions prejudicial to the peace and edu- 
cation of the Colony would be fomented. The Gov- 
ernor declared that he would do nothins harmful to 
the interests of Harvard, but that he would refer the 
matter to the British minis-try. To them, therefore, a 
strong remonstrance was sent, with the effect of de- 
feating the grant of a charter. 

Almost immediately afterwards a calamitj' at Har- 
vard "turned the current of sympathy and patronage 
into its ancient channel." Early in 1764 sniall-pox 
broke out in Boston, and the Legislature, removing to 
Cambridge, held its sessions in Harvard Hall, where 
the Governor and Council occupied the library and 
the Representatives the apartment below. On the 
night of January 2-t the Hall was burned. The fol- 
lowing account of the " most ruinous loss the College 
ever met with since its foundation" is from the Massa- 
chusetts (?c^^e«« of Thursday, February 2,1704: "In 
the middle of a very tempestuous night, a severe cold 
storm of snow, we were awakened by the alarm of fire. 
Harvard Hall, the only one of our ancient buildings 
which still remained, and the repository of our most 
valuable treasures, the public library and philosophi- 
cal apparatus, was seen in flames. As it was a time 
of vacation, in which the students were all dispersed, 
not a single person wa< left in any of the Colleges, 
except two or three in that part of Massachusetts 
most distant from Harvard, where the fire could not 
be perceived till the whole surrounding air began to 
be illumin.ated by it. When it was discovered from 
the town it had risen to a degree of violence that de- 
fied all opposition. It is conjectured to have begun 
in a beam under the hearth in the library, where a 
fire had been kept for the use of the General Court, 



88 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



now residing and sitting here by reason of the small- 
pox in Boston ; from thence it burst out into the 
Library. The books easily submitted to the fury of 
the flames, which, with a rapid and irresistible prog- 
ress, made its way to the Apparatus Chamber and 
spread through the whole building. In a very short 
time this venerable monument of the piety of our an- 
cestors was turned intg a heap of ruins. The other 
Colleges, Stoughton Hall and Massachusetts Hall 
were in the utmost hazard of sharing the same fate. 
The wind driving the flaming cinders directly upon 
their roofs, they blazed out several times in different 
places ; nor could they have been saved by all the 
help the town could afibrd had it not been for the as- 
sistance of the gentlemen of the General Court, 
among whom his Excellency the Governor was very 
active; who, notwithstanding the extreme rigor of 
the season, exerted themselves in supplying the town 
engine with water, which they were obliged to fetch 
at last from a distance, two of the College pumps 
being then rendered useless. Even the new and 
beautiful Hollis Hall — though it was on the windward 
side — hardly escaped. It stood so near to Harvard 
that the flames actually seized it, and if they had not 
been immediately suppressed must have carried it." 

The Legislature, at the instigation of Governor 
Bernard, resolved to rebuild Harvard Hall at the ex- 
pense of £2000, granted XlOO for a fire-engine for 
the College and indemnified students whose books 
and furniture had been destroyed. Donations of 
money, books and apparatus flowed in from all parts 
of the American Colonies, and from the mother coun- 
try. From the list of gifts I quote two among many 
items : From John Greenwood, Great Britain, " two 
curious Egyptian mummies for the museum ;" from the 
Hon. John Hancock, Esq., " a set of the most elegant 
carpets to cover the floors of the Library, the Appara- 
tus ar.d the Philosophy Chambers ; he also covered 
the walls of the latter with a rich paper." The losses 
were, indeed, more than made good. A finer Hall 
rose on the ruins of old Harvard, and was completed 
in June, 1766, having cost $23,000 ; and its equipment 
was better than the old ; but the loss which we to-day 
-most regret, and which could not be repaired, was 
the destruction of John Harvard's books, whereby all 
personal relations, so to speak, between the founder 
and posterity, were swept away. 

During President Holyoke's term two other build- 
ings were added to the College. In 1741 Mrs. Holden, 
widow of Samuel Holden, late Governor of the Bank 
of England, gave £400 to build a chapel, which was 
erected in 1744. In 1762 the Legislature, taking into 
consideration the large number of students who coald 
not be lodged in the then existing buildings, appro- 
priated 412000 "towards building a new College at 
Cambridge, of thedimensions of Massachusetts Hall." 
This edifice was dedicated in January, 1704, just before 
the burning of Harvard, and was fitly named Hollis, 
after that family to which the College owed so much. 



In 1765, by the will of Thomas Hancock, the Col- 
lege received a legacy of £1000 sterling, to found a 
professorship of Hebrew and other Oriental Lan- 
guages, the first chair founded by an American. 
Other gifts enriched the institution and helped to 
make its work, under Holyoke's direction, more effi- 
cient. Of measures adopted to raise the standard of 
scholarship, and to improve the discipline of the 
students, I shall speak later. 

Holyoke died in June, 1769. John Winthrop, 
Hollis Professor of Mathematics, and a man of un- 
usual scientific attainments, was offered the Presi- 
dency; but he declined, as did two other members of 
the Corporation. Then the Rev. Samuel Locke, pas- 
tor at Sherburne, was chosen, and he accepted. He 
seems to have had little force and he left no impres- 
sion on the development of the College. One of his 
contemporaries describes him as being "of an excel- 
lent spirit, and generous catholic sentiments ; a friend 
to liberty ; his greatest defect, a want of knowledge of 
the world, having lived in retirement, and perhaps 
not a general acquaintance with books." That he was 
a "friend to liberty," was probably one of the chief 
reasons for electing him ; because by that time patri- 
otic enthusiasm had already kindled the students and 
governors at Harvard. In 1708, the members of the 
Senior Class signified their hatred of British taxation, 
by unanimously voting "to take their degrees in the 
manufactures of this country;" and they appeared 
at commencement clad in "untaxed," home-manu- 
factured garments. In 1778 Lieutenant-Governor 
Hutchinson prorogued the General Court to meet at 
Harvard College on March 15th. It accordingly met, 
but when a second session was called in the month of 
May, the Corporation remonstrated that " Harvard 
College had been instituted for the sole purpose of 
the education of youth," and that it regarded this 
precedent with deep concern. But when a formal 
application was made for the use of the Halls on 
election day, it was granted, and when Hutchinson 
was appointed Governor (March, 1771) the Corpora- 
tion presented him with a complimentary address, 
and gave him a flattering reception at the College. 
Nevertheless, sentiment at Harvard was largely with 
the popular cause, and for the first time the Triennial 
Catalogue was printed with the students' names ar- 
ranged alphabetically, instead of according to Hie 
rank of their families, as had theretofore been the 
custom. This is but one indication of the prevailing 
republican feelings. In 1773, John Hancock was 
chosen Treasurer — an unfortunate choice, as was af- 
terwards shown ; but his popularity was so great that 
but little thought was given to his qualifications as a 
financier. Two years previous the Corporation, to 
show its admiration for him, had invited him to a 
public dinner in the Hall, "to sit with the Governors 
of the College," — an honor conferred on no other 
private person, and all the more significant then be- 
cause his avowed"patriotism had made him obnoxious 



CAMBRIDGE. 



89 



to Governor Hutchinson and the Tloyalists. One 
other event, during Locke's brief term, may be men- 
tioned. In November, 1773, the Corporation, in order 
to perpetuate the memory of the benefactors of the 
College, resolved "to enter fairly in a book" their 
names and gifts; "to write their names in letters of 
gold, and place them over the windows and on the 
walls of the Chapel ; " to commemorate them by an 
oration at each Commencement; and to place on a 
tablet over the Hall door, the following distich from 
Martial :— 

*'Sint Ma^cecatea, non deeriint, yiacce, Marones ; 
Vergiliulnque tibi vel tua ruia dabunt." 

Only the first and third of these proposals were car- 
ried out. 

In December, 1773, President Locke resigned, and 
after the usual attempt to induce unwilling persons 
to succeed him, the Eev. Samuel Langdon, of Ports- 
mouth, was elected at a meeting "holden at Colonel 
Hancock's house," on July 18, 1774. From the out- 
set he was greatly harassed, owing to the political 
disturbances, which interfered with the resources of 
the College. In 1772 the Legislature had tried to 
make up the deficiencies by granting a lottery for the 
benefit of the College, but this was so uncertain a 
means that the Corporation were obliged themselves 
to take the tickets which remained unsold. The pres- 
ence of the Legislature had interfered with the usual 
work ; now came the time when soldiers were quar- 
tered in the Halls. In April, 1775, the Massachusetts 
Militia was concentrated at Cambridge, and the Col- 
lege Government removed the library and ajjparatus 
to Andover. The Corporation were forced to meet at 
Fowle's Tavern, in Watertown, where they voted that, 
a public Commencement being impracticable, degrees 
should be conferred by a general diploma. A little 
later they ordered the removal of the College to 
Concord, where, it had been ascertained, one hundred 
and twenty-five students could be boarded. The 
exile lasted till June, 1770. Before that time the 
British troops had evacuated Boston (March 17th); and 
the Corporation and Overseers expressed their gratitude 
to General Washington " for his eminent services in ihe 
cause of his country and to this society," and they 
conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Laws. 
In a memorial to the Legislature, the injury done to 
the College by the occupation of the soldiers, and by 
the loss of rents, including the income of the Charles- 
town ferry, was set forth. Indemnification for dam- 
ages was finally made; among the items we find 
lead taken from the roof of Harvard Hall, — presuma- 
bly for bullets, — bra3s knobs, and tacks. 

The College was now fully committed to the patri- 
otic cause. The Overseers examined the governors 
and instructors as to their political principles, and the 
few students who cherished Tory hopes took care to 
conceal them. Nevertheless, when General Heath, 
in the autumn of 1777, requested the use of the Col- 



lege buildings for quartering the troops surrendered 
by Burg(jyne, the Corporation objected. But the 
students were dismissed from December, 1777, till the 
following February, after which there were no further 
interruptions in the College course while the Revo- 
lution lasted, although there was no public Com- 
mencement. 

Internal affairs during this period of national ex- 
citement require but little mention. The Overseers 
clas'ned with the Corporation in the appointment of a 
steward, and, after considerable dispute, the former 
came to the conclusion that they had no jurisdiction 
in this appointment. More important was the resig- 
nation of President Langdon, in the summer of 1780. 
The students met and passed resolutions charging 
him with "impiety, heterodoxy, unfitness for the 
office of preacher of the Christian religion, and still 
more for that of President." A committee of twelve 
students then waited upon him with these resolutions. 
He seems to have been taken without warning and 
without having had previous intimations that he was 
unpopular. But he determined at once to resign. 
After morning prayers, two days later, he gave notice 
of his determination, adding that, as he " would be 
thrown destitute on the world," "resolutions of a 
favorable character might be of service to him." 
The students passed these as readily as they had 
passed the first. So far as can be learned, the under- 
graduates were, in this proceeding, only the instru- 
ments of Langdon's enemies, who did not dare, or 
care, to attack him openly. The most that was 
hinted against him was that he had not tilled his 
position with so much vigor as his predecessors be- 
fore the war ; but, considering the difficulties he had 
met and his subsequent career in the New Hampshire 
Convention, this charge lacks verisimilitude. 

Apart from his being the President of the College 
at the Revolutionary crisis, Langdon will be remem- 
bered as the President during whose term the Con- 
stitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was 
framed (1780). That Constitution confirmed to the 
President and Fellows of Harvard College the enjoy- 
ment of "all the powers, authorities, rights, privi- 
leges, immunities and franchises which they now 
have, or are entitled to have, hold, use, exercise and 
enjoy ; " and it contained the following article : 
" Whekeas, by an Act of the General Court of the 
Colony of Massachusetts Bay, passed in the year 
1(;42, the Governor and Deputy-Governor for the 
time being, and all the magistrates of that jurisdic- 
tion, were, with the President and a number of the 
clergy in the said Act described, constituted the 
Overseers of Harvard College; and it being neces- 
sary, in this new Constitution of Government, to 
ascertain who shall be deemed successors to the said 
Governor, Deputy-Governor and magistrates, — It is 
declared that the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, 
Council and Senate of this Commonwealth are and 
shall be deemed their successors, who, with the Pres- 



90 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



ident of Harvard College for the time being, together 
with the ministers of the Congregational churches 
in the towns of Cambridge, Watertown, Charlestown, 
Boston, Roxbury and Dorchester, mentioned in the 
said Act, shall be, and hereby are, vested with all the 
powers and authority belonging or in Any way apper- 
taining to the Overseers of Harvard College. Pro- 
vided, that nothing herein shall be construed to pre- 
vent the Legislature of this Commonwealth from 
making such alterations in the government of the 
said University as shall be conducive to its advan- 
tage and the interests of the republic of letters, in as 
full a manner as might have been done by the Legis- 
lature of the late Province of Massachusetts Bay." 

The Constitution speaks indifferently of the " Col- 
. lege" and "the Univer.-ity," this being perhaps the 
first instance when the latter term wiis officially used. 
It declares, further, that no person holding the office 
of President, professor or instructor of Harvard Col- 
lege shall, at the same time, have a seat in the Senate 
or House of Representatives. Thus we see that, 
while the State kept its ex officio control over the 
government of the College, it prohibited officers of 
the College from taking part in the government of 
the State. 

Despite the troubles and interruptions incident to 
the war, the College was fairly-well attended. The 
classes at graduation averaged 34 members, that of 
177G being the largest' (43), and that of 1779 being 
the smallest (26). But the revenues suffered greatly, 
not only from stoppage of payment in some cases, 
but from the depreciation of currency. In 1778 ex- 
change on France stood at 300 per cent. ; in March, 
1779, at 400 per cent., and the next year one ream of 
paper cost £150, and a quill cost $1.50 iu provincial 
money. In November, 1780, the price of the Corpo- 
ration dinner was $52.G1 per person ; but by that 
time the currency was almost worthless.' 

At this turning-point in the history of Harvard — 
for the College, after the Revolution, soon ceased to 
look to the Commonwealth for regular grants of mo- 
ney—we may fitly pass in review the dealing of the 
Legislature with the College. Our general verdict 
must be that, after the first vote of the General Court, 
in 163G, to appropriate £400 to a school at Newtown, 
the Colony never gave Harvard the financial support 
which it deserved. The grants were irregular, — often 
made only after repeated entreaties, and seldom paid 
promptly. The Legislature erected, besides the orig- 
inal Hall, Massachusetts, Hollis and new Harvard 
Halls, and contributed £1000 out of £1800 towards 
Wadsworth House. It allowed the College the in- 
come of the Charlestown Ferry, which, in 1639, 
amounted to £60, but which in some years was less than 
the expenses. President Dunster's annual stipend pro- 
bably did not exceed £100, paid in rates ; Chauncy re- 
ceived the same; Hoar 'ha.A £\bO per annum ; Oakes 



' See Eliot's " History of Iliu-vuid College," pp. S", 88. 



had £100 from the Colonial Treasury, and £50 in "coun- 
try pay," corn, wheat, etc. ; the grant to Mather was 
at first £100, then oniy £50; Vice-President Wil- 
lard received from £50 t) £60 ; Leveretl's salary was 
fixed at £150, subsequently increas.d by £30, £40, 
and once by £50 ; but the average was about £180 ; 
Wadsworth was assigned a grant of £400, £360 of 
which to be paid by the General Court, and £40 to be 
derived from the rents of Massachusetts Hall; the 
grants to Holyoke averaged £250, plus the aforesaid 
rents. About the middle of the 18th century the Leg- 
islature began to eke out the salaries of the profes- 
sors by grants; the Profe.ssor of Divinity received 
£100, of Mathematics, £80, and of Hebrew, £20- 
Quinc}' estimates that the total amount granted an- 
nually during Holyoke's term never exceeded £450, 
and often fell far short of that figure. Many of the 
lands granted to the College from time to time, al- 
though they aggregated several thousand acres, were 
never secured, owing to some flaw in the claim, or were 
in remote places where they produced but little. 

The revenues of the College, apart from the above- 
mentioned subsidies, increased very slowly. In 1654, 
the income applicable to general purposes was only 
£27, of which £15 was set aside for scholarships. The 
receipts from all sources from 1654 to 1668, were £2,- 
618. In 1682 the property of Harvard was valued at 
£2141 ; in 1693 the income was £318. Under the 
prudent management of Thomas Brattle, who was 
Treasurer for twenty years (till 1713), the estate of the 
College was increased in value to £2952 ; in 1746 this 
had risen to £11,150, producing yearly, at six per cent., 
£669. Owing to the depreciation of the currency the 
entire stock of the College in 1770 was estimated at 
only £12,923, of which £6,188 was specifically appro- 
priated ; the income in that year amounted to £1513, 
the expenses to £1251* In 1776 the resources were 
valued at £16,444. Thus we see that even during 
the period when Harvard had every reason to look to 
the State for generous nurture and encouragement, 
the support from private benefactors exceeded many 
times that bestowed by the State with a niggardly 
and begrudging hand. This fact, so discreditable to 
the Legislature, furnishes, nevertheless, the best proof 
that the institution had taken deep roots in the re- 
spect of the community ; and that, in spite of politi- 
cal and theological controversies, which sometimes 
interrupted and sometimes dried uji the stream of offi- 
cial bounty, there were always high-minded men and 
women who recognized the preciousness of the higher 
learning, and who gave liberally to help its dissemi- 
nation. The University, like the circle of authors or 
painters, which depends upon the favor of a prince or 
a parliament, may flourish for a time ; to be perma- 
nent, however, it must have no patron but the public, 
which has no parly or personal interests to serve, and 
only desires the untrammeled propagation of the best 
knowledge and the highest culture. 

In December, 1781, the Rev. Joseph Willard was 



CAMBRIDGE. 



elected to succeed President Langdon. He was em- 
barrassed from the outset by the financial status of 
the College. In 1773 John Hancock had beeu chosen 
Treasurer. At that time he was the most popular 
and influential man in Massachusetts. Having in- 
herited, from his uncle, a few j'ears before, the largest 
fortune that had been amassed up to that time in New 
England, he had given to the College about £550 for 
books, and the "elegant carpets'' and wall-paper be- 
fore referred to. He was, moreover, the leader of the 
patriotic party, generally popular, except with the 
Royalists, and very ambitious. No'doubt the Corpora- 
tion believed that they would do well in entrusting 
the funds of the College to a man at once so rich and 
so conspicuous; but they soon learned that brilliancy 
in politics is not always accompanied by punctuality 
and wisdom in money matters. More than a year 
elapsed, but Hancock made no settlement of his ac- 
counts, and the Corporation would gladly have asked 
him to resign had they not been afraid of incensing 
bim. President Langdon sent him a letter urging a 
statement; then a second letter, yet no answer came. 
To a third request, Hancock replied that he was 
"busily engaged," but would "soon appoint a day to 
attend to business." The Corporation met, but the 
Treasurer did not appear. Then they sent a formal 
communication to him, stating their " unhappiness at 
being disappointed as to the promised settlement; 
they knew his patriotic exertions in his country's 
cause, and were willing to allow much for this plea 
of delay; but it was their duty to be solicitous for the 
seminary ; they were accountable to the Overseers 
and the world." They requested further that the pa- 
pers of the College might be left with them during 
his abrence; "otherwise all will be in confusion." 
Hancock was soon to go to Philadelphia to attend the 
Congress. A messenger was accordingly despatched 
to Concord, where he'was, to ask him to deliver "the 
moneys, bonds and other papers belonging to the Col- 
lege treasury." By this messenger the following an- 
swer was re'.uraed: "Mr. Hancock jiresents his com- 
pliments to the Rev. President and the other gentle- 
men who were present yesterday at the meeting, and 
acquaints them that he has at heart the interest of 
the College as much as any one, and will pursue it. 
He is much surprised and astonished at the contents 
of the President's letter, as well sa at the doings of 
the gentlemen present, which he very seriously re- 
sents; and however great the gentlemen may think 
the burden upon his mind may be, Mr. Hancock is 
not disposed to look upon it in that light, nor shall 
the College suffer any detriment in his absence, as he 
baa already determined those matters ; but if the gen- 
tlemen choose to make a puWic choice of a gentleman 
to the displacing him, they will please to act their 
pleasure. Mr. Hancock writes in great hurry, being 
much engaged, but shall write very particularly, or 
be at Cambridge in person as soon as the Congress 
rises. He leaves all his matters in the hands of a 



gentleman of approved integrity, during his absence, 
wliich he is not disposed to alter, and peradventure 
hit ab-sence may not be longer than a voyage to Ma- 
chias." The Corporation evidently got small comfort 
from this reply. Another year passed; still they did 
not dare to remove the obstinate Treasurer, who 
persistently neglected his duties. They took meas- 
ures to collect their rents arid the earnings of the 
Ferry, but went no further. 

In 1776, Hancock being then in Philadelphia, the 
President wrote him a very humble letter setting 
forth the embarrassed condition of the College ; he re- 
mained silent. To a second entreaty he replied that 
he had just sent a messenger " in a light wagon, with 
orders to bring all his books and papers across the 
country to Philadelphia from Boston," in order that he 
mighli arrange them. So the personal property of 
Harvard was transferred to the Quaker City, where it 
remained till the following year, when the C irpora- 
tion, having received no account, and being alarmed 
for the sal'ety of the securities, despatched Tutor 
Hali to bring them back. But Hancock, although 
he let them go, would neither settle nor resign. 
Another communica: ion, covering twenty-eight quarto 
pages, did not move him, if, indeed, he ever re.id it. 
At last, after much hesitation, with the concurrence 
of the Overseers, they elected (July 14, 1777), Ebenezer 
Storer, to supersede in the Treasurership, " the Honora- 
ble John Hancock, whose employment in the Ameri- 
can Congress unavoidably prevents his attending to 
the business of that office." 

Hancock regarded this action as a personal insult, 
and never forgave it, but during the remainder of his 
life he continued to wreak his resentment on the Col- 
lege, by the same spiteful and embarrassing methods. 
The Corporation made more than one effort to con- 
ciliate him, requesting, for example, that he would 
permit his portrait to be painted at their expense 
"and placed in the philosophy chamber, by that of 
his honorable uncle." In 1779 it was voted to put 
in suit the bond which he had filed on his appoint- 
ment as Treasurer, but this vote was reconsidered. 
The following year he was elected Governor of Massa- 
chusetts, a position he filled continuously till 178.5, 
and the Corporation sang another tune in a compli- 
mentary address in which they expressed " their hap- 
piness that a gentleman is placed at the head of the 
General Court and of the Overseers, who h.as given 
such substantial evidence of his love of letters and 
affection to the College, by the generous and repeated 
benefactions with which he hath endowed it." Blan- 
dishments, however, were as futile as threats: Hancock 
knew his power, and gratified his vindictive spirit by 
using it. In 1783 the Overseers determined to force 
an i.ssue ; but at their very next meeting Hancock 
presided, and they quailed before him. Tiien, as if 
to tantalize them further, he promised to bring in 
a statement ; but when the time came he post- 
poned it. Finally, on February 10, 1785, Treasurer 



92 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Storer was able to report that Governor Hancock had 
made a final settlement of his accounts, by which it 
appeared that he still owed the College £1054. This 
balance he delayed to pay ; nor could the College, 
whether by entreaty or threatening to resort to law, 
get it from him. He died in October, 1793, and two 
years later his heirs made a payment of nine years' 
interest. The principal was paid six or seven years 
afterwards, but without compound interest, " whereby 
the College loses upwards of |52G." The motives of 
this disgraceful conduct seem not hard to explain. 
Hancock was doubtless flattered by his election to the 
Treasurership ; but he had no experience as a finan- 
cier, and was soon drawn into the more exciting politi- 
cal life in which he shone, but which caused him to 
neglect his duties as Treasurer. When his neglect 
became apparent, through the respectful intimations 
of the Corporation, his vanity was piqued, and thence- 
forth, feeling secure of his public position, he deter- 
mined to punish them by systematic harassing and 
delays. That he needed the College funds, or di- 
verted them temporarily to his own use, was never 
charged, for his private fortune was so great (£70,000) 
that he could have settled his account in full at any 
time that he had cho.jen. But to ambitious men 
of a certain calibre, all the glory and honor they 
derive from success in work for which they are fitted 
do not atone for the pangs their pride suflers when 
they have been found negligent or incompetent in 
work undertaken by them without proper qualifica- 
tion. 

While this unseemly and annoying conflict was in 
progress, the College was engaged in a financial 
struggle with the Legislature. Harvard had loyally 
converted its funds into currency early in the Revo- 
lution, but before the War closed the currency had 
depreciated so far that it required seventy-five dollars 
in paper to purchase one dollar in gold. In 1777 the 
fees for tuition were increased in order to make good 
the diminishing salaries of the instructors ; and in 
1780 the Legislature was petitioned to supply by 
grants the constantly growing deficit. Then fol- 
lowed a memorial asking the General Court to pledge 
itself to pay to the President a permanent and ade- 
quate salary ; but the Court refused, preferring to 
keep that ofiicer dependent upon it, for irregular and 
uneven grants. It appropriated £300 for the first 
year of President Willard's term. The Corporation 
then endeavored to equalize the salaries of professors, 
by assessments on the students ; and the rents of 
Massachusetts Hall were doubled (to £120) for the 
benefit of the President. The Legislature continuing 
stingy, another petition was presented, which brought 
from it (July, 1783) grants of £156 for the President, 
and of about £100 each for the Professors of Divinity, 
Mathematics and Oriental Languages, but these grants 
were no longer "gratuitous," but " on account of ser- 
vices done, and to be done, he (the grantee) to be ac- 
countable for the same," an intimation which the 



beneficiaries regarded as ominous.' The position of 
the President and Professors became precarious, so 
that the Corporation authorized the Treasurer to lend 
them money at interest, until the Legislature 
should fulfil its pledges. But this the lyegislature 
never did ; its last subsidy to the President and Pro- 
fessors was on May 31, 1786, when it appropriated 
£480 for the former, and upwards of £240 to each of 
the latter. These sums enabled them to settle their 
indebtedness to the Treasurer, but left no provision 
for the future. The next year the Treasurer reported 
that during the past decade the College had suffered 
a clear loss of £13,702 6s. 2d. But the Court gave no 
relief, and in February, 1791, voted that it was inex- 
pedient to make any grants to College oHicers. A 
final effort was made in the following January ta 
bring the Cdurt to terms; it was shown that more 
than £3000 had been loaned to the President and 
Professors, and it was prayed that the College be re- 
imbursed ; this last appeal, however, was treated like 
its predecessors, and thenceforth the Corporation as- 
sumed the responsibility of providing in full the 
officers' salaries. The notes due for advances were 
canceled. Happily, through the skillful management 
of Storer, the Treasurer, and of James Bowdoin and 
John Lowell, the financial resources of the College 
had gradually been augmented. The investments, 
made in uncertain times, proved lucrative, and in 
1793 the Treasurer's report stated that the per.-onal 
estate amounted to $182,000, of which about 182,000 
were appropriated for special purposes. That was the 
first year in which the Engli.sh system of reckoning was 
dropped, and the American adopted. We have now 
arrived at a period, therefore, when the College had 
to depend upon itself, but when the State, while 
refusing monetary support, still arrogated the right 
of supervisional control. But, as this was the first 
step toward the ultimate emancipation of Harvard 
from all political control, we see now ihiit the gain 
far exceeded the sacrifices which it temporarily de- 
manded. 

The administration of Willard coincided with other 
changes which proved beneficial to the development 
of the College. The standard of scholarship was 
raised ; the Medical School was founded on very 
humble beginnings; four professorships (E. Hersey, 
Alford, A. Hersey and Erving) were added to the 
foundations ; the system of discipline was remodeled. 
The graduating classes between 1781 and 1804, inclu- 
sive, averaged forty, that of 1804 having sixty-one 
members, the largest number up to that time. In Oc- 
tober, 1790, the College was honored by a visit from 
President Wiishington, who, in reply to an address 
from the Corporation, complimented the prosperous 
condition of the " literary republic," and hoped that 

1 At this time the College lost tlie revenue from the Clinrlestown 
Ferry, by the biiildiug of theCharlea River Bridf^e (IVS-'j). Tbo Legislii- 
ture required the grantees of the bridge to pay the College iin auuuily 
until 1820. 



I 



CAMBRIDGE. 



93 



" the muses might long enjoy a tranquil residence 
within the walls of this University." 

President Willard died in September, 1804, and 
nearly two years elapsed before his succcs.sor, the 
Rev. Samuel Webber, Hollis Professor of Mathemat- 
ics, was elected. In the interim the office had been 
offered to Fisher Ames, the first layman, so far as I 
have learned, who was elected to the Presidency of 
Harvard,' — but he declined. Mr. Webber came into 
office just at the outbreak of a new religious contro- 
versy, the echoes of which were heard far down the 
present century. It is the inherent nature of sects to 
become diversified; some members clinging rigidly 
to the letter of their creed and to tradition, while 
others move on to larger interpretations. Midway 
between these factions oscillate the moderates, who 
hold some of the views of each but do not approve of 
the extremes of either. Presbyterianism in New Eng- 
land was, at the beginning of the nineteenth cen- 
tury, on the verge of a new disintegration ; the mem- 
bers of the advanced party, carrying freedom of in- 
quiry to its logical conclusion, were beginning to be 
known as Unitarians, whom the conservatives looked 
upon with abhorrence as no belter than skeptics or 
atheists. The line of demarcation was clearly defined 
in the controversy over the election of a successor to 
the chair of Divinity, which was left vacant by the 
death of Dr. Tappan in 1804. The corporation elected 
the Rev. Henry Ware, of Hingham, whose views were 
then deemed radical. He was stoutly resisted. The 
orthodox declared that " soundness and orthodoxy" 
were the requisites demanded by Hollis of the candi- 
dates to this professorship ; that "soundness and or- 
thodoxy" were to be found among Calvinists only ; 
and that the candidate should submit to an exami- 
nation of faith. Dr. Ware's supporters replied that 
such an examination " was a barbarous relic of in- 
quisitorial power, alien alike from the genius of our 
government and the spirit of our people; that the 
College had been dedicated to Christ and not to Calvin 
— to Christi8.nity and not to sectarianism ; that Hollis, 
though agreeing with Calvinists in some points, was 
notoriously not a Calvinist ; and that, by his statutes, 
he prescribed the Scriptures of the Old and New Tes- 
tament as the rule of his Professor's faith, and not the 
Assembly's Catechism." At last Dr. Ware's election 
was concurred in by the Overseers (May, 1805), but 
it caused so great annoyance to the orthodox, that 
Dr. Pearson, Hancock Professor of Hebrew, resigned 
(March, 180G), giving as his reason that " events dur- 
ing the past year having so deeply affected his mind, 
beclouded the prospect, spread such a gloom over the 
University, and compelled him to take such a view of 
its internal state and external relations, of its radical 
and constitutional maladies, as to exclude the hope 
of rendering any essential service to the interests of 



1 Prefeident Leverett had fitted fur the ministry, but iiaJ had no 
parish. 



religion by continuing his relation to it." His res- 
ignation was accepted by the Overseers who stated 
that " they are not apprehensive the University is in 
so unfortunate a state as he has represented." 

In 1780 the original Stoughton Hall, which was situ- 
ated at right angles to Massachusetts and Harvard, near 
the present site of the University, had to be demol- 
ished on account of its decay ; but, with the increased 
number of studenis another dormitory was needed. 
This, the present Stoughton, was erected in 1805 at 
the expense of the college. The corporation then pe- 
titioned the Legislature for assistance to repair Massa- 
chusetts and other buildings, and, in 180(3, permission 
was granted to them to raise $30,000 by lottery. 
From the proceeds of this lottery ($20,000) a new hall 
was built, at the cost of $24,000, and, on its comple- 
tion in 1813, it was called afier Sir Matthew Hol- 
worthy, to whom the college was indebted for the 
largest single benefaction it had received in the sev- 
enteenth century (£1000 sterling). In 180(1, John 
Quincy Adams was appointed first Boylston Professor 
of Rhetoric and Oratory. 

Signs of a more liberal siiirit in religion were now 
rapidly multiplying in New England, and its effect 
was soon felt at Harvard. The election of James 
Bowdoin to the Corporation in 1792 may now be looked 
upon as an entering wedge, for he was the first lay 
Fellow (excepting previous Treasurers, Professors or 
Tutors) ever admitted to that body. Experience in 
his case suggested that a modification of the member- 
ship of the Board of Overseers would be desirable. 
The limitation of the original charter to theministers 
and magistrates of Cambridge and five neighboring 
towns deprived the College of the services of suitable 
men; while the admission of the State Senate, by 
the Constitution of 1780, created a considerable 
number of Overseers whose knowledge of and interest 
in the College were slight or perfunctory, whose term 
was brief and uncertain, and whose time was fully oc- 
cupied with politics and legislation. In March, 1810, 
therefore, an amendment was passed to the following 
effect: "The Governor, Lieutenant-Covernor, Coun- 
cil, the President of the Senate, and Speaker of the 
House of Representatives, and the President of the 
College, for the time being, with fifteen ministers of 
Congregational Churches, and fifteen liiyraen, all in- 
habitants within the State, to be elected as provided 
in the act," were constituted " the 15oard of (Jverseers 
of Harvard College." The fifteen laymen were to be 
elected by the rest of the Board, which thus perpet- 
uated itself. The Legislature carefully respected the 
ancient privileges of the College, by providing that 
this act should not take effect until it had been ac- 
cepted by the Corporation and Overseers, which they 
did. In July, 1810, President Webber died, and was 
succeeded by the Rev. John Thornton Kirkland, 
pastor of the new South Church in Boston. 

Political partisanship then ran high, and, in 1812, 
the Senate complained that it had been deprived by 



94 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



the recent act of some of its privileges, and a bill to 
repeal it was introduced. The Corporation testified 
that the College had been benefited by the change, 
but the act was repealed and the previous one re- 
stored. The Corporation insisted that since the act 
of ISIO had become valid only by their consent and 
that of the Overseers, it could not be annulled with- 
out their approval. The Overseers waived all opin- 
ion as to the act of 1812 until the Supreme Court 
should pass upon it. They organized according to 
the act of 1810, and another Board organized accord- 
ing to the Constitution of 1780 ; the latter body, how- 
ever, exercised the funciions of de f(xcto Overseers 
until February, 1814, when, a change of parties in the 
control of the State Government having taken place, 
the act of 1810 was restored, and approved, and it 
remained in vigor for nearly forty years. 

The Presidency of Kirkland witnessed the expan- 
sion of Harvard from a College into a University, by 
the creation of several departments, or schools, in 
addition to the Academic department. Of these — tlie 
Medical School, the Divinity School, and the Law 
School — some account will be given later. Five pro- 
fessorships were founded, or for the first time filled, 
during Kirkland's term. The College received its 
las'- subsidy from the State, which, in 1814, appropri- 
ated a bank tax amounting to §10,000 annually for 
ten years "for the encouragement of literature, piety, 
morality, and the ijseful arts and sciences,'' with the 
restriction that a fourth part of this annual sum 
should go " towards the partial or total reduction of 
the tuition fees of such students, not exceeding one- 
half the whole number of any class, who may apply 
therefor, according to the judgment of the Corpora- 
tion." Of the unencumbered moneys, upwards of 
$21,400 were devoted to the building of the Medical 
School. In 1815 University Hall was completed at 
an expense of 165,000, p.irtly paid from the unappro- 
priated funds of the College, and partly from the bank 
tax. An act of February 12. 1814, increased the 
value of property exempt from taxation which the 
College might hold in Massachusetts, to the value of 
$12,000 /jcr annum, in addition to what it was then 
authorized to hold. 

In 1820 an etibrt was made towards the further lib- 
eralizing of the nieinbcrship of the Board of Over- 
seers, by declaring eligible to election the ministers 
of any Christian Church, irrespective of denomina- 
tion. The Corporation and Ovei'seers approved this 
reform, and a comm'ttee of delegates of the people 
of the Commonwealth, assembled to propose amend- 
ments to the Constitution, presented through its 
chairman, Daniel Webster, a fiivorable report. But 
when this amendment was submitted to a popular 
vote, the people of Massachusetts defeated it by 
21,123 votes in the negative, to 8020 in the affirma- 
tive. All clergymen who did not belong to C mgre- 
gational Churches still remained, therefore, under 
the ban. 



Kirkland's administration was early successful, in 
part owing to his energy and wisdom, and in part 
owing to the remarkable body of men who, as mem- 
bers of the Corporation, assisted him with their coun- 
sel and support. ' Previously to this time " the duties 
of President," says Quincy, " were limited to per- 
forming devotional services morning and evening in 
the chapel ; expounding some portion of Sciipture, or 
delivering some religious discourse, ' at least once a 
month;' presiding at meetings of the Corporation 
and Immediate Government [College Faculty] ; acting 
as recording officer of each of these bodies; and exe- 
cuting such duties as were specifically assigned to 
him, usually as chairman of a committee. The gen- 
eral superintendence of the seminary, the distribution 
of its studies, the appointment of Tutors in case of 
any sudden vacancy, and in short all the executive 
powers relative to discipline and instruction, when not 
exercised by the Corporation itself, were carried into 
effect by the President, Professors and Tutors, 
constituting a board denominated 'the Immediate 
Government.' In this board the President always 
stood in the relation of primus inter pares, without 
other authority than that of a double vote, in case of 
an equivote." In 1811 and 1812 the Corporation 
granted to the President larger powers ; authorizing 
him " from time to time to make such regulations re- 
specting the instruction and the government of the 
students as he shall think reasonable and expedient, 
which regulations shall have the force of laws till the 
same be disallowed by the Corporation and Over- 
seers ; " but he could not alter any punishment or 
mode of inflicting the same. Dr. Kirkland used this 
enlarged authority very sparingly, and, so far as the 
records show, he never exercised it without con- 
sulting the Faculty; but, during the latter part of his 
administration he was embarrassed by discontent 
which manifested itself both inside and outside of 
the Faculty, and sprang from various causes. 

In the first place, the old quarrel concerning who 
was eligible to be a Fellow was revived. In 1806, on 
the resignation of Professor Pearson and the election 
of Chief Justice Parsons to the Corporation, that 
body contained, for the first time in its history, no 
member of the Faculty; and as successive vacancies 
were filled by non-resident Fellows, the Faculty be- 
gan to surmise that a precedent had been established 
against the election of any of their number in the 
future. In 1823 they protested against the disposition 
"to degrade them to the rank of ministerial officers, 
and to subject them to the discretionary government 
of an individual," and they attributed the unsatisfac- 
tory condition which they thought existed in the 
College to the fact that they had no representative in 
the Corporation. Learning the details of the con- 

•From among the Fellows at tliis time (t81&-iO), I would mention 
Tlioophiliis rursons, John Lowell, John Phillips, Chri-topher Gore, 
William Trescott, Harrison Gniy Otis, Joseph Story, Nathaniel Bo\\- 
ditch, Williuni EUery ChauuiiiR and Charles Lowell, 



CAMBRIDGE. 



05 



troversy which had raged concerning Fellows a hun- 
dred years before, they "came to the conclusion that 
residence was originally a qualification for fellowship, 
and that, conforiuably to the Charter, the Cor])ori'.ti<jn 
ought to consist of Felloms — that is, of resident officers 
of the College." The death of the Hon. John Phil- 
lips (1828) gave them the opportunity they desired, 
and they presented a memorial to the Corporation, 
setting forth their claims. This thrust a dilemma 
upon the Corporation : if it elected a member of the 
Faculty, the memorialists would infer that their 
claim was recognized as just, and the non-resident 
Fellows would thereby seem to have no legal right to 
their ofBce; but if, on the other hand, a non-resident 
were chosen to succeed Phillips, the memorialists 
would urge that the policy of excluding the Faculty 
from representation was to be persisted in. The Cor- 
poration laid their ditiiculties before the petitioners, 
who immediately addressed the Overseers. The lat- 
ter, after deliberation, resolved, that it did not appear 
that the resident instructors had any exclusive right 
to be chosen members of the Corporation ; that non- 
resident Fellows did not therefor forfeit their offices; 
and that it was not expedient to express any opinion 
on the subject of future elections. The Hon. Charles 
Jackson; a non-resident, was soon afterwards nomi- 
nated, and, some explanations having passed between 
the Corporation and Overseers, he was confirmed. 
Thus was finally settled a dispute that had been settled 
in the same way a century before. 

About this time also the impression spread that the 
" discipline, instruction and morals " of the College 
needed correction. The Overseers accordingly ap- 
pointed a committee of seven, of which Joseph Story 
was chairman, to investigate. In May, 1824, they 
recommended various change.^, the principal being 
that the President should be accorded larger author- 
ity and should be relieved, as far as possible, from 
merely ministerial duties; that Professors and Tutors 
should be divided into separate departments, each 
depiirtment to have at its head a Professor who should 
superintend its studies and instiuctors, "with the 
privilege of recommending its instructors to the Cor- 
poration for appointment;" tfcat a board of three 
persons, presided over by a Professor, should look 
after the discipline of each College Hall, a similar 
board to superintend students who lodged outside of 
the College, but no extreme |)unisliment to be in- 
flicted without the President's cognizance and ap- 
proval ; that there be two classes of studies — those 
necessary for a degree and those which students 
might elect; that each class of students should be 
subdivided into sections for recitations, which should 
be " more searching than at present;" that students 
shouUl take notes at lectures, and pass an annual ex- 
amination ; that students should be admitted who did 
not wish a degree, but did wish '" to pursue particular 
studies to qualify them for scientific and mechanical 
employment and the active business of life;" that 



fines should be abolished, and records of conduct 
kept and sent quarterly to sludents' parents; that 
some officer .should "visit, every evening, the room of 
every student ; " that no student under sixteen years 
of age should be adniitt-'d ; that the expense of edu- 
cation should be reduced ; and that the visitatorial 
authority of the Overseers should be more efficient, 
the President and Professors to report to them at a 
meeting every winter. This recommendation met 
with strong opposition, led by the Rev. Andrews 
Norton; but at last (June 10, 1825) the Corporation 
passed a new code of laws, in which the " Immediate 
Government" was authorized to call itself the "Fac- 
ulty of the University," with power to act by com- 
mittees; the President was relieved of his nunisterial 
duties, was charged with executing the measures of 
the Faculty, but was not granted visitatorial power 
nor independent negative ; departments were created ; 
students were classified according to proficiency; the 
salaries of President and Professors were made to de- 
pend, in a measure, on the number of students ; per- 
sons not candidates for a degree were admitted to 
special study; examinations were made more frequent 
and vigorous; fines were abolished and a scheme of 
punishment — the various penalties of which were 
caution, warning, solemn admonition, official notice 
to parents, rustication and expulsion — were adopted. 

A thinl difficulty arose during this decade from the 
state of the College finances. The institution had 
expanded rapidly, but in so doing its expenditures 
had exceeded its revenues. More power had been al- 
lowed to President Kirkland in the disposal of the 
income, and he had favored the passage of a law by 
which a Tutor, after six years of satisfactory service, 
should be promoted to a profe.-'sorship, with an in- 
creased salary. The price of tuition was raised, one 
quarter, to fil'ty-five dollars per annum, and lest this 
should diminish the number of students the Corpora- 
tion undertook to " assist meritorious students when 
unable to pay the additional tuition.". Professors' 
salaries were also augmented. The grant from the 
Legislature of $10,000 for ten years served, while it 
lasted, to maintain this more expensive system, al- 
though a large part of the grant was devoted, as has 
been said, to the erection of theMedical School and to 
other purposes. When this grant ceased, the number 
of students fel! off. Already clamors for retrench- 
ment had been heard, but the Corporation hoped that 
the Legislature would continue its subsidies. When, 
however, it became evident (in 1824) that the Legis- 
lature would do no more, economy had to be rigidly 
practiced. The Treasurer's report for the year ending 
June 30, 1825, showed an excess of expenses over 
income of more than $4000, while there were but 
about 200 students, as compared with upwards of 300 
in 1824. .A^ committee of the Corporation made a 
thorough examination of the Treasurer's books for 
the past seventeen years, and found no evidence of 
misuse; they then proposed measures for retrench- 



96 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACtlUSETTS. 



ment, such as the union of professorships and the 
imposition of more work on instructors. The Presi- 
dent was asked to discharge his secretary, whose 
duties were transferred to the steward. Beneficiary 
aid to students from the unappropriated funds of the 
College was cut off, and the interest on appropriated 
funds was reduced from six to five and one-half per 
cent. The Treasurer was required to submit every 
month to the Overseers a statement of his expendi- 
tures, and he was authorized to make no payments 
without the sanction of that Board. By these reforms 
the annual deficit of the Cjllcge was wiped out, and 
"a foundation was laid for a prosperous state of its 
finances " (1S28). 

The students objected to the ordinance, referred to 
above, by which they were classified in sections ac- 
cording to proficiency, and their discontent was the 
cause of so frequent disorders, that the President 
advised that the obnoxious law be rescinded; and 
this was done (1827) in all departments except that 
of Modern Languages. Shortly afterward President 
Kirkland, who had previously suffered a stroke of 
paralysis, presented his resignation. He went out of 
office with the personal good-will even of those who 
had most strenuously opposed some of his innova- 
tions. Looking back upon his administration after 
more than sixty years, we can give it the praise it 
merits. Kirkland was the first President to show, by 
his acts, that he recognized the distinction between a 
college and a university ; he showed that he believed 
that Harvard should and could fulfil the duties of a 
university; and he devoted all his energy towards 
her expansion. He was instrumental in the erection 
of Hoi worthy, the original Jledical School, University 
and Divinity Hall ; and he saw the addition of five 
professorships (Eliot, Kumford, Royall, Smith and 
Dane) to the endowed foundations of the College. 

His successor, Josiah Quincy (1829-45), pursued, 
in general, the expansive policy already laid down. 
The number of students increased steadily, the aver- 
age of the graduating class being fifty-six, besides the 
members of the schools. The finances were correspond- 
ingly prosperous. In August, 1840, the capital of the 
University was estimated at $(546,2.3.5.17, of which, 
however, only $150,000 could be applied to the unre- 
served use of the C'ollege. In 1832 a Law School 
building was completed at the expense of Nathan 
Dane; and in 1839 the Library built from a legacy of 
Christopher Gore, at a cost of .f 73.000, was dedicated. 
In the latter year also William Cranch Bond trans- 
ferred his whole apparatus to Cimbridge, -was ap- 
pointed Astronomical Observer to the University, and 
was installed in suitable buildings, for which a foun- 
dation was laid by subscription. The religious tend- 
ency at this time was towards liberalism. Unitarian 
doctrines of what now seems a mild type had spread 
throughout Massachusetts and were supposed to have 
their nunsery at Harvard; but so conservative and 
timorous was the majority at the College that when 



Ralph Waldo Emerson delivered an address before 
the Divinity students (July 15, 1838), the College au- 
thorities and the public were alarmed at the boldness 
of his ideas, which some did not hesitate to say were 
subversive of religion and morals. Even the Rev. 
Henry Ware, Jr., felt obliged to declare that the 
prevalence of some of Emerson's statements "would 
tend to overthrow the authority and inlluence of 
Christianity." ' In 1834 the Legislature passed an 
act entitling clergymen of any denomination to stand 
as candidates for Overseers, but, this did not go into 
operation until 1843. 

The most important academic event during Quincy 's 
term was the celebration, on the 8th of September, 
183G, of the two hundredth anniversary of the found- 
ing of Harvard. A pavilion of white canvas was 
erected in the College grounds, near the present site 
of the Library, covering nearly 18,000 square feet, 
being 150 feet long and 120 feet broad; and supported 
in the centre by a pillar G5 feet high, and on the 
sides by 44 shorter pillars. Evergreens and flowers 
decorated the pillars; blue and white streamers "ra- 
diated from the centre to the sides of the tent," which 
were erected on sloping ground, so that "the tables 
rose one above another in the form of an amphi- 
theatre." The entrances to the College Halls were 
also decorated, and arches, bearing the names of Har- 
vard, Dunster and Chauncy, were erected over the 
three principal entrances to the grounds. On the 
morning of the celebration a white banner, on which 
was emblazoned the device of the first College seal, was 
raised over the pavilion. A vast concourse of graduates 
and sight-seeers thronged the town. At ten o'clock a 
procession was formed in front of the University, under 
the chief marshalship of Robert C. Wiuthrop; Samuel 
Emery, of the Class of 1774, headed the line of grad- 
uates, the oldest living graduate. Judge Wingate 
(Class of 1759), being unable to attend. The proces- 
sion marched to the Congregational Church, where 
Dr. Ripley "offered a solemn and fervent prayer;" 
then was sung "Fair Harvard," an ode written for 
the occasion by the Rev. Samuel T. Gilman (class of 
1819); after which "President Quincy commanded, 
during two hours, the attention of the audience." 
The services over, the procession moved to the pavil- 
ion, where 1500 jiersons partook of dinner. Edward 
Everett, the President of the day in the absence of 
H. G. Otis, began the speech-making, and was fol- 
lowed by exPres. Kirkland, Dr. Palfrey, Justice 
Story, Dr. J. C. Warren, Chief Justice Shaw, Governor 
Levi Lincoln, Daniel Webster, Leverett Saltoustall, 
Josiah Quincy, Jr., Robert C. Wiuthrop and other 
distinguished speakers, until eight o'clock in the 
evening, when the assembly was "adjourned to meet 
at this place on the 8th of September, 1936." The 
yard and buildings were then "brilliantly illuminated 
by the students, at the expense of the Corporation. 

1 J. E. Cabot's " Memoir of Euieraon," p. 332. 



CAMBRIDGE. 



97 



The name of each of the College halls appeared in 
letters of light, together with the dates of their erec- 
tion, and appropriate mottoes." 

During Quincy'a term the . old Congregational 
Church, which stood near where Dane Hall now 
.stands, was taken down (1833); the laud belonging to 
it was added to the College enclosure, and the new 
church (now the First Unitarian) was erected. Four 
j>rofessorships were founded by private benefactors in 
the University, viz.: Natural History (Fisher), His- 
tory (McLean), Eloquence (Parkman), Astronomy and 
Mathematics (Parkman). A fund was also subscribed 
for the purchase of books for the new Library. 
President Quincy resigned in August, 184-5, leaving 
behind him the reputation of having been "the Great 
Organizer of the University." He was succeeded by 
the Hon. Edward Everett, whose varied achievements 
in politics and literature had qualified him, it was 
thought, to direct the rapidly expanding University. 
But after three yeans of service he resigned, having 
found that the innumerable petty duties which were 
then thrust upon the President, from the oversight 
of " the spots on the carpet in a pew of the Chapel to 
the reception of the King's son on an occasion of 
ceremony," were "more than his flesh and blood could 
stand." Yet, during his brief term, he furthered the 
interests of Harvard. College House (1846), the Ob- 
servatory (1846) and the Lawrence Scientific School 
(1S48) were added during his administration, and 
one professorship, that of Anatomy (Parkman), was 
founded. The resources of Harvard were still quite 
inadequate to its needs, and in 1849 the State was 
petitioned for an appropriation; but to no purpose. 
The annual income from funds applicable to the Col- 
lege was but $26,633, whereas the expenses amounted 
to more than $40,000, so that the deficiency had to be 
made up from the tuition fee of the student-i, which 
was then (1848) §75.' Some persons interested in the 
College objected strongly to the efforts to convert it 
into a University — this title had been formally 
adopted by Pres. Everett — declaring that the real 
purpose of the institution should be to furnish a solid 
literary education, and not to provide mere smatterings 
in many departments. One critic condemned the 
rage for extravagance in buildings; the new Library, 
he said, had cost $73,000, while the fund for supply- 
ing it with books was only $21,000; whence he in- 
ferred that the Corporation set a value of seventy- 
three on stone and mortar and of only twenty-one on 
books. He protested also against increasing the cost 
of education, especially since Cambridge was an 
expensive place to live io.'^ 

At this time the constitution of the Board of Over- 
seers became again the object of much discussion. 
Many alumni favored the complete separation of the 
College from the State, and proposed a new system of 



' Sob S. a. Eliofs Sketch of Hilrvard College, p. 116. 

2 Soe article by Francis Buwon in tlio \ifitli Aitterican Ucview, Jan., 1850. 



election, whereby the Overseers should be a represen- 
tative instead of an e.r officio body. The full Board 
numbered eighty-three members — far too many for the 
speedy and efficient transaction of business. In 1800 
a Committee of the Legislature investigated the Col- 
lege, and reported that it failed " to answer the just 
exj)ectations of the people of the State," owing to the 
feet that its organization and instruction were adapted 
to the conditions of a quarter of a century before. 
Tlie next year an act was passed remodeling the 
Board of Overseers, which was to consist of " the 
Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, President of the 
Senate, and Speaker of the House of Representatives 
of the Commonwealth, the Secretary of the Board of 
Education, and the President and Treasurer of Har- 
vard College, for the time being, together with thirty 
other persons." Those thirty other persons were to 
be elected by the General Court, none of whose mem- 
bers was eligible ; they were to be divided into three 
classes of ten each, the first class to go out of office on 
the day of the next annual meeting of the General 
Court, " and so on in rotation, to be determined by lot." 
After the Board should be wholly renewed in this 
manner, it was to be divided into six classes of five 
each, each class to serve six years from the dale of its 
election. No person was eligible for re-election for 
more than one term immediately succeeding that for 
which he was first elected. This was a great step in 
advance ; the number of Overseers was reduced 
within reasonable limits, and the number of its ex 
officio members was now only five (not counting the 
President and Treasurer). But the pernicious in- 
fluence of politics was still felt in the election of the 
Overseers by the Legislature. Party intrigues and 
preferences, which should have no weight in an in- 
stitution consecrated to Truth, — which has never been 
the chief concern of politicians, — often determined 
the success or defeat of candidates, who were nomi- 
nated in party caucuses at the State House. A bill 
was therefore introduced in the Senate in 1854, to take 
the election out of the Legislature and to entrust it to 
the alumni of the College, but this bill was not 
enacted. Earlier than this, in 1851, the State poli- 
ticians thought to improve matters by tampering with 
the organization of the Corporation. They proposed 
to increase that Board to fifteen members, to be 
elected by the Legislature, in three classes of five each, 
one class to go our, every two years. Fortunately, this 
proposal, which would not only have introduced poli- 
tics into the Corporation, but also have made that body 
unstable and transitory, was not adopted. The scheme 
of 1854, by which Slate interference was to be 
abolished, depended on the raising of a fund of 
$200,000, the income from which, in sums of $100, 
was to be devoted to the assistance of one hundred 
worthy students. 

The internal affairs of the College progressed but 
slowly during the decade 1850-60. Jared Sparks, iho 
historian, was President from 1849 to 1853, and was 



98 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



followed by the Rev. James Walker (1853-60). The 
Elective System, of which an account will be found 
elsewhere, was not encouraged ; but the eflbrts to im- 
prove diacipline and to check hazing were vigorous, 
and the siandard of learning was perceptibly raised. 
Three professorships were endowed, one of Astronomy 
(Phillips, 1849) ; one of Christian Morals (Plummer, 
1855), and one of Clinic (Jackson, 1859). Appleton 
Chapel was erected in 1858, and the (Old) Gymnasium 
in 1860. Mr. Everett was ihe last President to live in 
Wadsworth House; President Sparks dwelt at the 
corner of Quincy and Kirkland Streets, and President 
Walker at No. 25 Quincy Street. In 1860 a fund 
given by Peter C. Brooks in 1846 had accumulated 
sufficiently to pay for the erection of anew residence 
for the President. Doubtless the most important addi- 
tion to the University during this period was due to 
the energy and genius of Professor Louis Agassiz, by 
whom valuable collections in natural history had been 
patiently made, and through whose enthusiasm money 
was raised for the erection of the first division of the 
Museum of Comparative Zoology in 1859. 

Professor Cornelius Conway Felton, eminent as a 
Greek scholar, was elected President in 1860, upon 
the resignation of Walker, and served until his death, 
in 1862, being succeeded by the Rev. Thomas Hill. 
This was a gloomy crisis in the history of the nation, 
and Harvard did not escape from its effects. The 
cost of living was considerably increased owing to 
the Civil War; nevertheless, tlie number of students 
did not diminish to the degree that might have been 
expected. The number of Seniors upon whom 
degrees were conferred between 1850 and 1859, 
average 82. The class of 1860 graduated 110— the 
largest up to that date; 1861,81; 1862,97; 1863, 
120; 1864, 99; 1S65, 84. President Hill's adminis- 
tration is memorable on two accounts: he initiated 
changes in the methods of instruction with a view to 
convert the College into a University, and he wit- 
nessed the final severing of the College from all 
interference by the State. On April 26, 1865, the 
Legislature passed a bill providing for the election of 
Overseers by " such persons as have received from 
the College a degree of Bachelor of Arts, or Master 
of Arts, or any honorary degree." The voting was 
fixed between the hours of ten A. m. and four P. M. 
at Cambridge, on Commencement Day; no member 
of the Corporation, or officer of government and instruc- 
ion was elegibie as an Overseer, or was entitled to 
vote ; and Bachelors of Arts were not allowed to vote 
until the fifth Commencement after their graduation. 
The Board of Overseers, as thus constituted, consists 
of thirty members, divided into six classes of five 
members each, every class serving six years. In 
case of a vacancy, the remaining Overseers can sup- 
ply it by vote, the person thus elected being " deemed 
to be a member of and to go out of office with the class 
to which his predecessor belongs." Among the other 
noteworthy events of President Hill's term were the 



building of Gray's Hall (1863), and the introduction 
of a series of University Lectures (1863) by specialists. 
These courses, rather popular in their nature, were 
open to all members of the University, and to the 
public on the payment of five dollar. The Academic 
Council, composed of the Professors and Assistant 
Professors in the various Faculties, was founded with 
a vi-iw to suggest the subjects to be lectured upon and 
to recommend lecturers. 

President Hill resigned September 30, 1868 ; 
Charles William Eliot (class of 1853), at that time a 
member of the Board of Overseers, was chosen to 
succeed him. May 19, 1869. President Eliot's 
administration, which has now extended over twenty- 
one years, has been unquestionably the most 
memorable in the history of the University. Changes 
more numerous and more radical have been wrought 
than in any previous period of the same length ; and 
they have afl'ected most deeply not only Harvard 
itself, but the higher education of the whole country. 
It is still too soon to pass final judgment on many of 
these changes, but it is not too soon to state that they 
mark the transformation of the College into a 
Univer.'*ity. Foremost among them is the unre- 
served adoption of the Elective System, loi.g and 
stubbornly opposed ; its privileges were handed 
down from class to class, until at last they reached 
the Freshmen. As a corollary to this, voluntary 
attendance at College exercises has been accorded to 
undergraduates, the experiment being tried first with 
the Seniors in 1874-75. The Law School has been 
completely reorganized ; its course has been length- 
ened from two years to three, and its instruction has 
been made methodical and progressive. A similar 
improvement has been effected in the Medical School, 
whose standard was raised above that of any other in 
the country, and whose course has been fixed at three 
years, with an extra year for those who care to avail 
themselves of it. The Divinity School, long on the 
verge of dissolution, has been resuscitated, and 
although it cannot yet be said to flourish, this is due 
to the general temper of the age in religious matters, 
rather than to the inadequacy of the facilities of the 
School itself Attempts have likewise been made to 
increase the efficiency of the Scientific School, but 
that 'institution seems to be inevitably tending 
towards absorption in the College. The School of 
Veterinary Medicine, the Bussey Institution, the 
.\rnold Arboretum, the Peabody Museum of American 
Archeology, and the transference of the Museum of 
Comparative Zoology to the College, are landmarks 
in the extension of the University in different direc- 
tions during the past twenty years. 

To this period belongs also another wise reform — 
the abolition of compulsory attendance at religious 
services. In 18G9the Faculty ceased to require those 
students who passed Sunday at home to attend 
Church, except as their guardians or parents desired ; 
and it reduced the number of services to be attende<l 



CAMBRIDGE. 



99 



by those who remained in Cambridge, from two to one. 
After much discussion and many petitions, attendance 
at prayers as well as at Sunday services, was left to the 
choice of the student. The old system of regulations 
was completely recast : the Faculty recognized that it 
h<\d a more useful worlv to perform than to inspect 
the frogs and buttons on the student's coats, or to fix 
the hour for going to bed. The decorum of the 
undergraduates has improved in proportion as their 
independence has widened. Hazing has disappeared, 
and cases of serious disorder have been rare. Crib- 
bing at examination, which a majority of students 
deemed venial wlien studies were prescribed, has 
almost passed away, since studies have been elective. 
In 1869 the semi-annual exhibitions, which used to 
be held when a committee of the Overseers visited 
the College, were abandoned, since it was found that 
they no longer served their original purpose of stimu- 
lating the ambition of students. In the following 
year the system of conferring " honors" on students 
who had passed a successful special examination in 
some one department — as the Classics, or Mathe- 
matics — at the end of their Sophomore or Senior 
year, was introduced. In 1872 the Academic Coun- 
cil was remodeled, to suggest candidates for the 
higher degrees, A.M., Ph.D. and S.D., and these 
degrees acquired a real value from the fact that they 
repreaented a specified amount of graduate work. 
Indeed, the policy of the University has been to 
abolish the old custom of conferring meaningless de- 
grees. Even those which are purely honorary in 
their nature (LL.D. and D.D.) have been bestowed 
more sparingly. The venerable practice of confer- 
ring the degree of Doctor of Laws on the Governor 
for the time being of Massachusetts — a practice which 
arose when that dignitary was ex officio the President 
of the Board of Overseers — was broken up in 1883, 
when Benjamin F. Butler was Governor of the Com- 
monwealth, and it is probable that the precedent 
will never be revived. 

The salaries of the teachers was raised in 18G9 — 
that of professors being fixed at $4000, that of assist- 
ant professors at $2500, and that of instructors at 
$1000; but these figures represent the maximum, 
and not the average sums received in the respective 
grades. In the current year (1890) another small 
increase has been made ; but the smallness of the 
teachers' stipends, when compared with the income 
which successful doctors, lawyers and clergymen re- 
ceive for intellectual work of relatively the same 
quality, indicates that public sentiment still holds 
educators dangerously cheap. Fine dormitories, 
spacious halls, vast museums and costly apparatus 
do not make a university ; men, and only men of 
strong intellect, of wisdom and spirituality, can make 
a univer-ity ; and they can be secured only by pay- 
ing them an adequate compensation. Until society 
recognizes that the ideal educator is really beyond 
all price, it will go on sull'ering from evils and lo.saes 



which a proper education might prevent. To lighten 
the work of the Harvard professors, the Corporation 
have granted them a leave of absence for one year out 
of every seven. Further, a subscription has recently 
been opened to a fund to provide a pension for those 
professors who, after a long service, are incapacitated 
from either age or feebleness. In 1872 the experi- 
ment of conducting "University Lectures" was 
found to be unsuccessful ; but it was still maintained 
with good results in the Law School till 1874. Sum- 
mer courses in Chemistry and Botany were ofiered to 
teachers and other students (1874), and they have 
constantly grown in usefulness, so thatsimilar courses 
in other departments have been added. In 1875 
spring examinations for the University were held in 
Cincinnati, and this scheme, too, proved so beneficial 
that it has been extended to several other distant 
cities, and to some of the preparatory schools. In 
that same year Evening Readings, open- alike to the 
public and students, were introduced; and they were 
repeated from year to year. Latterly, more formal 
lectures. College Conferences, etc., have partly super- 
seded them. 

The method of instruction is now by lectures and 
not liy recitations in all tliose courses -where lectures 
can be given to greater advantage. The marlcing 
system — a survival from the old seminary days, when 
marks were sent home regularly every quarter — has 
been overhauled and reduced to the least obnoxious 
condition. Formerly, the maximum mark for any 
recitation was eight; the students were ranked for 
the year on a scale of 100, but, though the scale was 
the same, uo two instructors agreed in tlieir use of it. 
Some were " hard " and some were "soft" markers; 
some frankly admitted that it was impossible to get 
within five or ten per cent, of absolute exactness ; 
others were so delicately constituted that they could 
distinguish between fractions of one per cent. One 
instructor was popularly supposed to possess a mark- 
ing "machine; " another sometimes assigned marks 
less than zero. These anomalies were long recognized 
before a simple and more rational scheme was 
adopted, in 1886. " In each of their courses students 
are now divided into five groups, called A, B, C, D 
and E ; E being composed of those who have not 
passed. To graduate, a student must have passed in 
all his courses, and have stood above the group D in at 
leastone-fourthof his college work; and for the various 
grades of the degree, honors, honorable mention, etc., 
similar regulations are made in terms of A, B, C, etc., 
instead of in per cents, as formerly." ' The increase 
in the number of instructors in the various depart- 
ments has also brought about what was first proposed 
in President Kirkland's time — the autonomy of each 
department over its own affairs, subject, of course, to 
the approval of the governing boards. 
Examinations are now held twice a year, at the 

> W. C. Lani) in the Third Kepurt of tko Clius of 18SI. 



100 



HISTOKY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



end of January and in June, lasting about twenty 
days at each period. The examinations, except in 
courses involving laboratory work, are nearly all 
written, of three hours' length each. President Eliot, 
then Tutor in Mathematics, was the first to introduce 
written examinations, in the course under his charge, 
in 1854-55. Before that tests were oral. The Col- 
lege calendar was reformed in 1869, previous to which 
date a long vacation had been assigned to the winter 
months, chiefly for the benefit of poor students who 
partly supported themselves by teaching school for a 
winter term. As re-arranged, the College year extends 
from the last Thursday in September to the last 
Wednesday in June, with ten days' recess at Christ- 
mas and a week at the beginning of April. 

The remarkable expansion of the University dur- 
ing the past twenty years — to which expansion these 
changes bear witness — has been as great in material 
and financial concerns, as in policy. In 1869 the 
resources of Harvard amounted to $2,257,989.80, and 
the income to $270,404.63; in 1889 the capital was 
$6,874,046.25, and the income was $913,824.72. Five 
large dormitories have been erected, viz. : — Thayer 
Hall, the gift of Nathaniel Thayer, in 1870 ; Holyoke, 
erected by the Corporation, in 1871 ; Matthews Hall, 
the gift of Nathan Matthews, and Weld Hall, the 
gift of William F. Weld, in 1872 ; and Hastings Hall, 
the giit of Walter Hastings, in 1889. An addition to 
the Library, by which its capacity was more than 
doubled, was completed in 1877. Austin Hall, the 
new Law School, was built from plans by H. H. Rich- 
ardson in 1883 ; the same architect designed Sever 
Hall (lecture and recitation rooms) in '1880. In 
1871 a mansard roof was added to Boylston Hall, 
the Chemical Laboratory; and College House was 
enlarged during the same year, when also the lecture- 
room and laboratory of the Botanic Garden were 
completed. The Jefferson Physical Liboratory (for 
which Thomas Jefferson Coo'idge was the chief con- 
tributor), was finished in 1S83 ; that year the new 
Medical School in Boston was first occupied. The 
Museum of Comparative Z )ology has grown by succes- 
sive additions, the cost of which has been largely de- 
frayed by Alexander Agassiz, until it now (1890) covers 
the two sides of the quadrangle originally proposed by 
Louis Agassiz ; and on the third side the Peabody 
Museum of Archasology, begun in 1876 and added to 
in 1889, h.as almost reached the point of junction. 
The Bussey Institution (1870), the School of Veter- 
inary Medicine (1883) and the Library of the Divinity 
School (1886) are further monuments of President 
Eliot's administration. For athletic purposes several 
buildings have been erected during this period : the 
University Boat House (1870), the Hemenway Gym- 
nasium (1879), the Weld Boat House (1890) and the 
Cary Athletic Building (1890). 

One other edifice. Memorial Hall, deserves a more 
extended notice. In May, 1865, a large number of 
graduates held a meeting in Boston to discuss plans 



for erecting a memorial to those alumni and students 
of Harvard who lost their livfs in behalf of the 
Union during the Civil War. A Committee of eleven 
were appointed, consisting of Charles G. Loring, II. 
W. Emerson, S. G. Ward, Samuel Eliot, Martin 
Brimmer, H. H. Coolidge, E. W. Hooper, C. E. 
Norton, T. G. Bradford, H. B. Rogers and 
James Walker. At another meeting, in July, 
they presented a report, in which was the following 
resolution : " Resohed, That in the opinion of the 
graduates of Harvard College, a ' Memorial Hall ' 
constructed in such manner as to indicate in its ex- 
ternal and internal arrangements the purpose for 
which it is chiefly designed ; in which statues, busts, 
portraits, medallions and mural tablets, or other 
appropriate memorials may be placed, commemo- 
rative of the graduates and students of the Col- 
lege who have fallen, and of those who have served 
in the army and navy during the recent Rebellion, in 
conjunction with those of the past benefactors and 
distinguished ^ons of Harvard now in her keeping, — 
and with those of her sons who shall hereafter prove 
themselves worthy of the like honor, — will be the 
most appropriate, enduring and acceptable commem- 
oration of their heroism and self-sacrifice ; and that 
the construction of such a hall in a manner to render 
it a suitable theatre or auditorium for the literary 
festivals of the College or of its filial institutions 
will add greatly to the beauty, dignity and efi'ect of 
such memorials and tend to preserve them unim- 
paired, and with constantly increasing association of 
interest to future years." At Commencement this 
resolution was brought before the alumni. After 
considerable discussion, in which some speakers pro- 
posed that a simple monument or obelisk would be 
more appropriate than a building, the matter was 
referred to a Committee of Fifty, which, on Septem- 
ber 23d, reported in favor of a memorial hall. 
Messrs. Ware & Van Brunt, architects, were requested 
to submit plans, which were formally adopted at 
the following Commencement. It was also voted 
that the biographies of the Harvard men who served 
in the war be printed. Subscriptions were immedi- 
ately solicited and the College conveyed the land 
known as the Delta for the site of the new edifice. 
The corner-stone was laid October 6, 1870, with a 
prayer by the Rev. Phillips Brooks, addresses by the 
Hon. J. G. Palfrey, the Hon. William Gray, the Hon. 
E. R. Hoar, a hymn by Dr. O. W. Holmes and a ben- 
ediction by the Rev. Thomas Hill. The dedication 
ceremonies took place July 23, 1874. The total sum 
raised was $305,887.54. Sanders Theatre, to whose 
erection was devoted the accumulations from a be- 
quest by Charles Sanders (of the class of 1802), was 
completed in 1876, in time to be used for the Com- 
mencement exercises of that year. The portraits and 
busts belonging to the College were placed in Memo- 
rial Hall, which has since been used by the Dining 
Association. 



CAMBRIDGE. 



101 



Thus has the University augumented its resources 
during tlie past twenty years. The gifts have been 
most generous, but as they have for the most part 
been designed by their donors for especial purposes, 
the unrestricted means at the disposal of the Corpora- 
tion have not increased in proportion with the needs. 
Two curious bequests may be cited to sliow how 
unwise are benefactions subject to restriction. In 
1716 the Rev. Daniel Williams left an annuity of 
£60 for the support of two preachers among the 
" Indians and Blacks," and in 1790 Mrs. Sarah Win.s- 
low gave £1367 in support of a minister and school- 
master in the town of Tyngsborough : the Treasurer 
of the College is still paying the income from these 
donations for the benefit of the nondescript Marshpee 
Indians and for the schooling of the children of 
Tyngsborough. The great fire in Boston in 1872 
seriously affected the revenue of the College, but the 
deficit caused thereby was made good by a subscrip- 
tion. The only other untoward event was the burn- 
ing of the upper part of HoUis Hall in 1876. 

It is impossible to specify more particularly the be- 
quests which have enriched Harvard during the past 
two decades. The income now at the disposal of the 
College for beneficiary purposes amounts to more th&n 
$45,000 per annum — a sum sufficient to warrant the 
assertion made in the College Catalogue " that good 
scholars of high character but slender means are very 
rarely obliged to leave College for want of money." 
Nor can space be spared to enumerate the various 
prizes for essays, speaking, reading, etc., which are an- 
nually awarded. Mention should be made, however, of 
a few matters upon which it would be pleasant to en- 
large. In 1870-71 the Corporation negotiated with the 
Trustees of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 
for the consolidation of the lus-titute with the Scien- 
tific Department at Harvard — the united institution 
to be called the Technological School, and to have its 
seat in the Institute's building..in Boston. After sev- 
eral propositions and much deliberation, however, the 
two bodies could reach no satisfactory agreement, and 
the project was abandoned. Another scheme which 
niay be realized hereafter — the admission of women to 
the privileges of the University — has been agitated 
from time to time during the past twenty years. In 
1809 one woman asked to be admitted to the Divinity 
School, and another to the Scientific School, but the 
Corporation refused. In 1873, however, at the solici- 
tation of the Woman's Educational Association, 
they consented to hold entrance and final exami- 
nations, and to give certificates to those candidates 
who passed creditably. The number of women «ho 
have availed themselves of this concession has never 
been large ; but in 1880 an association for the Colle- 
giate Education of Women opened in Cambridge an 
institution, popularly known as the " Annex," where 
courses are offered similar to those given in the Col- 
lege, and are conducted by Harvard professors and 
instructors. From this unofficial connection, it is pos- 



sible that the co-education of the sexes may ultimately 
be introduced into the University. 

In 1880 an act passed the Legislature amending the 
College Charter so as to allow persons who are not 
inhabitants of Massachusetts, but who are otherwise 
qualified, to be eligible as Overseers. This change 
was due to the fact that in New York there is a large 
body of alumni who wished to have a representation 
on the Board of Overseers. In 1881 an Overseer was 
elected from Philadelphia. The question of allowing 
graduates of the Law and Medical Schools to vote for 
Overseers has recently been discussed, but it has not 
yet met the approval of the governing boards. In 
1889 an amendment was passed modifying the count- 
ing of votes. The celebration, iu 1886, of the 250lh 
anniversary of the founding of the College, is still 
too recent to require a detailed notice. 

In concluding this portion of this historical sketch 
it may be well to give a few statistics, from which the 
remarkable recent expansion of the University cau 
be more clearly seen : 

Membership, 

1809. 1889. 

Undergraduates 563 1271 

Graduate Scholars '. . , . 2 

Resideut Graduates -. . . 4 93 

Divinity School 36 35 

Law School 120 26-1 

Scientific School ^ 43 65 

School of Mining 9 

Medical School 306 2UU 

Dental School 16 35 

Bussey luatitution 2 

Veterinary Department 20 

Nou-reaident Graduates 10 

1U84 2097 

University Courses 13 

Summer Schools 220 

In 1869 the corps of instructors numbered 84 ; in 
1889, 217. The College Library in the former year 
had 121,000 volumes, and the libraries of the other 
departments, 63,000 volumes; iu 1889 the College Li- 
brary bad 268,551 volumes, and 256,737 pamphlets, 
and the other departments had 86,868 volumes and 
29,041 pamphets. 

The Medical School.— In the year 1780, Drs. 
Samuel Danforth, Isaac Rand, Thomas Kast, John 
Warren and some others formed an association called 
"The Boston Medical Society." On November 3, 

1781, this Society voted, "that Dr. John Warren be 
desired to demonstrate a course of Anatomical Lec- 
tures the ensuing Winter." Dr. Warren was the 
younger brothe» of Joseph Warren who fell at the 
battle of Bunker Hill. His course was popular, and 
led President Willard, and some of the Fellows of 
Harvard, who had attended his lectures, to discuss 
the organization of a Medical School to be attached 
to the College. Dr. Warren drew up a scheme, which 
was placed before the Corporation September 19, 

1782. Twenty-two articles were adopted, among 
which w«s one establishing "a Professorship of An- 
atomy and Surgery ; a Professorship of the Theory 



102 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



and Practice of Physic ; and a Professorship of 
Chemistry and Materia Medica." It was further re- 
quired that each professor should be a " Master of 
Arts, or graduated Bachelor or Doctor of Physics ; of 
the Christian Religion and of strict morals." The 
first professors were Dr. John Warren (Anatomy and 
Surgery), Dr. Aaron Dexter (Chemistry and Materia 
Medica) and Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse (Theory 
and Practice of Medicine). They lectured in Cam- 
bridge in 1783 ; a few medical students, and such 
Seniors as had obtained their parents' consent, at- 
tended. Three years of study, involving attendance 
on two courses of lectures — -which was reduced in some 
cases, to attendance on one course, the longest being 
only four mouths — were required of those who pre- 
sented themselves as candidates for a degree. Students 
who were not graduates of the college had to pass a 
preliminary examination in the Latin Language and 
in Natural Philosophy. The degree of Bachelor of 
Medicine was first conferred in 1785; that of M.D. in 
1788, upon John Fleet. 

The facilities for instruction were of the scantiest: 
one anatomical specimen ; only such clinical cases as 
were oftercd by the private patients of the professors ; 
merely elementary chemical apparatus. And yet, 
thanks to the skill and energy of Dr. Warren and his 
two coadjutors, the School, despite its barren begin- 
nings, slowly grew. Dr. Waterhouse deserves to be 
remembered not only for his lectures, but also for es- 
tablishing a Botanical Garden at t!ambridge ; for pro- 
curing the first collection of minerals, and for intro- 
ducing the practice of vaccination into this country. 
The graduates during the first twenty years were few 
— sometimes only one or two a year. In 1806 Dr. 
John Collins Warren was appointed Assistant Pro- 
fessor of Anatomy and Surgery, under his father ; 
three years later, Dr. John Gorham was appointed 
Adjunct Professor of Chemistry and Materia Medica. 
In the latter year Dr. J. C. Warren opened a room 
for the study of Practical Anatomy, at No. 49 Marl- 
borough Street, Boston, and in the Autumn of 1810 
the first course of lectures to members of the Harvard 
Medical School was given at that place in Boston. 
Furthermore, in 1810, Dr James Jackson was ap- 
pointed Lecturer on Clinical Medicine ; he succeeded 
to Dr. Waterhouse's professorship in 1812, and gave 
his students clinical instruction by taking them with 
him on his visits to the patients at the almshouse. 

In 1813 thirteen diplomas were conferred, and the 
need of a special building was so urgent that a grant 
therefor was obtained from the Legislature. In 1810 
this building — a plain, two-story edifice with an attic 
— was opened in Mason Street, under the name of the 
"Massachusetts Medical College." In 1821 the Mass- 
achusetts General Hospital was opened in Allen Street, 
largely through the eflbrts of the Medical School pro- 
fessors who thus secured ample material for study. In 
1815 Dr. J. C.Warren succeeded his father as Professor 
of Anatomy andSurgery, and Dr. Walter Channing was 



appointed Professor of Obstetrics and Medical Juris- 
prudence. Dr. Warren held his position for thirty- 
two years, until his resignation, in 1847, holding the 
highest rank among the New England surgeons of his 
time, and contributing by his learning and enthusi- 
asm to the steady growth of the School, to which he 
bequeathed a valuable anatomical collection. In 1831 
the Faculty of the Medical School, distinct from that 
of the College, was organized. Assistant professor- 
ships and lectureships had to be added from time to 
time to meet the increased demands, and in 1847 Dr. 
George C. Shattuck endowed a chair of Pathological 
Anatomy. The preceding year, the old building on 
Mason Street had been sold to the Boston Natural 
History Society, and a larger building was erected in 
North Grove Street, on land given for that purp.ise 
by Dr. George Parkman. The chemical laboratory, 
affording room for 138 students, occupied the basement 
of this new building; the physiological and micro- 
scopic laboratories were in the attic, and the other 
stories were devoted to rooms for lectures and demon- 
strations. 

The standard of the School has been steadily raised. 
At first, as we have seen, a student was reipiired to 
attend only one or two courses of a maximum dura- 
tion of four months during three years. Then, down 
to 1859, he was expected to attend two winter terms 
of four months, and to produce a certificate from 
some physician that he had studied under him dur- 
ing the rest of the required three years. In 1859 
the Winter Course was supplemented by a Summer 
Course. During the next dozen years a better, but 
still an imperfect curriculum was adopted. The stu- 
dent was " expected to attend ' two courses of lec- 
tures,' taking tickets for all the branches, and being, 
of course, expected to attend daily five, .six, or more 
lectures on as many different subjects, inasmuch as 
he had paid for them as being all of equal import- 
ance to him. In addition to this, he was expected to 
devote a considerable portion of his time to practical 
anatomy, if not to other special work in the labora- 
tories of different branches. It was a great feast of 
mariy courses to which the student was invited, but 
they were all set on at once, which was not the best 
arrangement either for mental appetite or digestion."" 
In 1871, however, a reform was made, the essential 
provisions of which still obtain. " The whole aca- 
demic year is now devoted to medical instruction. It 
is divided into two terms, the first beginning in Sep- 
tember and ending in February ; the second, after a 
recess of a week, extending from February to the 
last part of June. Each of these terms is more than 
the equivalent of the former winter term. The 
most essential change of all is that the instruction is 
made progressive, the students being divided into 
three classes, taking up the different branches in their 
natural succession, and passing through the entire 

1 Dr. 0. W. Holmes, in The Harvard Book, i, 248. 



CAMBRIDGE. 



103 



range of their medical stu'lies in due order, in place 
of having the whole load of knowledge upset at once 
upon them. Practical instructions in the various 
laboratories have been either substituted foe, or added 
tOj the didactic lectures, and .ittendance upon them 
is expected of the student as much as on the lec- 
tures."' Since 1877 those candidates for the Medi- 
cal School who have not already a Bachelor's degree, 
have been obliged to pass an entrance examination. 

The stricter requirements, the more difficult course, 
and the raising of the tuition fee to $200, prevented 
the membership of the School from increasing rap- 
idly. But the value of first-rate training in this pro- 
fession — which has made greater advances than any 
other during the past half-century — was gradually 
recognized, and the slow but healthy growlh in mem- 
bership called for more room and greater facilities. 
In 1SS3 a new School building on the Back Bay, near 
Copley Square, was completed. In ISSO an extra 
year was added to the regular course, but students 
were not required to take it. Between 1881 and 
1887, 487 degrees were conferred. In 1888 the 
Elective System wa.s partially introduced, and the 
experiment proved successful. Summer courses, 
chiefly clinical in character, were also added, and 
have been largely attended. In that year the re- 
ceipts of the School were $78,791.57, and the ex- 
penditures $68,032.71. 

The Law School. — In 1815 a professorship of 
Law was endowed by a bequest from Isaac Royall, 
its incumbent being required to give a course of lec- 
tures to the Seniors. In 1817 the University estab- 
lished a Law Department, the only professor being 
the Hon. Asahel Stearns. In 1829 Nathan Dane 
endowed another chair, which was filleil by the Hon. 
Joseph Story, and, in 1832, the same benefactor gave 
a Hall, called by his name, to the University. Pre- 
vious to the erection of this, the Old Law School, the 
quarters of the School had been in what is now Col- 
lege House. In 1829-30 there were thirty-two stu- 
dents ; thirty years later there were 152. But the 
instruction was irregular and unsatisfactory, although 
among the instructors were men of ability. There 
was neither an entrance nor a final examination. 
The course, nominally of two years, really permitted 
the student to acquire no more than he could have 
acquired in one year's systematic study. This disor- 
derly condition lasted until 1870, when radical re- 
forms were introduced, tlirough the co-operation of 
the new Dean, Professor C. C. Langdell. Residence 
during the Academic year was made obligatory ; di- 
plomas were conferred on only those candidates who 
had passed a satisfactory examination ; the tuition 
fee was raised from $100 to $150 ; but no entrance 
examination was yet required. In 1877 the standard 
of the School was again raised, by extending the 
course from two to three years, and in that year en- 

1 Dr. 0. W. Holmes, in The Hanmd Eouk, i, 24s. 



trance examinations were established, the candidate 
being examined in Caj^ar, Cicero, Vergil, and in 
Blackstone's Commenlarics. Since that time thr in- 
crease in the number of students who were also 
graduates of a college has been steady — an indication 
of the wider recognition of the advantages of a col- 
legiate education as a base for professional success. 
In 1883 a new building for the Law School was 
erected after the plans by H. H. Richardson, from a 
bequest by Edwin Austin. Three years later the 
alumni of the Law School formed an Association, 
which has contributed to the prosperity of that de- 
partment. The students have several law clubs, a 
mock court, etc., from which they derive much profit, 
outside of their regular work. The receipts of the 
School in 1889 were $45,714.15; the expenses were 
$38,85L27. At che present time (1890) there are 254 
students. The Harvard Law lieviem, founded in 
1887, is published by the School. The instruction 
consists of the following courses: Firdyear. — Con- 
tracts (three lectures per week) ; Property (two) ; 
Torts (two) ; Civil Procedure and Common Law 
(one) ; Criminal Law and Procedure (one). Second 
year. — Bills of Exchange and Promissory Notes 
(two); Contracts (two); Evidence (two); Jurisdic- 
tion and Procedure in Equity (two) ; Property (two); 
Sale of Personal Property (two) ; Trusts (two). 
Third year. — Agency (two); Constitutional Law 
(two) ; Jurisdiction and Procedure in Equity (two) ; 
Partneiship and Corporation (two); Suretyship and 
Mortgages (two); Jurisdiction and Practice in United 
States Courts (one) ; Law of Persons (one) ; Coniiict 
of Laws (one hour for half year) ; Points in Legal 
History (one hour for half year). 

Museum of Comparative Zoology. — This im- 
portant department of the University is the monument 
of the genius and zeal of one man — Louis Agassiz. 
Born at Motiers, Switzerland, in 1807, he came to this 
country to lecture in 184(!. In the following year 
Abbott Lawrence founded the Scientific School, and 
the Professorship of Zoology was offered to Agassiz, 
who accepted it and entered on its duties in 1848. As 
the College possessed no collections of natural his- 
tory, Agassiz began to make them at his own expense, 
and a wooden building — now the Old Society Build- 
ing on Holmes Field, but first called Zoological Hall 
— was put up to shelter them. In 1852 friends of the 
College raised $12,000, and purchased the collection, 
to which .4gassiz continued to add. In 1858 Francis 
C. Gray left $50,000 to the Corporation for the estab- 
lishment of a Museum of Comparative Zoology, and 
the Massachusetts Legislature, at the instance of the 
indefatigable-naturalist, appropriated (1859) one hun- 
dred thousand dollars, payable from sales of lands in 
the Back Bay district, towards the erection of a suit- 
iible museum. By private subscription $71,125 
were also raised. The College ceded .about five 
acres, and on June 17, 1859, the cornerstone was laid. 
Agassiz's plan was for a building 3G4 feet long by 04 



104 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



feet wide, with two wings, each 205 feet in length and 
64 in width. Two-fifths of the north wing were first 
completed, and sufficed for the then existing collec- 
tion. The War of the Kebellion checked both public 
and private munificeGce, except that, in 1863, the 
Legislature granted $10,000 for the publication of an 
" Illustrated Catalogue of the Museum," but speci- 
mens were steadily accumulated. In 1S65 Professor 
and Mrs. Agassiz and several assistants made an ex- 
pedition to Brazil at the expense of Nathaniel Thayer; 
and returned after more than a year, with very large 
and rare collections. More room being needed, the 
Legislature, in 1868, appropriated 175,000, further in- 
creased from private sources, and the north wing was 
completed (1871). In 1871 Agassiz was appointed 
Director of a Deep-Sea Exploring Expedition, fitted 
out by the United States Coast Survey Bureau, and 
in the small steamer, the "Hassler," he explored the 
West Indies, skirted the Eastern Coast of South 
America, rounded Cape Horn and ascended the Pa- 
cific Coast to San Francisco. The fruits of this ex- 
pedition were added to the collections at the Museum. 
In 1873 Mr. John Anderson, of New York, gave to 
the Trustees of the Museum the Island of Penikese, 
together with $50,000, to found a summer School of 
Natural History. On December 14, 1873, Agas-iz 
died. As a fitting memorial to the great naturalist a 
subscription fund was raised, amounting to $310,674, 
of which $.50,000 was voted by the State, and $7594 was 
subscribed in small amounts by 87,000 school teachers 
and school children throughout the country. This 
fund was devoted to the maintenance of the Mu.seum. 
In 187G the institution was formally handed over to 
the University, but on the express condition that its 
Faculty should retain their privileges of indepen- 
dence. The Curator alone is appointed by the Har- 
vard Corporation. Alexander Agassiz has been the 
Curator since 1875, and it is owing chiefly to his per- 
sonal munificence and solicitude that the great edi- 
fice planned by his father has been brought almost to 
completion. The floor area of the natural history 
portion of the Museum is four acres, distributed as 
follows : Lecture-rooms, laboratories, general and 
special, and professors' room, 51,500 sq. ft. ; exhibi- 
tion-rooms (open to the public) 49,432 sq. ft. ; storage- 
rooms, including work-rooms for si)ecialists, 41,978 
sq. ft. ; library and reading-room, 5300 sq. ft. ; pho- 
tographic-room, coal and boiler-room, packing-room 
and Curator's rooms, 4884 sq. ft. ; hall and stairs, partly 
available for specimens, 21,220 ft. For many years 
past the Museum authorities have i)ublished occa- 
sional BuUrtins. 

Other Depaktments. — Divinity School.— For al- 
most the whole of the first two centuries instruction 
in Divinity was a part of the regular academic 
course. In 1815, however, the proposal was made 
to found a separate school, which was organized 
in 1819. In 1826 Divinity Hall was built, through 



the efforts of the Society for the Promotion of Theo- 
logical Education in Harvard University. Originally 
Unitarian in its teachings, the School declined after 
the first Athusiastic period of Unitarianism had been 
spent. In 1879 a subscription was opened to save the 
institution from collapsing, and the result was so satis, 
factory that since that time the School has been able to 
resume its activity. The instruction is non-sectarian, 
extending over three years ; and students are at liberty 
to elect courses in other departments of the University. 
The tuition fee is only $50 a year, but President Eliot, 
in his report for 1888-89, wisely recommended that it be 
raised to the level of that of the other Cambridge de- 
partments. "The Protestant ministry," he says, "will 
never be put on a thoroughly re,'^])ectable footing in 
modern society until the friar or mendicant element 
is completely eliminated from it. There are no good 
reasons why Protestant students of theology should be 
taught fed and lodged gratuitously ; students of law, of 
medicine or of the liberal arts are not." The receipts 
of the Divinity School in 1889 were $27,938.85 ; the 
payments were $27,513.63. The students in 1890 
number thirty-five. 

The Peabody Museum, of American Archceology and 
Ethnology was founded by George Peabody, of I/on- 
don, in 18G6, with a gift of $150,000, of which 
$60,000 were set aside for a building fund, and the 
remainder was devoted to the purchase of collec- 
tions and specimens. Jeffries Wyman was Curator 
of the Museum till 1874. The collections were 
stored in Boylston Hall till 1876, when, the 
building fund having accumulated to $100,000, a 
building was begun. A large addition was made to 
it in 1889. Besides acquiring collections by purchase 
and exchange, the officers of the Museum have con- 
ducted explorations in several parts of the American 
continent. The institution, although forming a part 
of the University, is under the direction of a Board of 
Trustees, originally appointed by Mr. Peabody, and. 
renewed from time to time, when vacancies occurred, 
by themselves. 

Hie Busaey Institution, a school of agriculture and 
horticulture, was founded by James Bussey, who died 
in 1861. Projierty in Jamaica Plain, valued at $413,- 
000, was transferred to the University; one-fourth of 
the income was, according' to the terms of Mr. 
Bussey's will, applied to the Divinity School, and 
one-fourth to the Law Scl^ool. In 1871 a building 
was erected ; sheds and green-houses soon followed. 
In 1870 James Arnold bequeathed $100,000 for the 
encouragement of agriculture and horticulture, and 
with this sum nurseries were established in connec- 
tion with Bussey Institution, where a park, open to 
the public, has been laid out, the City of Boston co- 
operating with the Harvard Corporation for its main- 
tenance. In 1879 a professorship of agriculture was 
founded. 

In 1882 the Faculty of the Veterinary School was 



CAMBRIDGE. 



105 



organized ; the following year a hospital was built, 
and ninestudentsattended. The course, covering three 
years, embraces instruction in anatomy, physiology, 
chemistry, botany, materia niedica, therapeutics, the 
theory and practice of veterinary medicine, surgery 
and allied subjects. The School still lacks a proper 
endowment. 

The Dental School, organized in 1867, confers diplo- 
mas upon students who have studied medicine or den- 
tistry three whole years, at least one continuous year 
of which must have been spent at the School. The 
instruction of the first year is identical with that of 
the Medical School ; then follow courses in dentis- 
try. The fees for the first year are §200 ; for the sec- 
ond, $150, and for any subsequent year $50. In the 
present year (1890) the school has 35 members. The 
school was located at No- 50 Allen Street, Boston, from 
1S70 till 1883, when it removed to the old Medical 
School quarters in North Grove Street. 

The Botanic Garden, founded in 1805, contains 
about seven and a half acres. Besides the professor's 
house, there are a herbarium (the best in the country), 
with library, laboratory and lecture-room, and a con- 
servatory. To the distinguished botanist, Asa Gray, 
who for many years was its head, this institution owes 
much of its success. 

The Astronomical Observatory dates from 1839, and 
■ had its first home in the Dana House, under the direc- 
tion of William Cranch Bond. In 1843 a fund was raised 
with which part of the presentobservatory was built in 
1846. Edward Bromfield Phillips bequeathed, in 1849, 
$100,000 for the maintenance of the institution, the 
purchase of books, instruments, etc. The west wing 
was added in 1851. A Bulletin of the observatory is 
published at intervals. 

The Laicrence Scientific School was founded by a 
gift of $50,000 from Abbott Lawrence in 1847, to fur- 
nish instruction for students, who wished to present 
themselves as candidates for the degree of Bachelor of 
Science. Half of the donation was immediately ap- 
plied to the erection of a suitable building; the other 
half to the establishment of a professorship of Civil 
Engineering. Mr. Lawrence gave further a.ssistance 
until his death, in 1855, when he bequeathed $50,000 
for the general purposes of the school. In 1805 Sam- 
uel Hooper endowed a chair of geology, and John B. 
Barringer, in 1872, left about $35,000 to encourage the 
study of chemistry. But, with the large laboratories 
of Chemistry and Physics on the one hand, and the 
Museum of Comparative Zoology on the other, — not 
to mention the facilities aflorded by the College for 
the study of the higher mathematics,— the especial work 
possible for the Scientific School has become more 
and more restricted, and it seems probable that its 
separate existence will terminate by merging its courses 
with those of the College. 

II. PROGKESS OF EDUCATION. 

Having thus followed the corporate and material 



growth of Harvard, let us now briefly review the 
course of education, and compare, so far as the records 
allow, the studies and methods which at different pe- 
riods were supposed to be necessary and sufficient to 
bestow a liberal culture upon the students. At the 
outset, since Harvard was pre-eminently a theological 
seminary, the studies were chiefly theological, and 
tended to the training of ministers for the Puritan 
Colony. According to the laws passed in President 
Dunster's time, the folhiwing was required of candi- 
dates to the Freshman Class: " When any scholar is 
able to read Tully or such like classical Latin author 
extempore, and make and speak true Latin in verse 
and prose suo {ut aiunt) Marie, and decline perfectly 
the paradigms of nouns and verbs in the Greek tongue, 
then may he be admitted into the College, nor shall 
any claim admission before such qualification." The 
scholars read the Scriptures twice a day ; they had to 
repeat, or epitomize the sermons preached on Sunday ; 
and were frequently examined as to their own relig- 
ious state. " The studies of the first year, " says 
Quincy, "were logic, physics, etymology, syntax and 
practice on the principles of grammar. Those of the 
second year, ethics, politics, prosody and dialects, 
practice of poesy and Chaldee. Those of the third, 
arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, exercises in style, 
composition, epitome, both in prose and verse, He- 
brew and Syriac. In every year and every week of 
the College course every class was practiced in the 
Bible and catechetical divinity; al.so in history in the 
winter, and in the nature of plants in the summer. 
Rhetoric was taught by lectures in every year, and each 
student was required to declaim once a month." ' An- 
other rule, dating from Dunster's administration, was : 
" The scholars shall never use their mother tongue, 
except that in public exercises of oratory, or such like, 
they be called to make them in English." It is pre- 
sumable that the ordinary student acquired a fair 
knowledge of Latin, while those who were destined 
for the ministry learned a sufficiency of Greek and 
Hebrew. The teaching was conducted by the Presi- 
dent and two Tutors, who were occasionally assisted 
by a graduate candidate for a higher degree. 

In 1650 the Overseers first ordered a visitation ; 
" Between the 10th of June," runs their vote, " and 
the Commencement, from nine o'clock to eleven iu 
the forenoon, and from one to three in the afternoon 
of the second and third day of the week, all scholars 
of two years' standing shall sit in the Hall to be ex- 
amined by all comers in the Latin, Greek and He- 
brew tongues, and iu Rhetoric, Logic and Physics; 
and they that expect to proceed Bachelors that year 
to be examined of their sufficiency according to the 
laws of the College ; and such as expect to proceed 
Master of Arts to exhibit their synopsis of acts re- 
quired by the laws of the College." The qualifica- 
tions for BacheloM were as follows: "Every scholar 

* QiHDcy, i, I'Jl. 



106 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



that, on proof, is found able to read the original of 
the Old and New Testament into the Latin tongue, 
and to resolve them logically, withal being of honest 
life and conversation, and at any public act hath the 
approbation of the Overseers and Masters of the Col- 
lege, may be invested with his first degree." The 
undergraduate course was originally three years ; in 
1654 it was extended to four years. The candidate for 
Master of Arts was required to study an additional 
year or till such time as he " giveth up in writing a 
synopsis or summary of Logic, Natural and Moral 
Philosophy, Arithmetic, Geometry and Astronomy, 
and is ready to defend his theses or positions, withal 
skilled in the originals, as aforesaid, and still contin- 
ues honest and studious, at any public act, after trial, 
he shall be capable of the second degree." 

This was the general nature of the College curric- 
ulum during the seventeenth century. In 172G Tu- 
tors Flynt, Welsteed and Prince made the following 
report, which is interesting because it mentions not 
only the subjects studied, but also the text-boooks 
used: 

"1. While the students are Freshman they com- 
monly recite the Grammars, and with them a recita- 
tion in Tully, Virgil and the Greek Testament, on 
Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, in 
the morning and forenoon; on Friday morning Du- 
gard's or Farnaby's Rhetoric, and on Saturday morn- 
ing the Greek Catechism ; and towards the latter end 
of the year they dispute on Raum's Definitions, Mon- 
days and Tuesdays in the forenoon. 

" 2. The Sophomores recite Burgersdicius's Logic 
and a manuscript called New Logic in the mornings 
and forenoons ; and towards the latter end of the 
year, Heereboord's Meletemata, and dispute Mondays 
and Tuesdays in the forenoon, continuing also to re- 
cite the classic authors, with Logic and Natural Phil- 
osophy ; on Saturday mornings they recite Wolle- 
bius' Divinity. 

" 3. The Junior Sophisters recite Heereboord's 
Meletemata, Mr. Morton's Physics, More's Ethics, 
Geography, Metaphysics, in the mornings and fore- 
noons; Wollebius on Saturday morning; and dispute 
Mondays and Tuesdays in the forenoon. 

" 4. The Senior Soi)histers, besides Arithmetic, re- 
cite Allsted's Geometry, Gassendus's Astronomy, in the 
morning; go over the Arts towards the latter end of 
the year, Ames's Medulla on Saturdays, and dispute 
once a week." 

At this time Monis, a converted Jew, gave in- 
struction.in Hebrew, and all students, except Fresh- 
men, were required to attend his recitations four times 
a week. One exercise was " the writing the Hebrew 
and Rabbinical," and the others were copying the 
grammar and reading, reciting it and reading, con- 
struing, parsing, translating, composing, reading 
without points. The foundation, by Thomas Hollis, 
of a chair of Divinity, added a professor to the small 
corps of teachers. The Hollis Professor had charge 



of the instruction in theology, and was directed to 
begin each exercise with a short prayer. He gave 
both public and private lectures, and prepared stu- 
dents in Divinity for the ministry. In 1735 many of 
the students were permitted by the Faculty to take 
lessons in French of a certain Longloisserie, who had, 
however, no official connection with the College; 
this permission was revoked when charges of heresy 
were preferred against the Frenchman. The endow- 
ment by Hollis of a professorship of Mathematics, 
placed mathematical and scientific study on a surer 
basis, although Theology and the Classics were still 
esteemed the chief sources of learning. The philo- 
sophical apparatus, destroyed by the burning of Har- 
vard Hall in 1764, was sufficiently extensive for con- 
ducting the experiments and illustrating the laws of 
science as taught at that time. There were, among 
other things, two complete skeletons and anatomical 
cuts, a pair of globes of the largest size, machines for 
experiments in Mechanics, Hydrostatics, Pneumatics 
and Optics, micr.iscopes, telescopes (one of twenty- 
four feet), " a brass quadrant of two feet radius, car- 
rying a telescope of a greater length, which formerly 
belonged to the celebrated Dr. Halley." ' 

In 1756 the Overseers, desirous of raising the stand- 
ard of elocution, suggested that the Corporation 
should take measures for that purpose. Accordingly, 
it was voted "that the usual declamations in the 
Chapel should be laid aside, and in their stead the 
Prciident should select some ingenious dialogue, 
either from Erasmus's 'Colloquies,' or from some 
other polite Latin author, and that he should appoint 
as many students as there are persons in such dia- 
logue, each to personate a particular character and 
to translate his part into polite English, and prepare 
himself to deliver it in the Chapel in an oratorical 
manner." The Overseers themselves occiisionally 
attended the performance of these dialogues, and 
sometimes "expressed their acceptance and approba- 
tion." An effort was likewise made at this time to 
encourage greater diligence in the study of Latin, 
Greek and Hebrew, and to promote " disputations in 
English in the forensic manner," but the effort was 
not very successful. 

In 1760 we have a recommendation which seems to 
be the origin of the regular examination system : it 
was voted " that twice in a year, in the Spring and 
Fall, each class should recite to their Tutors, in the 
presence of the President, Professors and Tutors, in 
the several books in which they are reciting to their re- 
spective Tutors, and that publicly in the College Hall 
or Chapel; and that the two senior classes do once 
every half year, in the same presence, but under the 
direction of the Mathematical Professor, give a speci- 
men of their progress in philosophical and mathe- 
matical learning." In 1761 the Overseers m.ade sug- 

^ A couipleta list of the apparatus destroyed may be found in Quincy's 
History, ii, 481J-483. 



CAMBRIDGE. 



107 



gestions with a view to the improvement of the stu- 
dents in Latin, recommending " that more classical 
authors should be introduced and made part of the 
exercises, and that Horace should be earlier entered 
upon." From these various recommendations the 
custom arose of hohling public exhibitions before 
visiting committees of the Overseers; but the visitors 
soon found it irksome to listen to recitations and 
sophomoric eloquence, which, they said, although 
creditable, "did not afford sufficient scope for the dis- 
play of genius." In May, 1763, a report was made 
" that Horace is more in use than it has been, that 
CiBsar's 'Commentaries' has been recently intro- 
duced, and that the several classes translate English 
into Latin once every fortnight.' We learn from 
Nathaniel Ames's diary that, at this time, " Watts's 
Logick" was studied by the Freshmen, and that 
Homer and Euclid were begun early in the Sopho- 
more year; also, that at the forensic disputes such 
subjects as "Thet^oulis not Extended " and "The 
F'utur.e State is Revealed by the Light of Nature" 
were discussed. 

In 17()G semi-annual exhibitions became a regular 
part of the College work. At the same time the sys- 
tem of teaching was re-organized. Theretofore each 
Tutor had taught "all the branches to the class as- 
signed to him throughout the whole collegiate 
course ; " now each Tutor had charge of a sp^ecial de- 
partment, and taught that subject to ihe classes in 
turn : one Tutor had Greek ; another, Latin ; another, 
Logic, Metaphysics and Ethics; and the fourth, Nat- 
ural Philosophy, Geograpliy, Astronomy and the ele- 
ments of Mathematics. On Friday and Saturday 
each class was instructed in Elocution, English Com- 
position, Rhetoric, " and other parts of the Belles- 
Lettres," by another Tutor. The Divinity Professor 
had charge of all the instruction in Divinity. All 
scholars attended " the Tutors on Monday.-i, Tuesdays, 
Wednesdays and Thursdays three times a day, and 
once a day on Fridays and Saturdays." Senior 
Sophisters ceased to attend recitations at the end of 
June; the lower classes worked until Commencement 
week. 

This general scheme was preserved down to the 
present century. In 179U annual examinations were 
formally established, " to animate the students in the 
pursuit of literary merit and fame, and to excite in 
their breasts a noble spirit of emulation." The ex- 
amination was oral, and if any student neglected or 
refused to attend, he was liable to a fine not ex- 
ceeding twenty shillings, or to be admonished or 
suspended. The students at first rebelled, and one of 
them was expelled " upon evidence of a little boy" 
that he threw a stone through the window of the 
Philosopher's room — where the examiners were in 
session — and struck the chair occupied by Governor 
Hancock. 

Instruction in science during the third quarter of 
the eighteenth century was given by Professor John 



Winthrop, a friend of Franklin, and one of the ablest 
scientific investigators of his time. He conceived a 
theory of earthquakes, observed the transits of Mer- 
cury (1740) and that of Venus (17()1), explained the 
nature of comets, and experimented in many branches 
of what was then called" natural philosophy." When 
some of the orthodox h.ad scruples against using 
lightning-rods, because, they said, thunder and light- 
ning were tokens of the Divine displeasure, and that 
"it was a degree of impiety to endeavor to prevent 
them from doing their full execution," Professor 
Winthrop rejoined in an essiiy that " Divine Provi- 
dence did not govern the material world by im- 
mediate and extraordinary interposition of power, 
but by stated general laws;" wherefore, it is as 
much "our duty to secure ourselves against the 
effects of lightning, as from those of rain, snow or 
wind, by the means God has put into our hands." 
In 178.3 the appointment of John Warren and Ben- 
jamin Waterhouse to be respectively Profe"sorof Anat- 
omy and Surgery and Professor of the Theory and 
Practice of Physic extended the instruction of the 
College into a new field. In 1792 a Chair of Chemis- 
try and Materia Medica was added. But these three 
professorships were really the nucleus of the Medical 
School, and the courses given through them hardly 
belongeil to the College proper. 

Of the modern languages French received the 
earliest attention. In 1735, as stated above, Long- 
loisserie had been granted permission to teach that 
language. In 1780 similar permission was accorded 
to Simon Poullin; although he received no official 
appointment, " he was allowed the same privileges 
with Tutors as to the Library and Commons, and a 
chamber in the College," and his tuition fees were 
charged in the quarter by bills. Two years later Albert 
Gallatin was allowed to teach on the same terms, and 
in 1787 Josei)h Nancrede was regularly appointed 
instructor. In 1816 Francis Sales taught both French 
and Spanish. In 1825 Charles Folsoin was instructor 
in Italian, and Charles Follen instructor in German; 
and the next year Portuguese appears on the list of 
studies. 

In 1784 the attendance of Resident Graduates, 
Seniors and Juniors, who were not preparing for the 
ministry, upon a jiart of the exercises of the Professor 
of Divinity, was no longer required ; but the two 
upper classes had to recite once a week from Dodd- 
ridge's " Lectures," and to attend the Professor's 
weekly lecture " on some topic of positive or contro- 
versial divinity." At this time, also, Sallust and 
Livy were introduced into the Latin department, and 
in the Greek Xenophon's Anabasis was substituted 
for his Cyropcedia. In 1787 Horace, Sallust, Cicero 
(I)e Oratore), Homer and Xenophon took the place 
of Vergil, Cicero's Oratiom, C;esar and the Greek 
Testament, and the number of recitations was in- 
creased. The Classics formed the backbone of in- 
struction during the first three years : in addition. 



108 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



the Freshmen studied rhetoric, the art of speaking, 
and arithmetic ; the Sophomores had algebra, and 
other mathematical branches ; the Juniors had Livy, 
Doddridge's Lectures, and the Greek Testament ; the 
Seniors had logic, metaphysics, and Ethics. For the 
two lower classes Hebrew ' was jjrescribed, for which 
French might be substituted. All the classes had 
instruction in declamation, chronology and history. 
Blair's i^/trforic was introduced as a text-book in 1788. 
In 1805 a professorship of Natural History was 
founded by subscription. 

In 1803 the standard of admission to the Freshmen 
Class was raised. A candidate was now required to 
pass a satisfactory examination in Dalzel's Collectanea 
Orwca Minora, the Greek Testament, Vergil, Sallust 
and Cicero's Select Orations; lie must have a thorough 
acciuaintance with the Greek and Latin grammars, 
including prosody; he must be able to translate these 
languages correctly, and be proficient in arithmetic to 
the rule of three, and in geography. 

In 1820 a chair of Mineralogy and Geology was 
established. By this time the foundations of a real 
University had been laid ; the Medical, Law and 
Divinity departments were growing up, and in the 
College itself several of the branches had so increased 
in importance that more than one teacher was needed 
to direct them. The erection of new buildings, the 
creation of new professorships, and the increase in 
the number of students, all indicated expansion, and 
called for corresponding improvements in methods. 
Doubtless, too, the influence of foreign methods in 
University education began to appear at Harvard, to 
which Edward Everett and George Ticknor, as 
teachers, returned after pursuing a course of higher 
study in Europe. 

In May, 1824, a committee appointed by the Over- 
seers to report upon the state and needs of the Col- 
lege, presented, through its chairman, Joseph Story, 
a report recommending " that the dillege studies 
shall be divided into two classes ; the first embracing 
all such studies as shall be indispensable to obtain a 
degree ; the second, such in respect to which the 
students may, to a limited extent, exercise a choice 
which they will pursue." It was further recom- 
mended that students who were not candidates for a 
degree be admitted to pursue particular studies to 
qualify them for scientific and mechanical employ- 
ments and the active business of life. The first 
suggestion was the germ of the Elective System ; the 
second suggestion, only recently given a fair trial, 
opened the facilities of Harvard to special and grad- 
uate students. Both were strongly opposed by the 
Faculty. It is a noteworthy fact that the habitual atti- 
tude of the leading colleges in England and America 
has been stubbornly conservative. The great pioneers 
in literature, philosophy and morals were not college 
professors : this is perhaps not surprising, because the 



' A Hebrew Caminencoiuont part was duliverud as late as 1817. 



professorial mind is acquisitive and critical rather 
than creative and original. The teacher, whose work 
is largely a work of repetition and routine, comes to 
rely upon methods ; whereas, it is a sign of originality 
to scorn methods. In the Continental Universiiies of 
the Middle Age the foremost men of the time were 
often to be found in the corps of lecturers; as at 
Paris, to cite a single instance, during the thirteenth 
century. And in our own century, the Universities 
in France, Germany and Italy have had among their 
lecturers men who represented the most progressive 
thought in each of these countries. But in England 
and America, with occasional exceptions, this was 
rarely the case. Conservatism, one of the strongest 
traits of the Anglo-Saxon race, has had no stronger 
fortresses than the American and English seats of 
learning. So our professors of one generation have 
been expounding the views of thinkers whom the 
professors of the preceding generation frowned upon. 

So radical a change, therefore, as the proposed 
election by students of the courses which they would 
study filled the conservative Faculty of Harvard with 
alarm. The theory of education which then obtained 
regarded all youths between the ages of fifteen and 
twenty as having the same tastes and the same 
capacities ; each to be dosed with learning similar in 
kind and quantity to that prescribed to his fellows. 
The Bachelor's degree was the proof that the Faculty 
had succeeded, after a four years' trial, in pouring a 
certain number of similar facts into the brains of all 
those who received it. The Elective System, on the 
other hand, recognized that each y(mth differed from 
every other, and that the subject best fitted to develop 
the mental powers of one might have no such effect 
on another. Admitting this, it proposed, so far as 
possible, to find out the peculiar capacities of each 
student, and to provide the instruction most congenial 
to them. 

In spite of the opposition of the Faculty, the Over- 
seers and Corporation adopted the recommendations, 
but these were carried out very imperfectly. In 1824 
all studies were required, except that Juniors might 
" choose a substitute for thirty-eight lessons in Hebrew, 
and the Seniors had a choice between Chemistry and 
Fluxions." French and Spanish being extras, attend- 
ance on them was voluntary. By the revised Statutes, 
in 1826, '"a student could attend in modern languages 
after the first third of the Freshman year in place of cer- 
tain specified courses in Greek, Latin, topography, He- 
brew, and natural science, and a Senior might also sub- 
stitute natural philosoi)hy for a i)art of intellectual 
philosophy." In practice, the onedepartnient in which 
the Elective System was fairly tried was in the 
French and Spanish Languages and Literature, then 
under the charge of Professor George Ticknor. The 
force of teachers was too small to enable the Col- 
lege to offer many elective courses, even had the 
prevailing sentiment been in favor of so doing; but 
in the depaitment of Modern Languages there were 



CAMBRIDGE. 



109 



five instructors — quite enough for the demands made 
upon them. Above all, Professor Ticknor was an 
earnest advocate of the reform, and bent his energy 
to show its superiority over the traditional methods. 
In 1833 he reported: "The system of volunteer study 
was begun in this department in 1826 with thir- 
teen students. The number of students embracing 
it has constantly increased every year; and now 
exceeds the number of regular students. The teach- 
ers are particularly gratified with the proficiency 
of their volunteer students." The number of volun- 
teer students in modern languages in 1833 was 103 out 
of 210 who took these courses. In his report for 1830 
-31 , President Quincy announced that the system had 
been introduced, under very favorable auspices, by 
Dr. Beck in the Latin, and by Mr. Felton in the Greek 
departments. In 1834 regulations were adopted 
"which established a minimum in mathematics, 
Greek, Latin, modern languages, theology, moral and 
intellectual philosophy, logic and rhetoric, level to the 
capacity of faithful students in the lowest third of a 
class, and provided that students who had attained 
the minimum in any branch might elect the studies 
which they would pursue in place thereof, being form- 
ed into sections of not less than f-i.\ members, without 
regard to classes, and having additional instruction 
provided for them. The minimum covers about all 
the instruction regularly provided by the College in 
the departments named." 

Nevertheless, the innovation made but little pro- 
gress except in Professor Ticknoi's department. "I 
have succeeded entirely," he wrote in 1835, " but I can 
get these changes carried uo furiher. As long as I 
hoped to advauce them, I continued attached to the 
College; when I gave up all hope I determined to re- 
sign. ... If, therefore, the department of JVIodern 
Languages is right, the rest of tlie College is wrong." 
Professor Longfellow, who succeeded Mr. Ticknor, was 
fortunately imbued with his ideas, and continued his 
methods. In 1838 Professor Benjamin Peirce pro- 
posed that mathematics should be dropped at the end 
of the Freshman year, any student who so dropped 
them to be allowed to substitute natural history, civil 
history, chemistry, geography, Greek or Latin, in 
addition to the prescribed Course ; but the College 
lacked the means to provide instruction in several of 
those brauches. In 1839, upon the recommendation 
of Professors Beck and Felton, the Corporation- 
ordered "that those students who continue the study 
of Greek or Latin, shall choose as a substitute one 
or more of the fbllowitig branches: natural history, 
civil history, chemistry, geology, geography and the 
use of the globes, |)opular a.stronomy, modern lan- 
guages, modern oriental literature, or studies in 
either Greek or Latin which may not have been dis- 
continued in addition to the prescribed course in such 
branch. The times and orders of these studies will 
depend on the convenience of the instructor and the 
decision of the Fa'.'ulty, and eadr student will be re- 



quired to engage in such a number of studies as shall 
in the judgment of the Faculty be sufficient reason- 
ably to occupy his whole time. ' When this plan was 
submitted to the Overseers, Theophilus Parsons wisely 
declared that upon their decision hung the question 
" whether Harvard College shall or shall not become 
a University. In no institution intended to answer 
the purposes of a University, and to be called by that 
name, is it attempted to carry all the scholars to the 
same degree of advancement in all the departments 
of study. The reason of tliis is, obviously, that any 
such attempt must greatly retard the advancement of 
the whole." Already Professors Beck and Felton in 
the Classical branches, and Profes.sor Peirce in the 
mathematical had testified to the complete success of 
the experiment. In 1840-41 French was a required 
study, — a noteworthy fact, as President Eliot re- 
marks, " for changes in the selection of studies held 
to be essential, and therefore required of all, are quite 
as important as additions to the list of studies which 
it is agreed should be optional." ' 

The following scheme, adopted in the year 1841, 
shows concisely the extent to which the Elective Sys- 
tem had advanced: 



Year. 



J Prescrili 
I Elective 



Prescrilied ; Bliitbematics, Greek, Latin, History. 
None. 



S^Jihou. 



Junior 
IViir. 



Senior 
Year. 



f Prescribed : English Grammar and composition, rhetoric 

I and declamation, one modern language, history. 

Elective : Matlieniatics, Greek, Latin, natural history, liis- 
-{ tory, chemistry, geology, geography, the use of tho 

I globes, and any modern language ; so far ae the means 

of 6uch instruction are within the resources of tho 
t University. 

I Prescribed: English composition, one modern langiiage 
logic, deolaniation, physics, psychologj', ethics, foren- 
< Bics, history. 

Elective: Same as in Sophomore Year, and a more extend- 
! ed course in imychology and ethics. 

I Prescribed: Rhetoric, English composition, political econ- 
omy, constitutional law, forensics, theology, history, 
declamation. 
Elective : Political ethics, a more extended courae in phys- 
ics, and any of the elective studies above enumerated. 



Elective studies were thus generally countenanced, 
but they were not yet deemed e(iuivalent, so far as the 
scale of marks showed, to the prescribed courses ; for 
the Faculty decreed that "in forming the scale of 
rank at the end of a term, there shall be deducted 
from the aggregate marks given for an elected study 
one-half of the maximum marks for each exercise 
in such elected study ; so that a student by only ob- 
taining one-half of the raaxiinum marks adds nothing 
to his aggregate, and by-obtaining less than half is 
subject to a proportionate reduction." 

Professors Beck, Felton, Peirce and Longfellow 
continued to be the advocates of this broad system of 
instruction, and they reported from year to year the 
advances made in their respective departments ; but 

1 An exhaustive account of the Elective System at Harvard will be 
found In President Eliot's Report for 1881-85. 



no 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



the opposition was still strong, either from the con- 
viction of some of the Faculty that the system was 
bad in itself, or from the inability of the College to 
provide a sufficient number of courses to make the 
system equally serviceable in all directions. In 18-17 
it was no longer in vogue in (iliilosophy; two years 
earlier the Faculty prohibited any student, unless for 
especial reasons, to study more than one modern lan- 
guage at a time. Mr. Longfellow protested against 
this exclusiveness, but, although he appealed to the 
Corporation, the rule was maintained. In 1846 
"chemistry was a required study in the Freshman 
year instead of an elective study from the beginning 
of the Sophomore year ; no modern language was 
required in either the Sophomore or the Junior year; 
the elective course in geology was confined to the 
Senior year, instead of being accessible from the be- 
ginning of tlie Sophomore year; no elective course 
in geography was provided ; Story's Constitution was 
a required study for Juniors instead of Seniors; psy- 
chology and ethics were elective instead of required 
for Juniors ; and political ethics were required instead 
of elective for Seniors." " If the number of elective 
studies had been large," says President Eliot, in criti- 
cising these" regulations, "the scheme would have 
been a very liberal one, for election began early and 
the number of studies prescribed in the last three 
years was not large. The number of elective studies 
was, however, so small as practically to confine the 
choice of the students within narrow limits." The 
Fatuity then consisted of only eleven members, and 
there were but six instructors in addition ; the stu- 
dents then (1846) numbered 279. President Everett 
requested the opinions of the Faculty as to the ad- 
visability of continuing the system of elective studies. 
The opinions were evenly divided, but those professors 
who had given it the best trial were in favor of it. 
A new scheme was adopted (Dec. 29, 1846), which, 
with many modifications, lasted twenty years. "It 
allowed every Senior to select three from the follow- 
ing studies, namely, Greek, Latin, Mathematics, Ger- 
man, Spanish, and Italian, and every Junior to select 
three from the same studies, Italian excepted. All 
other studies were prescribed ; but among the pre- 
scribed studies were natural history for Freshmen and 
Sophomores, and French and Psychology for Sopho- 
mores." Thus every Senior and Junior who did not 
select mathematics had to study three languages 
during the last two years, as well as during the Soph- 
omore year. The number of exercises was also in- 
creased ; Freshmen had sixteen and Seniors twenty- 
three per week. In 1849 this excess was relieved by 
requiring only two instead of three elective studies 
from Seniors and Juniors. 

President Sparks was hostile to the elective system, 
and soon introduced changes which narrowtd its 
scope. No Junior or Senior might take more than 
one elective ; if he took more than one, it was re- 
garded as an "extra," and did not count. Professor 



Peirce vigorously opposed this retrograde step, and he 
was seconded by Professors Beck and Longfellow. 
"The voluntary system, as it has been called," wrote 
President Sparks in his last Report (1851-52), "is still 
retained to a certain extent, rather from necessity 
than preference. The number and variety of the 
studies for which the University has provided instruc- 
tion are so large that it is impossible for any student, 
within the period of four years, to give such a degree 
of attention to them as will enable him to acquire 
more than a limited and superficial knowledge from 
which little profit can be derived." "The last sen- 
tence is," to quote President Eliot, "an unanswerable 
argument for an elective system in a University." In 
1856-57 a further curtailment was made; French was 
again optional ; Juniors were required to take two 
out of the three studies, Latin, Greek and Mathemat- 
ics, and a half-year's course in molecular physics was 
required of them. In 1858 chemistry was made elect- 
ive for Juniors; in 1862 patristic and modern Greek 
was added to the free list. German, Spanish and ele- 
mentary Italian were also included among the Senior 
and Junior electives, but as the highest mark attain- 
able in any of them was only six, instead of eight — • 
the maximum in required studies — "studeiits who had 
any regard for College rank were debarred from pur- 
suing these undervalued elective studies. " 

lu 18G5, however, the advocates of the Elective Sys- 
tem were once more in the majority. The Faculty, 
although still small in number, and overworked 
through the custom of dividing classes into small sec- 
tions, voted " that botany be made an elective study 
in the Junior year, that Greek in that year be an 
elective instead of a required study, and that Juniors 
be allowed two elective studies instead of one; that 
German should be introduced as a required study 
into the second term of the Sophomore year, and that 
Roman history, Greek history and philosophy, and 
German should be added to the elective studies of the 
Junior year. Subsequently, Greek poetry was added." 
In 1867 a new scheme was drawn up, according to 
which all the work of the Freshman year was re- 
quired ; the Sophomores bad seven hours a week re- 
quired, and six hours elective ; the Juniors and Seniors 
had six hours required, and six or nine hours elective. 
But slight changes occurred until 1870, when, by 
raising the tuition fee from $104 to $150 per annum_ 
the increase of income enabled the employment of a 
larger force of instructors and the consequent exten- 
sion of the Elective System. Year by year the num- 
ber of required studies was lessened. In 1872 the 
Seniors were free to choose all their courses ; in 1879 
this privilege reached the Juniors ; in 1884 it was ex- 
tended to the Sophomores. In the latter year the 
Freshmen had nine hours a week of electives and 
seven hours of required studies. But for all the 
classes a certain number of themes and forensics was 
prescribed. 

In 1885 the Elective System was brought to its 



CAMBRIDGE. 



Ill 



logical conolusion by lieing extended to Freshmen. 
At the present time (1890) the only prescribed work 
is: Freshmen, Rhetoric and English Composition, 
three hours a week ; Chemistry, lectures once a week, 
first half-year; Physics, once a week, second half- 
year ; German, or French, three hours a week, for 
those who do not present themselves for examination 
on the study at entrance. Sophomores, twelve Themes, 
Juniors and Seniors a forensic, a thesis, and an exam- 
ination in argumentative composition in each year. 

The two leading objections to the Elective System — 
first, that students (particularly Freshmen) cannot be 
trusted to select the studies best fitted for their devel- 
opment; and second, that some students will begin 
too early to specialize, and so fail to derive a liberal 
education from their College training — have been 
equally disproved by the experiment at JrTarvard up 
to the present time. The number of those who, 
through idleness or injudicious choice, have failed, 
has been very small, and is constantly kept down by 
the checks which the Faculty has provided — frequent 
examinations, and the appointment of a member of 
the Faculty to consult with and overlook each stu- 
dent. In 1889 the Overseers, fearing thai too many 
of the students might abuse the privilege of volun- 
tary attendance at lectures, suggested that a more 
strict method of marking absences and of registration 
should be adopted ; and this has been done. But 
even such restrictions as these must sooner or later be 
abandoned, when the idea of what a University 
should be triumphs — not a reform school, nor a semi- 
nary, nor a substitute for paternal superintendence, 
but a treasury of learning from wliich every properly 
qualified person may draw in proportion to his ability. 
Our American public and most of our educators are 
still too tightly bound by the traditions dating from a 
time when colleges were but higher boarding-schools, 
to realize as yet the significance and the i-uperiority 
of the University ideal towards which we have seen, 
in this brief review. Harvard steadily approaching. 

With the growth of the Elective System there has 
grown up a class of special students, not candidates 
for a degree, and of graduate students who either 
desire to take a higher degree or to pursue for a time 
some special branch of advanced study. Of the for- 
mer, the average annual number between 1828 and 
18-17 inclusive was only, three, and little attention 
was paid to them. In the latter year the Scientific 
School was opened, and for three years all its mem- 
bers were designated "special students.'' In 1850 
the School was put on a better basis, examinations 
for admission were required, and the "specials '' no 
longer attended. It w-as lujt until 1S76 that the Col- 
lege was again officially opened "to persons not less 
than twenty-one years old, who shall .satisfy the fac- 
ulty of their fitness to pursue the particular courses 
they elect, although they have not passed the usual 
examinations for admission to College, and do not 
prop ise to be cai.didatcs for the degree of liachilor of 



Arts.'' In 1881 the restriction as to age was annulled, 
and prescribed as well as elective courses were offered 
to these students, then called "unmatriculated" and 
(since 1882) '' special.'' 

The Graduate Department has likewise grown very 
rapidly. It is attended not only by Harvard gradu- 
ates, but also by those from other colleges, who come 
here to complete their training. The work done by 
them is, in fact, the kind of work which belongs to a 
University, and to this department the best efforts of 
the professors will inevitably be more and more de- 
voted as the general standard of learning is raised. 
The higher degrees (Master of Arts, Doctor of Science 
and Doctor of Philosophy) are conferred after one or 
two years of successful graduate study. In early 
times candidates for the Master's degree were re- 
quired to spend a year in the College after their grad- 
uation, and to pass a satisfactory examination. lu 
1844 this custom was abandoned, and for nearly thirty 
years any one who had taken the Bachelor's degree 
was entitled to the Master's degree on the payment of 
fivedoUars three yt ars after graduation. This, of course, 
deprived the degree of A.M. of all scholastic value; 
but since 1872 no person has received it at Harvard 
unless be has fulfilled the requirements above stated, 
and the Master's degree is now a certificate that one 
year of graduate work has been well performed. 
During the academic year 1888-89 there were ninety- 
nine graduate students connected with the University, 
of whom ten were non-residents. Of the latter, nine 
were holders of fellowships, by the terms of which 
the incumbents are allowed to pursue their studies 
abroad under the direction of the Academic Council. 

Thus have the methods and courses of instruction 
been slowly liberalized and improved. The Classics 
and Mathematics, before which, as before Gog and 
Magog, educators fell down and worshipped, declaring 
them to be the only true agents of culture, have grad- 
ually been placed in their proper position — not de- 
graded nor laid on the shelf, but prohibited from ex- 
cluding proper reverence for Science, History and the 
Modern Languages, which are now recognized as be- 
ing important means to culture. And the work done 
in Greek and Latin and Mathematics, being no longer 
obligatory, is more earnest than in the days of com- 
pulsion, and productive of more good. The ol<l su- 
perstition that the degree of A.B. will be unintelli- 
gible, unless all who receive it have taken the same 
courses, still befogs the eyes of some conservatives; 
but experience will certainly dissipate this, together 
with other ancient delusions, and the deliberations 
now (1890) in progress to shorten the academic course 
fiom four to three years, by entitling a student to his 
degree whenever he shall have i)assed satisfactorily 
the required number of studies, prove that the last 
stronghold of the conservatives will soon fall. 

The raising of the standard of admission to Har- 
vard has naturally wrought a complete change in the 
teaching of the preparatory schools. In 1827 the 



112 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



candidate for the Freshman Class must be thoroughly 
acquainted with Latin and Greek Grammar, including 
prosody ; he must be able to construe and parse Ja- 
cob's Greek Reader, the Gospels in the Greek Testa- 
ment, Vergil, Sailustand Cicero's Select Orations, and 
to translate Englii-h into Latin ; be must be well 
versed in Ancient and Modern Geography, in the fun- 
damental rules of Arithmetic, in vulgar and decimal 
fractions, in proportion, simple and compound, in 
single and double fellowship, in alligation, medial 
and alternate, and in algebra to the end of simple 
equations, compiehending also the doctrine of roots 
and powers, and in arithmetical and geometrical pro- 
gression. Now, however, many of the studies for- 
merly taken up in College are embraced in the ordi- 
nary preparatory school curriculum. Seventy years 
ago boys entered Harvard at the age of fourteen ; now 
the average at entrance is nearly nineteen. There 
are two classes of studies — elementary and adoanced — 
on one of which the candidate for admission is exam- 
ined. The former class (in 1889) comprised, 1, a 
short composition on some classic English author, 
and the correction of specimens of bad English. 2, 
Greek. The translation jit sight of simple Attic prose, 
with quesiious on the usual forms and constructions. 

3, Latin. As in Greek. 4, German, and 5, French. 
Translation at sight of ordinary prose. 6, History, 
including Historical Geography. Either the History 
of Greece and Rome, or the History of the United 
States and England. 7, Mathematics. Algebra, 
through quadratic equations, and Plane Geometry. 8, 
Physical Science. Either Astronomy or Physics, or 
a course of experiments in mechanics, sound, light, 
heat and electricity, not less than forty in number, 
actually performed at school by the pupil. The ex- 
aminations in Advanced Studies comprise, 1, Greek. 
Translation at sight of average passages from Homer, 
or of ten difficult passages fi'om Homer and Herod- 
otus, with questions on construction and prosody. 
2, Latin. Translation of average passages from 
Cicero and Vergil. 3, Greek and Latin Composition. 

4, German. One work of Lessing, Schiller, Goethe, 
Chamisso and Freytag, with Grammar and Composi- 
tion. 6, French. One work of George Sand, San- 
deau. Scribe and Legouve, Henri Greville, La Fon- 
taine, Moliere, Racine and Corneille, with grammar 
and composition. 6, Mathematics. Logarithms ; Plane 
Geometry, with its application to Surveying and Nav- 
igation ; either Solid Geometry or the Elements of 
Analytic Geometry. 8, Physics. A course of at 
least sixty experiments in addition to those of the ele- 
mentary physics, i). Chemistry. Sixty experiments 
performed by the pupil. The candidate is also per- 
mitted to take optional examinations, and thus to 
qualify himself to pursue more advanced courses. He 
may, for example, be examined in the prescribed 
Freshman work or in any elective open to Freshmen. 

This account of the progress of education cannot be 
more appropriately concluded than by appending the 



following table, in which is shown the number of 
Elective courses provided by the College for the year 
1888-89: 



Semitic 11 

Sansltrit and Zend 4 

Greek 14 

Latin 12 

(Jreck and Latin 1 

English 8 

German 8 

Germanic Pbilology 2 

French 8 

Italian 3 

Spanish 3 



Romance Philology .... 4^ 

Philosophy llj^ 

Political Economy G^ 

History 1V/i 

Roman Law 1 

Fine Arts 31^ 

Music 3J^ 

Mathematics 15 

Pliysics 13 

Chemistry 12].^ 

Natural History 19^ 

182 

There were besides four and a half prescribed 
courses. 

A word should also be said concerning the con- 
stantly increasing usefulness of the College Library 
In 1860 the system of "card catalogues" was intro- 
duced, and since the completion of the new wing, in 
1876, the books have been wholly re-arranged. Mr. 
Justin Winsor, who succeeded Mr. John L. Sibley as 
Librarian in 1877, has initiated many improvemenls. 
The plan of reserving the works needed by students 
in the various courses has proved so satisfactory that 
the Reading Room is no longer large enough to ac- 
commodate all the students who would use it. In 
special cases permission is also granted to go directly 
to the stacks and alcoves. For several years past the 
Library has issued an occasional Bulletin. One of the 
assistants prepares the Vniversity Catalogue, which has 
been published annually in pamphlet form since 1819. 
Before that, from 1803, the list of students was 
printed on a broadside. The Catalogue of Alumni, 
issued triennially' from 1700 to 1880, and quinquen- 
nially since the latter date, is edited by another as- 
sistant at the Library. This year (1890) it will ap- 
pear for the first time in English instead of Latin. 
Two interesting facts may be recorded here: Ko Kun 
Hua, a mandarin, was instructor of Chinese in the 
College from 1879 to 1882, and in 1881 members of 
the Greek department gave a satisfactory perform- 
ance of the CEdipus Tyrannus of Sophocles in the 
original language at Sanders Theatre, the music be- 
ing composed by Professor J. K. Paine. 

III. STUDENT LIFE. 

Commons. — An adequate account of the life of the 
students at Harvard, from generation to geuer.ation, 
would be very interesting, but sufficient material is 
lacking. I shall attempt to present, however, as briefly 
yet satisfactorily as po.ssible, the records I have found, 
and I shall present them chronologically and topic- 
ally, so that the reader who so desires can trace the 
growth of undergraduate conditions, and compare 



1 The earliest known catalogue of graduates is dated 1G74 ; the next, 
1GS2. Down to the Revolution Masters of Arts were called " Sirs," and 
so appear in the early catalogues. The terms Senior and .Tuniur SupUia- 
tvra were Orojtped in 1850. 



CAMBIIIDGE. 



113 



those of one period with those of another. The de- 
velopment of the College, as we have seen, has been 
from a state of subservience to civil and religious 
authority to a state of independence ; a similar 
process is illustrated in che development of student 
life. Students were originally treated like school-boys ; 
they are now treated like men, hampered as little as 
is practicable by academic jjolice regulations ; and 
one of the most valuable lessons they now learn at 
the University is that of self-dependence, whereby 
they build up their character and tit themselves for 
their battle with the world. 

But the desiguers of the " schools at Newtowne " 
had no such ideal in view. They were themselves 
members of an austere community, and undertook 
collectively to admonish, correct and punish any 
individual member who might be deemed delinquent ; 
and they imposed on their seminary a system 
similar to that by which adult lives were guided. If 
we bear in mind that Harvard was, for many years 
after its founding, a theological seminary, in which 
the scholars were mere boys, we shall understand the 
principles by which its discipline was framed. In the 
great European universities of the Middle Age, at 
Bologna, Padua and Paris, the students were often 
the masters, and the Faculty were the servants ; but 
at Harvard the relations were reversed ; the Faculty 
stood in loco parentis to the undergraduate, and 
brooked no question of their authority. The Faculty 
provided not only lodging and board for the student, 
but directed his worship and his recreation with the 
same severity as his studies; he was a member of a 
large iamily, in which the President or Tutor 
assumed the role of father, and believed, like most 
fathers at that time, that the child should not be 
spoiled from too sparing an application of the rod. 

First in importance in an account of student life, 
excepting of course, education, which has already 
been sketched, is the history of Commons. And 
from the very beginning of Harvard College, com- 
plaints of bad fare reach us. When Eaton and his 
wife were examined in regard to their conduct at this 
Seminary (1037-39) the latter confessed that she bad 
provided very scantily for the students. Their break- 
fast, she deposed, " was not so well ordered, the flower 
not so fine as it might, nor so well boiled or stirred." 
Beef was allowed them, but she never gave it, and 
she was stingier in her husband's absence than in his 
presence. She denied them cheese when they sent 
for it, and although she had it in the house ; " for 
which," she said, " I shall humbly beg pardon of 
them, and own the shame, and confess my sin. . . . 
And for bad fish, that they had it brought to table, I 
am sorry that there was that cause of offence given 
them. I acknowledge my sin in it. And for their 
mackerel, brought to them with their guts in them, 
and goat's dung in their hasty pudding, it's utterly 
unknown to me; but I am much ashamed it should 
be in the family, and not prevented by myself or 
S 



servants. . . . And that they made their beds at 
any time, were my straits never so great, I am sorry 
they were ever put to it. For the Moor his lying in 
Sdm Hough's sheet and pillow-bier, it hath a truth 
in it; he did so one time, and it gave Sam Hough 
just cause of ofl'ence. . . . And that they eat the 
Moor's crusts, and the swine and they had share and 
share alike, and the Moor to have beer, and they 
denied it, and if they had not enough, for my m.aid 
to answer, they should no', I am an utter stranger to 
these things, and know not the least footsteps for 
them so to charge me. . . . And for bread made 
of heated sour meal, although I know of but once 
that it was so, since I kept house, yet John Wilson 
affirms it was twice ; and I am truly sorry that any 
of it was spent amongst them. For beer and bread, 
that it was denied them by me betwixt meals, truly I 
do not remember that ever I did deny it unto them ; 
and John Wilson will affirm, that generally, the bread 
and beer was free for the boarders to go unto. And 
that money was demanded of them for washing the 
linen, it's true it was propounded to them, but 
never imposed upon them. And for their pudding 
being given the last day of the week without butter 
or suet, and that I said it was miln of Manchester in 
Old England, it's true that I did say so, and am sorry 
they had any cause of offence given them by having 
it so. And for their wanting beer betwixt brewings, 
a week or half a week together, I am sorry that it was 
so at any time, and should tremble to have it so, were 
it in my hands to do so again." ' 

Eaton and his wife were discharged and heavily 
fined, but the students still continued to live at Com- 
mons, where the fare improved. Parents paid for 
their sons' schooling in jjroduce and kind, whereby 
the larder was better stortd. On the Steward's book 
we have entries of " a barrel of pork," " a old cow," 
" turkey henes," " two wether goatts," " a bush, of 
parsnapes," " a ferkinge of butter," " a red ox," " ap- 
pelles," " a ferking of soap," " rose watter," " three 
pecks of peasse," " beafJe," " fouer shotes from the 
farm," " tobacko," etc. ; which were doubtless applied 
to the use of the students. 

The Laws, Liberties and Orders of Harvard College 
(1042— IG), adopted under President Dunster, state 
that no scholar shall " be absent from his studies or 
appointed exercises above an hour at morning bever, 
half an hour at afternoon bever, an hour and a half 
at dinner, and so long at supper." The "morning 
bever" was eaten in the battery, or in the student's 
chamber ; the " afternoon bever" came at ab()Ut four 
o'clock, between dinner and supi)er, which were 
served in the hall. Dunster also drew up (1050) a 
series of lules for the regulation of the students' die'. 
The Steward was required to give notice to the Pres- 
ident when any student was indebted for more than 
£2 for his board, in order that the youth might be 

1 Harvard Book, ii, 7S, 79. 



114 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



sent to his friends, "if not above a day's journey dis- 
tant." The Steward was also forbidden " to take any 
pay that is useless, hazardful or imparting detriment 
to the college, as lean cattle to feed." It was decreed 
further that " Whereas young scholars, to the dis- 
honor of God, hindrance of their studies and damage 
of their friends' estate, inconsiderately and intemper- 
ately are ready to abuse their liberty of sizing [extra 
food or drink ordered from the buttery] besides their 
commons ; therefore the Steward shall in no case 
permit any Students whatever, under the degree of 
Masters of Art, or Fellows, to expend or be provided 
for themselves or any townsmen any extraordinary 
commons, unless by the allowance of th§ President, 
or two of the Fellows, whereof their Tutor always to 
be one, or in case of manifest sickness, pre-signified 
also unto the President, or in case of a license, of 
course granted by the President to some persons 
whose condition he seeth justly requires it." 

The steward and cook must keep their utensils 
"clean and sweet and fit for use;" but they were not 
" bound to keep or cleanse any particular scholar's 
spoons, cups or such like, but at their own discre- 
tion." A scholar who "detained" any vessel belong- 
ing to the College was fined three pence. No scholars 
were permitted to go into " the butteries or kitchen, 
save with their parents or guardians, or with some 
grave and sober strangers ; and if they shall presume 
to thrust in, they shall have three pence on their 
heads." At meals the scholars must sit orderly in 
their places, and none must rise or go out of the Hall 
without permission before thanksgiving be ended. 
Finally, the Butler should receive ten shillings on 
September 13th, and ten more on December 13th, 
" toward candles for the Hall for prayer time and 
supper, which, that it may not be burdensome, it 
shall be put proportionably upon every scholar who 
retaineth his seat in the buttery." 

In early times the position of Steward and Butler 
Avere both filled by graduates ; and some of the stu- 
dents waited on table, for which they were paid. 
William Thomson, for instance, of the Class of 1G53, 
received quarterly one pound " for his services in the 
Hall ;" Zechariah Brigden (Class of 1657) was given 
for "ringinge the bell and waytinge, £1 28.;" and 
John Hale, of the same class, received for " waytinge 
and his monitor- work £'2 lis." 

Dunsier's rules remained in vigor, with occasional 
modifications, down to 1734. Judge Sewall states 
that in 1674 a student was punished for "speaking 
blasphemous words," by being obliged " to sit alone 
by himself uncovered at meals during the pleasure of 
tlie President and Fellows;" from which we infer 
tint it was then customary to have the head covered 
while eating. Order was maintained by the presence 
of the Tutors at Commons; and the Corporation, or 
Overseers, frequently fixed the price which the Stew- 
ard and Butler might charge for their food and 
li'iuor.s. Thus, ill October, 1715, the latter was pro- 



hibited from taking more than two pence a quart 
for cider until the 1st of February. 

That students lodged outside of the College build- 
ings seems to have been an early practice, necessi- 
tated by the lack of sufficient accommodations in the 
Halls; and that some of those who lodged in the 
Halls boarded outside is evident from the order 
passed in 1724 to compel all such scholars, graduates 
and undergraduates to eat at Commons, unless the 
President and a majority of the Tutors granted them 
leave to do otherwise. This rule was the source of 
much trouble, and was long resisted. A visiting 
committee of the Overseers reported, in 1732, that 
this rule ought to be enforced ; that students and 
graduates should be prevented "from using punch, 
iiip and like intoxicating drinks," and "that Com- 
mons be of better quality, have more variety, clean 
table-cloths of convenient length and breadth twice 
a week, and that plates be allowed." 

New laws, consonant with these recommendations, 
were passed in 1734. Students, in order to " furnish 
themselves with useful learning," must " keep in 
their respective chambers, and diligently follow their 
studies, except half an hour at breakfast, at dinner 
from 12 to 2, and after evening prayers till nine of 
the clock." Breakfast, or "morning bever," was still 
served at the buttery, and eaten usually in the stu- 
dent's chamber. No resident in the College might 
"make use of any distilled spirits or of any. such 
mixed drinks as punch or flip in entertaining one 
another or strangers;" and no under-graduate might 
"keep by him brandy, rum or any other distilled 
spirituous liquors," or send for them without leave 
from the President or a Tutor. The clean linen 
cloths, of suitable length and breadth, and pewter 
plates were furnished by the College; but the plates 
were to be maintained at the charge of the scholars. 
Section 3, Chapter V, of these laws runs as follows : 
"The waiters, when the bell tolls at meal-times, shall 
receive the plates and victuals at the kitchen-hatch, 
and carry the same to the several tables for which 
they are designed. And none shall receive their 
commons out of the Hall, except in case of sickness 
or some weighty occasion. And the Senior Tutor or 
other Seiuor scholar in the Hall shall crave blessing 
and return thanks. And all the scholars, while at 
their meals, shall sit in their places and behave 
themselves decently and orderly, and whosoever shall 
be rude or clamorous at such time, or shall go out of 
the Hall before thanks be returned, shall be pun- 
ished by one of the Tutors not exceeding five shil- 
lings." 

The buttery came to be a recognized department ot 
theCjUege, where students could purchase provisions, 
beer, cider and other extras, in order that they might 
have no excuse for frequenting the public-houses and 
taverns in the town. The butler was authorized to 
sell his wares at an advance of fifty per cent, beyond 
the current price, and from this profit he derived a 



CAMBRIDGE. 



115 



part, if not all, of his salary. He and the cook were 
enjoined to keep their utensils clean, to acour the 
kitchen pewter twice every quarter, and the drinking 
ves'-els once a week or oftener. Among the other 
duties of the butler, he was required to " wait upon 
the President at the hours for prayer in the Hall, for 
his orders to ring the bell, and also upon the Profes- 
sors for their lectures, as usual ; " to " ring the bell 
for Commons according to custom, and at five o'clock 
in the morning and nine at night;" to "provide 
candles for the Hall," and to " take care that the 
Hall and the entry adjoining be swept once a day and 
washed at least once a quarter, and that the tables 
and forms be scoured once a week (except in the win- 
ter season, when they shall be scoured once in three 
weeks, or so often as the Tutors shall require it)." 

Despite these explicit regulations and the fines 
mulcted for the infringement of them, there were fre- 
quent cases of grumbling and disobedience on the part 
of the students, and of neglect or of undue parsimony 
on the part of the butler and steward. Before 1747 
permission to board in private families was generally 
granted, whereat the Overseers were displeased and 
voted that it would be " beneficial for the College 
that the members thereof be in Commons." After a 
struggle lasting more than two years the Steward, to 
whose mismanagement and "scrimping" the students' 
discontent was attributed, was discharged and a new 
one appointed. That same year (1750) the Corpora- 
tion voted "that the quantity of Commons be, as hath 
been usual, viz. : two sizes of bread in the morning ; 
one pound of meat at dinner, with sufficient sauce 
(vegetables), and half a pint of beer; and at night 
that a part pie be of the same quantity as usual, and 
also half a pint of beer; and that the supper messes 
be of four parts, though the dinner messes be of six." 
The Overseers persisted in their recommendation that 
all students be compelled to board at Commons ; the 
Corporation, on the contrary, deemed that so sweep- 
ing a law would be unwise. But the former, in 1757, 
passed a resolution that it would contribute to the 
health of the students, "facilitate t^ir studies and 
prevent extravagant expense," if they " were re- 
strained from dieting in private families ; " and as an 
inducement, it was further voted " that there should 
be pudding three times a week, and on those daj's 
their meat should be lessened." In 1700 the Corpo- 
ration prohibited students "from dining or supping 
in any house in town, except on an invitation to dine 
or aup graf is; " but this law could hardly be strictly 
enforced, because many students had still, through lack 
of accommodations in the Halls, to lodge outside, and 
some of these probably continued to " diet " at private 
houses. In July, 17(i4. the Overseers recommended 
that no student should be allowed to breakfast in the 
town ; that breakfast be thenceforth furnished at Com- 
mons ; that either milk, tea, chocolate or coffee be 
provided; and that students, if they jirefcrred, miglit 
[irepare their break faat in their owu thambcr.^, but 



might not eat it in one another's chambers. The 
completion of Hollis Hall, in 1764, enabled most of 
the students to lodge in the College, and they, to- 
gether with all Profes<ors, Tutors and graduates, were 
obliged to board at Commons. There was a rebellion 
in 1766, caused partly by the refusal of the College 
officers to grant excuses for absence from prayers, and 
partly by the poor quality of the food ; among other 
grievances the Steward had served bad butter for many 
weeks past. 

Of the fare previous to this time. Dr. Holyoke (Cla-ss 
of 1746) said : " breakfast was two sizings of bread 
and a cue of beer ; evening Commons were a pye.'' 
Judge Wingate (Class of 1750) wrote: "As to the 
Commons, there were in the morning none while I was 
in College. At dinner we had, of rather ordinary 
quality, a sufficiency of meat of some kind, either 
baked or boiled ; and at supper we had either a pint 
of milk and half a biscuit, or a meat pye or some 
other kind. [Commons] were rather ordinary, but I 
was young and hearty and could live comfortably 
upon them. I had some classmates who paid for their 
Commons and never entered the Hall while they be- 
longed to the College. We were allowed at dinner a 
cue of beer, which was half a pint, and a sizing of 
bread, which I cannot describe to you. It was quite 
sufficient for one diniier." Before breakfast was reg- 
ularly served at Commons, there was much disorder in 
getting the morning or the evening "bever" at the 
buttery-hatch. In the melee the bowl of milk or choc- 
olate might be upset, and " sometimes the spoons 
were the only tangible evidence of the meal remain- 
ing." 

During the Revolutionary War new difficulties in- 
terfered with the satisfactory management at Com- 
mons. This was one of the grievances adduced by the 
students when they petitioned the General Court to 
be moved back from Concord to Cambridge. In 
August, 1777, the Corporation, in order "that the 
charge of Commons may be kept as low as possible, 
Voted, that the Steward shall provide at the common 
charge only bread or biscuit and milk for breakfast ; 
and, if any of the scholars choose tea, cotfee or choco- 
late for breakfast, they shall procure these articles for 
themselves, and likewise the sugar and butter to be used 
with them; and if any scholars choose to have their 
milk boiled, or thickened with flour, if it may be had, 
or with meal, the Steward, having seasonable notice, 
shall provide it; and further, as salt fish alone is ap- 
pointed ... for the dinner on Saturdays, and as this 
article is now risen to a very high price, and through 
the scarcity of salt will probably be higher, the Stew- 
ard shall not be obliged to provide salt fish, but shall 
procu'-e fresh fish as often as he can." In 1783 the 
Faculty voted that in future no students should "size" 
breakfasts in the kitchen, nor take their dinner from 
the kitchen on Lord's Days. 

In 1790 a new code of College Laws was published, 
iu which the old prohibition against dining or sup- 



116 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



ping with townspeople (except gratia) was reiterated 
and, among other things, students were required to 
give notice to tlie Steward on the first Friday of each 
month what they wished for hreakfast during the 
month. The fine for eating out of Commons was one 
shilling, raised, in 17i)8, to twenty cents. At Com- 
mons the students sat at ten tables, in messes of eight 
on each side. The Tutors and Seniors occupied a 
platform raised eighteen or twenty inches. Down to 
1771 the custom prevailed of placing students accord- 
ing to the rank of their families, the lists, written in 
a large German text, being hung up in the Hall, 
and those students who belonged to the " first" fami- 
lies had the privilege of helping themselves first at 
table. The waiters were students, paid for their ser- 
vices, and generally respected by their classmates. 
IJoiled meat was served on Monday and Thursday, 
roast meat on the other days; each person had two 
potatoes, which he must peel for himself. " On 
'boiling days' pudding and cabbage were added to 
the bill of fare, and, in their season, greens, either 
dandelion or the wild pea." Cider had taken the place 
of beer at meals, each student being allowed as much 
as he wished. " It was brought to the table in pew- 
ter quart cans, two to each mess. From these cans 
the students drank, passing them from mouth to 
mouth, as was anciently done with the wassail bowl.'" 
Of course, complaints never ceased. At one time 
the butter was "so bad that a farmer would not take 
it to grease his cart-wheels wilh." At other times, 
when the Steward had furnished, for the sake of 
economy, nothing but veal or lamb for weeks together, 
the students would assemble outside the buttery and 
set up a concerted bleating and baaing, as a hint for 
him to vary their diet. In 1790 the Steward became 
one of the financial officers of the College, and his 
purveyor's duties were transferred to the Butler and 
Cook.' In order to prevent the students from " resort- 
ing to the different marts of luxury, intemperance 
and ruin," the Buttery was made "a kind of supple- 
ment to the Commons," where they could procure, 
"at a moderate advance on the cost, wines, liquors, 
groceries, stationery, and in general such articles as 
it was proper and necessary for them to have occa- 
sionally, and which, for the most part, were not 
included in the Commons fare. The Buttery was 
also an office where, among other things, records 
were kept of the times when the scholars were 
])resent and .absent." In 1801 the Buttery was 
abolished, it having for .some time jirevious "ceased 
to be of use for most of its primary purposes. The 
area before the entry doors . . . had become 
a sort of students' exchange for idle gossip, if 7ioth- 
ing worse. The rooms were now redeemed from 
traffic, and devoted to places of study. . . . The 



1 Ilall'is " College Wonia and CustoniB," 1800, p. 75. 
- lu 1872 the title of Stowjird, wlio had Iwiig loeu the TieaBiu-er's 
ageut at Cauibiidge, was cliaugcd to llur&ir. 



last person who held the office of Butler was Joseph 
Chickering, a graduate of 1799." 

The handing out of supper from the kitchen-hatch 
was the source of constant disturbances; but the Fac- 
ulty made a long struggle to preserve this ancient 
custom. At last, however, after repeated failures, 
they desisted, and from the year 180G supper was 
served regularly at Commons in the Hall. A record 
of the Faculty for August 31, 1797, is worth quoting: 
" The time of the Butler's Freshman being greatly 
taken up with the public duties of his station, and 
with the private concerns of the Buttery, and his task 
being laborious. Voted, That in the future the Butler's 
Freshman be excused from cutting bread in the 
kitchen, and that it be cut by the servants in the 
kitchen." In 1807 discontent over Commons led to 
one of the liveliest rebellions in the history of the 
College ; among other violent acts a student named 
Pratt at dinner did "publicly in the Hall insult the 
authority of the College by hitting one of the olUcers 
with a potatoe." That same year the Professors, 
Tutors, the Librarian, graduates and undergraduates 
were required to take all their meals at Commons, 
but the fare seems not to have improved. In 1819 a 
row occurred in Commons between the Sophomores 
and Freshmen, which caused many suspensions, and 
furnished the theme of the mock-heroic poem, I'he 
Ecbelliad. Four years earlier Commons had been 
removed from Harvard Hall to the just-completed 
University Hall, where they were held till their 
abolition in 1819. In 1818 the wages of the waiters 
were reduced ; each waiter received board gratis for 
three-quarters of the time during which he was in 
service. In 1823 the "Master of the Kitchen" was 
directed to furnish no more cider at breakfast or 
supper; and the next year wine was denied at the 
Thanksgiving Dinner. In 1825 students who obtained 
permission might board at a private house; but they 
might not lodge outside of the College unless the 
Faculty approved. President Quincy purchased in 
England plate to be used at Commons, each article 
having the College seal: during the Civil War this 
service was sold, being bought chiefly by the alumni, 
who thus secured mementoes of an obsolete phase of 
Harvard life. After 1812 the College renounced 
responsibility for Commons, which was assumed by 
a contractor, who rented the rooms in University and 
|)rovidcd the food. At length, in 1849, Commons 
were abolished, as they had come to be patronized by 
less than one-sixth of the whole number of students 
residing at the University. "This stale of things," 
says President Sparks, in his report for that year, 
"afforded a clear indication that, whatever advan- 
tages may have been derived from this arrangement 
in former times, it was no longer necessary. It was 
resolved, therefore, ... to leave the students to 
procure their board in such private houses as they 
might select. . . . The experiment has now been 
tried for one term, and with such success as to make 



CAMBRIDGE. 



117 



it improbable that the Commons will again be re- 
vived." 

It cannot be denied, however, that the system, in 
theory at least, was a good one, for it provided food 
at moderate rates to a large number of students. The 
trouble was that, in the eftbrt to economize, the qual- 
ity of the food was poor, and the quantity scanty ; so 
that while poor students might tolerate it for the sake 
of getting a college education, those who came from 
more prosperous families were inevitably dissatisfied. 
And with the increase of prosperity throughout the 
country the number of well-to-do students naturally 
exceeded that of the poor. For fifteen years, there- 
fore, the students boarded at private houses, either 
singly or in clubs, except that in 1857 the College 
conducted a restaurant at the old Brattle House. In 
1S64 Dr. A. P. Peabody interested Nathaniel Thayer 
in the subject of students' board, which now cost 
more than some of those whose means were small 
could well afford to pay, and he offered $1000 to- 
wards the re-organization of Commons. The old rail- 
road station (situated near the site of the present 
Law School) had been bought by the College, one 
of its rooms being then occupied by the Jiei/itia Bon- 
arum, or "Queen of the Goodies," as the head bed- 
maker was nicknamed by the students. The Corpor- 
ation consenting, this building was properly fitted up, 
and the Th.ayer Dining Club ate in it, beginning in 
18G5. The number of students who desired to par- 
take of the Club's Commons soon exceeded the capa- 
city of the rooms ; and Mr. Thayer contributed $5000 
(to which some other subscribers added $2000) to 
build an addition. The management of the Club was 
left to its members, under the supervision of a Facul- 
ty committee of three. Upon the completion of Me- 
morial Hall the Thayer Club was expanded into the 
Dining Association, and, in the autumn of 1871, Com- 
mons were removed to Memorial Hall, where they 
have ever since been held. The Association consists 
of a President, Vice-President and of two directors 
from each School and each College Class ; the Presi- 
dent and Vice-President are elected by a general 
vote, the directors by a vote of the members of their 
School or Class who belong to the Association. No 
wine, beer or other alcoholic drinks, and no tobacco 
may be used in the Hall. Dinner, originally served 
at 2 P.M., is now served from 5.30 to 6.30; breakfast, 
from 8 to 9; lunch, from 12.30 to 1.30. The price of 
board is charged on the students' term-bills. The 
number of boarders at Memorial Hall is about 
700, and as there are usually many more applicants 
than can be seated these must wait for vacancies to 
occur. The food is unquestionably much better than 
was ever supplied by the old Commons, and, although 
grumbling is frequently heard, the majority of the 
students appreciate the advantages they enjoy. Thus 
the difficult problem of feeding the students has 
been successfully solved ; they control the manage- 
ment of Commons, and can therefore provide such 



fare as the majority desire, while the College, as is 
right, keeps the accounts. In 1889 the FoxcroftClub 
was organized, where students can procure plain food 
at even cheaper rates than at Memorial Hail — thirty- 
five cents a day being sufficient to satisfy an econom- 
ical student of small appetite. 

In conclusion, I will set down for purposes of com- 
parison, che price of food at Commons at different 
periods. In 1G64-G5 it was about 75 cents per week ; 
in 17G5, $1.22; in 1805, $2.24; in 1800, $1.89; in 
1808,81.75; in 1833, $1.90; in 1836, $2.25; in 1840, 
highest, $2.25, lowest, $1.75; in 1848, highest, $2.50, 
lowest, $2 ; from 1864 to 1890 the price at Memorial 
Hall has varied from about $3.75 to $4.25 ; Foxcroft 
Club (1890), lowest about $2. The cost of board in 
private houses, or at "Club tables," has always been 
dearer than at Commons. A member of the Class of 
184G tells me that in his time excellent fare was fur- 
nished for three dollars per week, and more than four 
dollars was considered an extravagant price. At the 
present time private board maybe had at from five 
dollars to eight dollars per week. 

Prayers. — The history of the religious services in 
the College, like the history of Commons, deals with 
a very interesting side of student life. Enforced at- 
tendance at prayers was the cause of almost as many 
rebellions and protests as was scanty food in the Hall. 
The writer on this subject in The Hari'ard Book, states 
thus concisely the various places where the religious 
exercises at Harvard have been held : " Originally 
religious services were held by each class in their 
Tutor's room ; afterwards all the students came to- 
gether in Commons Hall or the Library; and later 
an apartment in the old Harvard Hall was used as a 
chapel. In 1744 Holden Chapel was erected, which 
was a building of one story, entered by the door at the 
western end, the seats of which, with backs, were 
ranged one above another, from the middle aisle to 
the side walls. Soon after 176G a room on the lower 
story of the new Harvard Hall was taken for devo- 
tional exercises. Here likewise the seats rose one 
above another, the Freshmen occupying those in front, 
the Sophomores sitting behind them, the Juniors and 
Seniors coming next; while on either side of the desk, 
which was at the end nearest the street, were seats 
for the instructors and others." While the College 
was in exile at Concord (1775-76), recitations were 
held there in the court-house, and prayers in the 
meeting-house. On the completion of Massachusott.s 
Hall, services were held in the (Jhapel in the upper 
part of that building, until 185S, when Appleton 
Chapel was erected, and has since served for both the 
week-day and Sunday worship of the College. 

From the earliest time the students had attended 
the First Parish Church on Sundays. This w.as re- 
built in 1756 (on the southwest corner of College Yard, 
near the i)resent site of the old Law School), and an 
agreement was made between the Corporation and the 
First Parishioners, by which the front gallery was re- 



118 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



served for students, and a pew on the floor for the 
President and liis family; and the College, having 
agreed to pay one-seventh of the cost of the building 
and all future repairs, had also the right to use it on 
Commencements and jiublic occasions. It was soon 
found that the students put so little into the contribu- 
tion box that in 1760 the Corporation voted "that the 
box should not be offered (ordinarily) on the Lord's 
Day to the Scholars' gallery, but that instead they 
should he taxed towards the support of the ministry, 
in each of their quarterly bills, nine pence lawful 
money." In 1816 the connection between the Col- 
J(ge and the First Parish Church was severed, and 
the Sunday worship of the students was conducted in 
the Chapel in University Hall by officers of the Di- 
vinily School. The Church was taken down in 1883, 
when its successor, the present First Church, was 
erected. 

Since the College was originally a seminary, founded 
by a church-going people for the especial purpose of 
training up youtlis to become ministers, it is not sur- 
prising tliat the rules concerning prayers and worship 
were strict. In President Dunster's time it was re- 
quired that, " Every Scholar shall be present in his 
Tutor's chamber at the 7th houre in the morning, im- 
mediately after the sound of the Bell, at his opening 
the Scripture and prayer, so also at the 5th houre at 
night, and then give account of his owne private read- 
ing. Every one shall so exercise himselfe in reading 
the Scriptures twice a day, that he shall be ready to 
give such an account of his proficiency therein, both 
in Theoretical] observations of the Language, and 
Logick, and in Practical) and Spiritual truths, as his 
Tutor shall require, according to his ability ; seeing 
the entrance of the word giveth light, it giveth under- 
standing to the simple. Pialin cxix, 130." The 
Laws, Liberties and Orders adopted at that time 
(1642-46) also state, ? 5: "In the public church 
assembly, they shall carefully shun all gestures that 
show any contempt or neglect of God's ordinances, 
and be ready to give an account to their Tutors of 
their profiting, and to use the helpe of storing them- 
selves with knowledge, as their Tutors shall direct 
them. And all Sophisters and Bachelors (until them- 
selves make common place) shall publicly repeat 
sermons in the Hall, whenever they are called forth." 
And again, | 14 : "If any Scholar, being in health, 
shall be absent from prayers or lectures, except in 
case of urgent necessity, or by leave of his Tutor, he 
shall be liable to admonition (or such punishment as 
the President shall think meet), if he offend above 
once a week." 

The President himself conducted the daily services 
in the Hall. The undergraduates translated in the 
morning the Old Testament from Hebrew into Greek, 
and in the evening, they translated the New Testa- 
ment from English or Latin into Greek ; but Fresh- 
men were allowed to use the English Bible. After 
this reading the President expounded the passages 



read, and then closed with prayer. Once President 
Rogers's prayer was much shorter than usual. 
" Heaven Knew the Reason 1" wrote Cotton Mather ; 
" the scholars, returning to their Chambers, found one 
of them on fire, and the Fire had proceeded so fur, 
that if the Devotions had held three Minutes longer, 
the Colledge had been irrecoverably laid in Ashes, 
which now was happily preserved." The translating 
was not popular, and students shirked it as often as 
they dared. In 1723 it is reported that the attend- 
ance by Tutors and graduates at prayers was good, but 
not at the readings; but that the undergraduates at- 
tended both. In 1795 it was ordered that the students 
during the prayer and at the blessing should stand 
facing the desk, but that they should sit during the 
reading from the Scriptures. 

The morning service was for a long time the occa- 
sion when students made a public confession of mis- 
conduct, and when the President announced the names 
of those who were to be punished by degradation, ad- 
monition or expulsion. Many records of these con- 
fessions are preserved. I quote a few : President 
Leverett's Diary, under date of November 4, 1712, 
reads : "A. was publickly admonish'd in the College 
Hall, and there confessed his Sinful Excess, and his 
enormous profanation of the Holy Name of Almighty 
God. And he demeaned himself so that the Presid'. 
and Fellows conceived great hopes that he will not 
be lost." Again, March 20, 1714, Leverett says of 
Larnel, an Indian who had been dismissed : " He re- 
mained a considerable time at Boston, in a state of 
penance. He presented his confession to Mr. Pem- 
berton, who thereupon became his intercessor, and 
in his letter to the President expresses himself thus : 
' This comes by Larnel, who brings a confession as good 
as Austin's (St. Augustine), and I am charitably dis- 
posed to hope it flows from a like spirit of penitence.' 
In the public reading of his confession, the flowing of 
his passions were extraordinarily timed, and his ex- 
pressions accented, and most peculiarly and emphat- 
ically those of the grace of God to him ; which indeed 
did give a peculiar grace to the performance itself, and 
raised, I believe, a charity in some, that had very little 
I am sure, and ratified wonderfully that which I had 
conceived of him. Having made his public confes- 
sion, he was restored to his standing in the College." 
Tutor Flynt writes in his Diary, November 4, 1717 : 
" Three scholars were publicly admonished for thiev- 
ing and one degraded below five in his class, because 
he had been before publicly admonished for card- 
playing. They were ordered by the President into 
the middle of the Hall (while two others, concealers 
of the theft, were ordered to stand up in their places, 
and spoken to there). The crime they were charged 
with was first declared, and then laid open as against 
the law of God and the House, and they were admon- 
ished to consider the nature and tendency of it, with 
its aggravations; and all, with them, were warned to 
take heed and regulate themselves, so that they might 



CAMBRIDGE. 



119 



not be in danger of so doing for the future ; and those 
who consented to the theft were admonished to be- 
ware, lest God tear them in pieces according to the 
text. They were then fined, and ordered to make res- 
titution two-fold for each theft." President Wads- 
worth relates that the public confession of B., who 
had been engaged in disorder, was read in the Hall, 
after morning prayer, June 29, 1727. "But such a 
disorderly spirit at that time prevailed, that there was 
not one undergraduate in the Hall besides B , and 
three Freshmen ; there were also the President and the 
two Senior Tutors, but not one Graduate Master or 
Bachelor besides them. When the Scholars, in thus 
absenting from the Hall, refused to hear a confession 
of, or a<lmonitions against, the aforesaid disorders, it 
too plainly appeared that they had more easy and 
favorable thoughts of those disorders themselves than 
they should have had ; the Lord, of his Infinite grace 
in Christ, work a better temper and spirit in them." 
As late as May 2G, 1786, there is record of a public 
confession in the Chapel. 

Prayer was held at six in the morning. In 1731 a 
schedule of fines for absences, tardiness and misbe- 
havior at Chapel was adopted. Rebellions frequently 
broke out, but the regulations were enforced. After 
prayer there were recitations until breakfast, at half- 
past seven — a rule which caused some of the students 
to take their text-books to Chapel, and to study them 
clandestinely during the service. In 1773, it appearing 
that the custom was slighted of repeating on the 
"Lord's Day evening" the heads of the sermons on 
the previous day, the Overseers proposed that one of 
the students should read aloud a discourse, which 
would not only foster piety, but also encourage "just 
and graceful elocution." Then declamations were 
made after evening prayers, as appears by an entry 
in the Diary of J. Q. Adams: "March 24, 1786. 
After prayer I declaimed, as it is termed ; two students 
every evening speak from memory any piece they 
choose, if it be approved by the President." 

At the beginning of the year the first three mem- 
bers of the Sophomore Class read on successive Mon- 
days, after evening prayers, the so-called " Customs " 
to the Freshmen, who were required to listen with 
decency. J. Q. Adams, in his Diary for March 26, 
1786, says : " After prayer, Bancroft, one of the So- 
phomore Class, read the Customs to the Freshmen 
one of whom (McNeal) stood with his hat on all the 
time. He, with three others, were immediately Aotsfcrf 
(as the term is) before a Tutor and punished. There 
was immediately after a class meeting of the Fresh- 
men, who, it is said, determined they would hoist any 
scholar of the other classes, who should be seen with 
his hat on in the Yard, when any of the Government 
are there." 

Practical jokes were played upon the minister from 
an early period. In 1785 the College Bible was miss- 
ing, and also two Indian images which stood on the 
gate-posts of a Cambridge resident. All these wore 



found by a Tutor in a room of a student, who was 
reading the Biblein loud tones to the images. "What 
is the meaning of this noise?" asked the Tutor an- 
grily. "Propagating the gospel among the Indians, 
sir," was the student's calm reply. In winter the 
pulpit was lighted by candles, and sometimes mischiev- 
ous students bored holes in these, and filled them with 
powder, which, when the flame reached it, put out 
the lights. At another lime, flat pieces of lead inserted 
in the candles, produced the same result. Many were 
the assaults made on the College bell, in the endeavor 
to prevent its ringing for prayers; once the monitor 
who marked absences was locked in his room, but he 
found out the culprits, and marked them only as ab- 
sent. When Ashur Ware, who hesitated in his speech, 
conducted the service, the students used to sneeze, 
making the sound A-a-shur, A- ashur -ware. "Pull- 
crackers" being fastened to the lids of the Bible, they 
exploded when it was opened, whereupon President 
Kirkland reproved the students so earnestly, that 
many of thestUiJent3 went out saying, "That's right," 
" The President's right." Dr. Kirkland used to be 
summoned to prayers by the Regent's Freshman, who 
rang the bell morning and evening. Once, when 
Edward Everett was President, the gate which led 
from the enclosure of Wadsworth House was nailed 
up, so that he had to go round in order to reach the 
Chapel in University. He was so incensed, that he 
lectured the students, using as a text Dante's appeal 
to Florence, " What have you done to me?" Everett's 
lack of humor, which prevented him from seeing the 
disproportion between the annoyance he had suffered 
and the treatment Dante received from the Floren- 
tines, was notloston some of his hearers. Many efforts 
were made to secure more reverence at the services, 
but they often failed. And no wonder, when we 
remember that, besides the usual ceremony, it was the 
custom for each Divinity student, who was a benefi- 
ciary of the Hopkins Fund, to read four theological 
dissertations, each ten minutes long, after evening 
prayers. " In one year the undergraduates were re- 
quired to listen to thirty-two such dissertations, 
among which were an English essay on ' Ejaculatory 
Prayer,' and a Latin disquisition on ' The Hebrew 
Masoretic Points.' " Absences were announced in 
Latin every Saturday, and excuses were given in Latin, 
Common excuses were, "seinel argrotavi," " bisinvahd," 
"detentvs ah amicis'' "Ex oppido" and "tinlinnabidum 
non audioi." One Freshman, charged with three ab- 
sences, replied, "Nonter,gedsemelabfui; Carolus /rater 
lochcdmeup in the Buttery." Once (April 18, 1821) 
only three students appeared at prayers, which were, 
nevertheless, conducted as usual : the rest of the Col- 
lege had gone the preceding evening to see Kean act 
in Boston, and a heavy snow-storm had prevented their 
return. 

President Quincy was absent from prayers only 
twice during the sixteen years of his administration, 
and then he was detained in court iis a witness. He 



120 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



sat directly in front of the organ, on the west side of the 
University, opposite the minister; and whenever, after 
the services, he had an address to malce, he would 
read it from manuscript. Henry Ware, 8r., then 
conducted morning, and his son evening prayers. In 
1831 a charge of sectarianism was raised against the 
form of services, but a member of the Corporation re- 
plied that the " objection is not that they contain sec- 
tarianism, but that they omit sectarianism." Statis- 
tics prepared in 1830 show that during the preceding 
year, absences, excused and unexcused, of the Senior 
Class averaged only two a week for each individual. 
Excuses were then granted by the President, but in 
1844 President Quincy required that every minor must 
" bring a written excuse from his parent, guardian 
or physician. This brings him continually under do- 
mestic surveillance, and gives the Faculty of the Col- 
lege evidence of the reality of his excuse of the most 
unquestionable authenticity." From that time, there- 
fore, we may probably date the first flow of that stream 
of "doctor's certificates " and parental excuses, which 
flooded "the office" every Monday morning, until, 
by the abolition of compulsory attendance, the need 
of those documents ceased. Disturbances were 
usually greater at evening than in the morning, per- 
haps because the spirit of mischief was not wholly 
aroused in those who got out of bed, drew on boots 
and overcoat, and ran to Chapel at six o'clock A. m. 
Tbat was the hour for prayers, except in winter, when 
they came at seven o'clock. No occasion was lost for 
shuffling or stamping with the feet, until at last the 
long seats were replaced by settees, so that the moni- 
tors could see who made the noise. The Bible was 
stolen in 1831 and in 1852, and again in 1863. In 1852 
it was sent by express to the Librarian of Yale Col- 
lege, who had it returned to Harvard. On one of the 
fly-leaves the following inscription was found : Hoc 
Bildrm raptvm vi a irvljnte Harvard Coll. Chapelli 
Facvltati Yali ab Harv. Coll. vndergradvatibvs dona- 
tvr rewardom meriti et lenitatis in expeUando sopho- 
mores XXVfvr et receptor idem, in vestro lihrarivncvlo 
reiinete : coveres servamvs in vsvm chessboardi pro Hel- 
ter Skelter Clvb. 

During President Walker's term (1853-60) evening 
prayers were discontinued ; at the morning service a 
choir was introduced, and a " Service Book," pre- 
pared by Prof. Huntington, was used. The experi- 
ment of holding prayers after breakfast did not suc- 
ceed. The bell was still the object of many futile 
attacks ; once, indeed, some students succeeded in 
cutting out the tongue, but the Janitor, Mills, beat 
the strokes with a hammer. Attempts to plug the 
keyhole* of the Chapel doors likewise failed; the 
alert watchman always frustrated them in time. Once 
the seats allotted to the Freshmen were painted green, 
mottoes were daubed on the walls, and the building 
was wantonly defaced; later {in 1870), stripes like 
those on a barber's pole were painted on the columns 
in the porch of the Chapel. When President Hill, in 



the absence of Dr. A. P. Peabody, conducted the 
exercises, a lighted bunch of fire-crackers was thrown 
into the pulpit, but he calmly put his foot on the 
fuse before the crackers 'exploded. When the news 
came of the capture of Richmond, President Hill an- 
nounced it after the services, and the students went 
out singing "Old Hundred." 

After President Eliot's accession (1869) the choir 
was discontinued, and the whole body of students, led 
by the Glee Club, sang, using a book of "Melodies 
and Hymns," compiled in 1870. Each student was 
allowed fifty unexcused absences during the year ; 
the number being reduced to forty in the case of those 
who were excused on Mondays. Each unexcused 
absence counted three censure marks; each tardiness 
counted eight. The "prayer line" included all 
students who roomed within a third of a mile of the 
Chapel. AVhen the unexcused " cuts" amounted to 
ten, the student was privately admonished ; at twenty 
"a public admonition " was given, but no longer in 
public ; after forty cuts, the student was suspended. 
These punishments were regulated by the Dean. 
Parents who objected on religious ground to their 
sons' attendance at Chapel, could have them perma- 
nently excused. 

But already public sentiment began to show itself 
against compulsory attendance at religious services. 
It was argued that a student who, after a hasty toilet, 
goes to Chapel and listens perfunctorily to the reading 
of the Scriptures and to prayers and hymns, could not 
be expected to derive much good therefrom; an 
empty stomach does not conduce to a devotional 
frame of mind. But the conservatives for a long time 
opposed any change ; it was necessary, they said, to 
have some means for getting the students up in the 
morning, and prayers subserved this end exrictly. 
The would-be reformers replied that it was hardly 
decorous to convert an avowedly religious ceremony 
into a mere academic roll-call. Then the conserva- 
tives insisted that to abolish compulsory attendance 
would be to justify those critics of the College who 
were continually charging Harvard with irreligion. 
The reformers retorted that it was Pharisaical to pre- 
tend that the majority of the sludects attended 
Chapel in a worshipful spirit, and that it would be 
better honestly to allow each student to choose for 
himself. But the conservatives long prevailed. 

From September, 1872, to February, 1873, morning 
prayers were discontinued while alterations were mak- 
ing in Appleton Chapel. President Eliot, in his Report 
for that year, said : " The Faculty thus tried, quite in- 
voluntaril}', an interesting experiment in College dis- 
cipline. It has beeu a common opinion that morning 
prayers were not only right and helpful in themselves, 
but also necessary to College discipline, partly as a 
morning roll-call and partly as a means of enforcing 
continuous residence. It was therefore interesting 
to observe that the omission of morning prayers for 
nearly five months, at the time of year when the days 



CAMBEIDGE. 



121 



are shortest and coldest, had no ill effects whatever on 
College order or discipline. There was no increased 
irregularity of attendance at morning exercises, no 
unusual number of absences, and, in fact, no visible 
effect upon the other exercises of the College, or upon 
the quiet and order of the place. The Professors and 
other teachers living beyond the sound of the prayer- 
bell would not have known from any effect produced 
upon their work with the students that morning 
prayers had been intermitted." In spite of this 
practical experiment, however, the Overseers clung to 
the old custom, and vetoed a vote of the Corporation 
to make attendance at prayers voluntary. In Novem- 
ber, 1874, Sunday morning prayers were abolished, 
Sunday evening prayers having been discontinued in 
17C(3. But the agitation was not abandoned, and 
finally, in October, 1886, attendance at daily prayers 
and Sunday services ceased to be compulsory. Since 
that time the services have been performed in rota- 
tion by the Plummer Professor, or by one of the five 
preachers to the University appointed annually from 
among conspicuous clergymen of various denomina- 
tions. The services are short, and the average attend- 
ance of students who go of their own accord has been 
satisfactory. The preacher for the time being meets 
any students who wish to confer with him every 
morning during his term. Exercises, with a sermon> 
are also held on Sunday evenings in Appleton Chapel ; 
and during the winter months a " Vesper Service " 

»is held every Thursday at five o'clock, at which the 
singing is performed in part by the congregation, and 
in part by a choir of boys and by soloists especially 
engaged. The cost of maintaining these various re- 
ligious exercises was 87555.33 for the year 1888-89. 

Discipline. — In the foregoing pages I have given 
an account of some of the laws by which the students 
were formerly governed, and of some of the ways in 
which the ever-fertile undergraduate niicd evaded or 
contravened them. I propose now to describe a little 
niore fully the various codes of College discipline, 
and some of the famous instances when the student.-*, 
throwing over all restraint, lived in open rebellion 
with their governors. One fact is impressed upon us 
in reviewing this department of college life : discon- 
tent and rebellion were vehement just in proportion 
I to the burden of repression. College students are 
men " in the making ; " they are endowed with a 
large amount of human nature — a truth which Fac- 
ulties have often overlooked ; they can usually be led 
more easily than they can be driven ; and as they have 
been permitted larger liberty, they have behaved 
with greater decorum. 

At the outset, Harvard being a seminary which 
scholars entered at thirteen and left at seventeen, the 
discipline was stern, of the Puritan type of stern- 
ness. The Laws, Liberties and Orders of 1642 an- 
nounced that " 1 2. Every one shall consider the 
main end of his life and studies to know God and 
Jesus Christ, which is eternal life; .John .xvi, 13." ?6. 



" They shall eschew all profanation of 'God's holy 
name, attributes, words, ordinances, and times of 
worship ; and study, with reverence and love, care- 
fully to retain God and his truth in their minds." 
1 7. " They shall honor as their parents, magistrates, 
elders, tutors and aged persons, by being silent in 
their presence (except they be called on to answer), 
not gainsaying ; showing all those laudable expres- 
sions of honor and reverence in their presence that 
are in use, or bowing before them, standing uncov- 
ered, or the like." ? 8. " They shall be slow to speak, 
and eschew not only oaths, lies, and uncertain ru- 
mors, but likewise all idle, foolish, bitter, scoffing, 
frothy, wanton words, and offensive questions." I 9. 
" None shall pragmatically intrude or intermeddle 
in other men's affairs." §11. " None shall, under any 
pretence whatsoever, frequent the company and so- 
ciety of such men as lead an unjust and dissolute 
life. Neither shall any, without license of the Over- 
seers of the College, be of the artillery or trainband. 
Nor shall any, without the license of the Overseers 
of the College, his Tutor's leave, or, in his absence, 
the call of parents and guardians, go out to another 
town." ? 12. " No scholar shall buy, sell, or exchange 
anything, to the value of sixpence, without the allow- 
ance of his parents, guardians, or Tutors ; and who- 
soever is found to have sold or bought any such 
thing without acquainting their Tutors or parents, 
shall forfeit the value of the commodity, or the re- 
storing of it, according to the discretion of the 
President." § 17. " If any scholar shall tran.»greP8 
any of the laws of God, or the House, out of per- 
verseness, or apparent negligence, after twice ad- 
monition, he shall be liable, if not adidtus, to correc- 
tion ; if adidtus, his name shall be given up to the 
Overseers of the College thai he may be publicly 
dealt with after the desert of his fault ; but in greater 
offenses such gradual proceeding shall not be exer- 
cised." 

A little later (May 6, 1650) the Overseers passed 
an order prohibiting students, without permission, 
from being " present at or in any of the public civil 
meetings, or concourse of people, as courts of justice, 
elections, fairs, or at military exercise, in the time or 
hours of the college exercise, public or private. 
Neither sh.all any scholar exercise himself in any 
military band, unless of known gravity, and of ap- 
proved sober and virtuous conversation, and that with 
the leave of the President and his Tutor. No scholar 
shall take tobacco, unless permitted by the Presi- 
dent, with the consent of their parents and guardians, 
and on good reason first given by a physici.an, and 
then in a sober and private manner." On October 
21, 1656, the General Court ordered "that the Presi- 
dent and Fellows of Harvard College, for the time 
being, or the major part of them, are hereby empow- 
ered, according to their best discretion, to punish all 
misdemeanors of the youth in their Society, either by 
fine, or whipping in the Hall openly, as the nature of 



122 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



the offence'shall require, not exceeding ten shillings 
or ten stripes for one offence." A record of the Cor- 
poration for June 10,1669, after stating that "there 
are great complaints of the exorbitant practices of 
some students of this College, by their abusive words 
and actions to the watch of the town," declares that 
the watch, " from time to time, and at all Limes, shall 
have full jjower of inspection into the manner and 
orders of all persons related to the College, whether 
within or without the precincts of the said College 
houses and lands." But it is forbidden " that any of 
the said watchmen should lay violent hands on any 
of the students, being found within the jirecincts of 
the College yards, otherwise than so they may secure 
thera until they may inform the President or some 
of the Fellows. Neither shall they in any case break 
into their chambers or studies without special orders 
from the President or Fellows. . . . Also, in case 
any student . . . shall be found absent from his 
lodging after nine o'clock at night, he shall be re- 
sponsible for and to all complaints of disorder of this 
kind, that, by testimony of the watch or others, shall 
appear to be done by any student . . . and shall 
be adjudged guilty of the said crime, unless he can 
purge himself by sufficient witness." Another record 
of the Corporation (March 27, 1G82) declares that 
" Whereas great complaints have been made and 
proved against X., for his abusive carriage, in re- 
quiring some of the Freshmen to go upon his private 
errands, and in striking the said Freshmen ; and for 
his scandalous negligence as to those duties that by 
the laws of the College he is bound to attend ; and 
having persisted obstinately in his will, notwith- 
standing means used to reclaim him, and also refused 
to attend the Corporation, when this day required ; he 
is therefore sentenced, in the first place, to be de- 
prived of the pension heretofore allowed him, also to 
be expelled the College, and in case he shall pre- 
sume, after twenty-four hours are past, to appear 
within the College walls, that then the Fellows of 
the place cause him to appear before the civil au- 
thority." 

From these records of the seventeenth century we 
can form some ideaof the discipline and punishments 
to which the first two generations of Harvard students 
were subjected. By the character of a law we infer 
the nature of the offense which it is intended to pre- 
vent. Those early students were awed by the relig- 
ious menaces which their misdemeanors brought 
down upon them ; and when, in spite of theological 
terrors, they disobeyed, they were flogged ; finally, if 
stripes and expulsion failed, they might be handed 
over to the civil authorities. We wonder how many 
students presented a doctor's certificate that the use 
of tobacco, " in a sober and private manner," would 
benefit, their health, and how often the town watch- 
man was beaten or harassed. We may be sure that 
the Tutors were restrained by no softness of heart 
from applying salutary dosas of birch to delinquents 



who could not be cured by milder remedies : the Pu- 
ritan master, like the Puritan father, believed that he 
whipped Satan when he whipped a refractory boy, 
and he was only too piously glad to smite the arch- 
enemy who lurked beneath tlie skin of an undergradu- 
ate. From Judge Sewall's Diary we get a description 
of one of these floggings, in 1674. The culprit, who had 
been guilty of "speaking blasphemous words," was 
sentenced to be " publicly whipped before all the 
.scholars," to be " suspended from taking his bache- 
lor's degree," and "to sit alone by himself uncovered 
at meals during the pleasure of the President and 
Fellows." The sentence was twice read before the 
oflicers, students and some of the Overseers, in the 
library : the oftender knelt down ; the President 
prayed; then came the flogging; after which the 
President closed the cererhonies with another prayer. 
In a preceding section I have alluded to another form 
of punishment — the public confession of their sins by 
guilty students. 

While all the undergraduates were subjected to this 
austere correction from above, the lot of the Fresh- 
man was peculiarly hard, for he was amenable not 
only to the College officers, but also to the upper 
classmen. Indeed, down to the present century, he 
occupied a position similar to that of a " fag '' at the 
English public schools. "The Ancient Customs of 
Harvard College" contain the following provisions: 
" 1. No Freshman shall wear his hat in the College 
yard, unless it rains, hails or snows; provided, he be 
on foot, and have not both hands full. 2. No Under- 
graduate shall wear his hat in the College yard when 
any of the Governors are there ; and no Bachelor 
when the President is there. 3. Freshmen are to 
consider all the other Classes as their Seniors. 4. No 
Freshman shall speak to a Senior with his hat on ; or 
have it on in a Senior's chamber, or in his own if a 
Senior be there. 6. All Freshmen (except those em- 
ployed by the Immediate Government) shall be obliged 
to go on any errand (except such as shall be judged 
improper by some one in the Government) for any of 
his Seniors, Graduates or Undergraduates, at any 
time, except in studying hours or after 9 o'clock in 
the evening. 7. A Senior Sophister has authority to 
take a Freshman from a Sophomore, a Middle Bache- 
lor from a Junior Sophister, a Master from a Se- 
nior Sophister, and any Governor of the College 
from a Master. 8. Every Freshman, before he goes 
for the person who takes him away (unless it be one 
in the Government), shall return and inform the per- 
son from whom he is taken. 9. No Freshman, when 
sent on an errand, shall make any unnecessary delay, 
neglect to make due return, or go away until dis- 
missed by the person who sent him. 10. No Fresh- 
man shall be detained by a Senior when not actually 
employed on some suitable errand. 11. No Freshman 
shall be obliged to observe any order of a Senior to 
come to him or go on any errand for him, unless he 
be wanted immediately. 12. No Freshman, when 



CAMBKIDGE. 



123 



sent on an errand, shall tell who he is going for, un- 
less he be asked ; nor to tell what he is going for, 
iinle^ss asked by a Governor. 13. When any person 
knocks at a Freshman's door, except in studying 
time, he shall immediately open the door without 
inquiring who is there. 1-4. No scholar shall call up 
or down, to or from, any chamber in the College, nor 
(15) play football or any other game in the Yard, or 
throw anything across the Yard. 10. The Freshman 
shall furnish the batts, balls and footballs for the use 
of the students, to be kept at the Battery. 17. Every 
Freshman shall pay the Butler for putting up his 
name in the Buttery. 18. Strict attention shall be 
paid by all the students to the common rules of clean- 
liness, decency and politeness. The Sophomores shall 
publish these customs to the Freshman in the Chapel 
whenever ordered by any in the Governmeot ; at 
which time the Freshmen are enjciined to keep their 
places in their seats, and attend with decency to the 
reading." 

In early times discipline was supervised not only 
by the President and Tutors, but also by the Corpo- 
ration and Overseers. As the College grew in num- 
bers, however, and petty offences demanding prompt 
attention came up frequently, and as the convening of 
either Board required some delay, the conduct of the 
undergraduates fell more and more to the charge of 
the officers of Immediate Government, whose inde- 
pendent records date from September, 1725. Just a 
century later (June, 1825) the Immediate Govern- 
ment received the official title of " Faculty of the 
University." That the early students, notwithstand- 
ing the severity of the regulations which hemmed 
them about, did not submit meekly, we have good 
reason to suppose, although the records that exist are 
few. We may remember, however, that the Under- 
graduates, instigated by persons unknown, raised so 
great a commotion against President Hoar that he 
deemed it prudent to resign (1675). Hints reach us 
of occasional excesses at the end of the seventeenth 
century, and during the long struggle of the Mathers 
to control the College, accusations of immorality, un- 
godliness and disorders were rained upon it by those 
Draconic moralists and their friends. Cotton Mather, 
whose information concerning the acts and plots of 
Satan were always recent and precise, not only saw 
'Satan beginning a terrible shake in the churches of 
New England," but that he had taken up his quarters 
at Harvard College, whence he could be dislodged 
only by the election of Cotton Mather to the Presi- 
dency ; which his Diabolical Majesty took care to 
prevent by sowing guile and lies against Mr. Mather 
in the hearts of the Governors of that seminary. Dis- 
content thus fomented rose to such a point that the 
Overseers -sent a committee to visit the College. It 
reported that although there was a considerable number 
of virtuous and studious youth, yet there had been a 
practice of several immoralities — particularly stealing, 
lying, swearing, idleness, picking of locks and too 



frequent u-e of strong drink. Private lectures, it, was 
alleged, were much neglected ; the scholars, also, too 
generally spent too much of the Saturday evenings in 
one another's chambers, and Freshmen, as well as 
others, were seen in great numbers, going into town 
on Sabbath mornings to provide breakfasts. In 1732 
another visiting committee pronounced the govern- 
ment of the College to be " in a weak and declining 
st.ate ; " and proposed remedies for restoring discipline. 
By this time flogging, although not abolished, had be- 
gun to be disused, and fines to be imposed, except for 
misdemeanors of the gravest sort. In 1734 the code 
of Laws was revised. I quote the list of punishable 
otlences and the mulcts attached to them as the best 
and briefest meansof illustrating the favorite forms of 
mischief at this period, and the valuation which the 
Faculty set upon them. The most heinous crime, 
" Undergraduate tarrying out of town oce month 
without leave," was punished by a fine not exceeding 
£2 10s. The other offenses, with the penalties in 
shillings and pence attached to them, were as follows: 

«. d- 

Tardiness at prayers 1 

Absence from prayera, tardiness at Professor's public lecture . . 2 

Tardiness at public worship 3 

Absence from Professor's public lecture 4 

Absence from cliambers, sending for proliiI)ited liquors, going to 
meeting before bell-ringing, going out of College witbout proper 

garb 6 

Absence from public worship, neglecting to repeat sermons, send- 
ing freshman in studying time 9 

Rudeness at meals, keeping guns, going on skating 1 

Undergraduates tarrying out of town without leave, not exceeding 

per diem 1 3 

III behavior at public worehip, prayers or public divinity lectures, 
not declaiming or not giving up a declamation, absence from reci- 
tation, bachelors neglecting disputation, lodging strangers with- 
out leave, entertaining persons of ill character, frequenting tav- 
erns, undergraduates playing any game for money, selling and 
exchanging without leave, lying, drunkenness, having liquors 
prohibited under penalty (second offence, 3».) keeping or fetch- 
ing prohibited liquoi-s, going upon the top of the College, cut- 
ting off the lead, concealing the transgression of the 10th Law, 
tumultuous noises (second offence, 3«.), fighting or hurting any 

person 1 A 

Respondents neglecting disputations. . . . from! 1«. 6(i. to . . . . 3 
Profane cursing, firing guns or pistols in College Yard, undergrad- 
uates playing cards or going out of town without leave .... 2 ft 
Profanation of the Lord's day, neglecting analysing, neglecting to 

give evidence 3 

Graduates playing cards, opening doors by picklocks 6 

Butler and cook to keep utensils clean 6 

Undergraduates tarrying out of town one week without leavo . . 10 

The student of penology will observe that in this 
tariff, transgressions of arbitrary academic or theo- 
logical requirements are punished more severely than 
misbehavior which indicates real moral defects: thus 
" neglecting analysing" is twice as wicked as lying; 
absence from recitation is as blameworthy as drunk- 
enness ; opening doors by picklocks is nearly three 
times as reprehensible as entertaining persons of ill 
character. But such discrepancies as these are com- 
mon to all codes of conduct based on theology and 
not on morality. 

In 1735 the Overseers recommended the Corpora- 
tion "to restrain unsuitable and unseasonable danc- 



124 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



ing in the College." Degradation to the bottom of 
the class, striking the name from the College lists, 
and expulsion were the highest punishments, after 
fines, admonition and public confession failed ; and 
though flogging wa-s less frequently administered, 
the Tutors still kept up the old custom of " boxing." 
The new Laws seem to have been effective, for in 
1740 a visiting committee pronounced the condition 
of Cambridge to be satisfactory. The Whitefield 
revival excited many of the students to a stricter ob- 
servance of their duties, but the improvement was 
only temporary ; still, the sweeping accusations 
brought against Harvard by Whitefield and Jonathan 
Edwards had no better inspiration than theological 
zeal. Charles Chauncy declared that in his exper- 
ience, extending over more than twenty years, the 
College was never " under better circumstances in 
point of religion, good order and learning than at 
this day " (1743). But, says Quincy, " the changes 
which occurred in the morals and manners of New 
England about the middle of the eighteenth century 
unavoidably affected the College. ' Profane cursing 
and swearing,' ' habits of frequenting taverns and ale- 
houses,' ' the practice of using wine, beer and dis- 
tilled liquors by undergraduates in their rooms,' 
greatly increased. Tutors were insulted, and combi- 
nations to perpetrate unlav;ful acts were more fre- 
quent. Laws were made, penalties inflicted, recom- 
mendations and remonstrances repeated, without 
either eradicating those evils or materially diminish- 
ing them." • In 1755 two students were expelled for 
gross disorders. Discontent with the fare provided at 
Commons was one of the chief perplexities which 
President Holyoke had to encounter. In 1766 broke 
out a rebellion which raged for a month. Two years 
later " great disturbances occurred ; the Tutors' win- 
dows were broken with brickbats, their lives endan- 
gered, and other outrages committed." The Faculty 
expelled three of the perpetrators and rusti- 
cated others. Some of the students, who had with- 
drawn from the College in order to e.scape punish- 
ment, petitioned to be reinstated ; the Faculty refused 
to entertain their petition before twelve months 
should elapse. They then applied to the Overseers, 
who referred them to the Corporation, which, in view 
of the fact that "many who have been great friends and 
benefactors to the society have condescended to inter- 
cede in their behalf," recommended the Faculty to 
re-admit them, provided they should make a public 
humble confession. So they came back, thanks to 
the influence of their intercessors, but against the 
official protest of President Holyoke. 

The patriotic spirit now ran high in the College> 
but some of the Tory students, to show their loyalty 
to the King, brought "India tea" into Commons 
and drank it, to the incensement of the Whigs. The 
Faculty, to prevent trouble, advised the tea-drinkers 

1 Quincy, ii, 90, 01. 



to desist from a practice which "was a source of 
grief and uneasiness to many of the students, and .as 
the use of it is disagreeable to the people of the coun- 
try in general." During the Revolution, discipline 
was unusually lax, owing either to the spirit of inde- 
pendence which showed itself among the sons notices 
than among the fathers, or to the unavoidable excite- 
ment and interruptions, or to the weakness of President 
Langdon. We have already related how, in 1780, the 
students held a mass-meeting, and passed resolutions 
demanding his resignation, and how he complied. 

In 1790 the Laws of the College were revised, and 
among the new requirements the students were to sub- 
mit to an annual public examination " in the presence 
of a joint committee of the Corporation and Over- 
seers," and other gentlemen. The Seniors and 
Juniors asked for exemption, but were refused. 
Accordingly, some of them, on the morning of April 
12, 1791, — the day appointed for the examination, — 
put 600 grains of tartar emetic in the kitchen boilers. 
The officers and students came in to breakfast, but 
very soon, all but four or five, were forced to rush 
from the Hall. The conspirators hoped to escape de- 
tection by drinking more coffee than the rest; but 
after awhile they were discovered. Three were rusti- 
cated, one to Groton for nine months, and one to Am- 
herst for five months. A memorandum of April 0, 
1792, states that twenty-three Sophomores were fined 
two shillings apiece for supping at a tavern. Fines 
continued to be exacted down to 1825, after which date 
they were nearly all abolished, except in cases where 
College property was injured. But it is evident that this 
system was never very effectual in preventing mischief, 
because the penalty was never paid by the student, 
but was charged in the term-bill for his father to pay. 

The condition of Freshmen slowly improved, al- 
though the Corporation, as late as 1772, having been 
recommended to abolish the custom requiring Fresh- 
men to run on errands for upper clansmen, voted that, 
"after deliberate consideration and weighing all cir- 
cumstances, they are not able to project any plan in 
the room of this long and ancient custom, that will 
not, in their opinion, be attended with equal, if not 
greater, inconveniences." During the present cen- 
tury the instinctive antagonism between Freshmen 
and Sophomores found a vent in rushes between those 
classes; and fagging was gradually replaced by "haz- 
ing." The terrors and torments to which the callow 
Freshman was subjected on " Bloody Monday " night, 
at the beginning of the autumn term, were often car- 
ried far beyond the bounds of fun and sometimes re- 
sulted in the bodily injury of the victim. The Fac- 
ulty strove by the most strenuous penalties to put an 
end to hazing, but it only disappeared about fifteen 
or twenty years ago, through the influence of the 
Elective System, which broke down class barriers, 
and above all through the increased age of the stu- 
dents, who, being no longer boys when they came to 
College, were no longer amused by boyish deviltry. 



CAMBKIDGE. 



125 



Among the famous "rebellions," I have already 
mentioned that of 1768, when, says Governor Hutch- 
inson, " the scholars met in a body under and about a 
great tree, to which they gave the name of the tree of 
liberty!" "Some years after, this tree was either 
blown or cut down," and the name was given to the 
present Liberty Tree, which stands between Holden 
Chapel and Harvard Hall, and is now hung with 
llowers for Seniors to scramble for on Class Day. The 
next important rebellion occurred iu 1807, when the 
three lower classes protested against the bad food at 
Commons. Without waiting for the President to in- 
vestigate and correct, they indulged in disorders. Two 
students were publicly admonished for "smoking 
segars," and "occasioning great disturbance " at the 
evening meal. The troubles increased, and with 
them the alarm of the Faculty. Three Sojihomores 
were suspended, whereat Eames, one of their class- 
mates, " did openly and grossly insult the members of 
the Government, by hissing at them, as they passed 
him, standing with the other waiters in the Hall." 
Eames was accordingly suspended, but three students 
went to the President and guaranteed that the rest 
would behave properly at Commons, if Eames were 
pardoned. The pardon was granted. A few days 
later the four classes marched out in a body from din- 
ner, complaining of the fare. The Faculty immedi- 
ately voted " that no more Commons be provided till 
iurther orders, and that all students have leave to diet 
cut at proper houses, till further orders." The Cor- 
poration met, and ordered the President to attend Com- 
mons " on Sunday morning next," adding that " in 
consideration of the youth of the students, and hop- 
ing that their rash and illegal conduct is rather owing 
to want of exjierieuce and reflection than to malig- 
nity of temper or a spirit of defiance, [the Corpora- 
tion] are disposed to give them an opportunity to cer- 
tify in writing to the President, as he shall direct, 
their admission of the impropriety of their conduct, 
their regret for it, and their determination to offend 
no more in this manner." Seven days were allowed 
for this confession to be made, but, although the 
time was extended, some of the students refused, and, 
on April 15th, seventeen of the recalcitrants were dis- 
missed. The so-called " Kebelliou Tree," which stands 
to the east of the south entry of Hollis Hall, got its 
name, if we may credit tradition, from the fact that 
the students used to as.'^emble under it during the 
troublous episode just described. 

In 1819 a row at Commons between the Sophomores 
and Freshmen led to another rebellion. Three Soph- 
omores were suspended, which caused another out- 
break, and the suspension of two more. Both classes 
j(jined m the revolt. The Faculty, unable to disperse 
the rebellious gatherings in the Yard, rusticated six 
Sophomores. The whole Sophomore Class then with- 
drew from the College; but after an absence of a fort- 
night, they sought re-admitsion, which was granted 
to all save those who had been rusticated or sus- 



pended. This affair was the theme of the best-known 
of college satires — The B ebe Iliad ; or, Ttrrible Trana- 
ai'doHs at the Seat of the Muses, by Augustus Peirce, 
of ihe Class of 1820. 

In April, 1823, "a very remarkable uprising among 
the Seniors took place." A student, X., was about 
to graduate at the head of his class. It was reported 
that a certain Z. had informed the President that X. 
had spent money in dissipation. X. denied the charge, 
and offered to show his account-book. Nevertheless, 
he was deprived of the scholarship he had hitherto 
enjoyed, and was forbidden to deliver his oration at 
the Spring Exhibition. Z. was one of the speakers on 
that occasion, and was vehemently hissed. X. was 
held responsible for the disturbance and dismissed. 
The Seniors immediately resolved not to attend 
any College exercise at which Z. was present; and 
when he came to the Chapel to declamation, they 
hustled him down-stairs. The Faculty expelled four 
of those concerned in this disorder ; but the Seniors 
held a meeting and voted to repeat their violence if 
Z. came to evening prayeis. He entered "after the 
service had begun, whereupon the class rose up as 
before and drove him from the place, the President 
loudly calling them to order and refusing to go on 
with the exercises. After tea the bugle was sounded 
under the Rebellion Tree; and when the students 
had assembled Dr. Popkiu addressed theui, advising 
them to disperse, and reminding them of the conse- 
quences of their not doing so. 'We know it will 
injure us in a degree,' was the reply. A majority of 
the class then resolved that they would not return to 
their work until the four expelled members were re- 
called and Z. was sent away from College; that they 
would attend prayers the next mornirg lor the last 
time, and if Z. appeared that they would put him out 
and punish him severely; but if he did not appear, 
that they would leave the Chapel themselves. Z. did 
not come, having left Cambridge on the previous 
evening; and accordingly the class rose quietly iu a 
body and marched out of the Chapel, while the Pres- 
ident again discontinued the services. After break- 
fast, thirty-seven, comprising all who had engaged in 
or who approved of the proceedings, — the so-called 
' White List,' in distinction from the others, who 
were styled the 'Black List,' — were dismissed, and 
thus prevented from graduating at Commencement.'" 
Many years later the College gave them their de- 
grees. X. was afterwards a member of the Examining 
Committee in Greek; Z., who confessed before his 
death that his suspicion was unfounded, became a 
clergyman, and was elected to the Massachusetts 
Legislature. 

The last and most violent of the rebellions was that 
of 1834. Dunkin, an Englishman, who tutored in 
Greek, requested M., a Freshman, to read certain 
Greek proper names. M. replied that he did not care 

1 "Harvard Book, ii, 130, 131. 



126 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



to do so ; the Tutor insisted that he would be obeyed. 
The Freshman declared that he was of age, and that 
he would not be dictated to. The matter was re- 
jjorted to President Quincy, who asked M. to retract ; 
but the latter preferred to break his connection with 
the College. That night Tutor Dunkin's recitation- 
room, in the northeast corner of Massachusetts, was 
broken in to, the furniture and windows were smashed. 
At prayers the next mofrning there was whistling, 
groaning, and squeaking of concealed toys. The fol- 
lowing morning torpedoes were thrown in the air and 
exploded on the floor of the Chapel. Finally the 
President expostulated with the Freshmen who had 
been engaged in these proceedings, and threatened to 
prosecute them in the civil courts. Whereat the 
Freshmen were exasperated, and showed their exas- 
peration by renewed rioting. One of them, B., from 
South Carolina, was dismissed. His classmates peti- 
tioned for his recall, because many of their number 
were guiltier than he. Then the mutiny spread to 
the Sophomores, all but three of whom absented 
themselves from prayers on three consecutive occa- 
sions. The Faculty dismissed all but those three — 
an unprecedented measure. But the Sophomores ap- 
peared at prayers the next morning and drowned the 
President's voice in cries of " Hear him ! hear him ! " 
The service was discontinued, and the unruly class 
was ordered by the President to remain ; but out it 
marched from the Chapel. The Freshmen's petition 
was not granted, and they plunged into new insubor- 
dination, which resulted in the dismissal of two of 
them and of one Junior. The Juniors resented this, 
voted "to wear crape on the left arm for three weeks, 
to publish an article in the newspapers and to burn 
the President in effigy." The Faculty, with the con- 
sent of the Corporation, now brought legal proceed- 
ings against members of the Sophomore Class — one 
for trespass and one for assault on the College watch- 
man. The President (June 4th) published an open 
letter in the newspapers, giving an account of the 
rebellion. A week later the Seniors, to whom the 
infection had penetrated, drew up a rejoinder, and 
sent it to the public press. Every Senior was there- 
upon required to confess what he had had to do with 
this document; eight were concerned with its prepa- 
tion and circulation, two approved of it, fourteen had 
no concern in it and two were absent. On June 30th 
there were more tumults, followed by three suspen- 
sions. On Class Day, July 16th, the Class Poet, Roy- 
all Tyler, instead of his poem, read a formal prohibi- 
tion from the President against his reading the poem. 
Then came a burst of groans and hisses; but in the 
evening the poem was delivered before an enthusias- 
tic audience at a supper at Murdock's (afterwards 
Porter's) Hotel. Thus during more than two months 
the work of the College was interrupted, and many 
of the Seniors who lost their degrees that year did 
not receive them until several years later. 

In 1805 the oUicc of I'roctor was established. The 



Proctors lived in the College buildings, and preserved 
order, forming the " Parietal Committee," over which 
the Regent presided. The Regent had charge of 
weekly lists of absences, monitors' bills, petitions for 
excuses and similar duties. Like the President, he 
had a meritorious Freshman to assist him. From 
time to time the Laws of 1790 were revised, and 
although in practice more liberty was allowed than 
formerly to the students, the statute-book was still 
very severe. Thus, in 1848, the following were desig- 
nated as "high offences:" "Keeping any gun, pistol, 
gunpowder, or explosive material, or firing or using 
the same in the city of Cambridge ; being concerned 
iu any bonfires, fireworks or unauthorized illumina- 
tions ; being an actor or spectator at any theatrical 
entertainment in term time; making or beingpresent 
at any entertainment within the precincts of the 
University, at which intoxicating liquors of any kind 
are served ; going to any tavern or victuailiug-house 
in Cambridge, except in the presence of a parent, 
guardian or Patron." Among simple misdemeanors 
are set down : Keeping a dog, horse, or other animal 
without leave of the Faculty, and playing at cards or 
dice. The Patron here referred to was " some gentle- 
man of Cambridge, not of the Faculty," appointed by 
the Corporation to have charge of the expenses of 
students who came from places outside of the Com- 
monwealth, if their parents desired. He received a 
commission of two and a half jser cent, of the amount 
of the term bill of the students whose money was 
entrusted to him. The last Patron was appointed in 
18G9. 

Sitting on the steps of the College buildings, calling 
to or from the windows, lying on the ground, collect- 
ing in groups — these also were punishable oifences 
not very long ago. Bonfires were prohibited; "any 
students crying fire, sounding an alarm, leaving their 
rooms, shouting or clapping from a window, going to 
the fire, or being seen at it, going into the College 
Yard, or assembling on account of such bonfire, shall 
be deemed aiding and abetting such disorder, and 
punished accordingly," say the Laws of 1818. Vio- 
lations of decorum were (1849) "smoking in the 
streets of Cambridge, in the College Yard, the public 
rooms or the entries, carrying a cane into the Chapel, 
recitation rooms, library or any public room." " Snow- 
balling, or kicking football, or playing any game in 
the College Yard " were added to this list in 1852. 
No student might be absent over-night, and to each 
class was assigned a Tutor, who granted excuses from 
Chapel (1849). Sitting out of alphabetical order at 
any Chapel exercise became punishable in 1857 ; 
cheering — except on Class Day — or "proclaiming the 
name of any person whatever in connection with the 
cheering on that or any other occasion " appeared on 
the list of prohibitions the previous year. 

But despite these restrictions we h.ave heard from 
persons who were undergraduates during the middle 
decades of this centurv tales that indicate that the 



CAMBRIDGE. 



127 



students often enjoyed a larger freedom than was 
allowed them by the "College Bible." To serve as 
" supe "in one of the Boston theatres, when some cele- 
brated actor or singer performed, was not uncommon, 
but doubtless the risk of being found out enhanced 
the enjoyment of this and other unlawful mischief. 
When a line of horse-cars was opened between Har- 
vard and Bowdoin Square (1856) it became impossible 
to prevent the students from making frequent trips to 
town. Previous to that the means of communication 
had been an omnibus once an hour. So custom, 
which is stronger than laws, gradually established the 
right of students to visit Boston when they chose, 
provided they obeyed the rules when within the Col- 
lege precincts. The billiard-room in the basement 
of Parker's w.is patronized by almost enough collegians 
to justify Artemas Ward's witticism. There were 
still sporadic cases of hazing which called for severe 
measures from the Faculty. The silence of the Yard 
was from time to time startled by an exploded bomb 
or lighted by a sudden bonfire in the dead of night. 
Once a huge turkey was found hanging on the Col- 
lege bell when the janitor came to ring for morning 
prayers ; once a pair of monstrous boots dangled from 
the Chapel spire, and once there was a life-and-death 
struggle in the Chapel between the watchman and a 
desperate student. But the explosions grew fainter, 
and the fires, except on Comniencemeni night, burnt 
lower and lower, and the inscriptions in paint or lamp- 
black on the walls of the University were few and far 
between. Almost the last serious mischief — the blow- 
ing up of a room in HoUis — took place nearly twenty 
years ago; and of late years the College drain has 
performed its humble duties undisturbed by gun- 
powder. And whenever any of these last spasms of 
an expiring era did occur, they no longer met the 
approval or excited the laughter of the majority of 
the students. The reason is plain — such pranks and 
disorders were the legacies of a time when the aver- 
age Senior at graduation was not older than the 
Freshman is now at admission. 

Upon President Eliot's accession (18G9) the office of 
Dean was created to relieve the President from many 
disciplinary duties. The Dean performed, in a meas- 
ure, the functions of the former Regent, but besides 
being the chief police officer, he had also a general 
supervision of the studies of the undergraduates. 
Under him the Registrar attended to minor matters 
of discipline, such as the granting of excuses. This 
office was abolished in 1888, its work being now as- 
signed to the Secretary and his assistant. 

Most of the old laws have disappeared from the 
' College Bible;" public opinion is now stronger 
than the printed rules in setting the standard of 
conduct. There are still reguhitions against throw- 
ing scow-balls, playing any game in the yard or 
entries, smoking on the steps or in the entries, 
and loitering in such manner as to obstruct them. 
Playing on musical instruments, except at specified 



hours, is also forbidden ; and it is not lawful to keep 
dogs in College rooms. Discipline is enforced by ad- 
monition ; by probation, " which indicates that a 
student is in serious danger of separation from the 
College ; " by sus[)ensiou — a temporary separation ; 
by dismission, which " closes a student's connection 
with the College, without necessarily precluding his 
return;" and by expulsion, which "is the highest 
academic censure, and is a final separation from the 
University." 

Thus have the students attained, little by little, to 
almost complete liberty of action ; and since the re- 
sponsibility for their conduct has been thrown ou 
themselves, and not on the Faculty, the morale of the 
College has steadily improved. When there were 
many laws, the temptation to break them was loo 
great to be always resisted; when Tutors and Proc- 
tors were looked upon as policemen and detectives, 
the pleasure ot outwitting and harassing them was 
mingled with a sense of superior cunning or with the 
exultation of successful daring. Persons whose ex- 
perience enables them to compare the present condi- 
tion of the undergraduates with that of fifty or even 
of thirty years ago, agree that serious delinquencies, 
such as drunkenness and profligacy, are relatively far 
less common now than then. The increase in order- 
liness can be testified to by any one whose acquaint- 
ance with Harvard life extends no farther back than 
two or three lustres. And it may be added that the 
immemorial antagonism between the Faculty and the 
students was never milder than at present, when 
Committees, composed in part of undergraduates and 
in part of members of the Faculty, exist for the 
mutual interchange of wishes and suggestions. In 
old times, students were treated either as servants or 
as possible culprits ; the newer, and true method is 
to treat them like men. 

Commencement. — The first Commencement exer- 
cises were held on the second Tuesday of August, 
1642, "the Governors, Magistrates and the Ministers 
from all parts, with all sorts of scholars and others in 
great numbers," being present. Nine Bachelors' de- 
grees were conferred that year, and four the next. In 
1685, we learn from Sewall's Z'jury, under the date 
July 1st, that " besides Disputes, there are four Ora- 
tions, one Latin by Mr. Dudley, and two Greek, one 
Hebrew by Nath. Mather, and Mr. President [Increase 
Mather] after giving the Degrees, made an oration in 
praise of Academical Education of Degrees, Hebrew 
Tongue. . . . After dinner y* 3d part of y" 103d 
PS. was sung in y' Hall." Two years later. Governor 
Andros attended Commencement, and by his dicection, 
"Mr. Ratcliff sat in y" pulpit," — an act of guberna- 
torial authority which incensed the sturdy Calvinism 
of the College, because RatclilT was tho Church of 
England Chaplain to his Excellency. Even thus 
early, the day had become the occasion of festivities 
not to be missed by any one who had the means or 
could spare the tiiue to attend them. And alter the 



128 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



academic diet of orations in the learned languages and 
of copious prayer had been partaken of, young and 
old turned with whetted appetite and thirst to the 
food and drink provided by the College and by the 
graduating aludents. The consumption of punch and 
liquors did not at first alarm the Corporation, but a 
vole of theirs, on June 22, 1693, states that "having 
been informed that the custom taken up in the Col- 
lege, not used in any other Universities, for the com- 
mencers [members of the graduating class] to have 
plumb-cake, is dishonorable to the College, not grateful 
to wise men, and chargeable to the parents of the 
comuieneers, [the Corporation] do therefore put an 
end to that custom, and do hereby order that no com- 
mencer, or other scholar, shall have auy such cakes 
in their studies or chambers ; and that if any scholar 
shall oflend therein, the cakes shall be taken from 
bim, and he shall moreover pay to the College 20 
shillings for each such offence.'' 

What was peculiarly harmful in " plumb-cake," we 
are not told ; but frequent laws were fulminated 
against it. In 1722 an ordinance was passed " for 
reforming the Extravagancys of Commencements," 
and providing "that ao preparation nor provision of 
either Plumb Cake, or Roasted, Boyled or . Baked 
Meates or Pyes of any kind sha! be made by any 
Commencer." " Distilled Lyquours " or "any com- 
position therewith " were also forbidden under a fine 
of twenty shillings, and the contraband articles were 
" to be seized by the Tutors," — but whether or not the 
latter were allowed to eat and drink the seized food 
and drink, we do not know. That the Tutors, how- 
ever, believed with lago that " Good wine is a good 
familiar creature, if it be well used," is plain from 
the following entry in Mr. Flynt's Dlarij, on the eve 
of Commencement, 1724: "Had of Mr. Monis two 
corkscrews M. a piece." Monis was a converted Jew, 
who taught Hebrew in the College for nearly forty 
years, and kc|)t a sm.all shop in what is now Winthrop 
Square. But the plumb-cake stuck in the throats of 
the Corporation, who, in 1727, voted that " if any 
who now doe, or hereafter shall, stand for their de- 
grees, presume to do anything contrary to the Act 
of 11th June, 1722, or go about to evade it by plain 
cake, thev shiill not be admitted to their degree, and 
if any, after they have received their degree, shall 
presume to make any forbidden provisions, their 
names shall be left or rased out of the Catalogue 
of the Graduates." 

In 1725 the inauguration of President Wads- 
worth fWll upon Commencement day. There was, 
as had been usual on such occasions, says Quincy, 
a procession " from the College to the meeting-house. 
The Bachelors of An walked first, two in a ranki 
and then the Masters, all bareheaded; then followed 
Mr. Wadsworlh alone as President ; next the Corpo- 
ration and Tutors, two in a rank; then the Honorable 
Lieutenant-Governor Dummer and Council, and next 
to them the r-,st of the gentlemen, .\ftcr prayer by 



the'Rev. Mr. Colman, the Governor, on delivering the 
keys, seal and records of the College, to the Presideut- 
eleet, as badges of authority, addressed him in English, 
investing him with the government thereof, to which 
the President made a reply, also in English, after 
which he went up into the pulpit and pronounced 
inemuriler a Latin oration ; and afterwards presided 
during the usual exercises." The earlier Commence- 
ments had been hekl in the College Hall, but from 
this time on they were held in the first meeting- 
house; afterwards, from 1758 to 1833, in the old 
First Parish Cnurch ; then in the present First Parish 
Church (183-1-72) then in Appleton Chapel (1873-75) 
and in Sanders Theatre since 1875. 

As the Province grew during the 18th century. 
Commencement became more and more of a popular 
celebration; and, although the means of communi- 
cation were few and roundabout, it was flocked to by 
graduates and sight-seers I'rom all parts of Miissa- 
chusetts. Ladies in high coiffures and bell-shaped 
hoops drove out from Boston in their coaches. 
Ministers, magistrates and merchants came on horse- 
back or in wagons. On no other occasion could you 
then have seen so large an assemblage of the wealth, 
learning and dignity of the Province. There was the 
Governor, with his Council and military e.scort and 
members of the General Court to represent the Stale; 
there were the most edifying proftssors and clergy- 
men, who could preach or pray by the hour in one 
living and three dead languages, to represent the 
Church; there were the friends and fiimilies of the 
students to represent the best society of the Province. 
The towns-people of Cambridge were all there; and 
a nondescript crowd of the idle or the curious. The 
exercises in the Chapel were sober enough, propped 
as they were by theology ; but in the afternoon and 
evening punch and flip rose into the heads which 
had been filled with Greek and Hebrew in the morn- 
ing, and there were disgraceful scenes. 

The Corporation, awakening to the scandal, voted, 
in 1727, that " Commencements for time to come be 
more private than has been usual; and, in order to 
this, that the time for them be not fixed to the 
first Wednesday in July, as formerly, but that the 
l)articular day should be determined upon from 
time to time by the Corporation, and that the 
Honorable and Reverend Board of Overseers be 
seasonably acquainted of the said day, and be desired 
to honor the solemnity with their presence." The 
next year the Governor directed the Sheriff' of Middle- 
sex to prohibit the setting up of booths and tents on 
the land adjoining the College; and in 1733 the 
Corporation and three Ju?tices of the Peace in Cam- 
bridge concerted measures for keeping order, by 
establishing " a constable with six men, who, by 
watching and walking towards evening on these days, 
and also the night following, and in and about the 
entry to the College Hall at dinner-time, slujuld 
prevent disorders." Friday was fixed upon for the 



CAMBRIDGE. 



129 



Commencement esercises, but so great was the out- 
cry — both against the day (which came too near .Sun- 
day) and against the attempt at privacy — that, in 1736 
Wednesday and puldicity were returned to. In 1741t 
two gentlemen whose sons were about to be graduated 
offered the College £1000 if "a trial was made o( 
Commencement this year in a more private manner.' 
The Corporation, mindful of the lack of funds, were 
for acquiescing, but the Overseers would consent to 
no breach in the old custom. The Corporation, there- 
fore, had to content themselves by recommending to 
parents that, " considering the awful judgments of 
God upon this land, they retrench Commencement 
expenses, so as may best correspond with the frowne 
of Divine Providence, and that they take effectual 
care to have their sous' chamber.s cleared of company, 
and their entertainments finished on the evening ol 
said Commencement day, or, at furthest, by next 
morning." In 1759 it was voted that " it shall be no 
offense if any scholar shall, at Commencement, make 
and entertain guests at his chamber with punch;" in 
June, 17t3l, it was deemed no offense for scholars 
in a sober manner, to " entertain one another and 
strangers with punch, which, as it is now usually 
made, is no intoxicating liquor." In 1760 all un- 
necessary expenses, and dancing in the Hall or other 
College building during Commencement week, were 
forbiddeu. Once (in 1768) the date was changed 
because a great eclipse of the sun occurred. In 1764, on 
account of small-pox, and from 1775 to 1781, on ac- 
count of the war. Commencements were omitted. In 
1738 the questions maintained by three candidates for 
the Master's degree sounded .Vrian in the ears of the 
orthodox, and, in 1760, it was the President's duty to 
assure himself that all the parts to be delivered were 
orthodox and seemly, and he was enjoined " to put 
an end to the practice of addressing the female sex." 
The post-Revolutionary celebrations soon surpa-ssed 
any that had gone before, both in the number of the 
attendants and in the merrymaking. The art o) 
brewing intoxicating punch was rediscovered. The 
banks and Custom-House in Boston were closed 
on this day ; the new bridge shortened the journey to 
Cambridge. Few, even among the rich, then had 
summer places along the shore or in the country, so 
that, although the Harvard holiday came at the 
end of August, " all the t-lites " — to use an expression 
of Dr. John Pierce — were present. Prohibitions' 
against extravagance in dress on the part of the com- 
raencers seem to have been little heeded, for "in 
1790 a gentleman afterwards prominently connected 
with the C<illege, took his degree dressed in coat and 
breeches of pearl-colored satin, white silk waistcoat 
and stockings, buckles in his shoes, and his hair 
elaborately dressed and powdered according to the 
style of the day." 

Until about 1760 the exercises, consisting of " theses 
and disputations on various logical, grammatical, 
ethical, physical and metaphysical topics," were con- 

y 



ducted in lyatin. In 1763 the first oration in English 
was delivered, and little by little that language pre- 
dominated. Commencers were entitled to parts ac- 
cording to their rank, the lowest part being a Confer- 
ence; then followed Es.says, Colloquies, Discussions, 
Disquisitions, Dissertations, and, highest of all, but 
the la.st on the programme, Orations — the salutatory 
in Latin, and two in English. 

From the Dinnj of the Rev. John Pierce,' who at- 
tended every Commencement from 1784 to 1848 (ex- 
cept that of 1791, when he was absent at his mother's 
funeral), we get valuable information concerning the 
( 'ommencements of the first half of this century ; and 
I can do no better than to make a few extracts which 
show the character of the observances from year to 
year, and the changes that crept in. Dr. Pierce gives 
the list of all the speakers, with comments on their 
effusions and many other details, so that I limit 
myself to quoting what is most important, or amusing : 
1S03 — "The sentiments of Farrar in an English disser- 
tation were well adapted to oppose the rage for novel - 
reeling and plays which is so prevalent, especially in 
the capital." " At dinner the greatest decorum pre- 
vailed." 1806 — "The theatrical musick with which 
the exercises was interspersed was highly di.sgusting 
to the more solid part of the audience." 1809 — " In- 
stead of dining in the hall as usual, I went with my 
wife to the house provided by Mr. I'arkman, where, 
it was computed, there were 500 persons who dined 
in one large tent in the fields. The expense must 
have been at least $1000." 1810 — Exercises four 
hours long. 1811 — "The new President [Kirkland] 
acquitted himself with great dignity and propriety. 
His prayers were short. But for style and matter 
they exceeded all we have been accustomed to hear 
on such occasions."' 1812 — "I dined in the hall. 
The students did not wait as formerly.'' 1813 — An 
Oration in French was given. 1814 — Exercises lasted 
five hours. Dinner in the new Hall [University] for 
the first time. 1815 — " Fuller excited loud applauses 
from the notice he took of the deposed imperial despot 
of France. " " The most splendid dinner I ever wit- 
nessed on a similar occasion," prepared by Samuel 
Eliot, Esq. 1818 — Oration in Spanish. "There was 
less disorder, as there were fewer tents on the Com- 
mon." 1819 — "The oldest graduate and clergyman " 
present "was the Rev. Dr. Marsh, of Weatherfield, 
Con. (1 761). He probably wore the last fiill-bottomed 
wig which has been seen at Commencement." 1820 
— "The Master's oration, by [Caleb] Gushing, was 
sensible and delivered ore rotund^)." 1821 — "The 
President was 2i minutes in his first prayer and 2 in 
his last." "For the first time since the University 
was founded no theses were published, no theses col- 
lector having been appointed." 1824, August 25 — 
"We were detained from entering the meeting-house 
from X to XI. 40, by the tardiness of the Governour. 

1 Proceedings of the Uasa. Historical See, Dec, 1889, Jan., 1890. 



130 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



At length the cavalcade arrived at University Hall 
with GeneraMjii Kuyette. who was cordially welcomed 
by President Kirkland in a neat and peculiarly ap- 
propriate address, delivered in the portico, in the 
hearing of a large and mixed multitude. A proces- 
sion was then formed, which proceeded to the meeting- 
house amid continual shouts of assembled throngs. 
As soon as order was restored, the President made a 
prayer of 3 minutes. . . A large portion of the 
speakers made personal allusions to our distinguished 
guest. In every instance such allusions were followed 
by loud shouts, huzzas and the clapping of hands- 
At nearly V we left the meeting house for the hall, 
where I dined in company of La Fayette and suite." 
1826— "Of Southworlh, who defended physical educa- 
tion, it was reported that he was the strongest person 
in' College, having lifted 820 lbs." 1827— Emerson's 
[Edward B.] oration lasted 36 minutes. 1828—" For 
the first time for many years, no tents were allowed 
on the Oommon." 1829 — At dinner "I set the tune, 
St. JIartin's, the 17th time, to the LXXVllI Psalm. 
Tho 1 set it without an instrument, yet it was exactly 
in tune with the instruments which assisted us. I 
asked the President how much of the i>9alm we should 
sing? Judge Story replied, Sing it all. We accord- 
ingly, contrary to custom, sang it through, without 
omitting a single stanza. It was remarked that the 
singing was never better. But as the company are in 
4 diH'erent rooms, it will be desirable on future occa- 
sions to station a person in each room to receive and 
communicate the time, so that we may sing all to- 
cether, or keep time, as musicians express it." 1830 
— " A prayer by Dr. Ware, of -i minutes, in which, as 
Dr. ( 'odman remarked, there was no allusion to the 
Saviour or his religion." None of the parts "were 
contemptible; and none electrified the audience, as is 
sometimes the case." 1831 — The p.salm " was pitched 
a little too high." 1833 — " The concluding oration of 
the Bachelors by [Francis] Bowen, w;is a sober, chaste 
performance. The manner of his bidding adieu to 
the old meeting-house, as this was to be the last Com- 
mencement observed in it, was particularly touching." 
1834 — Exercises in the new church, which "is so much 
larger and more convenient than was the former that 
all who dasired were accommodated." 1835 — "By 
my suggestion, as thanks are commonly returned after 
dinner, when there is great hilarity, and it is difficult 
to restore order, the usual psalm, LXXVIIl, was sub- 
stituted." 1836 — ^"Be it noted that this is the first 
Commencement I ever attended in Cambridge in 
which I saw not a single person drunk in the hall or 
out of it. There were the fewest present I ever re- 
member, doubtless on account of the bis-centennial 
celebration to be observed next week." 1837 — "A 
dissertation by R. H. Dana was on the unique topic, 
Heaven lies about us in our Infancy. He is a hand- 
some youth and spoke well. But his composition is 
of that Swedenborgiau, Coleridgian and dreamy cast 
which it requires a peculiar structure of mind to un- 



derstand, much more to rellish. . . . The speakers 
were mostly heard. None had a prompter. For the 
first time they carried their parts rolled up in their 
left hands. Two or three only were obliged to unrol 
them to refresh their memories. The concluding ora- 
tion, for the first time within my memory, contained 
not only no names, but even no mention of benefac- 
tors. . . . Wine was furnished at dinner as well as 
cider. As honey or molasses attracts flies and other 
insects, so these inebriating liquors allure graduates 
addicted to such drinks, particularly the intemperate, 
to come and drink their fill." 1838 — "Notwithstanding 
the eflbrts of the friends of temperance, wine was fur- 
nished at dinner. There was nevertheless pretty 
good order in the hall. . . . There was a meeting in 
the Chapel after dinner, and it was resolved, though 
with some opposition, to have an annual meeting of 
alumni." 1840 — "No man was allowed to wait upon 
ladies into the meeting-house for fear he should re- 
main." 1841 — The Governor and suite arrived in 
good season, escorted by an elegant company of Lan- 
cers. 1842 — First year in which the following notice 
was published in the order of exercises : " A part at 
Commencement is assigned to every Senior, who, for 
general scholarship, is placed in the first half of his 
class, or who has attained a certain rank in any de- 
partment of study." " I saw much wine-drinking. 
When will this ' abomination of desolation ' be ban- 
ished from the halls of (Jld Harvard ? To add to 
the annoyance of many attendants, cigars were smok- 
ed without mercy." 1843. — " The dinner was very 
soon despatched. Indeed, the Bishops [Doane and 
Eastburn] and others compared it to a steamboat 
dinner, on account of the haste in which it was eaten. 
. . . Wine in abundance was furnished ; and though 
but comparatively few partook of it while the company 
were together, yet afterwards there was a gathering of 
wine-bibbers and tobacco-smokers who filled their 
skins with vinous potations, the hall with a nauseous 
effluvia, and the air with bacchanalian songs and 
shouts." Mrs. Quincy, as usual, held a levee at the 
President's (Wadsworth) House, in the garden of 
which a brass band " discoursed sweet music." 1844. — 
Thirty parts assigned ; twenty-two performed. " This 
was the first commencement, probably, ... in which 
no exercises were assigned to candidates for the Mas- 
ter's degree." 1845. — " Votaries of Bacchus " leas 
noisy than usual. At Prof Beck's large and sumpt- 
uous entertainment wine was " administered by black 
servants." 1846. — The dinner was served with only 
wine and lemonade, for the first time, it is believed. 
1847. — Levee at President Everett's. "The band of 
music in attendance played at my solicitation Tivoli, 
Marseillais Hymn and \uld Lang Syne." No speech- 
es after dinner, for want of time. 1848. — Twenty-six 
parts delivered ; " all spoke sufficiently loud." " I 
prefaced my setting the psalm with the remark that 
as time had not yet beaten me, 1 should beat time 
once more, as this practice enables a large company 



CAMBRIDGE. 



131 



the better to keep time.'' Between 1784 and 1S48 
there were but six rainy Commencements, viz. : 179fi 
1798, 183.5, 1837, 1845, 184^. 

Dr. Pierce's long record ceased just at the time when 
the character of Commencement was permanently 
changed. After the middle of this century Class Day 
drew off the ladies from Commencement, which became 
more the day of thegraduatesinwhicheven theSeniors 
counted for little. Until IStiO the celebration was 
usually held on the third Weihiesday of July ; since 
1870 it has been held on the last Wednesday in June. 
In the morning the President, the Governor of Mas- 
sachusetts, the Faculty and recipients of honorary 
degrees head a procession composed of .Seniors and 
candidates for higher degrees and proceed, led by a 
brass band, to Sanders Theatre. The President, Pro- 
fessors and those of the students who are to deliver 
their parts wear gowns ; the other students are in 
ordinary evening dress. The President sits in the 
old presidential chair, whose knobs were made, tra- 
dition says, by President Holyoke. The distin- 
guished guests. Faculty and speakers occupy 
the rest of the platform ; the candidates for degrees 
sit below in the orchestra. The balconies are filled 
by the families and friends of the commencers. The 
exercises last from two and a half to three hours — 
most of the orations being in English. Then the 
President hands the degrees in large bundles to the 
marshals, who distribute them to the candidates. 
Meanwhile the graduates have begun to throng the 
College Yard. Each cla.ss holds a reunion in one of 
the College rooms, where claret and rum punch, lem- 
onade and sandwiches are provided. At one o'clock 
the.Xssociation of the .Vlumni meets in Harvard Hall. 
At two a procession is formed, led by the President 
and guests and followed by the members of the 
Classes in order of graduation. Graduates of 1832 
and earlier are entitled to dinner free; the others pay 
one dollar each. The procession marches to Memo- 
rial Hall, where, after a frugal repast, there is speak- 
ing till about five o'clock, when the a.ssembly, having 
sung the 78th Psalm and " Fair Harvard," breaks up 
From ten to four, polls are open in Ma-ssachusetts 
Hall for the election of Overseers, and a.s soon after 
four as possible the vote is announced. lu the 
evening the most boisterous of the newly -made grad. 
nates sometimes start bonfires or engage in other 
noisy demonstrations, but of late years even these 
traditions of an earlier and more turbulent period 
have been less heartily kept up. 

Class DAY.^Class Day seems to have originated 
in the custom of the Seniors choosing one of their 
members to bid farewell to the College and Faculty 
in a valedictory address. In 1700 we learn that each 
man brought a bottle of wine to the meeting, and 
that then, and also on the day of the celebration 
itself, there was disorder. The list of Class Day 
Orators begins in 1770; that of the Poets in 1786. 
The earliest ceremonies, to (juote James Kussell 



Lowell, "seem to have been restricted to an oration 
in Latin, sandwiched between two prayers by the 
President, like a criminal between two peace-officers." 
The 2l8t of June was the day appointed for Class 
Day, when the Seniors completed their studies; then 
followed a vacation, after which they came back in 
.\ugust to take their degrees at Commencement. 
Gradually, the Class Orators adopted English in.stead 
of Latin, an innovation which led the Faculty to 
vote, in 1803, that, whereas "the introduction of an 
English exercise, which gives it more the appearance 
of a public Exhibition designed to display the talents 
of the Performers and entertain a mixed audience 
than of a merely valedictory address of the Class to 
the Government, and taking leave of the Society and 
of one another, in which. .Adieu Gentlemen and Ladies 
from abroad are not particularly interested ; And 
whereas the propriety of having but one Person to be 
the Organ of the Class ... on this occasion 
must be obvious, and as at the same time it is more 
Academical that the valedictory performance be in 
Latin than in English, as is the practice in Univer- 
sities of the most established reputation abroad, and 
was formerly our own ; Voted, that the particular 
kind of Exercise in the Senior Class at the time of 
their taking leave of the College, Sanctioned by the 
usage of a Century and a half, be alone adhered to, 
and cou.sequently that in future no performance but 
a Valedictory Oration in the Latin language, except 
music adapted to the occasion, be permitted in the 
Chapel on the day when the Seniors retire from the 
Society." 

A description of a Class Day a little earlier than 
this (1793) is given in Robert Treat Paine's JHary : 
"At ten the class walked in procession to the Presi- 
dent's, and escorted him, the Professors and Tutors 
to the Chapel, preceded by the band playing solemn 
music. The President began with a short prayer. 
He then read a chapter in the Bible; after this he 
prayed again ; Cutler then delivered his poem. Then 
the singing club, accompanied by the band, per- 
formed Williams" Friendship. This was succeeded 
by a valedictory Latin Oration by Jack.son. We 
then formed and waited on the Government to the 
President's, where we were very respectably enter- 
tained with wine, etc. We then marched in jiroces- 
sion to Jack-son's room, where we drank punch. At 
one we went to Mr. Moore's tavern and partook of 
an elegant entertainment, which cost Gs. 4.rf. a piece. 
Marching then to Cutler's room, we shook bands and 
parted with expressing the sincerest tokens of friend- 
ship." 

The Faculty were unable to enforce their restric- 
tion as to Latin, although for several years (1803- 
8) no Poets or Orat<^)rs are recorded; then the per- 
formances went on pretty regularly in English, and 
were concluded by a dance (of the Seniors only) 
round the Rebellion Tree. By 18.34 the Seniors had 
begun to entertain their friends with iced punch, 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY. MASSACHTTSETTS. 



"brought in buckets from Willard's Tavern (now the 
Horse Railway Station), and served out in the shade 
on tlie northern side of Harvard Hall." Thi.s prac- 
tice led to drunkenness and disturbances, and finally, 
in ISS.S, President Quiiicy encouraged the conversion 
•of Class Day into the respectable celebration which 
it has since been. Not only the Faculty and a few 
residents of Cambridge, but the friends of the Seniors 
from far and wide, were invite<l to the e.\ercises ; 
ladies, young and old, attended the "spreads" — or 
entertaitunenis — provided by the Seniors, and. with 
the introduction of the gentler sex, the ]ierformances 
became gentle. In 1850, after the exercises in the 
Chapel, the class, accompanied by friends and guests, 
withdrew to Harvard Hall, where there was a rich 
collation. ".Mter an interval of from one to two 
hours," writes a recorder at that date, " the dancing 
commences in the Yard. Cotillions and the easier 
dances are here performed, liut the sport closes in the 
Hall with the Polka and other fashionable steps. 
The Seniors again form, and make the circuit of the 
buildings, great and small. They then assemble 
under the I/ibcrty Tree, around which, with hands 
joined, they dance, after singing the students' adopted 
song, 'Auld Jjang Syne.' At parting each member 
takes a sprig or a Hower from the beautiful ' Wreath' 
which surrounds the ' farewell tree,' which is sacredly 
treasured as a last memento of college scenes and 
enjoyments." ' 

Others officers, besides the Orator and Poet, were, 
from time to time, added; there are now three Mar- 
shals, chosen for their popularity or for athletic 
prowess; a Chorister, who writes the music for the 
Class Stmg, and conducts the singing at the Tree; an 
Odist, who composes an ode to be sung to the tune of 
"Fair Harvard," at the morning exercises; and an 
Ivy Orator. The last officer is expected to deliver a 
humorous composition, in which he hits off, in merry 
fashion, the history of the Class, not sparing his class- 
mates nor the I'^aculty. Forty years ago it wa.s the 
custom to plant an ivy when a President went out of 
office; then each Class planted its ivy on Class Day, 
and listened to the Orator. But the ivy never grew; 
so the oration was no longer delivered in the open air 
under the shadow of Boylston, but in the Chapel, and 
now in Sanders Theatre. The Seniors also choose a 
Secretary (who publishes, from time to time, a Class 
Report), a Class Committee, a Class Day Committee, 
and (recently) a Photograph fiommittee. A Hyninist 
and a Chaplain are no longer chosen. 

Cliiss Day has come to be the gala day of Cambridge. 
The "spreads" and "teas" have become more and 
more elaborate. Every Senior who can affijrd it 
takes this opportunity of entertaining his friends, 
and of paying off social debts. In his evening dress 
and silk hat he is, from morning till midnight, a per- 
son of greater importance than, presumably, he will 



' College- Words and Customs. 



ever be again. And on no other occasion in these parts 
can there be seen so many pretty faces and dresses, 
so many proud parents, and so much genuine merri- 
ment. The literary exercises in the forenoon are fol- 
lowed by the 8|>reads, at some of which there is 
dancing; then by the exercises at the Tree, with the 
final struggle for tlie Wreath, and then by teas and 
dancing throughout the evening. When darkness 
comes the Yard is illuiHinatedby fe.^toons of Japanese 
lanterns ; the Glee Club j-ings in front of Holworthy ; 
and then, at ten o'clock, a pyrotechnic piece, in 
which the number of the class is interwoven, is set 
off; but it is still some time before the last visitors 
turn towards home, and the Seniors, wearied out with 
excitement, drop into bed. 

On the lists of Class Day Orators and Poets are 
found the names of many men who tlistlnguished 
themselves in later life, and so Justified their class- 
mates' choice. For instance, among the orators are 
H. O. Otis, 1783; H. Ware, 1785; J. C. Warren. 
1797; J. Walker, 1814; E. S. Gannett, 1820; F.J. 
Child, 184(5; and Henry Adams, 1858. Among the 
Poets are J.Storey, 171IS; W. Allston, 1800; J. G. 
Palfrey, 1815; G. Bancroft, 1817; W. H. Furness, 
18-20; R. W. Emerson, 1821; G. Lunt, 1824; F. H. 
Hedge, 1825; C. C. Felton, 1827; O. W. Holmes, 
1829; J. R. Lowell, 1838; and E. E. Hale, 1839. 
The old custom of giving a jack-knife to the ugliest 
man in the Senior ( 'lass was abandoned when classes 
became so large that either there was less intimacy 
among their members, or it was impossible to agree 
upon the person to be thus distinguished ; but each 
class still presents a cradle to the first child born 
of a member of the Class. The class cjf 1877, owing 
to internal dissensions, failed to elect Class Day 
officers, except a secretary. 

Dress. — I have come upon no descrijition of the 
dress of the students during the 17th century. 
Probably there were no restrictions. But, by the 
middle of the last century, some of the students 
were so extravagant in their garb as to call out the 
following vote from the Overseers (October, 1754) : 
" It afipearing to the Overseers, that the costly habits 
of many of the scholars, during their residence at 
the College, as also of the candidates for their de- 
grees on Commencement days, is not only an unne- 
cessary expense, and tends to discourage persons from 
giving their children a College education, but is also 
inconsistent with the gravity and demeanor proper to 
be observed in this Society, it is therefore recom- 
mended to the Corporation to prepare a law, requir- 
ing that on no occasion any-of the scholars wear any 
gold or silver lace, or any gold or silver brocades in 
the College or town of Cambridge ; and that, on 
Commencement days, every candidate for his degree 
appear in black, or dark blue, or gray clothes ; and 
that no one wear any silk night-gowns ; and that any 
candidate who shall appear dressed contrary to such 
regulations may not expect his degree." Gowns were 



CAMBRIDGE. 



133 



introduced about 1760, but, alter the llevolutiou, the 
prt'Scrii>tion of 1754 seems to have been uiiobservedi 
for, in 1781), another sumptuary law was established, 
prescribing a distinct uniform for each of the classes. 
" All the Undergraduates shall be clothed in coats 
of blue gray, and with waistcoats and breecJies of 
the same color, or of a black, or nankeen, or an 
olive color. The coats of the Freshmen shall have 
plain button-holes. The cuffs shall be without but- 
tons. The coats of the Sophomores shall have 
plain button-holes, like those of the Freshmen, but 
the cutis shall have buttons. The coats of the 
Juniors shall have cheap frogs to the button-holes, 
except the button-holes of the cutis. The coats of the 
Seniors shall have frogs to the button-holes of the 
cufla. The buttons upon the coats of all the classes 
shall be as near the color of the coats as they can be 
procured, or of a black color. And no student shall 
appear within the limits of the College, or town 
of Cambridge, in any other dress than in the uniform 
belonging to his respective class, unless he shall have 
on a night-gown or such an outside garment as may 
be necessary over a coat, except only that the Seniors 
and Juniors are permitted to wear black gowns, and 
it is recommended that they appear in them on all 
public occasions. Nor shall any part of their gar- 
ments be of silk ; nor shall they wear gold or silver 
lace, cord, or edging upon their hats, waistcoats, or 
any other parts of their clothing. And whosoever 
shall violate these regulations shall be fined a sum 
not exceeding ten shillings for each offence."' 

The students rebelled against this prescription, 
and, in 17'.tS, the rules about frogs and button-holes 
were abrogated, but the blue-gray or dark-blue coat 
was still prescribed. Three-cornered cocked hats 
were then in t"a.shion ; the hair " was worn in a 
queue, bound with a black ribbon, and reached to the 
small of the back." Kar-locks were subjected to 
curling-tongs and crimping-iron. Lawn or cambric 
furnished rutHes for the shirt bosom. The shoes were 
pointed, and turned upward at the end, "like the 
curve of a skate." Buckles for the knees and shoes, 
a shining stock for the throat, a double-breasted 
coat, waistcoat and breeches, completed the toilette 
of the student at the close of the bust century. 

Again, in 18:22, the Faculty tried to regulate the 
dress of the undergraduate, and passed the following 
ordinance, which was not formally abolished for 
many years; "Coat of black mixed (called also 
Oxford mixed, black with a mixture of not more 
than one-twentfeth, nor less than one twenty-fifth 
part of white), single breasted, with a rolling cape, 
square at the end, and with pocket-fiaps, the waist 
reaching to the natural waist, with lappels of the 
same length ; with three crow's-feet made of black 
silk cord on the lower part of the sleeve of the coat 
of a Senior, two on that of a Junior, and one on that 

> Laws of 1T90. 



of a Sophomore. Waistcoat, of black-mixed or of 
black, or, when of cotton or linen fabric, of white ; 
single-breasted, with a standing collar. Pantaloons, 
of black-mixed, or of black bombazet, or, when of 
cotton or linen fabric of white. Surtout or great- 
coat, of black mixed, with not more than two capes; 
or an outer garment of camlet or plaid. The buttons 
of the above dress must be Hat, covered with the same 
cloth as that of the garment ; not more than eight 
nor less than six on the front of the coat, and four 
behind. A surtout, or outside garment, is not to be 
substituted for the coat; but the Students are per- 
mitted to wear black gowns, in which they may 
appear on all public occasions. A night-gown of 
cotton, or linen, or silk fabric, made in the usual 
form, or in that of a frock-coat, may be worn, except 
on the Sabbath and on Exhibition or other occasions 
when an undress would be imi)roper. Neckidoth, 
plain black, or plain white. Hat of the common 
form and black ; or a cap, of an approved form. 
Shoes and boots black." This costume was to be 
worn, moreover, in vacation as well as in term-time, 
under penalty of dismission. In the catalogue of 
1825 the following prices are given: "coat, •$15 to 
^25 ; pantaloons, $4 to $8 ; vest, $3 to |5 ; outside 
coat, $15 to $25." 

In the catalogue for 1S49 the requirements for dress 
are stated thus: "On Sabbath, Exhibition, Exami- 
nation and Commencement Days, and on all other 
public occasions, each student in public .shall wear a 
black coat, with buttons of the same color, and a black 
liat or cap." But with the increase of students, the 
ilifliculty of examining the color of their buttons also 
increased ; moreover, academic sentiment tended 
toward freedom in this as in other matters, so that, 
although the sumptuary laws still remained in the 
College " Bible," they were less frequently enforced, 
and from about 1800 we hear no more of them. 
Student.s now dre.ss as they please ; the force of cus- 
tom suffices to bring the Seniors out in evening dress 
and silk hats on Class Day and Commencement ; 
and since custom of late years has sanctioned the 
wearing of tennis suits to college exercises, the last 
vestige of uniformity and soberness in dress has 
vanished. 

CoiJ,E(ii-; Societies. — College societies have played 
so large a part in undergraduate life during the i)res- 
ent century that we are curious to know what socie- 
ties there were at Harvard two centuries ago. I have 
found, unfortunately, no mention of clubs or socie- 
ties in early times. About the middle of the hsth 
century the Faculty took particular pains to improve 
the declamaticm of the students; and this seems to 
have led to the formation of speaking clubs; for in 
the entertaining Diary of Nathaniel Ames (Class of 
17G1) there are several memoranda of plays, such as 
"The Roman Father," Aildison's "Cato," " The Re- 
venge," and " The Orphan," — performed by the stu- 
dents in their rooms. Under date of Nov. 13, 1758, 



134 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Ames says " Calabogus Club begun ; " Dec. 9, " went 
[to] Whitfield club [at] Hooper's cham[berj ; " Dec. 
31, "Club at my chamber;" May 5, 1759, ".Joyn'dthe 
Tea Club ; " Oct. 19, " Joyn'd a new Club." What the 
proceedings of these societies were we can only con- 
jecture. Not until 1770 do we come to an association 
which still exists. This, the " Institute of 1770," was 
originally a Speaking Club, founded by Samuel Phil- 
lips, .John Warren and other Seniors in the Class of 
1771. No member was allowed to speak in Latin 
without special leave from the President. The orators 
spoke on a stage four feet in diameter, two feet high, 
" with the front Corners dipt," and they chose such 
subjects as " The Odiousness of Envy," and " The Per- 
nicious Habit of Drinking Tea." In 1773 this Club 
united with the " Mercurian Club," founded two years 
before by Fisher Ames. In 1801 it called itself "The 
Patriotic Association," and, later, " The Social Fra- 
ternity of 1770." In 1825, two more rivals, "The 
Hermetick Society" and the " ' A^KpifioTioyovfinm " coa- 
lesced with it, under the name of the " Institute." It 
passed from the Seniors to the Juniors, and at last to 
the Sophomores, who elect in May every year ten 
Freshmen; these, at the beginning of their Sopho- 
more year, elect the rest of the members of their 
Class. The '" Institute " kept up its literary exercises 
until about fifteen years ago, when it became merely 
the miisk behind which the A.K.E., a secret society, 
hid itself. The first four or five "tens" were mem- 
bers of the A.K.E. ; the others had the empty honor of 
calling themselves members of the " Institute." The 
A.K.E. ; is now the most harmful society in the Col- 
lege ; its regular meetings resemble the Kneipe of Ger- 
man students ; its neophytes are subjected to silly and 
sometimes injurious hazing, under the guise of initia- 
tion ; its members give three theatrical performances 
each year. Some of the most prominent members of 
the Class of 1883, finding that they could not reform 
the A. K.E., resigned from it in a body. 

The Harvard Chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa was 
founded in 1779. In its origin it was a secret society, 
devoted to the encouragement of literary exercises. 
Its members were Seniors and Juniors. In 1831 the 
veil of secrecy was withdrawn, and the mystic letters 
"t.li.K. were found to stand ior i'lkuanifia Bio/i Kvpipvi/nK^ 
—" Philosophy the guide of life." Its members were 
chosen according to their rank in scholarship ; rarely, 
besides the first twenty-five, a man of lower grade was 
admitted. The active work of the Society ceased long 
ago ; but it holds a meeting annually on the day after 
Commencement, at which graduate and undergraduate 
members attend, to listen to an oration and a poem by 
men of distinction chosen for the occasion. Honor- 
ary membership is coveted by those who failed while 
in College to secure the rank reijuired for election, 
but who since graduation have distinguished them- 
selves. 

The " Hasty Pudding Club " is the most character- 
istic and famous of all the Harvard Societies. It was 



founded in 1795 by members of the Junior Clasa, 
among whom were Horace Binney and John Collins 
Warren. Its aims were to "cherish the feelings of 
friendship and patriotism." At its weekly meetings 
two members in turn provided a pot of hasty pudding. 
Besides the regular debates and essays, there was 
given a public performance every Spring, at which an 
oration and poem were delivered. About 1845 the 
custom of performing a farce originated ; this has 
gradually been extended until now there are three 
theatrical performances each year — one before Christ- 
mas, one before the Fast Day recess, and one, 
" Strawberry Night," just before Cla.ss Day. For 
many years past the " Pudding " troupe have repeated 
their performances in Boston and New York for the 
benefit of the University Boat Club. Up to 1849 the 
meetings were held in the rooms of the members ; 
then, the College allowed the Society to use Stough- 
ton 29, to which three other rooms were subsequently 
added. But, owing to a fire in 1876, which broke out 
in the Pi Eta rooms in Hollis, the Faculty removed 
the Club to the wooden Society Building on Holmes 
Field. This was so far away that the meetings were 
poorly attended, and the Class of 1880 hired supple- 
mentary rooms on Brattle Street. That Class also 
raised a subscription among its members for a new 
building ; the Class of 1881 took the scheme up, laid 
it before the graduates, formed committees for collect- 
ing funds, and so pushed the project that in 1888 a 
large new club-house, containing a library, meeting- 
rooms and theatre, was dedicated on Holyoke Street. 
Formerly, the Seniors chose eight Juniors who in 
turn elected the members from their class. To be on 
the " first eight " was deemed a sign of great popu- 
larity. But with the increase in membership this old 
scheme, which engendered much wrangling, has been 
given up ; themembers are elected in larger squads, and 
their names are arranged alphabetically. The Class 
of 1881 also abolished the old initiation, — running in 
the Yard, going to bed at sunset, writing mock-essays, 
and the bath in the meal-tub, — childish performances 
which no longer suited the times. The "Pudding" is 
now the largest social organization in the College; its 
secrecy has been abandoned, and it ought in the fu- 
ture, if properly directed, to be not only the best ex- 
ponent of undergraduate opinions, but also a strong 
means of fostering the interest of the graduates in 
undergraduate aft'airs. 

The " Medical Faculty" held an unique place 
among Harvard societies, and so deserves to be 
recorded. It was founded in 1818, its object being 
" mere fun." Its early meeting were held in the 
rooms of the members. " The room was made as 
dark as possible and brilliantly lighted. The Faculty 
sat round a long table, in some singular and antique 
costume almost all in large wigs, and breeches with 
knee-buckles. This practice was adopted to make a 
strong impression on students who were invited in for 
examination. Members were always examined for ad- 



CAMBRIDGE. 



135 



mission. The strangest (juestions were aslced by the 
venerable board, and often strange answers elicited, — 
no matter how remote from the purpose, provided there 
was wit or drollery. . . Burlesque lectures on all con- 
ceivable and inconceivable subjects were frequently 
read or improvised by members ad libitum. I remem- 
ber something of a remarkable one from Dr. Alden (H. 
U. 1821), upon part of a skeleton of a superannuated 
horse, which he m.ade to do duty for the remains of a 
great German Professor with an unspeakable name. 
Degrees were conferred upon all the members, M.D. 
or D.M. (Doctor of Medicine or Student of Medicine) 
according to their rank. Honorary degrees were 
liberally conferred upon conspicuous persons at home 
and abroad." ' A member of the Class of 1 .S28 writes : 
" I passed so good an examination that I was made 
Professor longis e.rlreinitatibiis, or Professor with long 
shanks. It was a society for purposes of mere 
fun and burlesque, meeting secretly, and always 
foiling the government in their attempts to break it 
up." ' It printed Triennial Catalogues fr.avestying 
those of the College. The doggerel Latin of the pre- 
faces to these has been aptly called " piggish." 
The catalogue of 1830, after stating that "this is the 
most ancient, the most extensive, the most learned, 
and the most divine " of societies, adds : " The obelisks 
of Egypt contain in hieroglyphic characters many 
secrets of our Faculty. The Chinese Wall, and the 
Colossus at Rhodes were erected by our ancestors in 
sport. ... It appears that the Society of Free 
Masons was founded by eleven disciples of the Medi- 
cal Faculty expelled in A.D. 142.''). Therefore we have 
always been Antimason. . . . Satan himself has 
learned many particulars from our Senate in regard 
to the administration of atl'airs and the means of tor- 
ture. . . . ' Placid Death ' .alone is co-eval with 
this Society, and resembles it, for in its own Cata- 
logue it equalizes rich and poor, great and small, white 
and black, old and young." From the Catalogue of 
1833 we learn that, " our library contains quite a 
number of books; among others ten thousand ob- 
tained through the munificence and liberality of 
great Societies in the almost unknown regions of Kam- 
tschatka and the North Pole, and especially through 
the munificence of the Emperor of all the Russias. 
It has become so immense that, at the request of the 
Librarian, the Faculty have prohibited any further 
donations. In the next session of the General Court 
of Massachusetts, the Senate of the Faculty (assisted 
by the President of Harvard University) will petition 
for 40,000 sesterces, for the purpose of erecting a 
large building to contain the immense accumul.Ttion 
of books. From the well-known liberality of the 
Legislature, no doubts are felt of obtaining it." 
Among the honorary degre&s conferred was one on 
Alexander I of Russia, who, not undei-standing the 
joke, sent in recognition a valuable case of surgical 

' " College Words and Customs," 1850, pp. 199, 200. 



instruments, which went by mistake to the real 
Medical School, ('hang and Heng, the Siamese 
Twins, Sam Patch, Day and ^Martin, and Martin Van 
Buren were also among the honorary members. The 
"Medical Faculty," was suppressed by the College 
Government in 1834, but it was .subsequently revived ; 
but its proceedings have been kept so secret for so 
many years past that only on Class Day are even the 
names of the Seniors who belojig to it known, from 
their w^earing a black rosette with a skull anil bones 
in silver upon it. 

Only one other society which was organized in the 
last century still exists : the Porcellian or Pig Club, 
tbunded in 1791 for social purposes, and united, in 
1831, with the Knights of the Square Table. It still 
maintains the secret initiation, but is otherwise a con- 
vivial organization, having a small membership, and 
consequently heavy due.s. The Club is now (1890) erect- 
inga large club-house on the site of the rooms which 
it has occupied for many years. 

Uf other societies which once were famous and have 
long since been dissolved, mention should be made of 
the Navy Club (1790-184(1), whose flagship consisted 
of a marquee " moored in the woods near the place 
where the house of the Honorable .7. G. Palfrey now 
stands;" and of the Harvard WashingtOTi Corps, 
(1811-34), a military company whose parades and 
feasts were notorious. Then there was the Engine 
Society, which man.iged the fire-engine jiresented to 
the College by the Legislature after the burning 
of Harvard Hall ; it used to attend the fires in 
Cambridge and the neighboring towns, the fire- 
men staying themselves with rum and mobusses — 
■'black-strap" — and was forcibly disbanded in 1822, 
after it had flooded the room of the College Regent. 
.\bout 1830 a passion for secret societies sweiit through 
the American CVdleges, and Harvard had its chapters 
of many Greek Letter Societies, which flourished 
until the advent of the Class of !8.''i9, when they were 
abolished by the f^aculty. At that period there also 
existed a lodge of mock Free Masons. The tendency 
during the past generation has been in an opposite 
direction. Of late the old Greek Letter organiza- 
tions have been revised, but as .social clubs, and 
secrecy — -so attractive to the juvenile imagination — is 
now held in less esteem. Five of these social clubs 
MOW have houses of their own, — the Porcellian, the 
A. D., the .Mpha Delta Phi, the /eta Psi .and the 
Delta Phi. The O. Iv., founded in 18'p9, is literary 
and holds fortnightly meetings in the rooms of its 
members. The Pi Eta (I8G0) ami the Signet (1870) 
are Senior Societies which draw their members from 
those who do not belong to the Hasty Pudding. The 
introduction anil expansion of the Elective System 
have i;reatly mollified the .soci;il aspects of the ( 'ollege, 
by obliterating the distinction between class and cla.ss, 
and it is evident that this modification will increase 
rather than diminish. 

In the past, societies founded for literary or Intel- 



136 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



lectual purposes almost universally became trans- 
formed into social organizations, where conviviality 
and good fellowship were the prime requisites. But 
of late there have sprung up societies composed of 
men who are interested in the same work, and who 
discuss their favorite topics at their meetings. Such 
societies are theCla.ssical Club (188.5); La Conference 
Franfaise (1886); the Deutscher Verein (188(>); the 
Harvard Natural History Society (1837) ; the Boyls- 
tou Chemical Club (1887) ; the Electrical Club (1888); 
the Historical Society (1880); the Finance Club 
(1878); the Free Wool Club (1889); the Philosoph- 
ical Club (1878); the Art Club (1873), the English 
Club (1889); and the Camera Club (1888). The re- 
ligious organizations are the Society of Christian 
Brethren (1802); the St. Paul's Society (1861); and 
the Total Abstinence League (1888). The Pierian 
Sodality, or College orchestra, was founded in 1808 ; 
the Glee Club in 1858. The Harvard Union, the 
College debating club, was founded in 1880. There 
are also a Chess Club, and organizations of members 
from the chief preparatory schools (Andover and 
Exeter), and of students from the Southern States, 
from Minnesota and Connecticut. Many of the lit- 
erary clubs give public lectures, and the musical 
societies give concerts during the winter and spring 
months. 

Hars'aru .TouKNALisM. — Harvard journalism has 
not, on the whole, taken so high a rank as might be 
desired ; it has not, for example, kept the plane which 
the students' publications of Oxford and Cambridge 
have held. And yet undergraduates have, from time 
to time, been connected with the Harvard journals who 
have later achieved a reputation in literature. The first 
paper published was the Harrard Ltjfeum, July 14, 
1810 ; among its editors were Ed ward Everett and Sam- 
uel Oilman, author of " Fair Harvard." It expired in 
1811, after eighteen numbers had appeared. The 
Harvard Register, an octavo of thirty-iwo pages, was 
issued in March, 1827, but died from lack of support 
in February, 1828, although (ieorge S. Hillard, R. C. 
Winthrop, C. C. Felton and E. H. Hedge were on ils 
editorial board. The Collegian, starting in February, 
1830, ran out after six numbers. O. W. Holmes was 
one of its contributors, and furnished several pieces 
which have since been republished in his collected 
works. Hari'ardiana had a longer life (September, 
1835-June, 1838), and had J. K. Lowell as one of its 
editors. The next venture, The Harvard Magazine, 
waslaunched in December, 1854, and, although .some 
times on the verge of foundering, lloated till .Inly, 
1864. Among its originators were F. B. Sanborn, 
Phillips Brooks and J. B. Oreenough. In 1866 ap- 
peared a new Cu/ltgian, but after three numbers it 
was suppressed by the Faculty. In May, 1866, the 
Advocate, a fortnightly, was issued, and it has had a 
prosperous career ever since. In 1873 The Magenta 
(whose name was subsequently changed to The Crim- 
son) was founded, and ran successfully till 1883, when 



it was consolidated with the Daily Herald (foundtd 
in 1882). Previously to the Herald, in 1879, The 
Echo, the first ('ollege daily, had been started. In 
1876 an illustrated fortnightly, Th; Lampoon, was 
founded, and soon extended its circulation outside of 
the College, through the clever skits and parodies of 
Robert Grant, F. J. Stimson and J. T. Wheelwright, 
and the comic cartoons of F. G. Attwood. Its publi- 
cation ceased in 1880, but in the following year a new 
series was begun. The Harvard Monthly, more solid 
in character, was founded in 1885. Moses King, a 
member of the Class of 1881, published an illustrated 
monthly, called the Harvard Register, from January, 
1880, to July, 1881. 

Sports and Gymnastics. — We have no record of 
the games and sports in which the students of the 
17th century indulged. Freshmen, down to the Rev- 
olution, were required to " furnish batts, balls and 
footballs for the use of the .students, to be kept at the 
Buttery." Drilling with the train-hand was a favor- 
ite diversion of our ancestors, and as it seems to have 
been followed by a good deal of drinking, the Harvard 
Faculty rarely allowed students to " train." In days 
when the Freshmen were fags, they, at least, did not 
lack physical exercise, often of a peculiar kind. In 
N. Ames' Diary we meet such entries as these : " June 
26 (1758). President's Grass Mow'd." "July 1, 
finished the President's hay." Hunting was also to 
be had in this neighborhood, for the same diarist re- 
ports, "Sept. 10 (1759) a Bear seen. Men hunt him." 
"Sept. 11. Bear kil'd, a dance this evening." "Sept. 
26, a Bear kill'd by Brail Bliss & others." There 
was skating, too, on Fresh Pond. Frequent fights, or 
rushes, took place between the two lower classes. A 
writer in the New England Magazine (vol. iii, p. 239) 
describes "a custom, not enjoined by the Govern- 
ment, [which] had been in vogue from time imme- 
morial. That Wius for the Sophomores to challenge 
the Freshmen to a wrestling match. If the Sopho- 
mores were thrown, the Juniors gave a similar chal- 
lenge'. If these were conquered, the Seniors entered 
the lists, or treated the victors to as much wine, punch, 
etc., as they chose to drink. . . . Being disgusted 
with these customs, we [Class of 179(i] held a class- 
meeting, early in our first quarter, and voted unani- 
mously that we should never send a Freshmau on 
an errand ; and, with but one dissenting voice, 
that we would not challenge the next class that should 
enter to wrestle." The Harvard Washington Corps, 
a military company, was established about the year 
1769, and from ils motto — Tarn Marti qiunn Mercurio 
was called the Marti-Mercurian Band. It fiourished 
nearly twenty years; was revived in 1811, and was 
finally disbanded in 1834. 

The first regular training in gymnastics was given 
by Dr. Charles Follen, who, about 1830, set up appa- 
ratus on the Delta. At that time swimming was the 
favorite sport, and as the Charles River had not yet 
been turned into a sewer for Brighton, its waters were 



CAMBRIDGE. 



137 



clean. Kowiiig-partiesiuade their rendezvous nl Fresh 
Pond. Colonel Higginson ' tells of a member of the 
Class of 1839 who was cited before the P^aculty 
on the charge of owning a ducking-float there, and 
when he pleaded that it was in no way a malum 
prohibitum, he was told " that no student was al- 
lowed to keep a domestic animal except by permis- 
sion of the Faculty, and that a boat was a do- 
mestic animal within the meaning of the statute.'' 
Cricket, base-ball and foot-ball, but of old-fashioned, 
crude varieties, were played at that time. The last 
" was the first game into which undergraduates were 
initiated, for on the first evening of his college life 
the Freshman must take part in the defense of his 
class against the Sophomores." About 1844, Belcher 
Kay opened a gymnasium. 

Rowing began in earnest in 1844, when the Cla«s 
of 1846 bought an eight-oared boat, the " Star," which 
they re-named the "Oneida." "It was 37 feet long, 
lapstreak built, heavy, quite low in the water, with 
no shear an<l with a straight stem." Other boats, the 
" Huron," the " Halcyon," the " Ariel " and the 
" Iris," were almost immediately purchased, each be- 
longing to a club. In 1846 a boat-house was built. 
The races took place among the various college clubs 
and also with outsiders. On August 3, 1852, the first 
inter-collegiate race was rowed at Centre Harbor, 
on Lake Winnipiseogee, between the Harvard " Onei- 
da " and the "Shawmut," of Yale, the former win- 
ning by about four lengths over a two-mile course. 
The nest race with Yale, in 1855, on the Connecticut 
at Springfield, was won by the Harvard " Iris," when 
short outriggers were used for the first time, and the 
steering was done by the bow oar (Alexander .\gasaiz). 
The next year the first University boat was built at 
St. John, then the chief rowing town on this side of 
the Atlantic ; and the Harvard crew competed in the 
usual 4th of July regatta on the Charles River. In 
1857 Harvard, having been defeated by Boston clubs, 
ordered a six-oar shell of Mack.ay, with which 
(June ly, 1858) she won the Beacon Cup, and beat a 
workingmen's crew on July 4th. This year was organ- 
ized an Inter-collegiate Rowing Association, com- 
posed of Harvard, Brown, Yale and Trinity, but, owing 
to the drowning of the Yale stroke-oar, Dunham, just 
before the race, the regatta wa.s .abandoned. Yale, 
Brown and Harvard met on Lake Quinsigamond in 

1859, and the last won easily, repeating her victory in 

1860. Then followed a lull till 1864, when Harvard 
was beaten by Yale. The annual race between these 
two colleges took place at Worcester down to and in- 
cluding 1870 — Harvard winning seven out of nine 
times. Sliding seats, used first by Yale in 1870, were 
adopted by Harvard in 1872 ; the .\yling oars were 
introduced from England at Cambridge in 1870, 
and from time to time improvements were made 
in the outriggers and row-locks. The most famous 

1 Barvari Boot, ii, 188. 



of all the races in which Harvard competed was 
rowed against Oxford, from Putney to Mort- 
lake, four miles and three furlongs, on Aug. 27, 
1869. The crews consisted of four men with a cox- 
swain, and Oxford won by six seconds in 22 min. 
41i sec. The college regattas were now revived, 
and were held at Springfield in 1871-73, and at 
Saratoga 1874-76. Amherst and Cornell each won 
twice, and Columbia once. But this system did not 
commend itself to Harvard and Yale; the number of 
crews entered (eleven in 1873 and thirteen in 1875) 
caused many fouls and disputes, and, beginning with 
1877, Harvard and Yale agreed to row by themselves. 
Since 1878 their annual race has been held on the 
Tham^ River, at New London, two or three days 
after Commencement. Harvard has usually rowed a 
preliminary race with Columbia. In 1874 Robert 
Cook introduced the " Oxford stroke " at Yale, which 
was adopted and perfected by W. A. Bancroft (H. U. 
1878), the oarsman to whom, more than all others, 
Harvard owes its aquatic prestige. In order to bring 
out and train as many oarsmen as possible, the sys- 
tem of "Club crews" was encouraged during the seven- 
ties, but these were superseded (1879) by Class crews, 
which compete every May over the Charles River 
course. Freshmen races with other colleges — Cornell, 
Columbia, University of Pennsylvania, &c. — have 
been kept up. The methods of training have under- 
gone great changes. At first, oarsmen trained for only 
a few weeks before the race ; then, a very severe diet 
was insisted upon ; finally, for the past fifteen years, 
the training has begun in the autumn and continued 
throughout the college year, but the food and drink 
allowed have been more rational, .\bout a fortnight 
before the race the 'Varsity crew goes to New London 
where quarters were built for it in 1881, and receives 
final instruction from a coach. Harvard's great lack, 
during recent seasons, has been a competent coach. 
The recently completed Weld Boat-house will, it is 
hoped, encourage rowing as a pastime for students 
who do not belong to the 'Varsity or Class crews. 

Base-Ball, the second in importance of University 
sports, is even younger than Rowing. It originated, 
apparently, in the old game of rounders. Up to 1862 
there were two varieties of base-ball — the New York 
and the Massachusetts game. In the autumn of 1862 
George A. Flagg and Frank Wright organized the 
Base-Ball Club of the Cliiss of 'iM, adopting the New 
York rules; and in the following spring the city of 
Cambridge granted the use of the Common for prac- 
tice. A challenge was sent to several colleges: Yale 
replied that they had no club, but hoped soon to 
have one ; but a game was arranged with the Brown 
»()phomores, and played at Providence June 27,1863. 
The result was Harvard's first victory. Interest in 
the game grew rapidly. Ou July 9, 1864, Harvard 
encountered the Lowell Club — then the most famous 
in New England — ou the Boston C!ommon, but was 
defeated. Class nines were organized, and from the 



138 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



best of these the 'Varsity nine was made up. For 
several years the chief contests were between Har- 
vard and the Lowells or the Trimonntains, and, — 
among professionals — the Athletics, of Philadelphia, 
and the Atlantics, of Brooklyn. In 1868 the first 
game with Yale was played. From that year until 
1871 Harvard had a remarkable nine, of which A. 
McU. Bush was captain and catcher. In 1869 it 
made a long tour, jdaying the strongest clubs in the 
country, professionals as well as amateurs, and all but 
defeating the Red Stockings of Cincinnati, then the 
champions. After Bush and his colleagues left col- 
lege Harvard wa.s less successful during several years, 
but under the captaincy of F. W. Thayer, 78, it was 
again the leading college club. He invented the 
catcher's mask — an invention which brought about the 
great^t possible change in the method of play ; sacri- 
fice hits, base-stealing and curve-pitching — which was 
declared an impossibility by instructors in physics — 
came in at this time, and added to the precision of 
the game. Since 1878 Harvard, although frequently 
victorious, has had but one excellent nine, that of 
1885, captained by Winslow. The nine trains in the 
Gymnasium during the winter, and is coached by a 
professional ; but recently the Faculty has forbidden 
it from playing matches with professionals. The 
most remarkable game on record was played by the 
Harvards and Manchesters in 1877 ; it lasted twenty- 
four innings, neither club making a run. Games in 
Cambridge were played on the Delta, until that was 
chosen as the site of Memorial Hall; then Jarvis 
Field was converted into a ball-tielil. About 1876 
base-ball and foot-ball were played on Holmes Field ; 
and a little later a cinder fifth-mile track was laid 
out on Jarvis by the Athletic Association. About 
seven years ago Holmes Field was regraded, a quar- 
ter-mile track was laid and the base-ball diamond 
fixed there. Jarvis has since then been given up to 
foot-ball and tennis. In 1889 a large field belonging 
to the Norton estate was leased for athletic purposes; 
it is now proposed to reclaim the large tract of marsh 
land belonging to the College on the further side of 
the Charles, in order to furnish sufficient space for 
all possible athletic needs. 

Foot-ball, which has lately come to be pai- i-.rcel- 
leiwc the autumn sport, was played in desultory fash- 
ion up to 1873, when the University Foot-ball Asso- 
ciation was organized. The team consisted of fifteen 
players, and more dependence was placed on indi- 
vidual speed and strength than on concerted play. 
Gradually, experience suggested improvements, and 
at Princeton and Vale more than at Harvard the 
standard of the game was raised. The number of 
players was reduced to eleven, and in 1880 the Kug- 
by rules were adopted. In 1885 the playing was so 
rough that the Harvard Faculty refused to allow the 
Harvard; team to compete; but this prohibition was 
removed the following year. In 1889, however, 



brutal acts, tricks and " professionalism " again called 
for a remedy, and Harvard, having withdrawn from 
the " triangular league " with Princeton and Yale, 
is now negotiating for the formation of a " dual 
league" with Yale in foot-ball, baseball and general 
athletics, similar to the agreement in rowing. 

The Old Gymnasium, built in 1800, sufficed, for a 
time, for the needs of the students, but with the rapid 
increase in the membership of the college after 1870, 
the building became overcrowded, and in 1878 Au- 
gustus Hemenway (H. U. 1876) gave the College the 
new Gymnasium, which, in size and appointments, 
surpassed any other in the country. The Athletic 
Association, founded in 1874, has stimulated the 
growing interest in physical exercise by holding 
Winter meetings (at which there are sparring, wrest- 
ling, fencing, tumbling, jumping, tugs-of-war, etc.) 
and Spring meetings (at which there are running, 
leaping and other out-door sports). The best Harvard 
athletes (since 1876) have competed at the Intercol- 
legiate Games at Mott Haven, where Harvard has 
stood first nine times, Cofumbia three times, and 
Princeton and Yale once each. 

Of the other athletic organizations it is unneces- 
sary to speak in detail. Cricket, although venerable, 
has never been able to compete in popular favor with 
base-ball. Bicycling was introduced in 1879, almost 
simultaneously with Lawn Tennis; the latter has 
perhaps done more than any other sport to improve 
the general physique of the students. La Crosse, 
Sparring, Canoeing and Shooting have all their vota- 
ries; and the introduction of Polo indicates the in- 
creasing number of wealthy students. Under the 
superintendence of Dr. Dudley A. Sargent, the Di- 
rector of the Gymnasium, students are examined and 
assigned the apparatus best adapted to their several 
needs. Track athletics are also in charge of an as- 
sistant. The Faculty, by appointing a Committee to 
confer with the officers of the various organizations, 
and to superintend the games, have shown their de- 
termination to prevent athleticism from being pushed 
to a harmful extreme. The problem that confronts 
them is comparatively new in America, and by no 
means has a satisfactory solution yet been found As 
yet there is not here, what there has long been in 
England, a large body of gentlemen athletes, who 
pursue sport for its own sake: our public opinion is 
determined by professionals who fix the standard and 
set the pace. College athletes emulate them, to the 
detriment of the amateur or gentlemanlike spirit 
which should rule college sports. And since more 
and more young men go to college for the sake of the 
excitement and amusement to be had there, or be- 
cause they excel in athletics, the Faculty have to de- 
vise means for curbing the excessive athleticism 
towards which these tend, while allowing, at the 
same time full scope for the normal and wholesome 
exercise of the great majority of industrious students. 



CAMBRIDGE. 



139 



IV. CONCLUSION. 

It would be a grateful task to record, if space per- 
mitted, somewhat of the live.s of the many men who, 
during the past two hundred and fifty years, have 
co-operated either by gifts or money or by their 
learning, patience and devotion, to the growth and 
welfare of Harvard University. No other institution 
in this country has had so long a life, and to none other 
have so many of the best edorts of society been de- 
voted age after age. The existence and fostering of 
the College at all, what are they but proofs that at 
every period a certain portion of the community have 
recognized the inestimable benefits that spring from 
the dissemination of Truth? We cannot too often 
repeat that buildings and rich foundations do not, of 
themselves, constitute a University, — that the Truth 
of which the University should be the oracle can be 
taught only by wise and true men. And if you look 
down the list of those who for two centuries and a 
half have governed and taught at Harvard, you will 
find no lack of such men. They have (littered accord- 
ing to the times in which they lived and worked in 
their views concerning Truth, but they have been 
harmonious in their conviction that Truth, and noth- 
ing else, should be taught here. 

When Harvard was founded, the unexplored forests 
stretched almost to Cambridge ; the early teachers 
may have kept their Hint-locks by their desks, against 
a sudden sally of the Indians. But in spite of these 
actual dangers, in spite of the absence of all the 
higher appliances of education, the seminary grew. 
It embodied the ideals and hopes not only of this 
neighborhood, but of the whole New England Colony. 
We have seen how at first, being the offshoot of a 
theocratic community, Harvard was bound, on the 
one hand, by the Church, and, on the other hand, by 
the State. The Pilgrims who came to Plymouth, the 
Puritans who settled Boston, did not believe in liberty 
of conscience ; they desired to worship Cod after their 
own fashion, and were intolerant of any other wor- 
ship. And for two generations, as we have seen, 
they imposed their rigid rules unchallenged on the 
College. But at the beginning of the 18th century 
the community was already made up of considerable 
numbers of non-Calvinists, and among the Calvinists 
themselves there were degrees of strictness. All 
through that century there was a conflict between the 
liberals and the moderates, and, although the Ibrmer 
happily prevailed, the Orlho<lo.x Church still excluded 
members of other denominations from taking part in 
the Government or the instruction of the College. 
Significant is it that the first conspicuous benefactor 
of Harvard in the 18th century was a Baptist. Not 
until 1792 was a layman, .Tames Bowdoin, elected to 
the Corporation ; and, although the election, a dozen 
year later, of Henry Ware to the chair of Theology 
plainly indicated the beginning of the end of sectarian 
control, it was not until 1843 that the Board of 
Overseers was open to clergymen of any denomination. 



That year, therefore, is a landmark in the history of 
Harvard; in that year she was emancipated from 
bondage to a single sect. 

I>ven longer was her servitude to the State. Co- 
lonial and Provincial Governors, their Councils, and 
the General Court exercised from decade to decade an 
c.r offii-io control over the College. To them the 
te.achers had to look for salaries, and we have seen 
how often they looked in vain, how many wore 
themselves out for a mere pittance, and how President 
after President was hampered and persecuted by 
the lasv-makers in Boston. Nor did their condition 
improve when Massachusetts became an independent 
Commonwealth ; for the State retained its control, 
but shirked the obligations which that contri)! im- 
posed, and at last cut ofl' all subventions. The Col- 
lege, forced to support itself, and proving that it could 
do so, demanded that in justice it should govern its 
own affairs ; but, although experience showed how per- 
nicious is the mixing up of education with partisan- 
ship, it was not until 1865 that the Legislature at last 
released its hold. Th.at year is the other great laud- 
mark in Harvard's career; it witnessed her emancipa- 
tion from the State, and the transfer of the conduct 
of her affairs to those most interested in her pros- 
perity — her alumni. 

From restrictions to liberty has been likewise the 
course of her progress in other things. Once, all 
studies were prescribed ; now each student is free to 
choose the studies most congenial to his tastes and 
talents. Restrictions as to worship, dress and diet 
have all passed away ; we read of them now in the old 
books, with feelings not unlike those aroused by the 
sight of mediieval instruments of torture at Nurem- 
berg, — they belong to another time ; the wonder 
is that men could have thought them profitable or 
necessary at any time. 

We discern three critical periods in the develop- 
ment of Harvard : first, that covered by the adminis- 
tration of Leverett, when the attempts of the Mather 
faction were frustrated, the relations between the Cor- 
poration and the (Jverseers were fixed, the old Charter 
was revived, and the munificence of Hollis and other 
benefactors strengthened the resources of the College ; 
second, Kirkland's term, when the College was ex- 
panded into a University through the creation of de- 
jiartments of Medicine, Law and Divinity, when 
methods of instruction were reformed, and when more 
liberal views of religion began to be held, however 
timidly ; third, the present administration of President 
Eliot, during which, besides marvelous growth in the 
College and Schools, and besides the erection of many 
buildings and the creation of new dei)artments, there 
are to record the recognition of what a university 
should be, and the endeavor to raise every department 
to the level of that recognition. At no other period has 
Harvard had so decisive an infiuence on the educa- 
tional standard of the United States as between 1870 
and 1890; and henceforth,— freed from the trammels 



140 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



of Church and State, loosed from the bonds of obsolete 
methods, with the consciousness of noble work 
achieved, with equipments and appliances undreamt 
of even half a century ago, with not merely a strug- 
gling colony but a vast nation within reach of her 
voice, — what may she not achieve as the guardian and 
imparter of Truth I 



CHAPTER V. 
CAMBRIDGE— ( Continued). 

THE DIVINITY SCHOOL OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY. 
BY REV. A. P. PEABODY, D.D. . 

There never w^s a time when Harvard College was 
not, or had not, a Divinity School. The training of 
ministers was the prime purpose of its establishment. 
For the first quarter of a century more than half of 
its graduates became ordained ministers and several 
of the unordaiued are known to have been preachers. 
The HoUis Professor of Divinity always had Divinity 
students under his tuition ; while the Professor of 
Hebrew did what he could to enable every under- 
graduate to read the Old Testament in its original 
tongue. 

The first movement toward the increase of the 
teaching power in this department was in 1811, when, 
by the will and from the estate of Samuel Dexter, an 
endowment accrued to the College for a Lectureship 
on Biblical Criticism. Rev. Joseph Stevens Buck- 
minster was appointed lecturer, and had delivered a 
single course of lectures before his death in 1812. 
Rev. Wm. Ellery Chanuing .succeeded him, holding 
the office but one year. \n 1813 Andrews Norton 
was chosen Lecturer, and first as Lecturer, then as Pro- 
fessor, gave instruction in the Criticism of the New 
Testament till 1830. \n 1814 the Hollis Professor, 
the Professor of Hebrew and Mr. Norton received 
the first regular class of students in Theology, — a 
class of six, all of them graduates of that year. This 
class completed its course of study in 1817, and has 
been followed by an unbroken annual series of classes 
of virtual graduates in theology, though the academic 
degree of Bachelor of Divinity was not conferred till 
1871. 

In 1813 Samuel Parkman, of Boston, gave the Col- 
lege a township in Maine " for the support of a Pro- 
fessor in Theology." After this gift became availa- 
ble for its purpose, it was increased by the donor's 
son. Rev. Dr. Francis Parkman, and, thus aug- 
mented, is the present endowment of the Parkman 
professorship. 

In 1815 the President and Fellows addressed a cir- 
cular to the friends of the College, representing the 
need of added funds for theological education. The 



result was a fund of nearly thirty thousand dollars, 
and the organization of an active and efficient " Soci- 
ety for promoting Theological Education in Harvard 
University." 

In 1819 the Divinity School was first constituted a 
distinct department of the University under the 
charge and tuition of the Hollis Professor, Rev. 
Henry Ware, Senior, D.D., the Professor of Hebrew, 
Sidney Willard, and the Dexter Lecturer, who now 
received the appointment and title of Dexter Pro- 
fessor of Sacred Literature. The immediate manage- 
ment of the Divinity School was placed temporarily 
under the charge of the Society above named, sub- 
ject, of course, to the control of the governing Boards 
of the University. Under the auspices of this 
Society the present Divinity Hall was erected in 
1821). The Society still exists, and is in possession 
of ft:nds to a considerable amount, the income of 
which is appropriated in part to the aid of divinity 
students, in part to other purposes in the interest ot 
the Divinity School. 

Since these early endowments of the department of 
theology, two professorships have been instituted, one 
dependent for its support on certain property be- 
queathed to the College by the late Benjamin Bussey, 
the income of which is, in accordance with his will, 
divided equally between the Law and the Divinity 
Schools, and a professorship of Ecclesiastical History, 
endowed from a fund left by Mr. Winn, of Wo- 
burn, in trust for the advancement of liberal views in 
theology. 

Divinity Hall contains a chapel and rooms oc- 
cupied by students. Several apartments were at 
first used for the library and for cliiss-rooms. But 
there has been recently erected a library large enough 
to contain, with its present 22,(M(0 volumes, the accu- 
mulations of a century to come, and having also apart- 
ments which are now used as lecture-rooms, and 
which can be so occupied till the remote time when 
they shall be required for the reception of books. 

The Divinity School has at the present time in- 
vested funds to the amount of nearly $400,000, and 
an annual income of not far from 140,000. Its gradu- 
ates have numbered about 500, and of late years it 
has had from thirty to forty names of students on 
the annual catalogue. There are now actively en- 
gaged in the instruction of the school six professors, 
— one in the department of Theology, one in Ethics, 
one in the Interpretation of the New Testament, one 
in Ecclesiastical History, one in Hebrew and the In- 
terpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures, and one in 
Semitic Languages in general and their literature. 

The history of the Divinity School should embrace, 
chief of all, some notice of the men whose services 
have given it an honored place among the depart- 
ments of the University. The Hollis Professor of 
Divinity, under whose virtual presidency the school 
was organized, was Rev. Henry Ware, D.D., known to 
the larger public by his controversy with Dr. Woods, 



CAMBRIDGE. 



141 



of Aadover,^to the members of the University, 
and especially to his pupils in theology, for learning 
level with (he hifjhest stanHard of his time, for pre- 
eminent candor in the statement of opinions other 
than his own, for equal patience and skill as a teacher, 
and for personal traits which never failed to win ad- 
mitatlon and love. He resigned his active duties in 
lS40, and the office remaine<l vacant til! 1S82, when 
it was filled by Rev. David G. Lyon, Ph.D., the pres- 
ent incumbent, who holds the foremost place among 
Assjriologists in this country, and who also gives in- 
struction in Hebrew and Arabic. Since Dr. Ware's 
resignation portions of his work have been performed 
bytheParkman professors, and more recently by Rev. 
Charlos C. Everett, D.D., and Rev. Francis Q. Pea- 
body, D.D., both too well known to need any added 
testimony to their surpassing ability and merit. 

Sidney Willard, Hancock Professor of Hebrew, re- 
mained a member of the Theological Faculty till his 
resignation, in 1831. He was succeeded in 1840 by 
Rev. George R. Noyes, D.D., the instruction in that 
department having meanwhile been given by Dr. Pal- 
frey. Dr. Noyes's translations of large portions of the 
Hebrew Scriptures and of the entire New Testament 
are enduring monuments of a broad, deep and con- 
scientiously faithful scholarship. He held, together 
with the professorship of Hebrew, the Dexter Lecture- 
.ship, and his services in the criticism of the New 
Testament were so valuable and so valued that, while 
he lived, there was no thought of relieving him of the 
double charge, for neither part of which was it easy 
to find his equal. He was succeeded in 1869 by Rev. 
Edward J. Young, D.D., an accomplished Hebrew 
scholar, and on his resignation the place was filled 
and is still filled by Rev. Crawford H. Toy, D.D., 
who in his department has, if equals, no superior. 

In the criticism of the New Testiment, Professor 
Norton left in some respects a unique impression on 
his pupils and readers. He united to the firmest faith 
in the genuineue.ss and authenticity of the Gospel 
the most daring and unscrupulous handling of 
the contents of the Christian Scriptures, rejecting not 
only what was made doubtful by documentary 
evidence, but whatever his critical taste judged to be 
spurious. His interpretations of the sacred text and 
his opinions with reganl to it were so evidently the 
result of the maturest thought and were so impressive- 
ly uttered, that it seemed impossible to dissent from 
them. His great work in defence of the genuineness of 
the Gospels is, perhaps, the strongest series of argu- 
ments ever urged with reference to that subject, and it 
may be doubted whether more recent discussions 
have shaken any one of its positions, or impaired the 
validity of any portion of its reasoning. In his realm 
he was an autocrat, with willing subjects. Rev. John 
G. Palfrey, D.D., who succeeded him, differed very 
widely from him. With equally decided opinions of 
his own, he was generous and hospitable toward other 
minds, invited dissent, and encouraged freedom of 



thought. His most elaborate works were on the -Old 
Testament, — works which represented the advanced 
scholarship of their time in a department in which 
adepts of our day have left those of half a century ago 
very far behind. He resigned in 1839, and the office 
was merged in that of the Professor of Hebrew till 1872, 
when it was again filled by Ezra .\bbot, D.D., recog- 
nized on both sides of the .\tlantic as second to no then 
living scholar in everything appertaining to a scien- 
tific knowledge of the New Testament in its original 
tongue. On his death, in 1884, the office passed, we 
might say by a necessity which superseded 
choice, to Rev. .Joseph H. Thayer, D.D., who had betn 
Dr. Abbot's most intimate associate in the study of 
the New Testament, who had recently resigned a 
similar Professorship at Andover, and who, by works, 
indispensable for a Biblical scholar, is insuring for 
himself enduring reputation and the gratitude of 
coming generations of students and lovers of the New 
Testament. 

The Parkman Professorship was first filled by 
Henry Ware, .Jr., D.D., in 1829, and he a.ssumed his 
charge under the style of " Professor of Pulpit 
Eloquence and Pastoral t^are," — a fit title for him, 
as he had distinguished himself in both those spheres 
of service during his pastorate, which failing health 
alone induced him to resign. His most important 
professional function was the careful and elaborate 
criticism of the sermons prepared by the students, and 
beyond this, and far above it, were the effluence and 
the influence of a soul thoroughly consecrated to 
Chri.st and to the ministry of His Gospel. He was 
succeeded, in 1842, by Rev. Convers Francis, D.D., 
a man of vast erudition, whose teaching power would 
have been greater had his learning been less abun- 
dant and more thoroughly systematized. He had 
for his successor, in 18t)3, Rev. Oliver Stearns, D.D., 
who had been President of the Meadville Theological 
School, and who brought and maintained a high 
reputation as a scholar and teacher. Both of these Pro- 
fessors gave instruction in ethics and in systematic 
theology. Since Dr. Stearns' resignation, in 1878, the 
professorship has remained vacant ; but its special 
work has been performed with equal faithfulness 
and skill, by Professor Francis G. Peabody, for the 
last two years, with the valuable assistance of Rev. 
Edward Hale. 

In Ecclesiastical History, Rev. Frederic H. Hedge, 
D.D., tilled, with characteristic ability, an unendowed 
and scantily paid [irofessorshi)) from 1857 to 1876, 
during the first fifteen years of this period having 
been pastor of a church in Brookline, and for the last 
four Professor of German in the College. In 1882 
Ephraim Emerton, Ph.D., was appointed Winn Pro- 
fessor of Ecclesiastical History, and has given ample 
proof of his fitness, as a scholar and a teacher, for a 
chair of so high educational importance in the 
training of Christian ministers. 



142 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



CHAPTER VI. 

CAMBRIDGE— ( Continued. ) 

THE PITBLIC .SCHOOLS. 
BY PROF. BF.NJ. F. TWEED, A. M. 

At a session of the General Court of the Colony of 
Massachusetts Bay in New England, commenced on 
the 14th of June, 1642, the Court, taking into con- 
sideration the great neglect in many parents and mas- 
ters in training up their children in learning, ordered 
and decreed : — 

"That in every town the chosen men appointed for 
managing the prudential aftairs of the same, shall 
henceforth stand charged with the care of the redress 
of this evil ; and for this end they shall have power to 
take account from time to time of the parents and 
masters and of their children, concerning their call- 
ing and employment of their children, especially of 
their ability to read and understand the principles of 
religion and the capital laws of the country, and to 
impose fines upon all those who refuse to render such 
account to them when required ; and they shall have 
power to put forth apprentices, the children of such 
as they shall find not to be able and fit to employ, and 
bring them up." (Mass. Coll. Record, Vol. ii. 6-1*.) 
This is a plain assumption on the part of the Gene- 
ral Court of the right and duty of the State to see 
that every child should receive an elementary educa- 
tion, three things being specified, ability to read, and 
understand the principles of religion and the capital 
laws of the country. 

In 1647 an ordinance was passed " that every town- 
ship in this jurisdiction, after the Lord hath increased 
them to the number of fifty househoulders, shall then 
forthwith appoint one within their town, to teach all 
such children as shall re.sort to him to write and reade, 
whose wages shall be paid either by the parents or 
masters of such children, or by the inhabitants in gen- 
erall by way of supply, as the major part of those that 
order the prudentials of the towne .shall appoint, Pro- 
vided, those that send their children be not oppressed 
by paying much more than they can have them taught 
in other towns : — and it is further ordered that when 
any towne shall increase to the number of 100 families 
or householders, they shall setup a Grammar School, 
the master thereof being able to instruct youth so farr 
as they maybe fitted for the University; Provided, 
that if any towne neglect the performance thereof 
above one yeare, every such town shall pay 5s to the 
next schoole till they shall perform this order." (Mass. 
Coll. Rec. Vol. ii. 203). It will be seen by these 
quotations from the Records, that the General Court 
of the Colony imposed duties upon the several towns 
regarding the care of children, and especially their 
training in learning, before any definite ordinance was 
passed providing for the establishment and mainten- 
ance of schools. These ordinances of the General 



Court may be regarded as indicating the principles 
upon which our system of public schools has been 
reared. The same principles, whether as embodied 
in the legislation or in the measures adopted by the 
towns, were recognized. For many years there seems 
to have been no distinct division of the responsibilities 
of the Colony and of the several towns ; so that we find 
even the compensation of Grammar School teachers 
provided for partly by appropriations by the Colony 
and jiartlv by the towns, and partly by tuition fees. 
This introduction seems necessary to a perfect under- 
standing of the town records. 

The first notice we have of a school, other than the 
College in Cambridge, is contained in a Tract pub- 
lished in London, in 1643, in which the writer says 
that there is " By the side of the College a faire gram- 
mar schoole, for the training up of young schollars, 
and fitting them for Academicall Learning, that still 
as they are judged ripe, they may be received into the 
College ; of this schoole Master Corlet is the Mr., who 
has well approved himself for his abilities, dexterity 
and painfuluess in teaching and education of the 
youth under him." " The precise date," says Dr. 
Paige, " when the (xrammar School in Cambridge was 
established does not appear; but before 1643 Mr. 
Corlet had taught sufficiently long to have acquired a 
high reputation for skill and faithfulness." Dr. Hil- 
dreth (I know not on what authority) places the es- 
tablishment of the school probably at lt)36-37. 

This school, it will be seen, was not established to 
meet any requirement of the General Court, as it was 
not till 1647 that the ordinance was pa,ssed requiring 
such schools. 

At this date Cambridge probably contained the 
number of families requisite for the maintenance of 
a Grammar School, and Mr. Corlet's school seems 
to have answered the requirement for Cambridge. 

In 1648 " It was agreed, at a meeting of the whole 
Towne that there should be land sold of the Common, 
for the gratifying of Mr. Corlet for his pains in 
keeping school in the Towne, the sum of ten pounds, 
if it can be obtained ; |)rovided it shall not prejudice 
the Cow-Common." 

This may be regarded as a semi-adoption of the 
school by the town, though in this, as in subsequent 
grant.s, it seems rather .-is a gift than a salary. 

Again in 16.'')4, "The Town consented that twenty 
pounds should be levied upon theseveral inhabitants, 
and given to Mr. Corlet for his present encouragement, 
to continue with us." The General Court, also, in 
1659, granted Mr. Corlet 200 acres of land. 

In 1662 the town made an order " to grant Mr. 
Corlet, in consideration of the fewness of his scholars, 
ten pounds, to be paid to him out of the public stock 
of the town." Also in 1664, — "Voted that Mr. Elijah 
Corlet be paid out of the town rate annually twenty 
pounds so long as he continue to be schoolmaster in 
this place." 

This seems to be a full adoption of the school by 



CAMBRIDGE. 



143 



the town ; but yet, " In answer to the petition of 
Mr. Corlet, the Court having considered of the peti- 
tion, and being informed the petitioner to be very 
poor, grant him 500 acres of land where he can find 
it according to law." 

In 1680 an official answer of the town to certain 
questions proposed by the County Court, says : " Our 
Latin School Master is Mr. Elijah Corlitt; his scholars 
are in number, nine at present." This is the first 
official recognition of the school. "Under all these 
discouragements," says Dr. Paige, " the veteran 
teacher seems to have persevered bravely up to the 
close of his life, for there is no evidence that a suc- 
cessor was elected till after his death." 

In 1690 "The selectiori, on behalf of the town, 
called John Hancock to keep school for the town, to 
teach both Grammar and English, with writing and 
cyphering." 

In 1691 the salary was fixed at £12, and in 1692 it 
was raised to £'20. 

This is the first time that the term mlnni is used in 
the records, as applied to the .schoolmaster. " Be- 
sides the Grammar school," says Dr. Paige, "others 
of a lower grade were established, but their scanty 
patronage aflbrds slight grounds for boasting. In 
March, 1680, it was certified that Master Corlett had 
only nine scholars, and it was added, 'For English 
our schooldame is goodwife Healy,' at ])resent but 
nine scholars. Edward Hall, English schoolmaster, 
at present but three .scholars. ' 

In 1692 the town granted to the Menotomie 
(now Arlington) people a (juarter of an acre of land 
for the accommodation of a school-house, "so long as 
it was improved for that use and no longer."' It does 
not appear, however, that the town provided for the 
building of the house or the support of the school. 

In 1728 the town granted an allowance of " twenty- 
four pounds towards the promoting of schools in the 
Wings of the town," (Arlington and Brighton) ; and 
the same appropriation was made for several suc- 
cessive years, the money to be dividc<I equally. 

The first, iSchool Committee, consisting of Hon. 
Francis Foxcroft, (Samuel Danforth, Es(|., Wm. 
Brattle, Esq., and Edward Trowbridge, Esq., was 
elected in 1744, " to inspect the Grammar Schools, and 
to inquire (at such time as they shall think meet) what 
proficiency the youth and children make in their 
learning." 

This committee seems to have been elected for an 
indefinite time, iis no other notice of a School Gom- 
mittee is recorded for many years ; nor does it seem 
to have performed other than the specific duties of 
inspecting the Grammar School. Teachers were still 
elected by the selectmen. 

Again in 1761, " it was voted that Samuel Danforth, 
John Winthrop, Esq., Dea. Samuel Whittemore, 
together with the selectmen, be authorized to make 
such regulations for the ordering and the governing 
of the Grammar School as they shall judge expedient 



and to cause them to be duly observed and put into 
execution." 

But notwithstanding the previous choice of a School 
( 'ommittee, and the appointment of another committee 
to make regulations for the ordering and governing 
of the Grammar School, the selectmen are desired, 
the next year, to provide a Grammar School master. 

lu 1766 the inhabitants of the Northwest Precinct, 
and those on the south side of Charles River (who 
have up to this time received s|iecific sums voted by 
the town), are allowed to draw their full and just pro- 
portion of the money granted for schooling according 
to their Province tax. 

Another advance towards a School Committee with 
full powers was made in 1770, when "it was voted 
that a committee of nine persons be and hereby are 
fully empowered to choose a Grammar School Master : 
the Hon. Judge Danforth, .fudge Lee, Col. Oliver, 
Judge Sewell, Mr. Abraham Watson, .fr., Mr. Francis 
Dana, Mayor Vassall, Mr. Samuel Thacher, Jr., Pro- 
fessor Winthrop ; they, or a major part of the whole, 
being notified ; and that said committee be a commit- 
tee of inspection upon the said schoolmaster, and 
that said committee be and hereby are empowered 
to regulate said school." 

This comes the nearest to being a School Committee 
in the modern sense, but falls short in being the com- 
mittee on a single school. It was more than twenty 
years before a committee having charge of the schools 
wa.s appointed. 

In 1794 a committee was " apjiointed to divide the 
town into Districts, as the law directs, and to put the 
schools in operation." The present territory of Cam- 
bridge was first divided into three districts, afterwards 
to five. 

In 1795 " a committee, consisting of Josiah Morse, 
Abiel Holmes, Major ,lohn Palmer, Wm. Locke, 
Jonathan Winship, Rev. John Foster and Rev. 
Thaddeus Fiske, was chosen for the i>urpose of 
superintending the .Wioo/.« in this town and carrying 
into eflect the school .\ct." 

This appears to be the first committee charged with 
the care of all the .schools, the others being appointed 
to inspect, etc., the (trariiniar School. In 1S02 pro- 
vision was made for schools in the several districts, 
" to meet the quantity re(piired by law." 

Up to this time, for about a hundred and fifty years, 
the public .school system seems to have been in a state 
of develojiment from principles recogniTied in the 
Ordinances of 1642-47. 

"The first school-house," says Dr. I'aige, "known 
to have been erected in (Cambridge stood on the 
westerly aide of Holyokc Street, about midway be- 
tween Harvard and Mount Auburn Streets. The lot 
was owned in 1()42 by Henry Dunster, president of 
the College; it contained a quarter of an acre of 
land, <iti which there was then a house that was not 
his dwelling-house. There are reasons for believing 
that the ' Fair Grammar School ' had been established 



144 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



in that house, and that it remained there five or six 
years." 

In 1647 President Dunster and Edward Goffe con- 
tracted with Nicholas Withe, Richard Wilson and 
Daniel Hudson, majons, to build a school-house, 
probably on that lot, and tor the same grammar- 
school. It does not appear that this school-house 
was erected by the town, but by certain individuals, 
of whom President Dunster, and perhaps Mr. Goffe, 
were the chief. 

In 1656, however, President Dunster made a prop- 
osition to the Townsmen "for the acquitting and 
discharging of forty pounds upon the account of his 
outlayings for the school-house." The townsmen did 
not "yield" to the proposition of Mr. Dunster, but 
said : " If Mr. Dunster shall please to present any 
proposition concerning his outlayings for the school- 
house to the town when met together, they shall be 
willing to further the same according to justice and 
equity." 

" Perhaps," says Dr. Paige, " in consequence of 
some such proposition by Mr. Dunster, it is recorded 
that, at a meeting Nov. 10, 1656, the town do agree 
and consent that there shall be a rate made to the 
value of X'l(»8 10s., and levied of the several inhaiiit- 
ants, for the payment for the school-house; provided 
every man be allowed what he hath already freely 
contributed thereto, in part of his proportion of such 
rate." 

Whatever Mr. Dunster received as his part of this 
appropriation, nothing further appears till after his 
death, when, in 1660, his heirs renewed the claim for 
further remuneration. The town, though denying 
that in strict justice anything was still due, yet "con- 
sidering the case as now circumstanced, and espe- 
cially the condition of his relict widow and children," 
levied X-SO on the inhabitants, and paid it to Mr. Dun- 
ster's executors, — an absolute deed of sale of the 
house and land and a clear acquittal for the full pay- 
ment thereof being given. 

From what has been said it appears that the first 
school-houses (or school-housing, as it is called in the 
records) were not built by the town alone, although 
appropriations were made from time to time to aid in 
their building and repairs. 

From 179.3 the schools may be regarded as reduced 
to a system and placed under a School Committee, 
whose duty it was "to carry into effect the School 
Act." 

The time following the Revolution to about 18.S0 
was shown, by the seventh annual report of the Hon. 
Horace Mann, secretary of the Massachusetts Board 
of Education, to be that at which the schools of Mas- 
sachusetts were at their lowest ebb. 

The grammar schools of the State, where pupils 
could be fitted for College, required before the Revo- 
lution, had, to a great extent, passed away, and their 
places had been supplied by private schools and 
academies. Under these circumstances the interest in 



the public schools was much less, especially of those 
who were able to patronize private schools or acade- 
mies. As an illustration of this, Mr. Mann states 
that in 1837 twenty-nine of the largest and richest 
towns in the Commonwealth raised but $2.21 per head 
for every child of school age, while the average of all 
the towns of the State, including the smaller and 
poorer towns, was $2.81. 

It seems, however, that in Cambridge a grammar 
school, in the English sense of the term, existed from 
the establishment of JIaster Corlet's " Fair Grammar 
schoole " to 1838. A portion of the legacy of Ed- 
ward Hopkins appears to have been expended in sup- 
port of this grammar school from the time it was first 
received — about 1713. ' 

In 1838 a High School building for the whole town 
was erected at the corner of Broadway and Winsor 
Street. 

This location seems to have been unsatisfactory to 
the people of some parts of the town, and " it is very 
likely," says Mr. Smith, in his History of the High 
School, " that the removal of the classical school 
from Old Cambridge, where it had existed from the 
time of Corlet, was one reason why .Tosiah Quincy, 
president of Harvard University, petitioned the Leg- 
islature in the same year for permission to withdraw 
the Hopkins Fund from the public school, and by the 
aid of it establish a private classical school." 

In 1839 the Legislature granted the petition, and a 
private classical school was established. The same 
act, however, provided that when the school should 
cease to be supported the trustees should pay over 

1 Edward HoplsiDfl, born near Shropshire, in Eoglaud, in 1600, early 
in life became a convert to the religious doctrines of the Puritane, and 
in 1G37 came to America. 

.\fter spending a ehurt time at Boston he joined the settlement at 
Ilartfoid. There he soon became one of the most prominent men, hoM- 
ing many important offices, among others, Governor of the Colony of 
Connecticut. In 16.^3 he returned to England, where he died in 1657. 

By his will, dated London, March 7, 1657, after disposing of much of 
his property in New England in legacies, and particularly to the family 
of Rev. Mr. Hooker, his pastor, he makes the following bei;|uests: 

"And the residue of my estate there (in New England) I do hereby 
give and bequeath to my father, Theophilus Eaton, Esq., Mr. John Dav- 
enport, Blr. .John Cullick and Mr. W'illiam Goodwin, in full absurance 
of their trust and faithfulness in disposing of it according to the true in- 
tent and purpose of me, the said Edward Hopkins, which is to give some 
encouragement in those foreign plantations for the breeding of hopeful 
youths both at the grammar school and college, for the public service of 
the country in future times. 

•'My farther mind and will is, that within si.v months after the de- 
cease of my wife five hundred pounds be made over into New England, 
according to the advice of my loving friends, Major Robert Thomson 
and Mr. Francis Willoughby, and conveyed into the hands of the trus- 
tees before mentioned in further prosecution of the aforesaid public 
ends, wliicli, in the simplicity of my heart, are for the upholding and 
promoting the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ in those distant parts 
of the earth." 

His widow lived to an advanced age, dying in ir.;)9, having survived 
all the trustees by more than thirty years. The estate was finally set- 
tled in Chancery, the college at Cambridge and " Grammar School " re- 
ceiving in all .CI251 13£. 2d. 

One-fourth of the income ol this amount was given to the " Grammar 
School " from 1793 to 1839. 

[For a full account of this fund see " Report of Cambridge School 
Committee " for 1885.] 



CAMBRIDGE. 



145 



a fourth part of the net income of the funds to 
the treasurer of the town of Cambridge, on con- 
dition that the said town should provide and main- 
tain a seliool, and pursue and comply with the 
fi)llo\v!ug duties and provisions, viz.: That the town 
of Cambridge should annually apply so much of 
said income as may at any time hereafter be paid 
to the treasurer thereof^ to the instruction of niue 
boys in the learning requisite for admission to Har- 
vard University, the said iustruction to be furnish- 
ed in a public school in said town, the instructor 
of which should be at all times competent to give 
such instruction, and the said town was required to 
admit into said school, free of expense, any number of 
boys, not exceeding nine, at any time, who, being 
properly qualified, should be selected and presented 
for admission thereto by the President and Fellows of 
Harvard College and the minister of the First ( 'hurch 
in Cambridge ; who, it was added, " shall be the visit- 
ors of said school for the purpose of seeing that the 
duties and provisions in this section are duly com- 
plied with and performed.'' 

In 1854 the private classical school seems to have 
failed of support, and on the proposal of the trustees, 
the city of Cambridge assumed the obligations, pro- 
vided in the act of 1S39, and appointed a Hopkins 
Classical Master in the High School. This arrange- 
ment has been nominally kept up to the present time, 
though it is doubtful if the President and Fellows of 
the College, and the minister of the First Church, 
find it necessary to exercise much vigilance in regard 
to the qualification of teachers, etc. 

The location of the High School, on Winsor Street 
and Broadway, being still found inconvenient for the 
whole population, classical instruction was re-estab- 
lished in Old Cambridge in 1S43, and it was also 
given in the Otis School, East Cambridge. 

This state of things existed about four years, when, 
in 1847, the Cambridge High Scl\ool was reorganized 
in the building originally erected for its accommoda- 
tion. The next year (1848) a new school-house was 
built on Amory Street. 

Air. Elbridge Smith, who was then principal of the 
High School, gives the following account of the dedi- 
cation of the building : 

" The dedication of the school-house on Amory 
Street, in June, 1848, was an event of considerable 
social and educational importance. The Hon. .lames 
D. Green was at that time Mayor of the city, and 
showed that earnestness and public spirit which 
always marked him in his private, as well as in his 
public life. The Rev. William A. Stearns, D.D. (af- 
terwards president of Amherst College), was chair- 
man of the High School Committee. The Rev. .lohn 
A. Albro, D.l)., of theShepard Congregational Church, 
a man of remarkable personal and professional worth, 
was also ren<lering important service on the same 
committee. William W. Wellington, M.I)., was 
then in the first years of that -service on the School 
10 



Committee which was destined to be so long and so 
useful to the city of Cambridge. Edward Everett 
I was president of Harvard College, and from him was 
expected the principal address on the occasion. It 
was an occasion to which all repaired with high ex- 
pectations, and from which they retired with those 
expectations more than realized." The addresses were 
all of permanent value, and Mr. Everett has very 
justly given his address a place in the second volume 
iif his "Orations and Speeches." 

The interest in this school by the city, and by its 
friends connected with the university, is shown by the 
fact that the city appropriated seven hundred dollars 
for furnishing the school with apparatus, while con- 
.siderable additions were made by the proceeds of lec- 
tures. 

In IS.iO the City Council gave more than eight 
hundred dollars' worth of books to the High School 
library, which enabled the city to draw from the State 
Ireasury an equal amount, under the provisions of a 
law then in existence. 

Prof. Louis Agassiz manifested his interest in pop- 
ular education by giving a course of four lectures at 
the City Hall, of which the proceeds were generously 
given for the library ; and he also gave to the pupils 
of the school gratuitous lectures for an entire year. 

Much of the interest then manifested in this school 
was due to the exertions and influence of the princi- 
pal of the school, Mr. Elbridge Smith. 

" It ought to be stated,' .says Mr. Wm. F. Bradbury, 
at present bead master of the High School, "that the 
sum of eight hundred dollars mentioned by Mr. Smith 
as appropriated by the City Council as a nucleus of a 
library for the school, was secured by the efl'orts of 
Mr. Smith, who made up a large part of it by con- 
tributing valuable books from hisown private library. 
He also spent money lavi.shly from his own pocket in 
increasing the appliances of the chemical and philo- 
sophical department. In fact, he looked upon the 
school as his own child, and made no account of time 
or money spent in fostering it." 

At the suggestion of Prof Cornelius C. Felton, Mr. 
Smith informs us that " .\ new feature was incorporated 
into the course of study of the High School. This 
was the formal study of English authors, in place of 
collections of extracts, which till then had been ex- 
clusively used in all our public schools." 

" It is believed," says Mr. Smith, " that this was the 
beginning in this country of that earnest study of 
English literature which is now so prominent a fea- 
ture in all our high schools, and which has extended 
to schools in other grades." 

Prof Felton was certainly fortunate that his sug- 
gestion was made to Mr. Smith, for no man was better 
([Ualified to make it a success than he. 

During the first decade of the city government, 
much was done to complete the iti/s/ema/ic grading 
of public school instruction, begun in 1834. "It is 
no exaggetation," says Mr. Smith, "to say, that then 



146 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



the idea of Huxley was fully realized, — that a course 
of public education should be like a ' ladder standing 
in the gutter and its top resting in the univer- 
sity.' " 

Under these influence-s of abetter organization, and 
the awakened interest in public school instruction 
throughout the State, the Cambridge schools seem to 
have made very decided jirogreas. The grammar 
schools sent so many graduates that the building on 
Amory Street was entirely inadequate to the wants 
of the High School, and in 1864 a new high school 
building was erected at the corner of Broadway and 
Fayette Street. 

" At the time it wa.s built," says Mr. Bradbury, " it 
was one of the finest school buildings in the State. 
. . . With the land the entire cost was sixty-five 
thousand dollars; and it was supposed that it would 
be ample in its accommodations for the High School 
for twenty years." Yet in 1870 it became necessary 
to occupy the hall as a schoolroom. In 1872 and 
1874 other changes were made, not contemplated 
when the building was erected, and parts of the 
building used as school-rooms, which were unfit. 
In 1878, the school having increased to five hundred 
pupils, it became necessary to establish a "colony" 
in a neighboring grammar school house. 

This unexpected growth of the High School, taken 
in connection with the fact that the standard for 
admission was high, furnishes the best evidence oi 
the prosperous condition of our grammar schools. 
During this period our schools, and especially the 
grammar and primary schools, suffered much from 
badly constructed school-houses, and the standing of 
the schools reflects great credit on the teachers and 
the School Committee. 

All our grammar school buildings had been con- 
structed on the old plan of a large room in which 
from one to two hundred pupils had sittings, and 
small, ill-ventilated rooms where recitations were 
conducted by the assistant teachers. 

In 1868 Professor (loodwin, in a report on the 
Washington School, says : " All the departments are 
in as good a condition as the arrangement of the 
building permits. This arrangement is such that 
half the teachers are retpiired to hear their recita- 
tions in large rooms nearly filled with scholars not 
reciting, so that the double duty of keeping order and 
imparting instruction is too great for even the ablest 
teacher, while the other half hear their smaller 
divisions in small rooms poorly ventilated, in which 
the air is usually so bad that the children are in an 
unfit state to be taught." He states his belief " that 
one-half the value of the Principal's instruction is 
lost by the necessity of transmitting it over the heads 
of seventy or eighty pupils to a class standing on the 
other side of a large hall." 

What Professor Goodwin has said of the arrange- 
ment of Washington Grammar School is true of the 
other grammar school buildings of the city. Pro- 



fessor Atkins' report of the primary buildings is 
scarcely more flattering. 

In 1869 Mr. E. B. Hale, who had been appointed 
Superintendent of Schools in 1868, devoted a large 
part of his report to " School Accommodations," in 
which he emphasized Professor Goodwin's statements, 
and suggested to the committee the importance of 
urging upon the city authorities the necessity of 
"remodeling as many of the grammar school houses 
as practicable the coming season." 

In accordance with these suggestions of the School 
Committee and the superintendent the grammar 
school houses were, in the years 1870-71, remodeled 
and greatly improved. But it was impossible to 
make such changes in their arrangements as to have 
them compare favorably with the new school-houses, 
built on the modern plan, in most of the cities and 
large towns of the Commonwealth. 

Within a few years some new buildings have been 
erected for the grammar and primary schools that 
do credit to the city ; and at the present time an- 
other fir.st-class grammar school house is nearly fin- 
ished, still another is under contract, and a high school 
house is in process of erection. But we are not yet 
as well supplied with modern structures as most of our 
sister cities. But, though obliged to confess that Cam- 
bridge was for some years, and is now, behind others 
in the matter ot school buildings, we may claim, it is 
believed, to have taken, in the matter of school disci- 
pline, a step in advance of any of the principal cities 
of the State. In 1866 a case of corporal punishment, 
though by no means severe as compared with the 
punishments in schools of Cambridge and other cities 
and towns at that time, gave rise to much controversy, 
which finally resulted in the passage of the follow- 
ing order by the School Committee: 

"It 18 on.]'oined on the instructors to exercise vigihinf. pruii*^nl and 
firm discipline, and to govern liy persuasion and gentle measures as far 
as practicable. No pupil shall be kept after schuol hours more than 
half an hour after each session. No scholar on entering tlie schools of 
the city shall be sub.ject to corporal punishment in an.v form. But if any 
scholar prove to he disorderly or refractory, sucji schohir, on due notice 
to parent or guardian, and on tlie written consent of the committee 
having charge of the school, shall be liable to corporal punishment 
during the remainder of the term. 

"Any instructor may suspend a pupil from school for violation of the 
School ltegulatii)ns or the rules of the school, or for any other sufficient 
cause ; but he shall immediately report the case to the parent or 
guardian of such pupil, and to the sub-couimittee of the school, or to 
the Superinteutlent of Schools, with a written statement of the cause of 
such suspension." 

The School Committee's report for 1889 says : " This 
rule has been in force for twenty years. In the 
majority of the schools corporal punishment h.as not 
been inflicted in a single instance; in the others 
the number of cases have varied from year to year, 
with changes in the supervising committee; but in no 
year, at least within the la.st ten years, have there 
been a hundred cases in all the schools of the city." 

The truant law has been of great service to the 
schools, though but a few comparatively have been 
sent to the truant school. These few have, however, 



CAMBRIDGE. 



147 



served as a warning to such an extent as very much 
to reduce this class of oflender? ; and it is believed 
the recent amendment to the law, including obstinate 
and disobedient pupils, will be equally efficacious. 

Within the past lew years important changes 
and additions have been made in our schools. In 
1S56 the High School was divided, — the Latin School 
being placed under the principalship of Mr. Rrad- 
bury, and the F'.nglish High School under that of 
Mr. Hill. 

Mr. Bradbury had for many years been eminently 
successful in preparing candidates for college, mak- 
ing the Cambridge High Scliool one of the best feed- 
ers of Harvard. Mr. Hill came to us from Chelsea, 
where he had proved himself one of the best High 
School teachers in the State. It is believed that the 
divi.sion will be advantageous to both departments, 
especially, to that of the English High School. 

Industrial School. — In February, 1884, the 
Cambridge Industrial Association, through a commit- 
tee appointed for the purpose, made to the School 
Board the following proposals and suggestions: 

"Our Association h.iR, in the basement of the City Iluihiing, Biattle 
Square, well-etjuipped work benches, with tools and all acconimodations 
for the instruction of twelve (12) boys under the charge of a competent 
and experienced teaclier. These implements, equipments and instnic- 
tiiin tlie Association offers for the use of either of the rity Schools during 
the present school year, free of ej-peitse, in case the School (^oniDlittee 
lliink such use advisable. 

"The Association would suggest, if it seems practicable to the f'om- 
mittee, some sui-h plan as this: That the boys of higher classes, wliose 
record in sclnxd is good and who have any aptitude in the use of tools, 
bt' allowed one afternoon in the week, to substitute for their regular lit- 
erary employment two hours' practice at the bench, it being understood 
that they sliall keep up with the studies of their classes, and that their 
presence and conduct in the work-room be reported as part of their 
school record. The room couM be open for this purpose as many after- 
noons in the week as the (.'ommittee may desire, twelve boys being re- 
ceived at a time. 

"A similar experiment having been tried with success in Boston, it is 
tieheveil that equally good results might follow in Cambridge, and that 
no little mechanical dexterity might be thus gained by the pupils with- 
out any essential interruption of their other studies." 

The School Committee accepted the proposal and 
adopted the plan suggested, a class being sent from 
each of the seven grammar schools. The same offer 
was made and accepted in 188.') and in 1886. 

In Se[)temlper, 18S<i,the School Committee appoint- 
ed a special committee to " consirler the question of 
industrial training and the practicability of connect- 
ing it with the .school system." 

The following is the report of that committee: 

*' Whfreafi^ the Industrial Association has offersd to give to the City 
of Camtiridge the tools and appar.atus used by it in industrial education 
in the basement of the City Building in Brattle Square,-- 

" Your Committee recommends that industrial iustructioti be given to 
seven (7) classes, consisting of twelve (12) boys each ; that one of these 
classes be tjikeu from each of the following grammar schools: Allstou, 
Harvard, Putnam, Shepard. Tliorndike, Washingtou and Webster; that 
the boys forming the classes sliall be chosen by lot from those whose 
parents or guardians are willing to have them join such a class; that 
such instruction be given during the school session, the course of in- 
struction to each class to consist of sixteen lessons, and to be similar to 
that given during the past year by the Industrial Association ; that the 
management of such instruction be committed to a committee of fiTe, 
one from each Ward, to be appointed by the chairman of the Board, and 



that this Board request the City Council to make an appropriation of 
four hundred (400) dollars to defray the expenses of such industrial in- 
Ntructor." 

This report was adopted and its recommendation 
carried out. The City Council at once appro])riated 
the four hundred dollars, and the seven classes re- 
ceived instruction. 

There is no school question more prominently be- 
fore the community at the present time than that of 
making manual training a branch of instruction in 
the common schools; and in Cambridge this question 
lias assumed special importance since Mr. Frederick 
II. Rindge made to the city his generous offer of an 
industrial school building ready for use, together with 
a site for the same. 

The object and aim of the school, as proposed by 
him, are best made known in his own words. He 
says: "I wish the plain arts of industry to be taught 
in this school. I wish the school to be especially for 
boys of average talents, who may in it learn how their 
arms and hands can earn food, clothing and shelter 
for themselves ; how, after a while, they can support 
a family and a home ; and how the price of these 
blessings is faithful industry, no bad habits and wise 
economy ; which price, by the way, is not dear. 

"I wish also that in it they may become accu.stomed 
to being under authority, and be now and then in- 
structed in the laws that govern health and nobility 
of character. I urge that admittance to such school 
be given only to strong boys who will grow up to be 
able workingmen. 

"Strict obedience to such a rule would tend to make 
parents careful in the training of their young, as they 
would know that their boys would be deprived of the 
benefits of said school unless they were able-bodied. 
I think the industrial school would thus graduate 
many young men who would prove themselves u.seful 
citizens." 

This munificent gift by Mr. Rindge was gratefully 
accepted, and we now have in successful operation an 
Industrial School which, it is believed, is not sur- 
passed by any in the country. 

Kindergarten. — .Vbont eleven years ago .Airs, 
(^uincy Shaw established three free Kindergartens in 
Cambridge. The.se, in common with many others in 
neighboring towns, were established to prove by thor- 
ough e.xperiment whether this theory could be carried 
out in practice. 

A sub-committee, having this under consideration, 
reported that the result was eminently successful. A 
petition containing ItJOO or 170<) names, representing 
largely the parents of children educated in these Kin- 
dergartens, asked to have the schools made a permanent 
part of our educational system. Under these circum- 
stance-s, the committee reported in favor of granting 
the petition, and recommended the adoption of the 
following order: That Kindergartens be established 
by this Board as a part of public school instruction in 
Cambridge. 



148 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



The order recommended was adopted, and, at the 
meeting of the Board in May, the following letter 
from Mrs. Shaw, addressed to the chairman of the 
School Board, was received : 

Dkar Sir : — In considcralion of tin' tipripicin uti thp pari of your Poard 
to eBtabliah Kindprgartons as a |»art of the regular Piitilic Sclitxil Ryeteiii, 
I wish to aelt if yoti will, at tlie <iosH of Ihia school year, iindcrtakH the 
care of those Kiixlergarlelis now carried on by nie in Canilniilge? They 
are located as follows : 7t; Moore .Street, Calnbridgeitort ; Boardinan 
School, Wineor Street, tlanibridgeport; and 41 Holyoke Street, f'ani- 
bridge. Iran only hope that yon will find them so satifactol'y for the 
beginning of all edncation for cliildl-en, that you will be as anxious to 
increase their number as I am to have it done; and that your action in 
the matter may serve as an example to other places, so that the Kin- 
dergartens may leally become a national benefit. 

Mrs. Shaw's jteneroiis proposal was accepted, and 
ihe following Older adopted : 

That the thanks of tiliis Board tie tendered to flirs, .Shaw, in recogni- 
tion of the public benefit conferred by her in the establishment and 
maintenance of the Kindergartens which she has so generously tendered 
this Board, and which the Boal'd has accepted as part of the Public 
School system of the city of ('ambiidge. 

Subsequently, the Concord Avenue Kindergarten, 
which had lieen maintained for several years by < 'am- 
bridge ladies, was ottered to the Board and accepted. 

There are now among the public schools of Cam- 
bridge four Kindergartens, containing 209 pupils, 
under the charge of seven teachers. As soon as suit- 
able rooms can be provided, three more of these 
schools should be opened, in order that all sections of 
the city may share in the advantages they att'ord. 

The WEi.LlNtiTON School. — The Cambridge Train- 
ing or Practice School was added to our system in 
1886. This school is believed to be, in some respects, 
unique. It was suggested and planned by the super- 
intendent, Mr. Cogswell, the design being " to give 
young women of Cambridge who desire to teach, and 
who have made special preparation for the work, an 
opportunity to gain experience under conditions fa- 
vorable to their own success, and without prejudice 
to the interests of their pupils." 

"This school differs from the other schools in this 
respect — all the classes are taught by young teachers, 
under the immediate supervision of a master and a 
female assistant, who are held responsible for the in- 
struction and management of the schoo'. 

" Graduates of the English High School or the Latin 
School, who have graduated from one of our State 
Normal Schools or the Boston Normal School are pre- 
ferred candidates for the position of teacher in this 
school ; other persons of equal attainments may, how- 
ever, be elected by special vote of the Committee on the 
Training Class. Teachers accepting service in this 
school do it with the understanding that they will 
remain a year, unless excused by the Committee on 
the Training Class. 

"The salary during Ihe year of service is 1200, and 
the Committee on the Training Class is authorized to 
expend for salaries an amount not exceeding the 
aggregate maximum salaries paid to female teachers 
for the instruction of the same number of pupils in 
the primary and grammar schools." 



It is thus seen that the Tr.iining School has made 
no addition to the cost of instruction in our schools. 
The only doubt at first was whether the pupils attend- 
ing this school would be as well taught as those in 
the other schools. It was claimed by its advocates 
that the inexperience of the young teachers would be 
ofl'set by the large experience of the jirincipal and 
his assistant, and it is believed by the committee and 
superintendent that the results have vindicated the 
claims. 

At no period in the history of our schools have 
they furnished such means for education in all depart- 
ments as at present. From the beginning the devel- 
opment of the system was .gradual ; but within the 
last twenty year,*, since the appointment of a super- 
intendent, the progress of our schools in all respects 
has been greatly accelerated. In no respect, it is be- 
lieved, excepting the condition of its school build- 
ings, are the schools of Cambridge surjiassed by those 
of any city in the Commonwealth. 

Such ha.s been the progress of public .school in- 
struction in Cambridge. In the mean time there 
have been, here as elsewhere, private schools, though 
none have established themselves as permanent in- 
stitutions. It was during the last part of the last 
century and the early [)art of this, that most, if not 
all, of the academies and large private schools in the 
State were established — as a consei(uence, undoubt- 
edly, of the failure of the public schools of that 
period, in most towns, to prepare pupils for college. 
In Cambridge, however, the Grammar School (in 
the English sense of the term) continued up to 1839, 
when the High School was established. It will be 
seen, therefore, that the same want was not felt here, 
as in many other parts of the State, during the pe- 
riod when the principal academies were established. 
From the time of the establishment of the High 
School the encouragement for private schools of a 
classical character seems to have been still less. As 
has been stated, the " Hopkins Classical Scliodl " of 
1839, though aided by the " Hopkins Fund," failed of 
support in 1854. 

The Public Library.' — The Cambridge Public 
Library is a direct descendant from the Cambridge 
.Vthenanim. This was incorporated in February, 
1849, for the purpose " of maintaining in Ihe city of 
Cambridge, a lyceum, a public library, reading-room, 
lectures on scientific and literary subjects, and for 
promoting such other kindred objects as the members 
of the corporation shall from time to time deem ad- 
visable and proper." 

In October, 1850, the corporation received from Mr. 
Edmund T. Dana, of Cambridge, the gilt of a lot of 
land containing ten thousand S(iuare feet, and situated 
on the corner of Main and Pleasant Streets, in Cam- 
bridgeport. The deed of gift contained the following 
conditions: "(1) That the corporation shall, within 



1 By Misa .\lmil-a Hayward. 



CAMBRIDGE. 



140 



two years, erect upon the land, and complete so as to 
be fit for occupation, a buildiiif; suitable for the pur- 
poses of the Cambridge Atheua'um as set forth in 
the act whereby the same was incorporated. (2) 
That the land and building (with the exception of 
the lower story and cellar of the building, which may 
be used for other purposes) shall be used forever for 
the purposes set forth in the Act of Incorporation." 
.\n edifice named the " Athenicum " was erected 
on the land during the following year, at a cost of 
about $18,000, and dedicated and opened to the pub- 
lic in November, 1851. The foundation of the library 
was due to a be<iuest of $1000 for the purchase of 
books, received by the will of Mr. James Brown of 
Watertown. With these books, and others con- 
tributed from various sources, the library was estab- 
lished, a room in the .Vthemtum having been fur 
nished for the purpose, ami Miss Caroline F. Orue 
appointed librarian. A catalogue of the books hav- 
ing been prepared and pi-inted, the library was 
opened for the delivery of books in November, 1857. 
According to the regulations any resident of Cam- 
bridge known to the librarian, or recommended by 
any citizen thus known, was entitled to the use ol 
the library upon the payment of one dollar per an- 
num, and subscribing a promise to comply with the 
regulations adopted for its management. 

The Athen;eum Corporation, in March, 1858, dis- 
posed of its real estate and personal property to the 
city of Cambridge. The library was also transferred 
to the city, which obligated it.self to contribute not 
less than $300 per annum for the term of fifteen 
years for its support and increase, and to maintain it 
forever for the use of the inhabitants of Cambridge. 

•Mr. Dana having released the .\thena"um Corpora- 
tion from the conditions of liis deed of gift, the 
" .Xthenieum " became the " City Hall," and the li- 
brary, now the property of the city, received the 
name of the " Dana Library," in accordance with an 
ordinance bearing the date June 30, 1S5S. 

The intentions of Mr. Dana in relation to the li- 
brary, which, till 1879, bore his name, are evident 
from the following clau.se, being clause No. 23 of his 
last will and testament: 

"I give t» EJmiind T. Hastings anil to William W. Wellington, an. I 
to the survivor of them, fifteen thousand dollars, in trust, to appropriatr 
the same in anrh manner as I may, hy auy inslruiiieut, in writingnn.lei 
uiy hand, appoint." 

In a separate instrument, bearing the same date as 
the will, the testator did direct as follows: 

"To Edmund T. Hastings and William W. Wellington, or whosoever 
else may execute the trust created hy the tnentylhird clause of m\ 
will : 

*• The sum of fifteen tlionsaml dollars, ht'ipieatlled hy the said twenty- 
third clause, is to be paid over, if and whenever my truslees or trustee 
shall deem it expedient to do so, to the City of Canibritlge, to be held 
hy the said City in trust, as an entire fund, the income thereof to he 
appropriated annually, forever, to the increase ami support of the 
library of the Cambridge Atheuieuni : provided, however, that if and 
whenever my said trustees or trustee shall be of opinion that it is not 
expedient that the said sum of fifteen thousand dollars should he so ap- 



propriated, the same to be paid over to my heirsat law ; and provided, 
further, that the said capital sum he paid over, either to said City of 
Cambridge, or to my heirs-at-law, within throe years from my decease. 

" Kbm. T. Dana." 

The trustees appointed by the will, in an instru- 
meut signed by ihem and transmitted to the City 
Council, signified their intention to pay this sum of 
(ifteen thousand dollars to the city of Cambridge, 
whenever they should receive it from Mr. Dana's 
executor. 

It unfortunately happened that the instrument 
referred to in Mr. Dana's will and copied above, 
though signed by Mr. Dana, was not duly attested. 
It was therefore contended by the residuary legatees, 
" that, by the twenty-third clause in the will, nothing 
passed to the City of Cambridge, the same not being 
named as legatee ; and it not being competent for a 
testator, by a duly executed will, to create for him- 
self a power to dispose of his estate to legatees by 
another instrument not duly executed as a will or 
codicil." The case was brought, by the adminis- 
trator, with the will annexed, before the Supreme 
Court of this State, which, after a full hearing, 
decided that the twenty-third clause in the will, with 
the unattested instrument signed by Mr. Dana, did 
not " create a valid bequest to the City of Cam- 
bridge." 

Thus were the generous intentions of Jlr. Dana 
frustrated ; and the munificent donation, which he 
designed for the library, passed into the hands ot 
his residuary legatees. 

In 1S74 the library was made free to the public, 
and in June of that year Miss Orne, after a long and 
faithful term of service, was succeeded by the present 
librarian. Miss Alniira L. Hayward. 

In 1875 the library was arranged hy subjects, and 
a new catalogue was issued. In 1870, by vote of the 
City (tovernment, the name of the library was 
changed to the Cambridge I'ublic Library, thus iden- 
tifying it more closely with the other public inslitu- 
tions of the city. 

The catalogue printed in 1,875 was followed by five 
supplements, and these by six hulletin.s. The library 
hid ijicreased, meanwhile, from seven to eighteen 
thousand volumes; and in 1885 the need of a new 
catalogue had become imperative. An additional 
appropriation of two thousand dollars was granted, 
in 18S(;, for this purjxise, and the new catalogue was 
is.sued in 1887. 

In adilition to this general catalogue completed in 
1887, a separate list of children's books was prepared 
early in 1888. The intent of this catalogue was to 
save much wear of the larger catalogue; and, as it 
embraces all the juvenile books of the library as 
well as other books especially useful and instructive 
to young people, it has been found to be of great 
service to all. 

The crowdeil state of the rooms occupied by the 
library had begun to attract general attention, and 



150 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



a movement had been made by several private citi- 
zens towards providing better accommodations, when 
the munificent offer of Mr. Frederick H. Rindge, of 
Los Angeles, California — a former resident of Cam- 
bridge — wag made public through Hon. William E. 
Russell, then mayor of Cambridge. 

On .Tune 14, 1887, Mr. Rindge, being in Boston, 
sent to the City Council, through the mayor, the fol- 
lowing communications: 

Boston, June 14, 1887. 
Hon. William E. Russell: 

Deah Sir,— It would make me happy to give the City of Cambridge 
the tract of land bounded by Cambridge, Trowbridge, Broadway and 
Irving streets, in the City of Oambridge, and to build thereon and give 
to said city a Public Library building, under the following conditions, 
— That on or within said building, tablets be placed bearing the fol- 
lowing words : 

f'i™;,— Built iu gratitude to <;(id, to His .Son Jesus Christ, and to the 
Holy Spirit. 

Second,— The Ten Comiuandnienls, and "Thou shalt love thy neigh- 
bor fls thyself." 

Third, — Men, women, children, obey these laws. If you do, you 
will be happy ; if you disobey them. Borrow will come upon you. 

Fourth, — It is noble to be pure ; it is right to be honest ; it is neces- 
sary to be temperate ; it is wise to be industrious, — but to know God is 
best of all. 

Fifth, — {Words for this tablet to he given hereafter). 

It is my wish that a portion of said tract of laud be reserved as a 
playgronud for children and the young. I ask you to present this com- 
munication to the city government of Cambridge, and notify me of its 
action in relation to it. Should the gift be accepted, I hope to proceed 
at once with the work. 

Yours respectfully, 

Febdekick H. RlNlHiE. 

Hon. William E. Russell : 

Dear Sir, — Should the City of Oambridge accept my gift of land and 
Public Library building, I suggest that a committee, composed of the 
following named citizens of Cambridge, be appointed by the city gov- 
ernment of Cambridge to confer with my agent, Mr. Francis J. Parker, 
in mattere relating to the accomplishment of the purposes of the build- 
ing and laud ; Mr. Justin Winsor, Col. T. W. Higgiuson, Hon. Samuel 
L. I^Iontague, Hon. William K. Russell. 

Yours respectfully, 

Fbedebick H. Rindge. 
« 

Mayor Russell also stated that the tract of land 
mentioned contained nearly ll.'»,000 square feet; 224 
feet each on Broadway and Cambridge Streets ; 59(1 
feet on Trowbridge Street ; and 520 feet on Irving 
Street. It was Mr. Rindge's intention that the build- 
ing should cost from $70,000 to $80,000, and that the 
surrounding laud be laid out as a public park. The 
following resolutions presented by the mayor were 
unanimously adopted by both branches of the city 
government : 

" ReBolved, That the city of Cambridge accepts with profound grati- 
tude the munificent gift of Mr, Frederick H. Rindge, of land and 
building for a Public Library as stated in his letter of June 14, 1S87 ; 
that the city accepts it upou the conditions stated in said letter, wbicli 
it wilt faithfully aud gladly observe as a sacred trust, in accordance with 
his desire. 

" Resolved, That in gratefully accepting this gift, the city tendera to 
Frederick H, Rindge its heartfelt thanks, and desires to e.\pres9 itssense 
of deep obligation to him, recognizing the Christian faith, generosity, 
and public spirit that have prompted him to supply a long-felt want by 
this gift of great and permanent usefulness." 

The gentlemen named by Rindge accepted the 
trust, and plans from five of the leading architects of 
the country were submitted to them. Those presented 
by Messrs. Van Brunt and Howe were finally selected, 



and the building was begun in the autumn of 1887 
and completed in June of 1889. 

TTie Library Building. — The library building, a fine 
specimen of modified Romanesque architecture, is an 
ornament to the city and a perpetual monument to 
the wise generosity of its donor. The material used 
is known as " Dedham wood stone," a light-brown 
granite found in the woods of Dedham, Mass. This 
is relieved by trimmings of Longmeadow brown 
sand.stone. The beautiful arched entrance, the round 
tower, and the general form of the building give it a 
distinctive chanicter suited to its purpose. The elab- 
orately carved capitals of the pillars and the frieze on 
the Irving Street eml of the building attract general 
admiration. The interior is finished in ash, and the 
coloring of the walls is in terra-cotta, old gold', or 
olive green shades. The reading room, being finished 
to its arched roof and well lighted by electricity, af- 
fords the place for study and reading which is so de- 
sirable in every library. The Cambridge Memorial 
Rooms are furnished with numerous cases and drawers, 
in which to preservesouvenirs of the artists and authors 
of Cambridge. 

The book-room, or "stack," as it is called, occupies 
the rear wing, and has a capacity of 85,000 volumes. 
This is as nearly fire-proof as possible, having iron 
book-cases extending from the basement to the third 
story ; iron floors and stairs, and fire-proof doors 
shutting it off from the main building. The books 
are at present arranged thus : Basement, periodicals 
and government publications ; first floor, fiction and 
juvenile books ; second floor, biography, history, 
and travel ; third floor, miscellany, science, art and 
poetry. As the library now contains about 27,000 
volumes, there is abundant shelf-room for many years. 
The dedication of the new building occurred on the 
29th of June, 1889. ' The presentation of the deed of 
gift was made, on behalf of Mr. Rindge, by Mr. 
Parker, and accepted by Hon. Henry H. Gilmore, 
mayor of Cambridge. He in turn presented the key 
of the building to Mr. Samuel L. Montague, president 
of the Board of Trustees, who replied by appropriate 
words of thanks for the generous and beautiful gift. 
Other addresses were made by Colonel T. W. Higgin- 
son, of the Board of Trustees, and Mr. S. S. Green, 
librarian of the Worcester Public Library. 

The books were moved during the next week, and 
the library opened to the public on the first Monday 
in August, 1889. 

Desiring to meet the wants of those living at a dis- 
tance from the library, the trustees have, during the 
past year, established five delivery stations where 
books from the library are received and delivered 
three times a week. These stations have been found 
a great convenience to those readers who might not 
often visit the library itself 

As a means of bringing the public schools and the 
library into closer relations, each teacher in the High 
Schools, and the three higher classes in the grammar 



CAMBRIDGE. 



151 



schools, has been allowed the use of ten cards. By a 
weekly delivery to each school of books to be used as 
the teachers direct, a large amount of good reading 
has been put into the hands of children. It has been 
the aim of teachera and librarian to make this a raean.« 
of elevating the tiiste of our young people by intro- 
ducing them to better books than they would them- 
selves select. 

The Cambridge Memorial Rooms, devoted to thf 
history of the city, have already begun to attract 
many visitors. Here are to be preserved the works 
of Cambridge authors and artists, aud such memorials 
of them as may be donated or purchased. About 
three hundred volumes have already been placed in 
these rooms, and several historic souvenirs have also 
been received. 

In 187o Jlr. Is.iac Fay, a public-spirited citizen o) 
Cambridge, bequeathed to the library f 1000, the in- 
come of which was to be expended in the purchase ol 
books. In accordance with the wish of the donor, thi.-i 
income has been spent for valuable additions to the 
library. 

The Citizens' Subscription Fund, begun in 1888, has 
now reached the sum of $] ;',,000. About $200(1 of thi.' 
amount has beeu spent for standard works in foreign 
languages and for additions to the departments ol 
science and history. A large number of instructive 
and entertaining books of travel have also been dupli- 
cated for school use. 

Since occupying its new building the library ha.« 
been rapidly growing in popular favor as well as in 
books. The annual appropriation from the city treas 
ury must meet the current expenses, and it is hoped 
that in time the income from the Citizens' Fund will 
atlbrd ample means for the steady increase of the 
library, which now numbers abt)nt 27,000 volumes. 



CHAPTER VII. 



CAMBRIDGE— [Conlinued). 



LITER.\TURE. 
BY THOMAS WENTWORTH HIGGINSON. 

In the admirable "History of Cambridge" by Rev. 
L. R. Paige, D.D. — a book which needs only an index 
to make it a model of its kind — there are chapters on 
the civil, military, ecclesiastical and educational his- 
tory of Cambridge, but none on the literarj' history. 
Yet it is doubtful if any municipality in this country 
can equal Cambridge in the number and variety of its 
authors. Its very foundation was literary — as litera- 
ture was counted in Puritan days — since Rev. Thomas 
Shepard, its first clergyman, was not merely known, 
in the admiring phrase of his day, as " the holy, 
heavenly, sweet-atJ'ecting and soul-ravishing Mr. 



Shepard," but was a voluminous author and was the 
cause, through his personal weight and intlnence, of 
the selection of " Newetowue " as the site of the infant 
college. Mr. Shepard was the author of "The First 
Principles of the Oracles of God," " The Parable of 
the Ten Virgins," "The Sincere Convert," "The 
Saints' Jewel," " Theses Sabbatica^," and various 
other works, most of which were published in London 
and some of which went through several editions. 
Copies of these are preserved in the Boston and Cam- 
bridge Public Libraries and in that of the Shepard 
Historical Society, in the church he founded. His 
" Church Membership of Children " was published at 
Cambridge in 1603, and his " Eye Salve," an election 
sermon, in 1073, also at Cambridge. The first print- 
ing press in America had beeu established in the town 
much earlier than this, at the expenseof Rev. Joseph 
(ilover, an English dissenter, and others. Mr. Glover 
himself embarked in 1038 for the colony, bringing 
with him the press and type and Stephen Daye as 
printer. Mr. Glover died on the passage, but the 
juess arrived safely and was ultimately placed in the 
liou.se of President Dunster, on Holyoke Street, who 
took to himself not merely the press, but the widow 
Glover. For some thirty years all the printing done 
in America was in Cambridge, Stephen Daye being 
followed by his son, Matthew, and he by Samuel 
Green. The first work printed at this press was " The 
Freeman's Oath," in 1639. About a hundred books 
were printed here before 170(», the list including 
Eliot's celebrated Indian Bible and " The Book of 
the General Lawes & Libertyes Concerning the In- 
habitants of the Massachusetts." It was not until 
1664 that permission was given to set up a press in 
Boston ; and Thomas, in his " History of Printing," 
claims that " the press of Harvard College was for a 
time as celebrated as the presses of the Universities 
of Oxford and Cambridge, in England." 

Of the early presidents of Harvard College, Mr. 
Dunster was an eminent t)riental scholar and super- 
intended— adoubtful kindness to literature — the prepa- 
tiou of the " New England Psalm Book." Cotton 
Mather expressed the unavailing hope " that a little 
more of art was to be employed in it " than had proved 
to be the case, in its original form, and the holy Mr. 
Shepard thus criticLsed its original compilers. Rev. 
Richard Mather, of Dorchester, and Rev. Messrs. 
Eliot and Weld, of Roxbnry : 

" Yuu Roxti'ry poets, keep clear uf tile crime 
Of mining tu give us very good rhyme, 
Aud yon of Dorchester, your verses lengtlien. 
But witti tlie text's own words you will tliem strengthen." 

It was therefore handed over to President Dunster 
for publishing, and the final form in which it ap- 
peared is the result of his labors. His successor. 
Rev. Charles Chauncy, published a few sermons, 
and President Urian Oakes yet more, including one 
with the resounding title, "The Unconquerable, All- 
CoiKiuering and More-than-Conquering Soldier," 



152 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



which was, it is needless to say, an Artillery-election 
sermon (1()74). President Increase Mather, it is well 
known, was a voluminous author and writer; and 
from his time (1701) to the present day there have 
been few presidents of Harvard College who were 
not authors. Rev. Thomas Hooker, although a vol- 
uminous theologian, yet remained in Cambridge so 
short a time (1033-30) that he is hardly to be counted 
among Caml)ridge authors, especially as his works 
were all published at a later date. 

During the eighteenth century the Cambridge pro- 
fessors gave themselves rather to scholarship, such 
as it was, than to literature. Samuel Sewall, grand 
nephew of the celebrated judge of that name, first 
taught the grammar school in Cambridge, and then 
(1762) became college librarian and instructor in He- 
brew. He published a Hebrew Grammar, a Latin 
version of the first book of Young's " Night 
Thoughts," and various Greek and Latin poems and 
orations; he also left behind him a MS. Chaldee and 
English dictionary, which still awaits a publisher in 
Harvard College Library. His kinsman — though with 
the name spelt diflerently — Jonathan Sewell, born in 
Cambridge (1766), became an eminent lawyer and 
law-writer in Canada, was one of the first to propose 
Canadian federation in a pamphlet (1815), and left 
behind him a work on " The Judicial History of 
France so far as it relates to the Law of the Province 
of Lower Canada." The eighteenth century also 
brought the physical sciences to Harvard College, to 
invade the old curriculum of theology and philology ; 
though, as Prof Goodale has shown, the prominent 
object of this change was to enable the clerical grad- 
uates to prescribe for their own parishioners. The 
first Professor of Mathematics and Philosophy was 
appointed in 1727, Isaac Greenwood being the incum- 
bent ; in 1738 he was followed by John Winthrop, 
who was, according to Prof. Levering, " greatly in 
advance of the science of his day," and whose two 
lectures on comets, delivered in the College Chapel in 
1759, are still good reading. The year 1783 saw 
the founding of the Harvard Medical School, and 
this, though situated in Boston, was not without its 
effect in Cambridge. Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse, 
the most eminent of the early professors, was a resi- 
dent of Cambridge till his death, and was instrumen- 
tal in establishing the botanic garden near his resi- 
dence. 

If the eighteenth century brought science to Cam- 
bridge, the opening of the nineteenth brought liter- 
ature, in the person of a man whose memory is now 
almost wholly identified with public life. The ap- 
pointment of John Quincy Adams in 1806 as Pro- 
fessor of Rhetoric and Oratory was a distinct step in 
intellectual training, and his two volumes of lectures 
still surprise the reader by their good literary judgment 
and recognition of fundamental principles. Levi 
Hedge was appointed (1810) profes.sor of Logic and 
Metaphysics and aided the thought of the university 



while Adams gave it expression. A few years more 
brought to Cambridge and to the university a group 
of men at that time une(iualed in America in varied 
(ailtivation and the literary spirit — Andrews Norton 
(1811), Edward Everett (1812), Joseph Green Cogswell 
(1814), Jacob Bigelow and George Ticknor (1816), Jared 
Sparks (1817), Edward T. Channing (1819), Charles 
Folsom (1821), George Bancroft (1822). Some of 
these men were temporarily, others permanently con- 
nected with the university, but all left their perma- 
nent mark on Cambridge. No American professor 
ever exercised so prolonged and unquestionable a lit- 
erary influence as Prof E.T.Chauning; no one trained 
so many authors ultimately distinguished in American 
literature. 

The infiueuc&s of a college town have clearly shown 
themselves in Cambridge through the creation of 
what may be called literary families, in which authors 
have appeared in groups. Rev. Abiel Holmes, D.D., 
came to Cambridge as pastor of the First Parish in 
1792, and both he and his eldest son. Dr. Oliver 
Wendell Holmes, became authors ; nor has his 
younger son, . John Holmes, wholly escaped the 
same impulse. The Ware family came here in 
1805, and were a race of authors; the two Henrys, 
Dr. John, William, John F. W. and George being 
all authors. Rev. Charles Lowell came to reside 
here before 1819; and he and his children. Rev. 
Robert T. S. Lowell, James Russell Lowell and Mrs. 
S. R. Putnam, were all authors. Richard Dana 
(born 1699), the head of the Boston bar in his day, 
was a native of Cambridge, as was Richard Henry 
Dana, the poet, his grandson ; .so was Richard Henry 
Dana, the lawyer and author of "Two Years Before 
the JIast ; " so was his son, the third of the name, 
and editor of the Civil Service Record. The Chan- 
ning family, closely connected with the Danas, 
were represented in Cambridge by Prof E. T, 
Channing, already mentioned ; by his nephew, the 
brilliant orator and writer, William Henry Chan- 
ning, and now by a younger relative, the present 
Prof. Edward Channing, well known as a rising 
historical writer. With these two families may well 
be classed their kinsman by marriage, Washington 
Allst(m, whose prose and verse were as original and 
characteristic as his paintings, and who was long a 
resident of our city. Rev. Frederick Henry Hedge, 
long eminent as a scholar, was the son of a profes- 
sor; and both Rev. Joseph Henry Allen and Rev. 
E. H. Hall represent the Ware family on the 
mother's side. William W. Story, the sculptor, who 
lived in Cambridge in his youth, was the son of 
Judge Story, the most eminent legal writer, in some 
directions, whom America has produced; and his 
son-in-law, George Ticknor Curtis, also resided 
here for a time. The Quincy family was also 
strongly literary through .several generations; and 
though President Quincy's sons never, 1 think, re- 
sided in Cambridge, his grandson, Josiah P. Quincy, 



CAMBRIDGE. 



153 



was for some time a resident among us. Prof. 
Benjamin Pierce and his sons, James and Ciiarles, 
were or are all mathematical writers. The present 
Prof. Charles E. Norton is also a distinguished rep- 
resentative of Cambridge autliorshij) in its second 
generation ; and the children of Dr. Palfrey are 
authors like himself, both his sons having contrib- 
uted to military history, and his eldest daughter. 
Miss Sarah Palfrey, having written prose and verse 
under the name of " E. Fo.xton." To these accumu- 
lated instances of academic or lite*iry families I may 
l)erhaps proi)erly add those of my own household, as 
my father, who became steward of the college, was a 
pamphleteer, my mother wrote several children's 
books, my elder brother published a little work on 
.\merican Slavery, and all before I myself became an 
author. Jly wife, .Mary Thacher Higginson, has also 
published two small volumes. 

Between 18:25 and IS-'JO Cambridge became the 
residence of a series of men eminent in literature : 
Professor H. W. Longfellow, Rev. Dr. Palfrey, Pro- 
fessors Bowen and Lovering and the two Wymans, 
Kev. Dr. Walker and Rev. Convers Francis. The 
hitter had the choicest private library in Cambridge, 
though surpassed in some directions by that of Thomas 
Dowse, now in the possession of the Massachusetts 
Historical Society, and at a later period by that of 
George Livermore. Professors Joel Parker, Simon 
Greenleaf and Theophilus Parsons, of the Law School, 
were also authors. A group of eminent foreigners 
also arrived here and became connected with the 
university : Professors Charles FoUen, Ciiarles Beck, 
Francis Sales and Pietro Bachi, all authors or editors, 
to whom was afterwards to be added the gifted and 
attractive Agassiz. His name suggests that, on the 
scientitic side also, there were men in Cambridge who 
gave to science a literary attraction ; Thomas Nuttall 
in botany and ornithology, followed later by Wilson 
Flagg, who wrote on similar subjects; Dr. T. W. 
Harris, the pioneer American entomologist, — worthily 
succeeded at the present day by Samuel H. Scudder, — 
Prof. John Frisbie and Prof. John Farrar. Cam- 
bridge has also been the source of editorship of some 
important and intiuential periodicals, looking in dif- 
ferent directions. William Lloyd Garrison lived here 
for some years while editing the Liberator; Rev. 
Thomas Whiltemore, while conducting the Trumpet, 
he being also president of the ( 'arabridge Bank and 
reoresenting Cambridge in the Legislature ; and Rev. 
Edward Abbott was founder and editor of the Liteninj 
World. There were also in Cambridge women of 
literary tastes and achievements. Margaret Fuller Os- 
soli, a native of Cambridge, was the most eminent of 
these; but the list includes also Mrs. .Fohn Farrar, 
Miss Caroline F. Orne, Miss Sarah S. Jacobs, Mrs. 
Elizabeth (_'. .\gassix, jNIps. Rose Hawthorne Lathrop, 
Mrs. Mary A. Denison and Miss Charlotte F. Bates. 
Mrs. James Russell Lowell (Maria White) also wrote 
here some of her thoughtful and tender poems. 



With the more recent expansion of the university, 
the list of resident authors has become almost co- 
extensive witli the list of instructors, and a special 
calendar is published at intervals, giving the biblio- 
graphy of their work. Other former students of tlie 
university, in some of its department.s, have taken up 
their abode here and done literary work, among whom 
might be named Rev. A. B. Muzzey, Christopher P. 
Crauch, John Fiske, Joseph Henry Allen and many 
others. The leader of American letters, Ralph Waldo 
Emerson, was himself a resident of Cambridge and 
taught a school here before he went to Concord, but 
before he became an author. 

Among authors who have resided here, though 
without present or past connection with the univer- 
sity, may be named Joseph E. Worcester, W. J. Rolfe, 
W. D. Howells, T. B. Aldrich, H. E. Scudder, John 
Bartlett, Francis Wharton, Melville Jl. Bigelow, Rev. 
A. V. S. Allen, Rev. G. Z. Gray, Rev. C.H.Spaulding, 
Arthur Oilman, William Winter, George P. Lath- 
rop, Oscar Fay Adams and W. M. Griswold. Provi- 
sion has been made in the new Public Library building 
for a special collection of the works of our native and 
our resident authors — not including those who were 
simply here as students in the university — and should 
this plan be carried out in its fullness, it is doubtful 
whether Boston or New York can show a similar coJ- 
lection of greater variety or of more intrinsic value. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



CAMBRIDGE— iContiniieil). 



MUSICAL. 



BY WILLIAM F. APTHOKP. 



Life in university towns has a peculiar physiog- 
nomy, and life in Cambridge has never been quite 
exempt from this peculiarity. But in very few re- 
spects can the every-day life in Cambridge have been 
more singular than in its relation to Music. The 
musical history of Cambridge, taken as an aggregation 
of facts and occurrences, comes nearer to being a blank 
page than that of almost any town of its size and age 
in the country. Just what one would have expected 
to be the prime fostering intluence to musical activity 
in the daily life of the place— Harvard College — 
worked for a long while, if indirectly, rather in the 
opposite direction. It seems paradoxical, at first 
sight, that the University, which was for many years 
virtually, although not officially, one of the most act- 
ive centres of musical life in the town, should have, 
in another way, been an obstacle in the path of all 
larger developments in the public culture of the art, 
such as we find in most other towns of about the 
same size, and of far less intellectual and artistic im- 



154 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



portance. But this seeming paradox is seen really to 
be none, on closer inspection ; its reason is not hard 
to discover. 

That Bo.ston owes its prominent position in the lit- 
erary and artistic history of our country in a large 
measure tn the proximity of Harvard University has 
often been said, and is no doubt quite true. For 
many years Harvard University represented the chief 
intellectual nucleus iu the United States; and the 
wealth of Boston brought with it that opportunity 
and leisure which are needful to make the humanities 
of life seem a necessity. The research and erudition 
of Harvard were not slow in being mirrored in the 
culture of Boston. One after another were intel- 
lectual men drawn from various parts of the country 
by the brighter, more active and profounder intel- 
lectual life of Harvard; but many of them, especially 
those who did not enter into direct, officially recog- 
nized connection with the University — either in the 
capacity of teacher or student — found the more bril- 
liant social life and larger opportunities of Boston more 
attractive, while the mere three miles that separated 
the capital from the seat of learning presented no ob- 
stacle to their enjoying its refining and elevating in- 
fluence. Thus comparatively few men of intellectual 
weight — such men as form the mental leaven of a 
eommunity — have been drawn actually to make Cam- 
bridge their place of residence, unless for the purpose 
of special study at the University, or to join the 
ranks of its professors or tutors. By far the majority 
preferred Boston; Harvard was next-door, so to speak, 
as an ever-near inspiration and resource. Its influ- 
ence was to be felt, to all intents and purposes, as 
keenly and pervasively in Boston as in Cambridge 
itself. This influence of Harvard University upon 
Boston culture, exerted as it has been both directly 
and in the way of attracting men of an intellectual 
or artistic cast to the city, can hardly be overrated. 
Indeed, in so far as the art of music is concerned, it 
is a fact that the initiative to much of the active 
musical life for which Boston ha.s long been noted, 
and to which she owes her recognized position as one 
of the chief musial centres of the country, came 
really from Harvard, if in a wholly unoflicial way. 
But of this more, later on. 

The point which it is important to appreciate here 
is, that what of influence was exerted by the Uni- 
versity either directly or indirectly upon the in- 
tellectual, artistic or even specially musical culture 
and organized musical activity of Boston, was so 
readily responded to, it bore fruit so soon and of such 
good quality, that Boston pretty well absorbed it all 
and there was little left to work efiicaciously in Cam- 
bridge itself. If Harvard often gave the initiative, 
and, so to speak, sowed the seed, Boston was un- 
mistakably the fittest soil wherein that seed could 
sprout, grow and ripen. The very proximity of 
Boston, the ease of communication between it and 
Cambridge, and the exceeding activity of musical 



life in the capital, in wbich the resident of the 
university town could participate at little expense or 
trouble, acted as an obstacle to Cambridge taking 
active measures to further the public or organized 
cultivation of music within her own precincts. 
What would have been the use? Boston was there, 
only three miles off^ust over the way, as it were— 
with her concerts, theatres, opera and oratorios, and 
that was enough. There was not even a chance for 
local vanity to come into play as an incentive to local 
action^and heavwi knows that Cambridge has always 
had her fair share of local jiride; all competition 
with Boston in the way of musical enterprise would 
have been hopeless from the outset. Boston had too 
much the .start, besides having more opportunity, 
more money and more leisure to attend to such things. 
Cambridge was wisely content to let Boston make 
music for her. Thus it came about that many of 
those incentives to musical activity and enterprise 
which came originally from Harvard, while they 
worked with often astoni.shing eflicacy in Boston, 
failed, and for this very reason, to be productive of 
any very tangible results in Cambridge itself. Boston 
was inspired with enough zeal for herself and Cam- 
bridge too. Naturally it would be idle to claim that 
all the musical activity for which Boston has long 
been noted arose from an impulse given by Harvard 
University ; but, although by no means all, it is true 
that no little of the musical activity in Boston can be 
traced in the end to such a source. Music is not the 
only department iu which Harvard has done some- 
what more to improve Boston than it has to improve 
Cambridge. 

It has seemed worth while to dwell upon this point 
at such length, in order, to explain the otherwise 
astounding vacancy of the musical annals of Cam- 
bridge. For it needs a little explanatory preluding to 
lead up to a statement such as this : that a New Eng- 
land town, over two centuries and a half old, which 
has been for nearly the whole of that period the seat 
of the first university in the country, which has been 
an incorporated city for forty-four years, and now has 
a population of upwards of 00,000 souls, has never 
had a theatre nor a music hall ! That is to say, has 
never had a place especially built for a theatre, nor a 
hall constructed for the especial purpose of having 
music publicly performed therein. Much as if 
Cambridge never had a musical society, association or 
organization of importance. But it is not so bad as 
that, as we shall see in the sequel. 

In the earlier days what little music was made 
was almost exclusively confined to the churches. 
Cambridge, like many another town, had her fair 
taste of the old New England psalmody. Those old 
psalm-tunes, harmonized in the clumsiest fashion, and 
often incorrectly, formed thfe staple of people's musi- 
cal diet in those times, both in and out of the church. 
It seems incredible now that people should ever have 
taken to such things for the sake of musical enjoy- 



CAMBRIDGE. 



155 



ment, and it is highly probable that it was largely a 
sense of association that helped to make them palata- 
ble. The 1)1(1 tviiies had become endeared to most of 
their votaries early in life, and often, no doubt, for 
quite other reasons than purely musical ones. No 
man can but have a certain affection through life for 
the tunes with which his mother used to sing him to 
sleep, when he was a child. Besides, people went to 
church in earnest then, and all that wxs associated 
with church-going appealed pleasantly to their taste 
and imagination. It seems as if the early taste for 
psalm-singing, for which New England was noted, — 
psalm-singing not only as a part of divine worship, 
but as a means of social musical recreation, — could 
only be accounted for in this way; for, even in the 
earlier colonial period, intercourse with England and 
the Continent was easy and frequent enough to give 
people abundant opportunity for making the acquaint- 
ance of music that was not only intrinsically better, 
but infinitelj' fitter for purposes of recreation than 
these raw-boned and ill-harmonized old tunes. No 
doubt, in the beginning, Puritan severity looked con- 
siderably askance at »11 purely secular music ; and a 
remnant of this feeling survived for a long time in 
greater or less vigor. But with all possible arguments 
in favor of the superior propriety of singing psalms 
over all other forms of music, a certain force of en- 
dearing association must have been at work to make 
this exercise seem not only proper and profitable, but 
enjoyable as well. True it is that this passion for 
psalm-singing, for other purposes than those of wor- 
ship, became deeply ingrained in the New England 
character ; indeed, it has not been eradicated yet. Go 
on a summer's Sunday evening into the parlor of 
almost any country hotel you please, and your ears 
will be pretty sure to be greeted with a braying and 
discordant survival of this old practice. Only what 
is now done of a Sunday evening was then done at 
any time. Tate and Brady, with the appropriate 
music, was for a long time what people looked to for 
their musical solace. Of course, during the first two 
decades of the present century, the less good of the 
old tunes had fallen into disuse, the better ones had 
been reharmonized, and new ones written. Secular 
music, too, had in a certain measure supplanted the 
psalm-funes as a means of home recreation, and a 
higher class of church music had, little by little, 
made its way into the Divine service. Instrumental 
music, too, had for some time been cultivated by 
amateurs. Yet it is surprising how late it was before 
an organ was placed in many of the churches. There 
was no organ in the First Church in Cambridge until 
1827 — by a curious coincidence, the year of Beetho- 
ven's death — and it is plain enough from some re- 
marks in Dr. Holmes's sermon on the occasion (de- 
livered on September 30th) that this addition was con- 
sidered no little of an innovation. The learned 
divine said : "The introduction of an organ, instead 
of diminishing, should increase the number of singers 



in the congregation. It is not, you will remember, 
intended as a substitute for the voice, but as an aid 
to it." He could not have been more carefully ex- 
planatory had a church-organ then been heard of for 
the first time. 

As I have said, the popular musical impulse came 
first from the churches, in Cambridge as elsewhere in 
New England, and a general fondness for signing 
psalm-tunes was the first result. But in Cambridge, 
whatever attempts were made to indulge this taste in 
an organized way have long since been forgotten. If 
any private singing clubs or societies were formed, no 
trace of them remains; they must have had very fluc- 
tuating and brief existences. In Boston the Handel 
and Haydn Society was formed in ISl.'i, and it is likely 
enough that this rendered either the formation of a 
similar society in Cambridge unnecessary, or its survi- 
val impossible. 

But what general music-loving society in Cambridge 
apparently did not do, or else did only to little pur- 
pose, for itself, some of the students of the University 
did. On November 9, 178(1. was formed the Singing 
Club of Harvard University, a small club of under- 
graduates. That the main object of the club was for 
its members to sing together the then current New 
England psalmody appears from the records of its 
expenditures, in which several very grim-sounding 
psalm-tune books are mentioned among the purchases 
made by the club. Of other music bought there is 
little mention made ; but now and then we come across 
smail (at times incredibly small) suras of money, dis- 
bursed for the purchase of musical instruments. So 
it would seem as if the singers did not sing wholly 
unaccompanied. Among the original members of 
this curious little club we find President Kirkland, 
Judge Samuel Putnam, and in 1799, Leverett Salton- 
stall. It disbanded in May, 1808. This Singing 
Club of Harvard University would hardly have been 
worth mention here, had it not been the immediate 
forerunner of another far more important organization, 
which came in for what legacy of music and musical 
instruments the older body had to bequeath. This 
younger organization is one of real historical impor- 
tance, for it has of later years had an immense, if in- 
directly exerted, influence upon the musical life of 
Boston, and by reflection, upon that of Cambridge it- 
self. Let not the reader, especially if he live in Cam- 
bridge, smile when I say that this new .society was the 
Pierian Sodality. That the Pierians have never 
played very well, either in the beginning or since, 
maybe admitted at the outset; the present writer 
certainly can admit -it with a tolerable grace, for he 
was once a Pierian himself But the salutary and Air 
reaching influence the Pierian Sodality came in time 
to exert, was exerted otherwise than through its musi- 
cal performances. 

The Sodality was projected and organized in 1808, 
by five young sophomores, to wit : Alpheus Bigelow, 
Benjamin D. Bartlett, Joseph Eaton, John Gardner 



156 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



and Frederick Kinloch. Ita object was the practice 
and performance of instrumental concerted music by 
its members. Man}' distinguished names are in its 
lists of membership, albeit not many names of musi- 
cians. George B. Emerson and Henry K. Oliver, 
(class of 1817) are to be noted. Later on we find the 
Hon. Robert C. Winthrop playing the trombone, 
Francis Boott, the composer, playing the flute, and 
John S. Dwight, the distinguished critic, playing the 
clarinet. 

The detailed history of the Pierian Sodality be- 
longs more properly to the annals of Harvard Uni- 
versity than to those of Cambridge. But a few facts 
and dates may not be out of the way here. The 
secretary's records for the first twenty-four years of 
the Sodality's existence have been totally lost; it is 
only from the year 1832 that we can begin to follow 
the club's proceedings accurately. In this year the 
club was reduced to a single member, who, however, 
used to hold meetings by himself with laudable regu- 
larity, and duly record the same. But it is known 
that the Sodality's orchestra used to furnish music at 
the College Exhibitions and to give serenades on its 
own account as early as 1827. This fashion of sere- 
nading lasted until about 1858, when the Glee Club 
was formed, and open-air nocturnal performances fell 
more legitimately to its share. The Glee Club was 
founded by .losiah Bradlee, Benjamin W. Crownin- 
shield, John Homans and C. H. Learoyd. It gave 
its first public concert, in conjunction with the Pier- 
ians, in Lyceum Hall, March 29, 1858, — a custom 
which has been kept up, with but few interruptions, 
ever since. It probably reached its highest point of 
excellence between 1864 and 1860, when George L. 
Osgood was leading first tenor. It was he, too, by 
the way, who, in his capacity of class chorister, put a 
sudden stop, in 1866, to the time-honored custom of 
omitting three beats from the measure between the 
phrases of " Fair Harvard " in the Class Day singing. 
Before his (Jlass Day, people used to wait for this 
curious laming of the rhythm, as for one of the regu- 
lar features of the day, and they were never disap- 
pointed. 

But, to return once more to the Pierian Sodality. 
It has been already hinted that its historical impor- 
tance did not reside in its musical performances ; it 
is important and interesting to us here because of 
one of its ortshoots. It was not unnatural that many 
of its members, on graduating from the University, 
should feel not only a deep interest in, but almost a 
sense of responsibility concerning the musical life of 
the community they were to begin life in. A large 
proporti<jn of them were Bo.ston men ; the fact of 
their membership in the Pierian Sodality (that is, in 
a club of instrumental performers) naturally indi- 
cated them as ardent music-lovers, while their Uni- 
versity degree gave assurance that they were men of 
a certain liberal culture. It is just such meu as these 
who would instinctively dive to the very heart of 



musical circles in their after-college life, and more or 
less take the lead in promoting musical enterprise. 

On July 27, 1837, a circular letter was issued by a 
committee of the Sodality, calling a general meeting 
of the honorary and immediate members (that is 
what would now be called the graduate and active 
members), to be holden in No. 6, University Hall, 
on Commencement Day, August 30th. This circular 
was signed by E. S. Dixwell, J. S. Dwight, Henry 
Gassett, Jr., C. C. Holmes, J. F. Tuckerman and W. 
T. Davis. It was proposed to unite the old members 
into a permanent association for the promotion of 
musical taste and science in the University. The 
meeting was attended by from thirty to forty gentle- 
men, J. M. Wainwright being appointed chairman, 
and Henry S. McKeau secretary. A report of the 
committee was read by John S. Dwight, and several 
resolutions were adopted. Among them was that the 
A.ssociation should meet annually on Commence- 
ment Day, for the pleasure of social intercourse, 
and for the discussion of plans for promoting the 
interests of music in the University. It was like- 
wise voted that plans be considered for introducing 
the study of music into the academic course, and 
for the formation of a musical library. At an 
adjourned meeting on the following Commencement 
Day, August 29, 1838, a constitution was adopted, 
and the style of General Association of Members of 
the Pierian Sodality of Harvard University was fixed 
upon. Two years later, at the fourth annual meet- 
ing, it was voted to sever all connection with the 
parent society, the Pierian Sodality, and the new 
title. Harvard Musical A,ssociation, was adopted. 

The early years of the Association can have been 
neither very prosperous nor full of hope ; for, at the 
eighth annual meeting, holden in Lyceum Hall, 
August 28, 1844, it was proposed that it should 
dij'solve. But this motion was, luckily, never carried 
through, and the Association, if it did little or noth- 
ing else, continued to meet every Commencement 
Day ; indeed, the very next year (184'>) it was incor- 
porated under an act of the Legislature. On March 
14, 1848, the Association held its annual meeting 
(the eleventh) for the first time in Boston, at "the 
Music Rooms of Mr. Hews, in Washington Street." 
Henceforth the Harvard Musical Association should 
be considered as belonging to Boston rather than to 
Cambridge ; but it still maintained its relations with 
the University, unofficial though they were, and 
every Commencement Day it had its room in or near 
the College Yard, where a light lunch, drink, tobacco 
and social chit-chat awaited the members. This 
custom was kept up until shortly after 1860, when it 
fell into disuse. 

This is not the place to speak in detail of the in- 
fluence the Harvard Musical Association has exerted 
upon music in Boston. Still a few of the results of 
its energy may well be detailed here, for they are not 
uninteresting from the bearing they have had upon 



CAMBRIDGE. 



157 



the musical life of Cambridge. Curiously enough, 
among the musical enterprises, the inception of which 
can be traced to the Harvard Musical Association, 
there are comparatively tew in the promotion of which 
the Association took any oHicial action, or, indeed, in 
the history of which it appears at all in its corporate 
capacity. But at lis annual suppers itoften happened 
that one or another member would propose a musical 
scheme, which would then be freely discussed, its 
value and the best means of carrying it out de- 
termined. Then such members as felt personally 
interested in it would unite in pushing it, although 
the .Association, as such, would take no official part 
in the busine.ss. Yet it is noteworthy that hardly a 
piece of musical enterprise was ever mooted by a 
member of the Association, without its being dis- 
cussed quite as fully and freely at these meetings as il 
it had been really ofticial business. In this way, the 
building of the Boston Mu.sic Hall, the purchase ol 
the Great Organ, the introduction of music into the 
academic course at Harvard, even to the engagement 
of John K. Paine as organist and instructor in music 
at the University, are really quite as traceable to the 
influence and energy of the Harvard Musical .Vssoci- 
ation as were its more avowed pieces of enterprise, 
such as the giving of chamber concerts and the estab- 
lishment of the symphony concert*, which were given 
in Boston for seventeen seasons, from lS()fi-(i7 to 
1882-83. 

What is most important to our present purpose is 
to note that almo.st all the musical enterprises, trace- 
able either directly or indirectly to the Harvard Mu- 
sical Association, were carried out in Boston; thus 
the influence of the Association was mainly exerted 
in the direction of centralizing the best musical e.x- 
eculive means, and the most favorable conditions for 
musical performance in the iState capital. And so 
successful were these ertbrts that, as has already been 
pointed out, little opportunity or necessity was left 
for Cambridge to do anything musically for herself 
Had Harvard University, in the beginning, shown 
more disposition to look with favor upon the ertbrts 
of the Association to foster the cultivation of music 
within her own gates, all might have been difl^erent. 
All the original members of the Association were 
sons of Alma Miifrr, and very much dispo.sed at first 
to work harmoniously with their Mother for the good 
cause of Art. But in the early forties, music was not 
merely ignored, but positively despised in New Eng- 
land, save by especially musical people ; and the 
Overseers and Faculty of Harvard University were 
by no means ahead of their time in their respect for 
the art. The most well-meant attempts of the young 
Association to induce the University orticially to rec- 
ognize the dignity of the art of music were met with 
rebuff after rebuff, and it is no wonder that its mem- 
bers soon turned their energies to cultivating the art 
in a more prurient field, namely in Boston, and inde- 
pendent of the University. Had it been otherwise, 



Harvard University might have been one of the 
chief musi('al educators and [iromoters of musical 
culture in New England, if not in the whole country 
— with the Harvard Musical Association as the secret. 
power behind the throne.; and Cambridge might, in 
time, have grown to be a sort of musical centre, in the 
sense that Oxford was for a long while in England. 
But this was not to be ; at least, ii was not to be so 
soon as, nor to the extent that, it otherwise might 
have been. 

Of course, the city lived its own musical life in 
private, as other cities do; Cambridge has never 
lacked its fair share of music-lovers. And, if these 
went to Boston lor their concerts, oratorios and 
operas, they made no little music among Ihem.selves 
in a quiet, unassuming way at home. But of such 
homemu.-ic little or no trace remains; it forms no 
part of history. 

The University, however, did not forever remain 
obdurate to the claims of music to be regarded as a 
legitimate factor of education ; musical instruction 
of a sound and reputable, if rather limited sort, be- 
came in time obtainable at College, if it was not 
recognized as a part of the regular academic course. 
But a change was to come, and this change was 
brought on, more than by anythtng else, by the en- 
gagement, in 18ti3, of John K. Paine as organist 
and musical instructor to the University, to succeed 
Levi P. Homer, deceased. Nothing could be more 
apt to bring the University to a due sense of what it 
owed to the art of music than the presence, in its own 
body of instructors, of this ardent, energetic, thor- 
oughly equipped and uncompromising musician. 
His position in the University must have been a 
pretty arduous one at first; at that time he was, 
musically speaking, an ultra-classicist, a determined 
Barrhiniirr, and, as such, could look for little .sympa- 
thy, much less for comprehension, from even those 
members of the Faculty who were inclined to be 
musical. But he, with some others behind him, left 
no stone unturned to enlarge the .scope and empha- 
size the importance of musical instruction in the 
University. That old iiiHiicncc, which, years before, 
the Harvard Musical As.sociation had sought in vain to 
bring to bear upon the University directly from with- 
out, now proved fruitful and eflicacious when wielded 
within its own gates by this determined musician, 
who was, by the way, also a member of the Harvard 
Musical .Association, and backed uj) energetically by 
other members. In 1873 Mr. Paine was appointed 
Adjunct Professor of Music, and in 1875 he was 
raised to a full professorship. This was the first 
chair of music ever created in an American Univer- 
sity. The dignity of the art was at last fully recog- 
nized by Harvard ; music was admitted as a regular 
elective study in the academic course, and high 
honors, Summi UonoreH, could be won in it. Thus 
was the original dream of the Harvard Musical Asso- 
ciation, that offshoot of the older Pierian Sodality, 



158 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



more than realized ; and who shall say that the 
thoughts, efforts and impetus of the Association had 
not much to do with making ita realization possible ? 
But Professor Paine's influence has not been felt in 
the University only ; it has been active in the gen- 
eral musical life of Cambridge also. Since the erec- 
tion of the Sanders Theatre, in 1876, Cambridge has 
shown signs of an ever-increasing determination not 
to be wholly dependent on Boston for concerts. 
True, these concerts have been given by imported 
talent — the Listemann Quartet, the Thomas Orches- 
tra or (as of later years) the Boston Symphony Orches- 
tra — but the funds for their support have been raised 
in Cambridge itself And among the foremost of 
those to whose zeal and energy the maintenance of 
these concerts has been due, Professor Paine has 
always been found. Now a regular scries of orches- 
tral concerts in Sanders Theatre is as much a mat- 
ter of course, every winter, as it is in Boston itself 



CHAPTER IX. 



CAMBRIDGE— ( Continued). 



MEDICAL HISTORY. 
BY HENRY O. MARCY, A.M., M.D., tL.D. 

In the formation of a new settlement, by people 
representing in a high degree the culture of the 
period, it is but natural to expect that the civilization 
represented by it would be a fair exponent of the 
times. This in an exceptional degree is true of the 
history of Cambridge, and it finds its exponent in 
medicine, as well as in the other learned professions. 
Although in the early period of the settlement of 
Cambridge the practice of medicine was, in a con- 
siderable measure, associated with that of the clerical 
profession, the records of the colonists clearly show that 
they recognized the importance of a man specially 
trained as a surgeon, and to supply the need entered 
into an agreement with one John Pratt, who came 
from England and settled in Cambridge. He was un- 
doulitedly the first physician recognized as a " Doctor 
of Physick." It is recorded on a flyleaf of the 
'"Colony Records," vol. i., under date of March .5, 
1628, that said l\Ir. Pratt came to Cambridge under 
an agreement with the "Company of Adventurers.'' 
A proposition being made to entertain a surgeon for 
the plantation, Mr. Pratt was propounded as an able 
man upon these conditions, namely, — "That £40 Ster- 
ling should be allowed him, viz., for his chest £2.i, 
the rest for his own salary the first year; provided he 
continue three years, the company to be at the charge 
of transporting his wife and a youth, to have £20 a 
year for the other two years, and to build him a 
house at the Company's charge, and to allot him one 



hundred acres of ground ; but, if he stay but one year, 
then the company to be at charge of his bringing 
back to England, and he to leave his servant and the 
chest for the company's service.'' It is in evidence 
that he practiced with and sought the good of the set- 
tlement for some years, but becoming dissatisfied, he 
wrote a letter of complaint to a friend in England, 
because of which he was called sharply to account by 
the magistrate in November, 1685. It will be remem- 
bered that, at this time, Cambridge, the so-called New 
Towne, was the seat of government for the Colony, 
and the hope was expressed by Governor Dudley that 
men of ability might be attracted here by the advan- 
tages which the settlement offered. In 1683 Wood 
wrote that, '' the inhabirants of the New Towne are 
most of them very rich and well stored with cattle of 
all sorts." The Courts, both general and particular, 
were held in Cambridge exclusively, until May, 1636, 
when they were removed to Boston. Although not 
germane to the history of medicine, this letter of 
John Pratt is of sufficient interest to refer to, some- 
what in detail. It is clearly evident that, then as 
now, the attractions to induce settlers were emphasized 
in glowing language, and that the deprivations and 
hardships incident to a new country oftentimes 
caused a longing to return, to old England, and that 
this homesickness found expression in strong lan- 
guage of discontent. The original letter appears not 
to be in preservation, but it was deemed of sufficient 
importance, coming from such a source, to be taken 
notice of by the authorities, lest therefrom perma- 
nent harm should come to the colony. "At the Court 
of assistants," says Winthrop, November 3, 1635, 
"John Pratt, of Newtown, was (|uestioned about the 
letter he wrote into England, wherein he affirmed 
divers things, which were untrue and wereof ill-repute 
for the state of the country, as that here was nothing 
but rocks, and sands, and .salt marshes, etc. He 
desired respite for his answer until the next morning; 
then he gave it in writing, in which, by making his 
own interpretation of some passages and acknowledg- 
ing his error in others, he gave satisfaction." ' 

The answer indicates clearly the purport of the 
letters in question and is on record as follows :■ 

"The answer of me, John Pratt, to such things as I 
hear and perceive objected against me, as oft'ensive in 
my letter. First, generally, whatsoever I writ of the 
improbability or impossibility of subsistence for our- 
selves or our posterity without tempting God, or 
without extraordinary means, it was with these two 
regards : first, I did not mean that which I said in 
respect of the whole country, or our whole patent in 
I general, but only of that compass of ground wherein 
these towns are so thick set together ; and secondly, 
[ supposed that they intended so to remain, because 



1 Savage's " Winthrop," i. 173, 174 ; Paige's " History of Cambridge," 
p. 24. 

2 Paige's " History of Cambridge," pp. 24-26. 



CAMBRIDGE. 



159 



(upon conference with divers) I found that men did | 
think it unreasonable that they or any should remove 
or disperse into other parts of the country ; and upon 
this ground I thought I could not subsist myself, nor 
the plantation, nor posterity. But I do acknowledge 
that, since my letter, there have been sundry places 
newly found, as Neweberry, Concord, and others which 
will afford good means of subsistence for men and 
beasts, in which and other such like new plantations, 
if the towns shall be fewer and the bounds larger 
ihan these are, I conceive they may live comfortablj. 
The like I think of Conecticott, with the plantations 
there now in hand, and what I conceive so sufficient 
for myself I conceive so sufficient also for my poster- j 
ity. .\nd concerning these towns here bo thick 
planted, I conceive they may subsist in case that, I 
liesides the conveniences which they have already 
near hand, they do improve farms somewhat further 
off", and do also apply themselves to and do improve the 
trade of fishing and other trades. As concerning the 
intimation of the Commonwealth builded upon rocks, 
sands and salt marshes, 1 wish I had not made it, 
because it is construed contrary to my meaning, which 
I have before expressed. Xud whereas my letters do 
seem to extenuate the Judgment of such as came 
before, as having more honesty than skill, they being 
scholars, citizens, tradesmen, etc., my meaning was 
not so general as the words do import ; for I had an 
eye only to those that had made larger reports into 
Kngland of the country than I found to be true in 
the sense aforesaid. And whereas I may seem to 
imply that I had altered the minds or judgments of 
the body of the people, magistrates and others, I did 
not mean this in respect of the goodness or badness 
of the land in the whole plantation, but only in point 
of removal and spreading further into other parts, 
they afterwards conceiving it necessary that some 
should remove into other places, here and (here, of 
more enlargement ; and whereas I seem to speak of 
all the magistrates and people, I did indeed mean 
only all those with whom I had any private speech 
about those things. .Vnd as for the barrenness of the 
sandy grounds, etc., I spake of them then as I con- 
ceived, but now, by experience of mine own, I find 
that such ground as before I accounted barren, yet, 
being manured and husbanded, doth bring forth more 
fruit than I did expect. As for the not prospering of 
the English grain upon this ground, I do since that 
time see that rye and oats have prospered better than 
I expected, but as for other kinds of grain, I do still 
([uestion whether they will come to such perfection 
as in our native county from whence they came . . . 
" And, as concerning that which I said, that the gos- 
pel would be as dear here as in England, I did it to 
this end, to put some, which intended to come hither 
cnly for outward commodity, to look for better 
g rounds, ere they look this way. As for some grounds 
('f my returning, which I concealed from my friends, 
for fear of doing hurt, I meant only some particular 



occasions and apprehensions of mine own, not intend- 
ing to lay any secret blemish upon the State. And 
whereas I did express the danger of decaying here in 
our first love, etc., I did it only in regard of the mani- 
fold occasions and businesses which, here at first, we 
meet withal, by which I find in my own experience 
(and so, I think, do others also), how hard it is to 
keep our hearts in that holy frame which sometimes 
they were in where we had less to do in outward 
things, but not at all intending to impute it as neces- 
sary to our condition, much less as a fruit of our pre- 
cious liberties which we enjoy, which rather tend to 
the quickening of us. we improving the same as we 
ought. 

"This, my answer (according with the inward 
consent and meaning of my heart), I do humbly 
commend to the favorable consideration and accept- 
ance of the Court, desiring in this, as in all things, to 
approve myself in a conscience void of ofience towards 
<Tod and man. 

" John Pratt." 

His offence was pardoned and he continued to re- 
side in Cambridge for nearly ten years, when he sailed 
for England with Capt. Thomas Coytmore, and, to- 
gether with his wife was wrecked and drowned near 
the coast of Spain in December, 1641!. 

'■This man was above sixty years old, an experi- 
enced surgeon, who had lived in New England many 
years, and was of the First Church at Cambridge, in 
Mr. Hooker's time, and had good practice and wanted 
nothing. But he had been long discontented, because 
his employment was not so profitable to himself as he 
desired, and it is like he feared lest he should tall into 
want in hie. old age, and therefore he would needs go 
back into England ; for surgeons were then in great 
request there, occasioned by the war ; but God took 
him away childless. "' 

The dissatisfaction, of which the letter referred to, 
written by Surgeon Pratt, is an exponent, grew to such 
proportions that rival factions centred about the two 
great ecclesiastics of the day, Mr. Cotton, of Boston, 
and Mr. Hooker, of (^ambridge, both in a measure 
physicians as well as clergymen, which resulted in 
Mr. Hooker, accompanied by more than fifty families, 
removing to Hartford, Conn. ( )f the original settlers, 
there are reported to have been but eleven faniilieg 
left, which gave little need of a practitioner of medi- 
cine in their midst. 

The bitter persecution in England, to which the 
Puritans had been subjected, had caused them to fore- 
see the possibility of a removal to the New World, 
and a considerable number of their ministers had, on 
this account, studied medicine. These men formed a 
large proportion of the early physicians of the colony. 
As a rule, they had been liberally educated, and some 
of them are the authors of the first medical treatises 

^Savage's " Winthrop," v. i, p. 173 ; ii, p. 239. 



160 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



published in America. For the most part they prac- 
ticed only anionfr the members of their own respective 
societies. During the period of the early settlement 
of the colonies few men were specially trained in the 
practice of physic, and medicine was distinctly an art 
rather than a science, — the period which preceded the 
teachings of Sydenham, under whose guidance the 
art of medicine may be said to have taken a new de- 
parture. The people believed in specifics, and reme- 
dies were prescribed as sovereign cures. Two schools 
of medical practice prevailed in Europe,— the one 
taught the use of vegetable substances alone ; the 
other advised, for the most part, mineral compounds. 
The first of these schools styled themselves the Galen- 
ists, since they followed the teachings of Galen : the 
ancestry of the botanic doctor of the last generation, 
the eclectic of to-day. 

The other school accepted the teachings of Paracel- 
sus and gave '"chemical '' medicines (so-called), mineral 
Compounds, and a few of the most active vegetable ex- 
tracts. These men were frequently called chemists. 
The rivalry between the two schools was naturally a 
bitter one, but from each comes the name commonly 
ascribed to the apothecary, as druggist and chemist. 
The literature of the medical profession was scanty 
and consisted generally, in America, of certain limited 
facts concerning disease, together with a knowledge 
of certain drugs which were to be taken as a remedy 
for certain diseases. I quote as follows from the " Me- 
morial History of Boston " : "I had the privilege of ex- 
amining and reporting to the Massachusetts Historical 
Society on a paper of medical directions placed in my 
hands by the Hon. Robert V. Winthrop, the president 
of the society. It is headed, ' For my worthy friend, 
Mr. Wintrop,' and signed ' Ed. Stafford.' Its date 
is 1643, and I was not able to decide whether it was 
intended for Governor John Winthrop, or for his son, 
the Governor of Connecticut. The list of remedies is 
made up principally of simples, or vegetable sub- 
stances; St. John's wort, black hellebore, great bryony 
root, the four great cold seeds, maiden-hair, fennel, 
parsley, witch-hazel, elder, clown's all-heal (stachps 
palustru), saffron, fox-glove, jalap, scammony, snake- 
root, are among these, many of them inert, some dan- 
gerous, if not carefully handled. Caranna and taca- 
mahacca, two gums, of which it used to be said, 
' Whatever the tacamahacca has not cured the caran- 
na will,' and Burgundy pitch are also enumerated. 
Of mineral substances, lime-water, salt, saltpetre, cro 
ru.i meiallorum (sulphuretted oxide of antimony) are 
mentioned. " A Wilde Catt's skin on ye place 
greived" is recommended for pains in the heart or 
limbs. More formidable to the imagination than any 
of these is, ' my black powder against ye plague, 
small-pox, purples, all sorts of feavers, poyson, either 
by way of prevention or after infections.' This is 
made by burning toads to charcoal and reducing this 
to powder. It belongs to that list of abominations 
which disgraced the old pharmacopoeias, but which 



have disappeared from the armamentarium of regular 
practitioners. As late, however, as the year 1789, 
(jullen had to censure Vogel for allowing burnt toads 
and swollen chicks to remain on his list of remedies. 

" The Winthrops — to one of whom Dr. or Mr. Staf- 
ford's directions were given — assisted their fellow- 
citizens with medical counsel as well as in many other 
ways. The Governor of Connecticut, John Winthrop, 
treated a great number of medical cases in Hartford, 
and left a record of his practice extending from 1657 
to 1669. This manuscript was also intrusted to me. 
I examined it very carefully and reported upon it in 
the lecture before the Massachusetts Medical Society 
to which I have already referred. From it we may 
get an idea of what was likely to be the kind of treat- 
ment to which our Boston predecessors would be sub- 
mitted. The excellent Governor seems to have been 
consulted by a great number of persons, to have had a 
wider circle of practice, it may be suspected, than 
many of those who called themselves doctors. The 
common diseases of all ages and both sexes appear to 
have come under his care. Measles and their conse- 
quences are at first most prominent, and fever and 
ague had often to be treated. He used the ordinary 
simples dear to mothers and nurses — elecampane, 
elder, wormwood, anise, and the rest ; and beside these 
certain mineral remedies. Of these, nitre (saltpetre) 
was his favorite. Another favorite prescription was 
spermaceti, which, like Hotspur's fop, he seems to have 
considered ' the sovereign'st thing on earth,' for inward 
bruises and often prescribes it after falls and similar in- 
juries. Other remedies were antimony, now ami then 
a little iron, or sulphur, or calomel, rhubarb, jalap, 
horse-radish (which I remember CuUen recommends 
for hoarseness), guaiacum and the old mithridate or 
farrago, which, like so many foolish mixtures, owed all 
its real virtue to opium. He amused his patients with 
doses of coral and of amber, and sometimes gave them 
(let us hope without their knowing it) some of those 
unmentionable articles which insulted the senses and 
the stomachs of seventeenth and eighteenth century 
patients. One medicine which he very often pre- 
scribes he calls riibila. After long search I found this 
consisted of four grains of diaphoretic antimony, with 
twenty grains of nitre and a little salt of tin. I do 
not remember that the Governor ever mentions bleed- 
ing or blistering. Whether busy practitioners found 
time to bleed their patients as readily as those who 
had little else to do might be questioned. One of my 
old friends told me that the Philadel|)liia doctors used 
to order blood letting more fre<juently than the Bos- 
ton ones, because there was in that city a set of profes- 
sional bleeders. . . . 

" By the kindness of the late librarian of the Ameri- 
can Antiquarian Society I had placed in my hands .a 
manuscript of Cotton Mather, entitled, 'The Angel of 
Bethesda, an e;say upon the Common Maladies of 
Mankind, ofiering first the Sentiments of Piety,' etc., 
and 'a Collection of plain but Potent and .\pproved, 



CAMBRIDGE. 



161 



Remedies for the Maladies.' This starting-point, is, 
of course, theological. 'iSickness is, in fact, Flagdhim 
Dei pro peccatis Mtindi.' The treatise is lull of ped- 
antry, superstition, declamation and niiscellaneouB 
folly."' 

John Winthrop, the founder of Boston aud Gov- 
ernor of Massachusetts, was well versed in medicine, 
but his public .services to the Colony were so marked 
that his minor ministrations among friends and neigh- 
bors are thrown into the back-groiuid. The venerable 
Cotton says of hini, just before his death, that he had 
been "a Help for our Bodies by Physick, for our Es- 
tates by Law.'' ■ 

The Apostle Eliot, under date of September 4, 
1647, writes to Mr. Shephard, the minister of Cam- 
bridge, and expresses the desire that, "Our young 
Students in Physick may be trained up better than 
yet they bee, who have onely theoreticall knowledge 
and are forced to fall to practice before ever they saw 
an Anatomy made, or duely trained up in making 
'experiments,' for we never had but one Anatomy in 
the Country, which Mr. 'Giles Firmin' (now in 
England) did make and read upon very well, but no 
more of that now." 

Since anatomy is the old name for a skeleton, Mr. 
Firmin may be considered to date as the first medical 
lecturer of America. He excited an interest in the 
subject to such a degree, that at the session of the 
General Court, October, 1647, just following the date 
of Eliot's letter they resolved, "We conceive it 
very necessary y' such as studies physick, or chirur- 
gery, may have liberty to reade anotomy and to anoto- 
mize once in tbure yeares some malefacto in case 
there be such as the' Courte shall allow of.''^ Mr. 
Firmin studied at the University of Cambridge and 
was learned in medicine. After a time he moved to 
Ipswich, where he was known as a physician; subse- 
quently, however, he studied theology, returned to 
England and was ordained, settled as a rector, but 
continued to practice medicine. 

Charles Chauncy, tha^ stern Puritan, president of 
Harvard College, and also Leonard Hoar, who suc- 
ceeded him, were regular graduates of medicine at 
Cambridge, in Euglaud. Chauncy left six sons, all of 
whom were educated at Harvard College and became 
preachers. "They had," .says Cotton Mather, "an 
Eminent skill in 'Physick' added unto their other 
Accompliibments; which, like 'him' (their father), 
they used for the 'Good' of many; as, indeed, it is 
well known that until Two Hundred Years ago 
' Physick in England' was no Profession distinct from 
Divinity." ' 

John Rogers, the iifth jjresident of the college, was 
also a practitioner of medicine. Hoar was the first 

' Oliver Wendell Holmes "Memorial History of Boston," vol. iv., 
pages .'t56-5.')7. 

2 Magni)liK, book 2, chap, iv., p. 15. 

3 Mass. Historical Collection, iv. ^7. 

* Cotton Mather's "Magnolia" book, iii., chap. 23, page 140. 
11 



president who was a graduate of the institution, but 
Rogers was an earlier graduate, who became its pres- 
ident afterwards. Elisha t'ooke was a prominent 
physician, as also a politician. He graduated at 
Harvard in the class of 1(357, being one of the first na- 
tives of the town that studied medicine. 

In the notes of the period of the early settlement of 
Cambridge there is little comment made upon the 
prevailing diseases as the causes of death. Yellow 
fever occurred in Boston in lij4!>, having been intro- 
duced from ships arriving from the West Indies, A 
strict quarantine was established by older of the Gen- 
eral Court on March ItHh, prohibiting the landing of 
persons or goods from such vessels. No further san- 
itary regulations were adopted until October, 1665, 
when a warrant was issued by the General Court, or- 
dering vessels coming from f^ngland to be placed in 
quarantine. This was on account of the " plague '' 
existing in London at that time, but was repealed 
two years afterward, owing to the disappearance of 
the disease. These two orders, adopted to meet the 
emergencies, comprise the whole legislation of the 
seventeenth century so far as it relates to quarantine 
in Massachusetts. The i|uarautine grounds were near 
the (-astle. In 1693 the yellow fever was brought to 
Boston from the Barbadoes, but few of the citizens of 
Boston aud vicinity were affected by it. It was re- 
corded in the winter of 1650 that " the Lord was 
pleased to inflict us with coughs, agues and fevers."' 

" Under date of 1671, this summer many were vis- 
ited with ague and fever, and again in September of 
the next year agues and fevers prevailed, mostly 
among us about the bay.'' ^ 

John Josselyn writes in Sei)tember, 1671, of finding 
the inhabitants exceedingly afllicted with the fever, 
ague and bloody flux. 

In 1721, with the exception of Dr. William Doug- 
lass, there was not a single practitioner of Boston who 
was a regular graduated physician. He died in Oc- 
tober, 1752, having passed his whole professional life 
in Boston, where he had much influence as a physi- 
cian. Small-pox prevailed in 1721 more extensively 
and fatally than ever in Boston aud its vicinity. A 
statement of results was made ofScially in the Boston 
Xeins Letter: " Boston, Feb. 24, 1721-2. By the Se- 
lectmen. The number of persons visited with the 
small-pox since its coming into, town in April last 
having been inquired into by direction from the Se- 
lectmen amounts to 5880, 844 of whom died," October 
recording the exceptional mortality of 411. There is 
no record of the extent of this scourge in Cambridge, 
but references to it are found in the New Enr/land 
Courani for November, December, January. Under 
January 22, 1722, it is stated, "On Friday last the 
General Assembly of this Province met at t'ambridge. 
There not being a sufficient number to make a house 
on Wednesday, to which day they were before pro- 

^ Church Records, Eev. Mr. Danforth, Boxbury. 



162 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



rogued, they are ailjourned to Tuesday next, when 
they are to meet a few miles out of town, the small- 
pox being now in the heart of that place." The 
Town Reconls show that a committee was appointed 
.January 20th to provide "for the relief of such per- 
sons and families as may stand in need thereof, in 
case the small-pox spread amongst us." 

Dr. Zabdiel Boylgton, of Boston, at about this time 
first introduced inoculation for the small-pox, but he 
encountered the most violent opposition. Of 280 per- 
sons who were inoculated for the small-jiox but six 
died. Rev. Cotton Mather is accredited with having 
strongly advocated inoculation, based upon his 
knowledge of the methods of inoculation which had 
long been practiced in Constantinople, and had been 
published in the " Transactions of the Royal Society 
of London." 

In 1730 the small-pox again prevailed to an alarm- 
ing extent in Cambridge. Town-meetings were held 
to devise means for its extermination. A vote passed 
indicates the public opinion regarding inoculation; 
" Whereas, Samuel Danforlh, Esq.'s, late practiceof in- 
oculation of small-pox amongst us has greatly endan- 
gered the town and distressed sundry families amongst 
us, which is very disagreeable to us ; wherefore voted 
that said Samuel Danforth, Esq., be desired forthwith to 
remove such inoculated persons into some convenient 
place, whereby our town mayn't be exposed by them." 
The college studies were broken up for a time and the 
students dispersed. Again in 1762 small-pox caused 
the breaking up of the college work from April 22d 
until the following autumn. 

An epidemic occurred in Cambridge in 1740 which 
was called the " throat distemper," and is probably 
the same disease that Dr. Thacher describes as an in- 
fluenza, somewhat resembling the recent attack of 
La Gri|)pe which, in the early winter of 1890, spread 
over both ccuitinents. Thacher describes it, "The 
amazing rapidity with which it spread through the 
country resembled more a storm agitating the atmos- 
phere than the natural progress of a disease from any 
contagious source. Almost a whole city, town or 
neighborhood became affected with its influence in a 
few days, and as it did not incapacitate the people in 
general from pursuing their ordinary occupation.s, it 
was common to observe in every street and place of 
resort a constant coughing, hawking, and wheezing, 
and in public assemblies little else was to be heard or 
attended to. Although all classes of people expe- 
rienced the operation of the influenza, it is remark- 
able that a small number of people, comparatively 
speaking, were so ill as to require medical attend- 
ance, and instances of its fatal termination were of 
rare occurrence." ' 

It proved so fatal in Cambridge, however, that the 
students were dismissed from college by a vote passed 
June 23, 1740. " Whereas, through the holy Provi- 



1 " Aledicul Biography," i. 28. 



dence of God, several families in the town of Cam- 
bridge are visited with the throat distemper, and the 
President's and Steward's families are under very 
afflicted circumstances by resLson of that mortal sick- 
ness, and whereas we apprehend that there is great 
danger of the distemper spreading and prevailing as 
it hath done formerly in other places, and that the 
students are much endangered thereby ; thereby 
Voted, that they be immediately dismissed from the 
college and that the vacation begin from this time, 
and that the Commencement for this year be not un- 
til the expiration of the vacation." ^ 

Mr. Paige, in his " History of Cambridge," cites in- 
stances from a private note-book of a number of 
deaths which occurred at this time, and the inference 
is extremely probable that the cause was the disease 
which we now know under the name of diphtheria. 

Captain Goelet, in 1760, describes Cambridge as 
follows : "After dinner Jacob Wendell, Abraham 
Wendell, and self took a horse and went to see Cam- 
bridge, which is a neat, pleasant village which con- 
sist.s of about an hundred houses and three colleges, 
which are a plain, old fabrick, of no manner of archi- 
tect and at ])resent much out of repair; is situated on 
one side of the Towne and forms a large square ; its 
apartments are pretty large. Drank a glass of wine 
with the collegians, returned and stopt at Richard- 
son's, where we bought some fovvles, and came home 
in the evening, which we spent at Weatherhead's 
with sundry gentlemen." ' 

The next important incidents which occur, relating 
in a general way to the medical history of Cambridge, 
are grouped about the period of the Revolutionary 
War. This little, quiet university town became the 
focus of the early operative measures which led to 
the rebellion, culminating in the independence of 
the States. Her citizens mourned their dead after 
the battle of Lexington, and Cambridge became the 
common rendezvous of the troops forming the basis 
of the Continental Army. The early "New England 
History and General Register" found the aggregate 
of troops in Cambridge, in the summer of 1775, a 
little over eight thousand. 

Hospitals were at once established in the larger 
houses, which were assigned by the Committee of 
Safety. Drs. John Warren, Isaac Rand, William 
Eustis, James Thacher, Isaac Foster, Thomas Kitt- 
redge, and others, olhciated in these hospitals, under 
the general supervision of Dr. Church. Three houses 
are still in existence, rendered famous by many previ- 
ous and subsequent events, which were used, at this 
time, for hospital purjjoses. 

Between Arrow and Mt. Auburn Sts. was the estate 
of David Phips, the sheriff of Middlesex, colonel of 
the Governor's troojis, and son of Lieut. Gov. Spencer 
Phips. This estate was earlier that of Major-General 



' " niBtory of Cambridge," Paige, p. 132. 
3"N. E. Uist. and Gen. Register." 



CAMBRIDGE. 



163 



Daniel Gerkiu, Indian superintendent, and it was 
under Gerliin's roof that Generals Gortie and Whalley, 
the regicides, were at one time sheltered. This hos- 
pital was under the special care of Dr. Dunsuiore. 

The Rev. Dr. Apthorp's house, erected about 1761, 
is one of the finest examples of colonial architecture 
left to us. Since Dr. Apthorp was a representative 
man in the church episcopate service, he was received 
with ill-tavor by the colonist^, althougli born in Bos- 
ton, and he removed to England in 171)4. The house 
was styled, in a satirical way, " The palace of one of 
the humble successors of the Apostles." P'or a time 
lieneral Putnam, of Connecticut, occupied it as his 
headquarters, until the Committee of Safety desig- 
nated it for hospital purposes. 

The celebrated old Brattle house, from the owner 
of which the street is named, recently purchased by 
the Social Union, and restored for permanent preser- 
vation, was occupied, at the breaking out of the war, 
by General William Brattle. This house was also 
used as a hospital, and afterward occupied by Gen- 
eral Mifflin, quartermaster-general of the Continental 
Army. This house was the scene of many interesting 
events during the siege of Boston. 

Dr. Jonathan Potts, a distinguished army surgeon 
of the Revolution, wiis the brother-in-law of General 
Mifflin. Perhaps no residence in Cambridge is asso- 
ciated with the past with greater variety of interest- 
ing reminiscences than this of the old Brattle estate, 
now robbed of its wide acres of lawn and landscape 
garden. As an interesting incident in the life of Dr. 
Warren, then the active patriot, better known to his- 
tory as General Joseph Warren, whose loss the coun- 
try mourned, killeil in the battle of Bunker Hill, I 
cpiote the exquisite graphic pen-picture from the 
diary of Dorothy Quincy : "Several of our brave 
Cambridge men are killed. Mrs. Hicks sent her 
eldest boy to look for his father as night came on. 
He found him lying dead by the roadside, and near 
him Mr. Moses Richardson and Mr. William Marcy. 
These three were brought home and hastily buried in 
one common grave in the churchyard. Ah, the sor- 
rows of that night ! How near it brought war to our 
doors, this first burial of victims of British tyranny! 
It was no time for funeral ceremonies ; and as the terri- 
fied and sorrowing friends stood around the rude 
grave in which was jiut all that was mortal of these 
brave men. Dr. Warren tried to comi'ort them with 
hopeful words. 'It will soon be over,' he said ; 'then 
rightful honors will be paid to those who fell in 
defence of our country.' I cannot forget it. The 
lurid glare of the torches, the group in the graveyard, 
the tender but hurried liurial, without service or even 
coffins, and Elias Richardson's act of filial love in 
carefully spreading the cape of his father's overcoat 
upon the dead man's face, lest the cold earth should 
fall directly upon it. Dr. Warren himself, they say, 
had a very narrow escape in the aff'ray. He ran reck- 
lessly into it when the British were retreating, and a 



bullet whizzed past his head, taking oft' one of the 
side curls.''' 

The introduction of vaccination into Anrerica was 
by Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse, of Cambridge. He 
was born in Newport, R. I., March 4, 175-1; died in 
Cambridge, Mass., Oct. 2, 1846, aged ninety-two years. 
He was educated in London, Edinburgh, and Leyden, 
where he received his medical degree. In 1783 he 
became Profe-ssor of Theory and Practice of Physick 
at Harvard College, in Cambridge, where he also pro- 
moted the study of Natural History, Botany, and 
Mineralogy. From 1811 to 1825 he was medical 
.supervisor of the military posts in New England. 
In ]7'.>'.l Dr. Jenner communicated to him, his dis- 
covery of vaccination by means of kine-|)Ox, and Dr. 
Waterhouse at once tested it by vaccinating his sou 
Daniel, a lad of five years of age, who had the dis- 
ease in a mild form. His first publication was in the 
Columbian Sentinel, dated at Cambridge, March 12, 
1709. It is entitled, "Somethiug (Jurious in the 
Medical Line." and is the first account of vaccination 
given to-the public in .\merica; published in a news- 
paper, so as to call the attention of the daily farmers 
to such a distemper among their cows. In the year 
1800 he published a tract, entitled, " A Prospect of 
Exterminating the Small-pox," being the history of 
variola vaccina, or kine-pox, etc. In it he describes 
inoculating a servant boy of about twelve years of 
age with some of the infected thread from England. 
This is probably the method first adopted for pre- 
.serving the vaccine virus, which came by a "short 
passage from Bristol," although in the autumn of 
1802, Dr. Waterhouse records the receiving of (juill 
point.s, or tooth-picks, charged with the virus. Some 
years ago I remember to have seen a small silver box, 
said to have been presented to Dr. Waterhouse by Dr. 
Jenner, which contained enclosed virus. The test of 
the faith he had in the efficacy of the vaccination of 
his own son recalls Dr. Boylston's heroic courage in 
inoculating his son for suuiU-pox. 

"Still in the back-ground, and a little at one 
side, for they were not Boston physicians, but lived 
on the other shore of the river at Cambridge, are 
three figures belonging to three physicians, each of 
whom is a typical representative of a class, all dis- 
tinct images in my memory. 

" Benjamin Waterhouse, whose name stands on his 
title-pages over an inverted i)yramid of titles of great 
dimensions, studied in London, Edinburgh, and 
Leyden, at the last of which |>laces he took his 
medical degree in the year 1780, the same in which 
died the learned Professor Gaubius, a pupil of the 
world-renowned Boerhaave. He wiis a relative of the 
excellent Dr. Fothergill, of London, with whom he 
used, as he tells us, to drive upon bis rounds of 
medical visits. He will be long and deservedly re- 
membered as having introduced vaccination into the 

> " The Cambridge of 1776," page 19. 



164 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



western world. He was for some years Professor of 
Theory and Practice in Harvard University. He 
speaks of himself as Director of the Military Depart- 
ment comprehending the States of New Hampshire, 
Miissachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. He 
may have voluntarily relinquished practice; but 
whether this were so or not, I never remember hear- 
ing of any i>atient under his care. He had, however, 
vaccinated great numbers of persons, myself among 
the rest. He probably liked to write and lecture and 
talk about medicine better than to practice it. A 
brisk, dapper old gentleman, with hair tied in a 
ribbon behind, and I think powdered, marching 
smartly about with his gold-headed cane, with a look 
of questioning sagacity, and an utterance of oracular 
gravity, the good people of Cambridge listened to his 
learned talk when they were well, and sent for one of 
the other two doctors when they were sick. Two 
brief extracts from an essay of his will sufficiently 
show his way of thinking and prescribing: 

" 'As to planetary influence, mentioned by Boerhaave 
and Mead, the various aspects of the sun and moon, 
, their accessions, recessions, perpendicular or oblique 
irradiations, conjunctions and oppositions, and their 
eflects on us through the medium of our atmosphere, 
we are not prepared to express a decided opinion. 
. . . Millipedes have been given with good effect 
in whooping cough. . . . Physicians in the last 
century thought they could not practice without 
millipedes, while too many in this day believe them 
good for nothing.' 

"All this was rather too medieval for Cambridge in 
the nineteenth century. 

"While Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse was walking 
about with his gold-headed cane, like a London physi- 
cian minus his chariot and his patients, Dr. William 
Gamage was riding around on a rhubarb-colored 
horse with his saddle bags behind him, and stopping 
at door after door. Grim, taciturn, rough in aspect, 
his visits to the household were the nightmare of the 
nursery. He would look at the tongue, feel of the 
pulse, and shake from one of his phials a horrible 
mound of powdered ipecac, or a revolting heap of 
rhubarb — good, stirring remedies that meant business, 
but left a flavor behind them which embittered the 
I recollection of childhood. This was the kind of 
practice many patients preferred in those days; they 
liked to know they had taken something 
energetic and active, of which fact they were soon 
satisfied after one of Dr. Gamage's prescriptions. 
While Dr. Waterhouse was airing his erudition on 
foot and Dr. (Jamage was jogging round on horse- 
back with his saddle-bags. Dr. Timothy L. Jennison 
was driving about in an ancient chaise drawn by a 
venerable nag, chiefly, it may be suspected, to exercise 
the quadruped and get the benefit of the fresh air for 
himself, for his practice could hardly have been con- 
siderable, although I do remendjer hearing that he 
was employed by one family. I believe he was the 



safest practitioner of the three, for he was accused of 
overfondness for old women's harmless vegetable pre- 
scriptions, which means that he gave nature a fairer 
chance than she is apt to have in the hands of learned 
theorists and heroic routinists. The young man 
whom Dr. Danforth found it hard to get along with, 
was his successor in public esteem as a practitioner. 
Family connection gave me the opportunity of know- 
ing him well. He was my revered friend as well as 
my instructor, and my longer and fuller ac(|uaintance 
with him enables me to confirm all that Dr. Green 
says in his praise." ^ 

The Medical Department of Harvard was first es- 
tablished at Cambridge, and while here Dr. Water- 
house held his profesisorsbip. I quote from Thacher's 
"History of Medicine in .Vmerica," "The University at 
Cambridge, Mass., has contributed to the in terest and 
advancement of medical science, by an institution 
founded on the generous benefactions of several en- 
lightened and liberal individuals. Dr. Ezekiel 
Her.sey, of Hingham, who died in 1770, bequeathed 
one thousand pounds, and his widow, at her decease, 
a like sum, to be applied to the support of a professor 
of anatomy and surgery. His brother. Dr. Abner 
Her.sey, of Barnstable, who died in 1786, and Dr- 
John Cuming, of Concord, were also donors to the 
amount of five hundred pounds each for the same 
laudable purpose; and William Erving, Esq., of 
Boston, left one thousand pounds towards the support 
of an additional professor. In conformity with the 
views of the patrons and donors, professors of talents 
and character were in 1782 appointed, by whom 
lectures on the several branches were regularly de- 
livered, and students received the honors of the 
institution. In 1780 Dr. John Warren, while surgeon 
of a military hospital in Boston, commenced a course 
of anatomical lectures, and in the following year they 
were attended by the students of the University. Dr. 
Warren furnished a plan for a medical school which 
was adopted by the Corporation of Harvard College, 
and he was appointed first Professor of Anatomy and 
Surgery, Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse, Professor of the 
Theory and Practice of Physic, and Dr. Aaron Dexter, 
Professor of Chemistry. This was the first essay made 
in New England for the establishment of an insti- 
tution for medical education. George Holmes Hall 
and .John Fleet were the first who were admitted in 
course to the degree of Doctor in Medicine at the 
University, in the year 1788. From a spirit of envy 
and jealousy towards the professors, great opposition 
was made to the degree being conferred upon the two 
candidates, aod it was by the address and perseverance 
of Dr. Warren that the object was finally accom- 
plished. In consequence of many inconveniences, 
both to professors and students, and of the superior 
advantages which might result from lectures delivered 



1 Oliver WendeU Holmes' "Memorial History of Boston," toI. it., 
chap. X., pp. 5G4-5. 



CAMBRIDGE. 



165 



in a more populous situation, the Corporation and 
Board of Overseers of Harvard University deemed it 
expedient to establish a medical school in the town of 
Boston. The several courses of lectures were ac- 
cordingly transferred, and commenced in that 
metropolis in December, 1810."' ' 

" The establishment of a botanic garden at Cam- 
bridge will doubtless prove, at a future period, an ex- 
cellent auxiliary to the stu<ly of botany and 
pharmacy, and facilitate a knowledge of the in- 
digenous plants of the country and their introduction 
into our materia medica. Two townships of eitstern 
land have been granted by our Legislature, and a 
subscription of $30,000 wa.'i obtained for the purchase 
of land and other expenses of this valuable establish- 
ment. It was for several years under the manage- 
ment of William D. Peck, as Professor of Natural 
History, and a Board of Trustees, of which the 
President of the Medical Society is e.r-oificio a mem- 
ber.- ■ 

The transfer of the Medical Department of the 
University to Boston caused the medical interests to 
centre in Boston rather than in (.'ambridge. There 
appears to have been no organization of the Cam- 
bridge physicians, as such, either in .society or pub- 
lic work, until about 1807, when the Cambridge 
Medical Improvement Society was formed, with 
meetings at the residence.s of its members each month, 
when papers were presented and discussed, with the 
reports of cases of interest, etc. The attendance 
upon these meetings has been good from the very be- 
ginning of the organization, with much profit to its 
members and the general interests of the community. 

Out of this organization grew the formation of a 
public dispensary, where the poor were freely treated 
and the city divided into districts, with physicians ap- 
pointed to each. 

A fund was slowly accumulated for the purchase 
of laud and the building of a hospital. A Board of 
Trustees was appointed for this purpose, of which Dr. 
Morrill Wyman was the most active member, and 
after years of labor, the result has been the estab- 
lishment of the Cambridge Hospital, with ample sur- 
rounding grounds, which is filling a long-felt want. 

The Cambridge Hospital was 0[)ened in 1S1J7 by 
Miss Emily E. Parsons, and was kept open a year, 
when it was closed for want of a suitable house. It 
was re-opened in 18(!9 and was clo.sed again in 1872. 

At the request of Miss Parsons the following citi- 
zens of Cambridge : Hon. Isaac Livermore, Rev. Sum- 
ner R. Maaoii, Dr. W. W. Wellington, Rev. Kinsley 
Twining, Benjamin Tilton, Rev. Alexander McKen- 
zie and Dr. H. P. Walcott met November 14, 1870, at 
the residence of the first-named and voted to apply to 
the General Court for an act of incorporation, under 
the name of "The Cambridge Hospital;" on the 

» Thacher'e " History uf Medicine in .\merica," vol. i., p. 31. 
* Tbacher'ci " Hietui-y of Medicine in .America," vol. i., p. 38. 



23d of February, 1871, an act, signed by Governor 
Claflin on February 13th, was accepted by the above- 
named persons, who, with their associates and suc- 
cessors, were made a corporation for the purpose of 
maintaining a hospital in the city of Cambridge for 
sick and disabled persons, to be called The Cambridge 
Hospital. 

In the early months of 1872 it became evident, by 
reason of lack of interest on the part of the commu- 
nity, that the hospital could no longer be kept open, 
and, with the approval of Miss Parsons, it was closed, 
by vote of the trustees. May 1, 1872, there being then 
in the hands of the treasurer i?191.47. 

In December, 1873, a benuest for $10,000 was re- 
ceived from the estate of .Mr. Isaac Fay ; $100,805.55 
have been received in donations and bequests from 
this date to May, 1880. 

In 1883 the lot of land on which the hospital stands 
was purchased ; the erection of buildings was begun 
in the early spring of 1884, and the hospital was fin- 
ished and ready to receive patients 1st May, 1880. 

The hospital building is on the south side of Mount 
Auburn Street, overlooking Charles River. 

The site has nine and one-third acres. The soil is 
dry, gravelly or sandy. The surface upon which 
the present buildings stand is well raised above 
the crown of Mt. Auburn Street; it is about twenty- 
five feet above the level of Charles River and 
sufficiently distant from its bank ; it has a 
water front of 500 feet. On the opposite bank is a 
park or meadow of seventy acres, given by Prof. 
Longfellow and others to Harvard College, "to be 
held by the grantees as marshes, meadows, gardens, 
public walks or ornamental grounds, or as. the site of 
college buildings not inconsistent with these uses." 
Facing the south, the wards have the full influence of 
the sun and a free course for the very desirable south- 
west breezes of summer. The river in front and the 
meadows beyond etlectually exclude all dust anil noise 
from that ilirection, and the view is unobstructed to 
Corey's Hill, two miles away. 

The two wards of one story and the centre building 
of three stories form three .sides of a hollow square, 
the opening towards the south (the axis of llie build- 
ings is but throe degrees west of the north and south 
line). At the south end of each ward is a sun room 
eight feet wide and extending acro.ss the whole width 
of the ward. Along the north end of the wards is a 
corridor, glazed in n-inter, which connects the wards 
with the centre building, and protects all the rooms 
occupied by the sick and (he liollow sipiare from the 
cold winds of winter. This |)lan, known as the Lari- 
boisiere plan, seems to be as well calculated for this 
small hospital as it is for the large hospitals, for 
which it was first designed. 

The centre, forty by fifty feet, ha.s on the lower floor 
rooms for the physician and the matron, a dining- 
room, a reception-room, an accident-room and a dls- 
ptnsary. The second floor has rooms for six patients, 



166 



niSTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



a bath-room and two other rooms. The third story 
has six rooms for nurses and others.' 

Each ward is sixty by thirty feet and twelve feet 
high, the ceiling higher in the middle than at the 
walls, giving 113 S(|uare feet of flooring and 1356 
cubic feet of apace for e.ich patient ; it has ten win- 
dows. The sixteen beds are .irranged with the heads 
next the wall and about one foot from it. The door 
and windows of the south end of the ward are near 
its middle; this secures the beds from troublesome 
draughts when they are open. The north end of 
the buil<ling is wider than the ward ; in it are 
the nurses' room and the " tea-kitchen,'' both 
opening into the ward ; behind this is another 
room not connected with the ward, for a single 
very sick patient, so arranged that the friends may 
visit it without disturbing others. In the extreme 
end, at the north, separated from the ward by three 
doors in a corridor, are the lavatory, the bath-room, 
the water-closet, the linen-room and the clothes-room. 
It will be observed that these offices are at the north, 
and the farthest removed from the sick. The arrange- 
ment of the nurses' room gives good opportunity for 
inspection ; standing just outside the door of her 
room the nurse can see every bed and every patient 
without change of position. 

The hospital is arranged for forty beds, but accom- 
modations could be provided for about forty-five 
patients. 

The property of the hospital is held by a corpora- 
tion which is composed of persons named in the act 
of incorporation, and such persons as may from time to 
time be elected by ballot at any legal meeting of the 
corporation, .and of such persons as may at any time 
give $500 or npw.ard, or the equivalent of the same in 
onedon.ation. At any meeting each member shall be 
entitled to one vote. The management is by a board of 
twelve trustees which elects its secretary and tre.isurer, 
and four practitioners of medicine to constitute a 
board of consultation, a house physician, eight visit- 
ing physicians and such other officers as may be nec- 
essary for carrying on the hospital. The whole nuni 
her of patients at this date (April, 1890) treated in 
the hospital is 88(i, of out-patients 842. 

It has been found quite impossible to collect the 
data for giving a sketch of the individual members (if 
the medical fraternity during the long period since 
Cambridge was first settled. Perhaps this would be 
hardly desirable in a general history covering so 
much of public interest, and instead it has been 
thought wise to furnish in a general way a sketch of 
the events relating especially to the subjects of gen- 
eral interest viewed from the medical standpoint. 
The writer is fully aware that there must be, of ne- 
cessity, many important omissions — a considerable 
part of which, however, could have been easily filled 
with a more active co-operation on the part of the 
living members. The following physicians, members 



of the Massachusetts Medical Society, have been, 
or are, residents of Cambridge : 

Adniittefl. Died. Age. 

Kneelanil, William n«2 ]"«S 56 

Watorliiiiise, Uoiijiunlu 1785 l«4i; 92 

Wyer, Eclwaicl 1786 1788 37 

Jeiinlsdii, Tiriii)tli.v Limlall 180:i 1845 85 

Garnage, Willjani 1S03 1821 76 

(^lia|iliri, Jaiiira I'rcsratt 18118 1828 46 

Mamiins;, Sainiiiil 1810 1822 42 

Williams, .luhn 1812 1846 99 

WeUirigUin, Tiinotby 1812 isra 70 

Foster, 'I'honias 1816 18:il 46 

Oliver, Daniel 1818 1842 64 

Tiliifi, Samuel 18211 ls:i4 61 

Webster, .lobiiWIiite 1821 18,''j(J 60 

Teriy, Natlian 182;i 

Harris, Tliaddeus William 1823 1S56 60 

Chelate, (ic.irge, lotired 1826 1858 

Hooker, Anson ... 1826 1860 70 

Plynipton, Sylvanus 1826 1865 71 

Haydeu, .lobn Colo 182',i 1869 67 

Apjileton, ,Iobn 18;« 1869 60 

BeiiiiH, .lonatlian Wheeler 1834 

Cbaplin, Charles Foster 1834 1857 57 

Dana, Fcancia 1836 1872 65 

Sawyer, Samtlel 18.36 1869 54 

Brown, Arteinae Zina 1836 

Wyman. .letlries 1837 1874 60 

Wyinan, Morril 1837 

Pierce, Charles Henry 1837 1855 41 

Wheeler, Lewis 1837 1872 

WolIingloM, William WillianiBon 18.39 

llowo, Kstes 1840 

Martin, Kpliraini 1840 

.lobnson, Henry Flavel 1840 

Foster, Charles Francis 1841 1865 67 

Allen, t'harles Hastings 1843 

Clarke, Blosea 1845 1864 46 

Taylor, .lohn Bunker 1849 1889 «!• 

Bartlett, Benjamin Dixon 1849 18.'i3 83 

Alden, .lonatban I'hinncy 1849 1863 70 

Webber, A lonz.o Carter 1849 

Nichols, John Smith 1852 1862 34 

Morse, .lames Riclianls 1854 

Hooker, Anson Parker 1855 1873 41 

Wood, Franklin .\ugnstus 18.',6 

Paliuer,.lolin Kinsley IS.M 1878 

Nichols, ,Tobn Taylor Llilman 1859 

Plympton, Henry Sylv.inns 1861 1863 25 

Flowers, William Caldwell 1863 

Walcott, Henry Pickering 1863 

Marcy, Henry Orlando 1863 

Norris, Albert Lane .... 1865 

Nicbola, George Merrick 1865 

Driver, Stephen 1865 

('rocker, .Tohn Myrick 1866 

Vaughn, Charles Fveiett 1866 

Holt, Alfred Fairbanks 1SC7 

Ciiggswell, Ertwurd Itiissell 1867 

(.'larko, Anguetus Peck 1867 

(ioddard, .lobn Tyler, removed 1867 

Weston, Edward Henry 1867 1889 

Stevens, Edmund Horace 1868 

Hildretb, .lohn Lewis 1868 

Ware, Frederick 1868 1869 26 

Eflgerly, David Mark 1869 

Folaom, Norton 1869 

Berry. Horace, removed to Jacksonville, Fla. 1871 

Dow, .lames Arthur 1871 

Otis, Kobert Mendum 1871 

Wood, Edward Stickney 1871 

Kelly, Cyrus Kingshury 1872 

Keniaton, .lames Mortimer, Middletown . . 1872 

McLeod, Angus 1872 1873 32 

Latimer, James Abercrombie 1873 



CAMBRIDGE. 



167 



Ailtiiittt)d. Died. Age. 

Rotcfa, Thomas Morgau 1873 

Walsh, Edmund 1873 

Br.vant, Lewia Lincoln 1874 

Culjurn, Geurge Albert 1874 

Hills, William Barker 1874 

Hiiwe, Samuel 1874 

Farnham, Edwin 1874 

Ela, Walter 1874 

Morse, Frederick Langdun 1875 

Talbut, James Harlamus 187.'> 1975 46 

Somera, .Toliu Edwin 187G 

O't'i.nuel, John David 1876 

Whltteniure, Fred. Webster 1877 

Onnningliani, Thomas Edward 1877 

Webber, Frank Orlando 1877 

Kice, Frederick Engena . 1878 

Wytuau, Samuel Edwin 1878 

Junes, CJeorge W 1878 

Mclntire, Herbert Bruce 1882 

Church, Moses David 1882 

Nelson, Samuel N 1882 

Dunbar, Franklin Asaiih 1882 

Taylor, Frederick Weston 1882 

Wetherbee, Roswell 1882 

Preble, Wallace 188» 

Fliinegan, Patrick Joseph 1884 

Foster, Charles Cbauncy 1884 

Hahn. A. J 1884 

Cahill. Charles Sumner 1886 

Wellington, Charles Berwick 1886 1880 

Hooker, Edward Dwiglit 1887 

Tuttle, Albert H 1889 

William Kneel.anil, M.^I.S.S., was born in Boston 
in 1732, and graduated at Harvard College in 1754, 
having a distingui.slied part in the exercises previous 
to his receiving the first honors of the university. 
He then studied medicine with an eminent physician. 
While qu.alifying himself for his profession he pur- 
sued various branches of science, and was noted as an 
eminent scholar, especially in logic and metaphysics. 
Before entering upon the practice of his profession he 
was appointed to a tutorship in the college, which he 
filled with dignity and approbation for the period o) 
nine years. He became a member of the Medical So- 
ciety in 1782, and died in 1788, aged fifty-six years. 

James P. Chaplin, 51. D., was born in Groton, Mid- 
dlesex County. He studied medicine as a pupil ol 
Dr. Warren, of Boston, graduated at Harvard Medical 
College and settled as a practitioner in Cambridgeport. 
He was most successful and won a high reputation in 
his profession. He established a home for the recep- 
tion and cure of insane patient.s, and his success was 
so remarkable that he enlarged his .asylum on quite 
extensive plans for the accommodation and comfort o( 
those placed under his care. His reputatiou spread far 
and wide, until he had more applicants than he could 
receive. His method of cure was a moral one. By 
his peculiar calm and commanding manner and ad- 
mirable jiidgraent he was able to control his patients, 
to which he added the most careful regimen and much 
exercise. A member of the Massachusetts Medical So- 
ciety and officer therein, his opinions were al way ssought 
and respected. During the twenty-three years that he 
practiced niediciue in Cambridge he was several 
times prostrated with illness, and in 1810 was reduced 



very low with spotted fever. In 1824 he met with an 
accident — the breaking of the tibia of his right leg by 
the kick of a horse. He was suddenly attacked in 
.\ugust, 1828, with violent pain in his head, great in- 
tolerance of light and sound. He continued to suffer 
more or less until October, when he grew worse and 
died on the morning of October 12th, after having lain 
in a comatose state for several hours. 

.Samuel Manning, M.D., became a member of the 
Miussachusetts Medical Society in 1810. He settled in 
Cambridge about 1820. By his first wife he had five 
children. In 1822 he married Mrs. Klizabeth Ab- 
bott. He died at the age of forty-two, of pneumonia. 
The children were carefully educated by Mrs. M.an- 
ning. One daughter married I'rof. Cleveland, the 
fatherof Dr. Clement Cleveland, of New York. Few 
women of Cambridge were so prominent in good works 
as Mrs. Manning; by all known and beloved. She died 
in 188r>, when nearly ninety-five years of age. She 
had owned and occupied the celebrated Dr. Apthorp 
House — Bishop's I'alace of llevolutionary fame — for 
about sixty years. 

Anson Hooker, A.M., Jf.D., was born .July 17, 1799, 
in Westhampton, Mass. He graduated in Williams 
College in 1S18, and at the Harvard Medical School 
in 1822. 

He began his medical career at the south end of 
Boston, and for a time had charge of a Dispensary 
District. He removed from Boston to East Cam- 
bridge in 1825, and from that time until his death, iii 
November, 18G9, he was an active and devoted physi- 
cian. Dr. Hooker was a man of high character, and 
of more than ordinary ability. His life was a 
laborious one, but he was enthusiastic in his love of 
his profession, and he performed its every duty with 
conscientious fidelity. He had a genial and cheerful 
disposition, was eminently social and domestic, and 
carried sunshine wherever he went. His repu- 
tation wa.s good in all branches of the ])rofession ; in 
midwifery he was an expert. His obstetrical [uactice 
was very large. Those who have examined his record- 
books report that they find that he attended about 
ten thousand cases of labor. His skill in obstetrical 
operations vv.as proverbial. During the war he was 
especially detailed by oriler of (iovernor Andrew to 
visit and report upon the coiulilion of the Afassa- 
chusetts soldiers invalided in the Western United 
States general hospitals. He performed this duty in 
a very satisfactory manner, and received the thanks 
of the Governor for the service rendered. 

Dr. Hooker was regarded by the commuiiily in 
which he lived, not only as the good physician, but 
as the wise counselor and the kind friend. 

At various times he was called to fill important 
ollices of trust and responsibility. He served upon 
the Board of Aldermen and School Committee of 
Cambridge, and for two years represented the city in 
the Legislature. His death, at the age of three-score 
and ten years, was caused by disease of the heart. 



168 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



The scene at his funeral was impressive. The chunih 
in which the services were held was crowded, and the 
countenances of those present indicated clearly the 
sadness of their hearts. Places of business were 
closed, and the whole population seemed to unite in 
ottering a last tribute of afl'ection to one whom they 
loved and honored. A fitting monument has been 
erected to his memory by the contribution of his 
townsmen. ' 

Sylvanus i'lympton, M.D., was born in Woburn 
January 1,1794; prepared for college at Andover; 
entered Harvard College in 1814, and graduated in 
1818; and from the Harvard Medical ISchool in 1822. 

April /), 1823, was a])pointed surgeon of the First 
Regiment of Infantry, in the First Brigade and Third 
Division, of the militia of the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts, John Brooks, commander-in-chief. 

February 18, 1823, married Mary Bell Warland, 
daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Bell) Warland, 
and actively practiced his profession in Cambridge 
until prevented by the protracted illness of his later 
years. 

During this time he had won a high position in the 
esteem of his townspeople and acquired a large 
practice. He was especially prized in midwifery. 
In 1842 he was one of the selectmen of Cambridge, 
and he .served two terms in the Massachusetts Legis- 
lature. Died February 1, 18()4. 

John Appletou, M.D., was born in Salem, Mass., 
January 9, 1809. He attended school in his native 
town until his fifteenth year, when hi.s father died. 
Under the direction of his guardian. Major John 
Prince, clerk of the courts, in the interval of his 
studies, he was employed in hia office. While there, 
a love of antiquarian and genealogical researches 
seems to have been developed. In February, 1830 
he entered the oftice of Dr. A. L. Pierson, of .Salem, 
commencing the study of medicine. During the 
winter of 1830-31 he attended the Medical School at 
Harvard University. In February, 1833, he grad- 
uated as Doctor of Medicine, and took the Boylston 
prize. He practiced in his profession for a short 
time in Boston, and subsequently in other towns. 
He was quite successful In his profession, but its 
duties were arduous and wore upon hia constitution. 
He was an accomplished musician, and an occasional 
composer. He painted in oils and water-colors, and 
sketched with considerable skill. 

He accepted the position of assistant librarian of 
the Historical Society, which position he occupied 
until December, 18G8, a few weeks before his death, 
when he resigned. While in the ])iwition of li- 
brarian, lie devoted much time in the cataloguing of 
all the printed books and pamphlets. In this he 
showed ample historical and bibliographical knowl- 
edge for the work. The first volume of the catalogue 



I By Dr. W. W. WBllington, Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, 
December 1, 1881. p. 52U. 



was published in 1859, and the second in the follow- 
ing year. 

Dr. Appleton married at Boston, May 22, 1831, 
Miss Elizabeth M. Messer, who still survives him. 
He resided in Cambridge for a number of years and 
died there February 4, 18(i9, aged sixty years and 
twenty-six days, leaving two sons and four daughters. 

As a physician he was conscientious, aiding and 
directing nature in her healing efforts, charitable to 
the poor, aflable and instructive to all, winning the 
good will and confidence of the sick by his honest and 
gracious appearance ; courteous to his seniors, kind to 
his juniors, he always secured the confidence and lov^ 
of all with whom he came in contact. 

He was a member of the Cambridge Medical Im- 
provement Society, and published several papers in 
the Proceedings of the Historical Society, — 1, "On 
che Great Seal of New England," July, 1862 ; 2, " On 
the Portrait of King William in the Society's Gal- 
lery," September, 1802; 3, "On Almanacs, in the 
reign of Queen Anne," June, 1863 ; 4, " On an Amor- 
tissement of Louis, Duke of Orleans," October, 1863; 
5, " On Early Charts of the Harbor of Boston," Sep- 
tember, 1864; 6, "On the William Winthrop MSS.," 
December, 1864; 7, "On the Portrait of Sebastian 
Cabot in the Society's Gallery," January, 1865; 8 
' On the Alleged Portrait of Rev. John Wilson in the 
.Society's Gallery," September, 1867. 

Charles Foster Chaplin M. D., was born in Salem in 
1 800 ; he pursued his medical studies under the d i rect ion 
of the late Dr. James P. Chaplin, and received his 
degree at the Harvard Medical School in 1829. Soon 
after he opened an office in Cambridgeport, and 
entered upon the duties of his profession. His prac- 
tice, at first small, gradually increased, and in a few 
years he was doing a large and lucrative business. He 
gained the public confidence by his quiet unobtrusive 
manners, by his plain common sense and practical 
skill, and by his devotion to the welfare of those 
entrusted to his care. He was a man of no pretension, 
and made no effort to thrust himself into notice ; but 
ihose who employed him found him a kind friend and 
an agreeable companion, as well as an intelligent and 
skillful physician. The interest manifested in him 
during his long illness, the many and anxious inquiries 
with regard l(j his disease, the numerous expressions 
of gratitude and esteem uttered by those to whom he 
had formerly been a medical adviser, abundantly testify 
to his good qualities of mind and heart, and to the 
deep hold he had upon the affections of those who 
knew him. 

Among his medical brethren he was highly esteemed 
as a wise counselor and an honorable man. One at 
least of their number will not soon forget his repeated 
acts of professional kindness, and the pleasant inter- 
course they for many years enjoyed as neighbors and 
friends. 

Dr. Chaplin was a lover of the fine arts, in fact 
his natural tastes inclined him in this direction, rather 



CAMBRIDGE. 



169 



than to those studies strictly appertaining to his pro- 
fession. Many of his leisure hours were devoted to 
painting and sculpture; and he has left good speci- 
mens of his skill in these departments. He was fond 
of music and was a good musical performer. He loved 
gardening; and was never more happy than when 
engaged in cultivating and ornamenting the pleasant 
grounds attached to his residence. 

He was an illustration of the old mythological 
affinity of medicine, music and the flue arts. 

About four years since he was obliged, on account 
of increasing illness, to retire from his pmfessional 
duties. His disease was a chronic ati'ection of the 
brain, and was protracted and painful. At times his 
sufferings were intense; but they were borne with 
patience and resignation. He wa-s cheerful and hope- 
ful ; however sick he might be to-day, he always 
expected to be better to-morrow. Throughout his 
illness he was soothed and cheered by the untiring 
and self-sacrificing ministries of a devoted wife, whose 
offices of attlection and love became the more arduous 
and constant as his bodily powers failed and hia men- 
tal faculties became dim. He passed away peacefully 
and quietly, leaving behind him many who will long 
cherish his memory as a kind friend and a good 
physician. ' 

Francis Dana, M.D., was son of Francis Dana, Esq., 
brother of the poet Dana. He was in Harvard College 
with the class of 1827. but left before graduation, and 
commenced the study of medicine. He received his 
degree in 1831 from the Harvard Medical School, and 
before settling in Cambridge practiced for some time 
in the western part of the .State. The last years of 
his life he was librarian of the American Academy 
of .\rt8 ^d Sciences. In 1807, at the request of his 
classmates, the degree of A.B. was conferred upon 
him, so that he might appear as a member of his class 
in full standing. He was highly esteemed as a gen- 
tleman of the stricte.st integrity, and as a man of sci- 
ence. He joined the .Massachusetts Medical Society 
in 1836 and died in 1872, at the age of sixty-five, 
having been in ill health for some time, so that his 
death was not unexpected. 

Jeffries Wyman, A.M. M.D., was born in Chelms- 
ford, Massachusetts, August 11, 1814. His father, 
Dr. Rufus Wyman, was the first physician at the 
McLean Asylum for the insane. He was the third 
son and was named after Dr. John Jeffries, who had 
been instructor of his father. 

He fitted for college at Phillips Academy, Exeter, 
entered in 182!t, and graduated in the class of 18:1.3. 
He studied medicine with his father and Dr. John 
Call Dalton, receiving his degree from Harvard Med- 
ical College in 1837. He served a.s house plj|^sician 
at the Massachusetts (leneral Hospital, but never 
actively entered into the practice of his profession. 



1 Obituary notice writtea by Dr. W. W. Wellington, and publiflbed in 
the Cambridge Chronicle in 1857. 



He was appointed, soon after graduation, demonstra- 
tor to Dr. John Collins Warren, the Hersey Professor 
of Anatomy and Surgery in Harvard University. 
He was also chosen as curator of the Lowell Institute, 
and in 1841 he delivered a course of lectures before 
the institute, and with the money he received from 
this source he went to Europe for the purpose of pur- 
suing his favorite branches of study, namely, human 
and comparative anatomy, natural history and physi- 
ology. He studied very carefully the collection at 
the Hunterian Museum in London, and while there 
was summoned home, on account of his father's death. 

In 1843 he was appointed I'rofessor of Anatomy 
and Physiology in the Medical Department of Hamp- 
den Sydney College, Richmond, Va. He resigned 
this in 1847, being chosen Hersey Professor of Anat- 
omy at Harvard. In the furtherance of his work and 
to illustrate his lectures, he began the formation of 
the Museum of Comparative .-Vnatomy. In 1852 his 
health compelled him to visit Florida, and from this 
time, he suffered more or leas as an invalid. Twice he 
visited Europe, and made a voyage to Sumatra in 1856 
and to La Plata in 1858. All these journeyings he 
made tributary to his scientific purposes. For twenty 
years he worked quietly, happily, not stimulated by 
loud applause. In 1806 Mr. George Peabody, of Lon- 
don, laid the foundation, by a large gift of money, of 
an archieological and ethnological museum, and Dr. 
Wyman was made curator. He entered with the 
enthusiasm of youth upon the duties of this office. 
From 1856 to 187(1 he was jiresident of the Boston 
Society of Natural History. He was also president 
of the -American As.sociation for the Promotion of 
Science in 18.07. These honors came to him unsought. 
During the few months previous to his death he 
worked as usual and placed the museums in perfect 
order. He went to the White Mountains, thinking 
to derive benefit, but was attacked with several spells 
of bleeding, and September 4, 1874, a sudden and 
copious hemorrhage occurred which proved almost at 
once fatal. Funeral services were held at Ap])letoii 
(Chapel, in Cambridge, and his remains were laid to 
rest at Mt. Auburn. 

Prof Wyman twice married and left three children, 
heirs of his honored and memorable name. His 
earliest article in print was entitled " The Indistinct- 
ne.ss of Images formed by Oblique Rays of Light," 
September, 1837. There is a list of sixty four papers 
by Prof Wyman in the (Catalogue of the Royal Society 
of London. This list comprises his works down to 
1,863. He kept up his contributions to science, the 
last unpublished manuscript being dated May 20, 1874. 
His most important contribution to human an.atomy 
in his paper entitled, " Observations on Crania," pub- 
lished in the Proceedings of the Boston Society of 
Natural History, April, 1868. In Comparative .\nat- 
omy his most elaborate essays are that on the " Ner- 
vous System of Rana Pipieus, " Embryology of Rais 
Batis. " 



170 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



His pamphlet entitled, " Notes on the Cells of the 
Bee," is a model of accurate, patient, ingenious re- 
search. His experiments on the development of in- 
fusoria in infusions of organic matter, after long-con- 
tinued boiling in sealed vessels, are among the most 
thorough and satisfactory which have been made on 
this crucial subject. 

He left his admirable collection of Comparative 
Anatomy to the Boston Society of Natural History, 
the specimens of morbid anatomy and monstrosity to 
the Boston Society of Medical Improvement. 

Morrill Wyman, A.M., M.D., LL.D., wa.s graduated 
A.B. from Harvard University in 1833, and M.D. 
from its Medical Department in 1837. 

He is a member of the Massachusetts Medical So- 
ciety, to which he was admitted in 1837 ; of the Cam- 
bridge Society of Medical Improvement ; of the 
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and vari- 
ous other societies. 

His published writings include ; "A Treatise on Ven- 
tilation," Cambridge, 1840, "Autumnal t!atarrh," New 
York, 1872, and Boston, 187(>. For many years Dr. 
Wyman has been justly considered a leader in hia 
profession ; was' for some time I'rofe.ssor of the Prac- 
tice of Medicine, Medical Department Harvard Uni- 
versity; has been honored by the University with the 
degree of LL.D. 

At the completion of his fiftieth year of active 
practice he retired as a consultant. The occasion was 
celebrated by a complimentary dinner given him by 
the Cambridge Sledioal Improvement Society. 

William Williamson Wellington, A.M., M.D. ,Cam- 
bridgeport, Mass., son of Dr. Timothy Welirngton, 
for forty years a physician in West Cambridge (now 
Arlington), 

Born in West Cambridge, July 29, 1814 ; received 
his early education chiefly under his father's direction 
at home and at a private school kept by John Angier 
in Medford, Mass. 

Entered Harvard College at the age of twelve years, 
in 1820, without conditions. Continued, however, at 
school two years longer, and after a second examina- 
tion was again admitted in 1828; graduated in 1832, 
and received the degree of Master of Arts in 1851. 
Kept school three years in the Northfield Academy, 
and for three summers in West Cambridge. Gradu- 
ated from the Harvard Medical School in 1838, and 
in the same year establi>hed himself in practice in 
Carabridgeport, Mass. 

Is a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society, 
of the Cambridge Society for Medical Improvement, 
honorary member of the Obstetrical Society of Bos- 
ton, and associate member of the Massachusetts Med- 
ico-Legal Society ; was one of the coroners of Mid- 
dlesex County for ten years ; was connected for more 
than forty years with the School Board of Cambridge. 

In 1870 he delivered the annual address before the 
State Medical Society, which was afterwards pub- 
lished. 



Upon the completion of half a century of active 
professional labor Dr. Wellington was tendered a 
complimentary dinner by the members of the Cam- 
bridge Medical Improvement Society, a notice of 
which, in the daily press, the editor has thought of 
sufficient interest to append : 

" Dr. .1. L. Hildreth, president of the society, pre- 
sided at the banquet, and the committee of arrange- 
ments consisted of Dr. James A. Dow (chairman). 
Dr. H. O. Marcy and Dr. C. E. Vaughan. 

" After the banquet Dr. Wellington gave a very in- 
teresting account of his early life. The son of a cele- 
brated physician of wide practice, he was graduated 
classically in 1833 ; then taught an academy at a dis- 
tance from Boston. Of his experiences he gave some 
delightful reminijcences. 

" He studied medicine in Boston, and was the pupil 
of Drs. J. C. Warren, Jacob Bigelow, John Ware, 
George Hayward and others. He was trained in 
clinical teachings by his father and John Berry, of 
Boston, and was associated intimately in his studies 
with Dr. Cottiug, of Koxbury, a life-long friend. 

" After graduation Dr. Wellington was further edu- 
cated in Paris, then the world's medical Mecca. Dr. 
Wellington gave a most interesting word-picture of 
Paris and her distinguished teachers, Louis, Cbomel, 
Andree and others. He was associated there with 
Dr. H. I. Bowditch, the late Dr. Jackson, of Boston, 
and others. 

" In 1847, Dr. Wellington said, he was present at 
the first operation performed upon a patient under 
the influence of ether at the Mass.ichusetts General 
Hospital, which marked the new era in surgery. 

'' When Dr. Wellington began the work of the 
profession in Cambridgeport, it was a borough of only 
about 3000 inhabitants, with only one other physician. 
Dr. Wyman settled in Cambridge one year earlier 
than Dr. Wellington and has also seen the town grow 
into a city of 70,000 inhabitants, from small begin- 
nings. 

"Dr. Morrill Wyman was next called upon to 
speak. He alluded pleasantly to their relations dur- 
ing so many eventful years, practicing side by side. 
They did not always think alike, to be sure, he said, 
but their dirt'erences have never aflected their harmo- 
nious personal friendship and regard for one another. 

" Dr. A. C. Webber spoke of his forty years of 
practice in Cambridge by the side of Dr. Wellington. 
He had always found him a firm friend and wise coun- 
selor, and a generous, courteous gentleman, who was 
never guilty of taking advantage of his professional 
brethren. Speaking retrospectively. Dr. Webber al- 
luded to the growth of the city and .said that the time 
was ojice, when he had to take a lantern with him 
when going through the streets of our city to answer 
a call at night, because street-lamps were not then in 
vogue. 

" Dr. H. 0. Marcy followed in a happy manner, 
speaking in the highest terms of our guest,' to whom 



CAMBRIDGE. 



171 



he said he had often turned for help, wisdom and 
counsel. Dr. Marcy said the younger physicians of 
Cambridge ought to be thankful that such men as the 
senior physicians of this city had been men of such 
noble character and splendid influence as well as 
skillful practitioners, and had been an example to 
their juniors in every respect, worthy of emulation. 

" Dr. Wellington is in good health and still actively 
at work, and has the promise of many years of useful- 
ness yet before him. Long may he remain with us 
is the wish of the entire community." 

Charles H. Allen, M.D., joined the Massachusetts 
Medical Society in 1848. He resided for a number of 
years in Temple Street, Cambridgeport, and was a 
very successful practitioner. He w:is fond of litera- 
ture, a writer of considerable repute upon a variety of 
subjects; was proficient in music. He erected a 
handsome residence on Craigie Street, in Old Cam- 
bridge, about 1870, and retired from active practice. 
Some years later lie removed to Chicago, where he 
devoted a considerable portion of liis time to literary 
pursuits. He died in 1S89. 

Moses Clarke, M.D., was born January IS, 1818, 
and died in East Cambridge, March 29, 18(!4, aged 
forty -six years. He was the son of (ireenleaf Clarke, 
Esq., of Atkinson, N. H. His mother was the daugh- 
ter of Dr. William (Vigswell, a surgeon in the Revo- 
lutionary \Var, and successor of Governor Eustis in 
the charge of the Military Hospital, at West Point. 
Dr. Clarke received a thorough education at Atkinson 
and Pembroke Academies, and took his medical de- 
gree at Dartmouth College in 1843, having studied 
under the direction of Dr. Josiah Crosby. He first 
entered upon the practice of his profession at Derry. 
N. H., but he remained there only one year, when he 
removed to Cambridge, where he continued in suc- 
cessful practice almost up to the time of his death. 
He WHS a member of the School Committee ten or 
twelve years, and city physician about the same time. 
In both of these positions he won the respect and love 
of his associates. He acted also as superintendent of 
a Sabbath- school at the Almshou.-e. He was a man 
of character and independence, and when he knew 
his duty in a particular ]>ath he did not hesitate in its 
])erforinance, however rough or thorny the way 
might be. He was a true man in the fullest sense of 
the word ; deceit formed no element in his character. 
A relative who knew him well says : " He was aflfec- 
tionate in all the relations of domestic life, patriotic 
and pul)lie-spirited as a citizen, highly respected as a 
physician, honest and independent in action, heroic 
in sufl'ering and practical and consistent as a Chris- 
tian." 

John Bunker Taylor, M.D., was born in Hinsdale, 
N. H., October 16, 1821. He died suddenly at Cam- 
bridge, February 15, 1889. His father was a farmer. 
Young Taylor was possessed of energy, natural talent 
and a determination to make the best of life. He 
went through the regular curriculum of the young 



American country youth of the last generation, devel- 
oping a good physi(iue on the farm, where he worked 
summers, attending the district school winters, until 
sufficiently advanced to enter the Brattle (V^t.) Acad- 
emy. From there he went to the Union Academy at 
Meriden, N. H., and completed his preparatory edu- 
cation at the famous seminary at Easthampton, Mass. 

He taught school for a time at (.'hesterllcbl, and 
commenced the study of medicine at Northampton. 
rie attended lectures at Pittsfield and entered the 
office of Dr. Anson Hooker, in Cambridge, as a stu- 
dent, in 1844. He was graduated in medicine frojn 
the Medical Department of Harvard University, and 
joined the Massachusetts Medical Society in 1848. 

In 1855 he married Miss Helen M. Reed, of East 
Cambridge. Four children — two .sons and two daugh- 
ters — have blessed the union. For a number of years 
Dr. Taylor was a partner in busine.-<s relations with 
the late Dr. Ans((n Hooker. Soon after the com- 
mencement of his professional career he was appoint- 
ed physician to tlie House of Correction, which posi- 
tion he held until his death. For many years he was 
a member of the Cambridge School Board. He was 
one of the trustees of the Cambridge Hospital, and 
upon the consulting staff from its organization He 
held various public and res|ionsible positions and was 
active in the promotion of temperance and other pro- 
gressive and retbrmatory society movements. 

Dr. Taylor was most loved by those who knew him 
best; never demonstrative, yet looked upon as a leader 
in his section of the city. He possessed more than a 
fiiir share of physical vigor, which he gave unre- 
servedly to all who demanded his professional care. 
His best was freely oll'ered and most fully appreciated 
at the bedside of the suffering, and his tender sympa- 
thies and loving charities will be treasured in kindly 
remembrance by many hundreds whose only recom- 
pense could be given in gratitude and prayers. 

In his self-sacrificing daily love he cheerfully prac- 
ticed the teaching of the (iolden Rule, and fell at his 
post of duty in a touching, almost tragic way, dying 
on the very couch of the sulTerer at whose bedside he 
was guarding over that most mysterious, almost mirac- 
ulous of nature's processes, the birth of another inde- 
pendent life. 

Anson P. Hooker, M.D., was the son of Dr. Anson 
Hooker, and was born in Cambridge in 1832. He 
graduated at Harvard University in the class of 1851, 
and became a member of the Ma.ssacliusetts Medical 
Society in 1855. He was one of the first of the young 
surgeons to offer his services to (Tovernor A ndrew at the 
breaking out of the Rebellion. He was commissioned 
surgeon of theTwenty-sixth Massachusetts W)lunteer8 
Sept. 10, 1801, and served with honor and distinction 
in the Department of the Gulf, until he was com- 
pelled from disease to resign. He returned home 
June 18, 18t;2. The disease continued and hastened 
his death. He discharged all the trusts imposed 
upon him with rare ability and great fidelity. He 



1V2 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



won the love and respect of all who were associated 
with him by his amiability of disposition. With a 
generous heart and open hand, he succored his com- 
rades in distress. He was a wise and safe counselor and 
a faithful and true friend. His early death in 1873 
caused great sorrow among his friends and neighbors, 
with whom he had spent his whole life, save the time 
he was absent in service. 

Dr. John Kinsley Palmer became a member of the 
Massachusetts Medical Society in 185t). He early 
became identified as a pioneer in the movement to 
secure better advantages for the higher education of 
woman, and after the establishment of the New Eng- 
land F'emale Medical College, of which Mrs. Palmer 
was one of the founders, he accepted the professor- 
ship of Materia Medica, in which branch of medicine 
he was especially an expert. He was an enthusiastic 
teacher and faithfully discharged the duties of this 
office for a number of years. He engaged with the 
late Dr. Henry Thayer, of Cambridge, in the prepa- 
ration of fluid extracts, a branch of business at that 
time comparatively new, and aided in founding the 
large commercial house now so widely known to the 
trade as Henry Thayer & Co. For a number of 
years previous to his death Dr. Palmer was a con- 
firmed invalid, .suffering from gall-stone. He rightly 
diagnosticated his disease and often referred to his 
enemy that he said would take his life — conditions 
which were verified by autopsy. Dr. Palmer exer- 
cised a wide influence for good in the Cambridge 
community, was an active promoter of its public char- 
ities, greatly esteemed and beloved by all who knew 
him. He came in the direct descent, through a long 
line of ancestry, from the first settlers of the Colony, 
and often pointed with pride to his choice collection 
of heirlooms, among which was a complete set of 
well-preserved table service of pewter, comprising a 
hundred and fifty pieces. He was very fond of nat- 
ural history, especially devoting himself to conchol- 
ogy, in which department he was an authority, and his 
private collection was one of the most complete in 
the United States, valued at five thousand dollars. 
He died November 29, 1878, after a long period of 
suft'ering, borne with patient Christian fortitude. 

John I. G. Nichols, M.D., was born in Portland, 
Me., in 1837. M. D. Harvard 185i». Settled in Cam- 
bridge soon after graduating and has remained a very 
busy worker in his profession to the present. He is 
an enthusiastic devotee to the science of medicine 
and is widely sought as a counselor by the medical 
profession. 

Dr. Nichols is a member of the Massachusetts 
Medical Society, Boston Society of Medical Observa- 
tion, Cambridge Medical Improvement Society, of 
which he has been president and vice-president, 
Middlesex South District Medical Society, visiting 
physician to Cambridge Hospital, etc. 

Henry Sylvanus Plympton, M.D., acting assistant 
surgeon U. S. Army, September 29, 1862 ; assistant 



Surgeon U. S. Navy, April 28, 1803; died at Cam- 
bridge, Mass., September 25, 1863, of disease con- 
tracted in the service. 

Henry Sylvanus Plymptom was born March 13, 
1838, in Cambridge, Mass. His parents were Dr. Syl- 
vanus and Mary Bell (Warland) Plympton. His 
early boyhood was spent in Cambridge. After about 
two years in school at Concord, Mass., he returned 
and entered the Lawrence Scientific School with 
which he remained connected as a student for three 
years. He graduated from the Medical School, of 
Harvard University in 1860, and from the College of 
Physicians and Surgeons in New York City in 1861. 
He was then appointed one of the resident physicians 
in Bellevue Hospital, where he remained eighteen 
months as junior, .senior and house physician. 

September 29, 1862, he was appointed acting as- 
sistant surgeon, U. S. Array, and went to De Camp 
General Hospital, David's Island, New York Harbor, 
where he remained until April, 1863. Actuated by 
the feeling that he was not rendering his country as 
efficient service as he might in a more responsible po- 
sition, he presented himself for examination for the 
navy. Having passed the examination very success- 
fully, he was commissioned assistant surgeon In the 
U. S. Navy, April 28, 1863, and went on duty upon 
the receiving ship " North Carolina" (under Capt. R. 
\V. W. Meade, commander), at Brooklyn Navy Yard. 
After a little more than a month he was attacked with 
pneumonia, caused by over-work and exposure while 
attending to his duties, and was soon transferred to 
the Naval Hospital at Brooklyn, where he remained 
as a patient about three weeks. His disease had now 
developed into consumption, and he was brought to 
his home in Cambridge, where he died September 28, 
1863. His remains now lie at Mt. Auburn, in lot No. 
3327. 

Before his death he was united in marriage with 
Frances W. Young, of Bangor, Maine. He was from 
childhood of delicate physical constitution ; was 
amiable in disposition and attractive in personal ap- 
pearance, and was highly esteemed by the members 
of his profession and personal friends. 

William Caldwell Flowers, M.D., was born at Hal- 
ifax, Nova Scotia, on October 16, 1832. Entered the 
Harvard Medical School in 1859; graduated in 1861. 
Eeturned to Halifax and practiced until July, 1863. 
Entered the United States service as acting assistant 
surgeon August 31, 1863, at Lincoln General 
Hospital, Washington, D. C. January 1, 1864, he 
was ordered to Lovell General Hospital, Portsmouth 
CJrove, R. I. On duty in the Department of Texas 
with the Fourth Cavalry from August 20, 1866, to De- 
cember 7, 1866. On January 31, 1^67, he was ordered 
to South Carolina, and served in the Freedmen's Bu- 
reau at Monk's Corner until October 29, 1867. 

Reported for duty at Augusta Arsenal, Augusta, 
Ga., November 2, 1867, where he remained until Oc- 
tober 1, 1873. His resignation from the service was 



CAMBRIDGE. 



173 



accepted October 9, 1873. Commenced practice in 
October, 1873, at Caraliridgeport, Mass., where he hiis 
since resided. He became a member of the Massa- 
chusetts Medical iSociety iu 18(i3, ami is also a mem- 
ber of the Cambridge Aledical Improvement Society. 

Henry P. Walcott, A.M., M.D., was graduated A.B. 
(Harvard) 1858, M D. (Bowdoia) IStil. 

Dr. Walcott has devoted a large part of his profes- 
sional life to the study of Sanitary Science and has 
rendered his city and State most etiicient and valuable 
services. Has been for years health otticer of Cam- 
bridge and a member of the State Board of Health. 
Dr. Walcott has been an active worker in the Ameri- 
can Health .Association, of which he was the president 
in 1888. 

His contributions to Sanitary Science have been 
many and he is justly esteemed one of the most dis- 
tinguished authorities in America in this branch of 
medical knowledge. He is a member of many medi- 
cal societies, both American and Foreign. 

Henry Orlando Marcy, A.M., M.D., LL.D., son of 
Smith and Fanny (Gibbs) Marcy, was born in Otis, 
Ma-^c.-Iune liS, 1837. His ancestry was of Puritan stock 
— paternal (Marcy-Lawton); maternal (Jibbs-Morton 
— dating back to the early settlers of New England. 
His grandfather, Thomas Marcy, was one of the first 
settlers in Northern Ohio. His maternal great-grand- 
father, Israel, and grandfather, Elijah Gibbs, served in 
the Revolutionary War and were with General (iates 
at the surrender of (Tcneral Burgoyne. His father, 
who served in the War of 1812, was a teacher by 
profession. 

Dr. Marcy received his preliminary and cla.ssical 
education at Wilbraham Academy and Amherst Col- 
lege, and was graduated from the Medical Department 
of Harvard University 18i>3. He was commissioned 
assistant surgeon of the 43d Massachusetts Volun- 
unteers in April, 1863, and in the following Novem- 
ber surgeon of the first regiment of colored troops 
recruited in North Carolina. He was appointed 
medical director of Florida in 1SG4, and served on 
the staffs of Generals Van Wyck, Potter and Hatch. 

In the autumn of 1803 Dr. Marcy was married to 
Miss Sarah E. Wendell, of Great Falls, N. H. 

At the close of the war he returned to Cambridge, 
Mass., and entered upon the active practice of his 
profes.sion. 

In the spring of 186'.i he went to Europe for the 
purpose of study and entered the University at Berlin, 
where he remained a year as a special student of Pro- 
fessors Virchow and Martin. He then visited the 
various capitals of Europe and studied the hospitals 
and their service, spending quite a period iu London 
and Edinburgh. He became convinced of the truth 
of Prof Lister's teachings and returned to America to 
adopt, among the first, the now famous, but then (in 
this country) unknown methods of aseptic and anti- 
septic surgery. 

For the purpose of devoting himself more especially 



to the surgical diseases of women. Dr. Marcy re- 
moved to Boston in 1880 and opened iu Cambridge a 
private hospital for women, which is still in successful 
operation. 

He participated actively in the Seventh Interna- 
tional Medical Congress, held in London in 1881, and 
was president of the Gynaecological Section of the 
Ninth Congress, held in Washington in 1887. 

He has contributed largely to surgical literature, 
and is an active worker in the American Medical As- 
sociation, to the vice-presidency of which he was 
elected in 1879. In 1882 he was president of the Sec- 
tion of Obstetrics and Gyuiccology, and for some years 
a member of the Judicial Council of this a.ssociation. 
He is a member of various medical and scientific or- 
ganizations in both Eurnjie and America, and was 
president of the American Academy of Medicine in 
1884. 

The Wesleyan University conferred in 1887 the 
honorary degree of LL.D. upon Dr. Marcy in recogni- 
tion of his skill and literary merit. 

In 1S84 Dr. Rlarcy pulilished in two volume.s the 
translation of the works ol Prof G. B. Ercolani, of 
Bologna, Italy, upon the " Reproductive Processes," 
besides which he has published his own special 
studies of the uterine mucosa during pregnancy. His 
best known publications are, " Pla.itic Splints in Sur- 
gery," Biiiiifm Med. and /S'«C(/. .Inuntnl, June 28, 1877 
(re[>rint) ; "Aspiration of the Knee Joint," Transac- 
tions of American Med. As/to., 1879 (reprint) ; " Frac- 
ture of the Patella," Boston Med. and Surg. Jour., 
187G (re])rint); " Histological Studies of the Develop- 
ment of the Osseous Callous in Man and Animals," 
Aiina/s of Analiimij and Siirgcni, 1881 (reprint) ; Cure 
of Hernia by the Antiseptic Use of the Animal Su- 
ture," Iransadions of the American Med. Asso., 1878 
(reprint 1879) ; " The Best Methods of Operative 
Wound Treatment," The Medical Gazette, N. Y., 1882 
(reprint); "The Comparative Value of Germicides," 
18S0; "The Relations of Jlicro-Organisms to Sanitary 
Science," 1883 ; " Medical Legislation," American Med. 
Asso. .Journal, 1885 (reprint) ; "The Climatic Treat- 
ment of Disease," American Med. Asso. Journal, \SS5 
(reprint); "The Surgical Advantages of the Buried 
Animal Sutuie," The American Med. Asso. Jour., 1888 
(reprint); "The Histological and Surgical Treatment 
of Uterine Myoma," 1882 (reprint 1887) ;" Explora- 
tory Laparotomy," American Med. As>:o. Jour., 1889 ; 
"General Treatise on Hernia," 1889; "The Pe- 
rineum : its Anatomy, Physiology and Methods of 
Restoration after Injury," Trans. American Association 
of Ob.^(elricians and O'ynivcoloyisfs, 1888 ; "The Animal 
Suture : its Place in Surgery," '/Vans. American Asso. 
of Obstetricians and (t'yneccologists, 1889 (reprint) ; 
" The Cure of Hemorrhoids by Excision and Closure 
with the Buried Animal Suture," reprint from Annals 
of Surgery, November, 1889. 

Albert Lane Norris, M.D., was born on the 4th of 
March, 1839, at Epping, N. H. 



174 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Besides the education received in his native town 

he was a student at the Phillips Academy, Exeter, N. 
H., and later lor some time at the Wesleyan Academy 
Wilbraham, Mass. Because of ill health he was 
obliged to relinquish study, and for about four years 
he engaged in Ijusiness. 

He graduated in medicine at Harvard in 1865, and 
at once entered the service of the United States as an 
:i.ssistant surgeon under contract. He was commis- 
sioned assistant surgeon (^ne Hundred and Fourteenth 
Infantry, United Slates Colored Trooi)s, October, 
186(5, and mustered out April 2, 1867. 

Dr. Norris settled in Canabridge in 1867, and early 
entered u])on an extensive practice. 

He visited Europe in 1861) for tlie purposes of 
study, spending .some months in Berlin, Vienna and 
Edinburgh. He has devoted especial attention to ob- 
stetrical studies. 

Among his published articles are: 1, "Diaphrag- 
matic Hernia ;'' 2, " Ectopia Cordis ;" 3, " Trans- 
fuaio Sanguinis;'' 4, "Dystocia with Craniotomy;" 
5, " Pueri)eral Metrilis." Dr. Norris is a member of 
the American Medical As.socialion, Massachusetts 
Medical Society, Boston Society of Medical Observa- 
tion, Gynwcolog'cal Society, Cambridge Medical Im- 
provement Society, Military Order of the Loyal 
Legion, etc. 

Alfred Fairbanks, Holt, M.D., was horn in Lynde- 
boro', Hillsboro' County, New Hampshire, December 
16, 1838. His early life was spent on the home farm, 
attending the schools of his native town a part of each 
year. In 1855 and for the three following years he 
attended the academy at Mt. Vernon, N. H., during 
the fall and spring, teaching school in the winter. 

In the summer of 1857 he commenced the study of 
medicine with the physician of his native town. 

In the winter of 1858-59 he attended a full course 
of lectures at the Harvard Medical School and a part 
of a course in 1850-60. 

In the spring of 1860 he entered Medical School of 
the University of Vermont,where he graduated in June 
of that year. Coming to Cambridge a few weeks 
later, he e8tal)lished himself as a physician, occupying 
an office on Main St. near Norfolk. Here he remained 
until April 16, 1861. On the evening of that date he 
enlisted in a company of volunteers for the war, and 
on the morning of the I7th started with his comrades 
for the seat of war. This company was raised by 
Capt. J. P. Richardson, and Wiis beyond question the 
first company orgiinized especially for the war of the 
great Rebellion of 1861. 

Dr. Holt served with this company for the three 
months for which they were mustered. A part of the 
time, however, he was detailed as hospital steward of 
the Third Regiment Massachusetts Militia, to which 
his company was attached. 

Returned to Cambridge late in July on the expira- 
tion of his term of service, and at once sought- admis- 
sion to the medical corps of the great volunteer army 



then being organized. Passed his examination before 
the medical board, and early in November, 1861, he 
joined what became the Thirtieth Mas-i^achusetts Vol- 
unteers, then being recruited at Lowell. December 
6, 1861, he was mustered as assistant surgeon of that 
regiment. January 2,, 1862, he embarked with his 
regiment for Ship Island, Miss. 

Dr. Holt entered New Orleans with his regiment 
August 2, 1862, after witnessing the great bombard- 
ment, assault and capture of the forts below the city 
by the United States Navy. 

Dr. Holt remained in this department during his 
service. He participated in nearly all the battles and 
campaigns in this extreme part of the South. He 
was complimented in general orders by the depart- 
ment commander for humane bravery in caring for 
the wounded on the field at the battle of Baton Rouge, 
La., Augusts, 1862. 

In December, 1862, Dr. Holt was promoted to sur- 
geon of the First Texas Cavalry, made up of Union 
men who had been driven from their native State on 
account of their Union sentiments. Among these 
men were those who had, before and since the war, 
held high and important positions, both in their State 
and the nation. 

In December, 1863, Dr. Holt left the medical 
department and was made the senior major of his 
regiment. In December, 1864, he was promoted to 
lieutenant-colonel. For the last two years of the 
war, or after he left the medical department, he was 
almost constantly in command of his regiment. He 
was mu.stered out of service with liis command at 
San Antonio, Texas, November 1, 1865, having served 
almost continuously in the field from April 17, 1861. 
He never lost more than a day or two at a time from 
sickness and had only one furlough of a month, and 
that during the winter of 1865, when no active opera- 
tions were going on. He was slightly wounded in a 
cavalry fight near Muryazle, La., in the fall of 1864. 

In the winterof 1S66, Dr. Holt resumed the ])ractice 
of medicine in Cambridge, where he has since resided ; 
joined the Massachusetts Medical Society in 1867; 
appointed medical examiner in 1879, an office he 
still holds ; appointed surgeon-general of Massachu- 
setts in January, 1884 (since reappointed by Gover- 
nors Ames and Brackett) ; appointed pension ex- 
amining surgeon on the Boston Board April, 1889, 
and on the organization of said board was made 
its president; health officer of Cambiidge from 
1880 to June, 1889, when he resigned; degree 
of M.A. conferred by University of Vermont in 
1886; member Slassacliusetts Medical Society, Cam- 
bridge Medical Improvement Society (ex-pre.sident), 
American Public Health Association, American Med- 
ical Association, Medico-Legal Society (vice-presi- 
dent) and Boston Society Medical Observation. 

Edward R. Cogswell, M.D., was born in Maine in 
1841. Graduated at Harvard University in class of 
1804; received his medical degree at Harvard 1867; 



CAMBKIDGE. 



175 



was appointed health officer of Cambridge 1878-79. 
Author of sanitary condition of Cambridge in report 
of Massai-hiisetts State Board of Health, 1878. 

Few citizens have Uiken a deeper interest iu the 
welfare of Cambridge. Dr. Cogswell has served the 
city in various capacities ; at present is a member of 
the Board of Aldermen. 

Dr. Cogswell, in common with many of his cla.ss- 
mates, left college to enli.st in the service of his 
country. He served with distinction with the troops 
enlisted for nine months, in the campaigns of North 
Carolina. 

Augustus Peck Clarke, A.M., M.D., son of the late 
Seth Darling Clarke and Fanny Peck Clarke, was 
born in Pawtucket, Providence County, R. I., Sep 
tember 24, 1833. His father, Seth Darling Clarke, 
was of the eighth generation of Joseph Clarke 
(Joseph', Joseph^, Joseph', Joseph*, Joseph", Icha- 
bod". Edward') and Alice Pepper, who came from 
Suftblk County, England, to Dedham, Mass., prior to 
the year lti40. His mother, Fanny Peck, was of the 
sixth generation of Joseph Peck (Joseph', Nathaniel", 
Nathaniel', David', Joel^), who came in the ship " Dil- 
igence" from Beccles, England, to Hingham, Mass., 
in the year 1638. Dr. Clarke completed his prepara- 
tory course in 'he Grammar School at Providence, R. 
I., and entered Brown University in September, 1856. 
Received the degree of A.M. from that University 
in class of 1860; studied medicine and received the 
degree of M.D. from Harvard University in class of 
1862; entered the army aa assistant surgeon of the 
Sixth New York Cavalry, August, 1861 ; served in 
the Peninsular Campaign, conducted by (Jeneral 
McClellan, and was taken prisoner at the battle of 
Savage Station, Va., June 29, 1862, and wa.i after- 
wards sent to Richmond ; promoted to the rank o( 
surgeon of Sixth New York Cavalry, May 5, 1863. 
At the opening of the campaign made by the Army 
of the Potomac, under the command of General 
Grant, in the spring of 1864, Dr. Clarke was appointed 
surgeon-in chief of the Second Brigade, First Divi- 
sion of the Cavalry Corps, whose daring achievements 
rendered immortal the name of Sheridan. Dr. Clarke 
was chief medical officer of the brigade until the 
closing campaign of 1865, when he was appointed 
surgeon-in-chief of the entire First Division of Cav- 
alry. These labors he also performed until the divi- 
sion was disbanded, July 1, 1865. During his four 
years' service Dr. Clarke particiiiated in upwards of 
eighty-two battles and engagements with the enemy. 
October 4, 1865, he was brevetted lieutenant-colo- 
nel " for gallant and meritorious conduct during his 
term of service." Immediately after the close of his 
military service he removed to Cambridge, Mass.. 
where he soon established a reputation in the prac- 
tice of medicine, in which profession he has since 
continued his labors. Dr. Clarke was married in 
Bristol, R. I., October 23, 1861, to iMary H. Gray, 
daughter of the late (.iideou and Hanuah Orne Gray. 



For 1871-73 Dr. Clarke was elected to the Cam- 
bridge Common Council, and for 1874 to the Board of 
.\idermen. He declined further municipal service. 
He is a member of the Rlassachusetts Medical Society, 
and has been one of its councilors ; is vice-president 
of the Gynaecological (Medical) Society of Boston, 
member of the American .\cademy of Medicine and 
of the American .Vssociation of < (bstetricians and 
(iynifcologists, and of the American Public Health 
Association. He is a member of the American Medi- 
cal .\ssociation and of the British Medical Association. 
He was one of the founders of the Cambridge Medical 
Society and was its secretary .several years; also mem- 
ber of the Ninth International Medical Congress at 
Washington. He is a prominent member of the 
Cambridge Club, and is president of the Cambridge 
Art Circle. He is a member of the G. A. R. and of 
the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United 
States. He has been a frei|uent contributor of arti- 
cles to the public press and to different medical 
societies ai;d journals. The following are the titles 
of some of the papers Dr. Clarke has contributed: 
■'Cases of Tracheotomy," Bosfon Medical <iiid Surgical 
Journal, 1868; "Series of Histories of Wounds and 
Other Injuries," "Medical and Surgical History of 
the War of the Rebellion," 1865; "Cases of Puer- 
peral Peritonitis," 1868; "Inguinal Hernia," 1870; 
"Perforating Ulcer of the Duodenum," Boston Medi- 
cal and Sitri/ical Journal, 1881 ; " Removal of Intra- 
Uteriue Fibroids," Jbid., 1882 ; " Cerebral Erysipe- 
las," Jbid, 1883; "Hemiplegia," Journal American 
Medical Association, 1884; " Uterine Displacements," 
Ibid., 1884; "Obstinate Vomiting of Pregnancy," 
Ibid., 1885 ; " Va.scular Growths of the Female Meatus 
Urinarius," J/<'f//(''(//')T«s a«(/ ('ircnlar, London, Eng- 
land, 1887, and Transactions of the Xinth International 
MedicalCongress, 1887 ; " Pathogenic Organ isms," Jour- 
nal of American Afedical Association, 1883 ; " Rabies and 
Hydrophobia," Ibid., 1883; "Fracture of the Cervical 
Vertebnc," Ibid., 1884 ; " Induced Premature Labor," 
Ihid., 1885; "Renal (!alculi," Ibid., 1885; "Pelvic 
Cellulitis," Ibid., 188(>; "Early and Repeated Tap- 
ping in Ascites," Ibid., 1886; "Abortion for Uncon- 
trollable Vomiting of Pregnancy," Ibid., 1888; " Ante- 
partum Huur-Glass Constriction of the Uterus," Ibid., 
188*; "Chronic Cystitis in the Female," .iincrican 
.fouru'd of Obstetrics, 1889; "Treatment of Certain 
Cases of Salpingitis," Transactions of the .\mcricati 
Association of Obstetricians and Gymrcologists, 1888; 
"Management of the Perineum During La,hot," Ibid., 
1889; " Rapid Dilatation of the Cervix Uteri," Trans- 
actions of the (iymccological Society, Boston, Vol. I, 
1889; " Faradism in the Practice of Gyniccology," 
Ibid., 1889; "The Treatment of Placenta Pncvia," 
1890; "On the Importance of Early Recognition of 
Pyosalpinx as a Cause of Suppurative Pelvic Intlam- 
mation," 1890. 

Edmund H. Stevens, born at Stansted, Canada, 
January 2, 1846, father and mother being from 



176 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



New Hampshire ; entered college at sixteen ; left 
college at end of second year, and began the study of 
medicine at the Harvard Medical School. After tak- 
ing one course of lectures, entered the IJ. 8. Navy 
in April, 18H4, its a medical cadet ; was wounded at 
the battle of Mobile August 5, 1864 ; was discharged 
from the navy in December, 1864 ; after a second 
course of lectures, entered U. S. Navy as a contract 
surgeon March, 1865 ; served three months in Vir- 
ginia. Graduated in medicine from Harvard Medical 
School in 1867; from April 1, 1867, to April 1, 1871, 
was health officer on quarantine, Boston ; settled 
in Cambridge April 1, 1S71 ; was married to Melissa 
E. Paine, May, 1869; member Massachusetts Medi- 
cal Society ; member Boston Society for Medical 
Observation ; member Cambridge Society for Medi- 
cal Improvement ; member Cambridge School Board 
from 1876 to 1882; visiting physician Cambridge 
Hospital. 

James Arthur Dow, born in Bath, N. H., December 
18, 1844; educated at Newbury (Vermont) Seminary, 
and at the University of Vermont Medical College ; 
graduating in June, 1867; practiced in Windsor, Vt, 
until 1870, then located in Cambridge ; is a Fellow of 
the Massachusetts Medical Society ; member of the 
Cambridge Medical Society ; has been for three years 
visiting physician at the Cambridge Hospital. 

Edward S. Wood, M.D., graduated at Harvard 
College in 1867, and at the Harvard Medical School 
in 1871. Pel. Am. Acad. Arts and Sci. ; Mem. Am. 
Pub, Health Assoc. ; Mass. Med. -Leg. Soc. ; Bos. 
Soc. Med. Observ. ; Bos. Soc. Med. Sci. ; Bos. Soc. 
Med. Iniprov.; Mem. Revision Com. U. S. Pharmacop., 
1880; Professor Chem. Harv. Univ. ; Chem. Mass. 
(ien. Hosp. ; editor (with Dr. R. Amory) of " Whar- 
ton & Stille's Medical Jurisprudence, Volume on 
Poisons," 4th ed. ; author, "Illuminating Gas in its 
Relation to Health," Hep. and Papers Am. Pub. 
Health Assoc, iii ; Trans., " Poisoning by the Heavy 
Metals and their Salts, including Arsenic and Phos- 
phorus," Ziem.iseii's Cijclo}). xviii ; Contrib.,, " The 
Relation which Chemistry bears to Forensic Medi- 
cine," Trans. Mass. Med. -Leg. Soc. 1. 

Frederick W. Taylor, M.D., was born in Cambridge, 
June 22, 1856 ; graduated from Harvard University, 
in the class of 1878 ; received his medical degree from 
the Medical Department of Harvard College in 1882; 
was house pupil Massachusetts General Hospital, 
1881-82; student of medicine in Germany, 1882-83, 
since which time he has been in the practice of med- 
icine in North Cambridge ; is a member of the Mas- 
sachusetts Medical Society, Cambridge Medical Im- 
provement Society, and is one of the physicians to 
the Cambridge Hospital. 

A biographical sketch of each member of the medi- 
cal profession to the present would be of much inter- 
est and value ; but the limit of this article prevents 
the completion of a subject left to some future historian. 

The editor deei)ly regrets the necessary omission 



of an outline, at least, of the lives of some of the mem- 
bers of the profession, both past and present, who 
have been and are men eminent in letters and science. 



CHAPTER X. 



CAMBRIDGE— ( Continued). 



MILITARY. 
BY COL. WILLIAM A. BANCROFT. 

'* On yondor bill the lion fell. 

But heie was chipped the eagle'a ebell." — Holmet. 

As the headquarters of Washington, and as the 
camp of a large portion of the American army dur- 
ing the siege of Boston, Cambridge possesses more 
than a local prominence in the military history of the 
country; but if the stirring scenes of 1775-76 which 
were enacted within her borders shall be deemed as 
to her mere chance events, still as the town which, 
out of her small population, furnished 450 men for 
the War of the Revolution, and as the city which 
sent the first company of citizen volunteers raised to 
support the national government at the outbreak of 
the War of the Rebellion, and followed them with an 
enrollment of men e(|ualiDg one-sixth of her entire 
population, there can be no doubt of the patriotic 
military spirit of her citizens. 

: While there were exempt from active participation 
in the training and service of the militia the leading 
magistrates and clergy, and while old age and iutirni- 
ity furnished grounds for excusing others, yet, sub- 
stantially, every male person of arms-bearing age, in 
the little groups of people which formed the early 
settlements of the colony, was required to perform ac- 
tive service in the militia. 

At first, as military commanders, the leading spir- 
its selected one or two men in each plantation — men 
usually who had either seen actual service in war in 
the old country or had acquired some knowledge and 
experience in military matters by serving with regu- 
lar troops. Plymouth had the doughty Myles Stand- 
ish and Cambridge had Daniel Patrick. Later, as 
the population increased, and something like a mili- 
tary organization was effected, when companies were 
formed into regiments, and regiments which were 
composed of the militia of u given number of settle- 
ments became a part of a larger body, more officers 
were required, and the method of selection by elec- 
tion, applied to every other office, was resorted to. 
This method has been followed ever since, and is en- 
grafted in the Constitution of the Commonwealth, 
although some have thought that the principle of the 
original selection was the better. But, be that as it 
may, a plentiful supply of officers was made. In 
Cambridge alone, from the first settlement to the 



CAMBRIDGE. 



177 



Revolution —from Captain Patrick to Major-General 
Brattle — the number of military titles bestowed was 
not small. In fact, it is not improbable that they ex- 
ceeded in frequency those met with at the present 
day in some of the Southern and Western States. 

Some one has said that the four corner-stones upon 
which the structure of New England society was 
built were the church, the public school, the town- 
meeting and the militia. For generations, certainly, 
in the old colony days, these institutions existed side 
by side, and the influences which they have exerted 
and still exert are potent. Although the militia in 
time became necessarily, under the changed condi- 
tions of the country, comparatively unimportant, 
and, as originally constituted and made use of, long 
ago ceased to exist, leaving but a form of language 
upon the statute-book, still, as the first of the succes- 
sive stages through which our "force of last resort" 
has passed, it will be interesting as a part of the fol- 
lowing sketch to get some glimpses of the institution 
as it existed in Cambridge. 

It is said that Daniel Patrick, the first Cambridge 
captain, was induced by Winthrop and his companions 
to leave Holland, where he served as a common soldier 
in the sovereign's guard, to accompany them in their 
venture, and to become for them a military adviser 
and commander. Rapid promotion it must have 
seemed to Private Patrick to rise from the ranks at 
one step to the position of commander of the forces, 
although in a somewhat less numerous and well- 
appointed array than that of Holland. Judging 
from his name, Holland was not the birth-place of 
this early Cantabrigian man of war, but this circum- 
stance should not detract at all from his military 
prowess, if, as is probable, he was one of that race 
whose exploits in the armies both of Europe and of 
America have proved it to be, on many a hard-fought 
field, and with many a deed of desperate valor, pre- 
eminently a race of soldiers. Cap'ain Patrick came 
to Cambridge, probably from Watertown, in 1632, 
although it may have been earlier, for he was in 
Charlestown in 1630, where it is probable that he 
was, in whole or in part, su{)i)orted at the public ex- 
pense, that he might the better devote his energies to 
the purpose for which he had migrated from Europe. 
During his residence in Cambridge he received from 
the authorities a grant of land, which has perpetuated 
to the present day his title, if not his name. What 
Cambridge lad, or Harvard student of aquatic bent, 
but knows of that gras-sy, pine-capped knoll on the 
bank of the Charles River just south of the foot of 
Magazine Street, whose surrounding marsh at the 
highest tides is still completely covered with water, 
leaving it the " Captain's Island," as it is, and as it 
has been, called for over two and a half centuries? 
What more enduring memorial could have been 
given him ? 

In the Pequot War Cambridge is said to have fur- 
nished twelve soldiers, presumedly under Patrick's 
12 



leadership, but it is also recorded that in this expedi- 
tion he had command of forty men. His military 
talents, no doubt, led the commander in-chief to con- 
solidate the Cambridge troops with those from other 
plantations, and place the whole, who, ge'igraphically 
at least, must have corresponded to a regiment, under 
Patrick as regimental commander. He continued to 
reside in Cambridge in the pursuit of his chosen pro- 
fession until November, 1037, when he removed to 
Ipswich. Afterwards he went to Stamford, Connec- 
ticut, where, in 1643, renewing, as it were, his earlier 
associations, he met his death at the hands of a 
Dutchman. 

When the regimental organizations were perfected 
in 1630 Cambridge, besides its company oHicers, fur- 
nished the lieutenant- colonel of the regiment to which 
it was assigned in the ])erson of Thomas Dudley, who 
had already been Governor, and who was afterwards 
elected major-general of all the militia. Later, either 
in the same or in another regiment, Cambridge fur- 
nished a colonel, John Haynes, who also had been 
Governor, and who was afterwards Governor of Con- 
necticut, aud a lieutenant-colonel, Roger Harlaken- 
den. Among the earlier officers was George Cooke, 
chosen a captain of Cambridge militia about 1637, who 
was, perhaps, an original member of the Ancient and 
Honorable Artillery Company, and who certainly 
was its captain in 1643. Cooke returned to England 
in 1645, where he fought under Cromwell in the 
Commonwealth's army, became a colonel aud finally 
lost his life in one of the battles in Ireland. When 
he was a Cambridge captain he had as his ensign one 
Samuel Shepard. The latter went to England with 
his captain, became a major, very likely in Cooke's 
regiment, and, like Cooke, saw service in Ireland, 
where it is probable that he too departed this life, 
though not in battle. Cromwell's campaigns in Ire- 
land were arduous and full of hardship. Did the 
exigencies of their service permit, it is easy to think 
of these two soldiers, ere they were separated by death, 
turning back in memory and in conversation to the 
little hamlet on the banks of the peaceful Charles, 
where, as militia officers, thoy had trained together 
and uncousciously had prepared themselves for the 
sternest duties of military life. 

Without much doubt the successor of George 
Cooke as captain of the Cambridge company, or 
train band, was Daniel Gookin, who came to be a 
person of considerable importance in the colony. 
In accordance with the custonj of the time, althouo-h 
he received high military promotion, he retained, 
probably as a kind of honorary captain, the position 
of commander of the Cambridge company for forty 
years. By the General Court he was chosen. May 5, 
1676, sergeant-major of the Middlesex regiment, a 
position which has no exact counterpart in a nuxlern 
military organization, but appears to have been that 
of a field officer with executive powers, subordinate, 
no doubt, to those of a regimental commander. Be- 



178 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



fore this appointment, however, Captain Gooliin had 
performed the duties of this office, and in " King 
Phillip's War" he appears to have been in command 
of all the Middlesex County militia, and to have 
issued orders in accordance therewith. His instruc- 
tions to Captain Joseph Sdl, also a Cambridge man, 
to put himself in command of the men from Charles- 
town, Watertown and Cambridge, are characteristic of 
the man and of the time. They close as follows: 
"80; desiring the ever-living God to accompany you 
and your company with his gracious conduct and 
presence, and that he will for Christ's sake appear in 
all the mounts of difficulty, and cover all your 
heads in the day of battle, and deliver the bloodr 
thirsty and cruel enemy of God and his people into 
your hands, and make yeu executioners of his just 
indignation upon them, and return you victorious 
unto us, I commit you and your company unto God, 
and remain your very loving friend, Daniel Gookin, 
Senior.'' 

It was in the spring of this year (1G76), right in the 
midst of their planting season, that the danger from 
the Indians became so imminent that the authorities 
began to build a stockade around the more thickiy- 
settled portion of the town. As it was a military 
measure, the militia offirers were necessarily con- 
cerned, and they, with the selectmen, were empowered 
to direct the constri\ction of the defences. Before 
the completion of the stockade the danger subsided, 
and much of the timber which had been got out was 
used in the repair of the bridge to Boston, or the 
" Great Bridge," as it was then called, which crossed 
the Charles at the foot of the present Boylston 
Street, where now is the North Harvard Sti'eet Bridge, 
of Brighton. 

Five years after he was chosen sergeant-major, at the 
general election held May 11, 1681. Gookin was elected 
major-general of ail the militia of the colony, and this 
office he kept until he was seventy-four years of age, 
or as long as the colony charter lasted. General 
Gookin was a man of much force of character, and 
this, togetlier with his prominence in the affairs of the 
colony (he held civil office for quite as many years as 
he did military), no doubt attracted the attention of 
Oliver Cromwell, who selected him to assist in the 
promotion of a scheme for colonizing Jamaica with 
people from New England. Gookin was a .selectman, 
a representative to the General Court, in which, dur- 
ing one year of his service, he was Speaker of the 
House, and held the office of Assistant, correspond- 
ing to that of Councilor, from 1652 to 1686, with the 
exception of the year 1676. Of strong convictions 
was this Daniel Gookin, and to them, no doubt, he 
owed his defeat for office in that year, for, having be- 
friended the Praying Indians, the feeling against him 
became so great, that his election was thereby pre- 
ventel. Of stern, soldierly qualities, this Cambridge 
militia officer was uncompromising also in religious 
matters, and, although an assistant of John Eliot in 



the conversion of the Indians, when the Quakers 
proposed to follow their peculiar doctrines in the 
colony, they found little consideration at his hands. 
He made two visits to England, and upon his last re- 
turn to the colony, brought with him to Cambridge 
the two regicides. Generals Goffeand Whalley. For 
this he was denounced by the royalists in the colony, 
but during the differences which followed the ascen- 
sion of Charles II. to the throne, he stood stoutly for 
the chartered right of the colonists. Verily, in those 
days they made militia officers out of the right 
stuff ! 

Up to the time of the abrogation of the colony 
charter, military service was required of substan- 
tially all able-bodied males of sixteen years of age and 
upwards. Occasionally, upon application to the 
Court, individuals were exempted from service as 
private soldiers, chiefly on account of their advanced 
age ; but those who held commissions as officers 
evinced no disposition to retire for any such reason. 
On the contrary, there are many instances of service 
among officers at an advanced age. One is that of 
Samuel Green, of whom it was said in an obituary 
that " this Captain Green was a commission officer of 
the military company of Cambridge, who chose him 
for above sixty years together ; and he died there 
January 1, 1701-2, se. 87, highly esteemed and be- 
loved both for piety and a martial genius. He took 
such great delight in the military exercise, that the 
arrival of their training-days would always raise his 
joy and spirit ; and when he was grown so aged that 
he could not walk, he would be carried out in his 
chair into the field, to view and order his company." 

Was the saying, " Few die and none resign," cur- 
rent then, as now? 

In the forces raised in the first half of the IStli 
century to operate against the French and Indians, 
Cambridge was represented by both officers and men. 
Among the former was John Leverett, afterwards 
president of Harvard C^dlege, and there also appear 
the names of Captain Samuel Gookin, son, and Lieu- 
tenant Samuel Gookin, grandson of General Daniel 
Gookin. The former was High Sheriff, or "Marshal- 
General " of the colony, and, after the abolition of 
this office, was High Sheriff of Suflblk and afterwards 
of Middlesex. His son, at the age of nineteen, he 
appointed a deputy ; and this office the lieutenant re- 
tained for sixty-four years. Surely, if there was a 
spoils system then, this official was spared. 

In the expedition against Port Royal (1710), Ed- 
mund Goffe, a lieutenant-colonel, was the Cambridge 
officer of the highest rank. It appears that he was af- 
terwards commissioned "Colonel of all the forces in 
the western frontiers of Middlesex and Essex, to- 
gether with the town of Brookfield." He, too, was 
High Sheriff of Middlesex. 

Another Cambridge captain was Ammi Kuhamah 
Cutter. He graduated from Harvard College in 172-'), 
entered the ministry, and was ordained at North Yar- 



CAMBRIDGE. 



no 



mouth, but five years later he was dismissed from his 
charge on account of his Arminian tendencies. He 
then aiiopted the profession of a physician, which he 
followed for a number of years. He was, no doubti 
a«i active member of the militia in Cambridge. After 
several years in the service of the country, he appears 
among the forces before Louisbourg, with the rank of 
captain, and while engaged there he died. 

During the French and Indian War Cambridge w.is 
well represented in the army, although by no officer 
of high rank, sending altogether several companies of 
soldiers. On one occasion, towards the close of the 
war, a Cambridge officer, Captain William Angier, 
showed himself equal to an emergency which threat- 
ened serious disaster. The regiment to which his 
company belonged formed the garrison of Fort Cum- 
berland, in Nova Scotia. Before they were relieved 
by other troops, the regiment's term of service expired, 
and it became evident that the enlisted men were 
preparing to abandon the fort and to return home. 
Had this desertion been accomplished the fort, no 
doubt, would have fallen into the hands of the enemy. 
To avert such a consequence, the commanding officer 
gave orders to disarm the men. This order was to be 
executed by the company commanders, and the first 
company to be paraded for the purpose was Captain 
Angier's. The first man, upon the captain's order, 
handed over his piece, but the second not only refused 
to obey the order, but, when Captain Angier seized 
the piece to disarm the man, the latter resisted vigor- 
ously, and several other men leveled their pieces at 
the captain's head. It was a critical moment, but, 
without hesitation. Captain Angier drew his sword 
and made a pass at the mutineer, with I'uch effect that 
his fingers were cut, and the captain was able to wrest 
the piece from him. Overawed by Angier's behavior, 
the other men quietly surrendered their pieces, and 
the crisis was passed. This was not the end of the 
affair, however, and the captain became exposed to 
still further risk as the result of this performance of 
duty. What followed suggests, also, something in 
the nature of a precedent for the recent alleged 
bestowal of pensions by the United States authorities 
upon deserters. When the troops returned to their 
homes, Jackson, the man whose fingers had been cut, 
brought suit against Captain Angier for his injuries, 
and obtained a verdict of six pounds and costs, 
amounting altogether to fifteen pounds, and this sum 
the captain was obliged to pay. This was, indeed, 
subordinating the military to the civil authority, but 
the jirinciple is a familiar one, and, as was right, upon 
Captain Angier's petition to the General Court, he 
was reimbursed out of the public treasury for his 
pecuniary loss, and thus was reconciled military dis- 
cipline, the regard for law, and the piiblic spirit of the 
community. Such was the custom of our ancestors! 
About lialf a century after this another Jackson, and 
he, too, a soldier, was a party in a legal proceeding 
not unlike the above. The later Jackson's name was 



Andrew, but he was the defendant. While in com- 
mand at New Orleans, General Jackson set at nought 
the authority of a certain judge, who, upon the cessa- 
tion of hostilities, had the general brought before him 
on process, and fined him for contempt. The Con- 
gress afterwards voted the old hero the amount of the 
fins. 

One of the military organizations which flourished 
in the eighteenth century, nearly up to the time of the 
Revolution, and many of whose members were Cam- 
bridge men, was a troop of horse. Like most mounted 
militia companies the character of its membership 
appears to have been above the average of that of foot 
companies, and, by special privilege, its ofiicers had the 
constructive rank of colonel, lieutenant-colonel and 
major, although in reality its captain, lieutenant and 
ensign. This privilege of holding constructive rank was 
possessed by the officers of the present First Corps of 
Cadets of Boston until 1874, and to them it was doubt- 
less given when that organization was contemporary 
with this troop of horse. The higher social standing of 
the members of these organizations was, no doubt, 
satisfied by this elevation in the i-ank of their officers, 
who were usually men upon whom the rank was 
worthily bestowed. Among the Cambridge com- 
manders of the troop of horse were, probably, Colonel 
John Vassall, the elder, and certainly Colonel Spen- 
cer Phips. Major John Vassall, son of Colonel Vas- 
sall, was also an oflrcer in this corps. It was Colonel 
Vassall who- built the historic mansion which, after 
it was abandoned by its royalist owner, was occupied 
by Washington as- headquarters, and in the present 
century became the home of the poet Longfellow. 

Among the Cambridge militia officers who figured 
in the decades just prior to the War of the Kevolu- 
tion was William Brattle. In what capacity he first 
did military service it is uncertain, but in 1729, when 
but twenty-two years of age, he held the rank of 
major, and in 1733 was the captain of the Ancient 
and Honorable Artillery Company. By the year 1739 
he had risen to the rank of colonel, held the position 
of adjutant-general in 1758, was a brigadier-general 
in 17G0, and became mnjor-geueralofall the Province 
mil.tia in 1771. Although holding military rank 
during a period when the country was engaged in 
actual hostilities, his military activides were confined 
to the raising of troops and the administration of 
military affairs in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. 
But active he must have been, for he followed succes- 
sively the professions of medicine, theology and law, 
holding meanwhile, besides his military offices, the 
civil oflices of justice of the peace ; selectman, alto- 
gether twenty-one years, from 1729 to 1772 ; repre- 
sentative ten years; councilor from 1755 to 1773, 
with the exception of 1700, and Attorney-General in 
1731) and in 1747. In politics his advocacy of the 
popular cause, it is surmised, lost him his scat as a 
councilor in 1709, wlien be was negatived by tlie 
Royal Governor ; but be that as it may, he became an 



180 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESKX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



ardent royalist, was allowed the next year to resume 
hia seat in the Council, and as a further reward, no 
doubt, received his commission as major-general. 

To his political about-face, however. General Brat- 
tle owed the loss of his residence in Cambridge and in 
the country ; for the time was approaching when the 
dwellers upon "Tory Row" would no longer find 
congenial society on the Cambridge side of the 
Charles, outside of their own circle; when they must 
either espouse the popular side, or, bidding adieu to 
their delightful farms and gardens, leave them to be 
confiscated by their late fellow-townsmen, and seek 
protection for themselves from the British forces now 
landed in Boston. The latter course Brattle took, and 
when the British evacuated Boston, in the spring of 
1776, he went with them to Halifax and there, in the 
fall of the year, he died. 

Cambridge was soon to be an armed camp. But 
first her baptism of blood. The month of April, 1775, 
had come, and on Cambridge soil it was that the 
British troops who occupied Boston first set foot with 
a hostile purpose. Landing at Lechmere's Point (now 
East Cambridge) on the night of the 18th of April, 
they began their march towards Lexington and Con- 
cord. But Cambridge was prepared. The old Tory 
militia officers had given way to patriots. Captain 
Thomas Gardner, who succeeded General Brattle as 
the commander of the Cambridge militia company, 
had been elected colonel of the First Middlesex Reg- 
iment and* his lieutenant, Samuel Thatcher, had 
succeeded him as captain. Although not apprised of 
the British movement until after the landing was ef- 
fected and the regulars had left the borders of the 
town, for Revere, who gave the alarm, passed »ut into 
the country on the other flank of the British, whose 
advance must have been undiscovered by the imme- 
diate neighborhood through which they marched 
until they were well within the limits of the present 
town cf Arlington— Captain Thatcher assembled his 
company early on the morning of the 19th, when the 
alarm reached him, and led them to the conflict. 
During the day they marched twenty-eight miles, and, 
together with the Jlenotomy minute-men, a company 
formed in the northwest part of the town, under Cap- 
tain Benjamin Locke, were actively engaged with the 
enemy, whom they doubtless intercepted on their re- 
turn. The brigade under Lord Percy, sent by Gage 
after urgent calls to reinforce the column led by 
Colonel Smith, passed through Cambridge about the 
middle of the day, having come out of Boston by way 
of the Neck and having entered Cambridge by passing 
over the "Great Bridge," whose planks, in anticipation 
of Percy's approach, had been taken up, but, with a 
foresight that was hardly calculated to accomplish the 
immediate purpose of their removal, had been care- 
fully piled near by, so that they were readily replaced. 
Although the events of this day have been dignified 
by the name of a battle, in strictnt ss they were hardly 
such. The march out both by Smith and Percy was 



made without opposition, unless the conduct of the 
minute-men on Lexington Common can be so termed 
— conduct which our patriotism says was heroic, and 
the result of which contributed to intensify the 
hatred against King George, but which a profes* 
sional soldier would, under the circumstances, regard 
as akin to recklessness and of no avail as a military 
proceeding. The return, to be sure, was an entirely 
different affair, but in no sense a battle. It was still 
a march, made certainly under the most harassing 
conditions, and indeed most perilous to the royal 
troops, but still the column moved on until its objec- 
tive-point was reached. Nowhere except on Lexing- 
ton Common and at Concord bridge did opposing 
forces face each other in anything like a battle order. 
In the first instance the groups of patriots melted 
away so quickly that the British have always been 
charged with wanton slaughter, and if Major Pitcairn, 
who insisted to the day of his death that the Ameri- 
cans fired first, was right, this was not a battle. In 
the second instance, it was but a detachment of the 
King's troops whom the men of Middlesex faced, and 
hardly more than one volley on either side was fired 
when the detachment was withdrawn. But bloodshed 
there was and plenty of it before the exhausted troops 
of the King dropped panting to the ground under 
cover of the guns of the vessels lying in the Charles. 
The whole country was aroused. Men marched on the 
alarm from towns thirty miles distant, but there was 
no concert of action on the part of the Americans. 
By reason of this fact, and of the admirable order of 
march adopted by Smith, his troops were able to 
reach, not without severe loss, the point ju-t east of 
Lexington village where he found Lord Percy with 
the reinforcements. When the consolidated column 
took up its march, it was through one continuoui 
ambuscade of individual foes. Considering the num- 
ber of men who claim to have opposed the march of 
the King's forces on that day, and that the number 
was large there can be no doubt, much credit ought to 
be given to the King's officers for the manner in 
which the troops were handled. The circunistancta 
were to them of the most trying description. Ex- 
hausted, as many of them were, by loss of sleep, by 
their long march, by the heat of the day, through lack 
of provisions (a supply train had been captured by 
the old men of Menotomy), and above all by the con- 
stant fighting, the task of getting back to Cbarlestown 
Neck must have seemed to them well-nigh hopeless. 
The resolution of the officers must indeed have been 
high, and the discipline of the men that of thebtsf, to 
have accomplished what they did. Private soldiers, 
in some instances committed deeds in their nature 
barbarous, but, driven to desperation by the terrible 
fire of their hidden foes, it cannot be said that the 
conduct of the regulars, under the circumstances, was 
unusually atrocious. But for the unfortunate affair 
in the morning on Lexington Common, where it is 
proliable that there was a needless destruction of liii- 



CAMBRIDGE. 



181 



man life, it cau safely be said, in the light of history, 
that the behavior of her troops on that day detracted 
uothing from Britaiu's martial glory. 

Hotter and hotter became the fire and more numer- 
ous the assailants as the bleeding column entered the 
territory of Cambridge, whose was the melancholy 
satisfaction of having more men killed upon her soil 
than did any other town. The loss of the Provincials 
in killed on that day is said to have been altogether 
forty-nine. Of the British fully seventv-three were 
killed. 

Of these numbers twenty-six Americans and nearly 
twice as many British soldiers fell within the town lines 
of Cambridge, so that of those who met their death 
more than half on each side were here slain. Among 
them weresix Cambridge men — William Marcy, Moses 
Richardson, John Hicks, Jason Russell, Jabez Wyman 
and Jason Winship. A remarkable experience on that 
day was that of Captain Samuel Whittemore, another 
inhabitant of Cambridge in that part called Menotomy. 
It may be gathered from his obituary published in the 
Columbian Sentinel: " Died at Slenotomy the 2d instant 
(February, 1793), Capt. Samuel Whittemore, Aet. 99. 
The manly and moral virtues in all the varied rela- 
tions of brother, husband, father and friend, were in- 
variably exhibited in this gentleman. He was not 
more remarkable for his longevity and his numerous 
descendants (his progeny being ISo, one of which is 
the fifth generation) than for his patriotism. When 
the British troops marched to Lexington he was 
81 years of age, and one of the first on the parade; 
he was armed with a gun and horse-pistol. After an 
animated exhortation to the collected militia to the 
exercise of bravery and courage, he exclaimed, — ' If I 
can only be the instrument of killing one of my coun- 
try's foes, I shall die in peace.' The prayer of this 
venerable old man was heard, for on the return of 
the troops he lay behind a stone wall, and, discharg- 
ing his gun, a soldier immediately fell ; he then dis- 
charged his pistol and killed another, at which in- 
stant a bullet struck his face and shot away part of 
his cheek-bone, on which a number of the soldiers 
ran up to the wall and gorged their malice on his 
wounded head. They were heard to exclaim, — ' We 
have killed the old rebel.' About four hours after 
he was found in a mangled situation ; his head was 
covered with blood from the wounds of the bayonets 
— which were six or eight — but providentially none 
penetrated so far as to destroy him. His hat and 
clothes were shot through in many places ; yet he 
survived to see the complete overthrow of his ene- 
mies, and his country enjoy all the blessings of peace 
and independence. His funeral will be to-morrow at 
4 o'clock P.M., from his house at Jlenotoray, which 
his relations and friends are requested to attend." A 
pretty good record for a militia captain! A memo- 
rial stone by the wayside in Arlington tells briefly the 
story of his heroism and of his marvelous escape from 
death, tieth Russell and Samuel Frost, of Menotomy, 



were taken prisoners on that day, and were held until 
June 6th, when an exchange Wiis eflfected. 

By as much as the British troops fought their way 
pluckily and even savagely down the old Cambridge 
road to Chariestown, by so much the more did the 
spirit and valor of the men of Cambridge and their 
felloiv-countrymen shine forth. Undisturbed as had 
been their outward march through Cambridge town, it 
was left by the British on their retreat, for such had the 
movement now become, after buffering their heavi- 
est loss and with their ranks practically disorgan- 
ized. The red-coats had not much further to go, 
and fortunate for them it was. Bloody ground was 
Cambridge on that day of fighting — a solitary day 
in her 200 years of existence. Hospitals were es- 
tablished, and their number was increased two 
months later after the carnage on Bunker Hill. 
Excitement and alarm filled the town into which 
there soon poured companies of minute men and 
individual soldiers in response to the circulars 
which were sent out by the Ma'^^sachusetts Commit- 
tee of Safety, one addressed to the towns, and dated 
April 20th, urging them "to hasten and encourage, by 
all possible means, the enlistment of men to form 
an army," and another, dated April 26th, addressed to 
the other New England Colonies, asking for as many 
troops as they could spare for the assistance of 
Massachusetts. Many of the inhabitants left their 
homes, and by April 22d the volunteeis from out of 
town had become so numerous and apparently so 
free with what they could lay hands upon, that it 
became necessary to issue a general order threaten- 
ing punishment to any soldier who should injure 
property. On the 26th of April the regiments at 
Waltham and Watertown were ordered to march to 
Cambridge, where General Israel Putnam — "' Old Put '' 
— had command. 

The Provincial Congress, which was sitting at Con- 
cord, had re^olved that it was necessary to raise an 
army of 30,000 men, and that Massachusetts should 
raise, of this number, 16,500 men. In the plan for its 
organization, fifty-nine men were to form a company, 
and ten companies a regiment. Artemas Ward was 
appointed commander-in-chief, and at once estab- 
lished his headquarters at Cambridge, in a house be- 
longing to one Jonathan Hastings, afterwards better 
known as the Holmes House, which stood, until a few 
years ago, near the site of the present Hemenway 
Gymnasium of Harvard University. Many of the 
soldiers were quartered in the buildings of the Col- 
lege, whose library, apparatus and other valuables 
it was resolved should be moved to Andover, from 
which place a part was afterwards removed to Con- 
cord, where instruction was given. Other troops were 
quartered in private houses. The Committee of 
Safety occupied the Borland House, now known as 
the Plympton House, between Harvard and Mount 
Auburn Streets, near Plympton. 

Not much was done at first towards the organiza- 



182 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUMTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



tion of the army. Acting independently, although 
with a common purpo.se, the Colonies found it diffi- 
cult to establish subordination, and, until after Wash- 
ington took command, the troops that occupied Cam- 
bridge were governed largely by their respective Co- 
lonial authorities, although, by courtesy, observing 
the orders of General Ward. 

There were soon in Cambridge fifteen Massachu- 
setts regiments of foot and a battalion of artillery, but 
partially organized, under Colonel Gridley. Of the 
Connecticut troops, General Putnam's regiment was 
quartered along the present Inman Street, where the 
general had his headquarters. Little's regiment was 
at West Cambridge. Other troops were at a breast- 
work which had been thrown up near the base of 
Prospect Hill, and a strong detachment was stationed 
at Lechmere's Point. The Common was used as a 
drill-ground by the troops who were quartered in the 
College buildings and near by. 

The American leaders were not unanimous as to 
the plan of action, a?id particularly as to the advisa- 
bility of occupying advanced positions which com- 
manded the town of Boston, where the British had 
remained since the 19th of April. Finally, however, 
it was determined to take possession of Bunker Hill 
and Dorchester Heights, but not until the army 
should be belter organized and equipped. Soon after 
this determination was reached, however, it was 
learned that Gage iutended to occupy Dorchester 
Heights on June 19th with British troops. Accord- 
ingly, to divert his attention and to thwart his pur- 
pose, if possible, it was determined to occupy Bunker 
Hill at once. 

'' On Friday, the sixteenth of .June," says Frothing- 
ham, "the commanders of the army, in accordance 
with the recommendation of the Committee of Safety, 
took measures to fortify Bunker Hill. Orders were 
issued for Prescott's, Frye's and Bridge's regiments 
and a fatigue party of 200 Connecticut troops to pa- 
rade at six o'clock in the evening, with all the in 
trenching tools, in the Cambridge camp. They were 
also ordered to supply themselves with packs and blan- 
kets and with provisions for twenty-four hours. Also 
Captain Samuel Gridley's company of artillery, of 
forty nine men and two field-pieces, was ordered to 
parade. The Connecticut men, drafted from several 
companies, were put under the gallant Thomas Knowl- 
toii, a captain in General Putnam's regiment. The 
detachment was placed under the command of Col- 
onel William Prescott, of Pepperell, who had orders 
in writing from General Ward to proceed that even- 
ing to Bunker Hill, build fortifications to be planned 
by Col. Richard Gridley, the chief engineer, and de- 
fend them until he should be relieved, the order not 
to be communicated until the detachment had passed 
Charlestown Neck. The regiments and fatigue party 
ordered to parade would have constituted a force of 
at least fourteen hundred ; but only three hundred of 
Prescott's regiment, a part of J5ridge's and a part of 



Frye's, under Lieutenant-Colonel Brickett, the artil- 
lery and the two hundred Connecticut troops were 
ordered to march. Hence the number may be fairly 
estimated at twelve hundred. It was understood that 
reinforcements and refreshments should be sent to 
Colonel Prescott on the following morning. This 
detachment paraded on Cambridge Commou at the 
time appointed, and, after a fervent and impressive 
prayer by President Langdon, of Harvard College, it 
commenced, about nine o'clock, its memorable march 
for Charlestown." Proceeding to Charlestown, the 
fortifying party constructed the redoubt and breast- 
work which provoked the battle of the Ibllowing day. 

Awakened early in the morning by the British 
cannon firing upon the newly-made fortifications, 
which had been discovered at daybreak, Cambridge 
passed another day of confusion and alarm. Before 
night came, the lack of machiuery with which to 
manffiuvre the large force of men which had been 
assembled became painfully apparent to General 
Ward. Although aware that the detachment on 
Bunker Hill would be attacked, and, in view of their 
labors and situation, that they needed both refresh- 
ments and reinforcements, he was unable to supply 
adequately either. Ill supi)lied with staff officers, and 
because of the unorganized condition of the patriot 
troops, he could neither keep himself informed as to 
the exact state of aflairs, nor could he with certainty 
make provision for such needs as were made known 
to him. So Prescott's men suffered, and finally lost 
the day, through lack of ammunition at the critical 
moment. But the lesson \\mis a wholesome one, and 
no doubt Washington's labors were made less difficult 
when he set about the organization of the army in 
July. 

On this day the heroic Colonel Gardner, of Cam- 
bridge, received his death-wound and gained immor- 
tal lame. Earl}' in the day his regiment, together 
with General Ward's own and Patterson's, was held 
in reserve, being stationed in the road leading to 
Lechmere's Point, but later was ordered forward. 
Upon reaching Bunker Hill, by the orders of Gen. 
Putnam the regiment was divided, part of it to work 
upon the defences which had been commenced at this 
place, one company to proceed to the rail fence, and 
the remainder, under command of its colonel, to rein- 
force the redoubt, which was now about to receive the 
third assault of the British. When descending the 
hill towards the redoubt a rausket-ball struck Colonel 
Gardner in the groin and inflicted a mortal wound. 
As he was carried ofl" the field he was met by his son, 
a youth of nineteen, serving as a lieutenant in Cap- 
tain Trevett's company, who on beholding the ago- 
nizing sight, was anxious to assist in caring for his 
father. He was restrained, however, by the colonel, 
who, after a heartrending interview, bade him go 
forward to his duty. A few days after the battle, it is 
related that Colonel Gardner was asked if he was 
well enough to see his son. " Yes," answered the 



CAMBRIDGE. 



i«;? 



hero, " if he has done his duty." The son had distin- 
guished himself in the action and wortliily upheld 
tlie reputation of his father. 

Colonel Gardner lingered in great agony until Juh 
3J, when death came. The orders of Washington, 
who, on the same day, took command of the army, 
relating to the loss of this officer were as follows : — 
"July 4, 1775. . . . Colonel Gardner is to be 
buried to-morrow at three o'clock p.m., with the mil- 
itary honors due to so brave and gallant an officer, 
who fought, bled and died in the cause of his country 
and mankind. His own regiment, except the com- 
pany at Maiden, to attend on this mournful occasion. 
The places of these companies on the lines on Pros- 
pect Hill to be supplied by Colonel Glover's Regi- 
ment till the funeral is over.'' Colonel Gardner had 
been one of the foremost citizens of Cambridge; was 
Selectman from 1769 until his death ; a Representative 
from 1769 until the General Court was superseded 
by the First Provincial Congress, of which, and also 
of the Second Congress, he was a member ; was a 
member of the Committee of Correspondence, elected 
by the town in 1772, and by the House of Representa- 
tives in 1773, and of the Committee of Safety, elected 
by Congress, April 14, 1775. 

After the battle. Colonel Prescott reported to 
headquarters in Cambridge the result and received 
the thanks of General Ward, whom he found, how- 
ever, in great apprehension lest the enemy should 
advance on Cambridge. Prescott assured him that 
such a thing was not likely to be done by the British, 
who had suffered great loss in killed and wounded, 
and even offered to re-take the hill that night or 
perish in the attempt, if three regiments of fifteen 
hundred men, well equipped with ammunition and 
bayonets, were put under his command. But General 
Ward decided that the condition of the army would 
not justify so bold a measure. " Prescott had not 
yet done enough to satisfy himself, though he had 
done enough to satisfy his country. He had not, 
indeed, secured final victory, but he had secured a 
glorious immortality." 

But now to Cambridge had come the leader who 
was to secure both victory and immortality, whose 
service was to overshadow that of all others, no mat- 
ter how distinguished — a man whose character was to 
become an object of veneration, not alone to America 
and to Europe, but to all mankind. Under the elm 
by him made famous, " the great Virginian drew his 
blade " on July 3d, and looked for the first time upon 
the faces of the New Euglanders assembled on Cam- 
bridge Common. Of majestic presence, Washington 
appears to have made upon the army, at the begin- 
ning of his service as commander-in-chief, the favor- 
able impression whi«h he ever afterwards uniformly 
sustained. 

Upon Washington's arrival, the works which were 
begun by the Americans immediately after the battle 
of Bunker Hill, were still further extended, and the 



army was organized into three divisions, that at Cam- 
bridge, under Major-General Israel Putnam, consisting 
of his own brigade and that of Brigadier-Cieneral 
Heath, formiug the centre. The earthworks which were 
thrown up in Cambridge made a chain extending 
across the town, on a line northeast and southwest 
from the work at the base of Prospect Hill, just out- 
side of Cambridge, near Union Square, Somervillc, to 
the Charles River. On Dana Hill, then called But- 
ler's, a line of fortifications were thrown up which 
extended from Broadway northerly. Another work 
was built at what is now the corner of Putnam 
Avenue and Franklin Street, and ten years ago traces 
of this were distinctly visible. This work commanded 
the river as far down as where now stands the River- 
side Press. Here another fort covered the interval 
to Captain's Island, where slill another work was 
thrown up. Farther down, still substantially pre- 
served, through the public spirit of the Dana family 
and at the joint expense of the city, the Common- 
wealth and the National Government, which contrib- 
uted three cannon, stood a three-gun battery, now 
known as Fort Washington. Subsequently a strong 
work was constructed at Lechmere's Point. 

In the fall of 1775 the troops in General Putnam's 
division, occupying Cambridge and a portion of the 
present territory of Somerville, were posted very nearly 
as follows : Colonel Patterson's regiment, at the base 
of Prospect Hill, at the work near Union Square, 
called Fort No. 3 ; General Heath's regiment, at the 
Putnam Avenue work, called Fort No. 2 ; Colonel 
Phinney's regiment, at the works north of Fort No. 2, 
on Dana Hill ; Colonel Scammon's regiment, at the 
Riverside work, called Fort No. 1 ; Colonel William 
Prescott's regiment, at Cambridge ; Colonel Glover's 
regiment, at Cambridge ; Colonel Frye's regiment at 
Cambridge ; Colonel Bridge's regiment, at Cambridge ; 
Colonel Woodbridge's regiment, on the Charlestown 
road to Menotomy, west of Prospect Hill ; Colonel 
Sargent's regiment, at lu man's Farm. 

General Washington at first took quarters at the 
President's house, on the college grounds, one room 
having been reserved for the President ; but this ar- 
rangement was not satisfactory, and after remaining 
but four days he removed to the Vassall house. 

Once or twice, between the battle of Bunker Hill 
and the evacuation of Boston by the British, there 
was skirmishing in Cambridge between parties of the 
opposing forces. General Heath, in his " Memoir.-i," 
mentions the following: "November 9th. At the 
top of high water, the tide being very full, some Brit- 
ish Light Infantry, in boats, came over from Boston, 
and landed on Lechmere's Point; the centinels on the 
Point came off"; the alarm was given ; and several 
hundred Americans forded over the Causeway, in the 
fiice of the British, the water at least two feet deep. 
The British, seeing the spirit of the Americiins, al- 
though they were very advantageously posted, made 
a precipitate retreat to their boats. Three or foirr 



184 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Americans were wounded, one mortally. The British 
Bhip and floating batteries l^ept up a brisk fire, but to 
little purpose. December 12th. A causeway was 
begun over the Marsh to Lechmere's Point." For 
the next few days the " approaches were carried on 
briskly, nearly to the top of the hill." On the 17th 
"the morning was foggy. A detachment of 300 men, 
under the direction of General Putnam, broke ground 
on the top of the hill, on Lechmere's Point, at a dis- 
tance of not more than half a mile from the ship. 
Between twelve and one o'clock the fog cleared away 
and the ship began to cannonade the Americans with 
round and grapeshot, and some shells were thrown 
from West Boston. One soldier was wounded and the 
partv driven from the works." The next day work 
was resumed under the direction of General Heath, 
and in a few days the fort was completed, notwith- 
standing the fire from the British batteries, and, from 
its position, rendered important service in the final 
bombardment. Heavy cannon were mounted upon 
it February 25th, and on March 2d this battery, to- 
gether with the one on Cobble Hill (near where is 
now the McLean asylum), opened fire on the town of 
Boston, and continued the fire at intervals until the 
evacution, on March 17th. Troops from Cambridge 
crossed the river in boats on the day of the evacua- 
tion and entered the town, where " the inhabitants 
discovered joy inexpressible." The first act in the 
drama had been played, and in the next the scene 
was to shift. The troops left Cambridge, and gradu- 
ally the traces of their occupation began to be re- 
moved. No doubt, too, the inhabitants, although 
perhaps not filled with the "joy inexpressible" of 
their Boston neighbors, who had been subjected to 
many indignities by a hostile army, were very glad to 
have the troops depart. They had been, to some ex- 
tent, crowded out of thtir houses to make room for 
the soldiers. Their territory, as the Rev. William 
Emerson wrote, had been " covered over with Ameri- 
can Camps, and cut up into forts and intreuchments, 
and all ihe lands, fields, orchards, laid common,— 
horses and cattle feeding in the choicest mowing 
land, whole fields of corn eaten down to the ground, 
and large parks of well-regulated locusts cut down 
for firewood and other public use.'' 

In November, 1777, General Burgoyne having sur- 
rendered his army as prisoners of war, they were or- 
dered to Cambridge and placed in charge of General 
Heath, the commander of this military district, who 
tells us in his " Memoirs " how the good people of Cam- 
bridge were again inconvenienced. " As soon as," he 
says, "he was notified that these troops were coming 
under his direction, he set himself in earnest to pre- 
pare for their reception. The barracks at Prospect 
and Winter Hills were directed to be put instantly in 
order. The Council was applied to aid in the procure- 
ment of quarters from the citizens for the officers ; nor 
was this an easy task. The families of the citizens 
generally wanting the room iu their respective houses. 



rendered it difiicult to obtain so many quarters as 
were necessary for so great a number, and extended 
the limits of the parole very considerably." General 
Burgoyne was assigned to quarters in the Plymptou 
House and General Riedesel in the Lechmere House. 
During the confinement of the British prisoners in 
and about Cambridge, numerous collisions between 
them and their guards took place, two of which de- 
scribed by General Heath, occasioned much excite- 
ment. In January, 1778, "Colonel Henley, who had 
the immediate command at Cambridge," was insulted 
by a British soldier and "pricked him with a sword 
or bayonet. General Burgoyne immediately pre- 
sented a eomplainst against Colonel Henley, charging 
him with barbarous and wanton conduct and inten- 
tional murder." After an animated discussicm on 
paper between the Generals Heath and Burgoyne, 
Colonel Henley was ordered before a court-martial 
which acquitted him. On the day of the anniversary 
of the battle of Bunker Hill in the same year, "A 
British officer was shot by an American sentinel on 
Prospect Hill, the officer attempting to pass contrary 
to the standing orders." A jury of inquest immedi- 
ately empaneled, consisting of " William Howe, Ben" 
jamin Locke, John Brown, Ebenezer Stedman, Sam- 
uel Manning, Nathaniel Austin, Joseph Eead, Jr., 
James Hill, Thomas Barrett, Benjamin Baker, Aaron 
Hill, Isaac Bradish, James Munroe, Joseph Johnson, 
good and lawful men of Cambridge," gave as their ver- 
dict on the following day, "that the said Richard Browa 
was shot with a firearm by the centinel, in Charles- 
town, near Prospect Hill, between the hours of five and 
six P.M. , on the 17th day of June, A. D. 1778, in attempt- 
ing to pass the centinel with two women, after being 
properly challenged by said centinel, and so came to 
death." 

On April 5th Burgoyne left Cambridge for Rhode 
Island, and on the 15th of the same month a portion 
of the prisoners were marched to Rutland, under the 
escort of a detachment of militia. The remainder 
marched for Virginia in the following November, 
having been held in Cambridge for about a year, and 
since then none but troops of our native couutry have 
set foot on Cambridge soil. To the end of the 
war, however, the town continued to contribute men 
and women for the common cause, and shared in the 
rejoicing when the independence of the countiy was 
finally acknowledged. 

For a time after the war was over the people of 
Cambridge, as in the rest of the country, gave little 
attention to military matters, for they were absorbed 
in the discussious which preceded the adoption of the 
constitutions, both of the State and of the Nation 
and the establishment of the respective governments. 
Recognized by the State Constitution, however, the 
organization of the militia was kept up, and in time 
militia trainings and musters became annual events. 
To the War of 1812, although uup(i[)iilar in New Eng- 
land, Cambridge sent a number of volunteefs, wlio 



CAMBRIDGE. 



185 



caw active service, and the Cambridge Light Infantry 
was in camp at South Boston for tifty-one days. But 
the first half of the niueteenth century was not pro- 
lific in warli!\e events. Nothing but long lists of 
names as they appear on the muster-rolls responds to 
the searcher after martial tales, and the only contests 
recorded are those which appear on the pages of the 
Massachu.ssetts law reports in relation to the imposi- 
tion of militia fines, which enabled the young prac- 
titioners then at, the bar to pick up a dollar occasion- 
ally and no doubt annoyed the learned judges on the 
supreme bench, whose duty it was to unravel these 
somewhat petty disputes. But on paper in those 
days, Massachusetts had an imposing body of troops. 
Divisions, with their major generals commanding^ 
brigades and regiments, all duly assigned, headquar- 
ters designated, staff officers, line officers, general offi- 
cers, field officers, company officers — all were there. 
Every man, unless of a class exempt by law, must 
serve, furnish his own gun (which the caricaturists 
made sometimes a pitchfork or a cornstalk), and 
equipments, and appear at muster, or be fined, unless 
the attorneys aforesaid provided means of escape. 
Finally the system was given up, and that of the vol- 
unteer militia substituted. But ere this had long 
been done came the terrible conflict to share in which 
men sprang eagerly forward who a few years before 
had regarded a militia muster as a hardship. Again, 
as in 1775, Cambridge was prepared. One of her cit- 
izens, jHUies P. Eichardson, on January .3, 1861, had 
printed in the Cambridge Clironide the following 
notice: — 

" The UDdcMigned proposes to organize a company of voluuteerfl, to 
tender their services to our common country, and to do what they can 
to maintain the integrity and glory of our flag and Union. Any citizen 
of g<H)d moral character and sound in body, who wishes to join the 
corps, will please call at my office, Main Street, Cambridgeport. 

"J. P. RlClHRIiSON.*' 

Si.xty men had joined by April 13th, when it was 
announced that the company had been accepted by 
the Governor. Two days later came President Lin- 
coln's proclamation, asking for 75,000 men to serve 
three months. April IGth the Governor's orders were 
issued, and on the morning of the 17th, Lawyer Rich- 
ardson's office was crowded with the members of the 
company, which soon after reported at the State- 
House with ninety-five men. The names of this gal- 
lant band were as follows : 

Captain, James P. Richardson ; Fin^t Lieutenant Samuel E. Chamber- 
lain ; Second Lieutenant, Edwin F. Richardson ; Sergeants, John Kin- 
near, Francis M. Doble, George W. Smith, Conrad D. Kionear ; Corpor- 
als, Augustus A- Thurston, Daniel F. Brown, Benjamin F. Dexter, John 
E. Howe ; Musician, John C. Copp ; Privates, Leonard Arkerson, Ed- 
win Barry, Andrew J. Bate, Joseph H. Baxter, Albert C. Berry, Isaac 
II. Blake, Robert F. Bourne, Charles B. Brown, Sidotuon M. Bnsiiach, 
Josepli P. Cartwright, James Cate, Edwin F. Chandler, Frederick Clian- 
dler, William Chandler, William H. Clark, William A. Colby. Thomas 
CX>stello, Robert D. Crabbie, Jere C. Cronin, Jr., Ilugli Cunningham, 
Charles R. I)akin, Louis P. Davis, Jr., Lowell Ellison, Edwin K. Fair- 
banks, Thomas W. Frederickson, John C. GatTney, Robert J. Gamble, 
Thomas Giindfle, Jofepli (ia^ Jolin Green, .Miner \. GrilHiig, James W. 
Haley, Samuel L. Harty, George \V. Haatings, Levi Hawkes, William 
A. lidywal'd, Frederick A Hill, Simon I>. Hitchcock, .\llied F. Uoll, 



Patrick Howard, Charles M. Uowlett, William Kavauangh, Frank E. 
Kelly, Paul Kennedy, John W. King, George W. Lauison, Samuel H. 
Libbey, Samuel C. Lucy,Thoin,^s U. Lucy, Thomas Martin, Richard T. 
Marvin, Alfred J. Mason, Joseph Mayer, Timothy McCarthy, Thomas 
McDonald, Eugene H. McQuillen, Michael .McQuillen, Daniel R. 
Melcher, Horatio C. Moore, George T. Nichols, Thomas A. B. Norris, 
Jr., James W. Peaniman, Calvin D. i*eirce, Thomas Preston, William 
W. Richards, William R. Russell, W'illiam Shannon, James Sheedy, 
Charles S. Slate, Samuel F. Slocomb, Henry .\. Smith, Johh Smith, 
Charles E. Stevens, Warren F. Stone, Michael Sullivan, Timothy Sulli- 
van, William Tibbetts, Charles H. Titus, Edwin H. Trulan, John Vose, 
George W. Watere, George W. Wheelock, Henry White, John A. White, 
Andrew Wilson. 

Of these privates, Peirce and Trulan were mustered 
in May 6th, after the company arrived at Fortress 
Monroe, to which it was ordered asCo. C, of the Third 
Regiment, Colonel D. W. Wardrop. The company 
remained with the regiment during its three months' 
service, and upon its return was warmly welcomed by 
the citizens generally, and by a committee of the city 
government, who made a special appropriation of 
money for the occasion. 

Jame-5 Prentiss Richardson, who raised and com- 
manded the company, was born at Framingham, Aug- 
ust 20, 1821. His father, Henry Richardson, was a 
fanner, carriage-builder and trial justice. The future 
soldier was named after an uncle, who received his 
middle name from his mother's family. A great-grand- 
father was the Moses Richardson previously men- 
tioned as one of the six Cambridge men who were killed 
by the Britis'n on April 19, 1775. Young Richardson 
came to Cambridge as an employee of Messrs. Daven- 
port and Bridges, car-builders, but afterwards he 
opened a shop of his own to engage in business as a 
carriage-painter. He had some artistic skill and not 
unfrequently he was employed to paint portraits. 
Later he gave up painting, and went into partnership 
with Eben Denton, a blank-book manufacturer. In 
this business he remained for a year, but finally he de- 
cided to enter the legal profession, for which he had 
for some time had an ardent longing. Though pretty 
well on in years to begin the study of law, he applied 
himself assiduously, and, entering the Harvard Law 
School, graduated therefrom in 1855. Upon his ad- 
mission to the bar he located in the office on Main 
Street, opposite Pearl Street, which is still used as a 
law office and in which these lines are wrilteii. 

It is said that clients came early, and found him to 
be a hard worker, a diligent studentand a good tighter. 
Popular in the community, he was elected by his fel- 
low-citizens to the Board of Aldermen in 1858 and in 
18C0, and, between his terms of service in the army, in 
1862 he held a seat in the Common Council. In pol- 
itics he was an ardent free-soiler, a stanch Fremont 
man, and was commander of the Cambridge " Wide- 
Awakes " in the campaign which resulted in the 
election of .\braham Lincoln as President of the 
United States. When the three months service was 
over he weitt back to his law practice, but in the 
autumn of the following year the call for volunteers 
again took him to tiie front, this time as captain of 
Co. A, Thirty-Eighth Miissachusetts Noluuleers. 



186 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Three companies of this regiment — A, B and F — were 
recruited in Cambridge. On December 4, 18G2, he 
was promoted to be major, and on July 16, 1863, he 
wa» made lieutenant-colonel of the Thirty- Eighth 
which he commanded for the most of the time during 
the rest of the war, as its colonel waa absent. For 
som>^ time he was, as senior offieer, in command 
of the Third Brigade, Second Division of the Nine- 
teenth Corps. In the battle at Upequan Creek, Sep- 
tember 19, 1864, he was severely wounded and was 
mustered out in July, 1865. 

A contemporary writer has described Colonel Rich- 
ardson's bearing while in the army in the following 
words : 

" The entire absence, in this officer, of thjit pomp aBSunied by many of 
the Kastern oflRcers. ani wliicli was seldom found in tlie Western regi- 
tneiits, togetlier witb his desire to make the diiliea of the rank and file 
as aRreeable as was comiiatible with good discipline, and his superior 
military acquirements, had won the attachment of bis regiment." 

And again of his conduct at Mansura Plains : 

" Lt.-Col. Richardson left the ambulance in which he had been 
obliged to perform tlie greater part of the march, put himself at the 
head of the (Third) Brigade, and manoeuvred it over the lield of battle 
as coolly and with as much skill as when on the parade-ground at Camp 
Kearney." 

A proud hour of Colonel Richardson's life it was 
on the day when the shattered remnant of his regi- 
ment, after the close of the war, passed through the 
streets of Cambridge, escorted by military and civic 
organizations, welcomed by all the people, with old 
atid young alike assembled to do it honor. The 
Cambridge Chronicle, of that date, says : 

" It was a magnificent scene as the procession passed from Broadway 
to North avenue, and tlirough the square. The profusion of flowers 
among the military escort and veterans, the gaily caparisoned horses of 
the marshal and his aids, tlie tall figure of Col. Kichardsoii, mounted on 
a splendid charger, bowing his acknowledgments on either hand, the 
proud bearing of the veterans, their torn and shot-riddled colors— all 
couibiued to make a display worthy of transfer to canvass." 

Subsequently, Colonel Richardson accepted a com- 
mi^sion as first-lieutenant in the Regular Army, and 
was assi|ined to duty with his regiment in the South- 
west. His knowledge of law, however, soon secured 
him a detail as judge advocate, and later, upon re- 
signing from the army, he was appointed judge of a 
local court in Texas, where, in the city of Austin, 
he has since resided. Beloved, respected and honor- 
ed, no name stand* higher on the martial roll of Cam- 
bridge than that of James Prentiss Richardson. 

The first-lieutenant of the company, Samuel E. 
Chamberlain, had, when quite young, seen service in 
the Mexican War. On November 25, 1861, he was 
commissioned captain of a company in the First 
Massachusetts Cavalry ; major October 30, 1862 ; lieu- 
tenant-colonel March 5, 1864; colonel of the Fifth 
Massachusetts Cavalry, July 26, 1865 ; and was dis- 
charged October 31, 1865, with the brevet rank of 
brigadier-general. When leading a detachment at 
Kelly's Ford, Miirch 17, 1863, he received a painful 
and dangerous wound from a bullet which entered his 



left cheek-bone, and which was long afterwards taken 
out from between his shoulder-blades. With charac- 
tistic pluck he soon returned to his post and continued 
to perform valuable service until his discharge, on the 
date above given. 

The second lieutenant was Edwin F. Richardson. 
Like Colonel Richardson and General Chamberlain, 
he, too, re-entered the service, receiving, on October 1, 
1861, a commission as first lieutenant in the Twenty- 
second Massachusetts. Subsequently he gave up his 
commission, but soon after enlisted as a private, became 
a sergeant and received a mortal wound in battle 
May 18, 1864. He lingered in great agony until May 
26th, when he was released by death. His body lies 
buried in the soldiers' lot in Cambridge Cemetery. 
Lieutenant Richardson was very popular with tiie 
members of the company, and his name is warmly 
cherished in the memory of its survivors and by all 
who knew him. Of the members of the company, 
the venerable Rev. Lucius R. Paige says, in a note to 
his " History of Cambridge : " — " As nearly as can be 
ascertained, the whole number re-enlisted, with only 
two exceptions ; twenty-seven of them received com- 
missions, and twenty-one were killed in battle or 
died of wounds and disease contracted in the serv- 
ice." A glorious record ! 

And glory there was gained, too, by other Cam- 
bridge men among the thousands which Cambridge 
sent to the front, of whom about two hundred were 
commissioned officers. 

Mr. Paige gives the following list : 

Brigadier-Generals, Henry L. Enstis, Charles Russell Lowell; Brevet 
Brigadier-Generals, Samuel E. Chamberlain, Charles F. Walcott ; Col- 
onels, P. Stearns Davis, Norwood P. Hallowell, Albert Ordway, Edmund 
Rice; Brevet Colonel, James B. Smith; Lieutenant-Colonels, W^illiam 
W. Bnllock, Jeremiah W. Coveney, J. Durrell Green, William II. 
Lounsbury, George A. Meacham, David P. Miizzey, James P. Richard- 
son, Samuel W. Richardson, Albert Stickney ; 31ajora, Ezra P. Gould, 
C. Frederick Livermore, Charles C Parsons, Henry L. Patten, John T. 
Richards, ,\therton H. Stevens, Jr. ; Brevet Jlajor, Charles J. Blills; 
Captains, Thomas H. Annable, Thomas 0. Barri, Joseph H. Baxter, 
James E. Bell, George N, Bennett, Robert T. Bourne, John T. Burgess, 
Richard Cary, Charles H. Chapman, Joseph U. Clark, J. W'arren Cotton, 
Lewis S. Daliney, Alexander J. Dallas, George H. Dana, James T. 
Davis, Horace Dexter, Edward G. Dyke. Charles W. Folsom, William H. 
Gertz, Joseph A. Hildroth, Arthui Hodges, George F. Holmau, Henry 
A. Humer, Henry P. Hoppiii, Samuel D. Hovey, William G. Howe, Al- 
phens IJyatt, William H. Jewell, Edward B. P. Kinsley, Leodagar 31. 
Lipp, Koger S. Littlelleld, Frederick .\ Lull, John W. HI cGregor, Sam- 
uel McKeever, Robert It. Newell, William J. O'Brien, William Plumer, 
Josiah Porter, Thomas R. Robeson, J. Emery Round, Taylor P. Rund- 
lett, John S. Sawyer, George A. Schniitt, J. Lewis Stackpole, George U. 
Taylor, Levi P. Thompson, George O Tyler, Charles C. Wolirnn, Henry 
C. Wells, Thomas R. Wells, Edward E. White, William H. Whitne*-, 
John B. Whorf, John Wilder, John C. Willey, Andrew Wilson, John T. 
Wilson, J. Henry Wyman ; Brevet Captain, Benjamin Vaughn ; Sur- 
geons, Alfred F. Holt, Anson P. Hooker, Alfred A. Stocker, A. Carter 
Webber; Assistant Surgeon, Henry O. Marcy ; First Lieutenants, John 
S. Allanson, William B. Allyn, John Bigelow, George W. Booth, Wil- 
liam S Buck, Isaac H. Bullard, John H. Butler, A. L. Chamberlain, 
Daniel H. Chamberlain, Frederick Chandler, William H. Clark, Theo- 
dore CoUamore, Marcus M. Collis, John II. Conant, George H. Cope- 
land, Calvin A. Damon, Henry C. Dana, Charles M. Diu-an, Gerald 
Fitzgerald, Charles F. Foster, John C. GafTney, Thomas L. Harmon, 
John C. Huymcr, Charles V. Holt, George H. Howard, Eli P. Kinsley, 
Thomas J. Laugloy, James R. Lawrence, Edward M. Livermore, 



CAMBRIDGE. 



187 



Charles A. Longfellow, James J. Lowell, Alphonso M. Lnnt, Timothy 
JlcCiirt.v, William McDermott, Lebbeus U. Mitchell, William MtiUett, 
Jtinies Slunroe. Isaac H. rinkliam, ,Iulin H. RatTeHy, W. Carey Itice, 
Darius P. Uiclianh, Eiiwiu F, Kichardson, Ezra Kipley, William A. 
Robinson, Nathan Russell, .Ir., Frank N. Scott, Jared Sliepard, tieorpe 
B. Smith, George W. Smith, Charles B. Stevens, Frank E. Stimson, 
William B. Storer, Ilumphiey Sullivan, Robert Torrey, Jr., Emory 
Washburn, Jr., Charles P. Welch. Austin C. Wellington, William L. 
Whitney, Jr. ; Second Lieutenants, Leonard C. Allien, Pardon Aliiiy, 
Jr., Rudolph N. Anderson, John V. .\pthorp, Charles P. Blaisdell, 
George L. Rradbury, Amos W. Bridges, Joseph P. IJurrage, Eilward F. 
Campbell, Howard Carroll, Williatii M. Cloney, George ('ole, Daniel (t. 
E. Dickenson, Lowell Ellison, George A. Fisher, Thomas J. Fletcher, 
Kath.in G. Gooch, James B. Hancock, Stephen S. Harris, Hnriison 
liinkley. Henry C. Hobbs, Andrew J. Holbrook, George M. Joy, Henry 
B. Leighton, John ^IcClintock, Edmund Miles, Daniel S. Parker, Wil- 
Uani L. Putnam, Hiram Rovve, George P. Small, William H. B Smith, 
William A. Tarbell, William H. Tibbetts, Pajsou E. Tucker, Oliver H. 
Webber, Nathaniel S. Wentworth. 

Xuvtf. — Rear .admiral, Charles H. Davis ; Assistant .'burgeons, William 
Longshaw, Jr., Henry S. Plympton ; Assistant Engineer, John BL 
Whitteniore. 

The name of Lieutenant John Read is added. 

During a portion of the years 1862 and 1863 a 
camp of rtndezvuus and instruction for recruits was 
maintained on the open lot of land lying partly in 
North Cambridge and partly in West Sonierville, 
and was designated as "Camp Cameron." Barracks 
were erected, and a large number of men were quar- 
tered here at ditTerent times. Bounty-jumpers, how- 
ever, were afforded too good an opportunity to leave, 
and it was finally abandoned for Port Independence 
in Boston Harbor, from which it was more difficult 
to desert. On one occasion, at least, during the war, 
it was deeme<l prudent to put a guard over the mu- 
nitions of war stored in the arsenal, which, until quite 
recently, stood on Garden Street, and also over the 
powder magazine at " Captain's Island." This duty 
was performed largely by Harvard students, who 
were thanked by the military autliorities. 

Nearly three hundred and fifty Cambridge men, of 
whom about thirty-five were officers, died in the ser- 
vice. On Cambridge Common stands their monu- 
ment, the corner-stone of which was laid by the 
mayor and City Council, June 17, 1869. Its inscrip- 
tion is as follows: "The Soldiers and Sailors op 

C.\MBRID(iE, WHOSE NAMES ARE HERE INSCRIBED, 
DIED IN THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY, IN THE 
WAR FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF THE UNION. To 
PERPETUATE THE MEMCTRY OF THEIR VALOR AND 
PATRIOTISM, THIS MONUMENT IS ERECTED BY THE 

CITY, A.D. 1869-70." The names appear upon eight 
taljlets, headed by that of Charles Russell Lowell, 
than whom, at no time and in no country, did braver 
officer draw sword, — a fit leader of this immortal 
band. 

At the present time Cambridge has two militia 
companies of infantry, which are both designated by 
the letter B, — one called the " Massachusetts Guards," 
attached to the First Regiment, and the other, styled 
the " Cambridge City Guard," attached to the Fifth 
Regiment. The former has its armory in the city 
building at Central Square, Cambridgeport, and the 
latter's armory is iu the city building at Brattle 



Square in Old Cambridge. Besides tlic members of 
these two organizations, many Cambridge citizens 
are enrolled as members of different organizations of 
the State militia, chiefly in the First, Fifth and 
Ninth Regiments of Infantry, the First Corps of 
Cadets, the First Battalion of Light Artillery, the 
First Battalion of Cavalry and in the Signal and 
Ambulance Corps of the two brigades. The armo- 
ries furnished by the city are among the very best in 
the State, and since the introduction of rifle practice 
as a part of the training of the State force, the city 
has furnished an excellent rifle range, with barrier 
and targets of the most approved description. The 
present range was constructed but a little over a year 
ago at Cider Mill Pond, on the Belmont line, where 
a firing shed, with all necessary ai)pointments for 
heating, etc., was built, so that the militia are able to 
Use the range at all seasons of the year. 

The company known as the " Cambridge City 
Guard" dates its existence from the year 1873, when 
Mr. John C. Sylvia and others of North Cambridge 
petitioned the Governor for leave to form a military 
company in Cambridge, to be attached to the volun- 
teer militia. The petition having been granted, a 
sufficient number of men were mustered into the ser- 
vice on April 8, 1873, and on the same day George 
A. Keeler was elected captain, and the company wiis 
assigned to the Fifth Regiment as Company "L;" 
but during the next month the letter was changed to 
" K," and in December, 1878, the letter was again 
changed to " B," by which designation it has since 
been known. Captain Keeler, at the time of his 
election, was a very young man to hold the position, 
having hardly more than attained his m.ijority; but, 
having been trained at school in military drill, and 
pos^sessed of a dignified presence and a rare control 
over men, his company was one of the best in the 
regiment. In the year 1875, under Captain Keekr's 
command, the company participated with the Fifth 
Regiment in the centennial observance of the battles 
of Lexington and Concord, passing over much the 
same territory as did Captain Thatcher's company a 
hundred years before, and also in the observance of 
the centennial anniversary of the battle of Bunker 
Hill. On this last occasion the company entertained 
as its guests the Norfolk Light -Vrtillery Blues of 
Norfolk, Va., many of whose members had fought 
on the Confederate side during the War of the Rebel- 
lion, and which, during the w'ar, as a battery of light 
artillery, had performed distinguished service. The 
Norfolk company brought with them, as their guests, 
General (since Governor) Filz Hugh Lee, of Vir- 
ginia, and other eminent citizens of the South, and 
were banqueted in the evening by the Cambridge 
company at Porter's Hotel, at which Governor Kmory 
Washburn and other leading citizens joined with the 
members of the company in welcoming tlieir guests. 
Many eloquent speeches were made, and on the fol- 
lowing day the Virginians were driven about Cam- 



188 



HISTOEY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



bridge and vicinity by the members of '.he Cambridge 
company, and were given a dinner at the Prospect 
House in "Waltham. On the 19th the visiting organ- 
ization was escorted to the Norfollv boat by the City 
Guard, in whose honor the visitors used one of their 
fifld-pieces in firing a salute as they sailed away from 
the wharf. 

In July, 1875, Captain Keeler resigned to attend 
to his private concerns; but it is interesting to note 
that this excellent officer re-entered the military ser- 
vice of the State in the following year as a member 
of the First Corps of Cadets, in which he served for 
two years. In July, 188C, he again entered the mil- 
itia as guidon sergeant of the First Battalion of Cav- 
alry, was appointed adjutant on September 3d of the 
same year, and on January 10, 1880, he was appointed 
by Brigadier-General Peach, commanding the Second 
Brigade, captain and aide-de-camp upon his staff. 
This position Captain Keeler held until the begin- 
ning of the present year, when he was appointed by 
Governor Braekett colonel and assistant inspector- 
general upon the staff of the commander-in-chief. 
After the resignation of Captain Xeeler, the company 
elected its first lieutenant, William L. B. Robinson, 
captain. Captain Robinson remained in command 
of the company until March, 1879, when he resigned, 
and the company elected as its commander First 
Lieutenant William A. Bancroft. Captain Bancroft 
commanded the company until he was elected colonel 
of the regiment February 7, 1882. On the 20th of 
the same month First Lieutenant Thomas C. Hen- 
derson was elected captain. Captain Henderson re- 
signed after holding the position for about a year, 
and on March 12, 1883, First Lieutenant Charles H. 
Cutler was elected Captain. Under Captain Cutler's 
command, the company entered a prize drill at 
Hingham, and obtained the first prize of $100, and 
in the winter of 1883-84 a fair was held by the com- 
pany for the purpose of rai^ing funds, which resulted 
in putting nearly .flGOO in the company treasury. 
At the inspection of the company made in the spring 
of 1884 by the inspector general of the State, the 
company was marked first in the refiiment. Soon 
after this inspection Captain Cutler resigned, and 
Captain Henderson was again elected company com- 
mander. While Captain Henderson was a second 
time in command, the company went to New York 
at its own expense on the occasion of the funeral of 
General Grant, and formed a part of the military 
escort. 

On February 21, 1887, during the time of the street 
railway strike, in obedience to a precept issued by 
the mayor, the members of the company were called 
to its armory and held in readiness to suppress dis- 
order in ca«e of need, di.sturl)ances having broken 
out previously in different parts of the city. The 
services of the company were not needed, however; 
but the promptness with which the members of the 
company and also those of Cumjjany B of the First 



Regiment, who were likewise called upon, responded, 
was recognized both by the mayor and al.so by the 
commander-in-chief in general orders. Captain Hen- 
derson having been elected a mnjor of the regiment, 
he was succeeded by First Lieutenant Samuel T. 
Sinclair, who was elected captain June 11, 1888. 
During Captain Sinclair's service as commander, the 
company went to New York with the regiment, 
which had been detailed, on account of its military 
proficiency, as escort to the State delegation at the 
centennial observance of the inauguration of Wash- 
ington as the first President of the United States. 
Captain Sinclair resigned November 21, 1889, and 
was succeeded on December 2, 1889, by First Lieu- 
tenant Richard W. Sutton, who had formerly served 
in the ranks of the company as private, corporal, ser- 
geant and first sergeant, but who had been sergeant- 
major and afterwards adjutant, and who, at the time 
of his election as captain of Company B, was pay- 
master of the regiment. A thorough tactician and 
a good discijilinarian, with a long experience in the 
service of the militia, Captain Sutton has already 
proved himself to be an able company commander, 
and to-day the company maintains a high standard 
of efficiency. 

During the past fifteen years the policy of the 
State military authorities has been to disband organi- 
zations which have fallen below the standard of 
cfliciency, and that has been kept so high that many 
a company which formerly would have been consid- 
ered far above the disbanding limit has found itself 
outside the militia by reason of orders issued from 
the State Headquarters. Although subjected to many 
a rigid inspection, it is believed that at no time since 
its organization in, 1873, has the Cambridge City 
Guard been found by the State authorities in such a 
condition as to its military efliciency a.^ to suggest the 
possibility of its disbandment. And the same can 
also be said, since the transfer to Cambridge, of its 
tissociate company, to which the following relates: — 

In the year 1S73 Captain Austin C. Wellington, of 
the Boston "Tigers," was elected inajor of the First 
Battalion of Infantry of the Massachusetts Volunteer 
Militia, consisting of liis own and three other com- 
panies. Major Wellington at once took steps to im- 
prove the efficiency of his battalion, which he after- 
wards made famous in the militia for the high stand- 
ard it reached, and as a part of his plan it was 
determined to transfer one of the companies, the 
" Washington Light Guard," to Cambridge, where a 
better class of men would enlist and where the com- 
pany would receive financial assistance from the 
citizens. After enough Cambridge men li.ad been 
mustered in to make a majority of its members, the 
company voted, under the provisions of the militia law, 
to change the location of its armory from Boston to 
Cambridge. This removal of the company was approved, 
its name was changed to the " Massachusetts Guards " 
and on January 23, 1874, the company chose as its cap- 



CAMBRIDGE. 



180 



tain, Levi Hawkes, than whom no man in Cambridge 
is better qualified for the position, as his manage- 
ment of the company showed, could have been found. 
Captain Hawkes was one of the members of James P. 
Richardson's company, and afterwards enlisted, 
August 19, 1861, in the Eighteenth il.issachusetts 
Volunteer.'!, in which, as private, corporal, sergeant 
and sergeant-major of the regiment, which last posi- 
tion he had held for some time previous to the expi- 
ration of the regiment's term of service, September 
22, 1864, he gained an enviable reputation for his 
soldierly qualities. Unsurpas-sed as a drill-master, 
familiar wiih military routine and a strict diciplina- 
rian, he might have been a failure as a militia oflicer, 
because of the conditions, so different from those to 
which he had been accustomed in the army. But 
like a thorough soldier, he grasped at once the needs 
of a militia company, and during the five yeais and 
nine mouths in which lie continued in command he 
never gave the military authorities nor the citizens of 
Cambridge cause to bestow anything but praise upon 
his management of the company. When, after a 
long term of service, the demands of his private bus- 
iness induced him to resign, it must have been with 
the consciousness of duty well performed. An ideal 
citizen soldier, sustaining the martial character in 
war and in peace — one in the long line of militia 
captains of whose character and of whose services 
Cambridge has had no reason to feel ashamed. After 
tlie resignation of Captain Hawkes the company 
elected, on November 3, 1879, the first lieutenant, 
William E. Lloyd, of Arlington, captain. Captain 
Lloyd resigned February 26, 1881 ; the company's 
next commander was Captain Albert F. Fessenden, 
elected March 30, 1881. Captain Fessenden was one 
of the youngest captains in the militia, but proved 
to be a most capable company commander, and the 
company, during the two years in which he was in 
command, maintained its high standard of excellence. 
Captain Fessenden resigned on April 25, 1883, and 
was succeeded by First Lieutenant William L. Fox, 
who was elected captain on April 30th of the same 
year. While Captaiu Fox was in command of the 
company the First Regiment was designated by the 
commander-in-chief for instruction in heavy artil- 
lery drill, and in this branch of duty Captain Fox 
was the pioneer in the regiment. Captain Fox 
resigned on January 10, 1884, but afterwards joined 
another company in the regiment, was appointed its 
first sergeant and soon became its commander, was 
transferred to a third company of which he became 
the captain and in 1888 was transferred to the Fifth 
Regiment as captain of Company H. Captain Fox 
holds a high place as a drill-master in the militia and 
is well known in Middlesex County as an instructor 
in military drill in the schools of several cities and 
towns. First Lieutenant Harrison G. Wells was 
elected captain of the company on January 21, 18S4, 
and adniinistereJ its aft'airs so faithfully and capably 



as to receive warm praise from Colonel Wellington, 
the regiment's untiring commander, whose activity 
in behalf of his regiment was then at its height. 
Captain Wells resigued July 11, 1885, and was suc- 
ceeded by First Lieutenant Frank W. Dallinger, the 
present commander, who was elected captain on the 
20th of the same month. Captain Dallinger had 
enlisted in the company, but so diligently did he 
apply himself that he mastered a knowledge of his 
dutie? in a surprisingly short time and has come to be 
one of the most active officers in the militia. Well 
known throughout the State as commander of his 
company and as a member of the military committee 
of the Legi.slature, under him the company has per- 
formed its part in the tours of duty which have made 
the First Regimen', famous beyond the borders of the 
Commonwealth — at the funeral of General Grant in 
New York in 1885, and at Philadelphia in 1887, 
where the regiment, by virtue of its attainment to the 
first place in military excellence, was detailed by the 
commander-in-chief as escort to the Massachusetts 
delegation at the Centennial observance of the adop- 
tion of the Federal Constitution. 

Captain Dallinger has given much attention to in- 
struction in rifle practice, and during one year, at 
least, every oflicer and man in the company was a 
qualified marksman. 

It i^ but just to say that the Cambridge militia 
companies of to-day are both ably commanded. 

An event of much interest to Cambridge people was 
the observance of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the 
departure of the company which Colonel Richardson 
raised for service in the War of the Rebellion. Com- 
mittees of the City Council and of the citizens at 
large united in preparations to make the day one long 
to be remembered by the present generation. A pro- 
cession passed through the streets headed by Major- 
General Hincks, himself a veteran of the war and an 
officer of high rank on the retired list of the regular 
army, as chief marshal, with a brilliant staff, and con- 
taining the two city militia companies, the posts of 
the Grand Army of the Republic and other veterans 
of the war, escorting about forty survivors of Richard- 
son's company. The tall form of their now venerable 
commander again appeared at their head, and the 
heroic figure of General Chamberlain, their first lieu- 
tenant, with his battle-scarred face, was seen once more 
in their midst. A perfect day and a route of procession 
lavishly decorated assisted the assembled thousands 
to greet the hero and his comrades who, a quarter 
century before, had been ready at the nation's call. 
Now there were but forty ; then there were ninety- 
five. Years before most of the absent had joined the 
shadowy army "on Fame's eternal camping-ground;" 
but on this day none were forgotten, either living or 
dead. The company was banqueted in the afternoon, 
and in the evening appropriate exercises, presided 
over by the mayor of the city, were held in Union 
Hall, at which those present were privileged to hear 



190 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



a short address from Colonel Richardson. An inci- 
dent of the banquet was the presentation of an excel- 
lent life size portrait of Lieutenant Richardson — the 
gift of Mrs. Richardson to her lamented husband's 
surviving comrades. 

Four posts of the Grand Army of the Republic are 
established in Cambridge, and once a year through 
the city streets, escorted by the military companies, 
march the members of this self-limited organization, 
whose purpose it is, while still its members live, to 
cherish the memory of their sleeping companions in 
arms. Nowhere in the broad land is Memorial Day ob- 
served with surroundings more impressive and amid 
associations more suggestive than in the cemeteries at 
Mount Auburn, at the Soldiers' Monument on Cam- 
bridge Common, and in the stately hall of Harvard 
University, where are recorded the names of those 
who, taught here in the classic tongue that it is sweet 
and honorable to die for country, showed to the world 
by their sacrifice how well they had learned the les- 
son of patriotism and of loyalty to the flag. 

Later in the year the citizens of Cambridge are ac- 
customed to see His Excellency, the Governor of the 
Commonwealth, on his way to attend the Harvard 
Commencement, riding in an open barouche, drawn by 
four horses and escorted by the " National Lancers," 
now officially designated in the militia of the Com- 
monwealth as Company A, First Battalion of Cavalry, 
a number of whose members reside in Cambridge. 
The mounted trumpeters blowing martial music, the 
guard of honor flanking the carriage of His Excel- 
lency, the brilliantly-uniformed staff in carriages 
which follow, the scarlet coats and nodding plumes of 
the troopers with their pennoned lances glistening in 
the sunlight, all suggest the pomp of the royal gov- 
ernors of the eighteenth century, which custom has 
imposed upon their republican successors, some of 
whom, it must be confessed, if the spectators may 
judge from the expression of their countenances as 
they pass through Harvard Square, are in doubt 
whether to affect the solemnity of a funeral or the hi- 
larity of a pic-nic. But, distasteful or otherwise as 
the custom of taking escort may be to the eminent 
citizen selected for the time being to fill the execu- 
tive chair, it is to be hoped that it will long be ob- 
served when the ofllicial head of the Commonwealth pays 
his annual visit to the university upon which that 
Commonwealth bestowed so much assistance in the 
days of the generations long passed away, when per- 
haps the custom itself first arose ; if, indeed, it be 
for no other purpose than to remind the public of the 
care which the fathers of our Commonwealth took to 
found a college ere scarce they had founded a state. 

Within the past few years both of the regiments to 
which the Cambridge companies are attached have 
been called here to perform the mournful duty of an 
escort at the last sad rites paid to officers beloved in 
their respective regiments — the Fifth, in the spring of 
188G, at the burial of Colonel Ezra J. Trull, an officer 



of General Peach's staff, and captain of the Ancient 
and Honorable Artillery Company, who commanded 
the regiment from 1875 to 1882, and the First, in the 
fall of 1888, at the burial of Colonel Wellington, 
stricken down while holding the' commission as com- 
mander of the regiment, which he had received in 
1882. Both colonels were veteran officers of the War 
of the Rebellion, active in business", social and politi- 
cal matters, and both had spent a score of the best 
years of their lives in the militia service. Both rest 
in Mount Auburn, where, a farewell salute, echoed the 
triple volleys of the regiments they had commanded, 
and where sounded, in the sweet notes of the 4)ugle, 
the soldier's good-night. The Fifth Regiment, in 
1880, assembled in Cambridge for its annual drill. 
By permission of the authorities of Harvard College, 
tents were pitched on Jarvis Field, and a full day's 
duty was performed by the command, including guard 
mount and battalion drill in the forenoon, and after 
dinner, in the armory of Co. B, in the afternoon, a 
skirmish drill by bugle, in which blank cartridges 
were used, a review by the mayor of the city and a 
dress-parade, followed by muster for pay. The evolu- 
tions of the regiment were witnessed by thousands cf 
spectators, to many of whom the sight was a novel 
one. The same regiment assembled here again in the , 
fall of 1888, on the day of the mobilization of the 
entire State force, when five thousand men were con- 
centrated in Boston in a few hours' time, were put 
in motion on the minute previously ordered, were 
marched over a route of parade, and were dismiss- 
ed and sent to their homes as quickly as they had 
come together, without disorder, and with as much 
precision of movement as though it were a daily 
event of their lives. 



CHAPTER XI. 
CA MB RID GE—{ Continued). 

CIVIL HISTORY.' 

KY JOHN LIVERMORE. 

Like most of the ancient townships of Massachu- 
setts, Cambridge has had its boundary lines changed 
many times, both by enlargement and diminution. 

1 In giving this sketch of the Civil History of Cambridge I am greatly 
indebted tu the veteran hi&turian of Cambritlge, Rev, Luciua R. I'aijie, 
D.D., wlio baa liindly assisted mo in many ways, and M'itboiit whose aid 
and encouraging words the writer would never have consented to ven- 
ture upon what to Iiim was an untried field, and for the performance of 
which lie would gladly liave yielded the task to some one more fitted for 
the work. IJr. Paige b.'is not only given much verbal information, but 
ha.-* permitted large quotations from his elaborate and valuable work. I 
am also indebted to Walter W. Pike, Esq., the present City Clerk of 
Cambridge, for bis assistance in enabling mo to peruse the ancient records 
of the town, now in bis custody. My only apology for what I have fur- 
nished fur this work is my great interest and aftectiou for the place 
where I was born niid where I have always resided. 



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Bedford. 



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Extending FR.OM 

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192 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



quarters. Here they remained as prisoners of war for 
more than a year, when Oeneral Burgoyne was sent 
to Rhode Island on the 5th of April, 1778, and the 
troops were marched to Virginia on the 10th of No- 
vember of the same year. While these troops were 
quartered iu and about Cambridge, vexatious colli- 
sions were of frequent occurrence, and these two, of a 
serious character, produced painful excitement. 

In January, 1778, Colonel Henry, who was in com- 
mand at Cambridge, being treated insolently by a 
British soldier, pricked him with a sword or bayonet. 
General Burgoyne presented a complaint against Col- 
onel Henry. A spicy correspondence ensued, and the 
case was duly examined by court-martial, and Colonel 
Henry was acquitted. 

A British officer was shot by an American sentinel 
while attempting to pass contrary to orders. A jury 
of inquest, consisting of fourteen good and lawful 
men of Cambridge, was held, and rendered their ver- 
dict " that the said Richard Brown was shot with a 
firearm by a sentinel in attempting to pass the senti- 
nel with two women after being properly challenged 
by said sentinel, and so came to his death." 

The War of 1812 was unpopular in Cambridge, as 
it was in New England generally. A certificate is on 
file that the Cambridge Light Infantry were in camp 
fifty-one days, commencing September 10, 1814. To 
Cambridge rightfully belongs the honor of organizing 
the first company of militia in the United States 
which was enlisted expressly for the defense of the 
government in the War of the Rebellion. Two days 
after the President's proclamation calling for 75,000 
volunteers to serve for three months, and the next 
day after the Governor issued his orders, this com- 
pany responded on the morning of April 17,1801, 
having in its ranks ninety-Sve men, some of whom, 
had joined on the march to Boston. It was under the 
command of Captain James P. Richardson, a great- 
grandson of Moses Richardson, who wa-s slain on the 
day of the battle of Lexington — April 19, 1775. 

As has been already stated, " The New Town," or 
Cambridge, was originally established for the purpose 
of building a fortified place, about six months after 
the arrival of Winthrop and Dudley with the fleet of 
emigrants iu 1630. As early as February 3, 1631, it 
was ordered by the Governor and Assistants , that 
" there should be three score pounds levyed out of the 
several plantations within the lymits of this patteut 
towards the makeing of a pallysade aboute the new 
to vne." 

The line then established was substantially the 
same as that which now divides Cambridge from Som- 
erville. The line between Cambridge and Water- 
town was not definitely established until April 7, 
1685, and, in the mean time, on complaint of "strait- 
ness for want of land," at the court held May 14, 
1034, leave was granted for the inhabitants of "Newe 
Towne'" '/to seek out some convenient place for them, 
with promise that it shall be cmfirmed unto them, 



provided they doe not take it in any place to preju- 
dice a plantation already settled." After examining 
several places, they accepted the territory which em- 
braced Brookline, Brighton and Newton. Brookline, 
then called Muddy River, was granted, on condition 
that Mr. Hooker and his congregation should remain 
there. Thej' removed, however, to Connecticut, and 
this grant was forfeited, but the grant that was after- 
ward named Brighton and Newton hel-d good. 

Newton was called Cambridge Village until the 
year 1679, when it was set off from Cambridge, and 
made an independent township. The doings of the 
Court are missing in this case, and, therefore, the con- 
ditions upon which the separation took place are 
unknown, but the town record is sufficient to estab- 
lish the fact of a separation. In 1691 Cambridge 
Village was given the name of Newton, twelve years 
after it had been made an independent town. 

The " Newe Towne," as Cambridge, seems never to 
have been incorporated by specific act. Tlie first 
transaction recorded bears date March 29, 1632, when 
the town book of records was opened, since which 
time an unbroken record has been preserved. The 
first record was the " agreement by the inhabi- 
tants about the paling in the neck of land." The 
next record in order, December 24, 1632, provided for 
regular meetings for the transaction of business, 
which were to be held " the first Monday in every 
month in the afternoon within the meeting-house, 
and within half an hour of the ringing of the bell, 
and that every one that makes not his personal ap- 
pearance and continues there until the meeting is 
ended shall forfeit for each default 12 pence, and if 
not paid before the next meeting, then to double it, 
and 80 on until it be paid." At the next meeting^ 
January 7, 1633, several votes were passed to secure 
the beauty and safety of the town, to wit : " Ordered 
that no person whatever shall set up any house in 
the bounds of this town, without the consent of the 
major part thereof," and it was " Further agreed by 
joint consent that the town shall not be enlarged 
until all the vacant places be filled with houses; " 
and " Further it is agreed that all the houses within 
the bounds of the town shall be covered with slate or 
boards and not with thatch," and " Further it is or- 
dered that all the houses shall stand and range even 
on each man's own ground, six feet from the street." 
After this meeting, January 7, 1633, no other is 
recorded until August 5, 1633, from which date there 
is a consecutive record of the monthly meetings, and 
a few selections from the orders which were adopted 
at these meetings may serve to illustrate the primi- 
tive condition of the town. August 5, sundry lots 
were granted for cow yards. September 2, it was 
" Ordered that whosoever hath a tree lying across a 
highway and doth not remove it within seven 
days, or whosoever shall hereafter fall any tree 
and let it lie across a highway one d.ay shall for- 
feit the tree." November 3, 1634, it was " Ordered 



CAMBRIDGE. 



193 



that every inhabitant shall keep the street clear from 
wood and all other things against his own ground, 
and whosoever shall have anything lie in the street 
above one day after the next meeting shall forfeit 
five shillings for every such default.'' 

Up to this time all the legal voters of the town had 
met from month to month to manage their public 
affairs. Power was now delegated to a few individuals, 
at first styled "Townsmen" and afterwards Select- 
men, to transact the whole business of the town until 
the next November, when a new election might be 
had. It was further " Ordered that whatsoever these 
Towusmeji thus chosen shall do in the compass of 
their time, shall stand in full force, as if the whole 
■town did the same, either for making of new orders, 
or • altering of old ones," and it was " Ordered that 
whosoever they shall send for, to help in any business, 
and he shall refuse to come, they shall lay a fine 
upon him and have power to gather it." 

At the annual town-meeting, November 20, 1648, 
it was " ordered that there shall be an eight penny 
ordinary provided for the Townsmen every second 
Monday of the month upon their meeting day, and 
that whoever of the Townsmen fail to be present at 
the ringing of the bell (which shall be half an hour 
after eleven of the clock) he shall lose his dinner and 
pay a pint of sack or the value to the Townsmen 
present, and the like penalty shall be paid by any that 
shall depart from the rest without leave. The charges 
of the dinner shall be paid by the Constable out of 
the town stock." This practice, thus inaugurated, of 
dining or partaking of other refreshments at the 
public expense, seems to have been very generally ob- 
served by the selectmen for nearly two hundred years, 
not indeed at every meeting, nor was the expense al- 
ways limited to eight pence each. In 1660 there 
came as passengers in a ship wliich arrived from 
London at Boston, Colonel Whalley and Colonel 
Goffe (two of the late King's judges). The next day, 
without trying to disguise themselves, they came and 
resided in Cambridge from July 28, until the 26th of 
the following February, when they went to New 
Haven where they arrived March 7. The particular 
reason why they selected Cambridge for their tempor- 
ary residence does not appear. A princi[)al citizen 
of the town, Edward Goft'e, was the namesake of one of 
the regicides, and it is presumed was a relative, but of 
this there is no positive proof 

At a very early period after the settlement of Cam- 
bridge the question of licensing taverns or ordinaries 
was as difficult to settle as it is at the present day. 
Great caution was manifested in the appointment of 
"grave and respectable persons to keep and sell in- 
toxicating drinks." The first person licensed by the 
General Court, September 8, 1036, to keep a house of 
entertainment at Cambridge was Thomas Chisholme, 
a deacon of the church, and afterwards steward of 
Harvard College. He was licensed to draw wine May 
1.3, 1640, and his place of busine.ss was situated on the 
13 



corner of Winthrop and Dunster Streets, adjoining 
the lot where the first meeting-house was erected, so 
that the first church edifice and the first tavern in 
Cambridge stood side by side. 

The first person allowed to sell wine and "strong 
water " in Cambridge was Nicholas Danforth, a select- 
man, a representative in the General Court and one 
of the most active and honored citizens. He died 
about a month after the date of his license. 

The next year Mr. Nathaniel Sparhawke was per- 
mitted to draw wine and strong water for Cambridge. 
He also was a deacon of the church and highly re- 
spected. 

We come next to the establishment of an ordinary 
long known as the Blue Anchor Tavern, December 
27, 16.52. The townsmen granted liberty to Andrew 
Belcher to sell beer and bread for entertainment of 
strangers and the good of the town. Mr. Belcher was 
a trustworthy man and very respectably connected, 
and the General Court granted him a license June 
20, 1654, to keep a house of public entertainment in 
Cambridge. Mr. Belcher was licensed for the last time 
in April, 1673. The same year he died and the fol- 
lowing year his widow was granted a license, which 
was continued from year to year until she died, June 
26, 1680. She was succeeded by her son, Andrew 
Belcher, Jr., who continued the business until he sold 
the estate to his brother-in-law, Mr. Jonathan Rem- 
ington, who performed the duties of host until his 
death, in 1700. His widow, Martha Remington, car- 
ried on the business until 170o, when she sold out to 
Joseph Hovey the estate, commonly known as the 
Blue Anchor. In 1737 the sign of the Blue Anchor 
was transferred to an estate on the westerly side of 
Brighton Street, midway between Harvard Square and 
Mount Auburn Street. In 1796 it was sold to Israel 
Porter, who is well remembered by many now living, 
and who died May 30, 1837, aged ninety-nine years, 
according to the town records. 

A part of the old tavern-house remains standing. 
At this house the selectmen met for the transaction of 
public business and probably paid for their room by 
their patronage of the bar. Among the bills remain- 
ing on file is the following : 

"The Selectmen of the Tows of Cambridge. 

To Eben' Braduih, Dr. 

£ s. d. 

March 29, 17G9, to dinners and drink 17 8 

April, 1769, to flip and punch 2 

May I, " to wine and eating 6 8 

" " " to dinners, drinli and suppers ... 18 

" '* " to flip and cheese 4 

.July, '* to punch 2 8 

Aiigust, " to punch and eating t 

October, ** to punch and cheese .3 7 

" " to dinners and drink 12 

Dec, Jan. and Feb., to sundries 12 0" 

Besides innkeepers the County Court licensed others 
to sell liquors by retail. Two of these retailers in 
their old age found it necessary to appeal to the 
County Court for relief^ and their petitions are still 
preserved on file, to wit : 



194 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



"To the honored Court assembled at Cambridge: 'all prosperity 
wished.' Thease are to inform you that I wase brought up in an honest 
coUingo in oul.i F.iiglaud, where we sold all sortes of goodcs and strong 
waters withoute offence. I have bine now iu forty-nine yeres and up- 
ward ill this towne and have payed to tlie magistrate and ministre and 
to town charges and all willingly, that I have helped to bear the burthen 
and heate uf the daye, and now I am 74 yeres and upward, yet I can 
abide in my shope and attend to my coiling*, though but little is to be 
gotten by any thinge I can by. that my trade will not maintain my 
family and other charges of tlie towne and countrey and ministrye. 
There being so many .sellers that never served for a trade, I desire that 
it be no oflense to anoy that I continue in that collinge I was brought 
up to and may have your leave to sell rome, it being a commodity salla- 
bell and allowed to be brought to this country, and many that was for- 
merly a commodity is not now. Hnpeing me my request, I rest y 

servant, .,^ . 

"Edmund Angiee. 

"April 7th, IfiSC." 

In 1740 an epidemic prevailed in Cambridge, 
called " throat di.stemper," similar to the influenssa, 
which was recently prevalent. The disease was 
thus described by Thacher : " The amazing rapidity 
with which it spread resembled more a storm than 
the natural progress of a disease from any contagious 
source, and as it did not incapacitate from pursuing 
their ordinary avocations, a constant coughing and 
wheezing was heard in the streets and in public as- 
semblies little else was heard or attended to." It 
proved so serious here, however, that the students 
were dismissed from college and the following vote 
was passed : 

"Whereas, by the holy Providence of God, several families in Cam- 
bridge are visited with the throat distemper, and the President and 
Stewards are under very afflicting circumstances by reason of that mor- 
tal sickness, and whereas we apprehend that there is danger of the 
distemper spreading as it hath done in other places and that the Stu- 
dents are much endangered thereby, therefore, 

•Te/e'', that they be immediately dismissed from College and that the 
Tacation begin from this time, and tliat tile Commencement for this 
year begin from this date or from the expiration of the vacation." 

In 1721 Cambridge was visited with the small-pox, 
and there were many deaths from this scourge. 
In January of that year the General Assembly of this 
Province met at Cambridge, but there was not a 
quorum, and they adjourned to meet a few miles from 
this place on account of the small-pox being now in 
the heart of the place. The town records show that 
a committee was appointed January 29, 1721, "to 
provide for the relief of those persons and families as 
may stand in need thereof in case the small-pox con- 
tinues to spread among us." Inoculation for the 
small-pox was first introduced at this time in Boston 
by Dr. Boylston, who encountered much opposition, 
but out of 286 persons inoculated only six died. In 
1730 Cambridge was again visited by the same dis- 
ease, when it raged with alarming violence. Nine 
town-meetings were held between March 20th and 
April 3d to devise means for its extermination. The 
college studies were broken up for a time, but the 
students were recalled by an advertisement dated 
May 2, 1730, and published in the Weekly Journal: 
"The small-pox having been lately at Cambridge, 
which occasioned the dispersion of the scholars, to 
escape danger, but now through the Divine goodness 



that distemper having utterly ceased here, it is agreed 
and ordered by the President and Tutors, that the 
undergraduates forthwith repair to the College to 
follow their studies and stated exercises." Benjamin 
Wadsworth, Pres. 

Again, in 1752, the small-pox caused the cessation 
of study in college from April 22d until September 
2d, and the corporation voted May 4th " that there 
be no public commencement this year," and in Octo- 
ber voted to have no winter vacation. The town ap- 
pointed a committee May 18th to devise measures to 
prevent the spread of the disease, and on the 3d of 
October voted " that a public contribution «be in the 
three parts of the town next Lord's day, come seven 
night, for the speedy raising of money to defray the 
charges the town have been at in the support of sun- 
dry persons lately visited with the small-pox belong- 
ing to this town." 

Rev. John Cotton, in a letter dated November 7, 
1717, and preserved in the library of the Massachu- 
setts Historical Society, pays that at the funeral of 
Hon. Andrew Belcher " All the ministers there had 
scarves and gloves. They say 50 suits of cloaths were 
made. All first cousins, Eemington, Blowers, etc., 
were put into mourning. John Coleman, Caswell, 
etc., all that had been apprentices to him also. 
Ninety dozen of gloves were bought and none of any 
figure but what had gloves sent 'em." When the 
practice of furnishing mourning and paying all the 
funeral expenses was abolished is not clear, but in 
1764 we find this record : " Died, in Cambridge, in 
the 78th year of her age, Mrs. Hannah Burrili, relict 
of the late Theophilus Burrili, Esq., and sister to the 
Rev. President Holyoke, at whose house she had for 
a long time resided. Her remains were interred 
without the expense of mourning apparel, agreeable 
to the laudable practice in Boston. As this is the 
first example of the kind in this town we doubt not 
it will acquire imitation, as it was introduced by a 
gentleman of so worthy and respectable a character." 
It is to be regretted that the eftbrts made by Presi- 
dent Holyoke and others to abolish such extravagant 
and useless customs were ineffectual, for we find it 
prevailed some years later. 

Bill of expenses for the funeral of Edmund GofTe, 
October, 1740, now on file at the Probate Office, East 
Cambridge : 

£ ». d. 
" To 5 pairs of gloves at It. 6d. and a mourning weed 1 17 C 
'* 1 pair of shoe buckles Os., knee buckles 4«. tj(f., 

black studs Is. 3d 11 9 

" a hat 60s. , mourning wig £5 800 

*' a pair of gloves, black silk 25s 150 

" asuit of mourning for the widow and apairof shoes, 30 

" another pair of black silk gloves 258 15 

" ten rings of Mr. Hurd, as per account 23 1-4 

" mourning for my Aunt Barnard 33 G 

" the same for my Sister Bana 33 6 

" pair of gloves for her husband 080 

" cash paid the taylors for making the cloths ... 3190 
"two gallons of wine 3ra., a dozen of pipes and two 

papers of tobacco OS 1 15 



CAMBRIDGE. 



195 



To cash paid for bricks and bricking the grave ... 1 10 

'* stones to cover tbe grave 10 

'• November 8, 1671.'' 

This bill was allowed by the judge, though the es- 
tate was soon afterwards rendered insolvent. 

At a town-meeting held in connection with the 
church, July 17, 1671, an earnest call was given to 
Uriah Oakes to come over to this country and to set- 
tle over the church in Cambridge. Mr. Oakes ac- 
cepted the call, and the town voted " that the deacons 
be furnished and enabled to provide for the accom- 
modation at the charge of the church and the town, 
and to distribute the same seasonably for the comfort 
of Mr. Oakes and his family, and that half a year's 
payment be made forthwith by every one, and the 
one-half of it be paid in money and the other half 
in such pay as may be suitable to the end intended." 
The church and town united in keeping the 17th day 
of January, ltj70, as a day of thanksgiving, that the 
loss sustained by the death of Mr. Mitchell (their 
former pastor) was thus supplied. 

A glimpse of the customs of that period is obtained 
from the following account of the disbursements for 
the ordination of Mr. Oakes as pastor of the church 
of Cambridge, which took place Nov. 8, 1671 : 

£ I. 

" S busiiels of wheate 15 

2}^ '• malt 10 

4 gallons of wine 18 



for beefe .... 
" mutton . . . 
" 30 lbs. butter 
" foules . . . . 



1 10 

14 

H 15 

14 

sugar, spice and fruit 100 



labour 

washing table lining . 

woode 

suit, bread 6« 



i; 



I) 7 
7 
9 

9 17 



** Paid by contribution the Sabbath before ordination." 

Cambridge was very early designated (and before 
the establishment of counties) as one of the four 
towns where judicial courts should be held, and 
when the Colony was divided into counties. May 10, 
1643, the courts continued to be held in Cambridge, 
as the shire-town of Middlesex ; but as the business 
increased it was ordered, October 19, 1652, that two 
additional sessions should be held for this county in 
each year, both at Charlestown. These courts were 
continued for many years, and a court-house and jail 
were erected in that town, and at a still later date 
courts were established and similar buildings were 
erected in Concord. These places were regarded as 
"half-shires," but the county records were never re- 
moved from Cambridge, excepting temporarily during 
the usurpation of Sir Edmund Andros, who appointed 
Capt. Laurence Hammond, of Charlestown, clerk of 
the courts and register of prol)ate and deeds, who 
removed the records to Charlestown. In 1689 the 
General Court ordered Capt. Hammond to surrender 
and deliver to the order of the county of Middlesex 
the records of that countv and all books of record 



and files belonging to said county in his custody; and 
he not obeying the order, the marshal-general was 
ordered to arrest him forthwith, with power to break 
open his house if necessary. The records were at 
length surrendered. By the records of the General 
Court it appears that on the 8th of June, 1716, 
Colonel Gofl'e comp^ined that no office for the regis- 
try of deeds was open in Cambridge, it being the 
shire-town of Middlesex ; a hearing was ordered, and 
on June 13, 1717, it was resolved by the whole 
Court that Cambridge was the shire-town of said 
county, and on the following day it was voted in con- 
currence "that the public otiice for registering of 
deeds and conveyances of lands for the County of 
Middlesex be forthwith opened and kept at the shire- 
town, Cambridge." The order was immediately 
obeyed. When or where the building erected in 
which the judicial courts were first held in Cam- 
bridge is uncertain, but it was destroyed by fire during 
the year 1761, and the Court passed this order : 
" Upon information that several records belonging to 
this county were casually burned in the burning of 
the house where the court was usually kept, this 
Court do order that the Eecorder take care that out 
of the foul copies and other scripts in his custody he 
fairly draw forth the said records into a book and 
present the same to the County Court when finished ; 
and that the Treasurer of the County allow for the 
same." The first court-house of which we have any 
definite knowledge was erected about 1708, in Har- 
vard Square, nearly in front of the present Lyceum 
Hall. Deacon Nathaniel Hancock, Jason Russell 
and Lieut. Amos Marrett were the building commit- 
tee. The County Court had previously ordered " that 
there be allowed out of the County Treasury the sum 
of thirty pounds towards the erecting a suitable 
Court-House for the use of the County in the town 
of Cambridge, one-half to be paid at the raising and 
covering, and the other half at the finishing of the 
same ; the said house to be of not less than four-and- 
twenty foot wide and eight-and-twenty foot long, and 
of height proportionable." This house, diminutive 
as it now appears, was used by the courts for about a 
half a century. In 1756 the Court of Se>sions ap- 
pointed a committee to provide better quarters, either 
by enlarging the old house or erecting a new one. 
The town "voted, Xov. 2, 1756, to pay its propor- 
tion of the cost, provided the materials of the old 
meeting-house, now being taken down, be given and 
applied to that use, together with the town's propor- 
tion of the present Court-House." A lot of land was 
purchased where Lyceum Hall now stands, and. a 
house was erected more spacious than the former one, 
and was occupied by the courts for more than fifty 
years. An ineffectual attempt was made in 1806, by 
prominent men in Cambridgeport, to erect a court- 
house on the easterly side of what was long called 
the " meeting-house lot,'' bounded by Broadway and 
Boardman, Harvard and Columbia Streets. Andrew 



19G 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Cragie and his associates were more successful. Hav- 
ing given ample grounds and erected a court-house 
and jail at an expense of $24,000, they were rewarded 
by the removal of the courts and records, in 1816, to 
the edifices prepared for them at what is now East 
Cambridge, where they remain to this day. The old 
court-house, having been abandoned by the county, 
was used for town and parish purposes until April 
19, 1841, when the town quit-claimed all its rights 
and interest in the house and lot for the nominal sum 
of one dollar, in trust for the use of the proprietors 
of the Lyceum Hall to be erected on the premises ; 
provided, nevertheless, that the grantees "do and 
shall forever grant and secure to the Town the right of 
the inhabitants of the First Ward, in said Cambridge, 
to the use of the Hall for all necessary meetings of 
the Voters of said Ward." The old court-house was 
removed to Palmer Street, where it still remains, 
being occupied for secular purposes. The town pro- 
tested most earnestly against the removal, but all in 
vain. 

Cambridge as a City. — After several attempts 
to divide the ancient town of two or more centuries, 
and in consequence of the rapid increase of its popu- 
lation, it was found imperatively necessary that some 
change should be made in the management and ad- 
ministration of its municipal atfairs, and as every at- 
tempt to divide the town had been defeated, at a town- 
meeting January 5, 1846, several citizens, before 
leaving the town-house, signed a petition requesting 
the selectmen to appoint a legal meeting to see if the 
town would ask for a city charter, and accordingly 
the inhabitants met January 14, 1846, and voted 
that the selectmen be instructed to petition the Leg- 
islature for the grant of a city charter, and Simon 
Greenleaf, Owen S. Kieth, Abraham Edwards, 
Sidney Willard, Thomas Whittemore, Isaac Liver- 
•more, William Parmenter, Ephraim Buttrick, Thomas 
F. Norris and the town clerk were appointed a com- 
mittee to draft a bill in conformity to the preceding 
vote, and to use all proper means to procure its pas- 
sage, and an act to establish the city of Cambridge 
was approved March 17, 1846, by the Governor, 
and on March 30th the inhabitants in town-meeting 
voted to adopt the act by a vote of 645 in the affirma- 
tive and 224 in the negative, whereupon the result 
was announced by the moderator and proclamation 
was made that the town of Cambridge had accepted 
its charter, and become a city. 

The new government was organized May 4, 1846, 
James D. Green having been chosen mayor ; the City 
Council consisted of six aldermen and the Common 
Council of twenty ; the mayor and aldermen chosen 
by the inhabitants of the city at large voting in their 
respective wards. The Common Council vvereappointed 
among the several wards giving Ward One, five mem- 
bers ; Ward Two, nine members, and to Ward Three, 
six members. 

Isaac Livermore was the first president of the Com- 



mon Council, and Charles S. Newell, clerk ; Lucius 
R. Paige, the historian of Cambridge, was chosen city 
clerk, and Abel W. Bruce, treasurer ; Roland Litch- 
field, Jr., messenger. 

Mai/ors.— The following is a list of mayors from 
1846 to 1890: James D. Green, from May, 1846, to 
April, 1848 ; Sidney Willard, April, 1848, to April, 
1851; George Stevens, April, 1851, to April, 1853; 
James D. Green, April, 1853, to April, 1854; 'Abra- 
ham Edwards, April, 1854, to January, 1855 ; Zebina 
L. Raymond, January, 1855, to January, 1856 ; John 
Sargent, January, 1856, to January, 1860; 'James D. 
Green, January, 1860, to July 24, 1861 ; ' Charles Theo. 
Russell, July 31, 1861, to January, 1863; George C. 
Richardson, January, 1863, to January, 1864; Zebina 
L. Raymond, January, 1864, to January, 1865 ; J. 
Warren Merrill, January, 1865, to January, 1867; 
Ezra Parmenter, January, 1867, to January, 1868; 
Charles H. Saunders, Januar)', 1868, to January, 1870 ; 
Hamlin R. Harding, January, 1870, to January, 1872; 
Henry O. Houghton, January, 1872, to January, 1873; 
Isaac Bradford, January, 1873, to January, 1877; 
Frank A. Allen, January, 1877, to January, 1878; 
Samuel L. Montague,January, 1878, to January, 1880 ; 
James M. W. Hall, January, 1880, to January, 1881; 
James A. Fox, January, 1881, to January, 1885 ; 
Willam E. Russell, January, 1885, to January, 1889; 
Henry H. Gilmore, January, 1889, present incumbent. 

Since the organization as a city, Cambridge has in- 
creased rapidly in wealth and population, and is now 
the second city in valuation in the Commonwealth, 
and from fourteen thousand inhabitants in 1846, it 
has now upwards of seventy thousand, and is still in- 
creasing, and with its schools and other institutions 
it presents many attractions to those seeking a resi- 
dence near the metropolis of New England. 

Here is located Mount Auburn, the first extensive 
rural cemetery in the country (second only to the 
celebrated P(5re Lachaise, of Paris), where repose the 
remains of many of our illustrious dead, and which is 
much visited by strangers from all parts of the world. 

The Agassiz Museum of Zoology is open at all 
times for visitors, where can be seen the largest col- 
lection of objects of natural history to be found on 
this continent, if not in the world, and the Peabody 
Museum also possesses many objects of great interest 
not to be found elsewhere. The Botanical Garden, 
although belonging to and connected with the Uni- 
versity, is accessible to visitors at all times, and con- 
tains many rare specimens of plants and flowers not 
to be found elsewhere. The Harvard Gymnasium is 
also a place of much interest ; Memorial Hall, with 
its portraits of many distinguished persons, and the 
Sanders Theatre, connected with it, are places of much 
interest and visited by strangers, while the ante-Rev- 
olutionary relics about the town, such as Washing- 



1 Municipal year changed. * Resigned. 

'Firit elected by the City Cuuncil. 



CAMBRIDGE. 



197 



ton's headquarters ami the many residences in Tory 
Row, as well as the homes of Longfellow, Lowell and 
Holmes, make it an attractive spot for the visitors 
from all parts of our country, as well as the travelers 
from foreign lands. 

The extensive manufacturing industries will lie 
alluded to in another chaprer. 

Since the establishment of Cambridge as a city 
many public improvements have been made which 
have added greatly to its prosperity and importance, 
both as a place of residence, as well as a desirable 
location for manufacturing purposes. 

The city is well supplied with an abundance of 
pure water from Fresh Pond, which has recently been 
connected with Stony Brook, and the supply is 
abundant for many years to come, and the quality of 
the water is excellent. The drainage has been much 
improved and is now all that can be desired. 

After the opening of West Boston Bridge in 1793 
that part of the town called Cambridgeport increased 
rapidly and was in a highly flourishing condition, 
but the political disturbances of the country were 
very disastrous to its prosperity. The Embargo pro- 
claimed in December, 1807, and the war with Great 
Britain in 1812 paralyzed the commercial interests of 
the whole country. Cambridge felt this the more 
keenly because it involved so many of her citizens in 
distress ; many were thrown out of business and some 
were reduced to absolute want, and a rapid deprecia- 
tion in the value of real estate followed, and many of 
the owners of land purchased while the country was 
prosperous were financially ruined. The general 
stagnation which ensued was so great that it diil not 
recover for many years and the hope of making it a 
great commercial centre seems to have been given up 
and abandoned. In 'common with many towns in 
New England, Cambridge earnestly protested against 
the Embargo. A town-meeting was called August 
25, 1808, when a committee consisting of Francis 
Dana, Royal Makepeace and Samuel P. P. Fay re- 
ported an address which was adopted "almost unani- 
mously," and the selectmen were directed to forward 
it to the President of the United States, and to which 
a reply was very soon received from the President, 
which is still preserved in the office of the city clerk 
and signed " Th : Jefferson," September 10, 1808. 
This protestation and hundreds of similar character 
by the people of New England were in vain. With 
a very decided majority of voters opposed to the war 
and smarting under the losses resulting from it. the 
town did not enter with enthusiasm into its supiiort, 
and, in fact, no reference to the war during its contin- 
uance is found on the town record ; but a few 



months after its close. May 8, 1815, the town voted 
that four dollars be allowed to the militiamen drafted 
and called out to the defence of the State. 

When the news of peace arrived in February, 1815, 
there was a general outburst of joy in Cambridge, 
and meetings were held for prayer and praise, and on 
February 23d a great celebration took place, on 
which occasion an address by President Kirkland was 
delivered and then other services appropriate to the oc- 
casion. A procession was formed and a large handbill 
announcing the order of services and the order of the 
procession is now on file with the Massachusetts His- 
torical Society, presented by the Hon. John Davis. 

Order •\f Procession, 
The procession will be formed at University Hall and move at 11 
o'clock in the following order to Rev. Dr. nolmes' meeting-house : 
Military Escort, 

Mnsick, , 

Chief Marshal], 

Stningers, 

Resident Graduates, 

Students, 

Citizens of Cambridge, 

Marshall. 

Ortler of Exerciues. 

Anthem, 

Prayer by Kev. Dr. Ware, 

Reading of the Holy .Scriptures, 

Hymn written for the occasion, 

Address by th« President, 

Poem by Mr. Henry Ware, 

Prayer by Rev* Dr. Holmes, 

Anthem, 

Benediction. 

In looking backwards two hundred and fifty years 
to the time when Winthrop and Dudley began to 
organize a colonial settlement here for the purpose of 
building a fortified town for security from the Indians 
and wild beasts, we cannot fail to see that all the way 
down is one liroadeniiif/ paf/i, from tJte bfginninfi until 
now ; venerable and honorable as is the past, our 
faces should be set toward the future ; we would not 
go backward if we could. Religion is still the same, 
but its garment of doctrine and formula has been 
renewed more than once, and in all that makes life 
worth living we are far in advance. of our fathers 
Our food is better, our clothing is better, our health 
is better, our children are healthier, our books are 
better, our homes are more comfortable, and although 
our fathers were giants and we but pigmies, we are 
taller than they, for we stand upon their shoulders, 
and while we honor their memories, let us hand 
down to those who shall come after us, the oppor- 
tunity and the purpose for a gain and a growth 
greater than our own. 



198 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



CHAPTER XII. 

CAMBRIDGE -( Continued). 

BANKING AND INSUEANCE. 
BY JOHN LIVERMORE. 
Oimliridg'port ^'nlional Banl—Midillesar Rmk—Churles Rivtr Birnl— 
C«ml:ridg« Market Bank— Cambridge CUij ISunk— Cambridge Xalional 
Bank—Jliirmrd Bank— Cambridge Saviiigl Bank— East Cambridge 
Fii-e Cent Savings Bank—Xorlh America liiivingl Bank— Cambridge 
Mninal Fin Ininrance Company. ; 

Cambridge, although a wealthy town and a place 
of considerable business, had no banking facilities of 
its own until the year 1826, but transacted all its 
financial affairs in Boston, through the agency of the 
Sufiblk Bank. 

In March, 1826, the Cambridge Bank was char- 
tered with a capital of §100,000, and was organized 
by the choice of the following persons as directors: 
James B. Chaplin, Samuel P. P. Fay, Newell Bent, 
William Fisk, Levi Farwell, William Hillard, Charles 
Everett, Isaiah Bangs and John Trowbridge. Judge 
Fay declined, and the vacancy was filled, March 31st, 
by the election of Professor Asahel Stearns. The 
brick store owned and occupied by Luke Hemmen- 
way, now numbered 587 Main Street, Cambridgeport, 
was purchased for the sum of $4000 and fitted up for 
a banking-room, and used as such until the new 
building, which they now occupy and own, was 
erected in 1873. 

The bank began business in June (simultaneously 
with the establishment of hourly coaches from Cam- 
bridgeport to Boston). Martin Lane was chosen 
cashier, with a salary of $1400, and Alphonso Mason 
messenger, with a salary of 8450. 

Dr. James Prescott Chaplin was the first president, 
and remained in office until his death, in October, 
1828, when Deacon Levi Farwell was chosen to fill 
the vacancy, and who remained until he resigned in 
1832, upon the opening of the Charles Eiver Bank, of 
which he was the first president, and remained such 
until his death, in 1844. 

Dr. Chaplin, the first president of the Cambridge 
Bank, was a man of great influence, and possessed a 
very strong personality, which gave to the institution 
a high standing from the start, and it has always been 
highly favored with an eflicient and able board of 
directors. 

The following persons have been presidents: James 
P. Chaplin, Levi Farwell, Samuel P. P. Fay, Thomas 
Whittemore, Benjamin Tilton, Lucius E. Paige, Rob- 
ert Douglass and Asa P. Morse, who holds the office 
at the present time. 

The capital of the bank originally was $100,000, 
but was increased in 1830 $50,000; but upon the char- 
tering of the bank at Old Cambridge the capital was 
reduced to its original amount of $100,000, which it 
now is, and it is now known as the Cambridgeport 
National Back, having been reorganized in 1865'. 



This institution, the oldest bank in Cambridge, has 
alwaj-s been, and still is, in a sound and flourishing 
condition, and its present board of directors is a suflB- 
ceut guarantee for its continued prosperity and suc- 
cess, and has now a surplus of $47,000. 

The office of president has been filled by men of 
ability, not alone in financial matters, but in the 
various walks of life, including two clergymen, one 
judge, one professor in Harvard College, besides 
others distinguished for their integrity and business 
qualifications. 

The venerable Dr. Lucius R. Paige, the historian 
of Cambridge, who has been connected with this insti- 
tution for more than forty years, as cashier, president 
and director, is still a member of the board of direc- 
tors and attends its meetings at the advanced age of 
eighty-eight years. 

Middlesex Bank. — This bank was chartered in 
1832, and was located at East Cambridge, with Hon. 
William Parmenter as president and William Whit- 
ney, cashier, and was one of the " Pet Banks," so 
called at that day on account of its being made a de- 
pository of government funds after the closing up of 
the United States Bank and before the establishment 
of the sub-treasury system for doing the same business 
for the government. This bank, although honestly 
and otherwise well managed, failed after a very short 
existence, as did most, if not all, the banks which had 
any connection with the "surplus revenue," and the 
Middlesex wound up its affairs, redeeming its circu- 
lation and paying its depositors in full, the loss fall- 
ing only upon its stockholders, who received forty- 
two per cent., and as a bank was not needed in that 
locality at that time, there was none until the year 
1853, when the Lechmere Bank was chartered, with 
a capital of $100,000. 

Its first board of directors consisted of Lewis Hall, 
Francis Draper, Samuel Slocomb, Amory Houghton 
and K. S. Chafiee. Lewis Hall was chosen president, 
and holds the same office at this time (1890). 

There were two parties that claimed the organiza- 
tion of this bank, viz., the petitioners for the charter 
and the subscribers to the stock, and it was not until 
after considerable delay that the Supreme Court de- 
cided the question in favor of the petitioners, and they 
organized by the choice of the board of directors as 
given above — Lewis Hall, president, John Savage. 
Jr., cashier. This bank has been successful from 
the start, paying regular dividends, and it has now a 
large surplus, and its stock commands a handsome 
premium, although it is rarely in the market. 

The question of which party was entitled to the 
charter, the petitioners or the subscribers to the 
stock, was considered at the time a very important 
one, and was ably argued by eminent legal talent on 
both sides, the late Hon. Richard Fletcher for the pe- 
titioners, and the case was heard in Chambers before 
the full bench, etc. This bank has a surplus of $82,000. 
Charles River Bank. — This bank, located in 



CAMBRIDGE. 



199 



Harvard Square, Old Cambridge, was chartered as 
a State bank in 1832, with a capital of $100,000, with 
Levi Farwell as president and John B. Dana as cash- 
ier, and a board of nine directors, viz., Levi Farwell, 
J. Coolidge, C. C. Little, James Brown, A. Stearns, 
W. Brown, William Watriss. O. Sparhawk and Rob- 
ert Fuller. 

The bank began business in the room now occupied 
by them at an annual rent of $l."iO ; cashier's salary, 
$900, and all other expenses extremely moderate. 

The steward of Harvard College had his desk in 
the banking-room, and here the students of those days 
came to pay their college dues, and the Savings 
Bank, whose treasurer was the cashier, transacted all 
the business of that institution in the same room. 

Although the capital of the bank has never been in- 
crea.?ed, its growth has been verj' marked. Its de- 
positors now number more than 1100, with deposits 
averaging half a million dollars, and its business with 
the clearing-house for the last year was more than 
$10,<iOO,000. The bank has been highly fortunate in 
its cashiers, having had but two persons holding that 
office during its existence of fifty-eight years, 3Ir. 
John B. Dana, the first cashier, holding the office 
from 1832 until 1858, a period of twenty-six years, 
and Eben Snow from 1858 to 1890, more than thirty- 
two years. 

The bank was reorganized in 18f)4 as the Charles 
River National Bank, and has a surplus of $67,495 
and is in a highly flourishing condition, and the stock 
is seldom sold. 

Cambridge Market Bank. — This bank was in- 
corporated in May, 1851, with a capital of $100,000, 
'and the first meeting of the subscribers to the stock 
was held July 8, 1851, when the following persons 
were chosen directors : George W. Lewis, George 
Meacham, Henry Potter, Jacob F. Taylor, Z. L. Ray- 
mond and Calvin Dimick. George W. Lewis was 
chosen president, and Chester W. Kinsley cashier. 
The bank opened for business October 29, 1851, in 
the brick building erected for the purpose near 
Porter's Hotel, then the head(juarters of the butchers 
and drivers on market days, and for whose particu- 
lar accommodation the bank was got up and located in 
close proximity to the " Cambridge Cattle Market," 
then held in that immediate vicinity. Although the 
local business was very light and the deposits merely 
nominal, its circulation was always large, and upon 
that they depended mainly for success, and by it in 
April, 1852, a dividend was declared and paid, after 
which time regular semi-annual dividends were paid 
during its existence of fourteen years, when, owing to 
the cattle market being removed to Brighton and 
AVatertown, and as there was no local business where 
it was located, the stockholders decided to .surrender 
their charter, and on the 1st day of October, 1865, 
the Cambridgo Market Bank closed its doors for bus- 
iness, having paid nil its depositors, redeemed its cir- 
culation, and paid its stockholders in full and above 



the par value of the shares. The building was sold, 
and was some years used as a chapel by the St. James 
Protestant Church, then in its iniancy, but is now 
occupied by the North Avenue Savings Bank and for 
other purposes. 

Cambridge City Bank. — A charter was granted 
for this bank in March, 1853, simultaneously with the 
one for the Lechmere Bank at East Cambridge. Its 
first board of directors were George T. Gale, Elipha- 
let Davis, Henry M. Chamberlain, William P. Fisk, 
Samuel P. Heywood, George W. Whittemore and 
John Livermore. The bank began business in what 
is now the City Hall, September 1, 1853. John Liver- 
more was chosen president, Edward Richardson, 
cashier, and R. Litchfield, messenger ; the capital 
was $100,000. At the time the charter was obtained 
for this bank, a petition was pending from the Cam- 
bridge Bank for an increase of $.50,000 to its capital, 
but after a full hearing before the committee on 
banks and banking, leave to withdraw was given to 
the Cambridge Bank, and a charter was granted to 
; the petitioners for a new bank with a capital of $100,- 

000, which it now is, and it is now, and ever has been, 
in a sound and flourishing condition. Mr. Liver- 
more, one of the original directors — and its first pres- 
ident — is the only one of the number now living. 
This bank was reorganized in 1805 as the National 
City Bank of Cambridge, and has a surplus of S77,- 
122. 

Cambridge National Bank was organized June 

1, 1864. Commenced business August 1, 1864. The 
firstboardof directors were : Daniel R. Sortwell, pres- 
ident, Joseph H. Tyler, John N. Meriam, Thomas 
Cunningham, Charles J. Adams, Israel Tibbetts, 
Joseph A. Wellington, John C. BuUard, cashier. 
Authorized capital, $300,000; paid up capital, $100,- 
000 ; undivided profits, $37,000. Daniel R. Sortwell, 
president; John C. Bullard, cashier. Directors, 
Daniel R. Sortwell, Joseph H. Tyler, Charles J. 
Adams, Thomas Cunningham, Alvin F. Sortwell, 
Gustavus Goepper, John C. Bullard. 

Harvard Bank. — This was one of the few banks 
organized under the General Laws of the State in 1860, 
and begun business March 5, 1861, and was located in 
Cambridgeport. 

Its capital was $200,000, and its first board of di- 
rectors were: Newell Bent, Alanson Bigelow, D. U. 
Chamberlain, Lewis Colley, Edward Hyde, George 
Livermore, Z. L. Raymond, Charles Wood, Benjamin 
Tilton ; and the board organized by the choice of Ben- 
jamin Tilton as president. Willard A. Bullard was 
appointed cashier, which position he holds at the 
present time, 1790. 

Mr. Tilton retained the oflice of president until hjs 
death, in November, 1882, and Daniel L^. Chamber- 
lain was chosen as his successor and still holds the 
oflice, and is the only one of the original board now 
living. 

This bank, starting almost alone under the General 



200 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Banking Laws of Massachusetts, and at a time of great 
embarrassment in the financial as well as political 
condition of the country, was looked upon and watched 
with a good deal of interest, not to say anxiety, but 
after successfully passing through the trying and 
perilous days of the hist war, making no losses, but 
paying regular dividends, it was the first bank in 
Cambridge to adopt the National system and became 
what its present name indicates, the First National 
Bank of Cambridge, and continues to be in a sound 
and flourishing condition and has a surplus of $82,000. 

The directors at the present time are : Daniel U. 
Chamberlain, Dana W. Hyde, Joseph A. Holmes, 
Henry Endicott, Henry N. Tilton ; Willard A. Bul- 
lard, cashier. 

Cambridge Savings Bank. — This institution was 
incorporated .■Vpril 2, 1834, with only three corpora- 
tors, viz.: William .T. Whipple, William Hilliard and 
Levi Farwell ; and at the first meeting of the original 
three Levi Farwell was chairman and William J. 
Whipple clerk, and they elected as corporators : Eliab 
W. Metcalf, Abel Willard, William Watriss, William 
Brown, John B. Dana, Charles C. Little. 

The first meeting was held November 24, 1834, and 
was organized by the choice of Joseph Story, presi- 
dent; Simon Greenleaf, Samuel King, Charles Everett, 
Sidney Willard, vice-presidents. 

December 19th, Judge Story declined serving as 
president, and Simon Greenleaf was chosen chairman 
in his place. James Hayward was chosen treasurer, 
and on January 5, 1835, Asahel Stearns was elected 
president by ballot, and was the first acting president. 

The first loan made was $G00 to the First Parish in 
Cambridge, March 3, 1835, and the second loan was 
to the First Baptist Society in Cambridge, April 1, 
1835. 

The first report of the treasurer was July 23; 1885, 
and is recorded as follows : To amount of deposit, 
$6351 ; deposits withdrawn, $455 ; expenses, $64.81 ; 
note of First Parish, $600; Baptist Society, $500; 
Charles Eiver Bank stock, $816 ; deposit in Charles 
Kiver Bank, $3915.1',). 

The first dividend was paid the fourth Thursday 
of July, 1835, amounting to $28.12, which was at the 
rate of four per cent, per annum. Since this time the 
growth of the bank has never been very rapid until 
quite recently. For this year, ending March 31, 1890, 
the deposits have been upwards of $200,000, and at 
the close of business March 31, 1890. the deposits were 
$2,613,132. (Tuarantee fund, $72,300; surplus, $28,- 
910 ; undivided profits, $24,.S08. 

The present board of officers are : Charles W. Sever, 
president; Edwin Dresser, William Kimball, vice- 
presidents ; Oscar F. Allen, treasurer ; James H. 
Wyeth, secretary ; Arthur H. Boardman, book-keeper. 
The institution is in a sound and flourishing condition 
and has the confidence of the community in which it 
is located. 

Cambridgeport Savins.s Bask. — Incorporated 



1853. Present number of corporators, seventeen. 
Joseph A. Holmes, president ; Henry W. Bullard, 
treasurer; Joseph A. Holmes, Daniel U. Chamber- 
lin, Benjamin R. Tilton, board of investment; J. F. 
Lane, clerk of the corporation. This bank is open 
for business every business day from 8 30 a.m. to 1.30 
P.M. Deposits due to 9230 depositors, $3,217,070.95. 

East Cambridge Five Cent Savings Bank. — 
Incorporated April 29, 1854. Rev. F. W. Holland, 
president ; George Stevens, Lewis Hall, John Taylor, 
vice-presidents; John Savage, Jr., treasurer. Its 
first dividend declared March, 1857, of three per cent., 
amounting to $775.62. October 10, 1859, George 
Stevens was chosen president and has continued in 
that office to the present time (1890). In March, 
1873, Samuel Slocomb was chosen treasurer and con- 
tinued to hold the office until his death, in 1887, when 
his assistant, Mary Lowell Stone, was appointed, who 
died while holding the office, and William E. Lloyd 
was appointed, who is the present treasurer. The 
bank is in a sound condition and has an able board of 
officers. On the 1st of April, 1890, it had deposits, 
$1,514,912. Liabilities— Guarantee fund, $65,868 ; 
profit and loss, $22,859. Assets — Mortgage Loans, 
$988,557 ; loans on personal security, $401,248 ; bonds, 
town note, etc., $47,001 ; bank stock, $137,916 ; real 
estate, $18,300 ; deposits in banks, $39,652. 

North Avenue Savings Bank.— Incorporated 
1872. Samuel F. Woodbridge, president; Milton L. 
Walton, treasurer ; George W. Park, clerk. This 
bank is open for business on Monday, Wednesday, 
and Saturday, from nine to one o'clock, also Saturday 
evening from six to nine o'clock. On April 5, 1890, 
the deposits were $259,030 ; undivided profits, $6540 ; 
guarantee fund, $4200. 

The Cambridge Mutual Fire Insurance Co- 
was organized in 1833 and began business in January, 
1834. The preliminary meetings were held during 
March, April and May, abd the organization per- 
fected June 7, 1833, at Sevey's Tavern. 

The names of some of the incorporators were those 
who were then the principal business men of the town- 
Phinehas B. Hovey, Nathan Childs, William Fisk, 
Walter R. Mason, Aaron Rice, Samuel Pond, Jabez 
Fisher, Joseph Abbott, Charles Valentine, William 
H. Odiorne, Robert Fuller, Josiah Mason, Joseph 
Burridge, Newell Bent, I. A. Cooledge and others, all 
of whom have died except William H. Odiorne. 

The first officers of the company were William H. 
Odiorne, president, and Henry M. Chamberlin, sec- 
retary. 

The following persons have held the office of presi- 
dent during the fifty-six years : William H. Odiorne, 
Levi Farwell, Robert Fuller, Isaac Fay, Rufus Lamson, 
and Josiah W. Cook, the present incumbent, who has 
held the office for thirty-one years. 

The office of secretary and treasurer has been held 
by but five persons during the fifty-six years of its 
existence — Henry M. Chamberlin, eighteen years ; 



CAMBRIDGE. 



201 



Abraham Lansing, seven years ; Henry Thayer, seven 
years ; John A. Smith, seven years ; and Alfred L. 
Barbour, the present secretary, seventeen years, all 
of whom have passed away except the latter person. 

The directors had hard work to get the company 
fully established upon a solid basis, and it was several 
times thought that they would have to abandon the 
enterprise. After a few years, however, they suc- 
ceeded, and just as they believed they were in a 
strong position, calamity came — a seeming fatality in 
church property — so that the company lost over 
$35,000 by the destruction of meeting-houses in 
1842-43. This was a great blow to the company and 
nearly crippled it. 

The directors, however, gave their personal notes, 
raised the money, and paid the losses. 

The company then being upon the assessment plan, 
i.e., assessing each policy-holder for their proportion 
of the losses, many were compelled to retire from the 
company as the assessment became burdensome, but 
the company gradually increased in strength and 
members until, a few years later, it was decided to 
change the plan from an assessment to a full premium 
company and then at the end of the term of policy 
return such an amount as dividend as the directors 
deemed prudent and consistent with safety to the 
company. This system has continued ever since, and 
is the method adopted by all the Standard Mutual 
Companies of Massachusetts. 

The dividends began with ten and twenty per cent, 
and have steadily increased until now they are pay- 
ing seventy per cent. 

The business of the Cambridge Mutual was for 
many years mostly confined to Cambridge, and the 
amount transacted was small, but under the manage- 
ment of the present officers it has scattered its risks 
all over New Eugland, taking insurance only on the 
safer class of property. Its amount at risk at the 
present time, 1890, is over $10,000,000, while its 
assets have reached the sum of nearly $220,000. 

The ofiicerS and directors of the company had 
long looked to the time when they should have a 
" Home Uttice," and in 1888 they selected the site of 
the present magnificent building, a part of the old 
Murdock estate, on Main, corner of Inman Streets, 
and proceeded to erect a building which should alike 
be a credit to the company and to the city. 

The present officers of the company have long been 
residents of Cambridge, Mr. Cook, the president, 
having been born in West Cambridge in 180.5, and 
Mr. Barbour in Cambridgeport, in 1837. The di- 
rectors are mostly Cambridge men and counted 
among its prominent residents. Several of the di- 
rectors are from other cities, representing the interests 
of the policy-holders in their localities. 

The Cambridge Mutual may be classed as one of 
the substantial business corporations of the city. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

CAMBEIDGE—( Continued). 

MANUFACTURING AND INDUSTKIAL. 

BY JOHN LIVERMORE. 

Cambridge, although not laying claim to being a 
large manufacturing centre, has within its borders 
some very important establishments which have a- 
world-wide reputation. It was in Cambridge that 
printing had its birthplace in this country. More than 
2.50 years ago Stephen Dave set up at the corner of 
Dunster Street and Harvard Square, in the house of 
the president of the college, the rude and clumsy 
printing-press which for nearly half a century was 
the only one in all British America, and now there 
is no other city of anything like equal population in 
which there is such extensive printing of the highest 
grade as at the Biverside Press, owned and conducted 
by the enterprising firm of Houghton, Mittlin & Co. 

First in magnitude among the printing establish- 
ments of Cambridge is the Biverside Press, owned 
and operated by the above-named firm, and it is not 
too much to say that not only in the printing, but in 
everything that pertains to bookmaking from its man- 
uscript to its delivery to the reader, they stand in the 
foremost rank, both in the magnitude of its business 
and the high mechanical and artistic quality of its 
productions. The firm consists of five members — Mr, 
Henry O. Houghton, George H. Mifllin, Lawson 
Valentine, Thurlow W. Barnes and Henry O. Hough- 
ton, jr. 

The premises of the Biverside Press are situated on 
the banks of Charles River, Cambridgeport, about 
two and a half miles from State Street, Boston. This 
establishment occupies an irregular piece of ground 
about 4.50 feet in length by 300 in breadth, beauti- 
fully laid out, a spacious and well-kept lawn occupy- 
ing the northeast corner. In the middle of the lawn 
is the handsome fountain which was dedicated on Mr. 
Houghton's fiftieth birthday, April 30, 1873. The 
main building has a frontage on the east of 170 feet, 
and is four stories in height and is surmounted by a 
tower. In the rear are various buildings for ware- 
houses, store-houses, engine-house, sheds, stables, etc- 
A magnificent Co!-liss-engine of 100 horse-power op- 
erates the entire machinery in all the buildings. All 
of the buildings are connected by automatic fire 
alarms and also with the city Fire Department. The 
Grinnell automatic sprinkler is in place throughout, 
and a flre brigade composed of sixty-five men em- 
ployed at the Press is kept in constant training. The 
entire premises are as neat and tidy as a Shaker sitting- 
room. The employes of the Press number about 600, 
half of whom are men and boys and half women and 
girls. The old-time custom of apprenticeship is still 
in vogue, with some modifications. Long service is 
the rule, and several members of the force were with 



202 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Mr. Houghton when the Press was founded. The 
concern have offices in Boston, New York and Chi- 
cago, and their business is constantly increasing. 
We have very briefly sketched some of the prominent 
features and appliances of this concern and in closing 
we can only say that the influence of the Biverside 
Press has been felt far and wide, and it is hard to ex- 
aggerate the good it has exerted on the world of let- 
ters and the world of men, and a special incitement 
to young men to make the most of themselves in 
whatever department of life they are placed. Pluck, 
prudence, perseverance and the progressive spirit 
harnessed to the mechanical appliances of the age 
will work wonders. This is the lesson the young 
men may learn from the history of the Biverside Press 
whose motto has ever been, " Do your work well or 
not at all." 

University Press, John Wilson & Son (proprie- 
tors, John Wilson, C. E. Wentworth). — This concern 
was established in 1G39, and, with only a lapse of 
about twelve months, has been running ever since. 
They employ about three hundred hands with a 
weekly pay-roll of S3000. They do a large printing 
business, setting up and electrotyping nearly four 
hundred pages per diem and print over 100 reams of 
paper every day. They occupy the large building 
which was erected by Harvard College for a hotel 
(the Brattle House), but was soon given up for that 
purpose and has been remodeled and is in every re- 
spect a well-appointed establishment. This firm is 
well known and is celebrated for the excellency of its 
workmanship and fair dealing with its numerous 
patrons. 

The Mason & Hamlis Organ and Piano Co. — 
In 18.54 Mr. Henry Mason and Mr. Emmons Ham- 
lin formed a partnership for the manufacture of 
melodeons in Boston. They began with a small im- 
perfect instrument, which they have continued to 
improve till, in its present perfected state, it com- 
mands the indorsement of the first artists of the 
world. 

In 1861 a new form was given to the melodeon and 
the cabinet-organ introduced by that firm. 

A stock company was formed in 1868, and in 1882 
the present company was organized under the title of 
the Mason & Hamlin Organ and Piano Co., with 
branch houses in New York and Chicago. 

The manufacture was commenced in Cambridge 
Street, Boston, in a small way, and as the business 
increased adjoining dwelling-houses were bought up, 
and a new and substantial factory erected, but it was 
not long before the manufacturing facilities were 
found to be inadequate and land was bought and the 
present extensive factory on the corner of Broadway 
and Brewery Street, in Cambridgeport, erected. Of 
the character of the buildings an idea may be formed 
when it is known that the solid and conservative 
Manufacturers' Mutual Insurance Companies of Bos- 
ton insure this factory, which is the only wood-work- 



ing establishment in the country they have ever 
taken in. 

As organ-makers Mason & Hamlin have become 
famous all over the world, having carried oft' highest 
honors at all important International Exhibitions 
where their instruments were in competition during 
the last twenty-three years. 

Eight years ago the company added to their exten- 
sive organ business the manufacture of pianos on a 
new and improved method. From present appear- 
ances it would seem that their reputation in this 
branch will be as world-renowned as that which they 
have achieved as manufacturers of organs. 

They, too, have been remarkably successful from a 
financial point of view. The Mason & Hamlin stock 
is one of the best paying investments and hard to get 
hold of. 

Henry Thay^ee & Co., manufacturing chemists. 
— In 1847 Henry Thayer began in a very small way 
to manufacture fluid extracts, an entirely new busi- 
ness in this country. Dr. Thayer was then the pro- 
prietor of a retail apothecary store on Main Street, 
Cambridgeport, and, although he had studied med- 
icine and received a degree as M.D., he did not con- 
fine his labors to the practice of his profession, but 
chose the more extensive field of "manufacturing 
chemist," for which he was peculiarly fitted and to 
which he gave his whole time and talents. Begin- 
ning in a small room, not more than ten or twelve 
feet square, in the rear of his store, the business 
rapidly increased, and he very soon had to seek for 
more extensive and convenient quarters. A rather 
small two-story wooden building was erected, where 
the business was carried on for a year or two, but 
very soon there was a call for more commodious 
quarters, and having associated with him Mr. John 
P. Putnam and Mr. Francis D. Hardy, they removed 
to the large brick building known as Douglass Block, 
where they remained until 1870, when they erected 
the {Premises on Broadway, which they now occupy 
as a laboratory and -which, for complete appointment 
and adaptation for what it is intended, is a model 
establishment. The main building is four stories 
with a basement and sixty by eighty, with an annex 
sixty by forty, containing the engine and " drug- 
mill " — the latter fitted with the requisite machinery 
for grinding and powdering all the articles used, thus 
preventing the adulteration either by accident or de- 
sign. The arrangements for labeling and putting up 
their goods is such as to render a mistake or error 
almost, if not quite, impossible, and is very ingenious. 
The firm enter this year, 1890, on their forty-third 
year of continued business under the same firm-name 
uninterrupted by any business disaster whatever. 
The members of the firm are recognized as among 
the leading pharmacists and manufacturing chemists 
of the day, and it is not at all surjirising their goods 
rank high among the medical faculty as well as by 
the business community all over the world, as their 



CAMBRIDGE. 



203 



goods have a world-wide reputation and have made a 
mark in the history of the world's commerce. 

Charles Eiver Irox Works.— In 1860 Deacon 
Edward Kendall began the manufacture of boilers 
and steam-engines on a small scale, and very soon 
associated with him Mr. Roberts, under the firm- 
name of Kendall & Roberts, and as the business in- 
creased very rapidly they extended their works from 
time to time, and the concern was soon known as one 
of the most thriving, prompt and successful establish- 
ments of its class in this vicinity, celebrated alike for 
the honesty of its dealings and for the excellency of 
its workmanship. Mr. Kendall has now with him 
his sons, and the firm is at the present time Edward 
Kendall & Sons, and in addition to the large and sub- 
stantial new buildings they have lately erected, they 
are now engaged in extending their limits by filling 
up the Hats adjacent to their works, part of the ma- 
terial for which they obtain from the excavation 
which is being made for the extension of the State- 
House in Boston, about a mile distant. 

When this work is completed they will have one of 
the most extensive and well-appointed plants for the 
class of work in their line in this vicinity. They now 
employ more than 200 men, and use 1000 tons of iron 
and steel, and 1200 tons of castings. 

The Cambridge Rollisg-Mill is an industry 
that occupies a very important place among the 
varied manufacturing interests of Cambridge. It was 
formerly known as the Boston RoUing-Mill, estab- 
lished in 1864 by Lyman Kinsley and Edward Paige. 
It was originally built for the rolling of Swedish iron, 
but this was abandoned on account of the excessive 
duties imposed on this iron. Attention was after- 
wards given to the handling of domestic ores, which, 
increasing in volume, led to the addition of capacity 
for the manufacture of refined iron. The premises 
coming into the possession of the above-named com- 
pany, Henry H. Gilmore, present mayor of Cam- 
bridge, was chosen president and James A. Werton, 
of Manchester, N. H., treasurer. The business is 
conducted under the names of Gilmore & Eustis, and 
is known in the iron trade far and near. While con- 
siderable Swedish iron is used, the bulk of the ma- 
terials consists of scrap-iron, from which the higher 
grades of wrought-ii'on are manufactured. The capa- 
city of the productions amounts to twenty-five tons 
per diem, with eighty men employed, and the same 
quantity when run at night, with 140 men employed. 
The annual manufacture represents in value from 
§300,000 to 8500,000, according to the market price of 
iron. The original buildings were destroyed by fire in 
1884, but the structures erected in their places were 
larger in dimensions and better adapted to the uses 
for which they were built. At the beginning supplies 
were received by water through Broad Canal, a water- 
way leading from Cliarles River, but in later years 
the enterprising company have found a new avenue 
throuah or over which their coal and iron are received 



and shipments made. Three spur-tracks leading 
from the Boston and Albany Railroad branch, enter 
the premises, and cars laden with coal and other sup- 
plies are run directly into the sheds and unloaded. 
The same cars or others receive .shipments and de- 
liver them anywhere in the country or in the Prov- 
inces. 

Wages are paid at this establishment which will 
compare favorably with those paid in mills of this 
description. The sum of $1.50 is the lowest grade, 
while as high as S4.50 and 86 are paid. This latter 
is of course paid for skilled labor. The goods manu- 
factured by this house have a reputation and a stand- 
ing in the market which is highly commendable to 
the gentlemen who conduct the business, which is 
constantly increasing. 

The American Rubber Company operate an 
extensive plant for the manufacture of boots and 
shoes and rubber coats. Twelve hundred persons 
find employment and turn out an immense amount of 
goods annually. The factory is located at Sixth and 
Potter Streets, East Cambridge. 

The corporation which carries on the business is 
officered by Mr. R. D. Evans, who holds the dual 
jjosition of president and treasurer. The factory 
buildings are enclosed in a land area of five acres, 
and the floor surface of the buildings is of immense 
capacity. 

The corporation also manufacture the best grades 
of oil clothing in a large factory building located on 
Clark Street, Cambridgeport, where a great many 
operatives are employed. The entire industry is of 
vast proportions and the business transactions are 
equal to otlier factories of a similar character in the 
United States. 

F. H. HOLTON & Co. — A rapidly-increasing me- 
chanical business is that of F. H. Holton A: Co., who 
have extensive copper and brass works on Harvard 
Street, near the branch tracks of the Boston & 
Albany Railroad, Cambridgeport. This business was 
formerly conducted in Boston on a much smaller 
scale, but in 1887 it was removed to this city, where 
larger facilities were secured for an increased addition 
to the business. Commodious workshops were 
erected to furnish accommodations for the manufac- 
ture of copper and brass goods, and for the introduc- 
tion of a new line of work, that of the manufacture 
of bath-tubs and copper boilers. 

The making of bath-tubs has now become a remu- 
nerative oc(!upation, there not being a similar manu- 
factory in New England. 

The firm has also facilities unequaled for the 
rolling of sheet copper, and a large business is done 
in brass work of every description. The factory is 
situated on the line of the railroad, which enables the 
firm to receive supplies and to make shipments, a 
convenience which is highly ai>|ireciated. 

A new feature is now being intnHluce<l, that of the 
manufacture of galvanized boilers for ranges. Metal 



204 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



roofing is also conducted by the firm, and very large 
contracts are made for the supplying of this line of 
work. The establishment occupies a ground area of 
57,000 feet. The workshops are conveniently ar- 
ranged for the prosecution of the business, and the 
machinery, of the most improved pattern, is operated 
by an engine of 350 horse-power. The employees of 
every grade number 2(50 men and boys, and the 
annual receipts from sales amount to $750,000. 

The Geokge G. Page Box Compaxy occupies 
a leading position among the manufacturers of Cam- 
bridge. They are successors of the late George G. 
Page, a native of M^entworth, N. H., who came to 
Cambridge when nineteenyearsof age, finding employ- 
ment as a carpenter. In 1884 Mr. Page began the mak- 
ing of packing-boxes by hand, in a shop on Magazine 
Street, and in the following year he erected a small 
factory building on Hampshire Street, the site of the 
present vast establishment. Success attended his 
venture, and after a time he introduced horse-power 
and put in machinery to aid him in the manufacture 
of boxes and packing-cases. His business was going 
along swimmingly when his entire establishment was 
destroyed by an incendiary fire in 1857. He soon re- 
covered from this disaster by replacing the burned 
buildings with more substantial ones, better fitted for 
the prosecution of the business. Improved machin- 
ery and steam-power were added, which made the 
new plant more effective in the production of the 
various manufactures. Fire again visited him in 
1873, but the line of insurance he carried assisted 
him in rebuilding, this time with substantial brick 
buildings, which now, with several additional ones, af- 
ford excellent facilities for the conduct of a business 
which has reached immense proportions. Mr. Page 
was assisted by his sons, Ovando, deceased, and 
Wesley L. Page, whom he admitted as partners under 
the firm-name of George G. Page & Co. On the de- 
cease of Mr. Ovando Page, in 1882, the present corpor- 
ation was formed with Mr. Wesley L. Page as president, 
Mr. Franklin P. Stewart as treasurer and Mr. Clar- 
ence M. Hewlett as clerk, who constituted the Board 
of Directors. In January, 1886, Mr. George G. Page 
the founder of the business, deceased at the advanced 
age of seventy-nine years. The factory buildings are as 
follows : factory No. 1 is a brick building 130x50 feet of 
three stories ; factory No. 2 is a frame building 100x50 
feet, three stories high. 

A store-house, sixty feet square and two stories in 
height, stands in the rear of factory No. 1, while on 
the outside of factory No. 1 stands a brick boiler and 
engine-house, in which are located boilers having a 
capacity of 150 horse-power and an engine of 125 
horse power. The fullest provisions against fire, in 
the form of fire hose and automatic sprinklers, are 
provided, and especial care is taken to remove the 
collections of sawdust and shavings so that the ac- 
cumulations are swept up several times during the 
day and placed in the chute leading to the tire- room. 



this being the only fuel used under the boilers. The 
most improved planers, dressing both sides of the 
boards at the same time, saws of every description, 
nailing machines and sandpapering apparatus, find 
place in this well-conducted establishment. 

A special feature of the factory is the printing de- 
partment, where any form of inscription or device is 
printed upon the wood in set colors of ink or in a 
combination of colors. The presses used are espe- 
cially made for the purpose, and are of the well- 
known Universal pattern. This work is admirably 
done and is highly favored. Nearly 10,000,000 feet 
of lumber is annually used, which is brought to the 
factory by vessels from the East, the rear of the factory 
premises abutting on Broad Canal. The company 
have storage-yards on the line of the railroad, where 
thousands of feet of lumber are stacked to be 
seasoned. 

Employment is found in this vast establishment by 
hundreds of men and boys, and the weekly pay-roll 
is very large. 

Mr. Page, the president, is an active and thorough 
business man and holds the confidence of the hun- 
dreds of patrons who give the company their orders. 

Barbour, Stockwell & Company, No. 316 
Main Street, successors to Morrill & Allen, general 
machinists, carry on a very large business, employing 
many hands and operating the most improved ma- 
chinery, including a steam trip-hammer. The firm 
manufactures to a large extent the Pingree Switch, a 
device used on street railways, which works automat- 
ically by the pressure of a horse's foot. It is far 
superior, in the opinion of railway managers, to any 
other device used for such purposes. The firm has a 
great demand for them from all parts of the country. 
This establishment has had a long existence and is 
well known to manufacturers and the trade every- 
where. 

William Campbell & Company'. — Boiler-making 
in this city is an industry of considerable importance, 
and affords occupation for scores of skilful workmen. 
This firm has a reputation of furnishing only the best 
work produced from guaranteed materials. The 
shop from which the work is delivered is located at 
No. 354 Main Street, and embraces all modern facili- 
ties for the fabrication of warranted products in steel 
and iron. The business of the firm is excessively 
large and with a constantly increasing demand. Iron 
tanks, for the holding of water and for manufacturers' 
uses in other ways, are also made to order. The 
Messrs. Campbell have been located in their present 
premises for a number of years, and whatever is 
wrought by them may be depended upon as being 
first-class in every particular. 

The American Net and Twine Company' oc- 
cupy premises located at the foot of Second Street. 
The land area embraces 11.200 feet, upon which 
stands a brick factory building of four stories. 

In this building 250 male and female operatives 



CAMBEIDGE. 



205 



find employment. The machinery used to operate | 
the business is of the latest and most improved pat- 
tern. A large amount of the manufacture of nets is 
done by hand, as no machinery has been invented to 
take the place of deft, female fingers. Netting for : 
hammocks, seines and for other uses are produced 
here. 

The annual product represents 1,000,000 pounds of 
raw material. A ready market is always found for 
the goods, not only in the United States, but in South 
America, to which country large shipments are 
made. Large factories are run by the company in 
Canton, Mass., for the manufacture of all kinds of 
twine, principally of the kind required in the making 
of nets. 

The business was established in Boston in 1842, and 
removed to Cambridge fifteen years ago. The busi- 
ness is the largest of the kind conducted in the 
country, and is known far and near. The building is 
well guarded against fire, as automatic sprinklers are 
placed freely about it. Regulations of the most posi- 
tive character are in force throughout the establish- 
ment against the careless handling of matches or ! 
other agents likely to cause accidents of this descrip- I 
tion.. The business is a remunerative one, and affords | 
a handsome revenue to those connected with it. [ 

Caekiage Makcfacti-re. — Cambridge has been 
more or less noted for its industry of carriage-build- 
ing. Fifty years ago, at least, Mr. Walter M. Allen 
did a large business in the manufacture of carriages 
of the then prevailing style. His factory, of modest 
pretensions, stood in Allen Street at the corner of 
North Avenue, where now stands the factory of 
Francis I vers & Son. 

Mr. Allen confined himself to the making of plain 
but substantial vehicles, which found ready sale be- 
cause of the reputation of their maker. 

Mr. Ivers began business early in 1861, but when 
the shot was fired at Sumter he closed up bis place 
and enlisted in the army. Upon returning from the 
war he began business again, and from that time un- 
til now he has prosecuted a thriving business. 

He makes a specialty in the manufiicture of the 
" Ivers buggy," a design of his own, which is patented. 
This vehicle is noted nearly the world over for its sym- 
metry and beautiful pattern, its lightness and dura- 
bility. No gentleman's carriage-house is complete j 
without one, as is attested where a nice turnout is 
desired. 

Mr. Ivers does not wholly confine himself to this 
specialty, for he also builds light pleasure wagons, 
which find ready sale on account of the reputation of 
the builder. 

Quite recently he has admitted his only son, Mr. 
Frank H. Ivers, to the business, and the result is that 
the firm is constantly pressed for every variety of ve- 
hicle, more especially the celebrated buggy. 

A vast amount of fine repairing gives employment 
to skilled workmen. The premises cover a large 



amount of territory, the several workshops and ware- 
rooms embracing thousands of feet of floor room. 
Quite near the factory of Messrs. Ivers, on North 
Avenue, is located the carriage factory and mart of 
the Brothers Henderson, who began business in a 
modest manner in 1850. 

The Messrs. Henderson do not confine themselves 
to any special line of work, as they manufacture 
every possible style of Tehicle, from the modest ex- 
press wagon to the more pretentious landau. 

The firm manufactures beach wagons, buckboards, 
omni busses and every other conceivable vehicle for 
which there may be a demand. 

The brothers employ about sixty men the year 
round, and they effect sales amounting to $150,000 
per annum. They occupy 70,000 feet of land, and 
their buildings Jiavea floor capacity of five acres. Their 
products are shipped to most remote places, so well 
known have their manufactures become. They deal 
fairly and have no hesitation in warranting their 
goods. 

Messrs. Charles Waugh & Co., at Nos. 442 to 450 
Main Street, Cambridgeport, rank in a very high or- 
der as builders of carriages, light wagons, heavy 
caravans and drays. They also give their attention 
to the building of sleighs, pungs, etc., and deal largely 
in horse clothing and stable equipments. The firm 
was originally known as Waugh Brothers. Thev be- 
gan business in 1873 on premises which had long been 
occupied for blacksmithing and carriage-building. 
The present company was formed in 1884, since which 
time the business has greatly increased. 

The buildings occupied by the firm are of ample di- 
mensions, covering thousands of feet of laud and 
having a large area of floor-room. The most modern 
machinery is used to expedite the work, the power 
being furnished by an electric motor of five horse- 
power, which runs a saw, planer drills, blower and 
other attachments. The finest work is produced by 
skilllul workmen in the several branches, and nothing 
in the shape of new work or in the form of repairs 
leaves the establishment without the closest inspec- 
tion and with the fullest guarantee. 

The firm has recently built police patrol wagons 
for the Cambridge police service, and for that of the 
town of Revere. It is needless to say that the work 
was first-class in every particular. 

The Jlessrs. Waugh & Co. have also built a wagon 
of their own design, for the chief of the Boston Fire 
Department, which is pronounced an excellent piece 
of work. The company consists of Mr. Chas. Waugh 
and Mr. Chas. E. Pierce, both young men full of 
energy, and holding a high position in the community. 

An industry of considerable note and pretentious 
in character is that carried on by Mr. Charles E. 
Pierce and Mr. Chas. Waugh ; it is the manufacture 
of tin cans and boxes for the storage of various com- 
modities, such as crackers, confectionery, etc. Their 
place of business is at Nos. 446 and 448 Main street, 



206 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, xMASSACHUSETTS. 



Cambridgeport, next adjoining the carriage worljs of 
Charles Waugh & Co. 

The productions of tinware here alluded to are of 
various designs, but all have a setting of glass in 
order that the contents may be exposed to view. The 
demand for this line of goods is very great, and the 
firm is pushed to keep pace with it, notwithstanding 
the large number of hands employed. These goods 
are principally made to order, and find their way all 
over New England. Mr. Pierce is a practical tin- 
smith, and all the work produced by the firm is 
■warranted. A large annual revenue is derived from 
the business. 

The Revere Sugar Refinery, established in 
1872 as successors of the Eagle Sugar Refinery, em- 
ploys 150 men to handle the yearly out-put. 

The firm-name of the proprietors is, Nash, Spauld- 
ing & Co. The factory premises embrace a large 
territory, and the establishment in which the sugar is 
refined, and in which the superior syrup is made, is 
an extensive building of six stories. 

The annual receipts from the sales are from ;?600,000 
to $1,000,000. This represents the manufacture of 
about 1200 barrels of sugar per diem, and 10,000 
barrels of syrup annually. The industry is one of the 
leading ones in this community. The refinery is 
situated on Water Street and Miller's River, East 
Cambridge. 

Lumber. — The lumber business of Cambridge has 
always stood at the forefront, because of the excellent 
water facilities afforded by the Charles and Miller's 
Rivers. On those streams several extensive lumber 
plants have been established during the past seventy- 
five years. At present there are but few left of those 
in existence twenty-five years ago, the business hav- 
ing been abandoned. Those who occupy premises on 
the water-front above the Canal, or Craigie Bridge, 
on the Charles, are greatly hampered in the receipts 
of freights, because of the railroad bridges crossing 
the stream at the eastward of Canal Bridge. Delays 
are frequent in the passage of vessels through the 
railroad drawbridges, which occasion great incon- 
venience to wharf owners. In view of these draw- 
backs, Mr. George W. Gale, the largest retail lumber 
dealer in Cambridge, retired his business from the 
water to premises at the corner of Main and Portland 
streets, numbered from 336 to 342 on Main Street. 
The premises occupied by Mr. Gale embrace a ter- 
ritory of 75,000 feet, upon which he has erected 
storage buildings of large dimensions, and so arranged 
as to admit of the reception of supplies directly from 
cars bringing them from the East, West, North and 
South, from which points of the compass he has large 
shipments. The branch tracks of the Boston and 
Albany Railroad, running from the trunk line to 
tide-water in East Boston, enable Mr. Gale to have 
freights delivered in his yards, over a spur track, 
from the most remote places. This feature, of which 
Mr. Gale is the originator, has been an innovation in 



the transaction of the lumber business, and it has 
been found to far supersede the old custom of receiv- 
ing freights by water. In the storage buildings re- 
ferred to Mr. Gale has provided pockets or indepen- 
dent spaces in which dressed lumber is stood on end, 
instead of being piled up. This lumber is of various 
dimensions, and when stored is easily selected by 
length and width. Upon receipt of the various 
grades of domestic lumber, they are stored in a build- 
ing in which a temperature of 70" is constantly kept 
up through steam pipes leading from an eight-horse- 
power Campbell boiler. This continuous tempera- 
ture tends to thoroughly season every board, thus 
making them superior to kiln-dried lumber. Builders 
who want first-class lumber patronize Mr. Gale, on 
account of this feature of preparing the stock for 
immediate use. Spruce boards and timber find stor- 
age out-of-doors, when not dressed. Mr. Gale deals 
largely in supplying building frames direct from the 
mills in the East, so that the purchaser only pays for 
what he receives, there being no waste, every timber 
being cut and fashioned according to the plan of the 
building, which is forwarded with the order. This 
unique trade is constantly growing, and many builders 
prefer to give their orders in this way, than to be 
subjected to the old fashion of framing the building 
themselves. Sir. Gale deals largely in lime, plaster, 
cement and hair, all of which come to him by rail. 
Now he can order a car-load of lime fresh from the 
kilns, but when he occupied the wharf he was obliged 
to have a cargo of this commodity sent to him in the 
fall of the year, before the rivers were closed by ice, 
when he would store it in his sheds to slacken by the 
atmosphere, and to becoms less valuable for plastering 
or mortar-making. Builders appreciate this, and, 
therefore, Mr. Gale has a large patronage in this direc- 
tion. From boyhood until 1885 Mr. Gale was asso- 
ciated with the lumber business on the water-front, 
but since he established himself on his present 
premises, no inducement could prevail upou him to 
change places by returning to the waterside. Mr. 
Gale does strictly a retail business, and would not 
undertake to wholesale under any circumstances. 
He now handles about 10,000,000 feet of lumber per 
annum, and the business is constantly increasing. 
Every appointment on his premises is first-class in 
character, as Mr. Gale does not believe in doing any- 
thing that bears the semblance of being slipshod or 
devoid of system. 

John P. Squire & Co. — The extensive and cele- 
brated pork-packing establishment of John P. Squire 
& Co. is located at East Cambridge, and the land and 
buildings cover about twenty acres, and is the largest 
business concern in the city. Their business amounts 
to more than fifteen millions of dollars annually, and 
they employ about one thousand men. The number 
of hogs slaughtered is about seven hundred and fifty 
thousand. The capacity of their ice-houses is about 
42,000 tons. The firm consists of John P. Squire, 



CAMBRIDGE. 



207 



Frank O. and Fred. P. Squire and was started in 1842 

by the senior partner alone in a comparatively small 
way, but has been constantly growing in magnitude 
until the present time, and the amount of their busi- 
ness for the year ending in April of this year (1890) 
was over $lo,000,000. 

Kennedy's Bakery — This establishment, now so 
well-known all over the country from Maine to Geor- 
gia, was originated by the late Artemas Kennedy, in 
1839, when he came to Cambridgeport and began 
business in the brick building on Main Street, where 
he remained for six years, when he built a dwelling- 
house and bakery on the adjoining lot, and for ten 
years he baked only four barrels of flour daily into 
crackers, all rolled and docked singly by hand, and 
pitched into the oven one by one. In 18.55 steam was 
introduced and the product was increased so that 
nine barrels of flour were turned out daily. In 1861 
the business had so increased that an oflice was opened 
in Xew York City, and it was found necessary to run 
night and day, and in 1869 the first reel or mechan- 
ical oven was built, capable of baking twenty barrels 
of flour a day, and from time to time more reel ovens 
have been added, and in 1875 a laxge brick building 
was erected on Green Street with four large mechan- 
ical ovens, which were subsequently increased to eight, 
and in 1887 another factory was added on Franklin 
Street, and now there are ten reel and nine tile ovens 
constantly in use, and employment is given to three 
hundred and seventy-five persons. Branch stores 
have been established in various cities and every part 
of the United States canvassed by salesmen. 

The Chicago branch became so important that in 
1881 a factory was built, but in two years it was entirely 
destroyed by fire. Another factory was at once erected, 
having six ovens of the very largest capacity, and 
now this plant is producing as many goods as the 
Cambridge house, the output averaging 85,000 per 
day. A few statistics will give some idea of the 
amount of business done by this concern, which fig- 
ures can be relied upon, being taken from their books. 
Sixteen hundred tons of coal were burned last year; 
from two hundred to two hundred and fifty barrels of 
flour are a day's work at present, varying according 
to the class of goods baked ; of eggs the daily average 
is 6U00, but on special occasions 1000 dozen have 
been used in one day. Fourteen hundred pounds of 
butter and thirty-four hundred pounds of lard are 
used daily, or nearly tw^o tons and a half daily for 
shortening. One hundred and seventy gallons of 
milk, two tons of sugar and one hundred and fifty gal- 
lons of molasses are used every day. These are among 
the principal ingredients used, but others might be 
mentioned, such as raspberry jam, of which twenty- 
nine tons were used last year, besides soda, raisins, 
currants, cocoanuts, spices, etc., all of which are 
bought by the ton and often by the carload. One 
hundred and forty tons of butter are, during the 
month of Juue, bought and placed in cold storage for 



next winter's use, it being much superior to any made 
later in the year. In the tin can department thirty- 
eight hands are constantly employed, and tin of spec- 
ial sizes is imported in lots of five hundred boxes. 
Over fifty thousand of the one and two-pound cans 
are packed and sold every month. 

Pure cold water from artesian wells is used, there- 
by assuring the most healthy results, as well as the 
even quality of the goods. All the factories are sup- 
plied with the automatic fire alarm system and auto- 
matic sprinklers, and an electric plant of four hun- 
dred and fifty lights. There are branch houses in 
Xew York City, Philadelphia, AVashington, Albany, 
Troy, in the East, and Minneapolis, St. Paul and 
Kansas City, in the West. Thirty-four horses are in 
use in expressing goods to the depots in Boston, and 
the various branches use as many more. The output 
at present is S4500 per day and the gross business 
for the year 1889 was over a million dollars, and the 
Chicago house was about the same. The Cambridge 
pay-roll is 83400 a week; two men have been em- 
ployed with this house forty-seven and forty-five 
years, respectively, and others from fifteen to twenty 
years. 

Earthen-ware — Earthen-ware manufacture oc- 
cupies a prominent position in the industries of Cam- 
bridge. The potter, whose occupation dates from 
nearly the earliest period, plies his trade here in a 
manner far superior to his prototype of the remote 
era. Then his craft were few in number and the fa- 
cility of doing the work was meagre when compared 
with the processes now employed. Thousands of years 
have passed since the first work from clay was wrought 
in its simplicity. 

Specimens of pre-historic work have been exhumed 
from the ruins of ancient cities, which bore the im- 
press of indestructibility, the clay having been so 
prepared as to resist the inroads of time upon it. The 
potter's wheel then employed to aid in the fashioning 
of earthen vessels has been but slightly improved 
upon, but the preparation of the material used is vast- 
ly superior to the means employed by the ancient 
potter. Then the work was slowly forwarded by hand, 
while now machinery has been introduced of the 
most approved pattern to expedite the work. The 
clay is taken from the ground and after having been 
properly handled is run through different graded mills 
to secure a proper consistency to be wrought into suit- 
able and artistic shapes. Steam-power, a motor un- 
known to the early potter, is now employed to operate 
the appliances required in the business. The wheel 
upon which so much depends is moved without the 
treadle as of yore. 

Primitive genius has been superseded by the invent- 
ive mind of the present potter, so that now his work 
is more easily performed and to better and more re- 
munerative advantage. The pottery of the Messrs. 
A. H. Hews & Co., of North Cambridge, is a model 
establishment because of the fact that the firm is com- 



20S 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



posed of energetic men, who are so far progressive in 
the conduct of the vast business transacted as to intro- 
duce every labor-saving apparatus which may be pre- 
sented. 

The business to which the firm has succeeded was 
established in 1765, in the town of Weston, Mass., 
by Abram IJews, grandfather of the senior member. 

An entry in the journal of the founder of the busi- 
ness reads as follows : 

".\pril 19, 1776. 
"Lemuel Sonea to Ware, Dr., 2.8." 

Then again : 

" Westos, August 15, 17.M . 

" Then Rec'd of Mr. Hewea one pound in full of all accompta and 

demands. 

" I sav Received by me. 

"John Kingman." 

" Jan'y Ist, 1790. 

"Then Balanced accompti with Abram Harrington. 

"Abeam Hews, 

" Paniel Eaton." 

Tlie business of which the present company are the 
proprietors was conducted in Weston for over a cen- 
tury, when it was transferred to Cambridge by Mr. 
A. H. Hews, the senior partner of the firm, in 1870. 

The annual transactions exceed the gross earnings 
of the parent industry for a period of half a century. 

The buildings in which this vast business is carried 
on consist of a three-story brick structure and several 
outbuildings of suitable dimensions, all covering an 
area of two acres. The floor-room has an area of 
60,000 feet, on which the manufactures, in their sev- 
eral branches, are forwarded. 

On these floors flower-pots are turned out, and the 
Albertiue vase, highly ornamented, is developed in 
the art department. The art pottery is marvelous in 
design and ornamentation, and finds a ready market 
in art circles. Probably nowhere in this country 
can be found a prettier exhibition of the potter's skill 
than is displayed here. Copies from the most antique 
productions, with original designs, are arranged with 
taste in the exhibition room, making a museum of 
clay productions unequaled. 

Four kilns are used, which have a capacity of hold- 
ing 35,000 pieces of medium-sized pottery, and which 
are placed with care and precision for the baking 
process. 

The factory is on the line of the Fitchburg Rail- 
road, over which the firm receives its coal and for- 
wards its wares to all parts of the country. 

New and improved machinery, of great cost, has 
just been introduced, so that now the establishment 
ranks with any other in the country. 

Ninety employes find steady employment at this 
establishment. Mr. Wm. P. Brown is the book- 
keeper, and Mr. George H. McKee is the art designer 
and foreman of the works. 

Soap Manufactures. — Cambridge has for many 
years been noted for the manufacture of this import- 
ant article, and it is now and has been for nearly a 
century more extensively engaged in it than any 



other place in New England, and less than fifty years 
ago more soap was shipped from Cambridge than from 
any other port in this country. The chief places to 
which it was exported were the West Indies and 
South America. Hardly a vessel left Boston for 
either of these places with less than a thousand boxes, 
and frequently with five times that number, receiv- 
ing in return either gold or cofiee. That trade has 
almost entirely ceased, and the manufacture is now 
chiefly confined to the home market, and grades and 
qualities for domestic purposes, and the business has 
increased largely in amount and it can now be reck- 
oned as one of the large and important industries of 
Cambridge. The business commenced in a small way. 
In 1804, Nathaniel Livermore came from Waltham to 
Cambridgeport in search of business and also to 
benefit his health, which at that time was thought to 
be in a very critical state tending towards, and by 
some physicians thought to be, a confirmed case of 
consumption. Mr. Livermore found a person who 
understood the business and another who could fur- 
nish a small amount of capital and a co- partnership 
was formed under the name and style of Livermore, 
Crane and Whitney. 

The business began in a very small way in a 
building in the rear of Main Street, and in the 
Columbian Centinel of December 22, 1804, they 
advertise that they are ready to furnish brown soap, 
dipt candles and groceries. This was the origin of 
soap-making in Cambridge. Mr. Livermore, who was 
then twenty-five years old, continued in the business 
on the same spot until he died, in 1862, at the advanc- 
ed age of ninety years. 

There are in Cambridge at the present time five 
large factories making in the aggregate many million 
pounds per annum, and all finding a ready market for 
their goods at remunerative prices. Among the long- 
est in business is the well-known firm of Curtis, Davis 
and Company. Since the death of Mr. Davis, in 
1877, the business has been continued by his son-in- 
law, James Mellen, under the same name and style, 
and the quality of the goods made is too well known 
all over the country to need any words of commenda- 
tion. The area of land upon which the factory, 
store-houses, stables and other out-buildings stand is 
about 66,000 feet, floor area 44,-500 feet and daily pro- 
duct is 35,000 pounds of difterent grades of laundry a 
very large per cent, of which (nine-tenths) is the cele- 
brated " Welcome Soap," of which they manufactured 
and sold in the past year (1889) one hundred thou- 
sand boxes of seventy-five pounds each, and for which 
they require daily twenty thousand pounds of tallow, 
four thousand pounds of alkali, two tons of coal and 
a variety of other supplies, including borax and per- 
fumes. The alkali is imported from England, the 
borax from California, the perfumery from China, 
Germany, France, Florida and the State of New 
York. The number of hands employed is very large. 

James C. Davis tt Son, Soa]) Manufacturers. — This 



CAMBRIDGE. 



209 



concern started business in 1840, and since the 
death of the senior Mr. Davis two years ago the bus- 
iness has been continued liy his sons and his son-in- 
hiw, Mr. J. H. Spaulding. The factory, situated on 
Broadway, Cambridge port, lias been greatly enlarged 
and improved within the last few years and is now- 
supplied with all the late improvements and machin- 
ery, and is in every respect a well-appointed establish- 
ment with all the means and appliances for doing a 
large and increasing business. Their warehouse and 
salesroom is at No 3 Chatham Street, Boston. 

C. L. Jones & Co., Soap. — Business started about 1830 
by Charles Valentine, who was succeeded in 18-15 by 
the present firm. Buildings consist of main factory, 
175x60; connected with this is an ell 60x30, where 
are the kettles in which the boiling is done; the lat- 
ter are ten in number, with a united capacity of 400,- 
000 pounds. In the rear of the main building is the 
boiler-house, which contains four boilers of fifty horse- 
power each. The motive-power is furnished by two 
engines of twenty-five horse-power each. The weekly 
output is about 150,000 pounds — about thirty-five men 
and boys are employed. The goods are sold princi- 
pally in Xew JSnglacd and New York State. 

Johi Eeardon d- Sons use about 8,000,000 pounds 
of fats per year, from which they make in oleo oil 
about 4,000,000 pounds, butterine about 600,000 
pounds, stearine about 1,500,000 pounds, tallow 
about 1,000,000 pounds, soap about 3,000,000. 

William L. Lockhart's Manufactory. — This 
large and commodious establishment for the furnishing 
of funeral supplies is located on Bridge Street, East 
Cambridge, and is fully equiped with all modern appli- 
ances and machinery, and is thus always ready to 
furnish every article in his line, either by night or by 
day. The business was established in 1849 by Mr. 
Lockhart, who is, and has been, the sole proprietor, 
and who has built up a large and extensive business 
in all sections of the United States and Canada, and 
keeps constantly emploved at the factory about 150 
skilled operatives. Besides the factories at Cambridge, 
Mr. Lockhart has large ware-rooms in Boston, where 
are kept the largest, finest and most complete stock 
of undertakers' supplies in the country. The ware- 
rooms are situated in the business portion of Boston, 
and are readily accessible from all parts of the city, 
being within five minutes' walk of the northern and 
eastern depots and ten minutes' car ride to the south- 
ern depots, in the extreme parts of the city. The 
building used, warehouse and salesroom, is six stories 
high, at the junction of three streets, and was erected 
by Mr. Lockhart for the express purpose for which it 
is used, and for which it is admirably adapted ; no 
pains or expense has beeu spared in any of the de- 
tails of arrangement. The different floors of the 
building are divided as follows (each floor containing 
about five thousand square feet): Second floor, oflices 
and salesroom, and casket hardware department; 
third floor, show-rooms ; fourth floor, for packing 
14 



and shipping; fifth and sixth floors, storage. The 
show-room is filled with everything of a miscellane- 
ous nature that is required by a funeral director's use. 
Mr. Lockhart carries a complete duplicate line of all 
his goods, so that telegraph or telephone orders may 
be .sent immediately on receipt, by day or night. It 
has ever been his desire to obtain every facility for 
the prompt execution of all orders that may be en- 
trusted to his care, and he guarantees prompt service 
in all cases. Funeral directors are cordially invited 
to make his office their headquarters while in the 
city of Boston, and he feels confident that they will 
find his rooms to be the most complete of any in 
America for the purposes and business for which it 
is designed. Mr. Lockhart has lived in Cambridge 
for the last forty-five years, and is highly esteemed 
for his enterprise, geniality of disposition and inflexi- 
ble integrity. 

The Telescope Maxufactory of Clark & Soxs 
is the most celebrated institution of its kind in the world. 
Here was completed in 1887 the largest telescope ever 
made. This was for the Lick Observatory. The 
contract was made in 1880, and the telescope was 
finished and mounted in 1887. Its cost was §53,000. 
The contract was given to them by the Lick trustees 
after several years spent in finding a concern willing 
to undertake the work of making an instrument of 
the size and power required, which was to be larger 
and superior to any one ever made. The Clarks had 
four times been called upon to construct " a telescope 
more powerful than any now in existence," — first in 
1860, one for Chicago 18i inches aperture, which was 
3i inches larger than any then known ; in 1879 one 
for the Russian Government for a 30-inch objective 
(3 inches larger than the Vienna telescope); one in 
1870 with the L'nited States Government for a refrac- 
tor of 26-inch aperture, and in 1880 the Lick estate 
for a 36-inch telescope, all of which contracts they 
fulfilled to the satisfaction of all the parties concerned. 
They stand to-day at the head of the telescope-makers 
of the world, and are ready to undertake the construc- 
tion of instruments of still greater capacity if ordered. 
The factory, or workshop, where the firm do all their 
work is a small, unpretentious building on Brookline 
Street, Cambridgeport, near the banks of the Charles 
River. The work was all done by Mr. Alvan Clark 
and his two sons, George B. and Alvan G., and, with 
the exception of a few day-laborers, these constitute 
the whole force employed. Mr. Clark, senior, was 
for many years a member of the American Academy 
of Arts and Sciences, and his eldest son, George B., 
now enjoys the same honor. 

In 1867 Mr. xVlvan Clark was awarded theRumford 
medal of the American Academy of Arts' and Sciences 
for the perfection of his optical surfaces. The com- 
pletion of the 30-inch Russian object-glass brought 
the Clarks the signal honor of the golden medal of 
the Empire, conferred for the first time by Alexan- 
der III. The Clarks have built eleven instruments 



210 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



of the type known as the '' horizontal photo-helio- 
graph," with 5-inch aperture and 40 feet focus, appro- 
priatelj' mounted and moved by clock-work of their 
own construction. 

In the reprint of the appendix of the 23d volume of 
the "Encyclopiedia Britannica," Prof. David P. Todd 
says, " Of all the makers of telescopes the most cele- 
brated are Alvan Clark & Sons, of Cambridge, Mass., 
U. S. A." As a fitting close to this brief notice, we 
append a few words of an autobiographic nature writ- 
ten to a friend by Alvan Clark without any idea of 
publication. " I have never held any office nor at- 
tended a party caucus, but have always voted with the 
Republicans since they came into power, altho' up to 
that time I was a Democrat. I have never been a 
church-member, but my faith in the universality of 
God's Providence is entire and unswerving. My grand- 
fathers died, one at 87 and the other at 88, and they 
were both good men. I have never heard of one of 
my progenitors as being a bankrupt, or intemperate. I 
never sued but one man, and that was Collector Aus- 
tin, of Boston, and I gained my case. I never stud- 
ied music or attended an opera in my life, and know 
nothing of chess or card-playing. I never learned to 
dance, but was a good swimmer, though lacking in 
the points which goto make an expert gymnast. I was 
born in Ashfield, Franklin County, Massachusetts, on 
the eighth of March, 1804. When I was about 12 
years of age I thought that I would be a millwright, 
but when I was 17 years old I began to think that 
perhaps I might be better fitted for some other calling, 
and I went into a wagon-maker's shop and worked 
about a year, when I put myself at work in good 
earnest to learn alone engraving and drawing, and in 
1824 I visited Boston carrying with me specimens of 
my work to show my proficiency, which, though not 
great, was sufficient to secure me a living employment 
for the time. Supplying myself with some of the 
most needed materials, I returned to Ashfield and 
spent the summer with no settled plans farther than 
the acquisition of skill. While I was learning the 
art of engraving I offered my services in the vicinity 
of Ashville in making small portraits, some in India 
ink and some in water-colors, and with pretty satis- 
factory measure of success. One little incident I will 
mention which tends to show what small matters will 
change the course of a human life. Wanting some 
fine sable hair brushes I sent to Boston for them, and 
upon looking over a scrap of newspaper in which they 
were wrapped my eye fell on an advertisement, headed 
' Engravers Wanted,' and I was not long in making 
up my mind to apply for a situation, which I was de- 
lighted to get, and where I went to work in the en- 
graving shop of the Merrimac Co., at East Chelmsford 
(now Lowell), for the wages of eight dollars per week 
for one year, and nine dollars per week for the three 
succeeding years. I was to work nine hours per day 
in summer and eight hours in winter. 

"I was the first person married in the then Town 



of, now the City of, Lowell, on the twenty-fifth of 
March 1826, by the Rev. Theodore Edson, who was 
living and present at our ' golden wedding.' I have 
received the degree of A.M. from Amherst, Chicago, 
Princeton and Harvard. I have read much on As- 
trononi}', but in its mathematics I am lamentably de- 
ficient. 

"Lives as changeful and varied as mine has been, 
are frequently troubled in their finances, but I have 
always been able and fortunate enough to meet my 
money promises, and I have a fair reserve for a rainy 
day." 

This brief and modest narrative of the life and 
pursuits of Alvan Clark is the best history of the 
manufacture as well as of the beginning of telescope- 
making in this country that can be given, and that is 
enough in its teachings to encourage and stimulate 
the young men of this day to manly effort in their 
callings. 



CHAPTER XIV. 
CAMBRIDGE -( Continued)* 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Transportation, Bridges, Press, Societies, etc. 

Transportation. — Before the erection of any 
bridge across Charles River connecting Cambridge 
with Boston there was no method of access to the 
capital excepting by boats or the circuitous route 
through Charlestown, four and one-half miles, or 
Roxbury, eight miles, but soon after the opening of 
West Boston Bridge in 1793, there was a public con- 
veyance from Cambridge to Boston once a day, after- 
wards changed to two trips daily, going in at eight 
o'clock in the morning and returning at noon and 
again going in at two o'clock in the afternoon and 
returning at five or six. Fare, twenty-five cents from 
Old Cambridge and eighteen and three-fourths cents 
from Cambridgeport. Passengers were called for at 
their residences in Cambridge by booking their names 
the night before and were left at their place of desti- 
nation in Boston as far south as Summer Street. 

The coach used up to the year 1826 was a large, 
heavy, old-fashioned, stage-coach, similar to such as 
were then used on all the mail and stage routes, and 
had seats for nine passengers inside and could pile on 
as many more on the outside. This old Cambridge 
stage was quite an instiUition in days gone by, and 
many illustrious men and women were its patrons and 
many anecdotes might be told of the warm discussions, 
both theological and political, that took place in the 
old coach while on its way from Cambridge to Boston. 

The veteran driver for many years and up to the days 
of the omnibus, was Cyrus Morse, who will be long 
remembered by students of Harvard all over the 
country. Morse was a good specimen of the old-time 



CAMBRIDGE. 



ni 



stage-driver. He wa.' a handsome man, courteous to 
every one, but dignified in his deportment and re- 
spected by all. 

In 182G Captain Ebenexer Kimball, the then land- 
lord of the farmers' inn formerly known as Cutler's 
Tavern, located at the corner of Pearl and Main Streets, 
Cambridgeport, started the " Hourly," so called, which 
was to leave Cambridgeport on the even hours and 
Boston on the alternate hours, the first coach leaving 
at eight o'clock in the morning, and during the first 
year they omitted one or two trips in the middle of 
the day. The wise ones of that day predicted speedy 
failure of the enterprise, as it was thought and believed 
that Cambridge could not possibly support a coach 
once an hour; but the enterprising proprietor went on, 
and after the first season doubled the number of trips 
and increased the capacity of the coaches, and in less 
than five years was running a coach every thirty min- 
utes from Cambridgeport. 

When the first long omnibus was built with the 
door behind, and named the " Cyrus," in honor of the 
old veteran, Mr. Morse was taken to view the new 
coach, and after looking it over carefully, expressed his 
opinion that it was a failure and would never answer 
the purpose for which it was intended, as the exit for 
the passengers being so far ofl' they would run away 
before he could leave the box to collect the fares, as 
he always did on the old coach. The writer of this 
article has more than once been kept from school to 
stop the old stage for his mother, who visited the city 
twice a year to do all the shopping for a family of 
twelve persons, a proceeding quite in contrast to the 
custom of the ladies of the present day. 

In 18.3.5 Capt. Kimball bought out the old Cam- 
bridge line and started the then bold enterprise of 
rnnning a four-horse coach from old Cambridge once 
an hour, and this was kept up until the opening of the 
horse railroad iu ^larch, 18.5tj. 

When Mr. Kimball started the "hourlies" it was 
considered thr great event of the day for Cambridge 
and was celebrated in various ways by the people of 
Cambridge. 

Cambridge Rciilroad. — After a good deal of talk on 
the subject a charter w;is ajiplied for, and in March, 
18">3. an act was passed incorporating Gardner G. 
Hubbard, Charles C. Little and Isaac Livermore as 
the Cambridge Railroad Co. 

After obtaining the charter no one could be found 
willing to risk any money in the enterprise, and it lay 
dormant for three years, when Gardner Warren, a bold, 
enterprising man (but a poor financier), was willing 
to take the contract for building the road if S.3O,O0U 
in cash could be guaranteed, taking the rest in stock 
at par. A very few persons in old Cambridge became 
responsible for .§20,000 and one individual in Cam- 
bridgeport pledged himself for the other S<10,000, and 
the contract was signed the same day and work was 
begun at once, but before the track was finished it was 
suspended on account of a severe snow-storm, and the 



road-bed was not uncovered until about the 1st of 
March, 185G, when, in less than twenty days, the cars 
were running as far as Chambers Street, Boston. The 
writer rode over in the first car that crossed the bridge, 
and in speaking of the circumstance to one of the pro- 
prietors of the stage company he remarked that they 
would never be able to go up the hill to Bowdoiu 
Square or if they did they never could come down in 
safety. Before the return track was laid through 
Green Street the cars went only as far as Bowdoin 
Square, and the horses were taken off and hitched to 
the other end of the car for the return trip, and as 
there was but a single track up the hill the incoming 
cars were obliged to wait at the foot of the hill for 
the outward bound cars to pass. The first directors 
were Gardner G. Hubbard, Charles C. Little, .Tohn 
Livermore, T. B. Bigelow and Estes Howe. The 
stockholders were not very sanguine that the enter- 
prise would be profitable and preferred to lease the, 
property, which they did to a company chartered for 
that purpose, called the Union Railroad Company, the 
first directors of which were Williard Phillips, 
Charles C. Little, Gardner G. Hubbard, Moses M. 
Rice and J, C. Stiles. 

This company, the first horse railroad in New Eng- 
land, continued to operate the road successfully until 
the opening of the Charles River Railroad, when the 
dividing of the business and the lowering of the fares 
caused them to give up their lease, as they had a right 
to do if it ceased to be profitable, and the Cambridge 
Railroad alone run the road until they bought out 
the Charles River road, and they in turn soM to the 
West End Company, who are now the owners, not 
only of this, but of all the suburban street railroads in 
this vicinity and are rapidly adopting the clerlric si/3- 
tem for running the cars, so that it can hardly be called 
ahorse railroad at the present time. What the next 
move will be no one can foretell, but when we look 
back and see what a great advancement has taken 
place within the last fifty years from the days of the 
old lumbering stage-coach, there can be no doubt but 
that the future will show as great and important 
changes as the past. Even now the project of estab- 
lishing an elevated road is being agitated, hoping 
thereby to solve the problem of rapid transit through 
our crowded streets and thus save a few minutes in 
the time now occupied by our people in going to and 
from their places of business to their suburban homes. 

In addition to the various modes of conveying pas- 
sengers from Cambridge to Boston allusion should be 
made to the " Harvard branch,'" although it had but 
a brief existence. This was a spur from the Fitchburg 
Steam Railroad and terminating near the northerly 
bounds of the Common in Old Cambridge. This route 
was abandoned after a short trial, as it failed to meet 
the needs of the people or to be remunerative. 

The business of the Cambridge Division of the 
West End Railroad Company for the year 1889 was 
as follows : Number of horses, 1502 ; number of cars. 



212 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



153; miles run, 3,308,027; passengers, 18,545,409; 
cost of road and equipment, $3,291,175. Of the abovg 
cars 53 are electric. 

Bridges. — Cambridge owes much to its bridges ; 
some account, therefore, cannot fail to be of interest 
to those who have received, and will continue to re- 
ceive from them, great and permanent benefits. The 
first bridge ever built over Charles River was called 
the Great Bridge, connecting " Old Cambridge with 
Brighton." It was erected in liJiJO, and was ordered 
to be laid in "ozle and lead,'' and the town ordered 
that the Selectmen "should improve the timber that 
was brought for the fortification," for the repairing of 
the Great Bridge ; and when it was rebuilt in 1690 by 
Cambridge and Newton, they received aid from the 
puhlif treasury. At the time this bridge was built, 
what are now the towns of Newton, Arlington and 
Lexington were parts of Cambridge, and they were 
required to share with Cambridge the expense of 
maintaining the bridge in proportion to the respect- 
ive valuation of their several towns, which they con- 
tinued to do until they were released from that obli- 
gation, March 25, ISiiO, by the General Court. All 
other corporations having been released from liability, 
the General Court made a final disposition of the 
matter by an act passed March 11, 1862, by which 
the city of Cambridge and the town of Brighton 
were authorized and required to rebuild the Great 
Bridge over Charles River, the expense to be borne 
in proportion to the respective valuation of said 
city and town ; and it was also provided that a draw 
not less than thirty-two feet wide, should be con- 
structed at an equal distance from each abutment, 
and that the middle of the draw should be the di- 
viding line between Cambridge and Brighton at that 
point, and that thereafter each corporation should 
maintain its half of the structure at its own expense. 

The West Boston Bridge was the second toll-bridge 
built over Charles River, the one connecting Charles- 
town with Boston, called the Charles River Bridge, 
having been erected in 1785, and the West Boston 
Bridge in 1793, and opened for travel in November of 
the same year (November 23d). Dr. Abiel Holmes, 
who witnessed the building of the bridge, and who 
was familiar with the details, describes it as a "mag- 
nificent structure." Elbridge Gerry, afterwards Gov- 
ernor of Massachusetts and Vice-President of the 
United States, who then resided in "Elmwood," now 
the home of James Russell Lowell, the poet, was the 
first one allowed to pass over the bridge on the day 
of opening, starting from his home at sunrise, on 
horseback, with his wife, who was said to be the most 
accomplished and attractive lady in the land. 

The first officers of the corporation were Hon. 
Francis Dana, president; Mungo Mackay, treasurer; 
and Harrison Gray Otis, clerk. 

At a meeting of the directors, March 23, 1792, an 
assessment of ten dollars a share was laid, and it was 
voted "That the sum of seven hundred pounds be, 



and hereby is ofTered to Mungo Mackay and Henry 
Prentiss, jointly, as a consideration to superintend 
the whole labor of building the bridge, to procure 
laborers and make contracts for materials of all kinds, 
submitting, however, all contracts to the sub-com- 
mittee of Directors for confirmation. It being under- 
stood that the said Mackay and Prentiss (if they un- 
dertake the business) shall devote their whole ti»ie, 
or the whole time of one of them to the business. 
And they shall have liberty to resign their appoint- 
ment at any time if it interferes with their private 
concerns." Messrs Mackay and Prentiss accepted the 
appointment and made the contracts, and engaged 
Zenas Whiting as master-workman. The work was 
begun on the 8th of April, 1793, and in seven months 
and a half from the laying of the first pier the work 
was completed at a cost of $76,700, and "for elegance 
of workmanship and the magnitude of the under- 
taking" was pronounced "unequalled in the history of 
enterprises." The Boston Chronicle, of November 27, 
1793, says: "This bridge, for length, elegance and 
grandeur is not exceeded by any in the United States, 
if in any part of the world." The Columbian CetUinel 
of the same date says, that "for elegance of workman- 
ship and economy in the construction it is thought to be 
the greatest masterpiece of mechanical ingenuity that 
was ever executed in this country;" and adds that 
"the proprietors have a claim on the liberality of the 
public and the patronage of the government; and 
hope to these claims government will not be inatten- 
tive." 

There is a peculiarity in the mode of paying the 
tollmen. The directors voted that the annual 
salary of the principal tollmen should be $333.33. 
Afterwards it was voted that a grant be made to 
them of $166.66, in addition to this salary, and fre- 
quently it would be ordered, "that in consideration 
of their faithful services and the high prices of pro- 
visions and fuel," the sum of $50 were given them as 
a gratuity. 

About the time of closing the accounts for con- 
structing the bridge were settled, the following vote 
was passed: "That the Treasurer pay to Messrs. 
Shed & Page three Pounds, and make no charge 
against them for Rum furnished them when they had 
no beer for the workmen, and for the breaking of 
crockery and other utensils, in full compensation for 
their demands against the Proprietors, and take their 
receipt in full." 

The affairs of the corporation were managed with 
the strictest economy. For instance, on one occasion 
it was "voted that William Spooner and Mungo 
Mackay be appointed a committee for the purpose of 
contracting with Lamplighters, and to make a calcu- 
lation of the quantity of Oyl necessary for lighting 
the lamps, and to secure the unnecessary waste of 
oyl." 

In the year 1828 the Legislature considered the sub- 
ject of purchasing all the bridges over Charles River, 



CAMBllIDGE. 



213 



for the purpose of making them free before their 
charters would legally expire. This led to a pro- 
longed controversy, in which the doctrine of "vested 
rights" was strongly assailed and nearly (if not com- 
pletely) overthrown. In the year 1846 the Hancock 
Free Bridge Corporation received a cliarter empower- 
ing them to purchase the two bridges between Cam- 
bridge and Boston of the corporations which owned 
them, and to maintain them as toll-bridges until a 
fund of $150,000 should be raised, which sum was to 
be paid to the State, and for which sum the State was 
to keep them free forever. This act was amended in 
1857 to allow the city of Cambridge to take the fund 
and maintain them as free avenues forever. The 
bridges were made free on Saturday, January 31, 
1858, and the event was celebrated on the following 
Monday, viz., February 2, 1858. The price paid 
for West Boston Bridge was $75,000, and for Canal, 
or Cragie's Bridge, 860,000. So thorough and uni- 
versal was the joy and satisfaction of the people in the 
freedom of the bridges that they evinced their delight 
by turning out en masse in a procession got uji in very 
short notice, and, escorted by the National Lancers, 
they paraded through the principal streets of Cam- 
bridge and over both bridges. The public buildings 
and the houses of private citizens were decorated, and 
many of them were illuminated in the evening, when 
there was a display of fireworks. On each of the 
bridges the procession halted, and the president of 
the Hancock Free Corporation, the Hon. Isaac Liver- 
more, formally surrendered them respectively to the 
mayor of Cambridge. When the custody of the 
bridges was placed in the hands of the city, and the 
Hon. John Sargent, as mayor, accepted the charge, 
and in the name of the good city proclaimed them 
free forever, the multitude shouted with an enthusi- 
asm which indicated that their delight was heartfelt 
and sincere. 

Canal or Crayic's Bridge. — This bridge, connecting 
Boston with Lechmere Point (now East Cambridge), 
was opened for travel in August, 1800, and at that 
time there was but one dwelling-house in what is now 
the populous Third Ward of the city. It was occupied 
by two brothers, named Russell, who improved near- 
ly all the land for farming purposes. The opening 
of the bridge made a perceptible influence on the 
growth and prosperity of the place, and very soon 
large manufactures were established there, the most 
prominent of which was the New England Glass 
Works, so well known and celebrated all over the 
country, and now, in the year 1890, East Cambridge 
is the seat of many large and important industries. 

Prison Point Bridge. — This bridge was built in 1815 
for the benefit of Canal Bridge by virtue of a charter 
granted in 1806 for building a dam from Prison 
Point, in Charlestown, and Lechmere Point, in Cam- 
bridge, and erecting mills on the same. No dam 
was constructed nor mill erected, and it was laid out 
as a county road in January, 1839. 



River Street Bridge was built for the advantage of 
the West Boston Bridge and the owners of real es- 
tate in Cambridgeport in 1810, and in 1832 the town 
assumed the care of the bridge and roadway leading 
to it. 

The Western Avenue Bridge was built by the West 
Boston Bridge Corporation, under authority granted 
by an act passed June 12, 1824, empowering them to 
build a turnpike from Cambridge to Watertown, and 
it was maintairied by that corporation until they 
sold their whole franchise to the Hancock Free 
Bridge Corporation. 

TIte Camljridge and Brookline Bridge was built in 
1850 for the benefit of and at the expense of persons 
owning real estate in the immediate vicinity, and 
was a toll-bridge until 1869, when, by permission ot 
the General Court, it was transferred to the city and 
became free, and since that date Cambridge has no 
toll-bridges. 

The act incorporating the proprietors of the West 
Boston Bridge gave them power to open, construct, 
and maintain ditches, canals, and drains, over, 
through, and across the marsh or upland on each 
side of the way or road which they were obliged to 
take by a previous act ; but, provided, with great 
care for the settlement of dam.iges which might 
result to those from whom liie corporation took land, 
making the " Bodies " of the proprietors liable to be 
taken on execution of judgment against. If that 
liability was attendant upon the members of corpora- 
tions in our times who fail to meet their engagements, 
it might lead to some unpleasant results, and it cer- 
tainly must have been considered very good security 
for a debt where the " Bodies " of Chief Justice Dina, 
Governor Sullivan, Oliver Wendell and Christopher 
Gore " would be taken on e.reeution " in default of pay- 
ment. 

The Peess. — The i'ambridge Chronicle was the ^rst 
regular " subscription paper " in Cambridge, and was 
started almost simultaneously with the organization 
of the City Government, in 1846, by Andrew Reid, a 
practical printer, and who continued to print, publish 
and edit ituntil his death, which took jilace in less than 
two years from the time he commenced the enterprise, 
when he was succeeded by Mr. John Ford, another 
practical printer, who continued to print and publish 
the paper for about ten years, since which time it 
has changed ownership several times, and is now 
owned and jiublished by Mr. Butlum, and is in a very 
nourishing condition, and has probably the largest 
circulation of any paper in the city. 

The Cambridge Press. — This paper was originated 
by Mr. James Cox, a practical printer, in the year 
1866, and is still published and printed by him, as- 
sisted by his sons. This paper has always been ably 
edited and well conducted, and is at the present time 
the official organ for the city printing. 

Cambridge Tribune. — This paper was started by D. 
Gilbert Dexter in the year 1862, and continued to be 



214 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



conducted solely by him until his removal from Cam- 
bridge, in the year when it passed into the hands of 
William B. Howland, under whose ownership it was 
very ably conducted with fairness and impartiality, 
and pure in its moral tone and character as well as in 
its literary department. Mr. Howland has lately re- 
moved to New York where he continues his literary 
work, and ]Mr. F. Stanhope Hill has become the 
editor and proprietor. 

The Cambridge News, owned, edited and published 
by Mr. D. A. Buckley, has a large circulation, and is 
considered a good medium for the advertising of real 
estate. 

Societies, Lodges, Etc. — Masonic. — Amicable 
Lodge, chartered 1805 ; Putnam Lodge, chartered 
1854; Cambridge Royal Arch Chapter, chartered 
1864; Mount Olivet Lodge, chartered 18G3; Mizpah 
Lodge, chartered 1SG7; Charity Lodge, 1870. 

Odd-Fellows. — Mount Moriah Lodge, No. 21 ; New 
England Lodge, No. 4, instituted 1827 ; Charles River 
Encampment, No. 22, instituted 1840 ; Friendship 
Lodge, No. 20, instituted 1843 ; New England En- 
campment, No. 34, instituted 1865 ; Mount Auburn, 
No. 94, instituted 1870; Amity Lodge, D. of R., No. 
15, instituted 1871 ; Olive Branch Lodge, D. of R., 
No. 21, instituted 1S74 ; Mount Sinai Lodge, No. 69, 
instituted 1874; Cambridge Lodge, No. 13, instituted 
1874; Odd-Fellows' Relief Association, organized 
1871 ; New England Provident Association, organized 
1871 ; Harvard Lodge, G. U. O. 0. F., No. 1549, in- 
stituted 1873 ; American Legion of Honor, instituted 
1880. 

Other Societies. — Amicable Fire Society, instituted 
1810; Cambridge Humane Society, instituted 1814; 
Cambridge Police Aid Association, instituted 1863 ; 
Civil Service Reform Association, instituted 1881; 

University Press Relief Association, instituted ; 

Cambridge Veteran Firemen's Association, instituted 
1885; Newtowne Club, instituted 1883; Union City 

Mission Sewing-school, instituted ; Avon Place 

Home, instituted 1874 ; Sons of New Hampshire, in- 
stituted ; Associated Charities of Cambridge, in- 
stituted ; Catholic Young Men's Gymnasium, 

instituted ; Cambridge Woman's Suffrage League, 

instituted 1886 ; Cambridge Fireman's Relief Asso- 
ciation, instituted 1869 ; Cambridge Y. M. C. Associ- 
ation, instituted 1883; Cambridgeport Flower Mis- 
sion, instituted ; Dowse Institute, instituted 

1860 ; Mason & Hamlin Benefit Society, instituted 

Harvard Societies.'^ — Fraternity of Phi Beta Kappa, 
1776; The Classical Club, 1885; La Conference Fran- 
faise, 1886; Deutscher Verein, 1886 ; Harvard Natu- 
ral His'.ory Society, 1857 ; Boylston Chemical Club, 
1887; Harvard Electrical Club, 1888; Harvard His- 
torical Society, 1880 ; Harvard Finance Club, 1878 ; 
Harvard Free Wool Club, ; Harvard Philosophi- 

1 Date given is that of incorporation. 



cal Club, 1878; Harvard Art Club, 1875; English 
Club, 1889; Harvard Y. M. C. A., 1802; The St. 
Paul's Society, 1861 ; Harvard Total Abstinence 
League, 1888; O. K., 1858; The Signet, 1870 ; The 
Hasty Pudding, 1775 ; Institute of 1770, 1770 ; Alpha 
Delta Phi, Harv. Chapter, 1857 ; Zeta Psi, Rho Chap- 
ter, 1847 ; Delta Upsilon, 1834 ; Pi Eta Society, 
1865; Beta Theta Pi, Harv. Chapter, 1843; Delta 

Phi, Zeta Chapter, • ; Harvard Camera Club, 

1888 ; ^Harvard Chess and Whist Club, ; Harvard 

Union, 1832 ; reorganized, 1880 ; Harvard Glee Club, 
1858; Harvard Andover Club, 1888; Exeter Club of 

Harvard University, ; Southern Club of Harvard 

University, 1888; Harvard Minnesota Club, 1888 ; 
Harvard Connecticut Club, 1888 ; Foxcroft Club, 
1889. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



CORNELIITS CONWAY FELTON.^ 

Cornelius Conway Felton, the eldest son of Cor- 
nelius Conway and Anna (Morse) Felton, was born 
in Newbury, Mass., November 6, 1807. His parents 
gave their children the heritage of their own superior 
intelligence and moral worth, but were able to bestow 
on their higher education little beyond their hearty 
sympathy and encouragement. While Cornelius was 
still a little child they removed to Saugus, and lived 
in the near neighborhood of Dr. Cheever, grandfather 
of the present Professor of Anatomy in Harvard Uni- 
versity. 

The Doctor, finding young Felton a boy of excel- 
lent promise, gave him his first lessons in Latin, and 
furthered his advancement by every means within 
his power. Felton was fitted for college under the 
tuition of Simeon Putnam, of North Andover, who 
had high and well-merited reputation as a classical 
teatjher. 

He entered Harvard College as a Freshman in 
1823. He took at once, and maintained through his 
college course, a foremost place in his class, and was 
second to none in the department of ancient lan- 
guages, and manifested the power of rapid acquisition 
of the scholarly tastes that distinguished him through 
life. At the same time he won the cordial friendship 
of all who were brought into intimate relations with 
him, and they were such friends as he was glad to 
hold ever afterwards in the dearest regard. No one 
can have ever passed through the ordeal of student 
life with a character more transparently pure. Temp- 
tation, indeed, had for him no meaning. He loved 
society, but only the best, and his own influence was 
from the first refining and elevating. He had an 
elastic spirit, and bore the burdens of his early life 
easily and cheerily — yet they must have been heavy. 

- By Rev. A. P. Peabod.v, D.D. 




^" 



Pi 



CAJIBRIDGE. 



215 



He was dependent mainly on his own industry, with 
the very slender aid then given by the college to 
meritorious students, and he worked in the library in 
vacations, taught school, and resorted to every honor- 
able means for replenishing his scanty resources, all 
the while jiracticing a more rigid economy than would 
seem credible to a student of the present day. 

Immediately on graduating he went to Geneseo, 
New York, with two of his classmates, to take charge 
of an academy founded by Mr. James Wadsworth, 
well known as a munificent patron of learning. He 
remained there two years, and then returned to Cam- 
l)ridge as a tutor in Latin. 

In 1S30 he was appointed a tutor in Greek; in 1832 
College Professor of Greek, and in 1S34 Eliot Profes- 
sor of Greek Literature. He bad in these successive 
offices the occupation most congenial with his taste, 
and one for which no man could have been more emi- 
nently fitted, by the cast of his mind, the direction 
of his studies, and his enthusiastic love of the litera- 
ture of whichhe was the teacher and expositor. Hewas 
by no means rigid or exacting in the class-room, and 
an indiflferent scholar was put by him under no con- 
pulsory pressure, but those who were ready to learn 
received from him the most ample aid and derived 
from their intercourse with him the strongest stimu- 
lus to persevering industry. At the same time his 
genial disposition and his fellow-feeling with young 
life, which never waned, made him a favorite teacher 
with all who came under his charge. 

The only important episodes in this period of his 
life were European tours and sojourns in 1853 and 
ISot). On both these occasions he not only visited 
Greece, but traveled in the country extensively, and 
with close observation ; made himself acquainted with 
the leading men, especially with those concerned in 
the revival of letters and the diffusion of knowledge, 
and became conversant with the institutions and the 
public life of the kingdom. What a man gains by tra- 
vel depends mainly on what he carries with him, on his 
knowledge of the fit topics for research and inquiry, 
and probably no American has ever been in Greece 
who was more thoroughly versed than he in all that 
could be known of the past, or better qualified to form 
an accurate judgment and estimate of the present and 
the future of a people so long depressed and down- 
trodden, yet with so rich a heritage of ancestral fame. 
In 1*55 Mr. Agassiz established in Cambridge a 
school for young ladies, and Mr. Felton, though with 
his full tale of college duties, became a teacher and 
lecturer in that institution and contributed very 
largely to its success and prosperity. 

When, on the resignation of Dr. Walker, in 18(50, 
the jiresidency of Harvard University became vacant, 
Mr. Felton was elected as his successor, and in their 
votes the governing boards simply ratified the unani- 
mous choice of the whole community. In this otSce 
it can hardly be said that he met the expectations of 
his friends, but their disappointment was one of sur- 



prise and admiration. He had previously led the 
quiet life of a scholar, absorbed in his books and lit- 
erary labor, with few relations of business with the 
outside world and with no opportunities for testing 
his executive ability, and it was anticipated that he 
would adorn the headship of the college by the rare 
grace and beauty of his sjiirit, character and culture 
rather than that he would take upon himself the un- 
numbered prosaic details of duty and service which 
then made the presidency of Harvard College as 
arduous and as multifarious a charge as could well 
be devised or imagined. But with an intense feeling 
of responsibility as for a most sacred trust, he entered 
upon a thoroughly energetic administration, giving 
his personal attention to all concerns that could 
rightfully come under his cognizance, seeking full 
knowledge of the work of the teachers, exercising a 
watchful vigilance over the students, and making 
himself felt not merely as a gracious and kindly pres- 
ence, but as an active and action-compelling force in 
every department of the university. He even became 
a strict disciplinarian when it was his duty to be so, 
though it was manifest that in the infiictiou of pen- 
alty he suffered more than those who deserved and 
needed it. His labors were rendered more severe 
and exhausting by the growing discontent with the 
stereotyped and obsolescent methodsof our New Eng- 
land colleges and the movement towards a broader 
culture and a higher intellectual life, in which he 
was in the front rank of the leading minds. With 
his unresting assiduity, he was oppressed by a painful 
sense of the vast interests devolved upon his discre- 
tion and ability, and by the constant accumulations 
of demands upon his time and strength, which grew 
more and more numerous and urgent from his habit 
of giving heed to every claim and of assuming every 
burden that he was asked to bear. But his over- 
tasked vigor of body yielded under the incessant 
strain and tension. Symptoms of heart-disease, 
which had already given his friends some uneasi- 
ness, became more decided and alarming from the 
time that he exchanged his sedentary habits for a 
more active life. Early in 1862, during the winter 
vacation, he was induced to seek relief and recreation 
by a change of scene and surroundings, and he vis- 
ited his brother at Thurlow, Penna. Here his disease 
advanced rapidly to a fatal issue. After an attack in 
which his death was expected from moment to mo- 
ment he seemed for a little while convalescent. 

On the 2t!th of February, the first day of the new 
term, I received a letter from him dictated when 
respiration and utterance were intermittent and labo- 
rious, telling me that he had been at the point of death, 
but now began to hojie for prolonged life, express- 
ing fervent gratitude to the Divine Providence, and 
asking me to beg the College Faculty, in the name of 
the Infinite Love, to be lenient and merciful in cer- 
tain cases of discipline that had been laid over from 
the preceding term. That same evening I read the 



no 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



letter to the Faculty, obtained the desired vote, and 
bad hardly reached my home wbea I received a tele- 
gram announcing his death. 

Mr. Felton tilled a very large and in some respects 
a unique place in our world of letters. It is seldom 
that an adept in one department is a proficient in all 
the essential branches of liberal culture. This, how- 
ever, was true of him. While as a classical scholar he 
had no superior, he was versed in the languages and 
familiar with the best literature of modern Europe, 
was largely conversant with natural science, and had 
a highly educated and nicely critical taste iu the en- 
tire realm of art. The ability that he showed in 
many and diverse directions, had its scope been nar- 
rower, would have been accounted as genius of a very 
high order; but iu its breadth and versatility it was 
more than genius. Within the largest bounds of a 
liberal education no demand was made upon him that 
found him incapable or unprepared, and whatever he 
did he did it so well that he seemed to have a special 
adaptation for it. As a writer he was easy and grace- 
ful, brilliant in metaphor, rich and apt in illustra- 
tion, and whenever his subject permitted, affluent in 
wit and humor. He often wrote too rapidly to do 
himself full justice, but when the occasion required 
and leisure served he had at his command a style of 
finished elegance and beauty. He was often false 
to his own reputation in his unstinted kindness to 
others. No one ever applied to him for aid in lit- 
erary labor of any sort without receiving all and 
more than all the assistance he desired. He would 
put aside work of liis own that he was anxious to finish 
to look up authorities, to furnish w'orkiug material, to 
revise manuscripts, to correct proof for those whose 
only claim upon him was their need, and, of course, 
the report of his generosity was constantly multiply- 
ing his would-be beneficiaries. Had he converted to 
his own use all the time, thought and study that he 
contributed to fame iu which he had no share, jjos- 
terity might have admired him more, but his owu co- 
evals would have loved him less. Indeed, those who 
knew him best feel that no man could have been 
more lovable than he. He can never have made an 
enemy or forgotten or lost a friend. 

la society he was genial and mirthful, full of anec- 
dote, talking so admirably well that his friends would 
have been content to be mere listeners, yet never will- 
ing to assume more than his due share in conversa- 
tion. There was a native refinement and unstudied 
delicacy in his manners and his social intercourse, 
indicating an inward life on a high plane, and by 
unobtrusive example and influence constantly tend- 
ing to elevate the prevailing tone of sentiment and 
feeling around him. To those most intimate with him 
it was impossible that he could be replaced. We have 
not seen, and may not hope ever to see his like in this 
world. 

With a temperament that might have seemed pliant 
and ductile, uo man was ever more strongly in- 



trenched than he within the defences of a true, quick, 
sensitive and discriminating conscience. No un- 
worthy compliance ever cast a transient shadow even 
on his early youth. We, who know him from boy- 
hood, could recall, when he went from us, not an act 
or a word which we would wish to forget. 

He was firm in the right, and no power on earth 
could make him swerve from his conviction of duty. 
His force of character, hidden on ordinary occasions 
by his gentle, sunny mien, showed itself impregnable 
when put to the test. He never shrank from the 
most painful duty, and in prompt decision and fear- 
less energy for difficult emergencies beseemed no less 
worthy of supreme regard than for those amiable 
qualities which made his daily life so beautiful. 

It can hardly be needful to say that a character 
like his could have had no other foundation than ma- 
tured Christian faith and principle. He was unfeign- 
edly reverent and devout. He loved the worship and 
ordinances of religion, and gave them the support of 
his constant attendance, his unfailing interest and his 
earnest advocacy. He took from Jesus Christ the 
law of his life, breathed in His spirit, trusted in His 
gospel of salvation and immortality, and looked to 
Him for guidance through the death-shadow into the 
everlasting light. 

Mr. Felton's literary activity was incessant, but he 
seems to have had very little ambition to appear be- 
fore the public in his own name and on his own sole ac- 
count. It may be doubted whether he ever published 
anything, except at the solicitation of others, and he 
was thus often led into partnerships in which his 
share of the labor far exceeded that of the revenue, 
whether of fame or material recompense. 

In 1844 he published an edition of the " Iliad," 
with very valuable English notes and with Flaxman's 
illustrations. In 1840 he prepared a Greek Reader, 
with English notes and vocabulary. This continued 
long in use, perhaps is uot yet out of use, and is, proba- 
bly, to be preferred to any other similar text-book in 
the fitness and range of its selections, in the facilities 
which it furnishes and in those which it wisely fails 
to furnish for the student. In the same year he con- 
tributed to Ripley's " Specimens of Foreign Litera- 
ture'' a translation of Menzel's work on " German 
Literature," in three volumes. In 1841 be published 
an edition of " The Clouds" of Aristophanes, with an 
introduction and notes. This has been republished 
in England. In 1843 he contributed very largely to 
a work on " Classic Studies," edited by Professors 
Sears and Edwards, and also to Professor Longfellow's 
" Poets and Poetry of Europe." In 1844, in connec- 
tion with Professor Beck, he made a translation of 
Munk's "Metres of the Greeks and Romans." In 
1847 he published editions of the " Panegyricus " of 
Isocrates, and of the "Agamemnon" of ^Eschylus, 
each with introduction and notes. In 1849 he trans- 
lated Professor Guyot's work entitled, "The Earth 
and Man." In the same year he issued an edition of 




iK- 



CAMBRIDGE. 



217 



"The Birds" of Aristophanes, with introduction and 
notes, which was reprinted in England. In 1852 he 
published a selection from the writings of his prede- 
cessor, Dr. Popkin, with a most happily-written mem- 
oir. In the same year he issued a volume of selec- 
tions from the " Greek Historians." In 1856 he pub- 
lished a series of selections from modern Greek ; 
writers in poetry and prose. He contributed to 
Sparks' "American Biography" a "Life of General 
Eaton." 

In addition to these works, he published many lec- 
tures and addresses. His aid was constantly sought 
by the editors of various periodicals, to which he was 
a large contributor. If we remember aright, his 
earliest writings of this sort were literally labors of 
love for the American Monthly Eeview, edited by the 
late Professor Sidney Willard, a work designed to 
give a fair and truthful statement and estimate of cur- 
rent American literature, which had an early death, 
solely because it was too honest to live. He was a 
frequent contributor to the Xorth American Beview and 
to the Christian Examiner. He wrote for Appleton's 
" New American Cyclopaedia " several long and elab- 
orate articles, particularly in his own special depart- 
ment. 

But the works most characteristic of his mind and 
heart, of his ability, scholarship, taste and sentiment, 
were not designed for publication, and were not issued 
till after his death, when they appeared under the 
editorship of the writer of this memoir. They are 
" Familiar Letters from Europe,'' and '' Greece, Ancient 
and Modern." The former was a small volume of let- 
ters of travel written to his family with no ulterior pur- 
pose, yet with a fidelity of description, a vividness of 
comprehension and a charming spontaneity of graceful 
diction that not only needs no revision, but would 
have suflered damage by any endeavor to improve 
them. The latter comprises four courses of Lowell 
"Lectures on Greece," in two large octavo volumes. 

We.doubt whether there exists in our language any 
other work on Greece that comprehends so much and 
is at the same time so entirely the outcome of the 
author's own study, thought and observation. As the 
lectures were hastily written, many of them on the 
eve of delivery, it was thought desirable to verif\' ref- 
erences and translations, but this labor proved to be 
almost needless. There was in his manuscript the 
strange blending of a chirography bearing tokens of 
hot haste, and a minuteness and accuracy showing 
that his materials were at his command at momentary 
notice, though a large portion of them were such as 
seemed to require elaborate research. There is no 
reason why these volumes should not live and last, as 
at once of profound interest to the general reader and 
of essential service for the special study of the Greece 
that was and the Greece that is. 

Mr. Felton was an active member of the Massachu- 
setts Historical Society and of the American Acad- 
emy of Arts and Sciences. He was also a member of 



the New England Historic Genealogical Society and of 
various literary and scientific bodies, in all of which he 
bore as large a part as his busy life rendered possible. He 
was for several years one of the regents of the Smith- 
sonian Institution and a member of the Massachusetts 
Board of Education, while he manifested equal efli- - 
ciency and diligence in tlie less conspicuous oflice of 
a member of the School Committee of Cambridge, 
where his services are commemorated in a school- 
house that bears his name. 

He was a corresponding member of the Archaeo- 
logical Society of Athens. He received the degree of 
Doctor of Laws from Amherst College in 1848, and 
from Yale College in 18150. 

Mr. Felton was twice married — April 12, 1838, to 
Mary, daughter of Asa and Mary (Hammond) Whit- 
ney, and in September, 1846, to Mary Louisa, daugh- 
ter of Thomas Graves and Mary (Perkins) Cary. He 
left two sons and three daughters. 



.IXDREW PRESTOX PEABODY, D.D., LL.D. 

Dr. Pcabody is descended from Lieutenant Francis 
Peabody, who was born in 1614 in St. Albans, Hert- 
fordshire, England, and came to New England in the 
ship " Planter" in 1635, settling in Lynn, and later, 
in 1638, in Hampton, Old Norfolk County, subse- 
quently to which timehebecamean inhabitant of Tops- 
field, where, in 1657, he married Mary Foster, dying 
February 19, 1697-98. He is the American ancestor 
of a numerous and honorable posterity in Essex 
County and elsewhere, among whom the distinguished 
philanthropist, George Peabody, of London, is espe- 
cially to be named. Lieutenant 'Francis Peabody's 
son ^Joseph, born in 1644, who lived in Boxford, was 
the father of -'Zerubabel, born February 26, 1707, who 
lived in Middleton, married Lydia Fuller February 
21, 1733, and was the father of 'Andrew, born July 
21, 1745, married Euth Curtis December 13, 1769, 
lived in Middleton, and died October 14, 1813. His 
son ^Andrew, born February 29, 1772, married Mary 
Rantoul, sister of Hon. Robert Rantoul, Sr., of Bev- 
erly, at Salem, May 30, 1808; lived in Beverly, where 
he kept the grammar school, and was a teacher of 
repute, and died December 19, 1813. The subject of 
this sketch was born in Beverly March 19, 1811. In 
a reminiscence contributed to a series of autobio- 
graphical articles by eminent men (published in the 
Forum for July, 1887) he has himself unconsciously 
disclosed the dominant chord in his own character 
while describing the Spartan educational methods of 
the earlier years in this century : 

" I learned to read before I was three yeare old, and foremost among 
the hooks that have helped me I must pvit Webster's spelling-hook. I 
knew the old lexicographer. He was a good man, hut hard, drv, un- 
sentimental. I do not suppose that in his earliest reading-lessons for 
children he had any ulterior purpose beyond shaping sentences com- 
posed of words consisting of three letters an<l less. IJut, while I believe 
in the inspiration of the prophets and apostles, I agree with the Chris- 
tian fathers of the Alexandrian school in extending the theory of in- 
spiration far beyond the (so-called) canon of Scripture, and I cannot 



218 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



but think that a divine afflatus breathed upon the soul of Noah Web- 
ster wlien he framed ae the ifirst sentence on which the infant mind 
should concentrate its nascent capacity of combining letters into words 
and whicli thus, by long study and endiess repetition, must needs deposit 
itself in undying memory : ' Xo man can put off the law of God.' When 
I toiled day after day on this sentence I probably had no idea of its 
meaning, but there is nothing better for a child than to learn by rote 
and to fix in enduring remembrance words which thus sown deep will 
blossom into fruitful meaning with growing years Since I began to 
think and feel on subjects within the province of ethics this maxim has 
never been otit of my mind. I have employed it as a text for my exper- 
ience and observation. It is a fundamental truth in iny theology. It 
underlies my moral philosophy. It has molded my ethical teaching in 
the pulpit and the class-room, in utterance and print." 

From his sixth year until he entered college he 
supplied himself "with books from a library of sev- 
eral hundred very good books, the proprietors of which 
were assessed fifty cents a year." His earliest teacher, 
to whom he owed much, was Miss Joanna Prince, 
who later married Ebenezer Everett, of Brunswick, 
Me., and was the mother of Professor Charles Car- 
roll Everett. He was also a pupil of Miss Hannah 
Hill in the first Sunday-school in the United States, 
which these two ladies had gathered in Beverly, and 
had the satisfaction later of teaching Mi.ss Hill Greek in 
her old age in fulfillment of her desire to read the New 
Testament in the original tongue. A child of pre- 
cious promise, he was on the point of being sent to 
Exeter Academy when the wise minister. Dr. Abbot, 
persuaded his mother to have him prepared for col- 
lege at home under the teaching of Mr. Bernard 
Whitman, who was then pursuing liis studies for the 
Unitarian ministry with that distinguished clergy- 
man, and he was fitted for college in a year, passing 
the examinations for the Freshman Class in 1823, and 
returning to live in Beverly under the same teaching 
another year, in which he went over the studies of 
the first two years of the college course, returning again 
to Cambridge to join the Junior Class in August, 
1824, and graduating in 1826 .in the same class with 
his cousin, Hon. Robert Rantoul, Jr. No less than 
fourteen members of his class entered the Christian 
ministry, among them the theologian Oliver Stearns, 
the eloquent preacher George Putnam, and Nehe- 
miah Adams, the Calvinistic divine. His father had 
set him apart for the ministry, as far as it could be 
done, by a request on his death-bed; but the boy, wlio 
had graduated at fifteen, finishing his academic course 
at an earlier age than any other graduate of Harvard 
College, with the possible exception of Paul Dudley 
and Cotton Mather, was too young to begin his theo- 
logical studies, and the following three years were 
spent — the first in study at Beverly, teaching in the 
winter the same district school in Middleton wliere liis 
father had first tauglit; the second as private tutor in the 
family of Mr. Huidekoper, of Meadville, Pa., where 
not a few eminent men have both given and received 
much in a home of patriarchal simplicity and manor- 
ial beauty, and the third in teaching in the academy 
at Portsmouth, N. H. In 1829 he entered the Cam- 
bridge Divinity School, graduating from it in 18.32. 
The next year was spent as college tutor of Hebrew 



and Mathematics at Cambridge. At this time his 
first publication appeared, " Address on Taxation," 
being No. 1, vol. i., of the " Workingmen's Library." 

President Quincy desired to secure Mr. Peabody 
for permanent academic service. He had, however, 
been preaching in various places during the year, be- 
ing called to settle over cimrches in Fall River and 
Framingham, and accepted an invitation to become 
minister of the South Parish in Portsmouth, N. H., 
as colleague with the Rev. Nathan Parker, D.D., one 
of the most honored clergymen of his time in New 
England, whose lofty character, distinguished alike 
for wisdom and goodness, has left an abiding mark 
upon that intelligent Christian community. Mr. 
Peabody took charge of that pulpit September 1, 1833. 

His previous year spent in Portsmouth as a teacher 
had brought him into such personal relations with 
Dr. Parker as to make him appreciate as a special 
privilege tlie opportunity of laboring in such com- 
panionship, but the liope was sadly disappointed, as 
Dr. Parker's rapidly-failing health did not even per- 
mit him to take part in the ordination of his col- 
league and successor in October, 1833, and his death 
a few days later left the young clergyman alone in 
charge of a most important parish. 

The South Cliurcli, which was the second in Ports- 
mouth, had its origin, as was the case in many of the 
older parishes in New England, in a dissension about 
the best locality for a new meeting-house. It early 
leaned to Arminianism, while the North Church, 
long under the ministry of the elder Buckminster, 
held fast to the more strict theology, and at the sejjara- 
tion of the Congregational body, in the earlier years 
of this century, the former had become a leading 
parish in the Unitarian movement. Under the seri- 
ous evangelical preaching of Dr. Parker it had been 
strengthened and increased in numbers till, not long 
before his death, it had built one of the most beauti- 
ful and costly stone churches of the time in New Eng- 
land, which was filled with worshipers. This re- 
sponsible charge was borne by the young minister 
and prospered in his hands. The further increase of 
the congregation to the number of two hundred and 
fifty families made it necessary to enlarge the church. 
A handsome chapel was built for the large and flour- 
ishing Sunday-school, and all the signs of profes- 
sional success in a high degree were evident. 

On September 12, 1836, Mr. Peabody was married 
to Catliarine Whipple, daughter of Edmund Roberts, 
of Portsmouth, who, as Envoy of the United States 
Government, negotiated the first treaty between this 
country and Siam and Cochin-China, the journal of 
whose travels in remote Eastern lauds was published 
after his death in 1837, while abroad on public busi- 
ness. Of tlie eight children of this marriage two sons 
and two daughters died in early childhood and four 
daughters are living. Mrs. Peabody died in Novem- 
ber, 1869. 

The Portsmouth jiulpit as filled by Mr. Peabody 



CAMBRIDGE. 



219 



was metropolitan to New Hampshire. The calls to 
public services outside his parisli multiplied upon 
him in the educational and charitable duties which 
fall in auch a community to the minister of a prosper- 
ous and influential congregation. He was a trustee 
of Exeter Academy for forty-three years. One of the 
earliest of tlie many addresses which he gave on 
academic occasions, "Conversation, its Faults and its 
Graces," delivered before the Xewbur}-port Female 
High School, and first printed in 184G, became a 
classic on the subject. In 1844 he published " Lec- 
tures on Christian Doctrine,'' which became a hand- 
book of the belief of the evangelical portion of the 
religious body to which he belonged, while a wider 
congregation than his Portsmouth parish was addressed 
by his '■ Christian Consolations, Sermons Designed to 
Furnish Comfort and Strength to the Afflicted," of 
which the first of many editions was published in 
1846, and*by his "Sermons to Children," published 
in 18G7. He also was an editor of the Christian Be- 
vieir for two years. 

In 1852 he received from Harvard College the de- 
gree of Doctor of Divinity. He was a frequent con- 
tributor to the Christian Examiner and the North 
American Review, and in 1852 he became proprietor 
and editor of the latter publication, which place he 
filled until 1863. The invitation to the Plummer Pro- 
fessorship of the Heart and of Christian ^Morals in 
Harvard College found Dr. Peabody in a happy and 
successful ministry at Portsmouth, over a parish to 
whom he wag bound by ties of mutual attachment 
such as no other call could have been strong enough 
to break. 

On September 1, 1860, he assumed the Plummer 
Professorship, and the new work on which Dr. Pea- 
body now entered, as successor to the Eev. Frederick 
Daniel Huntington, D.D., was waiting to be shaped 
by him into a large and unique opportunity of service 
and influence. The wise munificence of Miss Caro- 
line Plummer, of Salem, had been led to endow the 
"Professorship of the Heart and of Christian Morals" 
by the conviction that the " dry light "and unsym- 
pathetic methods of college training needed to be 
surt'used with the warmth and glow of a personal 
influence exerted by a Christian minister of wide and 
ready sympathy, hearty interest in young men, and 
belief in them — not a teacher only, nor a preacher 
only, but one who should find what possibilities 
existed in Harvard College for the function of pastor 
to the most diflicult cla,ss of persons in the world to 
reach — youths of the student age. No one could 
have ventured to anticipate the way in which Dr. 
Peabody was to grow into the place, or the degree in 
which his influence was destined to pervade the Cam- 
bridge atmosphere like sunshine, doing more, perhaps, 
than any other single cause to soften and change the 
temper of mutual antagonism and mutual distrust, 
which largely afl^ected the relations of tlie Faculty and 
the students. 



The years of Dr. Peabody's incumbency of the one 
position which was created to be mediatorial between 
the two elements witnesseil a change for the better, 
greater than had been wrought in the two previous 
centuries. 

The proper official work of the Plummer Professor- 
ship had included the duties of preacher to the uni- 
versity and some slight teaching of each class at the 
beginning of the Freshmen and at the end of the 
Senior year, while the pulpit services were lightened 
by being assumed by the president (when he was a 
clergyman) on one Sunday of each month. Except 
during the presidency of Dr. Hill, however, the bur- 
den of the university pulpit now fell wholly upon 
Dr. Peabody, and for twenty-one years was so borne 
as to keep that distinguished place at the height of 
its reputation as the voice in sacred things of the 
mother and chief of American colleges. 

The degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred on Dr. 
Peabody by the University of Rochester in 1863. 

The publications of Dr. Peabody during the period 
after his removal to Cambridge may be noted here. 
In 1861 he delivered and published a course of lec- 
tures before the Lowell Institute, entitled, "Chris- 
tianity the Religion of Nature," and in 1873 a volume 
of sermons on " Christian Belief and Life." Besides 
a multitude of single sermons, lectures, orations, dis- 
cussions in the reviews of great questions of public 
interest and memoirs of distinguished persons, the 
following volumes have also been given to the public 
by him: "Manual of Moral Philosophy," 1872; 
"Christianity and Science," a series of lectures deliv- 
ered in New York in 1874 on the Ely foundation of 
the Union Theological Seminary, 1874. The Bacca- 
laureate sermons, which he preached to successive 
classes on the Sunday before Commencement, and 
which were long a marked feature of academic life, 
were gathered up in a volume, embracing those 
preached in successive years from 1861 to 1883, 
when the emeritus professor might well have sup- 
posed that his long service in the interesting duty 
was ended; but in 1885 and 1886 the graduating 
classes still felt that from no other could they ask 
the farewell word in behalf of their alma mater. A 
part of the fruit of his ethical instruction in the divin- 
ity school and in the college appeared in his transla- 
tions of " Cicero's De Ofliciis De Senectute, De Ami- 
citia and the Tusculan Disputation," published in 
188.3_4_(3, and of " Plutarch's De Sera Numis Vin- 
dicta," published in 1885. In 1887 he published 
further fruits of his college teaching in the valuable 
work on "Moral Philosophy," which embodies a por- 
tion of the lectures given by him to the Senior Class 
in college and in the divinity school at ^Meadville, 
Pa. 

The Cambridge life devolved ujion Dr. Peabody, 
beyond the duties of his professorship, not a few 
such obligations as seek a public-spirited citizen 
with heavy demands ujion his time. On the School 



220 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Coiiimiltee he gave many years of service, and in 
other matters which furthered the cause of good gov- 
ernment of the city he was never backward. Only an 
exceptional endowment of health and a bodily frame 
strong as iron, which wa.s able to bear habitual labor 
far into the small hours of the night, could have 
endured the toil. 

As a teacher the work which fell into his strong 
and willing hands naturally broadened more and 
more. The subject of ethics belonged strictly to his de- 
partment asreligious teacher, but in addition he taught 
logic and political economy until the appointment 
of Professor Dunbar, and had the care of the .Senior 
forensics for some years, also filling gaps when they 
occurred in the college and in the divinity school. 
A portion of this labor bore fruit in several of his 
printed works. 

Meantime, the friendly and fatherly relation in 
which he stood to the students had beneficent results. 
When the wise generosity of Mr. Nathaniel Thayer 
provided the means for reviving in a better form the 
old "Commons," furnishing good food to the great 
mass of the students for a moderate sum, the task of 
organizing this large enterprise was undertaken by 
Dr. Peabody, until he had proved that it was a wise 
experiment ,and had established it on a permanent 
basis at the public tables of Memorial Hall. The 
thoughtful and abounding private charities which 
sought his aid as almoner in finding and relieving 
needy students — a form of college benefit which es- 
capes all public record — were very great in amount, 
and were alone sufficient to occupy much of the time 
of a busy man. It would be impossible to overstate 
the quantity and quality of his service in personal 
and private relations, as adviser and confidential 
friend to the multitude of young men who sought 
his help in any kind of trouble, and never sought in 
vain. For all this, the unsolicited reward of a love 
and veneration such as it is the privilege of few to 
win was poured forth upon him. No one can have 
heard without a thrill the cheers, ringing with the 
enthusiasm of youth and of personal affection, which 
greeted the mention of his name, or welcomed his 
presence on all public occasions of the university. 
The Plummer Professorship also offered an oppor- 
tunity to bring the university into religious relations 
with the whole community by making its pulpit not 
the property of a single sect, but hospitable to all 
branches of the Protestant Church, which Dr. Pea- 
body's large and sympathetic Christian temper ful- 
filled to the utmost. While himself recognized as a 
leader in his own denomination, he had the gift of 
winning the Christian fellowship and conciliating by 
his own reconciling spirit the friendly respect of 
churchmen of all names, welcoming them to the Col- 
lege Chapel and being welcomed as a preacher in their 
pulpits, while he was sought to give addresses on the 
public days of the theological schools of Newton, 
Bangor and Andover, representing various Christian 



bodies, and the Catholic system of administration of 
religion in Harvard University, introduced in 188.5, 
in which a group of the ablest preachers of dif- 
ferent churches are associated in the care of spiritual 
interests, which are recognized to be so large and var- 
ious as to demand their united care, is the legitimate 
outgrowth of the spirit in which Dr. Peabody ad- 
mitted this great religious opportunity. The most 
important part of Dr. Peabody's public services at 
Cambridge still remains to be mentioned. The death 
of President Felton, in February, 1862, not only re- 
moved his closest personal friend in the college, but 
devolved upon him the most laborious and respons-i- 
ble duties as head of the university, being appointed 
by the corporation acting president, and discharging 
the duties of that office until theinstallaiion of Presi- 
dent Hill, late in the following autumn. On the 
resignation of Dr. Hill, in l^eptember, 1808, he was 
again called to the same responsibility, and continued 
to preside over the university until the inauguration 
of President Eliot. The success of Dr. Peabody as an 
administrator was marked, and it seemed natural that 
he should have been elected to the permanent incum- 
bency of the office which he adorned. The strong 
secular tendency in college affairs had, however, pre- 
determined that the office should not be held in any 
event by a clergyman. 

In these very important duties Dr. Peabody re- 
mained at his post for twenty-one years, with an 
interval of travel in Europe from June, 1SG7, to 
March, 1868, which he accomplished by compressing 
the work of two terras into that of a single one after 
his return, and of which he published, in 1867, a 
record in his " Keminiscences of European Travel." 
A briefer visit to Russia and the neighboring coun- 
tries, in which he shared the hospitalities enjoyed by 
General Grant, was made by him in the summer of 
1876, and a longer sojourn in Europe with his family 
after resigning the Plummer Professorship, from 
June, 1881, to September, 1882. 

His resignation had gone into effect after the Com- 
mencement of 1881, but he was at once appointed 
professor emeritus, retiring from the burdens of his 
official position, but in no sense from his place in the 
heart of the college, nor from the opportunities of 
service which awaited him. The key-note of Dr. 
Peabody's public services is given in the paper already 
quoted, where he mentions three biographies to which 
he has been specially indebted. The first is that of 
Niebuhr : 

*' If I liave been able in things secular and sacred as to reports of 
current and records of past events to steer a safe way between credulity 
and scepticism I owe it in great pan not to INiebuhr's ' History of 
Rome,' but to the virtual autobiography that gives shape and vividness to 
his ' Jlemoir.' If I remember aright he expressed his confidence in the 
substantial authenticity of our canonical gospels, and I owe largely to 
him my firm faith and trnst in them. 

"I would ne.\t name the * Life of Thomas Arnold.* When I read it 
I was pastor of a large parish, with many young persons under my 
charge and intlueuce, and I was at the same time cliairman of a school 
board. I had no need of Arnold to awalien my sympathy with young 







CL.c^ ^ 



,L, 



e^ 



7t. 



O 



CAMBRIDGE. 



221 



life, but be hiia helped me to understand it better and to minister more 
intelligently and efticienfly to its needs and cravings. His ' Rugby Ser- 
mons ' have a great charm for me, and while 1 have not been guilty of 
the absurd and vain attempt to imitate them, I have felt their inspira- 
tion both in the pulpit and in the lecture-room. 3Iy third biography 
is that of Dr. Chalmers' fruitful and beneficent example in more direc- 
tions tliau could be easily specified, but to me of peculiar service in his 
relation to poverty in Glasgow, with its atteudaut evils and vices. In 
his mode of relieving want in person and in kind, of bringing preven- 
tive measures to bear on the potential nurseries of crime and of enlist- 
iiig the stronger in the aid and comfort of the feebler members of the 
couiniuuity, 1 found many valuable suggestions for the local charities 
which came under my direction while I was a parish minister." 

It is allotted to few men to fulfill with conspicuous 
ability so many and various kinds of public service 
as have fallen to the lot of Dr. Peabody. As a parish 
minister, building u]) his church in the prosperity of 
numbers and in the better welfare of a spiritual 
growth, never stronger in his hold on the aUections 
of his people than when he parted from them, and 
always remaining the pastor of their affectionate re- 
gard — as a preacher, devout, earnest, persuasive, a 
powerful expounder of the truth of the gospel, and 
never more effective or listened to with more interest 
than in the years after he had passed threescore and 
ten — as a theologian strong in his grasp and luuiinous 
in his statement of the central verities of Christianity 
— -as an ethical and moral teacher, lucid, eloquent and 
convincing — as the incumbent of the most difficult 
position in Harvard College, turning its difficulties 
into unrivaled opjiortunities, and creating an excep- 
tional work — as a successful administrator, numbered 
among the honored heads of the university, it has 
been his to win the love and reverence of the succes- 
sive generations among whom his work has been 
wrought from youth to age. 



REV. ALEXANDER MCKENZIE, D.D.' 

Alexander McKenzie, son of Daniel and Phebe 
McKenxie, was born in New Bedford, Mass., Decem- 
ber 14, 1.S30. 

Pa.ssing through the public schools of Xew Bedford, 
he fitted for college at Phillips Academy, Audover; 
was graduated at Harvard College in 1859 ; entered 
Andover Theological Seminary in 1859, graduating 
therefrom in 1861; was ordained in Augusta, Me., 
August 28, 1801, and installed as pastor of the South 
Church of that city, where he remained till January, 
18(J7. He was installed pastor of the First Church, 
Cambridge, Mass., January 24, ISO", where he still 
labors. 

Previous to his entering Harvard he was engaged 
a short lime as a clerk in a store in New Bedford ; 
also four years with Lawrence Stone c^ Co., manufac- 
turers and commission merchants, Milk Street, Bos- 
ton. ^Ir. McKenzie was married, January 25, 1865, 
in Fitchburg, to Ellen H., daughter of John Henry 
and Martha Hoiman Eveleth. Of this union are two 
children, Kenneth and Margaret. He received the 

1 From Rand's " One in One Thousand." 



degree of D.D. from Amherst College, 1879. Of the 
various oflices he has held the following are the more 
prominent: Trustee of Bowdoin College, 1866-68; 
member of Cambridge School Committee, 1.S6S-74; 
overseer of Harvard College, 1872-84; secretary of 
overseers of Harvard College, 1875 ; trustee of Phil- 
lips Academy, Andover, 1876 ; trustee of Cambridge 
Hospital, 1876 ; president Congregational Club, Bos- 
ton, 1880; member of JIassachusetts Historical So- 
ciety, 1881 ; lecturer at Andover Theological Semi- 
nary, 1881-82 ; lecturer at Harvard Divinity School, 
1882; trustee of Hampton Institute, Hampton, Va., 
1885 ; trustee of Wellesley College, 1883 ; preacher to 
Harvard College, 1886 ; president of Boston Port and 
Seamen's Aid Society, 1886. Mr. McKenzie is a 
jireacher and a lecturer of national reputation. The 
list of his publications is .long and varied. Among 
his books the most extensively read are, perhaps, 
"History of the First Church in Cambridge," "Cam- 
bridge Sermons," " Some Things Abroad." A few 
of his pamphlets are, " Addresses at the Dedication 
of the Soldiers' Monument in Cambridge" (1870), 
"Oration at the Centennial of Phillips Academy" 
(1878), ''Sermon before the Legislature of Massachu- 
setts" (1879), "Oration at the Commencement at 
Smith College" (1881), "Sermon at the 250th Anni- 
versary of the First Church in Charlestown " (1882), 
"Sermon at the 250th Anniversary of Cambridge " 
(1886), "Sermon at the 20th Anniversary of his In- 
stallation" (1887), and "Sermon in Memory of Pro- 
fessor Asa Gray " (1888). 



.JOHN LAXGDOX SIBLEY. 

John Langdon Sibley was born at Union, Maine, 
December 29, 1804, and was the eldest child of Jona- 
than and Persis (Morse) Sibley. The name Sibley 
is supposed to be compounded from the word sib, 
which denotes kindred and also peace, and lea, which 
means field. Peace-field is, therefore, not an improb- 
able signification ; and like many English surnames, 
it may have originated in some incident of local his- 
tory of which there remains no other memorial. The 
arms of the family, according to Burke, are "Per 
pale azure, and gules a grittin passant between three 
crescents argent." The name is found in records of 
several counties in England as far back as the thir- 
teenth century. The first person of the name who is 
known to have come to America was Jolin Sybley, 
who arrived at Salem in 1629 and became a citizen of 
Charlestown. Richard, the ancestor of the subject of 
this sketch, is supposed to have been the son of John. 
In the fourth generation from Richard was Jonathan, 
who was born in Hopkinton, New Hamp.shire, in 
1773, studied medicine with Dr. Carrigan, of Concord, 
New Hampshire ; in his time a man of high and ex- 
tended reputation ; received in 1799 the earliest di- 
ploma given by the New Hampsliire Medical Society. 
In the autumn of 1799 he settled in Union in the 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



then District of Maine, a town at that time of leiss 
than six liundied inhabitants, and was the first, and 
for nearly forty years the only physician resident 
there. 

In 1803 he married Persis Morse, of Sherburne, 
Massachusetts, who had two brothers already resi- 
dents of Union. She was born in 1772 and died in 
1847. Dr. Sibley had a practice more extensive than 
lucrative, his patients being scattered over a large 
and very sparsely-settled rural district. While suc- 
cessful and justly prized as a physician, he was favor- 
ably known as an occasional contributor to the prin- 
cipal medical journal in Boston. He occupied a 
prominent place in the life of the little community 
that grew up around him, held for many years a com- 
mission as justice of the peace under the govern- 
ments, successively, of Massachusetts and of Maine, 
and took a leading part in all enterprises for the gen- 
eral good. He was in every respect a man of exem- 
plary character, and is especially remembered for his 
inflexible integrity. As a father he was affectionate 
and self-sacrificing, yet at the same time a rigid disci- 
plinarian of the earlier type, and especially strenuous 
in exacting of his sons the maximum of study and of 
school-work. 

We append the following from the pen of Rev. A. 
P. Peabody, by permission of Houghton, Mifflin & 
Co.: 

" No form was more identified with Harvard College 
in the memory of hundreds of graduates than that of 
John Langdon Sibley. Of the eighty-one years of his 
life, sixty were spent in Cambridge, forty-four as a mem- 
ber of the University, and thirty-seven in its official 
service; while with the title of Librarian Emeritus con- 
ferred on him when he could no longer perform the 
active duties which were his delight, his name ap- 
peared in fifty annual catalogues. His father was a 
physician in Union, Me., with excellent reputation, 
both professional and personal, and with a practice 
more extensive than gainful. He craved a liberal 
education for his eldest son, and learning of the ben- 
eficiary provisions at Exeter for students of promise, 
he sought this aid to supplement his own slender re- 
sources. Of the sacrifices that he made in his son's 
behalf, some estimate may be formed from his having 
postponed the purchase of his first pair of spectacles, 
after he had begun to need them, in order to furnish 
his son with the means of buying a Greek lexicon. 

"Young Sibley must have maintained a blameless 
character and a high standard of scholarship at 
Exeter, else he would have been dropped from the 
foundation, which, from the first, has never given a 
foothold to youth who could not or would not do it 
honor. He entered college at the age of seventeen, 
was a close student, held a high rank in his class, and 
received honorable appointments at both junior and 
senior exhibitions, and on graduating. At the same 
time he provided in various ways for his own support, in 
his first year as president's freshman, with the duty 



of carrying messages and notes on college business 
from the president to officers and members of the col- 
lege ; in subsequent years, probably by keeping a 
winter school, in accordance with the general custom 
of all the students who were not from the South, or 
from rich families ; certainly by giving instruction in 
sacred music, and by working in the library. Imme- 
diately after graduating, Mr. Sibley entered the Di- 
vinity School, and was, at the same time, appointed 
assistant librarian, on a salary of $150, (his prin- 
cipal receiving only twice that sum), and serving at 
the same time as instructor in Italian. At the end of 
a year the librarian's salary was doubled on the ap- 
pointment of a man who was to devote his whole 
time to the office, and to dispense with the services of 
an assistant. Mr. Sibley pursued his course of theo- 
logical study, and in 1829 was settled as a minister at 
Stow, Massachusetts, where he remained four years. 
With a strong home-love for Cambridge, and espec- 
ially for the library, on leaving Stow he hired a room 
in Divinity Hall, which he occupied for thirty-three 
years; and, tliough he was engaged in editorial labor, 
he rendered such aid to the librarian as his other 
pursuits jjermitted. In 1841, when the library was 
removed from Harvard to Gore Hall, the old office of 
assistant librarian was necessarily revived, and he 
was appointed to fill it. In 1856, on the death of Dr. 
Harris, he became librarian-in-chief, and so remained 
till, in 1877, age and infirmity compelled his resigna- 
tion. During his administration, and mainly through 
his agency, the number of books in the library, and 
the funds available for its increase, were fully quad- 
rupled. Very many sources of supply for old books 
and pamphlets, local histories and rare editions, were 
discovered by his enterprise ; and not a few of the 
most valuable benefactions were elicited by such 
friendly attentions and kindnesses on his part as gave 
good promise of fruitful returns. He also edited the 
Annual Catalogue of the College for twenty years,, 
and prepared no less than ten Triennial Catalogues, 
which required constant vigilance and extensive cor- 
respondence throughout the years intervening be- 
tween each and the following issue, and which, under 
his hands, attained a degree of accuracy entirely un- 
precedented. For fifteen years, too, he issued on Com- 
mencement week a complete Harvard Necrology,, 
including under each name such salient dates and 
facts in the life record as reached him by means of 
information, which he kept in constant employment, 
and from which he made and preserved copious min- 
utes. But Mr. Sibley's greatest and most enduring 
service to the college is his 'Biographical Sketches of 
Graduates of Harvard College.' Of this work he 
completed three large octavo volumes, the third vol- 
ume including the class of 1689 and brought to a close 
with the last remnant of working power which re- 
mained to him from the incessant toil of nearly four- 
score years. This labor was performed under what 
to many men would have seemed physical inability. 










^ 



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CAMBRIDGE. 



223 



He was operated upon for cataract in both eyes a,t 
different times, and, though these operations were 
reckoned as successful, his resturation was by no 
means so complete as to render the consulting of un- 
familiar manuscripts, ill-printed documents, and mat- 
ter sometimes almost illegible, otherwise than painful 
and intensely wearisome. Yet he left no source of 
information witiiout drawing from it all that it could 
furnish, and was careful to reproduce whatever he 
transcribed, in all the miuutiie of spelling, punctua- 
tion and italics, with literal exactness. The work 
could not have been better done, nor so well by any 
other man, nor yet at a later time; for the memorials, 
Avritten and traditional, of our Colonial days are con- 
stantly dropping out of sight and out of mind, and so 
fast an age as ours is as prone to forget, as our fathers 
were solicitous to remember, tlie past. The time is 
not far distant when these volumes will be the sole 
extant authority for a large proportion of their con- 
tents, and, sent down to coming generations witli the 
seal of authenticity which our own impresses upon 
them, they will have a growing interest and value as 
long as the college shall stand. In 18(30 Mr. Sibley's 
father died, leaving to him, his only surviving child, 
the entire savings of his long life of self-denying in- 
dustry, with the one exception of a legacy of $100 
to Phillips Exeter Academy. The property thus left 
amounted to less than $5000. Mr. Sibley gave the 
whole of it to the academy and subsequently added 
more than twice that sum, creating a fund which, by 
his provision, was to accumulate under certain pre- 
scribed conditions and limitations. A part of the 
income of this fund is already in use, while the capi- 
tal amounts to more than i?40,000. Mr. Sibley directed 
that his name should be strictly concealed, but was 
induced, in the hope that other benefactors might be 
won by his example, to permit the secret to be di- 
vulged at an academic festival in 1872. On that occa- 
sion Dr. Palfrey presided. Mr. Sibley was present, 
and, when the announcement was made, was forced 
upon liis feet by shouts of applause. In a speech of 
rare na'ivd!:, pathos and unstudied eloquence, with a 
modesty and filial piety that disclaimed all praise for 
himself, and won from all who heard him the most 
reverent regard for his parents, he told the story 
of his early life, of his native home and of the patient 
and loving toil and sacrifice ot those to whose mem- 
ory he wished to dedicate the Sibley fund. Of his 
gift he made small account; but this speech, probably 
the only speech of any length that he ever made, re- 
mained with him the great event of his life ; and he 
never ceased to congratulate himself on its success. 

" In Mi'. Sibley's character integrity bore a conspic- 
uous part; and by this I do not mean mere honesty 
in the narrower sense of the word, but also conscien- 
tious accuracy, truthfulness and justice in all the de- 
tails of thought, word and deed. He would be lavish 
of time and of money, if need were, in determining 
an obscure date, or the proper orthography of an un- 



important name, simply because he deemed it wrong 
; to state what he did not know, or to omit, in any work 
which he undertook, the full statement of all that he 
could know. Closely economical in personal exjjend- 
iture, Mr. Sibley was generous to every one but him- 
self. Many poor students owed to him their ability 
to remain on college ground. There were persons 
who for years depended on such subsidies as he gave 
them to eke out their slender income. From his home 
and table, poor homes and meagrely-spread tables re- 
ceived liberal supplies. His hospitality was often ex- 
tended for weeks and months to those whose only 
claim was their need. Without parade or ostentatioQ 
he welcomed every opportunity for doing good ; and 
I doubt whether there was ever a year, for the last 
half of his life, when he did not spend more for others 
than for himself. It was a characteristic trait that he 
gave special directions that his funeral should be as 
simple and inexpensive as was consistent with propri- 
ety, and that the amount thus saved should be given 
to the poor. In his home life, which began not till 
18t)G, he accounted himself, and with good reason, 
pre-eminently happy ; his wife, having been in full 
sympathy with him in his benevolent purposes, and 
still deeming it her happiness to employ the income 
of his estate in precisely the offices of kindness and 
charity which it was his joy to render ! ' As a friend 
he was true and loyal. 

" In dress, manners, appearance and personal habits 
he preserved to the last much of the simplicity and 
many of the unconventional ways of his rural birth- 
place and his eatly life ; but there was in him the 
very soul of courtesy, and those who knew him best 
had often fresh surprises in his fineness and delicacy 
of feeling, his tenderness for the sensibility of others, 
and his choice of such modes of performing kind acts 
as might best keep himself in the background and 
ward oft' the painful sense of obligation. The last 
few months of Mr. Sibley's life were a season of de- 
bility and suffering, with few and brief intervals of 
relief. In the early summer of 1885 there was a 
slight improvement, and he cherished a strong hope 
that he might be able to officiate as chorister in the 
singing of St. Martin's at the Commencement dinner, 
an office which, as the successor of Dr. Pierce, he had 
filled for thirty -six years. But, as the day approached, 
he became liimself aware, as those about him had 
been ]ireviously, that such an effort was beyond his 
ability. From that time he was confined for the most 
part to his room, and gradually lost his hold on pass- 
ing events and his interest in the outside world. The 
closing hours often seemed very near, but with a 
natively strong constitution, unimpaired by luxur_y, 
indulgence or indolence, he resisted and overcame 
repeated paroxysms of disease that threatened an 

1 Mra. Sibley, who has become a resident of Groton, on leaving Cam- 
bridge, gave the house and estate in Pliilliiis Place, bought by her at 
the time of her marriage, and thus her own separate property, to Cam- 
bridge Hospital. 



224 



HISTOKY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



immediately fatal issue. His illness liad every alle- 
viation and comfort that could be afforded by the 
most assiduous, skillful and loving care, and if death 
was ever thus kept at bay, it was so in his case for 
weeks and months. He died near the close of the 
year 1885. It was a matter of universal surprise that 
Mr. Sibley died a rich man. No one could have been 
more surprised than he would have been, for his prop- 
erty was worth at least three times what he supposed it 
to be. When he gave the last instalment of his 
Exeter fund, he had less property remaining than he 
had bestowed on the academy. But about that time 
he put all that he possessed into the hands of a friend, 
under whose prudent care and lucrative investments 
there was a marvelously rapid increase, entirely be- 
yond his knowledge or anticipation. He left all his 
property to his wife, with the provision that whatever 
she might not expend or dispose of in her lifetime 
should pass into the fund of the Massachusetts His- 
torical Society, and that a suitable portion of the in- 
come should tlien be employed in the continuation 
of his great biographical work." 



WILLIAM PARMEXTEPw 

William Parmenter, a direct descendant of John 
Parmenter, who was one of the original proprietors of 
Sudbury, Middlesex County, was born in Boston, 
March 30, 1789. He was educated in the public 
schools and graduated at the Boston Latin School, 
where he received a Franklin medal. He completed 
a mercantile education with the firm of Pratt & An- 
drews, merchants, in Boston ; was iu trade a few 
years ; and during the War of 1812 and for some years 
afterward was the chief clerk of Amos Binney, Navy 
Agent. While in this employment he acquired a knowl- 
edge of the navy, and an acquaintance witli many 
of its leading officers, enabling him to furnish articles 
on naval topics for the press which were extensively 
copied. In 1824 he removed to East Cambridge, a 
part of Cambridge, having been appointed agent and 
manager of the New England Crown Glass Company, 
a corporation established at that place for the manu- 
facture of window-glass. He continued in this busi- 
ness until 1830; and meanwhile, from time to time, 
was elected to public offices, those of selectman of the 
town. Representative and Senator in the Massachu- 
setts Legislature. He was also president of the Mid- 
dlesex Bank from its organization until 1836. In 
that year he was elected a member of the United 
States House of Representatives, and by re-election 
remained in Congress four terms, ending March, 1845. 
He had early taken an interest in politics and was 
known as an influential member of the Democratic 
party. For most of his Congressional life he was the 
only Democratic member from Massachusetts. Among 
his colleagues were John Quincy Adams, Robert C. 
Winthrop, Leverett Saltonstall and Caleb Cushing. 
He sometimes departed from the party policy ; for 



example, on the tariff question he favored protection, 
and he was alluded to by Mr. Webster, in a speech 
in Faneuil Hall, as having by his vote secured the 
passage of the tariff act of 1842. He served chiefly 
on the Committee on Naval Affairs, of which he was 
for several terms a member, and when his party was 
in the ascendency, the chairman. For this duty his 
experience had given him an especial qualification. 
He was a ready and practiced speaker, and took share 
in debate. Then, in that part of the duty of a mem- 
ber of Congress which includes attention to the inter- 
ests which liis constituents may have at the Capitol, 
there was occasion for service on the part of Mr. Par- 
menter beyond his own district, inasmuch as the 
nearness of Ijis residence to Boston and his position 
as a manufacturer had so identified him with the 
business men of that citj', that his correspondence 
with them was almost as frequent and extensive as if 
he had been their immediate representative. 

On leaving Congress he was appointed Naval Officer 
of the port of Boston, and held that office four years. 
On his retirement he still kept his residence in Cam- 
bridge, but was not engaged in business or office other 
than in official supervision of some of the county in- 
stitutions until his decease, which occurred February 
25, 1866. He was mainly occupied with his private 
affairs, and took but little action in politics. The 
outbreak of the Civil War in his advanced years seri- 
ously aflected his health and spirits, but he was out- 
spoken in support of the Federal administration and 
the prosecution of the war. 

He was a man of impressive bearing and presence, 
of intelligence and wide information, conservative in 
opinions, cautious in judgment. He was at times 
called to preside as moderator at the large and occa- 
sionally excited town-meetings which preceded the 
coustitutiou of Cambridge as a city, and for this duty 
he had an unusual aptitude. 

He married, in 1815, ]Mary Parker, a daughter of 
Thomas Parker, of Boston, and from this marriage 
there were eight children — three sons and five daugh- 
ters — of whom three, one son and two daughters, are 
now living. His youngest son. Dr. Ezra Parmenter, 
born March 20, 1823, died January 31, 1883, was a 
resident of Cambridge, and held the offices of over- 
seer of the poor, member of the City Council, mayor, 
and for a number of years bridge commissioner. 
He was also for two terms a Representative and two 
terms a Senator in the General Court. 



JAMES AUGUSTUS FOX. 

Hon. James Augustus Fox, of Cambridge, is a 
prominent and public-spirited citizen of Middlesex 
County, who has placed his impress upon society in 
several of its more important interests — civil, mili- 
tary, literary or benevolent. 

He is the son of George Howe and Emily (Wyatt) 
Fox, and was born in Boston, .\ugust 11, 1827. Mr. 





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CAMBRIDGE. 



225 



Fox traces his ancestry on the paternal side to the 
ancient family of his name in Liucolnsliire, England, 
in which is included the renowned Oxford scholar — 
the author of the Ikmous " Book of Martyrs ; " and 
on the maternal side to the eminent Scottish rfamily 
of Forbes. 

In his youth he attended the Mayhew school of 
Boston, and subsequently finished his academical 
education at the classical school of Mr. Amos Baker, 
which wad then located in the " old South Chapel," 
on Spring Lane, where he acquired " little Latin and 
less Greek." 

Owing to the connection of his father in a business 
capacity with the old Tremont Theatre, his earliest 
recollections are associated with the dramatic art. At 
first being carried upon the stage as an infant-in- 
arms, next as Cora's child, with Edwin Forrest and 
others as " EoUa," then lisping the pathetic lines of 
one of the little " Children in the Wood" in a dra- 
matic adaptation of the well-known nursery story, 
and later as the youthful Duke of York, one of the 
unfortunate princes who were smothered in the Tower 
of London, as illustrated in Shakespeare's tragedy of 
Richard III., he filled out two of the immortal bard's 
" Seven Ages," playing many parts, through the 
entire range of juvenile characters incident to the 
dramatic productions in vogue half a century ago. 

His interest in the histrionic profession continued 
until his twentieth year, during which period he 
enacted a large and varied number of prominent 
j)arts — " from grave to gay, from lively to severe" — 
as that of Mercutio in Shakespeare's " Romeo and 
Juliet," and one of the grave-diggers in " Hamlet ;" 
from Jaques in "As You Like It," to one of the witches 
in Macbeth ; from y«ung Wilfordm Colman's "Iron 
Chest " to Sergeant Austerlitz in " The Maid of 
Croissey," and from the youthful King Charles in 
" Faint Heart Never Won Fair Lady," to the ancient 
Philip Gabois in the drama of " One Hundred 
and Two ; " and in this wide diversity of characters 
evincing a rare genius and capacity for one so young. 
Subsequent to this time he prepared himself for his 
life profession at the Law School of Harvard Univer- 
sity, and in the otEce of the late Hon. John C. Park. 
In the year 185-1 he was admitted to the Sufiblk bar, 
and commenced practice in the courts of the State. 
In 1848 he married Julia Elizabeth, daughter of 
Col. James and .Tulia (Sterry) Valentine, of Provi- 
dence, R. I., and the granddaughter of William and 
Elizabeth (Borden) Valentine, of Fall River. Her 
grandfather was one of the original projectors of the 
extensive manufacturing enterprises of that city. 
She died in 1872, leaving three daughters, viz.: Hen- 
rietta (Fox) Macdonald, Julia (Fox) Webber, and 
Lillian Valentine (Fox) Wakefield. The eldest mar- 
ried Mr. William Macdonald, of Cambridge, and has 
five children, viz.: Elfrida Valentine, William Val- 
entine, James Fox, Jessie Valentine and Malcolm 
Valentine McDonald. The second married Dr. 



George A. Webber, of Manchester, Mass., and the 
youngest was united in marriage, in 1889, to Horace 
Wakefield, M.D., of London, England. 

The opening of the War of the Rebellion in 18(il 
found him in the active practice of his profession. 
During the six years previous he had an extended 
experience in the regular militia of the State, having 
risen from the ranks to the command of the Boston 
City Guards — an excellent school of the soldier. 

This company was the nucleus of the Thirteenth 
Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers during the 
war; and as captain of Company "A" of that regiment, 
he left Bo.ston for the front on July 29, 186L Cap- 
tain Fox served in the perilous campaigns of Vir- 
ginia during the remainder of that year, and in 1862 
receiving the commendation of his superior officers 
and the respect and love of the entire regiment. 

Since the war he has been elected president of the 
Thirteenth Regiment Association for several terms; 
and he is also a member of the Military Order Loyal 
Legion of the United States. 

He early identified himself with the Grand Army 
of the Republic, and has continued an interested 
member of that organization as a comrade of John 
A. Andrew Post, No. 16, of Boston, since 1868, and 
in 1890 was its commander. 

His addresses given on several Memorial Day occa- 
sions, and especially one entitled " The Two Civiliza- 
tions " (which hits been published), and another deliv- 
ered upon the decisive battle-field of Gettysburg at 
the dedication of the color-bearer's statue of the Thir- 
teenth Massachusetts Regiment, are scholarly and 
eloquent productions which have attracted marked 
attention. 

He was commander of the Ancient and Honorable 
Artillery Company of Massachusetts in 1864-65, as 
also one of the appointed delegates of that corps at 
the 350th anniversary of the Honorable Artillery 
Company of London — the parent of the American 
corps — celebrated during the jubilee season of Queen 
Victoria, in June, 1887, on which occasion he enjoyed 
the hospitality of that organization, including the dis- 
tinguished honor of a presentation at the Court of 
St. James. 

In several of the prominent beneficial orders of the 
country, so benign in their operations, he occupies a 
prominent and deserved position, being a member of 
the Independent Order of Odd-Feliows, in an ad- 
vanced rank in the Improved Order of Red Men, and 
having been at the head of the Knights of Pythias, 
serving with much acceptance as Grand Chancellor of 
Massachusetts. In this organization he is one of the 
two representatives to the Supreme Lodge, andjudge- 
advocate-general upon the staff of Major-General 
Carnahan, of Indiana, the commander of the Uni- 
form Rank Knights of Pythias. In the world-wide 
institution of Free Masonry he has attained the very 
highest grade. Commencing with the " blue lodge,'" 
he has advanced through all the series of degrees of 



226 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



the York and Scottish rites — the chapter, cryptic 
masonry, the 'commaadery (K. T.), the consistory, 
unto the sovereign grand inspector-generalship of tlie 
tliirty-third and last degree, and in many of these he 
had served as the presiding officer. 

In civil life and service Mr. Fox has had a some- 
what extended experience. Commencing as a member 
of the School Committee of Boston, upon which he 
served three years, he was next elected to the House 
of Representatives of Massachusetts, in 1867 and '68, 
representing one of the districts of the city. In 1870 
and '71 he was a member of the Honorable Senate 
in wliich he served upon the Committees on Probate 
and Chancery, Military Affairs, and the joint select 
committee to investigate the State constabulary. 
While a member of this body he established a repu- 
tation (previously given jirociise of) as a graceful and 
proficient orator, especially by delivering a glowing 
tribute to Major-General George H. Thomas, then 
lately deceased. 

Removing to the university city in 1872, he was 
called to serve in the Aldermanic Board, and subse- 
quently as mayor of Cambridge for four consecutive 
terms, in all a merited tribute to the ability with 
which he has discharged the duties of these positions. 

His knowledge of parliamentary proceedings, his 
dignity and tact as a presiding officer, his power to 
grasp the salient points of a question under discus- 
sion, his correct judgment in financial matters, all 
these attest a clear and comprehensive mind and de- 
cided executive ability. 

In the varied relations of life, as a legislator, 
soldier, orator, officer of potential beneficent organi- 
zations, and as the chief magistrate of a large and 
cultured municipality, he has ever performed his 
duties with fidelity and general acceptation. 



COLONEL AUSTIN C. WELLINGTON. 

Austin C. Wellington, son of Jonas Clark and Har- 
riet E. (Bosworth) Wellington, was born in Lexington, 
Mass., July 17, 1840. He was educated in Lexing- 
ton, where he remained until 1850, when he removed 
to Cambridge and entered the employ of S. G. Bowd- 
lear & Co., flour merchants, of Boston, as book-keeper. 

In August, 1862, he enlisted in Company F, Thirty- 
eighth Massachusetts Volunteers, and participated in 
the following battles : Bisland, sieges of Port Hud- 
son, Cane River Ford, Mansura, Opequan, Fisher's 
Hill and Cedar Creek. As a soldier he was respected 
and beloved by his comrades in the field, and at a 
very early day was selected for promotion. He was 
mustered out June 30, 1865, being, at that time, act- 
ing adjutant of his regiment. 

Ul)on his return to private life he engaged in the 
coal business, which he continued with success until 
his death, which occurred September 18, 1888. 

June 30, 1869, he united in marriage with Carolina 
L. Fisher, daughter of George and Hannah C. (Teele) 



Fisher, of Cambridge. Ten years later his wife died, 
and November 29, 1887, he married Sarah Cordelie 
Fisher, a sister of his first wife. 

Colonel Wellington was public-spirited and of a 
social <ieraperament. He was fond of reading and 
declamation. He was secretary of the Irving Liter- 
ary Society, of Cambridge, in 1861; was a member of 
the Cambridge Shakespeare Club from 1865 to his 
death ; director in the Mercantile Library Associa- 
ciation, of Boston, in 1871, and later its president. 
He was a member of the House of Representatives in 
1875 and 1876 and on the Military Committee. He 
was a member of the Art Club, of Boston ; of the 
New England Club, Electric Club, aud vice-president 
of the Central Club. He was treasurer and general 
manager of the A. C. WellingtonCoal Co., chairman 
of the Boston Coal Exchange aud president of the 
Charles River Towing Company. 

Colonel Wellington was fond of music and had a 
fine, sympathetic baritone voice. He was a member of 
the Handel and Haydn Society, also of the Cecilia 
Club, both vocal musical associations in Boston. 

Notwithstanding the prominent position Colonel 
Wellington occupied in social, musical and business 
life, the distinguishing feature, doubtless, of his 
career was his brilliant record in the Massachusetts 
volunteer militia. May 2, 1870, he entered the ser- 
vice as captain of the Boston Light Infantry, other- 
wise known as the famous " Tigers," being Company A 
of the Seventh Regiment. While captain of this com- 
pany his command rendered efficient service at the 
great Boston fire in 1872, and he brought his com- 
pany to such a state of perfection that in 1873 he was 
elected major of the First Battalion, known later as 
the Fourth Battalion, which, under his leadership, 
became widely known as one of the crack organiza- 
tions of the State, and at the general inspection of 
the militia forces of Massachusetts, in 1878, this bat- 
talion ranked the highest for general military excel- 
lence among the regular military organizations. 
February 24, 1882, he was elected colonel of the First 
Regiment, and the record of this regiment from the 
time Colonel Wellington assumed command until his 
untimely death was brilliant and unparalleled, and 
what it accomplished at home and abroad was due 
almost wholly to the untiring zeal of its gallant com- 
mander, who in.stilled into the regiment an esprit dc 
corps which had not before existed. Its record at 
the funeral of General Grant in New York in 1885, 
and at the Constitutional celebration in Philadelphia 
in 1887 will long be remembered. At the Grant 
funeral, with Colonel Wellington at its head, it was 
not second to any military body in the line. 

One of the greatest achievements of Colonel Wel- 
lington was his brilliant management of the Soldiers' 
Home carnival five years ago. That was a work of 
great magnitude, requiring tireless attention and 
great executive ability. 

Colonel Wellington was also deeply interested in 







ii^i^'2-'*' 




/ C-iC'C^Z^i^-l'^^vCcrz,^ 





\A3 




CAMBRIDGE. 



227 



Grand Army matters. 'He was a comrade of Post 15 
iu 1S67, commaader of Post 30 in 1873 aud of Post 1 13 
ill 1887-SS. He was also inspector-general of the 
Grand Army for the Departmeat of Massachusetts. 
He was also a trustee of the Massachusetts Soldiers' 
Home. 

Colonel Wellington had a dauntless, martial spirit^ 
a gentle heart, unmindlul of self-considerate of 
others, and at his death passed away one of Massa. 
chusetls' most honoi"ed citizens. 



EDWARD WIXSLOW HINCKS. 

Edward Winslow Hincks was born in Bucksport, 
Me., Miiy 30, 1830. He was the son of Captain 
Elisha Hincks, who was born in Provincetown, Mass., 
September 28, 1800, and who was lost at .sea January 
14, 1831. In 1802 the father of Elisha removed with 
his family to Buckstowu (now Bucksport), and there 
Elisha was brought up, and married, October 9, 1824, 
Elizabeth Hopkins, daughter of Ephraim and Han- 
nah ,(Ri^=b) Wentworth, of Orrington, Me., and had 
the following children: Temperance Ann, April 23, 
1821;; Elisha Albert, May 1, 1828; Edward Winslow, 
May 30, 1830. 

The father of Elisha was Elisha Hincks, who was 
born in Truro, M;tss., .luly 14, 1774, and died in North 
Bucksport, Me., March 15, 1851. In early life he 
followed the sea, but in April, 1802, he, with his fam- 
ily and brothers — Winslow aud Je.-se — removed from 
Provincetown, where they then lived, to Buckstown 
(now Bucksport), Me. There he bought wild land, 
which he cleared and improved, and ou which he 
died. He married, first, in March, 1790, Temperance, 
daughter of Sylvanus and Hannah (Cole) Smith, of 
Eastham, Mas4., and had Anna, born in Province- 
town, January 11, 1797. He married, second, Decem- 
ber 22, 1799, Mary, daughter of Nathaniel and Anna 
(Rich) Treat, of Truro, and had Elisha, September 
28, 1800; Temperance Smith, born in Bucksport June 
24, 1803; Mary, July 30,1805; Sarah, January 30, 
1807; William Treat, March 30, 1809; Sylvanus 
Treat, November 21, 1810 ; Hannah, August 5, 1812; 
Naomi, May 16, 1816; Ezekiel Franklin, August 10, 
1820. 

The father of the last Elisha was Samuel Hinckes, 
who was born in Portsmouth, N. H., about 1718, and 
.shortly removed with his father to Boston, and there 
lived until 1753. He afterwards taught school in 
Truro, where he married, about 1756, Susanna, daugh- 
ter of Jonathan Dyer, of Truro, and where he con- 
tinued to live until 1795, when he removed to Bucks- 
port, aud there died in 1800. 

The father of Samuel was Captain Samuel Hinckes, 
who was born in Portsmouth, N. H., at an unknown 
date, and graduated at Harvard in 1701. In 1716, 
while a resident in Portsmouth, he was sent as a repre- 
sentative of the Province of New Hampshire to the 
Indians at the eastward, was a captain in ihe Indian 



Wars and commanded Fort Mary, at Winter Harbor, 
from 1722 to 1727, when he removed to Boston. He 
died in Portsmouth shortly alter 1753. He married 
Elizabeth (Winslow) Scott, a widow, previous to 1715. 
Elizabeth Winslow was a daughter of Edward and 
Elizabeth (Hutchinson) Winslow, and granddaughter 
of John Winslow, who married Mary Chilton, one of 
the passengers in the " Mayflower." 

The father of the last Samuel was ,Iohn Hinckes, 
who came from England about 1670, who was Coun- 
cilor for the Province of New Hampshire, and assis- 
tant in the Court of Chancery from 1683 to May 25, 
1686, when he became a Councilor in the government 
of President Joseph Dudley, having been named for 
the office by James the Second, in his commission to 
Dudley, dated October 8, 1685. He was also chief 
justice of the Court of Pleas and General Sessions in 
New Hampshire from 1686 to 1689. In 1092 he was 
named as Councilor of New Hampshire and made 
president of the Council. In 1699 he was appointed 
chief justice of the Superior Court, and remained in 
office as Councilor and chief justice until 1707. He 
was living in New Castle, N. H., in 1722, and had de- 
ceased April 25, 1734. He married, at an unknown 
date, Elizabeth, daughter of Nathaniel and Christian 
Fryer, and had Samuel, a daughter who married a 
Gross, Christian, Barbara Sarah and probably Eliza- 
beth. 

Edward Winslow Hincks, the subject of this sketch, 
having received the rudiments of his education in the 
public schools of his native town, in 1845, at fifteen 
years of age, removed from Bucksport to Bangor, Me., 
where he served as an apprentice in the othce of the 
Bangor Daily Whiij and Courier until 1849, when he 
removed to Boston, where he was engaged in the 
printing and publishing business until 1856. He was 
a Kcpresentative from the city of Boston in the Legis- 
lature of 1855, and in the same year was a member of 
the City Council from the Third Ward. Early in 
1856 he was appointed a clerk in the office of the 
secretary of the Commonwealth of Blassachusetts, and 
prepared for publication the State census of 18.55. 
He remained in the secretary's office until the firing 
upon Fort Sumter, employing his leisure hours in the 
study of law, with the intention of making that his 
profession, being encouraged and assisted in his j)ur- 
pose by Hon. Anson Burlingame, of whom he was an 
ardent friend and supporter. Having removed to 
Lynn in 1850, he was chosen librarian of the Lynn 
Library Association, and until the outbreak of the 
war actively i)romoted the interests of that organiza- 
tion, whose collection of books -subsequently became 
the nucleus of the present Public Library in that 
city.' He was also prominently connected with the 
Sabbath-ichool of the First Baptist Church in Lynn. 
On the 18th of August, 1859, he was appointed adju- 
tant of the Eighth Regiment of Massachusetts militia 
— the Essex County regiment. 

This appointment, trivial aa it no doubt seemed at 



228 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



the time, proved the turning-point in his life, and 
was the opening door to a military career in which he 
won lasting fame. 

At the outbreak of the war he was placed by this 
appointment in a position whose duties he had per- 
formed with enthusiasm, and from which he could 
reasonably hope to receive advancement. On the 
18th of December, 1800, he wrote to General An- 
derson, then stationed at Fort Moultrie, the follow- 
ing letter, which shows him to have been the first 
volunteer of the war: 

" Boston, December 18, ISOO. 
*' Major Anderson, U. S. A., Commanding Fort Moultrie: 

'* Major — In case of attack upon your couiuiuuil by the St.ite (or 
wou!d-Uo nation) of Soulb Carolina, will you be at liberty to accept Vol- 
unteeis to aid iu llie delence of Fort Moultrie? 

" I am contident that a large body of volunteels from this vicinity 
can be put .'ifloat at abort notice to aid iu the defence of the poet en- 
trutted to your command, if necessity ehall dcmaud and the authorities 
permit it. 

"Indeed, the men who have repeatedly responded to the call of the 
authorities to protect the officere of the law in their work of securing to 
the owners, from whom it had escaped, the chattel property of the 
South, will never hesitate to respond to a call to aid a meritorious olTi- 
cer of our Federal Republic, who is engaged, uot only in protecting our 
national property, but iu defending the honor of our country and the 
lives of our countrymen, 

** I have Iho honor to be, sir, your obedient servant to command, 
" EnwAltn W. HiNCKS, 
" Isl Lienl. and Ailjl. Slh Eegl. Mass. Vol. Mil." 

" FoKT Motil.TKlE, S. C, December 24, ISGO. 
*' Lieutenant En. W. IIincks, Ailjt. atk licgi. Mass. Vol. MUilia: 

*' Sir — I thank yon, not only for myself, but for the brave little band 
that are under nie, for your very welcome letter of the Ibth inst., ask- 
ing whether, in case I am attacked, I would Lc at liberty to accept vol- 
unteer aid iu the defence of Fort Moultrie. 

" When I inform you that my garrison cousists of only si.\ty effective 
men ; that we are in a very indifferent work, the walls of which are 
only about fourteen feet high, and that we have within one hu..dred 
and Ki-\ty yards of our walls sand-hills which cominaud our work, and 
afford admirable sites for batteries aud the finest covers for sharp- 
shooters ; and that, besides thit;, there are numerous houses, some of 
them within pistol-shot, you will at once see that if attacked by a force 
beaded by any one but a simpleton, there is scarce a possibility of ou^' 
being able to hohl out long enough to enable our frienus to cojue to our 
succor. 

" Come what may, I shall ever bear iu grateful remembrance your 
gallant, your humane offer. 

*' I am, very sincerely yours, 

"R0I3EItT ANUERSON, 

" Major \st Arlillmj, U. S. A ." 

"24 St. Mark's Place, July 6, ISOG. 
*' General E. W. Hincks: 

*' /A'ur Sir — Your letter, w hich I received two days before 1 moved over 
to Fort Sumter, was the first proffer of aid w hich was made mo w hilst in 
Charleston Harbor. 

" Itespectfully your obedient servant, 

" KoBEUT ANUERSON. 

*^ Major-General C S. A." 

On the 15th of April, 1801, when the news was re- 
ceived of the attack on Fort Sumter, he hastened to 
Boston, and tendered his services to Governor An- 
drew, and at the same time urged the acceptance of 
the Eighth Kegiment as a part of the contiugent of 
fifteen hundred men called for by the President. 
His offer of service was accepted, and his request at 
once complied with. Under orders promptly issued 
he, that evening, rode to Lynn, Salem, Beverly and 
Marblehead, and despatched messengers to Newbury- 



port aud Gloucester, notifying the various companies 
of his regiment to rendezvous in Boston for instant 
duty. The ne.xt morning (April 10th) he marched 
into Faneuil Hall with three companies from Mar- 
blehead — the first troops in the country en route 
for the seat of war. 

On the 17th of April he was commissioned lieu- 
tenant-colonel of the Eighth Regiment, which 
marched on the 18th for Washington. At Anna- 
polir', Md., on the 21st of April, a detachment from 
the regiment, under command of Colonel Hincks, 
boarded the frigate ''Constitution," then lying 
aground, and fii>t lightening her of her guns, floated 
her and worked her to sea. Leaving the ship at 
midnight, he learned the next morning from Gen- 
eral Butler that Colonel Lefferts, of the New York 
Seventh Eegiment, had, after consultation with his 
ofiicers, declined to advance his command and take 
possersion of the Baltimore and Washington Rail- 
road, through apprehension of an overpowering rebel 
force! He at once said to General Butler: "Give 
me the selection of two companies for the purpose 
and I will perform the duty." He was at once 
placed in command of a detachment consisting of 
Captain Knott V. Martin's Marblehead company. 
Captain George T. Newhall's Lynn company and 
several picked men, engineers and mechanics from 
other companies under command of Lieutenant 
Hodges, of Newburyport, and marched to the sta- 
tion, of which he took possession, with the rolling 
stock, materials, books, papers, etc., there found. 
Without delay he began the work of repair on the 
engines and track, the former having been disabled 
and the latter seriously broken uj). During the first 
day an advance of five miles was made, aud after a 
night's bivouac the work was resumed and continued 
until the road was in running-order. For this ser- 
vice the regiment received the thanks of Congress iu 
the following resolve: 

"Thirty-seventh Congress, First Session. 
" Congress of the United States in tue House of Rei'icksentatives, 
July 31, 1801. 

"On motion of Mr. Lovejoy : 

" li'solet'l, That the thanks of this Uonse are hereby presented to 
the Eighth Ilegiment of Masstichusetts Volunteers, for their alacrity in 
responding to the call of the President, and for the energy aud patriot- 
ism displayed by them in surmounting obstacles njion sea aud laud, 
which traitors hod interposed to impede their Jtrogress to the defeuce of 
the National Capital. 

" Galusiia a. Grow, 
" Speaker of the House of Bepresentatives. 

"Attest: Em. Etiieridge, Clerh." 

I^eaching Washington on the 2Cth of April, Colo- 
nel Hiucks was that d.ay appointed a second lieuten- 
ant of cavalry in the regular army, the only rank in 
which, at that time, an ofiicer could enter the regular 
service. From the date of his entrance into the reg- 
ular army his military history is borne on the rec- 
ords of the office of the adjutant-general, as follows : 

" Appointed second lieutenant Second Cavalry , 
April 20, 1801 ; colonel Eighth Massachusetts Volun- 



CAMBKIDGE. 



229 



teers May 16, 1861 ; colonel Nineteenth Massachusetts 
Volunteers August 3, 1861; brigadier-general United 
States Volunteers November 29, 1862; brevet major- 
general United States Volunteers March 13, 1865, for 
gallant and meritorious services during the war; re- 
signed volunteer commission June 30, 1865; ap- 
pointed lieutenant-colonel Fortieth United States 
Infantry July 28, 1866 ; transferred to the Twenty- 
fifth United States Infantry March 15, 1869 ; breveted 
colonel United Stales Army. March 2, 1867, for gal- 
lant and meritorious services at the battle of Antie- 
tam, Md. ; and brigadier-general United States Army 
for galhint and meritorious services in the assault of 
Petersburg, Va. ; retired from active service for disa- 
bility resulting from wounds received in the line of 
duty December 15, 1870, upon the full rank of colo- 
nel United States Army. 

" Scrrice. — With Regiment Eighth Massachusetts 
in the State of Maryland until August 1, 1861 ; with 
Regiment Nineteenth Massachusetts in the Army of 
the Potomac from August, 1861, to June 30, 1802, 
when wounded in action at White Oak Swamp, Va. ; 
absent, wounded, to August 5, 1862; commanding 
Third Brigade, Sedgwick's division, Army of the Po- 
tomac, to September 17, 1862, when twice severely 
wounded in the battle of Antietam, Md. ; on leave of 
absence, wounded to March 19, 1863 ; on court- 
martial duty as brigadier-general at Washington, 
D. C, April 2 to June 9, 1863 ; and under orders of 
War Department to July 4, 1863 ; commanding draft 
rendezvous at Concord, N. H. ; acting assistant pro- 
vost marshal, general and superintendent of the Vol- 
unteer Recruiting Service for the State of New Hamp- 
shire to March 29, 1864; commanding district of St. 
Mary's and camp of prisoners of war at Point Look- 
out, Md., April 3 to 20, 1864; commanding Third 
Division, Eighteenth Army Corps, to July, 1864, 
when wounded; on court-martial duty to September 
22, 1864 ; commanding draft depot and camp of pris- 
oners of war at Hart's Island, New York Harbor, to 
February, 1865; on duty at New York City a.s acting 
assistant provost marshal general, superintendent 
Volunteer Recruiting Service, and chief mustering 
and disbursing officer for the Southern Division of 
New York to March, 1865 ; and on the same duty at 
Harnsburg, Pa., for the Western Division of Penn- 
sylvania to June 30, 1865 ; governor of the Military 
Asylum to March 6,1867; en route to, and in com- 
mand of. Fort Macon, N. C, until April 13, 1867 ; 
on sjiecial duty at headquarters Second Military Dis- 
trict at Charleston, S. C, to April 27, 1867 ; provost 
marshal general Second Military District North and 
South Carolina to January 16, 1868 ; commanding 
Fortieth Regiment and the sub-district and port of 
Goldsboro', N. C, to July 13, 1868 ; on sick leave 
of absence to December 4, 1868 ; commanding reg- 
iment in North Carolina and Louisiana until April 
20, 1869, when he assumed command of the 
Twenty-fifth Infantry, and remained in command of 



that regiment and the post of New Orleans, La., 
until August 14. 1869; on sick leave of absence to 
December 4, 1S69; and in command of regiment in 
New Orleans and en route to and at Fort Clark, 
Texas, from that date to December 15, 1870." 

Such is the record borne on the pages of the army 
books, and no narrative could set forth the military 
life of General Hincks so clearly and eloquently as 
these authoritative words. Aside from the leading 
well-known generals of the war, few officers can boast 
of a more varied and gallant and useful career. 

In concluding the narrative of the war experience 
of General Hincks, while the repeated testimony of 
his superior officers in their general orders to his gal- 
lantry will be omitted, the list of battles in which he 
was engaged must not fail to be mentioned: 

Battle of Ball's Bluff, Vu , October 21, 1801; slego of Yorktown, Va., 
April, 1862 ; affair at West Point, May 7, 18G2 ; Fair Oaks, June 1, 
181.2; OakGrove, June 25, 1882; Puacb Orchard, June 29, 181)2; Sav- 
age's Station, June 29, 1863 ; White Oak Swamp, June 30, 1802 ; Clen- 
dale, Juno 3(1, 18G2; Chantilly, September 1, 1862; South Mountiln, 
September li, 1862; Antietam, September 16 and 17, 18J2; Baylor's 
Farm, June 15, 1S64 ; assault at Petersburg, June 15, 1804. 

The services of General Hincks after the war were 
only less important than those during its continuance. 
Under General Sickles and General Canby the aid he 
rendered in perfecting and carrying out the recon- 
struction measures of the government in North and 
South Carolina, forming what was called the Sacond 
Military District, was recognized by his superior offi- 
cers aa efficient and valuable. 

On the 15th of December, 1870, the general was 
retired from active service upon the full rank of 
colonel in the United States Army on account of 
wounds received in battle, and on the 7th of March, 
1872, he was appointed, by the Board of Managers 
of the National Homes, deputy-governor of the 
Southern Branch of National Homes, at Hampton, 
Va. On the 1st of January following he wa.s trans- 
ferred to the Northwestern Branch, near Milwaukee, 
Wis., and resigned October 1, 1880. 

After the resignation of his position as deputy-gov- 
ernor of the National Home at Milwaukee, General 
Hincks remained in that city until. luiie, 1883,andwa3 
largely influential in the organization of the Milwaukee 
Industrial Exposition, a corporation then formed and 
still in existence, having for its object the promotion 
of the industrial interests of Milwaukee and the 
State of Wisconsin. Since 1883 he has lived in 
Cambridge, Mass., enjoying a period of well-deserred 
peace and comfort. He occu|)ies a stately old man- 
sion, said to be more than two hundred years old; 
and the books and pictures, and quaint old family 
china and furniture with which it is replete, reveal 
the culture and taste of its occupants. 

In the autumn of 1862, after having been severely 
wounded in the battle of Antietam, General Hincks 
was urgently requested by many independent Repub- 
licans, to run for Congress in the Sixth District, then 
represented by Mr. John B. Alley, but he positively 



230 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



(Jeclined to be a candidate for any office that would 
prevent his return to the field as soon as he should 
sufficiently recover from his wounds. He was scr- 
geant-at-arms of the National Kepublicau Conven- 
tion at Philadelphia, in 1872, when General Grant 
was nominated for a second term ; and again at Cin- 
cinnati, in 1876, when General Hayes was nominated 
for President. In the Cincinnati Convention he 
was nominated by the chairman of the Michigan 
delegation " for his many wounds received iu battle," 
and was unanimously elected. 

General Hincks is a Knight Templar in the Ma- 
sonic Order, a companion in the National Command- 
ery of the Loyal Legion and a member of the New 
England Historical Genealogical Society; commander 
of Wisconsin Commandery of Military Order of 
the Loyal Legion in 1876, 1877, 1879 and 1880, and 
commander of Ma?sachuaetts Commandery in 1889- 
90 ; was a member of the Cambridge Board of 
Aldermen in 1886, 1887 and 1888, and during the 
year last named was president of the Board and oc- 
casionally acting mayor; is (1890) president of the 
Reliance Co-operative Bank in Cambridge. 

General Hincks has been twice married — first, Jan- 
uary 25, 1855, to Annie Eebecca, daughter of Moody 
and Clarissa (Leach) Dow, of Lynn, who died in 
Lynn, August 21, 1862. Her only child was Anson 
Burlingame, who was born in Lynn, October 14, 
1856, and died in Rockville, Md., January 27, 1862. 

He married, second, September 3, 1863, Elizabeth 
Pierce, daughter of George and Susan (Treadwell) 
Nichols, of Cambridge, whose only child, Bessie 
Hincks, born in Cambridge, April 11, 1865, died in 
Cambridge, July 5, 1885. 

The death of this daughter was peculiarly sad. 
She had graduated in 1883 from the Milwaukee Col- 
lege, and had entered the Harvard Annex full of hope 
and promise. While walking in the street her dress 
took fire from a burning cracker, and she was burned 
to death. Her sweet and loving character, blended 
with high literary attainments, lent a joy and grace 
to her parents' home, since shadowed in perpetual 
gloom. It is only necessary, before closing this sketch, 
to add a word of explanation concerning the family 
name of General Hincks. 

The common ancestor of the Hincks family in this 
country, Councilor and Chief Justice John, uniformly 
wrote his name Hiuckes, but when copied by clerks 
it was usually written Hinks, and so frequently ap- 
pears in the Council Records of Massachusetts and 
the Archives of New Hampshire. Captain Samuel, 
who graduated at Harvard in 1701, and his son, 
Samuel, Jr., the schoolmaster on the Cape, uniformly 
wrote their name Hincks ; but Elisha and his son. 
Captain Elisha, Jr., the father of the general, appear 
to have dropped the c, and to have written their 
names Hinks ; and in early life the general also wrote 
his name without the c (Hinks), and it so appears in 
the Army Register and the official records of the war. 



although other branches of the family wrote their 
names with a c; but in 1871, under authority of law, 
the general restored the letter c to his name, and has 
since written it Hincks, and all the branches of the 
family descended from Chief Justice John now con- 
form to this style. It will be noted that all of this 
family in this country bearing the name of Hincks 
are descended through the Winslows from Mary 
Chilton, who came in the "Mayflower," and Anne 
Hutchinson, the Quakeress. 



nON. J. WARREN MERRILL.' 

This prominent citizen was an inhabitant of Mid- 
dlesex County, Mass., for some fifty years. D.uring 
almost thirty-eight of the final years of this period 
and of his life of .seventy years, his home was in Cam- 
bridge, of which city he was the ninth mayor, and, 
previously, a representative in the General Court of 
Massachusetts. 

His earliest ancestor in this country was Nathaniel 
Merrill, who came from Salisbury, England, to New- 
bury, Massachusetts, in 1633. The family tradition 
is that the English progenitors were of French ex- 
traction, through an official of the exchequer, who, by 
friendly aid, escaped the massacre of St. Bartholomew, 
in August, 1572, and crossed the Channel for refuge. 

Joseph Warren Merrill, the oldest son of Nathan 
and Sarah (Page) Merrill, was born in South Hamp- 
ton, N. H., Dec. 13, 1819. His father, who was a 
teacher, removed his family to Portsmouth in 1825, 
and about eight years later to Boston. The youth was 
for some time a pupil at the English High School. 
He became an apprentice to Mr. Joshua P. Preston, 
apothecary, on Federal Street, about the 1st of , June, 
1835. Six years later, June 15, 1841, at the age of 
twenty-one years and a half, he engaged in the same 
business for himself, at the corner of Salem and Rich- 
mond Streets. He found that he could not conscien- 
tiously do, on Sunday, the most profitable business of 
the week, in the sale of luxuries. The pecuniary 
effect of confining himself to the sale of medicines 
on that day was so di.scouraging that he gave up the 
business, and a meeting with his old employer, who 
had retired, resulted in a partnership in the business 
of fancy goods, including domestic, imported, and 
some proprietary articles, the latter pertaining to 
manufacturing chemi.stry. Thus was formed, in 1845, 
the firm of Preston & Merrill, whose name has been 
so familiar throughout our country, if not the world. 
A venture in the shipment to California of a culinary 
compound which they manufactured, proved a most 
successful mini-stration to the comfort and luxury of 
settlers rushing to the land of gold, and also to the 
fortunes of the proprietors. Mr. Merrill divided his 
sh.are of the gain between his wife and some benevo- 
lent institution. Thenceforward his business success 
was secured. 

' By George II. Wliifteiuore. 



CAMBRIDGE. 



231 



On the 13th of June, 1848, he had been married to 
Mii-s Hannah B. Wattaon, of Phihidelphia, and to 
them were born six children, two of whom were re- 
moved by early death. In the morning of his pros- 
perity, Mr. Merrill looked about for a home for his 
wife and infant son, and selected Cambridge, to which 
he removed from Charlestown, June 11, 1852. He 
first owned and occupied, for fifteen years, an attract- 
ive estate on Harvard Street, upon the eastern slope 
of Dana Hill ; and then built a mansion upon the 
summit of the hill, facing Broadw.ay, which was 
finished in 18C8, and was his home for the remaining 
twenty-one years of his life. 

The nearly forty years of Mr. Merrill's residence in 
Cambridge witnessed a great change in it from rural 
to urban aspect and characteristics; and as a prop- 
erty-owner, public -spirited citizen, and municipal 
officer, he was no small factor, directly and indirectly, 
in the process. His first official service was as a 
member of the Common Council, in 18G1, from which 
he went to the Board of Aldermen the following year. 
He was long a member of the Water Board of the city, 
part of the time as its president. He was a repre- 
sentative in the legislature of Ma.ssachusetts in 1864, 
and he was mayor of Cambridge in 1865, including 
the closing months of the war, and w;i.s re-elected for 
186G. In view of the demands and rewards of his 
profitable business — in view, also, of his growing 
family and strong domestic tastes, it was not strange 
if, after these six years of strenuous service, embracing 
the peculiar exigencies of the war, ho should not en- 
courage the sugge.stion of a congressional term upon 
the broader stage at Washington. Besides the busi- 
ness of the firm with which he was so long identified, 
Mr. Merrill was interested in other enterprises, nota- 
bly that of the Boston and Colorado Smelting Com- 
pany, of which he was one of the founders, in 1867, 
and the treasurer. 

Even this imperfect glance at some of his principal 
activities will show that Mr. Merrill was pre-eminently 
a man of affairs. As such he was marked by ability, 
energy, diligence, integrity and success. But he not 
only had a vocation in life, he had also avocations. 
One of these, the original impulse to which came to 
him in a time of physical and mental exhaustion, 
through the affectionate agency of his wife, was the 
study and collection of ferns; another was photogra- 
phy ; and a third was research into his family history. 
His skill and interest in croquet, with its undoubted 
benefit to his health, almost entitle it to mention 
as a pursuit as well as pastime. 

Mr. Merrill was an ardent patriot. The writer 
recalls how he entered into the spirit of that great 
meeting under the Washington elm, in April, 1861, 
within two weeks of the first gun of the war — a meet- 
ing addressed, among others, by Palfrey and Banks, 
Hillard, Judge Russell and the Hon. John C. Park, 
to which marched the First Massachusetts Regiment, 
soon to depart for the seat of war. He was at this 



time, as has been said, a member of the City Council ; 
and a published letter, of the very date of the meet- 
ing just referred to, from Captain J. T. Richardson, 
of that famous earliest band of volunteers from Cam- 
bridge, attests how early and strong was Mr. Merrill's 
zeal as a citizen and an official in the uprising of the 
loyal nation. The following are the first two par- 
agraphs of the letter : — 

"FoETRESs Monroe, 2Ttli .^pril, ISGl. 
** J. Warren- Merrill, Esq. 

*' Dear Sir : Tours of the lotli inst. is received, and has been read to 
the couipauy, and was received witli the greatest entbusiiism. It cheers 
the heart and nerves the arms of tlie soldier to linow that his sacrifices 
and toils and dangers are appreciated by his fellow-citizens at hojne, and 
that the dear family he has left behind him is to he cared for in his ab- 
sence. 

*'Iam requested by the company to return their grateful thanks to yoa 
and the gentlemen associated with you, and through you to the City 
Government and citizens of Cambridge for their generous action to- 
wards them." 

His sense of public obligations as a citizen was 
habitual and not confined to emergencies, either in 
war or in peace. Upon the bed of final illness, three 
weeks before his death, on the day of the State elec- 
tion, he spoke, in the morning, of being taken to vote, 
but was advised by his physician to wait until after- 
noon. The pleasing thought of citizenship in Heaven, 
where they go no more out forever, is here suggested, 
and forms a natural transition to Mr. Merrill's char- 
acter as a Christian, which was, to a noteworthy de- 
gree, the basis and principle of his private and public 
life, the vital source of that useful civic career which 
rightly causes him to be noticed in an historical work 
like the present. 

At the age of eighteen years he embraced the duty 
and privilege of a religious life, being baptized in the 
Baldwin Place Baptist Church, Boston, April 8, 1838, 
by the late Rev. Dr. Baron Stow, his parents' friend 
and his own ; and at once addressing himself to the 
Christian and missionary endeavor for which his life 
was to be so remarkable. Upon removing from 
Charlestown, he united with the Old Cambridge 
Baptist Church, where, as in the wider field of the 
country and the world, he soon came to be known as 
a lover of the church ; a man of effort for the salva- 
tion of others; a man of prayer ; a liberal man that 
devised liberal th'ngs. The erection of this church's 
second house of worship went on at the same time 
with that of his own home, and he probably devoted 
about equal amounts of money to each. The cata- 
logue would be long of the institutions and societies 
to which he made large and habitual gifts in life, 
supplemented by the bestowal upon them, in his will, 
of what would once have been regarded as, in itself, 
a very extensive fortune. His beneficence, too, in 
numberless and constant instances, was tender and 
personal, as well as systematic and general in relig- 
ious, educational, patriotic and philanthropic chan- 
nels. Sometimes the personal and institutional di- 
rections of his bounty found most manifest and felic- 



232 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



itous combination, as in the Baldwin Place Home for 
Little Wanderers. 

Decided in hi.s religious, political and other con- 
victions, Mr. Merrill was, at the same time, able to 
take broad and Catholic views. There was something 
in the man akin to the great State in which lie was 
born and the great sons whom it has begotten. This 
magnitude, commingled with refinement, was observ- 
able in his person, nature and tastes. Of large 
stature and portly habit, he was of delicate health iu 
youth, and always evinced traits of nice pliysical con- 
stitution. He was fond of the mountains and the 
ocean, of being abroad upon his grounds at Cam- 
bridge or Mancheater-by-the-Sea, and was versed in 
woodcraft and horticulture, as well as ingenious, 
orderly and efficient iu mechanical and practical de- 
vices. His home and library, favorite associations 
and pursuits, bis written or spoken addresses, both in 
substance and expression, showed that he was a lover 
of great and good and fine men and things. The 
majestic eloquence of Webster and the elegant and 
finished oratory of Everett were alike his life-long 
admiration. On account of such traits as these, and 
the impressiveness, dignity and grace of his bearing, 
as well as because he had been mayor of the city, it 
was appropriate, when Cambridge celebrated lier two 
hundred and filtieth anniversary, with the oration of 
Colonel Higgiuson, the address of President Eliot, 
the presence and participation of one distinguished 
native poet, Holmes, and the jiroud remembrance 
and mention of another, Lowell, then at the court of 
St. James — it was fitting that Mr. Slerrill should 
have been designated, in the order of ceremonies, as 
the companion of Longfellow, and never, it may be 
observed, did the gracious poet offer a more striking 
and regal figure than on that December day of 1880, 
erect, with flowing, whitened hair and beard, and 
clad in an ample fur-trimmed overcoat. 

J. Warren Merrill was, indeed, a large man by 
nature, enlarged by New England education, by 
Christianity accepted as personal religion, by living 
heroically in a heroic time, by seeing much of men 
and manners in his own country, and in prolonged 
tours of foreign travel, and by sitting (as he did for 
years in the missionary organization of his commu- 
nion) at a council-board lor the world's evaugeliiia- 
tion. 

It is a pleasant office to furnish for these records of 
this good old county of Middlesex, some account of 
this life and character. Such men are the best of 
citizens. Happy the Commonwealth which has its 
quiver full of sons whom wealth, ability and position 
animate, not to aggrandize self and to ignore others, 
but rather to seek by all good living in church and 
state and society to follow Him who came "not to be 
ministered unto, but to minister." This was the 
motto of a commemorative discourse in the Cam- 
bridge Church, which is so largely a Merrill memorial, 
ou Sunday, November '24., 18Si). Within the same ' 



walls had been held a brief and simple funeral ser- 
vice, followed by interment at Mount Auburn, on 
November 15th. He died, one month before the age 
of seventy years, November 12, 1889. 



ERASMUS D. LEAVITT.' 

Erasmus Darwin Leavitt, of Cambridge, son of 
Erasmus Darwin and Almira (Fay) Leavitt, was born 
in Lowell, Mass., October 27, 1836. He was educated 
in the Lowell Public Scliool, entered the machine- 
shop of the Lowell Manufacturing Company iu 
April, 1852, and served three years as apprentice, at 
the close of which time he worked under instruction 
for a year at the works of Corliss & Nightingale, of 
Providence, R. I., the birthplace of the Corliss 
engine. From 1856 to 1858 he was engaged in devel- 
oping some in ventions in steam engineering for which 
a patent had been granted to him in 1855. In 1858 
and 1859 he was assistant foreman at the City Point 
Works, South Boston, and had charge of building the 
engines for the flagship "Hartford.'' From 1859 to 
'61 he was chief draughtsman for Thurston, Gardner 
& Company, of Providence, R. I., leaving there to enter 
the United States Navy in the summer of 1861, as third 
assistant engineer. He served through the War of 
the Rebellion, and during his term of service was de- 
tailed to the Naval Academy at Annapolis as in- 
structor in steam engineering. Resigning in 1867, he 
resumed the practice of mechanical engineering, 
makingaspecialty of pumping and mining machinery. 

In 1872 Mr. Leavitt designed and patented a novel 
pumping engine, which was first used at Lynn, Mass., 
and on account of its remarkable performance it be- 
came celebrated in Europe as well as in this country ; 
similar engines were subsequently erected at I^uw- 
rence, Mass., Louisville, Ky., and the sewage station 
of the city of Boston. 

In 1874 he became connected with the famous 
Calumet and Hecla Copper Mine as an adviser on 
mechanical matters, and has been consulting engi- 
neer of the company since 1878, furnishing the de- 
signs and plans for the immense plant required. 

He has also acted as consulting engineer to the 
cities of Boston and Louisville, and to the firm of 
Henry R. Worthingtou, of New York, the celebrated 
builders of pumps. 

He is a member of the American Society of Civil 
Engineers, American Institute of Mining Engineers, 
American Society of Mechanical Engineers (and past 
prci^ident of same), Boston Society of Civil Engineers 
American Society of Naval Engineers, life member of 
British Association for Advancement of Science, mem- 
ber of American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the 
Institution of Civil Eugineers and the Institution of 
Mechanical Engineers of Great Britain. In 1884 he 
received the honorary degree of Doctor of Engineer- 

'Dy George H. Cox. 



-^ 











j^i^^^^^i:.^2>t 



ife 




L^t-.-'t.yC^t 



i^l- 



CAMBRIDGE. 



233 



ing from Stevens Institute of Technology, of Hoboken, 
New Jersey. 

Mr. Leavitt was married, June 5, 1867, to Annie 
Elizabetli, daughter of William Pettit, of Philadel- 
phia, who was a pionoer in locomotive building in 
the United States, and long connected wi.h the 
Baldwin Locomotive Works. Mrs. Leavitt died De- 
cember 28, 1889. Their children were IMary Alford, 
Hart Hooker, Margaret Almira, Harriet Sherman and 
Annie Louise. Of these, three are living: Mar}% 
Margaret and Annie. 

Mr. Leavitt's life has been one of close application 
to his chosen profession, and to-day he occupies a 
leading position among the most eminent engineers 
of this country and of Europe, his ability being 
recognized by all his contemporaries. During his 
several trips abroad he has received marked attention 
from the leading men of his profession, and from the 
various engineering societies. 

He is a man posessed of the strictest ideas of honor, 
and an unswerving fidelity to his own convictions. 
Of quiet, unassuming manner, he has been ever ready 
to assist the young engineer, listen with courtesy and 
deference to his opinions, and give him advice when 
desired. 

CURTIS DAVIS. 

The prosperity of New England is largely indebted 
to her self-made men, who have continually added to 
the wholewme wealth of the community by their [ler- 
sistent and unwearied efforts, have been workers, pro- 
ducers, and not mere consumers, obeying the ancient 
law of our race, " By the sweat of thy brow shalt 
thou gain thy bread." 

Conspicuous among these and worthy of special 
mention was Curtis Davis, the son of Daniel and 
Mary (Brown) Davis. He was born in the town of 
Bradford, New Hampshire, February 11, 1814, and 
was the grandson of Isaac Davis, whose eight children 
were: Betsy, born December 2i),1760; Mollie, born 
May 31, 17G2 ; James, born February 24, 1764; 
Daniel, born February 4, 1766 ; John, born December 
24, 1768; Susan, born January 7, 1770 ; Sally, born 
April 17, 1772 ; and John, born August 14, 1774. 

Daniel married ^lary Brown and had eleven children : 
Samuel, born March 19, 1791) ; Enoch, born August 
27, 1791 (died in infancy) ; Enoch, born January 6, 
1793; Dorcas, born January 25, 1795 ; E.iphalet, born 
December 16, 1796; Lydia, born January 4, 1799; 
Diamond, born April 25, 1802 ; Hiram, born Febru- 
ary 24, 1807 ; Lyman, born October 11,1809; Isaac, 
born January 18, 1811, and Curtis. 

Curtis was the youngest of his family, and although 
his father was a well-to-do farmer, yet with such a 
large family to support, frugality, economy and in- 
dustry were essential characteristics for the develop- 
ment of the resources of the fiirm, and these children 
were well grounded in the principles which lead to 
success, and formed those habits of perseverance and 



diligence that have ever been their prominent traits. 
In 1832 Curtis left his pleasant home, a poor boy 
unacquainted with the ways of the world, his educa- 
tion being only that afforded by the common schools 
of the period, but his courage and determination were 
strong and his ambition was to engage in some busi- 
ness and follow it. He came to Cambridgeport, Mas- 
sachusetts, then comparatively a small place, and en- 
gaged for a very moderate compensation with a firm 
in the soap business, of which his brother Eliphalet 
was a partner. 

He continued in their employ for a short time and 
then returned to Bradford, where he remained for a 
year, and in the fall of 1833 he removed to Cam- 
bridgeport and resumed his former position, where he 
worked faithfully, and devoted himself to acquiring 
the details of the manufacture with a view to estab- 
lishing himself on his own account which he did in 
1834, by purchasing the business of Hiram Davis. 

This establishment he sold in 1835, when hebought 
another factory of greater cap.acity, and in 1837 took 
into partnership Alexander Dickinson, with whom he 
was connected until 1851. 

Mr. Davis then bought and enlarged the buildings 
now known as the Curtis Davis Soap Works, and the 
plant, covering an acre of ground, is the most noted 
and the lareest of its kind in New England. 

In 1864 Mr. Davis took into partnership his son-in- 
law, James Mellen, who took the superintendence of 
the sales-rooms in Boston, and who, since the death 
of Mr. Davis, January 13, 1887, has succeeded to the 
business of the firm and is now busily engaged in car- 
rying on this large enterprise in an efficient manner. 

Mr. Davis married, November 29, 1835, Martha 
Kemp, who was born in Pomfret, Vermont, April 1, 
1818. From this union there were five children : 
Christina Van Ness, born April 15, 1840, and married 
James Mellen ; Ermina Francis, who died December 
25, 1854, aged twelve years ; Curtis Rockwell, died 
Feb. 24, 1876, aged thirty-one years; Mary Lizzie, 
born Dec. 7, 1846, married Samuel Noyes, Jr. ; Edwin 
Alberto, died July 8, 1851, aged twenty-two months. 

For nearly fifty-two years Mr. Davis and his beloved 
wife lived together, experiencing many joys and many 
soiTOws, each a help-meet to the other and each living 
lives eminently worthy of imitation. 

Mr. Davis passed from the scenes of his activity 
and usefulness here to his reward beyond January 31, 
1887, and his wife followed him April 20, 1889. 

With all his devotion to business Mr. Davis did not 
neglect his civil relationstowards the place which had 
been his home from boyhood. 

He kept pace with the growth of Cambridgeport, 
having been identified with its manufacturing inter- 
ests for half a century and was one of the solid men of 
this city. 

High-minded and honorable, he possessed the re- 
spect and esteem of her citizens. Of a retiring dispo- 
sition, he never sought for political preferment. 



234 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



His integrity and honesty of purpose were ever 
shown ill his business methods and as a director in the 
Citizens' Insurance C'ompany and also in one of the 
Cambridge banlcs for several years he proved himself 
qualified for important public trusts. 

His political afliliations from boyhood were with 
the Democratic party, and the principles and methods 
of that party as indorsed and carried out by President 
Cleveland found in him hearty support. 

He has been a member of the Common Council, has 
served as alderman two years and represented Cam- 
bridge in the General Court for three terms. 

Mr. Davis exemplified those qualities which dis- 
tinguish those whom we call self-made men. 

He commenced life with no vices; he was prudent, 
economical and temperate; business success he pre- 
ferred to pleasure and to his work he carried enter- 
prise, energy and will. He was essentially a moving 
force in his work, and this review of his life is of value 
to our young men, who can see what may be accom- 
plished by industry, fidelity and honesty of purpose. 

Up to the time of his death his heart held a firm 
grasp of his native town, and the home of his parents 
was ever tenderly cherished. 

He had a pride in its scenery, its associations, and 
in the noticeable men it has produced, and Bradford 
has never had a native who more loyally prized her 
worth or who, in the far-reaching realm of business, 
has done her greater honor. 



SAMUEL BAKEB EINDGE. 

Daniel Rindge, who is believed to be the ancestor 
of all of the name in America, came from England 
to Massachusetts Bay in 1638, settling first at Rox- 
bury, but soon removing to Ipswich, where descend- 
ants of his name remained for five generations. He 
appears to have owned land on Heart Break Hill (a 
name which is variously explained, but probably due 
to its difficult ascent), also one house on the Turkey 
Shore and another in High Street, and his farm was 
within the present limits of the town of Hamilton. 

The Portsmouth family of Rindge was an offshoot 
from that at Ipswich. One Daniel Rindge, of that 
branch was a successful merchant there and anotheri 
.lohn Rindge, became a prominent man in the New 
Hampshire Colony and a member of the Colonial 
Council, in which capacity he signed bills of credit, 
as appears by a specimen still preserved in the mu- 
seum at Plymouth, Mass. He was cho sen to repre- 
sent the Colony before the King in England in rela- 
tion to the disputed boundary line on the Massachu- 
setts side and the town Rindge in New Hamjishire 
was named in honor of him. 

Daniel Rindge, the first settler, had a son Roger; 
Roger a son Daniel ; this Daniel a son also Daniel ; 
this last Daniel a son John ; and John a son Samuel 
— all of these except the first being natives of Ipswich. 

Samuel Rindge, born .January 29, 1791, went from 



Ipswich to Salem and thence to East Cambridge, 
then known a^ Craigie's Point, where he was em- 
ployed for many years by the New England Glass 
Company as overseer and purchaser of supplies. 
Previous to this he had been engaged in the manu- 
facture of furniture, which was shipped to the South 
and sold there. He married, February 17, 1820, 
Maria Bradlee Wait, and he died February 1, 1850. 

His oldest son, Samuel Baker Rindge, was born 
December 26, 1820 ; married, April 29, 1845, Clarissa 
Harrington, of Lexington, Mass., and died May 3, 
1883. Of six children only one, Frederick Hastings 
Rindge, survived his parents. 

Samuel B. Rindge, after the brief but solid school- 
ing of his time, began his business life with no capi- 
tal except a sound body and a willing mind. At the 
age of sixteen (1836) he entered the employment of 
Parker & Blanchard, which was the first firm in 
Boston that engaged in and relied solely upon the 
business of selling American-made textile fabrics on 
account of the manufacturers. The manufacturing 
business itself was then in its infancy and giving no 
sign of its later wonderful development. The boy's 
position was one that called for much hard work and 
yielded small remuneration. He was expected to be 
the first to come and the last to go, and in the time 
between was expected to make himself generally use- 
ful. In such a place a shirk would have found him- 
self unhappy, but the lad Rindge was no shirk: his 
own work was always done promptly, and it was 
always his inclination to reach out for a share in the 
duties of those above him. When he was "the boy" 
he was always ready to fill a gap in the book-keeping, 
and when he became himself a book-keeper he man- 
aged, by working out of hours, to get time to act as a 
salesman in the busier portion of the day. He was 
abstemious in his habits and recognized alcoholic 
beverages and tobacco as his enemies. His powers of 
observation and his memory were alike remarkable ; 
he saw everything and forgot nothing. As an ac- 
countant he was thorough and exact ; as a salesman 
he was active and popular ; he made himself an ex- 
cellent judge of the qualities of manufiictured goods 
and an expert in wool and other raw materials. 

Such a man could not but rise, and in the year 
1847 he was admitted a partner in the firm, then 
styled Parker, Wilder & Parker, and when he died 
he was the senior member of the house, then Parker, 
Wilder & Co. 

He grew with his business, opening his mind and 
enlarging his scale of action as manufacturing devel- 
oped and the times changed. Losses never discour- 
aged, but simply instructed him, and the end of a 
season of panic which swept away a large fraction of 
his capital found him full of confidence in himself, 
not bewailing the past, but looking forward cheerily 
to the future. 

It was a fault in his mercantile character that he 
took upon himself too much, and that as his work 



CAMBRIDGE. 



235 



grew he did not devolve more upon his employees. 
It h.is been said of him that he did the work of ten 
men; certainly he loved work, but it would have been 
wise and it would probably have prolonged his life if 
he h.id been willing to limit himself more closely to 
the navigation of the ship, leaving others to trim the 
sails and keep the watch. 

He wa.1 a stalwart-looking man to the last and his 
cheeks kept a ruddy hue of health. His powerful 
physique was illustrated by his interference in one 
instance to put a stop to a brutal fight between two 
men in a country town, where, as they were struggling 
on the ground, he grasped one of them by the collar 
of his coat and raised him to his feet as if he had been 
a child. But even the stoutest of men may be over- 
loaded and Mr. Kludge, although warned of his dan- 
ger, preferred apparently to incur the risk rather than 
deny himself the exhilaration of earnest occupation. 

Nor was he content to confine his work to his own 
especial avocations. To be a director in the manu- 
facturing concerns in which he was interested was to 
make but little addition to his cares, for he would 
have felt the same responsibility as their buying and 
selling agent; but as his reputation for business 
sagacity increased he was induced to assume addi- 
tional duties. For two years he was an alderman of 
Cambridge. He was the director in two banks — the 
president of one; trustee in the Cambridge Savings 
Bank, president of the Union Glass Company, direc- 
tor in the Cambridge Railroad Company and in other 
corporations. Besides all these, when consulted by 
friends he was not content to limit his advice to gen- 
eralities, but was apt to make a study of their inter- 
ests as if they were his own ; and it was said by an 
eminent lawyer of Boston that he had never known 
Mr. Rindge's equal in ability to grasp the deepest 
questions of business and the complicated problems 
oft«n connected therewith. 

One can only wonder that such a m.an should have 
lived so long. His strong constitution may e.xplain 
in part his ability to be.ir a heavy strain, and his 
readiness to enter into any passing recreation, to en- 
joy travel and to be easily diverted may explain the 
rest. He found but little diversion in books — men 
and things were more interesting to him. 

Mr. Rindge was fortunate, too, in his wife, a woman 
of remarkable kindliness and charity — everywhere 
revered for her many amiable qualities, and nowhere 
better appreciated than in her own home. Socially 
she was connected with many charitable societies in 
Cambridge, and being a strict church-goer she ex- 
erted a wide-spread influence upon the morals of the 
city. She died in less than two years after her 
widowhood, leaving by her will charitable founda- 
tions to commemorate her husband. 

At a union meeting of officers of the various corpo- 
rations with which he was connected, resolutions were 
passed in memory of Mr. Rindge, and it was said that 
every eye was dimmed by tears. 



As showing the general esteem in which he was 
held, these few extracts from many public notices 
may suffice. 

" As a merchant," says a Boston paper, " he leaves 
a character above reproach, as a citizen he w.as uni- 
versally respected and he will be greatly missed by 
the mercantile communities of Boston and New York, 
where he was widely known and wherein he was ac- 
corded a position second to none." 

"As a business man," writes a Cambridge editor, 
" he was held in the highest esteem, as is evidenced by 
his associations in this city. For many years he was 
a director in the Charles River National Bank and 
later became its President. He was also a director in 
the Lechniere National Bank and a trustee of the 
Cambridge Savings Bank. Mr. Rindge was always 
identified with projects for the good of the city, and 
was a liberal giver to worthy causes." 

" With an ambition to work and win," s.iys another 
notice, "but always jealous of his character, nothing 
could wean him from the path he had chosen. As he 
grew in years so grew his reputation for probity and 
commercial ability. . . . With advancement he as- 
sumed the burdens following such promotion with a 
degree of modesty equaled only by the diligence and 
uprightness exercised in the execution of all trusts 
committed to his care. And thus half a century of 
years in business life was passed, the experience of 
each year adding to the fullness of a mind already 
admired for the display of such superior qualities." 

In the last few years of his life Mr. Rindge passed 
the summer seasons by the sea at the old town of 
Marblehead, at first as the tenant of others, but finally 
in the beautiful home which he built at Little-Top 
Hill, near Peach's Point. From the first he "took 
to" the town and its people, and his life here was one 
of unrestrained enjoyment. Here he threw off all 
business cares and immersed himself in healthy coun- 
try living. His regard for the people was warmly 
returned, as is testified by the deep feeling which 
marked his obituary in the local press. 

" It was with saddened faces and heavy hearts," 
says the Marhkhead Messenger, " that our people 
heard of the death of Mr. Samuel B. Rindge last week. 
No person ever died in our midst who was more uni- 
versally respected than was he. 

" From the first he seemed to love our people and 
they in turn had learned to love him. Unlike a great 
many others who have sojourned in our community 
as summer residents, he could see nothing strange in 
our dialect or behavior that would excite ridicule or 
comment. Our crooked, narrow streets and quaint old 
Tiouses called forth from him no disparaging remarks, 
but he could only see in those he met men, women 
and children created in the image of God like himself 
aud that he was commanded to love them ; and this 
he did most earnestly and his love was reciprocated 
by them. 

"He did not seem to be over-anxious to form an 



236 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



acquaintance with tlie elite, so called (although he 
treated all (-ourteously), but rather the men of the 
people, the day laborers. He never passed one on 
the street without a kindly salutation and friendly 
greeting, and if one was burdened with a bundle or 
had a long w.alk to and from his work, he was invited 
to a seat beside him in his carriage to enjoy a ride 
and also the pleasure of his entertaining and genial 
conversation. . . . 

"But .above all he was a friend to the needy and 
down-trodden. No one who ever asked alms for him- 
self or others, or a favor of any kind from him, was 
ever refused ; but he never published it to the world, 
for quietly and without display he gave generously of 
his ample wealth. His 'creed' seemed to be more 
than an empty form for, like the Master, he went about 
doing good. He was in every sense a true Christian 
gentleman. . . . 

"The world is made better by such lives. It would 
be well for some of our wealthy men to stop and con- 
sider if it is not better to make friends instead of 
enemiesof their fellow-men who have less means than 
themselves. Let them study the life of this good man 
whose deeds are so enshrined in all our hearts as 
never to be forgotten. . . ." 

Akin to the feature of character above commended, 
is the interest which Mr. Rindge took in the persons 
employed in mills under his direction. He remem- 
bered and recognized men and women, and enjoyed 
talking with them ; and this not as de haul in has, but 
placing himself and them on precisely the same level. 

It was the de-iire of the family that the funeral ser- 
vices should be private and their wish was respected ; 
but most unexpectedly a greit throng attended at the 
burial. Neighbors and business fri ends, official asso- 
ciates and employees and many persons whom he had 
befriended were there, bearing witness by their attend- 
ance to their esteem and his worth. 

JAMES MEI.LEN. 

The general verdict of a man's contemporaries 
would be a truer estimate of his leal worth than 
the glowing memorials which find their way into 
the obituary columns of the newspapers when a good 
citizen dies. Tried by this standard, the quiet, genial 
and unassuming traits of James Mellen would call 
forth a practically unanimous tribute of good will and 
esteem from his fellow-towns-men, and a hearty as- 
sent from a widely-scattered host of friends and busi- 
ness associates. His is an open record of an honor- 
able and successful business man whose original stock 
in trade consisted chiefly in that old-fashioned family 
legacy — personal industry, honesty and brains. With 
such an equipment it is not strange that he has 
earned a large measure of success, an d is easily classed 
among the su bstantial citizens of Middlesex County. 
In brief outline, the record of his early years is that 
of the typical New England-bred boy. Born in 
Charlestown April 9, 1838, his childhood, until the 



age of seven years, was passed there, when the family 
then moved to Cambridge. His father, .lames, Sr.> 
was born November 1, 1815, and married, September 
10, 1837, Sarah Ann (Hilton) Mellen, the wi<lnw of 
his brother, David Mellen, Jr., who was born March 
15, 1804, who died November 11, 183C. The children 
of this last marriage were James, the subject of this 
sketch, and David, Jr., who was born November 24. 
1839. David died September 18, 1852. The chil- 
dren by the marriage with David were Louisa Maria, 
born March 21, 1829; William Otis, born February 
17, 1831 ; and Ellen Celinda, born May 8, 1833. The 
grandfather of Mr. Mellen was David, and his grand- 
mother was Grace Beals. 

The educational advantages of Mr. Mellen were 
those afforded by the public schools of Charlestown 
and Cambridge', which he attended until he was old 
enough to be of assistance to his father in his business 
as a contractor and mover of buildings. He entered 
heartily into this work with the vigor born of his 
sturdy Scotch ancestry, and became efficient in the 
details of this business. He was occasionally em- 
ployed by Mr. Curtis Davis, who was then coming 
into prominence as the manufacturer of soap in a large 
way, and such was the aptness of young Mellen that 
he soon became a valuable acquisition to this (to him) 
new business, and in 18(34 was taken into partnership 
by Mr. Davis, and became thoroughly identified with 
this industry, which had become, prior to the death 
of Mr. Davis, in 1887, of very large proportions, and 
to the accomplishment of which fact Mr. Mellen had 
contributed his full meed of energetic work with 
hands and brains. Nor was Mr. Davis alone of his 
family the one to be attracted by his manly and vig- 
orous personality to this comely young man, — Cupid 
must have " had a hand in it," for November 1, 1800, 
Mr. Mellen, was married and the happy bride was 
Christana Van Ness, eldest daughter of Curtis Davis, 
and for over thirty years they have together enjoyed 
the fruitage of his intelligent business abilities in 
yearly increasing measure. 

A beautiful home on Washington Avenue, in Cam- 
bridge, and a lovely summer cottage on the North 
Shore, are among the incidents of this companion- 
ship. Mr. Mellen, while not taking any active part in 
politics, is interested in public affairs, and while in th e 
main acting with the Republican party, he considers 
himself an Independent. He represented liis section 
of the city in the Council, has had to do with the 
management of financial affairs, and is a safe adviser 
and a whole-souled, benevolent friend. The children 
of Mr. and Mrs. Mellen are: Edwin Davis, born Nov. 
23, 18(51 ;> Mary Lizzie, born Aug. 19, 1863; Louisa 
Maria, born Sept. 18, 1865 ; Martha Davis, born Nov. 
13, 18GS; Sarah Agnes, born Nov. 20, 1869; Nettie 
Christana, born July 15, 1870, died July 14, 1871. 

Of these children, Edwin Davis, Sept. 5, 1883, 
married Adele Lods, and they have one child, Lucile 
Christana, born July 5, 1880. 




J'^^^^ J^^^^A,^,^^^ 




^|3M^*r-'^ 



CAMBRIDGE. 



237 



Miiry Lizzie, Nov. ] , 1886, was married to Frederick 
L. Cunningham, and tliej' have one cliild, James 
Melleu, born Jan. U), 1888. 

Mr. Mellen has provided for his childten more ex- 
tended educational advantages than were common in 
his boyhood days. His son, Edwin D., having taken 
high rank as a scholar, has been taken into partner- 
ship with his father, and it is to be reasonably ex- 
pected that this business will in the i'uture be carried 
to greater degrees of perfection by the light of science 
and chemical analvsis. 



EBEN NORTON HORSFORD. 

Ebeu Norton Horsford was born at Moscow, Liv- 
ingston County, New York, July 27, 1818. His father 
was Jerediah Horsford, from Charlotte, Chittenden 
County, Vermont; and his mother. Charity Maria 
Norton, from Goshen, Litchfield County, Connecticut. 
She was in direct descent from Thomas Norton of the 
Colony of 1(339, which came first to New Haven and 
afterwards went to Guilford. 

The son enjoyed the rare advantages of a home in 
which good books were common, and the parental 
training was refined and vigorous. He attended the 
district schools and select schools until he was thirteen, 
when for three years he was a student in the Living- 
ston County High School. While yet a boy he was 
employed in the extem[)oraneous surveys of the New 
York and Erie, and the Kochester and Auburn Rail- 
roads. Then followed a course of study at the Eens- 
gelaer Institute, where he graduated as civil engineer 
in 1837. He was for two years engaged in the geologi- 
cal survey of the State of New Y'^ork, as an assistant 
to Professor Hall. For four years he was connected 
with the Albany Female Academy as Professor of 
Mathematics and the Natural Sciences, and during 
this time he lectured on chemistry in Newark College, 
Delaware. For two years after this he was a student 
of chemistry under Liebig, at Giessen, Germany. On 
his return to this country he was appointed Rumford 
Professor of Applied Sciences in Harvard University, 
and he filled this professorship for sixteen years. 
Since his resignation of that office he has been en- 
g.aged in chemical manufactures based on his own in- 
ventions. He has taken out some thirty patents, most 
of them connected with chemistry. 

In 1847 Professor Horsford was married to Mary 
L'Hommedieu Gardiner, daughter of the Hon. Sam- 
uel Smith Gardiner, of Shelter Island, N. Y. She 
died in 1855, leaving four daughters, one of whom is 
the wife of Andrew Fiske, Esq., of Boston, and one 
the wife of Judge Benjamin R. Curtis, of Boston. 

In 1857 he married a sister of his former wife, 
Plicfbe Dayton Gardiner, who has one daughter. 
His home is still in Cambridge. 

Besides the professional career of Professor Hors- 
ford, he has engaged in many works of general 
utility and interest. His first work on his return 
from Germany was on the proper material for the 



service-pipes of the Boston Water-Works, in view of 
which the city of Boston presented him with a ser- 
vice of plate. He was appointed by Governor An- 
drew, soon after the opening of the late war, on the 
Commission for the Defence of Boston Harbor, and 
prepared the report of the plans to be pursued in the 
event of the approach of Confederate cruisers. He 
devised a marching ration for the army, reducing 
transportation to the simplest terms. Of this ration 
General Grant ordered and there were prepared half 
a million. 

In 1873 he was a commissioner of the United 
States to the World's Fair at Vienna, and he pub- 
lished an elaborate report in connection with his of- 
ficial duties. In 1S7G he was a commissioner at the 
Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia. 

As tbeintimate friend of Henry F. Durant, Esq., the 
founder of Wellesley College, Professor Horsford has 
been tiie constant and munificent friend of that in- 
stitution. He has been from its organization the 
president of the Board of Visitors, and has devoted 
much time to the interests of the college. He has 
endowed the college library and founded the system 
of the "Sabbatical Year,'' as it is called by which 
the professors are allowed the seventh year for rest 
and study in Europe, and a system of pensions for 
the professors. 

Of late years he has given much time to geograph- 
ical studies. His attention was turned to New Eng- 
land Cartography and especially to the finding of the 
lost city of Norumbega. His investigation led him to 
believe that the ancient city was not in Maine, but in 
Massachusetts. His first research led him to the Old 
Fort of Norumbeg, at the mouth of Stony Brook, in 
the town of Weston. When he had decided from the 
literature and geography where its site must have been, 
he drove to the spot, but a few miles from his own 
house, and there found the remains of extensive 
ditches and walls. Five years later he announced 
the discovery of the site and walls of the ancient city 
of Norumbega at Watertown. It was a startling dis- 
covery. His conclusion was inevitable. The maps, 
the books, the ancient walls, the results of his studies 
in the field, combined to convince him that thi.s was 
the place which had been named in history and 
song, but had long ago been lost to sight. In the 
summer of 1889 he erected a tower of stone to mark 
the site of the ancient fort, and commemorate the 
discoveries of Vinlacd and Norumbega. In connec- 
tion with this historical enterprise he found other ex- 
tensive remains of Norse settlements on the banks of 
Charles River. Following the old sagas, he found 
that Leif Erikson after his landfall on Cape Cod, 
sailed up the Charles, in the year 1000. The coinci- 
dences between the sag.is and the river and its banks 
were striking, and as one point after another became 
clear to his mind he saw where Leif and his compan- 
ions had come ashore and where they had built their 
houses. He has issued monographs in which his in- 



238 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



vestigations have been described at length with maps 
and photographs. When the statue of LeifErikson 
was erected in Boston in 1887, tlie historical address 
on the day of its unveiling was given in FaneuilHall 
by Professor Horsford. 

In 188!) he gave a public address in Watertown, 
Massachusetts, before a large gathering, upon his dis- 
covery of Norumbega. The American Geographical 
Society was represented on the occasion. 

By the invitation of the authorities of Boston, he 
delivered the memorial address upon the life and work 
of Prof. Samuel F. B. Morse, the inventor of the elec- 
tric telegraph. 

In 1886 he gave an address in connection with the 
library festival at Wellesley College. He has for 
many years conducted, as an expert, investigations in 
chemistry and physics. He has published numerous 
chemical researches in the scientific publications of 
Europe and America. 

Professor Horsford is still busily engaged in pro- 
fessional and philanthropic work whose iulluence is 
extended and helpful. 



CHAPTER XV. 

ACTON. 

nv REV. JAMES FLETCHER. 

Tbe liope of rescuing from the wreck of oblivion some of the preciona 
relicH of the past has been tlic f^olace of care in ttie preparation of tliis worlt. 

Itearty tllanlis are here expressed anil aekuowledf^nients made to those 
who have contributed with the pen and the memory in aid of the sketch. 

William D. Tuttle, Eflij., the town clerk, and his son, Horace F., have 
rendered important assistance in gathering facts from the town records. 

The historical map prepared by Horace K. TiUtle for the history, and 
which it was hoped could be published in the same, is a valuable Hcquisi- 
tion for future reference. Its important items are given. It should be 
printed ami doubtless will be soon. Rev. Dr. Knowlton, Rev. F. 
P. Wood, liev. Jlr. Heath, A. A. Wynmn, Esq., Horace Husnicr and his 
daughter Bertha. Deacon Samuel Hosuier, Bli-s. John Hapgood, Mrs. 
Lottie Flags, Luther Conaut, Esq., Moses Taylor, Esii., and Luke Smith 
have rendered essential service in gathering up tlie fragments tliat 
nothing be lost. 

The Centennial address of Josiah H. Adams, Est].. Shattuck's " History 
of Concord " and the "Colonial History " of Charles H.C. Walcott have 
been freely consulted in the compilation. 

The liistory of Acton seems to the writer tu the review like a romance 
dropped freshly from the skies. It is in reality a ^tain tale of persons 
and events which have consecrated for all time this locality. 

James Flf.tcheh. 

Colonial Period. — Acton, twenty-four miles 
northw'est of Boston, has on the north Littleton and 
Westford : on the east Carlisle and Concord ; on the 
south Sudbury, Maynard and Stow ; and on the 
west Boxboro' and Littleton. 

Acton at its incorporation, July 21, 1735, was 
bounded by Sudbury, Concord, Billerica, Chelmsford, 
Westford, Littleton and Stow, which then included 
Boxborough. The principal part of what is now 
Carlisle, then belonging to Old Concord, was set off 
as a |)art of the new town, Acton. 

The Carlisle District of Acton was incorporated as 
a separate town in 1780; the easterly part of Old 
Concord was incorporated in the new town of Bed- 
ford in 1729 ; and the southerly part of Old Concord 
was incorporated in the new town of Lincoln in 1754, 



so that from 1754 to 1780 the township of Acton was 
larger than that of Concord, though much behind in 
wealth and population. At the time of Concord's in- 
corporation, in 1635, what is now the Acton territory 
was not a part of Concord, but was granted to Con- 
cord a few years after by the name of the " Concord 
Village,'' or the new grant covering nearly the pres- 
ent boundaries of Acton. The Willard Farms in- 
cluded in the act incorporating Acton in 1735 had, 
previous to that act, been granted to Concord. 

When Acton was made a town the statute bounded 
it on the east by " Concord old Bounds,'' from which 
it appears, as before stated, that it includes no part of 
the original Concord and that the dividing line be- 
tween the two towns is a portion of the old Concord 
on that side. 

The Acton boundary extended leads to a heap of 
lichen-covered boulders, surmounted by a stake. 

This ancient monument is near the top of a hill 
in the southwesterly part of Carlisle, and undoubtedly 
marks the old northwest corner of Concord. 

It w;is identified and pointed out to Chas. H. Walcott, 
of Concord, on the ground by Major B. F. Heald, of 
Carlisle, who says that he has often heard his father and 
other ancient men, long since deceased, speak of this 
bound as marking the old Concord corner. 

Everything goes to corroborate this testimony. The 
place was commonly known by the name of " Berry 
Corner," and was the original northeast corner of 
Acton, but in 1780 (statute passed April 28, 1780) a 
portion of that town near this point was included in 
what was then constituted the District of Carlisle, 
and subsequently formed a part of the town of the 
same name (Carlisle did not acquire all the legal 
characteristics of a town until February 18, 1805 — 3 
Special Laws, 497). 

Thomas Wheeler and others who came to Concord 
about 163'J, found the most convenient of the lands 
already given out, and in 1642 petitioned for a grant 
of land on the northwest, which was conceded on 
condition that they improved the grant within two 
years. Most of the lands were granted to Concord 
for feeding. 

They were not very accurately defined, being found 
upon actual survey to contain a greater number of 
acres than nominally specified in the grants. 

A settlement was begun on these grants as early as 
1656 and possibly a few years earlier. The Shepherd 
and Law families were among the first settlers. 

Many of the meadows were open prairies aUbrding, 
with little or no labor, grass in abundance. 

Some of the uplands had been cleared by the In- 
dians and were favorite places for feeding. In those 
days the " new grant " was familiarly called, and with 
some reason, " Concord's sheep pasture." 

In 1666, in pursuance of an order from the General 
Court, Richard Beers, of Watertown, and Thomas 
Noyes, of Sudbury, laid out the new grant, or Con- 
cord Village, as it was called, comprising the present 



ACTON. 



239 



territory of Acton and portions of Carlisle and Lit- 
tleton, and made their return in the following year. 

On January 12, 1G(!9, a lease was made by Con- 
cord to Captain Thomas Wheeler, for the term of 
twenty-one years, of two hundred acres of upland 
and sixty acres of meadow, lying west of Nashoba 
Brook, in consideration of which he agreed to pay a 
yearly rent of £5 after the expiration of the first 
seven years, and to build a house forty feet in length, 
eighteen feet wide and twelve feet stud, " covered 
with shingles, with a payer of chimnes," also a barn 
forty feet long, twenty-four feet wide, and twelve feet 
stud. These buildings were to be left at the end of 
the term for the use of the town, with thirty acres of 
land in tillage and sufficiently fenced. 

He agree^l further, and this was the main pur- 
pose of the lease, to receive and pasture the dry cattle 
belonging to the town's people, not to exceed one 
hundred and twenty in number nor to be fewer than 
eighty. 

The cattle were to be marked by their owners and 
delivered to Captain Wheeler at his house, and the 
price was fixed at two shillings a head, payable one- 
third in wheat, one-third in rye or pease, and one- 
third in Indian corn. 

The owners were to "keep the said herd twelve 
Sabboth dayes yearly, at the appointment and accord- 
ing to the proportion by said Thomas or his heires 
allotted." 

The number of cattle received under this agree- 
ment fell below the lowest limit, and, in January, 
1073, the terms of the contract were so modified that 
Captain Wheeler was entitled to receive one ^hilling 
per head. 

The town of Concord laid out a road to Thomas 
Wheeler's mill, the first grist-mill in Acton, located 
on the present site of Wetherbee's mill, as is proved 
by the foundations of the old mill found when dig- 
ging for the present mill. 

The canal now used is essentially the same as then 
used. 

The mill was tended for the most part by women. 
A Mrs. Joseph Barker had charge among the last. 

Going up from that site to the present saw-mill we 
find on the east side of the dam, near the road, the 
abutments of what were old iron works, called at the 
time a forge. 

Here they had a trip-hammer and other implements 
and conveniences for working in iron. Joseph Har- 
ris made the latches and the iron-work from this 
forge for the first meeting-house. 

Tlie ore, which was sjielted with charcoal, was bog 
iron ore found in the vicinity, some rods southwest. 
The building for the storing of the charcoal was a 
little distance up the old road going west, beyond the 
old walls. The charcoal bed is easily determined by 
striking a spade into the ground. 

The old road went south of the present saw-mill 
and wound around near the old wall up to the brook 



at the foot of the hill, and there followed up the 

stream on the right side. 

Captain Thomas Wheeler's house, supposed to be 
the first dwelling-house deserving the name, was 
west of the brook, not far from the wall where the 
old lilac bushes still stand, which belonged to iiis 
garden plot. 

The spring near the brook, now enclosed in a bar- 
rel, was Captain Wheeler's well. There are evidences 
of an old orchard opposite on the south side of the 
brook. The Canadian plum-trees near by are said to 
have come from the stones of plums which the sol- 
diers brought on their return from Canada in the 
French atid Indian W'ar. 

Mrs. Joseph Barker, who tended the mill, lived at 
one time in Captain Wheeler's house. John Barker's 
house was a little to the right, on the east side of the 
stream, and farther west of Thomas Wheeler's house 
and barn. 

Captain Thomas Wheeler died in KiTfi, from 
wounds received in his fight with the Indians at 
Brookfield. He was born a leader of men in war 
and peace. The narrative of the expedition of Cap- 
tain Edward Hutchinson, after hostilities had begun 
at Plymouth, written by Captain Thomas Wheeler, is 
the epic of Colonial times. He was so associated 
with the first start in the settlement and business ac- 
tivities of Acton, before its incorporation, that we give 
space to the excellent synopsis of his narrative, by 
Charles H. Walcott, the Colonial historian of Con- 
cord: 

"Captain Hutchinson was commissioned by the 
Council at Boston to proceed to the Xipmuck coun- 
try, so called, in what is now Worcester County, and 
confer with the ludians there for the purpose of pre- 
venting, if possible, any extension of Philip's iiiHu- 
ence in that direction. 

" Captain Thomas Wheeler, of Concord, who was 
already advanced in years, and had commanded the 
western troop of horse ever since its oiganization, 
was ordered to accompany Hutchinson with an escort 
of twenty or twenty-five men of his company. Ac- 
cordingly they .set out from Cambridge and arrived 
at Quabaug, or Brookfield, on Sunday, August 1st. 
Here they received information that the ludians 
whom they expected to meet had withdrawn to a 
place al)out ten miles distant towards the northwest. 
A det.achnient of four men was sent forward to assure 
them of the peaceable character of the expedition, 
and a meeting was agreed upon for the next morn- 
ing, at eight o'clock, on a plain within three miles of 
the town. 

" There was some api)rehcnsion of treachery, but 
prominent citizens of Brookfield not only expressed 
confidence in the good intentions of the savages, but 
declared their own willingness to be present at the 
conference, and Hutchinson decided that the appoint- 
ment must be kept. The Indians, however, did not 
appear, and this fact, together with other suspicious 



240 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



circumstances, led the sagacious Wheeler to think 
that to venture further would be unwise. But 
Hutchinson was unwilling to abandon his mission 
with nothing accomplislied, and, in deference to his 
wishes, the order was given to advance towards a 
swamp where the savages were supposed to be lurk- 
ing. 

" As they proceeded the narrowness of the path, 
with the swamp on one side and a rocky hill on the 
other, forced men and horses to march in single file. 

"Suddenly the war-whoop resounded, and tlie ad- 
vancing column was assailed by a volley of arrows and 
bullets discharged from behind trees and bushes, kill- 
ing eight men, wounding five, and throwing the line 
into disorder, whicli was materially increased by the 
ditliculty of turning about or passing by in the strait- 
ened passage-way. 

" Captain Wheeler spurred his horse up the hillside, 
when, finding himself unhurt and perceiving that 
some of his men had fallen under the fire of the 
enemy, who were now rushing forward to finish their 
work, he turned about and dashed boldly forward to 
attack them. 

" The movement separated him for a few moments 
from his men. A well-directed shot killed his horse 
and brought the old man to the ground wounded, 
and it would soon have been all over with the brave 
captain, had not his son Thomas, who was also 
wounded, come to bis rescue. 

"Quickly dismounting, he placed his father in th'e 
saddle, and ran by his side until he caught another 
horse that had lost his rider, and so the two escaped 
with their lives, but suffering severely from their 
wounds. 

" This was merely the beginning. Hutchinson had 
received a wound that caused his death in a few days, 
and now the task of extricating the command from 
its perilous situation devolved upon Captain Wheeler. 
It was performed in masterly fashion. Keeping to 
the open country and avoiding the woods, they re- 
traced their way, with the assistance of friendly In- 
dian guides, to the village of Brookfield, took {posses- 
sion of one of the largest and strongest houses, and 
fortified as best they could. 

" They had not long to wait before the enemy ap- 
peared in superior numbers, and attacked the strong- 
hold with vigor. 

" The captain's disability brought to the front Lieu- 
tenant Simon Davis, another Concord man, who 
fought and prayed with a fervor that reminds one of 
the soldiers of Cromwell. To him, associated with 
James Richardson and John Fiske, of Chelmsford, 
the direction of affairs was entrusted. 

" Two men, dispatched to Boston for assistance, were 
unable to elude the vigilance of the besiegers, and 
were obliged to return. 

" The Indians piled hay and other combustibles 
against the side of the house and set fire to them, 
thus forcitigthe English to expose themselves in their 



efforts to extinguish the flames. Their bows shot 
arrows tipped with ' wild fire,' which alighted on the 
buildings within the enclosure and set them afire. 

" To get their combustible materials close to the 
walls, a remarkable engine, fourteen rods long, was 
constructed by the savages of poles and barrels, which 
they trundled forward on its menacing errand. For 
three days and nights this horrible warfare continued. 

" The besieged were com pelled to witness the mutila- 
tion of their dead comrades who had fallen outside, 
and to endure as best they could the jeers and taunts 
of the foe. 

"Kain came to the assistance of the little band by 
putting out the fires of their assailants and rendering 
it difficult to kindle new ones. Davis, who is said to 
have been of a 'lively spirit,' exhorted his men to 
remember that God was fighting on their side, and to 
take good aim before firing. 

" The prayers and hymns of the soldiers, borne out 
on wings of fire and smoke, were answered by cries of 
the unregenerate heathen, who gave utterance to hid- 
eous groanings in imitation of the singing of psalms. 

"Twice did brave Ephraim Curtis attera])t to make 
his way through the enemy's line to go for succor. 
Twice was he compelled to return baffled. The third 
time, by great exertion and crawling for a considera- 
ble distance on his hands and knees, he succeeded in 
reaching Marlborough, where he gave the alarm, and 
on the evening of the 4th the garrison was overjoyed 
at the arrival of their old neighbor and friend. Major 
Willard, with a force of forty-six soldiers and five 
Indians, who, hearing at Marlborough of their dis- 
tress, had altered his course to come to their relief. 

"Towards morning the Indians departed, having set 
fire to all the houses, except that which sheltered the 
whites. 

"It has already been stated that (.'aptain Wheeler 
was severely wounded, and his son was detained at 
Brookfield for several weeks by the injuries he had 
received. 

" It is easy to believe that the Captain and the re- 
mainder of his troop received a hearty welcome on 
their return home. The town kept the 21st day ol 
October, 1G75, as 'a day of praise and thanksgiving 
to' God for their remarkable deliverance and safe re- 
turn.' It was a battle in which Concord men were 
foremost in the display of courage and the rarer qual- 
ities that constitute good leadership. 

" The Indians appear to have behaved very badly 
from the beginning. They were guilty of an unpro- 
voked and treacherous assault upon a party whose 
purpose was one of peace and friendship. The mis- 
sion was an honorable one and feithfully discharged; 
and Wheeler and his men are deserving of praise i'or 
all time as brave soldiers who acquitted themselves 
nobly under the most trying circumstances," 

Nathan Robbins appears to be the first owner of 
the land after Wheeler, and the land has passed from 
father to son ever since. 



AL'TUN. 



241 



Acts of Ixcorpobatios. — An act to incorporate 
the town of Acton, passed July, 1735. 

" Whereaa the inhabitants and proprietora of the Northwesterly part of 
Concord, in the County of Middlesex, called the Village or New Grant, 
have represented to this court that they lab(»r under great difficulties 
by reason of their remoteness from the place of public worship and 
therefore desire that they and their est^ites, together with the farms 
called Willard Farms, may be set otT a distinct and separate township 
for which they bare also obtained the consent of the town of Concord : 

*' Be it therefore enacted by his Excellency the Governor, Council and 
Representatives in General Court assembled. and by the authority of the 
same, tbaS the said Northwesterly part of Cjncord. together with the 
said farms be, and hereby are set off, constituted and erected into a dis- 
tinct and separate townsliip by the name of Actoti, and agreeably to the 
following boundaries, namely, beginning at the Soutlivvest comer of 
Concord old bounds, then Southwesterly on Sudbury and Stow line till 
it comes to Littleton line, then bounded Njrtherly by Littleton, West- 
ford and Chelmsford, then Easterly by Billerica till it comes to the 
Northwest corner of Concord old hounds aui by said bounds to the 
place first mentioned, 

"And that the inhabitants of the lands before described and bounded 
be and hereby are vested with all the town privileges and immunities 
that the inhabitants of other towns within this Province are or by law 
ought to be vested with. 

•' Provided that the siid inhabitants of the said town of Acton do, 
within three years from the publication of this Act, erect and finish a 
suitable house for the public worship of God and procure and settle a 
learned urtbodos minister of good conversation and make provision for 
his comfortable and honorable support." 

This vicinity was called Concord Village in those 
days. 

Here was a happy, independent, industrious com- 
munity, owning their laud.s, worshiping God in their 
own way and educating their children. 

For seventeen years all went well, till Sir Edmund 
Andros appeared in Boston and tried to overthrow 
the charter which was served by the people as their 
safeguard and protection. 

He prohibited town-meetings except once a year to 
choose officers. 

Puritan flesh and blood could not stand this. Their 
town-meetings meant business, and now they were 
ordered to give them up. Taxes were laid without 
consulting those who were to pay them, and, worst 
of all, Andros declared all land titles null and void. 

When the people showed their deeds from the In- 
dians he said he cared no more for an Indian's signa- 
ture than he did for the scratch of a bear's paw. 

Then they pleaded what we in late days have 
called squatter sovereignty. But he said that no 
length of possession could make valid a grant from 
one who had no title. 

Then the people rose to defend their homes and the 
rights of Englishmen. 

On the 19th of April, 1689, the Concord Company. 
commanded by John Heald, the first selectman of 
Acton after its incorporation, marched to Boston to 
assist in the revolt which overthrew the Andros gov- 
ernment. 

In this way the men of Concord and Acton ante- 
dated the original 19th of April, which has since be- 
come the red-letter day in our history. 

The First Meetixg-Hocse. — We will retrace our 
steps by the old Brooks tavern, to the spot opposite 
'l6 



where now stands the stately school building of the 
Centre District. 

We will have to pause a long time here before com- 
prehending the situation. It is the spot where stood 
for seventy years that old landmark of the past — the 
first meeting-house cf the town of Acton. 

If you have seen the striking picture in the 
pamphlet of the centennial celebration, you will have 
been helped to an impression of the house and its 
surroundings. 

You must stand yourself on that hill of Zion, for 
such it was to our early forefathers, and view the 
landscape o'er. On the south is the road that leads 
through the woods to the resting-place of the dead. 
On the east rises Annursneak Hill, hiding from view 
the peaceful homes of Mother Concord. 

To the north of Annursneak is Strawberry Hill, 
whose brow strikes but eight feet below the brow of the 
former, having a view more commanding and more 
accessible. To the north and west are the delectable 
Hills, and towering above them all in the distance, 
Watatuck, Monadnock and Wachusett, old, familiar 
faces to every Actou boy and girl. 

The building of this meeting-house is associated 
with the organization of Acton as a separate incor- 
porated town. (See act of incorporation.) The location 
and erectionof a meeting-house soon began to agitate 
the people. In October of the year of incorporation it 
was voted not to build that year, but " to set the 
meeting-house in the Center." By the centre was 
meant the point of intersection of lines drawn to the 
extreme limits of the town. This decision was not 
satisfactory to all the inhabitants. 

At a meeting holden November 10, 1735, it was pro- 
pounded whether the town would not reconsider their 
vote to have the meeting-house in the centre, and 
'' agree to set it at some place near the center for con- 
venience.'' It was voted not to reconsider. It was 
also voted not to do anything towards building the 
meetiug-house the ensuing year. 

At a meeting on the first Monday in December the 
same year it was again proposed to the town to re- 
consider the previous action, with reference to the lo- 
cation. The article was dismissed. But the minority 
had another meeting warned for December 29th, " To 
see if the Town will reconsider thar vote that they 
will set thare meeting-house in the Center, and agree 
to set it on a knowl with a gra'e many Pines on it, 
Laying South Easterly about twenty or thirty Rods 
of a black oak tree, whare the fire was made the last 
meeting, or to se if the Town will agree to set thare 
meeting-house on a knowl the North of an oak tree 
whare they last met, or to see if the Town will chuse 
two or three men to say which of the places is most 
convenient, or to se if the Commity think that knowl 
whereon stands a dead pine between the two afore- 
said knowls, or to say which of the three places is 
most convenient." 

At this meeting the locatiop was changed to the 



242 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



first " knowl " mentioned in the warrant. The site of 
the first meeting-house (a little to the south of where 
the Centre School-house now stands, near the two 
elms) was twenty or thirty rods southeast of the geo- 
graphical centre of the town, as it was before the in- 
corporation of Carlisle. 

At the meeting which finally decided the location 
of the house, it was voted to begin that year and the 
dimensions were fixed upon. 

The house was to be ibrty-six by thirty-eight feet 
in length and width and twenty feet in height. 

At the next meeting (January 2, 1736) the former 
vote was reconsidered, and the vote was to have the 
house forty-six by thirty-six and " 21 feet between 
joynts." 

Voted, " That all the inhabitants of the town should 
have the ofl'er to work at giting the limber for the 
house by the Commity." 

Fo/cd, "That Samuel Wheeler, Jonathan Parlin, 
Simon Hunt, John Shepherd and Daniel Shepherd 
be a Commity to manage ye affair of giting the tim- 
ber for ye meeting-house." 

Voted, " That the Commity should have six shil- 
lings per day for thar work, and the other Laborers 
five shillings per day." 

Voted, '' That there should be a Rate of seventy 
pounds made and assessed on the inhabitants of the 
town of Acton towards setting up the frame of the 
house." 

May 10, 1736, it was voted " That the Selectmen 
should agree with Madam Cuming for ye land for ye 
meeting-house to stand on." 

The deed of the land of the first meeting-house in 
Acton was dated January 25, 1737, signed by "Anne 
Gummings, wife of Mr. Alexander Cummings, Sur- 
geon, now abroad, and attorney of said Alexander 
Cummings, being empowered and authorized by 
him." 

This deed is written in a bold, large-lettered style, 
and is very plain to read — as but few specimens of 
penmanship seen in ancient or modern times. 

It is in a fine state of preservation in the keeping 
of the town clerk. 

The style of it reminds one of John Hancock's 
signature to the Declaration of Independence. 

September 15, 173(5, the town voted "To frame and 
Rai»e thar meeting-house before winter, and John 
Heald, Thomas Wheeler and Simon Hunt were 
chosen a Commity impowered to Regulate and 
Inspect and order ye framing and Raising ye meeting- 
house in Acton and like wise to agree with Carpen- 
ter or carpenters to frame ye hou^." 

At the same meeting it was decided to do nothing 
about preaching for the ensuing winter. 
■ November 1, 1736, Fo^erf, "That they would board 
and shingle ye roofs and. board and clap-board ye 
sides and ends, make- window frames and casements 
and make ye door and crown of doors and windows, 
put troughs roundi-baild- ye' pulpit and lay .-ye lower 



floor, ye work to be done by ye first of November 
next." 

May 30, 17.37, Voted, " To underpin the meeting- 
house by working each man a day." 

Those who were delinquent were required to work 
a day " at high ways, by order of ye surveyor, more 
than thare equal part other ways ivood have been." 

"The work of pinting the underpining was let out 
to Jonathan Billings for 2£ 10.*., which work he 
engaged to do spedily and Do it Wei." 

Public worship was first held in the meeting-house 
in January, 1738. 

At the time of Mr. Swift's ordination, November, 
1738, it was far from being finished. 

May 15, 1745, Voted, "To rai.se twenty pounds, old 
tenor, for finishing the meeting house that year." 

Not till two years alter this was the house com- 
pleted. One should read the several dates in order 
to get a full impression of the slowness and difiiculty 
of building a meeting-house in those colonial times. 

There is a tradition that Lord Acton, of England, 
for whom the town may possibly have been named, 
offered a bell for the house of worship, but, having 
no tower, and the people feeling too poor to erect one, 
the present was declined. 

When the house was finished (so-called), in 1747, 
there were no pews, except on the lower floor adjoin- 
ing the walls of the house, and these were but sixteen 
in number. The four pews which were under and 
over each of the gallery stairs were built at intervals 
some years after. Several of the pew-holders from 
time to time obtained leave of the town to make a 
new window for their own accommodation and at 
their own expense. Each se«ms to have consulted 
his own fancy, both as to size and location. Little 
windows, in this way, of different sizes and shapes, 
came to be placed near the corners of the building. 

In the body of the house, on each side the broad 
aisle, were constructed what were then called the body 
seats, and these together with the gallery were occu- 
pied by all who, through poverty or otherwise, were 
not proprietors of a pew. 

Both in the body seats and in the gallery the men 
were arranged on the right of the pulpit and the women 
on tue left, so that while the pew-holder could sit with 
his wife at church, all others were obliged to keep at 
a respectful distance. 

The custom of " seating the meeting-house," as it 
was called, was found necessary, and was well calcu- 
lated to prevent confusion and to insure particularly 
to the aged a certain and comfortable seat. 

To give the better satisfaction the committee were 
usually instructed to be governed by age and the 
amount of ta-rcs paid for the three preceding years. 
In the.year 1757 they were also instructed to be gov- 
erji.ed)jyr";other circumstances," at their discretion. .■ 

The report of that committee was not accepted and 
anew comjuittee was cliosen with thfi.usiiai Instruc- 
tioBs. Whitt the ''other circumstances" were does- 



ACTON. 



243 



not appear. But it should have been known that any 
circumstances which depended on the estimation and 
discretion of a committee would fail to give satisfac- 
tion in a matter of such peculiar delicacy. 

The new committee, however, seem to have restored 
harmony, and the same practice was continued during 
the existence of the old meeting-house. 

Special instructions were given in favor of negroes, 
who were to have the exclusive occupation of the 
" hind seat " in the gallery. 

How the youthful eyes lingered on the heels of 
Quartus Hosmer as they disappeared in his passage 
up the gallery-stair.-', and how eagerly they watched 
the re-appearance in the gallery of his snow-white 
eyes, made more conspicuous by the eel-skin ribbon 
which gathered into e. queue his graceful curls! 

He lived at the house then occupied bj' Mr. Hosmer, 
near the turnpike corner on tiie way from the Centre 
to the South, midway between the two villages. 

In 1769 "the hind parts "of the body seats were 
removed and four new pews were erected in their 
place. They were occupied by Thomas Noyes, Daniel 
Brooks, Joseph Robbins and Jonathan Hosmer. In 
the same year the house wag new covered and glazed. 
In 17.83 four other other pews were built aud another 
portion of the body seats was removed. Three of 
these were sold and the fourth was " assigned for 
the use of the clergyman. It was through the banis- 
ters of this pew " old Mother Robbins," who sat in 
the body seats, used to furnish the centennial orator, 
Josiah Adams, Esq., the son of the pastor, those 
marigolds, peonies, and pink roses, decorated and 
perfumed with pennyroyal, southernwood, and tansy. 
She was indeed a most interesting old lady. No other 
public building has existed in the town so long as this 
stood. It was the house in which the first minister, 
Mr. Swift, preached during the whole of his long ser- 
vice of thirty-seven years, and in which Mr. Mcses 
Adams, the second minister, officiated during the 
period of thirty years. 

It was used not simply for religious worship, but for 
town-meetings. Here the money was voted for the 
first public schools, here the roads were laid out, here 
the poor were provided for, here Acton took its munic- 
ipal action preliminary to the Revolutionary War, and 
here the first vote was passed recommending the Con- 
tinental Congress to put forth the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence. The house stood and was used for these 
public purposes until 1808, when it was forsaken and 
after a few years torn down. 

It would be a novel and impressive service could 
the persons of the present generation be transferred 
just for one day and witness the scene in that old 
meeting-house on the " knowl." We would like to 
catch just one look at that venerable row of the deacons' 
seat. We would like to see them there, each in his 
turn reading the psalm, a line at a time, and tossing it 
up for the use of the singers in the front gallery. We 
would like to hear the peculiar voices of James Bil- 



lings and Samuel Parlin coming back as an echo. 
Tliis practice of reading a line at a time, which, 
doubtless, had its origin in a want of psalm-books, be- 
came so hallowed in the minds of many that iis dis- 
continuance was a work of some dilBcuity. 

In 1790 the cliurch voted that it should be dis- 
pensed with in the afternoon, and three year? after- 
wards they voted to abandon the practice. 

On the Sabbath previous to the dedication of their 
second meeting-house, the people of Acton came 
from all directions, a whole family on a horse, toward 
the old meeting-house, to bid farewell to the place 
where their fathers had worshiped. After the whole 
town had come, entered the church, taken their seats 
in the old-fashioned square pews, sung some of Watts' 
hymns, and listened to a long and fervent prayer, their 
beloved minister, the Rev. Moses Adams, eloquently 
discoursed from the following text (Micah2: 10): 
" Arise and let us depart, for this is not our rest." 
" Let us sing in his praise," the minister said. All 
the psalm-books at once fluttered open at " York." 

A sprig of green caraway carries me there to the old 
village church and the old village choir. 

" To the land of the leal tliey have gone with their acmg, 
Where the choir ami the chorus together belong, 
Oh ! be lifted ye gates I let me hear them again. 
Blessed song: blessed Sabbath. Forever. Am«n." 

Rev. John Swift, the First Pastor. — We come 
to the fine mansion now owned and occupied by Dea- 
con William W.Davis. Since its recent improvements 
it has become an important addition to the structural 
adornment of the Centre. It is near enough to the 
main avenue of the village to be easily seen, and, with 
its elevated front and majestic elm towering above the 
whole, it makes a fine perspective view on approach- 
ing the town from either road. 

Mr. EHab Grimes, who formerly occupied the place, 
was a successful farmer who tilled the land in the 
warm months of the year, and taught the schools in 
the winter, and had important trusts of service from 
the town as selectman and representative. Joash 
Keyes, David Barnard, Esq., in 1800; Deacon Josiah 
Noyes, in 1780 ; and Rev. John Swift, in 1740. One 
dwelling-house on this site was burned. Here is 
where Mr. Swift, the first pastor of Acton, for so 
long a period lived. Here we must pause long enough 
to get affiliated to the historical atmosphere, which 
seems to pervade the whole region around. 

At a meeting of the town October 4, 1737, while 
the first meeting-house was being built, a committee 
was selected to supply the pulpit. The meetings were 
to begin the first Sunday in January. At a meeting 
on January 25, 1738, it was voted "to raise thirty 
pounds to glaze ye meeting-house, to raise fifty 
pounds to support preaching, and Joseph Fletcher 
should be paid for a cushing for ye pulpit out of the 
tax money." In the warrant for a meeting holdcn 
on March 28th was this article: "To self ye town 
will appint a day for fasting and prayer to God, with 



244 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



the advice and assistance of sum of ye Neighboring 
Ministers for further directions, for the establishing 
ye gospel among them, as, allso, who and how many 
thay will advise with, as, allso, to chose a commett to 
mannig ye affare and provide for ye Pulpit for ye 
time to come." 

Voted "to appint ye last Thursday of March for 
fasting aud prayer." 

Voted " that thay will call in five of ye Neighboring 
Ministers for advice in calling a Minister, viz.: Mr. 
Lorin, of Sudbury; Mr. Cook, East Sudbury; Mr. 
Gardner, of Stow ; Mr. Peabody, of Natick ; and Mr. 
Rogers, of Littleton. Also, voted ye Selectmen be a 
Committ to Mannig ye affare, and provide for ye 
pulpit for ye futur." At this meeting John Cragin 
was appointed to take care of the meeting-house, and 
thus he became Acton's first sexton. 

May 9, 1738, the town invited Mr. John Swift, of 
Framingham, to settle with them as minister. It 
was voted to give him £250 as a settlement, and an 
annual salary of £150, to be paid in semi-annual in- 
stalments in Massachusetts bills, which at the time 
was equivalent to about £117 settlement, and £70 
salary. The contracting committee were John 
Heald, Samuel Wheeler, John Brooks, Ammiruham- 
mah Faulkner, Simon Hunt and Joseph Fletcher. 
The salary offered was to rise or fall with the price 
of the principal necessiiries of life. In the year 1754, 
the following list of articles considered as principally 
necessary for consumption in a minister's family 
were reported by a town's committee, with the cur- 
rent prices in 1735 annexed, and were adopted as a 
basis for regulating the amount of Mr. Swiit's salary. 

The signatures of the parties on the record show 
their entire satisfaction. 

" 30 b. Corn, at 6s.; 20 b. R/e, at lOs.; 500 lb. Pork, at 
8d. ; 300 lb. Beef, at 5d. ; 25 lb. wool, at 3s. 6d.; 15 lb. 
Cotton, at 4s. Gd. ; 50 lb. Flax, at Is. 3d. ; 56 lb. sugar, 
at Is. 4rf. ; 20 gals. Rum, at Ss. ; 80 lb. Butter, at Is. 
4rf. ; 2 Hats, at £3 ; 10 pr. shoes, at 15.?." 

The contract and agreement between Rev. John 
Swift and the town of Acton is here copied as an in- 
structive chapter on the times : 

*' Whare-fts the Town of Acton at a Town Meeting Duly warned May 
19th, 1738, did invite ye Rev. John Swift into ye work of ye ministry 
among them, and did all so pass a vote to give liim two hvmdred and 
fifty Puunda towards a settlement, and a hundred and fifty Pounds Sal- 
lary yearly and since, at a town meeting October ye 10th, 17;iS, did 
vote that said Sallary should be kept up to ye value of it aod puid in 
every half years End yesrly. and did also chuse Jidin Ileald, Joseph 
Flexher, .John Brooks, Samuel Wheeler and Simon Hunt as a Com- 
mitt to contract with the Said Mr. Swift about ye said Sailary, the 
contract and agreement between said Mr. Swift and said Committ is as 
follows : 

'*!•'. That said sallary shall be paid According to ye ould tenure of 
the Massachusetts Bills or in an equivalency of such bills of pr. cent or 
lawful currency as shall pass from time lo time, 

*-2'i. That the value of suid sallary be kept up from time to time ac- 
cording as when it was voted on May afore according to ye prise of the 
necessary provisions of life. 

"S*. That the payment of said sallai-y continue so long as said 
Mr. Swift shall continue in ye work of yo ministry in said Acton 
and io witness her of said Mr. Swift and said Committo have here- 



unto set their hands this 30"' day of October A. D., 1738. John 
Swift, John Ueald, Joseph Fletcher, Amme Faulkner, Simon Hunt, 
John Brooks. 

"Ordered on this book of Records, 

"Attest Simon Hukt, Town Clerk.^* 

The contract was faithfully kept by the people of 
Acton, and the pastorate of Mr. Swift continued till 
his death, November 7, 1775, thirty-seven years lack- 
ing one day, at the age of sixty-two years. 

The small-pox prevailed as an epidemic in Acton 
that year. Mr. Swift took the disease and never 
afterwards was able to preach. 

Mr. Swift was ordained on the 8th day of Novem- 
ber, 1738. No particulars of the ordination can be 
gathered either from the town or church records, ex- 
cept that " tlie Council had entertainment at the 
house of Mr. Joseph Fletcher." 

Mr. Swift was the only son of the Rev. John 
Swift, of Framingham. He was born in Framingham, 
in 1713 ; graduated at Cambridge in 1733, and at the 
time of his ordination was twenty-five years of age. 
He was little above the common height, rather 
slender, his manners and address agreeable and 
pleasant. He was someivhat economical in the man- 
agement of his affairs, but kind to the poor and a 
good neighbor. He was opposed to excess and ex- 
travagance of every kind an d to promote peace and 
good feeling was his constant care. He liad some 
singularities of character, but led an exemplary life, 
and retained the affections and respect of his people 
through a ministry of thirty-seven years. His preach- 
ing was practical, plain and serious, though it is said 
he had occasionally some unusual expressions in the 
pulpit which were rather amusing. 

As was the custom of many clergymen of his day, 
he used to receive lads into his family for instruction 
in the studies preparatory to college. In one year 
five young men were presented by him at Cambridge, 
and all passed the examination and were admitted. 
There are a few scraps in his handwriting which ap- 
pear to discover considerable ease in the use of the 
Latin language, and in his church records there aie 
many similar instances, but they are so attended with 
abbreviations and characters that it is not always 
easy to discover their import. Some extracts from 
his church records are given. The volume is a very 
small one. It begins without caption or heading, and 
there is nothing to indicate what the contents are 
to be. 

The first entry is in the following words: "Nov. 
8, 1738. I was ordained pastor of the church in 
Acton." He speaks of himself in the same manner 
in all parts of the record. 

Under date of June 14, 1739, is the following 
record, "It being lecture day, after the blessing was 
pronounced I desired the church to tarry, and asked 
their minds concerning the remainder of the elements 
after communion and they voted ' I should have 'em.' " 

" Sept. 11, 1744. I made a speech to the church 
thusi : 'Brethren, I doubt not but you have taken 



I 



ACTON. 



245 



notice of the long absence of brother Mark White, 
Jr., from the ordinances of God in this place. If you 
request it of him to give us the reasons of his absence 
some time hence, I desire you would manifest it by 
.an uplifted hand. ^Vhereupon there was an affirma- 
tive vote.' June 7, 1740 notations of sacraments 
ceased here, because I recorded them in my almanac 
interlineary." 

The book is a curious intermixture of Latin and 
English accounts of admissions to the church, bap- 
tisms, administrations of the Supper and dealings 
with delinquents, and it is evident that Mr. Swift had 
little more in view than brief memoranda for his own 
use. He writes: " I regret that I did not at the be- 
ginning of my ministry procure a larger book, and 
keep a more particular and extensive record. I hope 
my successor will profit by this hint." Rev. Mr. 
Swift lived to see the opening of the Revolutionary 
War. His preaching, prayers and influence at the 
time doubtless helped in the preliminaries of that 
eventful struggle. 

Thomas Thorp, in his deposition given in 1835 to 
the selectmen and committee of the town, says : " On 
the mornii!g of the 19th of April, 1775, I had notice 
th.it the regulars were coming to Concord, I took 
my equipments and proceeded toCapt. D.avis's house. 
I passed the house of Rev. Mr. Swift. His son, Doc- 
tor John Swift, made me a present of a cartridge box, 
as he saw I had none, I well remember there was 
on the outside a piece of red cloth in the shape of a 
heart," 

On that memorable morning Capt, Davis marched 
hi.s company by Mr. Swif.'s house to the music of 
fife and drum. The blood in the pastor's veins quick- 
ened at the sight and sound, and he waved his ben- 
edictions over the heroic company as they passed on 
to the scene of action. He helped to sustain the 
widow in her first shock as Davis came lifeless to a 
home he had left but a few hours before, strong and 
vigorous. Mr. Swift did not see the end, only the be- 
ginning of the struggle. 

In November of the same year a funeral cortege 
was seen wending its way to the old cemetery in 
Acton. They were following the remains of their 
first pastor. A mound and a simple marble slab mark 
his grave. Four pine trees of stately growth sing 
their requiem over his precious dust as the years 
come and go. All honor to the dear memory of him 
who laid the foundation stones of this goodly church 
of Acton, and did so much to form the peaceful, 
frugal character of its inhabitants. 

" Honor and blessings on his head 
While living— good report when dead.* 

We do not easily part from a spot so suggestive of 
the stirring events, parochial; ministerial, civil and 
military, which centralized in. the early days of 
Acton, on these very acres. We will leave the home- 
stead in the care of Deacon Davis, who has spent the 



best energies of hi^ life in improving and adorning 
the premises, and whose sympathies are in full accord 
with all the memories of the past and with all the 
prospects of the future. 

Music IN THE First Church. — In 1785 the singers 
were directed, for the first time to sit together in the 
gallery. 

In 179.'5 the practice of performing sacred music 
by reading the line of the hymn as sung was discon- 
tinued. A church Bible was presented in 180(5 by 
Deacon John White, of Concord. 

In the church records, as far back as March 23, 
1797, is found the following vote: 1st. "It is the desire 
of the church that singing should be performed as a 
part of public worship in the church and congre- 
gation. 

" 2d. It is the desire of the church that the select- 
men insert an article in the warrant for the next May 
meeting to see if the town will raise a sum of money 
to support a singing-school in the town and that the 
pastor apply to the selectmen in the name of the 
church for that purpose. 

"3d. Voted to choose five persons to lead the sieg- 
ing in the future. 

"4th. Voted to choose a committee of three to nom- 
inate five persons for singers." 

Deacon Joseph Brabrook, Deacon Simon Hunt and 
Thomas Noyes were chosen this committee. They 
nominated Winthrop Faulkner, Nathaniel Edwards, 
Jr., Simon Hosmer, Josiah Noyes and Paul Brooks, 
and these persons were chosen, by vote, to lead the 
singing in the future. 

Voted, " It is the desireof thechurch that the singers 
use a Bass Viol in the public worship, if it be agree- 
able to them. 

Voted, " It is the desire of the church that all per- 
sons who are qualified would assist the singing in the 
public worship." 

Deacon Simon Hosmer played for thirty years. 

Deacons in the Fir.st Church. — Joseph Fletch- 
er, chosen December 15, 1738, died September 11, 
1746, aged 61 ; John Heald, chosen December 15, 
1738, died May 16, 1775, aged 82; Jonathan Hosmer, 
died 1775, aged 64; John Brooks, died March 6, 
1777, aged 76; Samuel Hayward, chosen September 
29, 1775, died March 6, 1795, aged 78; Francis 
Faulkner, chosen September 29, 1775, died August 
5, 1805, aged 78 ; Joseph Brabrook, chosen Septem- 
ber 29, 1775, died April 28. 1812, aged 73 ; Simon Hunt, 
chosen April 19, 1792, died April 27, 1820, aged 86; 
Josiah Noyes, chosen March 27, 1806, dismissed and 
removed to Westmoreland, N. H., October 16, 1808 ; 
Benjamin Hayward, chosen March 27, 1806, excused 
June 15, 1821 ; John Wheeler, chosen April 18, 1811, 
died December 17, 1824, aged 64 ; John White, chosen 
April 18, 1811, died April 3, 1824, aged 54; Phineas 
Wheeler, chosen June 15, 1821, died in 1838, aged 
65; Daniel F. Barker, chosen June 15, 1821, died in 
1840 ; Silas Hosmer, chosen June 15, 1821. 



246 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



I 



WOODLAWN Cemetery,^ — This is now a very old 
and extensive bnrying-ground, ])leasanlly located, 
with a slight natural grade descending from the north 
to the south — the new portion towards East Acton 
being level and of light, dry soil adapted to burying 
purposes. It has two pumps, a hearse-house and re- 
ceiving-tomb, and a beautilul pine grove shielding 
from the summer's sun where public services can be 
held. Many ornamental monuments and slabs have 
been erected in later years. 

The original deed to the town for the opening of 
Woodlawn Cemetery was given by Nathan Robbins 
January 16, 1737, and contained one-half an acre. 
The second deed was given by Joseph Robbins De- 
cember 11, 1769, a small tract adjoining southeast 
corner. The third deed was dated November 2, 1812; 
the fourth deed was dated January 1, 1844; the jBfih 
deed was dated August 22, 1862. The present area 
(1890) is between eleven and twelve acres. The old- 
est date noticed upon any of the slabs is 1743. 

In earlier times slabs were not erected — a simple 
stone marking the place of burial. Many have been 
buried here whose graves have no outward token of 
their locality. A recent careful count of the graves 
in this cemetery makes the number 1671, showing 
that here lie the remains ot a papulation nearly if not 
quite equal to those above ground on the present 
limits of the town. The location is about midway 
between East Acton and the Centre, and easily reached 
by good roads leading from all the villages and the 
other portions of the town. 

Within the memory of some now living, before tbe 
new road i'rom the Centre was laid out and the only 
passage was by the j)resent site of Mr. Moorhou^iC, 
winding through a continuous line of woods, growing 
darker till the gurgling waters of Rocky Guzzle were 
heard just as the grave-btones struck the eye, it re- 
quired more nerve than most boys and girls had in 
those more superstitious times to travel that way 
alone in the night or even in day-time. The hair 
would stand on end in spite of ones self as one 
reached the sombre retreat. Few were brave enough 
to pass that way to mill unattended unless necessity 
or the calls of love impelled. 

With the more cheery aspect of the thoroughfares 
in later years and with the mind cleared of the ghoat, 
stories, which, if heard, are discredited on the spot 
and expelled at once from the memory, one can travel 
that way and sing or whistle as he goes by, conscious 
of none but helpful companionship. 

A few epitaphs on the tomb-stones are here given, 
which may be of interest. The oldest slabs of unique 
design ha\e at tlie top the Latin words Memento mori, 
which means, remember that you must die. 

Erected id iiieajury of Mr. Josiab Haywuni, who 'ieparlL-d tbis life 
Mfty 6, 1783, Rged 76. 

He was a gentleninn of worth and integrily. lived much resppcted for 
his private, social and public virlties ; sustained divers civil ofliies with 
houor To hini6(i-lf aud bent-fit to Uu- uuuimuiiity jiud particularly tlmt of 



a representative for this town in the General Assembly, where he showed 
hiniself a warm frieud of his country. 

His memory is precious with the friends of virtue, religion and mait- 
kind. 

He had life in his imagination and a good judgment, was a huniblL-, 
patient Cbrisliuu, ever ready to do good when he saw an opportuuity. 
Whoever you be that see my bearee. 
Take notice of aud learn this verse, 
For by it you may understand, 
You have not time at your command. 
BIess>-d are the dead that die in the Lord from henceforth, 3'ea, saith 
the Spirit that they may rest from their labors and their works do follow 
thoni. 

On the marble slab at the tomb of Rev. John Swift : 

Kev. John Swift died November7, 1775, aged 62 years. 

He was ordained as the first pastor of the Congregational Church of 
Acton, November 8, 1738, and continued in this reRitiun until death. 
He was a plain, practical and serious preacher and a laithful uiini»tev. 

Memento Mori. 
In memory of Major Daniel Fletcher, who departed this life Decem- 
ber 15, 1776, in the 60'*' year of his age. 

'Tis dangers great he has gone through 
From enemies' hands his God him drew 
When fighting for that noble cause. 
His country and its famous laws. 
But now we trust to rest has gone 
Where wars and fightings there it> none. 
Here lies buried the body of Deacon Joseph Fletcher, who departed 
this life September 11, 1740, in the 6l»t y*'ar of his age. 
Memento Mori. 
This stone Is erected to preserve the remembrance of Deacon Samuel 
Hay ward, and to remind the living that they mubt fuUow him. He died 
March 0, 1791, aged 78. 

For many years he commanded the militia in this town. He was a 
kind husband and father, neighbor and a lover of his country, of good 
men, of religion and uf the poor. The niemury of such a man is blessed. 

Erected in memory of Captain Stevens Hayward, who died October 
6, 1817. 

In memory of Deacon John White, who died April 3, 1S21, in liis 
5;j^ year. 

Erected in memory of James Fletcher, who died December 9, 1815, 
aged .'J7, whose death was caused by the fulling of a tree. 
The rising morning don't assure, 

That we shall end the day. 
For death stands ready at the door. 
To snatch our lives away. 

The following inscription is upon a large slab 
mounted iu a horizontal position : 

Sacred to the memory of Rev. Moses Adams, wlio was born iu Framing- 
ham, October IG, 1749, graduated at Cambridge iu 1771 ; was urdained iu 
1777, minister of the Church and congregation of Acton, and continued 
such till October V\ 1819, when he died on the 1(5^, which was the7Utt' 
anniversary of his birth. 

His remains were placed beneath this stone. In his person he was 
dignified aud mudent, iu liii^ intellect vigorous and sound, iu hiy heart 
benevnleiit and devout. His preaching was plain and practical, and his 
example added greatly to his power. Thb Scriptures were his study and 
delight, anawliile he exercised the protestant right of expounding them 
for himself, his candor toward the sincere who diflercd liom him wasiu 
the spirit of tlie Gospel. 

The good being whom he loved with supreme devotion was pleased to 
grant him many yeai's of prosperity and gladness, and to add not a few 
uf affliction and sorrow. 

The firtit he cnjuyed with moderation and gratitude, and in the last he 
exhibited the power of religion to sustain the practical Christian, 

To his people aud his family he was ardently attached and spent his 
life in exertiuus and prayers for their welfare, aud they have placed this 
inscription to testify their roveience T r his cliara< ter and their luve 
for hia memory. 

We cannot mourn the venerable shade whom angels led iu triumph 
to the skies while following sorrow haltud at th»- tomb. 



I 
1 



ACTON. 



247 



The North Acton Cemetery. — Its location is 
between three and tour mile.s from Acton Centre, on 
the road to Carlisle on the left hand. It is a very old 
burying-ground of small area and contains about 100 
gr.tves. 

A few of the epitaphs are given : 

Sa-Ted to the memory of Ciiptaiti Samuel Diivis, who died July 4">, 
ISUU, aged 89. 

Retire my frienda, 

Bfy up yuui- tejirs, 
Heie I must lie 
Till Christ appears. 

Id memory of Davis, who died September 16, 1815, aged 72. 

Beneath this stone 
Death's prisoner lyes, 
• The stone sliall move. 
Tile prisoner rise, 
When Jesus with .\Imighty word. 

Calls his dead saints 
To meet the Lord. 

Mfmeiitto jMori. 
Here lies buried the body of Deacon John Heald, who departed this 
life May Iti, 1775, in the 8i^ year of his age. His wife Mary died Sep- 
tember 1, 1758, aged (Jl. 

Mount Hope Cemetery, We^t Acton. — The West 
Acton Cemetery is gracefully located on elevated dry 
ground on the southern border of the village to the 
right as one parses from West to South Acton. It 
was opened in 1848. It is regularly laid out; has a 
new receiving-tomb and many modern slabs and sev- 
eral costly monuments of artistic design. It contains 
271 grave.s and will have an increasing interest as the 
years go by. 

The Brooks Tavern. — Many now living can 
recall the gambrel roof two-story house at the foot of 
the hill, near where Mr. Moorhouse now lives, owned 
and occupied for many years by Mr. Nathaniel 
Stearns, the father of Mrs. Mo.ses Taylor. 

In the earlier days, before the present avenue and 
village at the Centre had been laid out, it stood as a 
conspicuous centre-figure facing the old raeeting- 
hou.se on the knoll, near where the school-houie now 
stands. 

The space between these two buildings was the 
Acton Common of ye olden time. Here were the 
military drills. Here were the town-meeting gather- 
ings. This Stearns house was the hotel of the sur- 
rounding districts, and was known as the " Brocks 
Tavern," fio:n Daniel Brooks, who occupied it in 
1762, and Paul Brooks afterwards. 

When the new meeting-house of 1807 was raised it 
was necessary to send to Bo.'iton to engage sailors ac- 
ctistomed to climb the perilous heights of a sea-faring 
life. They assisted in raising and locating the frame 
of the steeple. After the deed was accom|)I!shed they 
celebrated the exploit in feasting and dancing at the 
" Brooks Tavern." 

Could ihe walls of this tavern be put upon the 
stand, and could they report all they have seen and 
heard in the line of local history, we would have a 
chapter which would thrill us with its heroic, humor- 
ous and tragic details. 



The Fletcher Homestead. — As we leave this 
enchanted spot we notice the old stepping-.stone of 
the meeling-house which Mason Robbins has erected 
in the wall at the right, and inscribed upon its broad 
face the memorial tablet of the bygone days. As we 
reach the house now owned and occupied by Mr.s. 
Jonathan Loker, we see a lane to the left leading into 
the vacant pasture and orchard. 

Pass into that lane for a few rods, and we reach 
the marks of an old cellar on the left. Here stood 
for many years, from 1794 on, the Fletcher home- 
stead, where James Fletcher, the father of Deacon 
John Fletcher, and his brother Jamts and Betsey, 
the sister, lived during childhood up to Ihe years of 
maturity. A few feet from this ancient cellar-hole to 
the west is the sile of the first Fletcher russet apple- 
tree. Childhood's memories easily recall the ancient 
unpainted cottage, the quaint old chimney with the 
brick-oven on the side, and the fire-place large 
enough tor the burning of logs of size and length, and 
in front to the southeast a vegetable garden un- 
matched at the time for its culture and richness, and 
a large chestnut-tree to the south, planted by Deacon 
John, in early life. 

The farm and homestead of Potter Conant, where 
Herbert Robbins now lives, on the cross-road, near 
Mr. Thom.as Hammond's, was originally owned and 
occupied by James Fletcher, the father of Deacon 
John, and the birth-place of the latter. It was sold 
in exchange to Potter Conant, when Deacon John . 
was four years old. 

Thomas Smith, the father of Solomon Smith, died 
here in 17.'iS. Solomon Smith, who w.is at the Con- 
cord fight, lived here at the time. His son, Luke 
Smith, was at Balumore with his knapsack and gun, 
when the rioters mobbed the old Sixth on the 19th of 
April, 1861. Silas Conant lived here later. Betsey 
married a Mr. Shattuck, who moved to Landaff, N. 
H.. and was the mother of Lydia Shattuck, the noted 
teacher at Mount Holyoke College. For forty-one 
years she was connected with tlie institution, as a 
pupil in the fall of 184$, and of late years has been 
the only in-tructor who had studied under Mary 
Lyon. She began to teach immediately afier gradu- 
ation. She made a specialty of natural history studies 
and was an enthusiastic botanist. She was associated 
with Professor Agassiz and Guyot in founding the 
Anderson School on Penikese Island, and was largely 
instrumental in awakening the interest which led to 
the founding of WiUiston Hall at South Hadley. 
Last summer she was made professor emeritus and 
granted a permanent home at the college. She died 
at the college November 2, 1889, aged si.Kty-seven 
years and five months. 

The Skinner House. — This structure, of which 
the artist has given a genuine and beautiful sketch, is 
located in the southeast corner of Acton. Its stands 
on rising ground, just off the main road, facing a 
striking landscape towards the west, which includes 



248 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



the Assabet River, with its picturesque scenery of 
banks, foliage and bridge. The artist stood with this 
view all in his rear, with what is embraced in the 
sketch in front. The house was built in 1801, by Mr. 
Simeon Hayward, the father of Mrs. Skinner. It 
was at the time one of the most costly and tasteful 
residences in the whole town and held that rank for 
years. Even at this late date it will stand criticism 
with many dwelling-houses more modern and expen- 
sive. 

That majestic elm which towers above the house 
on the right is a hundred years old, and is a fair spe- 
cimen of its cotemporaries distributed in all parts of 
the town. Without them Acton would be shorn of 
its distinguishing beauty. To the left is the carriage- 
house and in the background the barn. 

This house took the place of the old one which 
stood just in the rear of this when Mrs. Skinner was 
born, August 14, 1796. Her grandCather, Josiah Hay- 
ward, moved on to this site in 1737, and had promi- 
nence in the early history of the town. He and his 
wife were allowed a seat in the first meeting-liouse 
in 1737, which was considered at the time a marked 
compliment to their intelligence and rank. On the 
south and east sides of the house are many thick 
trees to prevent accident in case of explosion at the 
powder-mills which are built a short distance away 
on the banks of the Assabet River. 

Do not pause too long on the outskirts of this de- 
lightful homestead. A knock at the door will give 
you a welcome within. Here lives the oldest person 
in town, — Mrs. Mary Skinner. On meeting her, she 
takes you by the hand with a genial welcoming ex- 
pression of the face which puts you at ease and 
makes you glad that yon came. 

One needs not th« painted miniature done on ivory 
when she was twenty-one years old to assure the 
beauty of her youth. There are in her aged coun- 
tenance no doubtful traces of that ear.y charm, 
which made her a most attractive maiden. This in- 
teresting old lady never tires in tellicg of the frolics 
and festivities of her girlhood dayj, and the doings of 
the beaux and belles. 

The young people for miles around used to meet 
at the wayside inn, where many a grand ball and 
party was given in honor of the lovely Jerusha 
Howe, the beauty of the town of Sudbury. Mrs. 
Skinner went to the dancing-school when eight vears 
old. 

Do not miss the kiud offer of Miss Dole, the faith- 
ful attendant for years of the venerable Mrs. Skin- 
ner, to visit the spare parlois. Here, one may fairly 
revel among the old-fashioned portraits, curious- 
shaped dishes and antique furniture. In a corner of 
the parlor is a tiny piano of rosewood, with gilded 
finishing and ornaments made eighty years ago. It 
still has the clear sweet tone of ye olden time. Un- 
derneath the key-board are three drawers to hold 
music, each with little gilded knobs. There is some 



exquite music-copying which Mrs. Skinner d'd years 
ago. Also many jiiciures which she painted ; but the 
most interesting of all are the white satin .-hoes 
which she wore when she was married. On a little 
printed slip neatly pasted inside of one of them the 
maker's name is given, mentioning that he kept a 
variety store, and also that at his establishment cus- 
tomers could have "rips mended gratis." 

At the age of twecty-eight she married and re- 
moved to Andover, Mass., where her husband, Mr. 
Henry Skinner, was in business. She lived there 
about four years, but after the death of her husband 
and two children, who died within eleven days of 
each other, she returned to her home, which she left 
as a bride, and here she has lived ever since. At the 
age of sixty-four she found it necessary to wear 
glasses, but only for a short time, and now has re- 
markable eye-sight. She keeps well informed through 
the daily papers, and sits up until a late hour to have 
the news read to her. 

All her near relatives are dead. Her father, 
Simeon Hayward, died June 5, 1803, when she was 
seven years old. Her son, Henry Skinner, born two 
months after the decease of her husband, graduated 
from Harvard College before he was eighteen years 
old, in 1846 — a civil engineer — died February 18, 
1807. Her sister Betsey, who Ijved in the same 
house with her, with her husband, Rev. Samuel Adams, 
have both been dead for years. Betsey, when a 
young maiden, by the election of the ladies of Acton, 
presented to the Davis Blues an elegant standard 
and bugle. The address on that occasion was marked 
with sentiment and culture. It closes in these 
words, — "Should ever our invaded country call you 
to the onset you will unfurl your banner and remem- 
ber that he whose name it bears sealed his patriotism 
with his blood.'' 

Her attendant for years says Mrs. Skinner has 
a most lovely disposition. You allude to the many 
changes and trials her of life, and she says, " My life 
has been a favored one." She never speaks an unkind 
word, is never out of patience with persons or things. 
No matter what happens, it is always right — all right. 
She has been kind to so many. No one knows how 
many she has helped. No matter who comes with 
a subscription paper she listens patiently and givts 
cheerfully. When subscribing to bear the expense 
of her husbaud's portrait and of the sketch of her 
historic homestead, she said, " I may not be alive 
when the picture is taken, but it may do some one 
some good." 

In sickness her aim seems to be to relieve the care 
of attendance. Only yesterday she quoted the re- 
mark : Every person has three characters: 1. The 
one which their neighbors give. 2. The one which 
they themselves give. 3. The one which they really 
are. They all seem to be blended in one in Mrs. 
Skinner. 

Mrs. Skinner has been for the larger portion of her 



ACTON. 



241t 



life a consistent member and liberal patron of the 
Acton Church. She gave the pulpit to the new meet- 
ing-house. Sitting in her cosy room, with its quaint 
ornaments and substantial furnishings, her whitt 
hands resting on her lap, she is a never-to-be-forgot- 
ten picture of serene, happy old age, while all about 
her there appears a peace above all earthly dignities 
— a still and quiet conscience. 

The Old Parsonage. — Town Records, January, 
1780 : 

" Voted, that the select man appoint a town-meeting Tuesday, Jan. 25th, 
1780, at one o'clock p.m., to see if the town will raise a sum of money 
to make good that part of the Rev. Sloses ,\dam8' settlement that is to 
be laid out in building him a dwelling-house, and pass any other votes 
that may be thought proper when met Relating to settlement or the 
pay of the workers that have Don Labour on said house. 

" Acton, Jan. 31, 1780." 

The town being met according to adjournment by 
reason of the severity of the weather adjourned the 
meeting to the house of Caroline Brooks, in order to 
do the business, and proceeded as follows: On the 
second article it was voted "to allow the artificers 
that worked at Kev. Mr. Adams' house 15 dollars per 
day and ten Dollars for common Labour, 24s. per 
mile for carting." 

'* Voted, three thousand Pounds to make good the one Hundred Pound 
of Rev. Mr. Adams' settlement. 

" Voted, three Thousand five hundred and sixty to Pounds to the Rev. 
Mr. Adams for his sallary this present year." 

These figures show the depreciation of the currency 
during the Revolutionary period. 

We proceed in our historic ramble, reluctant to 
part from the ancient "Knowl " where stood the First 
Church of Acton for threescore years and ten. 

We drift on this tidal-wave of past reminiscences, 
and the drift takes us at once down the road a few- 
rods to the northwest, where sits to-day so grace- 
fully the old parsonage of our fathers and grand- 
fathers and mothers and grandmothers of ye olden 
time. It faces the gentle slope in front to the south- 
east, looking towards the Hillof Zion on the "Knowl" 
and ye old Acton Common and the Brooks Tavern 
just beyond, now all gone to rest. It is a quaint old 
mansion, with a stately elm standing over it in all 
the majesty of years. The structure was built five 
years after the Concord Fight, 1780. 

The side of the house faces the street and is three 
stories. Its front, built on a hillside, is half three and 
the other half two stories. A long flight of steps leads 
up to a large portico, which makes the front entrance 
overlooking the green fields andorchards just beyond. 
The chimney rises in the centre of the roof some 
three feet high and six feet wide. Its four flues 
answer all household purposes. The lilac bushes and 
the yellow lily bed on the roadside, just outside the 
wall, are still flourishing as in the earliest recollec- 
tion of the oldest persons now living. 

Moses Taylor, Esq., has done a great service to the 
future public by purchasing this estate and restoring 
the laded tints of early days — green blinds, light yel- 
low, the main color of the house, with white trim- 



mings. It is now presentable to the eye of the anti- 
quarian, and even to the modern criiic. 

When laying out the new sidewalk leading up to 
the village, Mr. Taylor said : "Spare the lilac bushes 
and lily-bed. They shall remain for old memory's 
sake. I used to go by these loved relics in school- 
day times, and they are to me now even dearer and 
sweeter than when a boy." 

Mrs. Adams, the wife of Rev. Moses Adams, the 
second minister, a very energetic lady and a notable 
housekeeper, kept store in the basement story. Keep- 
ing store, added to her maternal duties, as the mother 
of three sons and three daughters, house-work, spin- 
ning, weaving, knitting and cheese-making, to say 
nothing of parish duties, must have made for her a busy 
life, and this part of the house at least must have 
been a lively centre for the earthly activities of the 
parsonage. The upper part of the house was the 
scene of the pastor's private study, aud contained 
rooms neatly furnished for those times and evtr 
ready to receive guests from abroad. 

Rev. Moses Adams, the first pastor occupying this 
house, had been selected with great care. In May, 
1776, the town chose a committee to take advice of 
the president of the college and the neighboring 
ministers and to engage four candidates to preach 
four Sabbaths each in succession. One of the four 
was Moses Adams. He, like his predecessor, Rev. 
Mr. Swift, was a native of Framingham. He was 
born October 16, 1749, and graduated at Cambridge, 
1771. On the 29th of August, 1776, it was voted "to 
hear Mr. Moses Adams eight Sabbaths longer on 
probation," and on the 20th of December " to hear 
Mr. Moses Adams four Sabbaths longer than isagretd 
for." 

In the mean time the church had appointed the 
2d day of January for a fast, and had invited the 
neighboring ministers to attend on the occasion. On 
the 8lh day of January they made choice of Mr. 
Adams to take the oversight and charge of the church. 
The choice was confirmed by the town on the 
15th of the same month. At an adjournment of 
that meeting, on the 17th of March, an offer was made 
of £200 settlement and £80 salary in lawful money, 
according 6s. 8rf. per ounce. It was also voted to pro- 
vide him with fire-wood the first year after his settle- 
ment. The invitation was accepted, and Mr. Adams 
was ordained on the 25th day of June, 1777, then in 
his twenty-eighth year. 

He was the only child of respectable but humble 
parents. By the death of both parents he became au 
orphan at the age of seven years. The property left 
him was sufficient, wiih economy, to defray the ex- 
pense of a public education. The first years of his 
ministry were attended with considerable pecuniary 
embarrassment, for, although precaution was taken to 
make the salary payable in silver, yet the value of 
that compared with the necessaries of life very cou- 
siderablv decreased. 



250 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUiVtY, MASSACaUSETTS. 



The promptness and spirit with which the people 
of Actoii met the calls of the Government for the 
support of the war rendered them less able to pay their 
minister. His settlement had been relied on to meet 
the expenses of building a house, which a young and 
increa^ing family made a matter of necessity. The 
settlement was not wholly paid for several years. 
The subject was agitated at two meetings in 1781, 
and in February, 1782, the selectmen were directed 
to pay the remaining balance. 

In 1783 Mr. Adams, in a communication which is 
recorded, made a statement of £12.3, which he con- 
sidered his due for balances unpaid of his three first 
years' salary, accompanied by an offer to deduct £43 
if the remainder should be paid or put on interest. 
It is not certain whether this was a legal or merely 
an equitable claim, but the town promptly acceded 
to the proposal. In justice to the town it should be 
observed that so far as it regards their pecuniary 
dealings with their two first ministers a liberality and 
sense of justice is manifest, with few exceptions, from 
the beginning to the end of the records. There were 
other negotiations in regard to the salary. It was all, 
however, in perfect good feeling and in accordance 
with the respect and affection which existed between 
Mr. Adams and his people through the whole period 
of his long ministry of forty-two years. 

He died on the 13th of October, 1819, and was bur- 
ied on the IGth, which was the seventieth anniversary 
of his death. 

In consequence of his request in writing — which was 
found after his decease — no sermon was delivered at his 
funeral. To anticipate the silent tear was more to 
him than the voice of prai>e. He had days of pros- 
perity and he knew how to enjoy them. He witness- 
ed seasons of sorrow and bore them with rare equa- 
nimity. In public duties, in social intercourse, in 
the schools, in the transactions of private life, he 
carried himself with a genial but serene self-poise 
commanding universal confidence, veneiation and 
love. 

The house where such a man lived and died, whose 
walls witnessed the mental struggles of his closet and 
study, the composition of his four thousand sermons, 
the training and education of his children, and of those 
from abroad, fitting for college under his care, is a 
hallowed retreat calling for a tender appreciation by 
all who shall hereafter gaze upon this memorial 
structure. The following items have been copied 
from the town records, in regard to his children. 
Moses, son of Moses and Abigail Adams, born- Novem- 
ber 28, 1777; Mabby, daughter, born January 21,1780; 
Josiah, born November 3, 1781 ; Joseph, born Septem- 
ber 25, 1783; Clarissa, born July 13, 1785. 

We must not leave the site too hastily; still another 
chapter of records opens upon our vision right here 
and now. 

The pulpit was constantly supplied by the town 
during the last sickness of Mr. Adams, and after his 



decease. In the next month a committee was chosen 
to procure a candidate. They engnged Mr. Marshall 
Shedd, who was graduated at Dartmouth in 1817, and 
was then a member of the Rev. Mr. Greenuugh's 
church in Newton, Massachusett;", which was his 
native town. 

On the 20th of February, 1820, Mr. Shedd was 
unanimously invited by the church to become their 
pastor, and on the 13th of March the town unani- 
mously voted to give him a call. Five hundred dol- 
lars w.as offered as a settlement, which was increased 
by subscription and the salary was fixed at six hun- 
dred dollars, with fifteen cords of wood. In case of 
permanent inability the salary was to be reduced to 
two hundred dollars. This liberal offer was accepted, 
and on the 10th of May Mr. Shedd was ordained 
pastor of the church and minister of the congrega- 
tion in Acton. 

The ordaining council consisted of Mr. VVillard, 
of Boxborough ; Mr. Newell, of Stow ; Mr. Greenough, 
of Newton; Mr. Litchfield, of Carlisle; Dr. Eipley, 
of Concord; Dr. Homer, of Newton; Mr. Foster, of 
Littleton ; Dr. Holmes, of Cambridge; Mr. B'ake, of 
Weatford ; Dr. Pierce, of Brookline; Mr. Noyes, 
of Needham ; Mr. Hulbert, of Sudbury, with delegates 
from their respective churches. Such a combination 
of religious opinions in an ordaining council obtained 
by a unanimous vote of both church and congrega- 
tion was very remarkable at that period, and dis- 
covers a liberality of Christian feeling which is worthy 
of all imitation. 

Mr. Shedd was a pious, peaceable and exemplary 
minister, with more than ordinary talents and indus- 
trious in the discharge of duty. It was a time of 
great religious conflict. The heat of controversy 
became intense in all this vicinity of towns, resulting 
in the division of churches and congregations. 

Parochial difficulties multiplied in all directions. 
Acton began to feel the irritations of the epoch. Mr. 
Shedd labored to harmonize the colliding elements, 
but the lines of divergence were too sharply drawn, 
and he bowed to the inevitable and gracefully retired. 

Providence opened to him, as he thought, a more 
hopeful field for himself and family in what was then 
the new settlements in Northern New York, he decid- 
ed to enter it, and in May, 1831, the corporation, which 
was now called a parish, concurred with the church 
in granting Mr. Shedd's request that his connection 
might be dissolved, and in thesame month that agree- 
ment was confirmed by an ecclesiastical council. 

Mr. Shedd came to Acton a married man, his 
companion having been born in Newton, like himself 
a Miss Eliza Thayer, daughter of Obadiah Thayer. 
He resided with Mr. Shedd in Acton at the parsonage. 

He is stiil remembered by some of the oldest in- 
habitants of Acton as a man of great excellence of 
character, a rare mingling of refined and jiositive 
traits, an unswerving advocate of truth and righteous- 
ness. He died in Hillsborough, N. Y., in 1834. 



ACTON. 



251 



The first year of Mr. Shedd's pastorate was event- 
ful. On the 10th of May he was ordained. On the 
21st of June he became the father of one of the most 
notable and worthy men now living. It is no ordin- 
ary honor for the parsonage and the town to be the 
birth-place of Rev. Prof William G. T. Shedd, D.D. 

The simple surface record of the man runs thus : 
born in Acton, June 21, 1820; graduated at the 
University of Vermont, Burlington, in 1839; at 
Andover Seminary in 1843 ; pastor of Brandon, 
Vermont, 1843^-5 ; Professor of Engli-h Literature 
in the University of Vermont, 184.5-52; Professor 
of Sacred Rhetoric and Pastoral Theology in 
Auburn Seminary, 18.52-54 ; Professor of Ecclesi- 
astical History and Pastoral Theology in Andover 
Seminary, 1854-62; ci-pastor of the Brick Presby- 
terian Church, New York City, 1862-G3 ; Professor 
of Sacred Literature in Union Theological Seminary, 
New York City, 18G3-74; Professor of Systematic 
Theology in Union Seminary since 1874. 

His publications are: History of Christian Doc- 
trine, Theological Essays, Literary Essays, Homiletics 
and Pastoral Theology, Sermons to the Natural 
Man, Translation of Guericke"s Church History, 
Translation of Theremin's Rhetoric. 

He lias adorned every position which he has 
touched. He is a scholar, a gentleman, an author, a 
preacher, a philosopher, a theologian, a Christian of 
the very highest order in the land, and so acknowl- 
edged even by those noi always agreeing with his 
views. 

He has not forgotten his birth-place or the scenes 
of his boyhood, though leaving the place when eleven 
years old and visiting it but twice since that time. 

He remembers his old family physician, Dr. Cowdry ; 
Deacon Silas Hosmer, one of the officers of the church, 
who died attheageof eiglity-four ; the two Fletchers, 
Deacon John and his brother James; the Faulkner 
mills, where there were about a dozen houses when 
last he sa\V it ; East Acton, the place where he went 
to lake the stage, upon the main road, when great 
journeys were to be made; Wetherbee's Hotel and 
some fine old elms, which he hopes are still standing; 
Deacon Phineas Wheeler and his grist-mill, to which 
he often carried the grist; the Common in Acton 
Centre, now covered with fine shade-trees, where 
there was not a single tree of any kind when he 
played ball upon it in his boyhood; those inscrip- 
tions upon the grave-stones around ,the monument 
which he used to read when a boy in the old ceme- 
tery ; the huckleberry and blueberry bushes still 
growing in the same rough pastures, where he has 
picked many a quart. 

He is now in his seventieth year, but there are 
some slill living who recall his early days on the 
s'.reet and at the parsonage. He was a model youth, 
and had in him at the start elements which all recog- 
nized as the promise of his future career, if his life 
should be spared. 



The following tributes to the memory of his father 
and mother were received in a letter from him dated 
December 23, 1889: "My father lived to the great 
age of eighty-five, dying in Hillsborough, N. Y., in 
1872. After leaving Acton he was never settled as a 
pastor, but for many years, until age and infirmities 
prevented, he preached to the feeble churches in 
the region, and did a great and good work in the 
moral and religious up-building of society. My 
mother died soon after our family removed to 
Northern New York, which was in October, 1831. 
She departed this life in February, 1833. I was 
only twelve years of age, but the impress she made 
upon me in those twelve years is greater than that 
made by any other human being, or than all other 
human beings collectively." 

In the same letter he gives this record of his 
two brothers — younger than himself — whom several 
old schoolmates, now living in Acton, remember 
with interest. Marshall died in Hilisboiough, N. Y., 
in 1879, in the Christian faith and hope. The 
younger brother, Henry S., is living, and for more 
than twenty years has been connected with the 
post-office in this city (New York). 

The Acton town records give the following dates 
of birth : William G. Thayer Shedd, son of Marshall 
and Eliza Shedd, born June 21, 1820; Marshall, born 
April 11, 1822; Henry Spring Shedd, born February 
21, 1824; Elizabeth Thayer Shedd, born September 
9, 1825. In his last brief visit to Acton several 
years ago he said in conversation: " The old scenes 
and persons in Acton come back from my boyhood 
memories with outlines of distinctness more and 
more vivid as the years go by." 

Revolutionary Preliminaries. — At a special 
meeting in January, 17G8, the town voted " to comply 
with the proposals sent to the town by the town of 
Boston, relating to the encouragement of manufac- 
ture among ourselves and not purchasing superflui- 
ties from abroad." 

In September of that year Joseph Fletcher was 
chosen to sit in a convention at Boston, to be holden 
on the 22d of that month. 

.\CTION OF THE TOW.N ON THE MKMORABLL .'>TH OF MaHCH, 1770. 

"Taking into consideration the distresied circuniatftncea tliat tbia 
Province and all Noitli .\nicrica are involved in by rea8on(H) of the 
Acts of Parliament imposing dnties and taxes fur the sole purpose to 
raise a Revenue, and when the Royal ear seems to be stopl against all 
our humble Prayers and petitions for redress of grievances, and consid- 
ering the Salutary Measures that the Body of Merchants and Traders in 
this province have come into in order for the redress of the many 
troubles that we are involved in, and to support and maintain our 
Charter Rights and Privilege and to prevent our tot <I Ruin and De- 
struction, taking all these things into serious Considei-alioD, came into 
the foliowing votes : 

" Ist. That we will useourntmost endeavors to encoursge and support 
the body of merchants and trailers in their endeavors to retrieve this 
Province out of its present Dintresaes to whom this Town vote their 
thanks fur the Constitutional and spirited measures pursued by them fur 
the good of this Province. 

" 2. That from this Time we will have no commercial or social connec- 
tion with those who at this time do refuse to contribute to the relief of 
this abu-ed country— especially those that Import British Goods contrary 



252 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



to the Agreement of the body of merchftnts in Boston or eleewbere, 
that wo will not afford tlioni our Custom, but treat them with the ut- 
most neglect and all those who countenance them. 

" 3. That we will use our utmost endeavors to prevent the consump- 
tion of all foreign supertluities, and that we will use our utmost En- 
deavors to promote and encourage our own manufactures. 

" 4. That the Town Clerk trausmit a copy of these votes of the Town 
to the Committoe of Merchants of inspection at Boston. 

" A true copy attested. 

" FitANcrs Faulkner, 
" Town Clerk.'' 

A committee of nine of tlie principal men of the 
town was appointed to consider the rights of the 
Colony and the violation of said rights, and draft such 
votes as they thought proper. 

In January, 1773, the following report of the Com- 
mittee was accepted and adopted : 

''Taking into serious consideration the alarming circumstances of 
the Province relating to the violation of our charter rights and privi- 
leges (as we apprehend) by the British administration, we are of opin- 
ion : That the rights of the Colonists natural, ecclesiastical and civil 
are well stated by the Town of Buetun. 

"And it is our opinion that the taxing of us without our consent — 
the making the Governor of the Province and the Judges of the Supreme 
Court independent of the people and dependent on the Crown, out of 
money extorted from us, and many other instanceB of encroachments 
npon our said charter rights are intolerable grievances, and have a di- 
rect tendency to overthrow our happy constitution and bring us into a 
state of abject slavery. 

" But we have a gracious Sovereign, who is the Father of America 
as well as Great Britain, and as the man in whom we have had no con- 
fidence is removed from before the Throne and another in whom we 
hope to have reason to put confidence placed in his stead, we hope that 
our petitions will be forwarded and heard, and all our grievances re- 
dressed. 

" Voted also, that as we have no member in the house of Representa- 
tives, we earnestly'recommend it to the Repiesentative Body of this 
Province that you gentlemen, inspect with a jealous eye our charter 
rights and privileges, and that you use every constitutional method to 
obtHiii redress of all our grievances, and that yon strenuously endeavor 
in such ways as you in your wisdom think fit, that the honorable judges 
of the Supreme Court may have their support as formerly agreeable to 
the charter of the Province. 

^'Voted, That the sincere thanks of the Town be given to the inhabit- 
ants of the Town of Boston for their spirited endeavora to preserve our 
rights and privileges inviolate when threatened with destruction. 

In March, 1774, resolutions were passed with refer- 
ence to paying duty on tea belonging to the East 
India Company. 

In August, 1774, three of the principal citizens of 
the town were appointed delegates to a County Con- 
vention to be holden in Concord the 30th of that 
month. 

In October of the same year two of the three dele- 
gates referred to above were chosen to sit in a Pro- 
vincial Congress, which was to assemble at Concord 
soon, and at the same meeting a Committee of Cor- 
respondcDce was appointed. 

In December, 1774, £25 was voted for the use of 
the Province, and a vote was passed to indemnify the 
assessors for not making returns to the British gov- 
ernment. It was also voted to join the association of 
the Continental Congress, and a committee was ap- 
pointed to see that all inhabitants above sixteen years 
of age signed their compliance, and that the names of 
those who did not sign should be reported to the Com- 
mittee of Correspondence. Samuel Hayward, Francis 



Faulkner, Jonathan Billings, Josiah Hayward, John 
Heald, Jr., Joseph Robbins and Simon Tuttle were 
chosen a committee for that purpose. 

In November, 1774, a company of minute-men was 
raised by voluntary enlistment, and elected Isaac 
Davis for their commander. The company by agree- 
ment met for discipline twice in each week, through 
the winter and spring till the fight at Concord. 

In January the town voted to pay them eight pence 
for every meeting till the 1st of May, provided they 
should be on duty as much as three hours, and should 
attend within half an hour the time appointed for the 
meeting. 

In the winter of 1774-7 the town had two militia 
companies, one in the south and one in the east. 

In 1775 Josiah Hayward was twice chosen a dele- 
gate to the Provincial Congress at Cambridge. 

In June, 1776, a vote was passed giving the follow- 
ing instructions to the representative of the town : 

"7'o Mr. Mark White: 

"Sir, — Our not being favored with the resolution to the Ilonorable 
House of Representatives, calling upon the several towns in this 
Colony to express their minds with respect to the important question of 
American Independence is the occasion of our not expressing our 
minds sooner. 

*' But we now cheerfully embrace this opportunity to instruct you on 
that important question. 

" The suhvertina our Constitution, the many injuries and unheard of 
barbarities which the Colonies have received from Great Bi itain, confirm 
us in the opinion that the present age will be deficient in their duty to 
God, their pnsterity and themselves, if they do not establish an Ameri- 
can Republic. This is the only form of Government we wish to see es- 
tablished. 

" But we mean not to diofate— 

" We freely submit this interesting affair to the wisdom of the Conti- 
nental Congress, who, we tnist, are guided and directed by the Supreme 
(lovernor of the world, and we instruct you, sir, to give them the 
strongest assurance that, if they should declare America to be a Free 
and Independent Republic, your constituents will support and defend 
the measure with their lives and fortunes." 

In October, 1776, when a proposition was before 
the people that the executive and legislative branches 
of the Provincial Government should frame a Consti- 
tution for the State, the town of Acton committed the 
subject to Francis Faulkner, Ephraim Hapgood, 
Samuel Hayward, Ephraim Hosmer, Joseph Robbins 
and Nathaniel Edwards, who reported the following 
resolutions, which were unanimously accepted : 

*' 1st. HexoJved, that as this State is at present destitute of an estab- 
lished form of Government, it is necessary one should be immediately 
formed and esfablisheil. 

"2. Resolved. That the Supreme Lecislature in that capacity are by no 
means a body proper to form and establish a constitution for the follow- 
ing reasons, viz.: • 

" Because a constitution properly formed has a system of principles es- 
tablished to secure subjects in the possession of their rights and privileges 
against any encroachments of the Legslalive part, and it is our opinii-n 
that the same body which has a right to form a constitution 1 as a right 
to alter it, and we conceive a constitution alterable by the Supreme 
Legislative power is no security to the subjects against the encroach- 
ments of that power on our rights and privileges. 

" licsolied, that the town thinks it ex|)edient that a convention be 
chos»n by the inlmbitunts of the several towns and districts in this 
State being free to form and establish a constitution for the State. 

" UefoJv.-d^ That the Honorable Assembly of this Slate be denired to 
recommend to the inhabitants of the State to choose a convention for 
Ihc above piu'pose as soon as pos'ible. 



ACTON. 



253 



** lit$olvtd, that the CouventioD publish their proposed coDstitution be- 
fore they estalilisb it for the inspection aud remarks of the Iiiliabilauts 
of this State." 

At a meeting in February, 1778, " the Uniteti Slates 
Articles of (Joafederatioa and Perpetual Uniou," 
after being twice read, were accepted by the town. 

In May, 1778, a Constitution and frame of govern- 
ment for tbe State, wbicb had been formed by the 
General Court, was laid before tlie town for consid- 
eration, and was rejected by a vote of tifty-oue to 
e.ghteen. 

The instrument was so offensive to the inhabitants 
that iu May, 1779, an article being in.serted in the 
warrant, " to see if the town will choo-se at this time 
to have a new Con.-itituUoji or frame of government," 
the constitution was rejected. 

The pr»i5>osition, however, though rejected by this 
town, was accejited by a majority of the peopie, and 
in July, 1779, Francis Faulkner was chosen a dele- 
gate to sit in a convention in Cambridge to form 
a Constitution, and the result was that the present 
Constitution of this Commonwealth was liid before 
the town for consideralion on the 2Sth day of April, 
1780, and it being read, the meeting was adjourned 
for consideration till the 15th of May. 

On that the articles were debated, and at a further 
adjournment on the 29th of the same month every 
article was approved by a majority of more than two- 
thirds of the voters. These simple records show he- 
roic grit, combined statesmanship and patriotism 
worthy of those olden dates and worthy of any dates 
since or of any that are to follow. 

The Faulkner House (South Acton).— This is 
the oldest house now standing in Acton. You go 
from the radroad station south across the bridge and 
ascend the steep hill, and you at once approach the 
ancient structure. It has on its face and surroundings 
an impress of age, which striltes the eye at first 
glance, and the impress deepens as the eye tarries for 
a second look. 

Colonel Winthrop E. Faulkner, who died March 
25, 1S80, aged seventy-five years, used to say that 
they told him when a child it must have been 150 years 
old then. No tongue and no records fix the original 
date of this ancient landmark. It is safe to call it 
200 years old, some parts of it at least. 

It was a block-house, ami in the early Colonial 
times it was a garrison-house where the settlers in 
the neighborhood would gather in the night for pro- 
tection against the assaults of the Indians. 

Enter the southwest room. It will easily accom- 
modate 100 persons. It is a square room neatly kept 
and furnished wiih antique mementos. Raise your 
hand and you easily touch the projecting beams of 
dry hard oak, which the sharpest steel cannot cleave, 
eighteen inches solid. The space between the beams 
of the sides of the room are filled with brick, which 
make it fire-proof against the shot of the enemy. 

You notice the two small glass windows as large as 



an orange in the entering door of this room. They 
were for use in watching the proceeding of tlie courts 
which once were held here by Francis Faulkner, the 
justice. 

Measure the old chimney, nine feet by seven, solid 
brick furnished with three large fire-places and an 
oven below and an oven above in the attic for smok- 
ing hams, large enough to accommodate all the neigh- 
bors and hooks attached in the arch where the hams 
could remain suspended till called for. 

Mark that fine photograph on the wall. It is the 
life-like face of Colonel Winthrop E. Faulkner. 
Give him a royal greeting, for he was the liie of the 
village and town in childhood's days and in later 
years, aud there comes his aged widow, still living and 
gracing the old homestead and guarding the precious 
relics, now in her eigh:y-third year. 

Mrs. Lottie Flagg, her daughter, the veteran and 
successful school-teacher, who does a noble work in 
helping the outfit and hospitality of this historic site. 
Noie her words as she repeats the ttle of this rally- 
ing centre on the morning of the 19th of April, 1775. 

Francis Faulkner, Jr., a boy of fifteen years, was 
lying awake early in the morning, no one yet moving 
and listening to ihe clatter of a horse's feet drawing 
nearer and nearer. Suddenly he leaped from his bed, 
ran into his father's room and cried out, " Father, 
there's a horse coming on the full run and he's bring- 
ing news." His father, Colonel Francis, already had 
on his ])antaloons and his gun in his hand. Tbe fleet 
horseman wheeled across the bridge and up to the 
house, and shouted, " Rouse your minute-men, Mr. 
Faulkner! The British are marching on Lexington 
and Concord," and away he went to spread the news. 

Mr. Faulkner, without stopping to dress, fired three 
times as fiist as he could load and fire — that being the 
preconcerted signal to call out the minute men. 

" And so, through the night, went his cry of alarm 
To every Middlesex village and farm ; 
A cry of defiance, and not of fear ; 
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door. 
And a word that shall echo forever more." 

Being the chairman of safety and colonel of the 
Middlesex Regiment of Militia — the men were to as- 
semble at his house. Almost immediately a neighbor 
repealed the signal and the boy Francis listened with 
breathless intere.-t to hear the signal guns grow faint- 
er and fainter off in the distant farm-houses. Signal- 
fires were also lighted, and every house awoke from 
its slumbers to the new era. By this time the family 
were all up in the greatest commotion — the younger 
children crying because the British would come and 
kill them. Very soon the minute-men began to come 
in, every one with his gun, powder-horn, pouch of 
bullets and a piece of bread and cheese, the only 
breakfast he proposed to make before meeting the en- 
emy of his country. Some came hurrying in with 
their wives and children in the greatest excitement, to 
get more certain news and to know what was to be 



254 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



done. Word came from Captain Davis that lie would 
marcli as soon as tiiirtysliould come in. In the mean 
time Ihey were hv.sfv in driving down stakes on the 
lawn and hangiiip; kettles for cooking the soldiers' 
dinners. They brought from the houses beef and 
pork, patatoes and cabbages. The women would cook 
the dinner, and some of the elder boys, of whom 
Francis, Jr., was one, weredesiguated tobringitalong 
packed in saddle-bags. By the time these prelimin- 
aries for dinner were made Lieutenant Hunt took 
command of the West Militia Company, Capt. Faulk- 
ner having a few days before been promoted to the 
position of colonel of the Middlesex Regiment. 

The line was formed on the lawn souih of the 
hou.se, and they marched amid the tears of their fam- 
ilies. Colonel Faulkner accompanied them to take 
command of the Middlesex Regiment, as the other 
companies would come in at Concord. Uncle Fran- 
cis, the boy, waited with great impatience for the 
dinner to be cooked and packed. Every woman 
wanted to prepare the dinner complete and separate 
for her hu^band or sons. But after much discussion 
it was agreed to pack all the beef and pork, bread and 
vegetables, each kind by itself, and let the men them- 
selves divide it. At length, after some hours of talk- 
ing and boiling and packing, the horses were loaded, 
and the boys started off. 

I asked Uncle Francis why in the world they did not 
take a wagon, and one horse would be enough for the 
whole. Didn't they know enough to do that? "Oh, 
yes — they knew too much to do that," he .'aid. The 
British soldiers might have the road. If we saw a 
red-coat we were told to give him a wide birth, or he 
might get us and our dinner. We could quietly top- 
ple over a stone wall or take out a (ev; rails and escape 
through the fields and find our men wherever they 
might be. To the great surprise of the boy he found 
the Acton men in the highest spirits. They had made 
the red-coats run for their lives. 

This house is so associated wi'.h the history of the 
Faulkner family, and this Aimily is so blended wiih 
the history of the town, that a brief family record is 
here appended. 

Francis Faulkner, the father of Ammiruhammah, 
and the grandfather of Col. Francis Faulkner, was a 
resident of Andover, Mass., and married Abigail 
Dane, daughter of Rev. Francis Dane, the second 
minister of Andover, a woman of noble character and 
exemplary piety. She was accused of witchcraft, tried 
andcondemned to death. She passed through the terri- 
ble ordeal with unshaken firmness, and the sentence 
was revoked. 

Ammiruhammah Faulkner, son of Francis, came 
from Andover and settled in "Concord Village," in 
1735, at the "great falls." of the "Great Brook," 
w'here he erected the mills. which have since been 
owned and occupied by his descendants, where he 
died Aug. 4. 1756, aged sixty-four. 

Col. Francis Faulkner, son of A.mmiruhammah, 



was born in Andover, Mass., Sept. 29, 1728, and died 
in Acton Aug. 5, 1805, aged seventy-seven. He mar- 
ried Lizzie Mufsey April 29, 1756. He was a member 
of the Provincial Congress held in Concord, 1774, 
and represented the town of Acton in the Legislature 
of 1783-4-5. He had a military commission under 
George HI., but the oppressive and arbitrary acts of 
Great Britain induced him to renounce his allegiance 
to the crown. In 1775 he was elected major of a reg- 
iment organized to "oppose invasion." 

On the morning of the 19th of AprH, 1775, he 
marched with the Acton patriots to the Concord 
North Bridge, where he engaged the British, and with 
his men pursued them to Charlestown. He was sev- 
eral times engaged in actual service during the war, 
being lieutenant-colonel in the Regiment Middlesex 
Militia called to reinforce the Continental Array at 
:he occupation of Dorchester Heights, in March, 1776. 
He was in service when Burgoyne was taken, and 
commanded the regiment which guarded the prison- 
ers on that occasion. He was a courageous officer, an 
able legislator and an exemplary Christian. He 
built the mills which for a century and a half have 
been known as the Faulkner Mills, now of South 
Acton. They were first only a saw and a grist-mill, 
the two most indispensable agents of civilization and 
comfort in a new country. To these was added in 
due time a fulling-mill, which was among the very 
earliest efforts at the manufacture of woolen cloth in 
this country. 

There was first a carding-machine, which changed 
as by magic the wool into beautiful rolls. They were 
distributed to many houses to be spun and woven into 
rough woolen cloth and returned to the mill. Here 
the cloth was fulled under stampers with soap, which 
made it foam and helped cleanse and thicken it up. 
The process of raising nap with teazles was exceed- 
ingly interesting. The teazle was a product of nature 
and seemed expressly and wonderfully created for 
that very purpose. Then came the shearing off in- 
equalities by the swift revolving shears and the final 
finishing up into cloth. When the wool ivas of fine 
quality and evenly spun the result was a passable 
broadcloth of great durability. 

In order to encourage wool production and skill in 
using it, prizes were offered for the finest specimen of 
home-made broadcloth — that is, the wool, the spin- 
ning and weaving were of home ; the rest was of the 
fulling-mill. This spinning and weaving were the 
fine arts of our grandmothers and great-grandmothers, 
and noble women were proud of the prizes they won. 
A prize to a spinster was sure to attract the mo.st 
flattering attention and take her speedily out of spin- 
sterhood. 

Colonel Faulkner was not only an active, energetic 
"clothier," but also a leading citizen in all public in- 
terests. For ihirty-five successive years he was 
chosen town clerk, and the records are kept with 
neatness, clearness and order. (See Cyrus Hamlin's 



ACTOX. 



Historical Sketch, read before Historical Society at 
Lexington.) 

Winthrop Faulkner, the son of Francis, was born 
in Acton March 21, 1774. and died in Acton March 
17, 1813. He received a justice's commission at the 
age of twenty-tliree. He was a man of cultivated 
mind and sound juds^ment, and his advice was gener- 
ally sought for all important town matters. He 
was one of the original members of the Corinthian 
Lodge of Masons in Concord. 

Colonel Winthop E. Faulkner. — He was the 
son of Winthrop Faulkner, b(,rn April 1(5, 180o, and 
died March 2o, 1880. He was initiated into the Co- 
rinthian Lodge of Masons in 1S54. He married 
Martha Adams Bixby, of Framingham. He was 
noted in all the relations of life. He was an enter- 
prising miller, an enthusiast in music, dancing, mili- 
tarv, civil, social and parish activities. He was a 
pushing man, forward in all enterprises for the pub- 
lic improvement. He was one of the prime movers 
in projecting the Fitthburg Railroad, and but for his 
enterprise in controlling the first plans, the road 
would have gone in another direction. He was for a 
long run of years one of the most active directors. 

The Eobbiss House. — Returning from the 
Fletcher homestead to the main road, and proceeding 
direct by the cemetery and beyond till we reach 
nearly the brow of the hill ou the left, we come to the 
site of what was for to many years called the Robbins 
House. The land ou which it was located was pur- 
chased of Captain Thomas Wheeler, whose house (the 
first in Acton) was located a few rods to the south, 
near the little brook before described in this nar.'-a- 
tive. When the latter house was taken down the 
timbers were found to be in good condition, and were 
u*ed in the construction of the L part of Nathan 
Robbins' house. 

It was an historic structure from the start, and was 
emphatically so after the 19th of April, 1775. "Be- 
fore light on that eventful morning, hours before the 
British entered Concord, a horseman, whose name 
was never known, going at full speed (they spared 
neither horseflesh nor manflesh in those days), rode 
up to this house, then occupied by Captain Joseph 
Robbin.s, the commissioned officer in the town of 
Acton, who lived nearest North Bridge, and struck 
with a large, heavy club, as they thought, the corner 
of the house, never dismounting, but crying out at 
the top of his voice, ' Capt. Robbins! Capt. Robbins! 
up, up I The Regulars have come to Concord. Ren- 
dezvous at old North Bridge! quick as possible 
alarm Acton.'" 

His only son — afterwards a venerable magistrate — 
John Robbins, Esq., was then asleep in the garret — • 
a lad ten years old. 

But "those rappings" — and there was no sham 
about them — and that cry brought him to his feet 
iuilarder and every other living man in that house. 
It waked the babe in the cradle. In a few minutes 



he was on " father's old mare," bound for Captain 
Davis's, not a mile off, who commanded the minute- 
men, and then to Deacon Simon Hunt's, in the west 
part of the town, who commanded the West Company 
as first lieutenant, Captain Francis Faulkner having, 
a few days before, been promoted to be major, and the 
vacancy not having been filled. 

" The liuiTying footsteps of that steed 
The fate of li ualioB \va:4 riding that night." 

The locality where this house stood is easily recog- 
nized from the indications on the ground. It was a 
two-story building. The barn was struck by light- 
ning in the year 1830, and was rapidly consumed. 
The citizens rallied to save the building, or at least 
part of it, but Esq. Robbins shouted out With his 
stentorian voice : ''Boys, save your fingers. There is 
plenty of timber in the woods where this came from ! '' 
He knew how to shout, for he was often moderator of 
the Acton town-meetings, which gave him a good 
chance to drill in that line of practice. The house 
stood afterwards for years unoccupied, but at last it 
yielded to the destiny of flames, supposed to have 
been an accidental fire, from the carelessness of tran- 
sient occupants. The old door-stone still remains in 
position, battered somewhat by relic-hunters, who 
have chipped from it for the sake of a memento. A 
tablet memorial will some day be erected on this 
ground befitting its historic interest. 

The report ot this house having been haunted in 
former years is easily credited by the superstitious, 
but denied by ihe more phlegmatic crowd. That 
those April rappings should have reverberations long 
continued is credible, and any one going by of an 
imaginative and ajipreciative turn of miud can hear 
them still ringing in his ears. 

Captain Davis' Route to the North Bridge. — 
The 19th of April, 1775. It was a bright, genial 
morning. The sun was up at a good, cheery height 
of an hour and a half. The birds were chanting the 
very best songs of the opening spring. The men were 
drawn up in line. The captain at last gave the word 
"march." Luther Blanchard, the fifer, and Francis 
Barker, the drummer, struck at once thestirring notes 
of the " White Cockade," and forward they moved 
with a quick, brave step. They soon reached the 
homestead of Parson Swift. They could not stop for 
the greetings or the partings of the good man, but on 
they pressed, with their faces set for Mother Concord. 
They moved along over the old and only road leading 
from the present site of Deacon W. W. Davis' cross- 
ing in a^traight line through to the meeting-house 
on the " knowll." 

The road struck the other road just below Dr. Cow- 
dry's barn, where now stands Deacon John Fletcher's 
barn, just relocated by Moses Taylor, Esq. The old 
road-bed was found when recently digging the cellar 
for the barn. 

They could not stop for the silent benedictions of 
the old church, but the prayers and blessings .of the 



256 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



pastor they coulil hear, and march all the faster for 
the memory. The handkerchiefs waving from the 
Brooks Tavern doors and windows helped the thrill of 
the hour. Dovi'n the hills they moved by the present 
site of Mr. McCarthy, up the ascent to the right, over 
the heights on the road path, now closed, but still a 
lavorile walk down the hill, across the Revolutionary 
Bridge, west of Horace Hosmer's present site, the 
road leading by the spot where the elms south of his 
house now stand. 

This bridge stood very near the spot where the 
railroad bridge now stands. Some of the stone which 
foruud the abutments of the old bridge were used in 
the construction of the railroad bridge. The bridge, 
a few rods to the south of the original, has been 
sketched by Arthur F. Davi>', Acton's young artist, 
and it is a favorite lands^cape etching on sale in the 
cities. 

Up the hill they hasten and turn to the riglit, going 
by Mr. Hammond Taylor's present residence, the old 
Brabrook homestead, on the south side, which was 
then the front side, the road on the north being a 
comparatively new opening; there they left the main 
road, struck through the woods, taking a bee-line to 
their destined point. After passing the woods, the 
march is by the Nathan Brooks place, now owned 
and occupied by Mr. H. F. Davis. The passage 
then was by the nearest way to Barrett's Mills, as 
then called, not far from the North Bridge. 

Luther Blanchakd. — He was born within the 
limits of what is now Boxboro', a part of Littleton at 
the time of the Concord Fight. He was a favorite 
young man, tall, straight, handsome and athletic. 
He was living at the time with Abner Hosmer, a 
mason, whose residence was the site of Mr. Herman 
A. Gould, on the South Acton road, from the West, 
making him a near neighbor to Captain Davie. He 
was learning the mason's trade. He was a notable 
fifer, and his skill and zeal on the morning of the 
19th had much to do wiih the spirit of the whole 
occasion. The scene was just adapted to wake the 
musical genius to its highest pitch, and if there were 
any white feathers around they soon changed to fiery 
red at the signal from Luther's fife. When they 
began firing at the bridge, the British at first used 
blank cartridges. Captain Davis inquired if they were 
firing bullets. Luther said " Yes," for one had hit him 
and he was wounded. "If it had gone an inch fur- 
ther one way it would have killed me^ and if an inch 
in the opposite direction it would have not have hit 
me at all." He followed on in the pursuit of the 
British on their retreat to Boston, fifing with all the 
vigor of his manly strength, which grew less as the 
excitement of the day began to tell upon his wasted 
forces. The wound, which he did not think serious 
at firs', grew worse as he proceeded, and on reaching 
Cambridge he was obliged to be taken to a hospital, 
where he died. 

Mrs. Jonathan B. Davis, a daughter of Simon Hos- 



mer, often told these facts to Mr. Luke Blanchard, 
now living. It was the statement of Mr. Luke 
Blanchard's father, who was always careful in what 
he affirmed, that Luther died from the effects of his 
wound. Luther Blanchard's brother Calvin died from 
the fall of a tree. He helped tear down barns to 
build the fort on Bunker Hill. He would carry one 
end of the timber while it would take two men at the 
other end to balance. 

Luther and Calvin Blanchard's father was in the 
fight at Quebec, and lost his life on the Plains of 
Abraham. There must have been patriotic gun- 
powder in the very blood of the Blanchards at the 
original start. 

Aaron Jones was near Captaia Davis when he fell, 
and followed in pursuit of the British on their re- 
treat. He never could forget that morning or speak 
of it without a changed tone and face. He thought 
much of Luther Blanchard as an associate on that 
eventful day, and of his fifing march. He named 
one of his sons Luther Blanchard in memory of the 
martyr fifer. As the first blood shed on the 19th at 
Concord antedated the fall of Davis, in the person 
of Luther Blanchard, there ought to be a tablet, 
somewhere, memorizing the fact. 

The James Haywaed House. — The house in 
West Acton, formerly the residence of Hon. Stevens 
Hayward and in later years known as the Leland 
Place, now occupied by Mr. Kraetzer. Mr. Wood- 
bury, in his legiilative speech, thus relates the cir- 
cumstances of James Hayward's iall on the 19th of 
April, 1775 : 

'"At Fiskfc's Hill, in Lexington, they had, as some, 
thought, the severest encounter of all the way. The 
road ran around the eastern base of a steep, thick- 
wooded hill. James Hayward, who had been active 
and foremost all the way, after the British had passed 
on, came down from the hill and was aimiug for a 
well of water — the same well is still to be seen at the 
two-story Dutch-roofed red house on the right from 
Concord to Lexington, not two miles irom the old 
meeting-house. As he passed by the end of that 
house he spied a British soldier, still lingering behind 
the main body, plundering. The Briton also saw 
him and ran to the front door to cut him ofl^. 
Lifting up his loaded musket he exclaims, ' You are 
a dead man.' Hayward immediately said, ' So are 
you.' They both fired and both fell. The Briton 
was shot dead, Hayward mortally wounded, the ball 
entering his side through this hole," holding up the 
powder-horn, " driving the splinters into his body. 
He lived eight hours ; retained his reason to the last. 

" His venerable father. Deacon Samuel Hayward, 
whose house he had left that morning in the bloom 
of vigorous manhood, had time to reach Lexington 
'and comfort him with his conversation by reading 
the Scriptures and prayer. 'James, you are mortally 
wounded. You can live but a ftw hours. Before 
sunrise to-morrow you will no doubt be a corpse. 



ACTON. 



^ot 



Are you sorry that you turned out?' ' Father, hand 
me my powder-horn and bullet-pouch. I started 
with one pound of powder and forty balls, you 
see what is left,' — he had used all but two or 
three of them, — ' you see what I have been about. I 
never did such a forenoon's work before. I am not 
sorry. Tell mother not to mourn too much for me, 
/or I am not sorry I tamed out. I die willingly for 
my country. She will now, I doubt not, by help of 
God, be free. And tell her whom I loved better than 
my mother — you know whom I mean — -that I am not 
sorry. I never shall see her again. May I meet her 
in heaven.' 

" Hayward had lost, by the cut of an axe, jiart of 
his toes on one foot, and was not liable to military 
duty. He 'turned out' that morning as a volunteer 
in the strictest sense— as hundreds did. He was one 
of the earliest at Davis' house, belonged to the same 
school district and born and bred by the side of him, 
their fathers being next-door neighbors. He was 
twenty -eight years old. one of the most athletic, fine- 
looking, well-informed, well-bred young men in town. 
He had been a schoolmaster, he knew the crisis, he 
knew what he was fighting for and what was to be 
gained. He came early to Davis' house and acted 
with his company. He was seen to go to grinding on 
the grindstone the point of his bayonet there. On 
being asked why he did it, ' Because,' said he, ' I ex- 
pect, before night, we shall come to a push with them 
and I want my bayonet sharp.' '' 

A fine stone tablet has been erected by the town of 
Lexington opposite the house where Hayward fell, in 
honor of the man and the event. 

Abner Ho.smer House. — Abner Hosmer, a pri- 
vate in Davis' company of minute -men; only 
twenty-two years old ; unmarried ; the sou of Dea. 
Jonathan Hosmer, of the Acton Church. A friend 
and neighbor of Davis fell dead at the same volley — ■ 
shot through the head. He lived where Mr. Gould 
now lives, half-way between South and West Villages, 
nearly a mile from either. 

Mrs. Mehitable Piper (Acton's centenarian). — 
She was the daughter of Joseph Barker (2d) and wife 
of Silas Piper; born Jan. 24, 1771. She died March 
25, 1872, at the age of 101 years and two months. 
Her funeral took place at her residence on the 28t,h. 
The house was filled with relatives and friends. After 
prayer and touching words of consolation a solemn 
funeral procession followed the remains to the church 
at the Centre. The house was filled in every part. 
Rev. Mr. Hayward, Uiiiversalist, and Rev. F. P. 
Wood, Orthodox, officiated. 

Her existerjje was contemporaneous with that of 
the nation itself. She saw her mother weep in her 
father's embrace when he tore himself from the 
bosom of his family to take the part of a patriot in 
the Concord fight. She was living at the time where 
Moses Taylor, Esq., now lives, and went up to the top 
of Raspberry Hill, back of Rev. F. P. Wood's present 
17 



residence, to see or hear something from Concord. 
She had seen every phase of her country's wonderful 
growth, and to perpetuate and promote it had sent 
her descendants into the War of 1812 and through 
the streets of Baltimore to the terrible War of the Re- 
bellion. 

She was the last of the devoted band of Puritans 
who had worshiped God in the town at the time when 
religious difl'erences were unknown. She was the 
relic of other days and the wept of many hearts. 
Though older than the nation, she did not live long 
enough to make a single enemy, and her friends were 
those who at any time had known or seen her. She 
was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery by the side of her 
partner. 

Some of her ancestors were remarkable for their 
longevity, her father being upwards of ninety-nine 
years of age at his death. 

She lived eighty years in one spot. She had twelve 
children, forty-two grandchildren, seventy great- 
grandchildren, and two children of the fifth genera- 
tion. Her father stood beside Captain Davis after he 
fell, and exclaimed to his comrades, "Boys, don't give 
up!" 

Rev. J. T. Woodbury's Speech. — Who was Cap- 
tain Isaac Davis? Who was Abner Hosmer? Whowas 
James Hayward ? And what was Concord fight ? 
What did they fight for, and what did they win ? 
These were Massachusetts Province militiamen ; not 
in these good, quiet, piping times of peace, but in 
1775, at the very dark, gloomy outbreak of the Amer- 
ican Revolution. 

Let us turn back to the bloody annals of that 
eventful day. Let us see, as well as we can at this 
distance of three-quarters of a century, just how mat- 
ters and things stood. 

General Gage had full possession of this city. The 
flag that waved over it was not that of "the old pine- 
tree"; nor that one, with that beautiful insignia, over 
your head, sir — with the uplifted right hand lettered 
over with this most warlike and, to my taste, most 
appropriate motto in a wrongful world like this, 
" Ense petit placidam, sub libertatc quietem." No, no ! 
It was the flag of that hereditary despot, George the 
Third! 

And if there had been no Isaac Davis or other men 
of his stamp on the ground in that day, the flag of 
the crouching lion, the flag of Queen Victoria — due 
successor to that same hated George the Third; first 
the oppressor, and then the unscrupulous murderer 
of our fathers ! Yes ; I know what I say — the un- 
scrupulous murderer of our fathers — would still wave 
over this beautiful city and would now be streaming 
in the wind over every American ship in this harbor. 
Where, in that case, would have been this Legisla- 
*ture? Why, sir, it would never have been ; and my 
conscientious friend from West Brookfield, instead of 
sitting here a good " Free Soil" man, as he is, would 
have been called to no such high vocation as making 



258 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



laws for a free people — for the good old Common- 
wealth of Massachusetts; voting for Robert Ranioul, 
Jr., or Charles Sumner, or Hon. Mr. Wintlirop to 
represent us in a body known as the United States 
Senate, pronounced the most august, dignified legis- 
lative assembly in the civilized world. Oh, no 1 Far 
otherwise! If permitted to legislate at all, it would 
be done under the dictation of Queen Victoria; and 
if he made laws it would be with a ring in his nose 
to pull him this way and that, or with his head in the 
British Lion's mouth — that same lion's mouth which 
roared in 1775 — showing his teeth and lashing his 
sides at our fathers. 

This city was in full possession of the enemy, and 
had been for several months. Gen. Gage had con- 
verted that house of prayer, the Old South Cliurch — 
where we met a few days since, to sit, delighted 
auditors, to that unsurpassed election sermon — into a 
riding-school, a drilling-place for his cavalry. The 
pulpit and all the pews of the lower floor were, with 
vandal violence, torn out and tan brought in ; and 
here the dragoons of King George practiced, on their 
prancing war-horses, the sword exercises, with Tory 
ladies and gentlemen for spectators in the galleries. 

At the 19th of April, 1775, it was not " Ense 
petit plncidatn, sub libertate quietem." " iSub Hbertate 1 " 
It would have been, rather, "/S«6 vili servitio'' — sub 
anything — rather than liberty under the British 
Crown I 

Information had been received from most reliable 
sources that valuable powder, ball and other munitions 
of war were deposited in Concord. Gen. Gage determ- 
ined to have them. Concord was a great place in '75. 
The Provincial Congress had just suspended its session 
thereof near two months, adjourning over to the 10th 
of May, with Warren for their president, and such men 
as old Samuel Adams, John Hancock, John Adams 
and James Otis as their advisers. Yes, Concord was 
the centre of the brave old Middlesex, containing 
within it all the early battle-grounds of liberty — Old 
North Bridge, Lexington Common and Bunker Hill — 
and was for a time the capital of the Province, the 
seat of the Government of the Colony of Massachu- 
setts Bay. 

And Concord had within it as true-hearted Whig 
patriots as ever breathed. Rev. Mr. Emerson was 
called a "high son of liberty." To contend with ty- 
rants and stand up against them, resisting unto blood, 
fighting for the inalienable rights of the people, was 
a part of his holy religion. And he was one of the 
most godly men and eloquent ministers in the Col- 
ony. He actually felt it to be his duty to God to quit 
that most delightful town and village, and that most 
affectionate church and people, and enter the Conti- 
nental army and serve them as chaplain of a regiment. 

What a pati«nt, noble-hearted, truthful, loyal, con- 
fiding, affectionate generation of men they were. 
And remember, these were the men, exasperated be- 
yond all further endurance by the course of a deluded 



Parliament and besotted ministry, who flew to arms 
on the 19th of April, 1775. These were the men who 
then hunted up their powder-horns and bullet-pouches, 
took down their guns from the hooks, and ground up 
their bayonets, on that most memorable of all days 
in the annals of the old thirteen Colonies — nay, in 
the annals of the world — which record the struggles 
that noble men have made in all ages to be free ! 

Yes, to my mind, Mr. Speaker, it is a more glorious 
day, a day more full of thrilling incidents and great 
steps taken by the people to be free than even the 
4th of July, itself, 1776. 

Why, sir, the 19th of April, '75, that resistance, 
open, unorganized, armed, marshaled resistance at 
the old North Bridge — that marching down in battle 
array, at that soul-stirricg air, which every soldier in 
this house must remember to this day, for the tune is 
in fashion yet — I mean " the White Cockade " — was 
itself a prior declaration of independence, written out 
not with ink upon paper or parchment, but a decla- 
ration of independence made by drawn swords, up- 
lifted right arms ; fixed bayonets ground sharp, crack- 
ing musketry, a declaration written out in the best 
blood of this land, at Lexington first, and finally all 
the way for eighteen miles from Old North Bridge to 
Charlestown Neck, where these panting fugitives 
found shelter under the guns of British ships of war 
riding at anchor in Mystic River ready to receive 
them ; a declaration that put more at hazard, and cost 
the men who made it more, after all, of blood and 
treasure, than that of 1776. 

It cost Davis, Hosmer and Hayward and hundreds 
of others, equally brave and worthy, their hearts' blood. 
It cost many an aged father and mother their darling 
son, many a wife her husband, many a Middlesex 
maid her lover. 

Oh, what a glorious, but oh, what a bloody day it 
was ! That was the day which split in twain the Brit- 
ish empire never again to be united. What was the 
battle of Waterloo? What question did it settle? 
Why, simply who, of several kings, should wear the 
crown. Well, I always thought, ever since I read it, 
when a boy, that if I had fought on either side it 
would have been with Napoleon against the allied 
forces. But what is the question to me, or what is the 
question to you, or to any of us, or our children after 
us, if we are to be ruled over bv crowned heads and 
hereditary monarchs ? What matters it who they are, 
or which one it shall be? 

In ancient times three hundred Greeks, under Le- 
onidas, stood in the pass of Thermopykeand for three 
successive days beat back and kept at bay five million 
Persians, led on by Xerxes, the Great. It was a gal- 
lant act, but did it preserve the blood-bought liberties 
of Greece? No. In time they were cloven down, 
and the land of Demosthenes and Solon marked for 
ages by the footsteps of the slave. 

We weep over it, but we cannot alter it. But not 
so, thank God I with " Concord fight,'' and by " Con- 



ACTON. 



259 



cord fight," I say here, for fear of being misunderstood, 
I mean by " Concord " all the transactions of that 
day. 

I regard them as one great drama, scene first of 
which was at Lexington early in the morning, when 
old Mrs. Harrington called up her son Jonathan, who 
alone, while I speak, survives of all that host on either 
side in arms tliat day. He lives, blessed be God, he 
still lives ; I know him well, a trembling, but still 
breathing memento of the renowned past ; yet linger- 
ing by mercy of God on these " mortal shores,'' if for 
nothing else, to wake up your sleeping sympathies and 
induce you, if anything could, to aid in the noble 
work of building over the bones of his slaughtered 
companions-in-arms, Davis, Hosmer and Hayward, 
sucli a monument as they deserve. Oh. I wish he was 
here. I wish he only stood on yonder platform, noble 
man ! 

■' Concord fight " broke the ice. " Concord fight," 
the rush from the heights at North Bridge was the 
first open marshaled resistance to the King. Our 
fathers, cautious men, took there a step that they 
could not take back if they would, and would not if 
they could. Till they made that attack probably no 
British blood had been shed. 

If rebels at all, it was only on paper. They had not 
levied war. They had not v>. et armis attacked their 
lawful king. But by that act they passed the Rubicon ; 
till then they might retreat with honor : but after that 
it was too late. The sword w;is drawn and had been 
made red in the blood of princes, in the person of their 
armed defenders. 

Attacking Captain Laurie and his detachment at 
North Bridge was, in law, attacking King George him- 
self Now they ynust fight or be eternally disgraced. 
And now they did fight in good earnest. They 
drew the sword and threw away, as well they might, 
the scabbard. Yesterday they humbly petitioned. They 
petitioned no longer. Oh, what a change from the 
19th to the 20th of April. They had been, up to 
that day, a grave. God-fearing, loyal, set of men, hon- 
oring the king. Now they strike for national inde- 
pendence and after a seven-years' war, by the help of 
God, they won it. They obtained nationality. It 
that day breathed into life ; the Colony gave way to 
the State ; that morning Davis and all of them were 
British colonists. They became by that day's resist- 
ance either rebels doomed to die by the halter, or free, 
independent citizens. If the old Pine Tree flag still 
waved ove» them unchanged, they themselves were 
changed too, entirely and forever. 

Old Middlesex was allowed the privilege of opening 
this war ; of first baptizing the land with her blood. 
God did well to select old Middlesex, and the loved 
and revered centre of old Middlesex, namely. Concord, 
as the spot not where this achievement was to bo com- 
pleted, but where it was to be begun, and well begun ; 
where the troops of crowned kings were to meet, not 
the troops of the people, but the people themselves, 



and be routed and beaten from the field, and what is 
more, stay beaten we hope, we doubt not to the end 
of time. 

And let us remember that our fathers, from the first 
to the last in that eventful struggle, made most de- 
vout appeals to Almighty God. It was so with the 
whole Revolutionary War. It was all begun, con- 
tinued and ended in God. Every man and every boy 
that went from the little mountain town of Acton 
with its five hundred souls, went that morning from a 
house of prayer. A more prayerful, pious, God-fear- 
ing, man-loving people, I have never read or heard of; 
if you have, sir, I should like to know who they are, 
and where they live. They were Puritans, Plymouth 
Rock Puritans, men who would petition and petition 
and petition, most respectfully and most courteously, 
and when their petition and petitioners, old Ben. 
Franklin and the rest, were proudly spurned away 
from the foot of the throne, petition again ; and do 
it again for more than ten long, tedious, years ; but 
after all they would fight and fight as never man 
fought, and they did so fight. 

When such men take up arms let kings and queens 
take care of themselves. When you have waked up 
such men to resistance unto blood you have waked up 
a lion in his den. You may kill them. They are vul- 
nerable besides on the heel, but, my word for it, you 
never can conquer them. 

At old North Bridge, about nine o'clock in the fore- 
noon, on the memorable 19th of April, 1775, King 
George's troops met these men and after receiving 
their first fire fled, and the flight still continues — the 
flight of kings before the people. 

Davis' minute-men were ready first and were on 
the ground first. They were an ^lite corps, young 
men, volunteers, and give me young men for war. 
They must be ready at a moment's warning. They 
were soon at Davis' house and gun-shop. Here they 
waited till about fifty had arrived. While there some 
of them were powdering their hair just as the Greeks 
were accustomed to put garlands of flowers on their 
heads as they went forth to battle, and they expected 
a battle. They were fixing their gun-locks and mak- 
ing a few cartridges, but cartridges and cartridge- 
boxes were rare in those days. The accoutrements 
of the heroes of the Revolution were the powder-horn 
and the bullet-pouch, at least of the militia. 

And Concord fight, with all its unequaled and un- 
eclipsed glory was won, by help of God, by Massachu- 
setts militiamen. Some were laughing and joking to 
think that they were going to have what they had for 
months longed for, a " hit at old Gage." But Davis 
was a thoughtful, sedate, serious man, a genuine Puri- 
tan like Samuel Adams, and he rebuked them. He 
told -hem that in his opinion it was "a most eventful 
crisis for the colonies ; blood would be spilt, that was 
certain ; the crimsoned fountain would be oi)eiied, 
none could tell when it would close, nor with whose 
blood it would overflow. Let every man gird himself 



260 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



for battle, and not be afraid, for God is on our side. 
He had great hopes that the country would be free, 
though he miglit not live to see it." The truth was, 
and it should come out. 

Davis expected to die that day if he went into bat- 
tle. He never expected to come back alive to that 
house. 

And no wonder that after the company started and 
had marched out of his lane some twenty rods to the 
highway he halted them and went back. He was an 
atiectionate man. He loved that youthful wife of his 
and those four sick children, and be thought to see 
them never again and he never did. There was such 
a presentiment in his mind. His widow has often 
told me all about it and she thought the same her- 
self, and no wonder he went back and took one more 
last lingering look of them, saying — he seemed to 
want to say something, but as he stood on that 
threshold where I have often stood and where, in my 
mind's eye, I have often seen his manly form, he 
could only say, "Take good care of the children," 
the feelings of the father struggling in him and for a 
moment almost overcoming the soldier. The ground 
of this presentiment was this : A few days before the 
fight Mr. Davis and wife had been away from home 
of an afternoon. On returning they noticed, as they 
entered, a large owl sitting on Davis' gun as it hung 
on the hooks — his favorite gun — the very gun he car- 
ried to the fight — a beautiful piece for those days — 
his own workmanship — the same he grasped in both 
hands when he was shot at the bridge, being just 
about to fire himself and which, when stone dead, he 
grasped still, his friends having, to get it away, to un- 
clinch his stifl' fingers. 

Sir, however you may view this occurrence or how- 
ever I may, it matters not ; I am telling how that 
brave man viewed it and his wife and the men of 
those times. It was an ill omen — a bad sign. The 
sober conclusion was that the first time Davis went 
into battle he would lose his life. This was the con- 
clusion, and so it turned out. The family could give no 
account of the creature and they knew not how it 
came in. The hideous bird was not allowed to be 
disturbed or frightened away, and there he stayed two 
or three days sitting upon that gun. 

But mark: with this distinct impression on his 
mind did the heart of this Puritan patriarch quail? 
No ; not at all, not at all. He believed in the Puri- 
tan's God — the Infinite Spirit sitting on the throne 
of the Universe, Proprietor of all. Creator and up- 
holder of all, superintending and disposing of all, 
that the hairs of his head were all numbered and not 
even a sparrow could fall to the ground without his 
God's express notice, knowledge and consent. He 
took that gun from those hooks with no trembling 
hand or wavering heart, and with his trusty sword 
hanging by his side he started for North Bridge with 
the firm tread of a giant. Death ! Davis did not 
fear to die. And he had the magic power, which 



some men certainly have. God bestows it upon them 
to inspire every one around them with the same feel- 
ing. His soldiers to a man would have gone any- 
where after such a leader. 

After about two miles of hurried march they came 
out of the woods only a few rods from Colonel .James 
Barrett's, in Concord, and halted in the highway, 
whether discovered or not (this road came into the 
road by Barrett's some twenty rods from Barrett's 
house), looking with burning indignation to see Ca])- 
tain Parsons and his detachment of British troopers 
with axes break up the gun-carriages and bring out 
hay and wood and burn them in the yard. 

They had great thoughts of firing in upon them 
then and there to venture. But Davis was a military 
man, and his orders were to rendezvous at North 
Bridge and he knew very well that taking possession 
of North Bridge would cut off all retreat for this de- 
tachment of horse and they must be taken prisoners. 

In a few minutes more he wheeled his company 
into line on the high lands of North Bridge, taking 
the extreme left of the line — that line being formed 
facing the river, which was his place, as the youngest 
commissioned ofiicer present in the regiment — a place 
occupied a few davs before by him at a regimental 
muster of the minute-men. 

A council of war was immediately summoned by 
Colonel James Barrett and attended on the spot, 
made up of commissioned otiicers and Committees of 
Safety. The question was, What shall now be done? 
The provincials had been talking for months, nay, 
for years, of the wrongs they had borne at the hands 
of a cruel motherland. They had passed good paper 
resolutions by the dozen. They had fired oft' their 
paper-bullets, but what shall now be done f Enough 
had been said. What shall now be done? What a 
moment! What a crisis for the destinies of this land 
and of all lands, of the rights and liberties of the 
human race. Never was a council of war or council 
of peace called to meet a more important question, 
one on the decision of which more was at stake. 
Their council was divided. Some thought it best, at 
once, to rush down and take possession of the bridge 
and cut off the retreat of Captain Parsons ; others 
thought not. 

Here were probably found in battle array over six 
hundred troops standing there under arms. Colonel 
Smith and Major Pitcairn were in plain sight, with 
their red coats on, their cocked-up hats and their 
spy-glasses inspecting from the old grave-yard hills 
the gathering foe, for they came in from all directions 
suddenly, unaccountably, like the gathering of a sum- 
mer thunder-cloud. Of course it was admitted on 
all hands that they could take possession of the j 
bridge, but it was to be expected that this skirmish 
must bring on a general engagement with the main 
body in the town. The Provincials would be in 
greater force by twelve o'clock m. than at nine. And 
If the whole British Array of eight hundred men 



ACTON. 



2(jl 



should take the field against them in their present 
number most undoubtedly the men would run — they 
never would '' stand fire.'' Their officers thought so: 
their officers said so on the spot. They gave it as 
their opinion, and it is probable that no attack at 
that hour would have been made had it not happened 
that, at that moment, the smoke began to rise from 
the centre of the town — all in plain sight from these 
heights — the smoke of burning houses. And they 
said, Shall we stand here like cowards and see Old 
Concord burn ? 

Colonel Barrett gave consent to make the attack. 
Davis came back to bis company, drew his sword and 
commanded them to advance six paces. He then 
faced them to the right, and at his tavorite tune of 
"The White Cockade" led the column of attack 
towards the bridge. By the side of Davis marched 
Major Buttrick, of Concord, as brave a man as lived, 
and old Colonel Robinson, of Westford. The British 
on this began to take up the bridge ; the Americans 
on this quickened their pace. Immediately the firing 
on both sides began. Davis is at once shot dead 
through the heart. The ball passed quite through 
his body, making a very large wound, perhaps driv- 
ing in a button of his coat. His blood gushed out in 
one great i-tream, flying, it is said, more than ten feet, 
besprinkling and besmearing his own clothes, these 
shoe-buckles and the clothes of Orderly Sergeant 
David Forbush and a file leader, Thomas Thorp. 
Davis, when hit, as is usual with men when 
shot chus through the heart, leaped up his full 
length and fell over the causeway on the wet ground, 
firmly grasping all the while, with both hands, that 
beautiful gun ; and when his weeping comrades came 
to take care of his youthful but bloody remains, they, 
with difficulty, unclutched those hands now cold and 
stiff in death. He was just elevating to his sure eye 
this gun. Xo man was a surer shot. What a bap- 
tism of blood did those soldiers then receive! The 
question is now, Do these men deserve this monu- 
ment? One that shall speak? 

Davis' case is without a parallel and was so con- 
sidered by the Legislature and by Congress when 
they granted aid to his widow. There never can be 
another. Tliere never can be but one man vho headed 
the first column of aitaik on the King's troops in the 
Revolutionary War. And Isaac Davix wax that man. 
Others fell, but not exactly as he fell. Give them 
the marble. Vote them the monument, one that 
shall speak to all future generations and speak to the 
terror of kings and to tlie encouragement of all who 
will be free and who, when the bloody crisis comes 
to strike for it. " are not afraid to go." 

The Birth-Pl.^ce of Captaix Isaac Davis. — 
Captain Isaac Davis was the son of Ezekiel Davis 
and Mary Gibson, of Stow. He was born February 
23, 1745, at the place in West Acton known as the 
Jonathan li. Davis House, where Mr. George Hagar 
now lives. He was baptized, June 23, 174.'}. He 



married Hannah Brown, of Acton, October 24, 17ii4. 
She was born in Acton in 1746. On February 10, 17t)5, 
he covenanted with the church. 

Captain Isaac Davis' House at the Time of 
THE CoxcoKD FiGHT. — It lies about eighty rods 
southwest from the present site of Deacon W. W. 
Davis, at Acton Centre. We pass through the lane 
from Deacon Davis', still traveled as a private way, 
but at that time the old road ; then go through the 
pastures, then strike the avenue leading to the resi- 
dence of Mr. Charles Wheeler. His present house 
now stands very nearly where Captain Davis' house 
stood in 1775. 

The two fine elms in front on the opposite side of 
the road, if permitted to stand, will help the anti- 
quarian to locate the grounds, destined, as the years go 
by, more than ever to be the centre of Acton's local 
interest. The house in which he lived, has been re- 
placed by another and that one repaired and enlarged. 
It was for many years the residence of Nathaniel 
Greene Brown, from 1812. It was occupied by Joseph 
Brown many years before 1812. It w'as known for 
some time as the Ward Haskell place, who recon- 
structed the building in later years, a noted carpenter. 
Elias Chaffiu occupied the place in 1812. The origi- 
nal house was two story in front, and the back sloped 
down to one, the kitchen in the lower part. 

An old apple-tree, a few years since, stood seven 
rods from Mr. Wheeler's house in his present orchard. 
This was the shooting mark of Captain Davis in his 
gun practice. The scars made by the bullets had 
been healed over, and what seemed like burrs covered 
the body of the tree when cut down. Mr.Wheeler now 
regrets that the wood of this tree was not at the time 
made into small memorial blocks, as keepsakes in 
memory of the noted marksman. Such relics are 
more in demand now that the days of the newness 
have passed, and the oldness has come instead. 

This site must ever have a historical value, as the 
house of Davis, on t'oe morning of the 19th of April, 
1775, where his company gathered, ready for battle, 
and where the funeral took place, of the three mar- 
tyred soldiers, Mr. Swift officiating, and where the 
yeomanry of this surrounding country met on that 
epoch day, to join with the widow and the breaved 
public in solemn rites of burial. The antique Hat 
stepping-stone at the ell door of Mr. Wheeler's house 
is the same trodden by Captain Davis and family, 
and consecrated by the remembrances of that funeral 
occasion. 

Captain- Isaac Davis' Widow and Family 
Record axd later REsIDE^'CE. — The children of 
Isaac and Hannah (Brown) Davis were: Isaac, born 
in 1765, a bachelor. He gave his father's sword to 
Concord. Another son whose name is not known. 
Hannah, born in 1768, and married Amos Noyes in 
1793. She had a daughter, Harriet, who married Mr. 
Simon Davis, the father of Harriet and Simon Davis. 
Amos Noyes was the grandfather of Lucian E[)liraim, 



262 



HISTOKY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



born in 1773, settled in Maine. Mary, born in 1774, 
married Noah Fitcli in 1796. 

The widow married for sfcond husband Mr. Samuel 
Jones, a man of property, July 30, 1782. She had by 
Mr. Jones, Samuel and Eliza. Samuel was a lawyer 
and built the house adjoining the monument house, 
one story, where he had a law-office. 

The building was built upon the stumps of the trees, 
without a cellar. These old stumps were found years 
afterwards when digging the cellar. This house was 
afterwards more recently raised to two stories by 
Simon Davis. 

Samuel also built the house owned and occupied 
now by Mr. John E. Cutter, and the house now owned 
and occupied by Rev. F. P. Wood, and where for a 
time Mr. Jones himself lived. 

Elijah married a Mr. Waite, and lived in Groton, 
Massachusetts, and afterwards moved to Albany, 
New York. She taught school and was highly edu- 
cated. She secured on one of her visits to Acton a 
fine oil portrait of her mother in later life, which was 
much admired and must be a valuable painting if 
still preserved as an heirloom. 

For her tliird husband she married a Mr. Francis 
Leighton, of Westford, November 21, 1802. After 
his decease she lived with her granddaughter, Mrs. 
Simon Davis (Harriet Noyes) occupying the house 
now owned by Mr. Lucian Noyes, the grandson of 
Amos Noyes. 

There she was living when Eev. Mr. Woodbury 
called upon her in company with his brother Levi. 
When asked by Mr. Levi how she managed to live so 
long, she replied, " I have always lived on the best I 
could get." 

She was a good-sized woman, well developed, and 
with marked features. She is well remembered by 
many still living in Acton. 

Mr. Woodbury, in his legislative speech, thus refers 
to her: "These buckles were given to me by Davis' 
widow, when ninety years old, under very affecting 
circumstances. I had rendered her aid, in pro- 
curing an annuity of fifty dollars from the Common- 
wealth, and that being insufficient, two hundred 
dollars more from the United States. Before these 
grants she had nearly come to want. The money 
arrived. We were all delighted at the success almost 
unexpected, for advocating which before the House 
of Representatives I am under greater obligations to 
my eloquent friend on my right (General Caleb Gush- 
ing), then a member of the House, than to any other 
man, and to Honorable Daniel Webster in the 
United States Senate, for which, with all his recent 
sins on his head, I must love him as long as I live. 
He never employed his gigantic mind in a nobler 
cause." 

On receiving the money, " Take your pay, Mr. 
Woodbury," said the old lady. 

" I am fully paid already," I said ; " but, if you have 
any Revolutionary relic of your husband, Captaiu 



Davis, if nothing more than a button, I should like it 
right well. She took her cane and hobbled along to 
her old chest and drew out these shoe-buckles. 

" There," said she, " I have lost everything else 
that belonged to him. These I had preserved for his 
children, but if you will accept them they are yours." 

Precious relics I seventy-five years ago bathed in 
the heart's blood of one who, in the name of God and 
oppressed humanity, headed the column of the first 
successful attack in modern times of people re- 
sisting kings, of ruled against rulers, of oppressed 
against oppressors. Yes, the very first in these years 
of the world, but by the grace of God, who has de- 
clared himself the God of the oppressed, not ilte last! 
no, by no means. When I have done with them I 
will hand them over to my children as worth their 
weight in gold. By these buckles I would swear 
my son, as Hamilcar, that noble African prince, 
swore his son Hannibal, " never to give up to Rome." 
I say, by these shoe-buckles, would I swear my son 
to be faithful unto death, as Davis was in the cause of 
human liberty, and the just rights of man. Handle 
them, sir ! handle them ! How at the touch of these, 
patriotism, like electricity, will thrill through your 
bones : 

"And one was safe and asleep in bis bed, 
Who at the bridge would be first to fall, 
W^ho that day would be lying dead, 
Pierced by a British musket ball." 

Revolutionary War. — January 20, 177tj, Mid- 
dlesex County w'as ordered to raise a regiment of 571. 
Acton's quota was thirteen. 

A new organization of militia was made in Febru- 
ary, 1776, and Acton was assigned to the Third Regi- 
ment, Francis Faulkner, of Acton, being made 
Lieutenant-colonel. The officers of the Acton com- 
pany were Simon Hunt, captain ; John Heald, Jr., 
first lieutenant ; Benjamin Brabrook, second lieuten- 
ant. A regiment raised in September,1776,commanded 
by Eleazer Brooks, of Lincoln, was in the battle of 
White Plains. Rev. Moses Adams, of Acton, was 
chaplain. The Acton company was in the engage- 
ment, Thomas Darby being killed. The regiment be- 
haved bravely. 

Of a company of eighty-nine men at Dorchester, in 
the fall of 1776, Acton furnished five. 

Thirteen Acton men were of the 670 Middlesex men 
in the three months' New York Campaign, beginning 
in November, 1776. 

A company sent to Rhode Island in the summer of 
1777 had for its first lieutenant Daniel Davis, of 
Acton. In October, same year, a volunteer company 
of sixty-three men from Acton and Concord left Con- 
cord for Saratoga, arriving there on the 10th and en- 
camping two days. On the 13th they went to Fort 
Edward. On the 14th and 15th they wenton a scout, 
and on the 16th brought in fifty-three Indians, several 
Tories and some women. They returned to Saratoga 
on the 16th, and had the pleasure to see the whole of 
Burgoyne's army " parade their arms," and march out 



ACTON. 



Z63 



of our lines. They guarded the prisoners to Cam- 
bridge. Captain Simon Hunt, of Acton, commanded 
the company that was of the guard at Cambridge, 
November 28, 1777. 

Acton furnished five men for the army April 20, 
1779; four more beiweeu April and June; eleven, 
September 1st; eleven June o, 1780; ten December 
2d ; and eight June 15, 1781. 

List of the Men of Acton in the War of the lievolution. 
Isaac Davia ; Capl. Davis lived on the Ward Haskell farm, about one 
mile west of the meeting-house. Jolui Hayward, Lieut., grandfather 
to Ebeuezer Hayward, lived on the Swift Fletcher place. John Heald, 
Ensign, entered the Continental army and rose to be Captain ; lived on 
John Nickles' place, and after the war kept tavern on the Westford 
and Concord road, under the great elni.s, where John Heatd died a few 
years since, and where his sod William now resides. His daughter 
Lydia gave me a letter of Ensign John, dated at Ticonderoga, March 20, 
1776, for his wife, directed to Lieut. John Heald, his father, who was 
out also in the Revolutionary war. Josejih Piper, clerk, uncle to our 
Silas Piper ; David Forbush, Orderly Sergeant, died 1803, aged 8.5, uncle to 
Captain Forbush, covered with David's bluod when shot ; Oliver Em- 
erson, Sergeant, died in 1S18, aged 43 years ; George Mayfield, Sergeant ; 
Seth Brooks, Sergeant, grandfather of Esquire Nathan Brooks; Luther 
Blanchard, fifer ; Francis Baker, drummer ; Joseph Braker 2d ; Ephmim 
Billings, out in most of the war ; Oliver Brown ; Joseph Chaffin, out in 
most of the war ; Ezekiel Davis, brother to Captain Isaac ; David Davis ; 
Elijah Davis; John Davis, Mr. Luther Conanl's uncle; Reuben Davis, 
at the taking uf Burgoyne ; Jacub Gilbert ; Dea. Benjamin Hayward, 
out in most of the war, brother of James; Abuer Hosnier, killed; 
James Law, Reuben Law, Joseph Locke, Philip Piper; Joseph Reed, 
out in most of the war, our William R.'s father ; Stephen Shepherd, out 
in most of the war; Solomon Smith, at tlie taking of Burgoyne ; Jona- 
tban Stratton; William Thomas, a school teacher, well informed; 
Thomas Thorp, Ord. Sergeant several years in the C^jntinental army, 
and was during all the war ; died, 9G y?ars old, at Acton ; Jonas Hunt, 
he was Frances Tuttle's uncle ; Abraham Young ; Stephen Hosmer, 
brother to Abner, who was killed; total of Capt. Davis's company, 
Joseph Harris (alive in 1851, SI yeai-s old) said the true number was 38 ; 
James Hayward, an exempt, acted with them as volunteer; A. F. 
Adams, John Adams; Benjamin Brabrook, deacon; Joseph Brabrook ; 
Joseph Barker 1st, our Joseph's grandfather; Satnuel Barker, John 
Barker, William Barker ; David Barker, died at Ticonderoga in 177(> ; 
James Billings ; Jonathan Billings, died 1S24, at the age of 8.5; Joseph 
Brooks, Daniel Brooks, Silas Brooks, Paul Brooks, George F. Brooks, 
Eliaa Barrow, David Bro<»k8 ; Joseph Brown, Captain during the war, 
fought at Bunker Hill and Saratoga, and received a ball at Bunker Hill, 
which lodged in his body and was afterwards skillfully extracted and 
Brown shot it hack at Saratoga ; Stephen Chaffin ; Elias Chaffin, died iu 
1832, aged 77 ; David Chattin, Simon Chaffin, John Chaffin ; Francis 
Chaffin, alarmed Joseph Reed, went into Continental army ami iHed of 
small-pox ; Robert Chaffin, Esq., Robert's father, died 1S28, aged 76; 
John Cole, William Cutting, Silas Conant, Joaiah Davis (Isaac's brother), 
Stephen Davis, Jonas Davis, James Davis, Ephraini Davis, A. C. Davis, 
Samuel Davis, Amos Davis; Daniel Davis, Captain, and father to Ebeu- 
ezer, was at the taking of Burgoyne ; Flint Davis ; John Dexter, brother 
to Tim"thy ; Ephraim Dudley; Thomas Dt-rby, killed iu battle; Col. 
John Edwards, Nathaniel Edwards, John Faulkner, A. Faulkner, Na- 
thaniel Faulkner; Col. Francis Faulkner, at the taking of Burgoyne, 
and was Col., grandfather to Col. Winthrop E. Faulkner; James Faulk- 
ner, Ephraini Forbush, Samuel Fitch; James Fletcher, father to Dei. 
John Fletcher, took part in the Concord fight at sixteen years of age, as 
a volunteer in Davis's company, afterwards enlisted and served through 
the war, and died, from the fall of a tree, at 53, without pay and befure 
pensions; Peter Fletclior, .Ion:i3 Fletcher, Col. Joseph Fletcher, Daniel 
Henry Flint, Samuel Fitch, Jude Gilbert; Titus Hayward, colored man, 
hired by Simon Tuttle ; Simon Hayward ; Dea. Samuel Hayward, father 
of Jonas; James Hayward, killed, acted as volunteer in Davis' com" 
pany ; Samuel Hayward, Jr., Josiah Hayward. sons of Samuel ; Stephen 
Hayward, father of Hon. Steven Hayward ; Ephraim Hapgood, father 
of Nathaniel ; John Hapgood, John Hapgood, Jr. ; Jonathan Hosnier, 
Esq., Simon's futher, died in the army ; Abraham Hapgood, father of 
James; Col. John Heald, father of John H. ; Ephraim Hosmer; Sam- 
uel Hosmer, father of Dea. Silas Hosmer ; Simon Hunt, Lieut., com- 
manding West Company of common militia from Acton, Capt. Faulkner 



having been promoted to be Major; lived on Bright place ; Captain Ti\ 
the war; a good officer ; Jonas Hunt ; John Hunt, his brother, on Coffin 
place ; Paul Hunt, son of Simon ; Nathan Hunt, sou of Capt. Simon ; 
Shnon Hunt, Jr., son of Capt. Simon ; Oliver Houghton, Jonas Heald, 
Israel Heald, Titus Law, Thomas Law, Stephen Law, Stephen Law, Jr., 
John Litchfield, John Lainpson ; Aaron Jones, father to Capt. Abel ; 
Oliver Jones, Samuel Jones, Jonas Munroe, Nathan ilarsh, Thomas 
Noyes (Lieut.), Josiah Noyes, John Oliver, Abel Proctor ; Samuel Piper, 
at Ticonderoga in 1770 ; Samuel Pailin, Asa Parlin, Esq., Nathan Parlin, 
Josiah Parker, Jonas Parker, John Prescott ; Benj. Prescott, Jos.Robbins, 
Captain of East Company, lived near old graveyard ; Josi-ph Bobbins 2d, 
also Captain ; George Robbing, John Robbins, John Robbins, Jr., Jona- 
thun Robbins, Philip Robbins, Robert Robbins, Ephraim Robbins, 
James Russell (Captain in the French AVar), Amos Russell, Moses 
Richardson, Jonas Shepherd, James Shurland ; Samuel Temple, served 
during the war, a very good soldier, died 1S2C, aged 74 ; Samuel Tuttle ; 
Simon Tuttle, Esq., Francis' grandfather; Eleazer Sawtell ; Edward 
Wetherbee, Edward's father, gave the alarm up to Simon Tuttle's road 
to Littleton ; was at the taking of Burgoyne; Oliver Wetherbee, Ammi 
Wetherbee, Roger Wheeler, Thomas Wheeler, Sampson Wheeler, Ezra 
Wheeler, Hezekiah Wheeler, John Proctor Wlieeler, Oliver Wheeler, 
Timothy Wheeler, Samuel Wheeler, Jude Wheeler, John Wheeler, 
Daniel White, Mark White, Ebeuezer White, Moses Woods, Abraham 
Young, Samuel Wright, John Willey, Lemuel Whitney, Nehemiah 
Wheeler. 

The list is, no doubt, incomplete. Probably forty or fifty more namea 
ought to be added ; here are one hundred and eighty-one. 

J.vaiEs T. Woodbury. 

Supplies were furnished for the army as needed 
and called for. 

devolution Items. — Samuel Hosmer, father of Dea- 
con Silas, was in the Revolution. He went down to 
Rhode Island, lived upon horse tiesh and berries. 
He was a born fisherman. 

Ezekiel Davis, a soldier of the Revolution, brother 
of Captain Isaac Davis, in his companj'. Wounded 
in the hat at the Concord fight. Died February 
15, 1S20, aged sixty-eight. 

John Cole, captain in Colonel Robinson's regiment; 
served in Rhode Island from July, 1777, to January 
1, 1778. 

Simon Hunt, captain in Third Regiment Militia. 

Benjamin Brabrook, second lieutenant; died Jan- 
uary 14, 1827, eighty-five years, six months. 

Thomas B. Darby, killed at battle of White Plains, 
1776. 

Fifteen Acton men were in that battle. 

East Acton Company : Captain, Joseph Robbins; 
Israel Heald, first lieutenant ; Robert Chaffin, second 
lieutenant. 

Littleton, February 19, 1776. — Jonathan Fletcher 
was a minute-man at Lexington, April 19, 1775. He 
enlisted iu Captain Abijah Wyman's company, Wil- 
liam Prescott's regiment. He was at the battle of 
Bunker Hill, at which Colonel Prescott's regiment suf- 
fered such severe loss of life. At the siege of Boston, 
on Winter Hill, January, 1776, as fifer from Acton. 
He was lieutenant and captain until the close of the 
war — five years. Eighteen years old when enlisted. 
Son of Major Daniel. 

Colonel Francis Faulkner and Captain Simon Hunt 
were in the battle of White Plains, Colonel Eleazer 
Brooks' regiment; behaved finely on this occasion. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson's AJdretiS. — At the second 
centennial anuiversary of the incorporation of the 



204 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



town of Concord, September 12, 1835, ten of the sur- 
viving veterans who were in arms at the Bridge on 
the ISith of April, 1775, honored the festival with 
their presence ; four of the ten were from Acton — 
Thomas Thorp, Solomon Smith, John Oliver, Aaron 
Jones. Ralph Waldo Emerson, the orator of that 
day, thus speaks of these men : 

" The presence of these aged mea, who were in 
arms on that day, seems to bring us nearer to it. The 
benignant Providence which has prolonged their 
lives to this hour, gratifies the strong curiosity of the 
new generation. The Pilgrims are gone ; but we 
see what manner of persons they were who stood in 
the worst perils of the Revolution. We hold by the 
hand the last of the invincible men of old, and con- 
firm from living lips the sealed records of time. And 
you, my fathers, whom God and the history of your 
country have ennobled, may well bear a chief part 
in keeping this peaceful birthday of our town. You 
are indeed extraordinary heroes. If ever men in 
arms had a spotless cause, you had. You have fought 
a good fight. And having quit you like men in the 
battle, you have quit yourselves like men in your vir- 
tuous families, in your corn-fields, and in society. 

" We will not hide your honorable gray hairs under 
perishing laurel leaves, but the eye of affection and 
veneration follows you. You are set apart, and for- 
ever, for the e>-teem and gratitude of the human race. 
To you belongs a better badge than stars and ribbons. 
This prospering country is your ornament, and this 
expanding nation is multiplying your praise with 
millions of tongues." 

The French and Indian War. — Acton has pre- 
served its record as a gunpowder settlement from the 
start. Before its separate organization as a town, 
during the Colonial period, there are proofs which 
show its preparations for self-defence, in case of at- 
tack from the Indians or any other foes. After that 
date the town records show the same. March 21, 1744, 
the town voted to procure powder and bullets as a 
town stock. At a later date the town voted to re- 
plenish the stock of ammunition. 

The town had an important part in " the French 
and Indian War," 1756-63. 

There is a tradition that Captain Gershom Davis 
led out a company from Acton in 1759, and that 
Captain J. Robbins led another company four years 
later near the close of the war. 

Major Daniel Fletcher was born within the present 
territorial limits of Acton, October 18, 1718. He was 
a lieutenant in Captain David Melvin's company from 
March to September in 1747, and was stationed at 
Northfield. He was a captain of a company of foot 
in his Majesty's Service, in a regiment raised by the 
Province of Massachusetts Bay for the reduction of 
Canada, whereof Ebenezer Nichols, Esq., was colonel, 
in which expedition he was wounded and taken pris- 
oner. Enlisted as captain March 13, 1758, to No- 
vember 28, 1858. He was captain in Colonel Frye's 



regiment, and in the service in the Province of Nova 

Scotia, after the 1st of January, 1760, and at the time 
of their discharge. 

Ill 1768 he was a member of the House of Repre- 
sentatives of His Majesty's Province of the Massa- 
chusetts Bay in New England. On June 26, 
1776, he was elected by ballot by the Massachusetts 
Assembly, major for the Third Battalion destined to 
Canada. He died in the fifty-ninth year of his age. 
See his epitaph in the record of Woodlawn Cemetery. 
He had nine children, all born in Acton, — Daniel, 
Charles (died young), Peter, Sarah, Ruth, Joseph, 
Charles, Jonathan. His oldest son, Daniel, married 
Ann Bacon, of Acton, .September 11, 1760. They had 
one child, Ann, born November 12, 1769, married May 
27, 1788, to James Law. Peter married Martha 
Farrar, of Acton, and they had several children. Ruth 
married Joseph Barker, and they had several children. 
Joseph married Abigail Bacon, of Lincoln, Massachu- 
setts. 

The Second Meeting-House. — The town had 
much difficulty in locating this house. At one time 
they voted to build at the junction of the road lead- 
ing from West Acton with the road leading from En- 
sign Josiah Noyes to Moses Richardson, near a flat 
rock at that point, supposed to be the one lying east 
of the Puddle hole, on Joseph Reed's land, and west 
of Francis Barker's, now occupied by Mr. Maurice 
Lane. 

This vote was afterwards reconsidered, and they 
finally left it to a committee to decide, consisting of 
Joseph B. Varnum, of Dracut, John Whitney, of 
Lancaster, and Walter McFarland, of Hopkington. 
The committee decided that the house ought to stand 
upon the site now occupied by the present town- 
house. 

Their report was accepted by a vote of 73 to 59. 
After the house was located it was thought best to 
have it face a Common, and for this purpose the fol- 
lowing purchases of land were made : Of Deacon 
Joseph Brabrook, 25 rods at S200 per acre, S3L'40; of 
John White, a little over an acre, Mr. White to re- 
move his house and fruit trees, S460; of Paul Brooks, 
one-half acre and 27 rods, $80.40. In addition to 
these the following gifts of land were made to tlie 
town: By James Fletcher, father of Deacon John, 
9 rods ; Samuel and James Jones, 1 acre and 27 rods. 
The town seems to have been especially indebted to 
him for its Common. He was a prominent man at 
that time and represented the town in the General 
Court that year, and he was doubtless a moving spirit 
in the matter. He was a lawyer, and had an office 
in the north end of the house lately occupied by A. 
L. Noyes, of the Monument House. He built and 
resided in the house now the home of Rev. F. P. 
Wood. He constructed a turnpike over the hill by 
his house upon the elevation of laud over which it 
passed, but he became financially embarrassed and 
left for New Orleans to escape imprisonment for debt. 



ACTON. 



265 



In connection with the building of the second 
meeting-house was the following vote; — "At a meet- 
ing, yovember 3, 1806, it was propounded whether 
the committee shall at the sale of the pews give the 
people any spirituous liquors at the expense of the 
town — passed in the negative." This prohibition 
idea seems to be no new notion in the history of the 
town : 

"September 4, 1S12. 

"iTo know if the town will provide any refreslimenta for the companies 
in this town on muster day, and pass any vote or votes the town may 
think proper upon the above article. 

" Voted to provide some refreshments for the companies on muster day. 

" Voted to raise forty-six dollars. 

"Voted to choose a com. to provide the following: 200 w. beef; 50 P. 
0. cheese ; 3 bushel of meal made into bread ; 2 D. 0. pottatoes ; 200 
pickles; lOgallonsof W.I. Rum." 

This muster was to be on Acton Common, Septem- 
ber 1, 1806. The town voted to choose a committee 
of five persons to make a draft of such a meeting- 
house as they shall think proper for the accommoda- 
tion of the inhabitants, and report to the town at that 
next meeting. Voted to choose said committee by 
ballot. The following persons were elected for the 
purpose : Aaron Jones, David Barnard, Winthrop 
Faulkner, Phineas Wheeler, Captain David Davis. 
The dimensions of the building subsequently reported 
by this committee were fifty-seven feet long and fifty- 
five wide, with a projection of fifteen feet in front. 
Voted, to accept and build the meeting-house as re- 
ported. Voted, to build the year ensuing and have 
said house finished January 1, 1808. Voted, that the 
committee who drafted the plan be the committee to 
have charge of the building. 

It was for the times a generous appropriation, and 
the structure was successfully completed and was 
universally admired as a model in its design. It had 
an elevated tower for the belfry and above the belfry 
another ornamental circular story, supjiorted by high 
posts, with a circular and graceful roof, rising from 
whose centre projected the elevated iron shaft for the 
support of the vane. 

The internal arrangements were in harmony — a 
spacious vestibule, with three doors from the outside 
and the same from within ; square pews, with rising 
seats ; an elevated pulpit, approached by long, wind- 
ing steps on either side; a gallery, high and ranging 
on three sides, curving in front ; a ceiling, high and 
arched overhead. 

The artistic eflect from within on the Sabbath, 
when the whole town was supposed to be present, 
and the great choir joined with the pastor in giving 
effect to the service in prayer and song, and all the 
congregation stood with reverent mien, was impres- 
sive to any one participating. The Sabbath in those 
days had an interest, civil, social and religious, be- 
yond the ordinary rountine of later dates. 

The sacrifices made in constructing this costly 
temple intensified the appreciation by the people 
of its beauty and its uses. There was timber enough 
in this building to construct a good-sized village, 



spread lightly around according to modern style. It 
was of the best quality and furnished in lavish abund- 
ance. 

The first bell, which was mounted high up in the 
tower, cost $.570, and when it swung out its peals on 
Sabbatli morn it was a missive to all the households 
in the town. It meant business as well as worship 
to get all things in readiness and reach the steps of 
the church before the last stroke of the tolling bell. 

There must have been at one time at least thirty 
horse-sheds ranged in lines in the rear of the build- 
ing and giving an impressive outlook to its surround- 
ings, especially on the Sabbath and town-meeting 
days, when they would all be occupied. 

John C. Park, Esq., grandson of Parson Adams, 
writes to Hon. John Fletcher from Boston, February 
G, 1874, acknowledging the receipt of the Acton Moni- 
tor: "Some of the happiest days of my childhood 
were spent at Acton, and many pleasant memories 
are revived. I must come and see for myself, for I 
cannot realize the burning of gas in a village where 
I helped my grandmother and aunt to make ' dips.' 
Speaking of Hosmer, one of my earliest recollections 
is my childish admiration of the great 'H,' a silver- 
plated letter on the back of the chaire which brought 
Deacon Hosmer to meeting. Do you remember it? 
Do you remember how we used to turn up the seats 
for prayer in the old church, and the clatter it made 
letting them down at the close, and how one naughty 
little boy (John C. Park) used to keep his to the 
last?" 

Persons connected with this church so far as ob- 
tained: Deacons: Simon Hunt, Benjamin Hayward, 
Josiah Noyes, John Wheeler, John White, Phinebas 
Wheeler, Daniel Fletcher Barker, Silas Hosmer, 
John White 2d. 

Pew-holders (left body pews): Mrs. Simeon Hay- 
ward, David Barnard, Esc]., Stevens H;iyward, Esq., 
Deacon John White, Luther Conaut. 

Right body pews : Simon Hosmer, Esq., Silas 
Holdeii, Levi Waitt, Deacon Benjamin Hayward, 
Seth Brooks. 

Choristers: Winthrop Faulkner, Silas Jones, 
Luther B. Jones, Daniel Jones. 

Players on musical instruments: Bass viol, Jona- 
than Billing, Abraham B. Handley ; double bass viol, 
Eben Davis ; violin, Winthrop E. Faulkner. Henry 
Skinner ; clarionet, Elnathan Jones, Samuel Hosmer. 

Singers : Polly Davis, Ellen Jones, Lucy J. Jones, 
Abigail Jones, Jerusha Brooks, Ann Piper, Captain 
.Vbel Jones, Simon Davis, Seth Davis, Benjamin 
Wild, Amasa Wild, Edward Wetherbee, Oliver Weth- 
erbee, Jedidiah Tuttle, Kebecca Davis, Susan Davis, 
Catharine Wetherbee, Lucinda Wetherbee, Polly 
Wetherbee, Susan Piper, Lucinda Piper, Mary Faulk- 
ner, Charlotte Faulkner, Catharine Faulkner, Susan 
Faulkner, Clarissa Jones, Amasa Davis. Jessie Pierce, 
Uriah Foster, Alden Fuller, Jonathan Piper, Dr. 
Harris Cowdry. 



266 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Rev. Mr. Adams, the second minister, enjoyed 
the advantages of this spacious and elegant church 
durir:g the last eleven 3'ears of his pastorate and of 
his life ; Rev. Mr. Shedd during the eleven years of 
his pastorate. The building stood for over fifty years 
as an attractive centre for civil and religious uses. 
By the decision of the courts the building came into 
the possession of the First Parish, and this parish 
deeded it to the town June 4, 18.59. 

In the great fire of November, 1862, which took in 
the barn of the hotel and which consumed the hotel, 
the tailor's shop building, occupied by Samuel Des- 
pean as a tailor-shop and by Daniel Jones as a store, 
the shoe factory of John Fletcher & Sous, and 
threatened at one time the whole village; a blazing 
shingle was wafted on high across the Common and 
struck the highest roof of the church tower, became 
fixed and soon ignited the steeple. The people below 
stood helpless and appalled, as nothing could be done 
to stay the raging flames. The whole building with 
all its massive timbers were in one brief hour a heap 
of smouldering ashes. This earthly structure went 
up as in a chariot of fire and was translated to the 
third heavens by the order of Him to whom it was 
originally dedicated. The building has gone, but its 
memories of pastor and choir and congregation abide. 

William D. Tuttle. — The time when tlie very 
first settlements were made on the present territory 
of Acton is a matter of some uncertainty. It is evi- 
dent from the town records that the town was pretty 
well settled over at the date of its incorporation. 
People were living in all parts of it at that time. 
The Indians had withdrawn to other hunting-grounds, 
and had ceased to be a cause of fear or annoyance. 

The first public enterprise was the building of a 
meeting-house for public worship, being one of the 
conditions of the act of incorporation, and the next 
was to construct roads by which the people could get 
to it. 

These were little more than bridle-paths cut through 
the forest from one homestead to another and con- 
necting them all more or less directly with the meet- 
ing-house and the mills. That it was the day of 
humble beginning and of many privations and hard- 
ships we can well believe. 

For lack of bridges, streams were crossed at what 
were called ford-ways. Forests were to be felled, 
houses to be erected, fences to be built, which required 
the strong arms of a sturdy race of men. Life was 
real and earnest to the men and women of that time. 
If their home life was barren of many of the luxuries 
and conveniences of modern days, there was in it a 
large element of downright sincerity, hearty good 
cheer and mutual helpfulness. 

The church was then the centre of the social as 
well as the religious life of the people. It must have 
been an interesting sight to see the people on Sunday 
coming up from all parts of the town on horseback or 
on foot, for carriages, whether spring or otherwise, 



were not yet, to attend divine service at the ancient 
church. 

It was liere that neighborly courtesies were exercised, 
mutual acquaintances and friendship formed, man}' 
of which developed in after years into more intimate 
relations. The town-meeting — that nursery of states- 
men — was also another of the educators of those days. 
Four or five times in a year did the inhabitants come 
together as a body to discuss their local affairs, to 
choose their town officers and to make regulations for 
their mutual welfare. If any one had a grievance, if 
his taxes pressed too heavily, if his accommodations 
in the way of roads were insufficient — whatever 
might be the cause of his complaint, here was a trib- 
unal of his peers, where he could be heard and where 
justice was usually done. 

From its first settlement to the present time Acton 
has been mainly an agricultural town. The first set- - 
tiers depended for their livelihood on what they could 
get from the soil and from what grew above it. They 
had cattle, horses, sheep and hogs, the latter being 
permitted for many years to run at large and pick up 
their living in the woods. 

Their agriculture was a varied one ; money was 
scarce and hard to get. Everything that could con- 
tribute to the support and sustenance of a family was 
included in the farmer's course of husbandry. Wool, 
flax, Indian corn, rye, oats, beans, turnips, beef, pork 
and the products of the dairy were the principal 
products raised. Clothing was largely of home man- 
ufacture and the noise of the spinning-wheel and 
loom was heard in every well-appointed household. 

They had plenty of apples, all natural fruit (the 
finer varieties being of later introduction), and nearly 
all the large farms had a cider-mill, which was kept 
busy during the months of October and November in 
producing a beverage all too common in those days. 

From a census return made in 1790, it appears that ■ 
no large number of cattle and horses was kept com- 1 
pared with what is usual at present, and but little 
English hay cut ; the natural meadows being relied 
upon to a great extent for the supply of hay for stock. 

Coming down to a later time, to the year 1800, a 
period of sixty-five years, we find the town's people 
in comparatively easy circumstances. Many had ac- 
cumulated a fair estate for those times. More pre- 
tentious houses were erected and an era of general 
prosperity seems to have dawned. 

In 1807 the town built the second meeting-house at ■ 
an expense of nearly or quite $10,000, paid for by the " 
sale of pews and a town tax of S1151, all of which 
was accomplished without apparent difiiculty. 

The manufacture of bellows was carried on exten- 
sively by Ebenezer Davis, senior and junior, for many 
years in the east part of the town. 

A large and well-appointed flour and grain mill 
was erected on an ancient mill site by Daniel Weth- 
erbee, in 1840, which, under the management of him- 
self and son, has continued to the present time. 



ACTON. 



.'67 



The pencil manufactory of Henry M. Smith, East 

Acton, was built in 1848, by Ebenezer Davis, Esq., 
and has been occupied successively since that time by 
Benjamin Davis, sash and blind manufactory ; by 
William Schouler, print works; by A. G. Fay as 
pencil manufactory, and by its present occupant also 
in the manufacture of lead-pencils. 

Among the various industries pursued for many 
years in the early part of the century, was the coop- 
ering business, from fifteen to twenty thousand bar- 
rels annually having been manufactured. The little 
cooper-shops, so numerous in all parts of the town, in 
which many of the inhabitant?* found emi)loyment in 
the winter season, is conclusive proof that the busi- 
ness was a source of very considerable income. 

The indenture of Gill Piper March 2.5, 1790, copied 
from the town pajjers is here inserted as a specimen of 
the times and the business then popular. 

The iNDtSTURE OF Gill Pipes. 

March 25, 1790. 
27iis indenture milntssetlt. That Francis Faulkner, .^arou Jones and 
Jonas HealJ, Selectmen of the town of Acton, Jlass , Middlesex Co., 
put and bind Gill Piper, a minor, now under the care of the Selectmen 
aforesaid, iiuto Paul Hunt, and B«tsey, his wife, to Larue the Cooper's 
trade ; after the manner of an apprentice*to dwell and serve from the 
date hereof until he, the said Gill Piper, shall arrive to the age of 21 
years ; during all which term the said Gill, bis sjiid Master and Mistress 
worthily and faithfully shall serve, their secrets keep close, their Lawful 
and reasonable connnands Readily obey and perform; damage to his 
6aid Master and Mistress he shall not do, or softer to be done by others 
without informing his said Master or Mistress of the same ; tavern he 
Bball not frequent ; at cards, dice, or any other unlawful game he shall 
not play ; matrimony he shall not contract, or fornication commit with 
any person ; but in all things behave himself as a good and faitfcful ap- 
prentice until his fulfilment of his years or term above mentioned ; and 
the said Paul Uunt.for himself and his heirs, do covenant, promise and 
agree with the said Francis Faulkner, Aaron Jones, and Jonas Heald, 
selectmen of the said town of Acton, and their successors in said trust, 
in this manner following, that is to say, that said Paul Hunt will leach 
or cause to be taught the said Gill Piper to read and write and cipher 
(if capable to learn) by giving him one month's schooling in each of the 
first two years of his service and one month in the last two years of his 
service, and will tind and provide for the same Gill Piper good and suffi- 
cient meat, drink, washing and lodging, and also sutficient apparel suit- 
able for one of his degree and calling, during the said term, and at the 
end of said term to dismiss the -said Gill Piper with two good suits of 
Apparel, one suitable for Sabbath days, the other for working days. 
In witness whereof, the parties set their hands and seals to this indent- 
ure, the 22d day of March, ITitO. 

(Signed) Paul Hunt. 

Fb.iscis F.\ulkner. 

A.\R0S JoNES- 
JoN,\s He.vLI) 

Signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of 

Joseph B.vker, Jr., 

Jon F. Brooks. 
Middleaex, as : 

March ye 2oth, 1790. 
The above indenture considered and approved of by 

SlL.\S T.VYLOR, 

Fb.\ncis F.wlkneb, 
two Justices o/ Pfttce. 

Gill Piper has not been heard from since so far as 
the town records go. We may infer with this start in 
life, that he became a worthy citizen. Nothing to 
the contrary has come to eye or ear. 

Many hop kilns were erected, but in a few years the 
prices received were so fluctualiug and unsatisfactory 
as to deter many from embarking in it and the busi- 



ness at length became so unremunerative that their 
culture was abandoned altogether. 

Centre Villac;e. — Previous to the time of the 
building of the second meeting-house there was no 
considerable village in the town. There were at that 
time a very few dwelling houses in the Centre, proba- 
bly not more than a scant half-dozen in all. .Vt this 
time there was, beside the first meeting-house, the old 
tavern, kept by Daniel Brooks, his widow Caroline 
and his son Paul, aild afterwards occupied by Nathan- 
iel Stearns ; the well-known parsonage built by Moses 
Adams, sometimes called the Bullard place; the 
house of Benjamin Brabrook, situated a little easterly 
from the residence of Edward Tuttle; the house of 
John White, blacksmith, a little westerly of the pres- 
ent town-house; a cottage-house, where Francis Hos- 
mer now lives, and one where Eddie F. Conant resides. 

The building of the second meeting-house gave an 
impetus to building operations in this village ; and 
about this time, 1.807, the tavern first occupied by 
Henry Durant, afterward by Silas Jones, for many 
years and others later, was built, as also t^ie house 
now occupied by T. F. Noyes ; L. B. Jones' house 
now occupied by Rev. F. P. Wood ; one on the site ot 
that occupied by William D. Tuttle; one by John 
and James Fletcher, lately removed to make room for 
the Memorial Library. The house so long occupied 
by Stephen Weston, now occupied by John F. Davis, 
and the Cyrus Dole house now occupied by J. E. 
Cutter and the Edward Tuttle house. 

The large mansion west of the town-house, long 
the residence of Hon. Stevens Hayward, was built 
about this time by Doctor Peter Goodknow. A store 
was kept on the site of the library building by James 
and John Fletcher, which was burnt. At a later date 
the store now occupied by M. E. Taylor, was built 
and kept by Joseph W. Tuttle, Francis Tuttle, James 
Tuttle, Rufus Holden, Daniel Jones, J. E. Cutter and 
many others, almost continuously to the present time. 
Samuel Jones, Esq., had a law-office for a short time 
where the house of A. L. Noyes stands. Samuel 
Jones, Sr., married the widow of Captain Isaac Davis, 
and resided on the place now occupied by Rev. F. P. 
Wood. To his public spirit we are largely indebted 
for Acton's beautiful Common. 

In 1800 the town bought of Captain Paul Brooks 
107 square rods of land at the east end of the Com- 
mon, and in 1807, of John White lo4 rods, northerly 
and westerly of the second meeting-house. 

In 1806 Samuel Jones, Esq., in consideration of the 
good-will and respect iie had for the inhabitants of 
Acton, deeded to the town about one and a quarter 
acres of land extending along the south side of the 
present Common, from near the house of A. L. Noyes 
to the house of Luke Smith, to be used as a town- 
common. The town also purchased of Josejih Bra- 
brook thirty-one rods of land in 1808, on the north- 
erly side of the Common, extending from the Robert 
Ciialfin place to the town-house. 



2G8 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



At this time there were not so many houses where 
the thriving villages of West and South Acton now 
stand. The latter was universally called Mill Corner, 
and had three dwelling-houses within a radius of a 
quarter of a mile, the Ammiruhamah Faulkner 
House, the tavern and store owned and occupied by 
Samuel Jones and his son Captain Aaron, the cot- 
tage-house, nestled under the hill owned by Captain 
Abel Jones, a son of Aaron ; and the mills consisting 
of a saw and grist-mill aud a fulling-mill, where cloth 
was dressed and fulled. Many now living can re- 
member the time when these, with a few out-buildings, 
were all that made up the village of Mill Corner. 

Where the enterprising village of West Acton now 
stands there was less in the way of building and busi- 
ness. Bradley Stone built the brick house on the 
corner in the centre of the village. He estab- 
lished a blacksmith and wheelwright-shop, near 
where the house of Varnum B. Mead now stands, and 
carried on the business for some years. He also 
built the first store in West Acton, which was first 
opened by Sidney and Henry Bull, and afterwards 
kept by Burbeck & Tenney. 

The building of the Fitchburg Railroad, in 1844, 
marks an important era in the history of the town. 
Entering the limits of the town at the southeast 
corner and passing westerly and northerly through 
the south and west parts of the town, a sudden 
impetus was given to the growth of these villages, 
which has continued ever since. 

Before this time a communication with our com- 
mercial metropolis, Boston, was slow and difficult. The 
country trader's merchandise had to be hauled by 
means of ox or horae-teams from the city. Lines of 
stage-coaches indeed radiated in all directions from 
the city for the conveyanceof passengers, but so much 
time was consumed in going and returning by this 
conveyance that a stop over night was absolutely 
necessary if any business was to be done. 

Instead of being whirled rapidly in an hour's time 
or less into Boston, and having ample time for the 
transaction of business and returning at night with 
equal ease and rapidity to our homes, a visit to 
Boston before the era of therailroad was something to 
be planned as a matter of serious concern. All the 
internal commerce between city and country neces.si- 
tated stage-coaches and teams of every description, 
and on all the main lines of road might be seen long 
lines of four and eight-horse teams conveying mer- 
chandise to and from the city. 

As a matter of necessity, taverns and hostelries 
were numerous and generally well patronized. Thus 
in the east part of Acton, on the road leading from 
Boston to Keeae, there were no less than four or five 
houses of public entertainment. With the advent of 
railroads all this changed. The Fitchburg Railroad was 
completed to West Acton in the autumn of 1844, and 
that village became a distributing point for the deliv- 
ery of goods destined for more remote points above. 



Two names may be mentioned in connection with 
the location of this road through the limits of this 
town, — Colonel Winthrop E. Faulkner, of South 
Acton, and Bradley Stone, of West Acton. 

Public-spirited and powerfully impressed with the 
importance of securing the location of the road 
through their respective villages, they labored untir- 
ingly until this was secured, positively and beyond a 
doubt. No personal effort was spared and no obstacle 
was suffered to stand in the way, until the coveted 
end was gained. Who will say that their ambition 
was not a worthy one, and has not been amptly justi- 
fied? 

The April meeting warrant for 1840 contained this 
article: "To see if the town will take measures to 
have trees set out on the Common." On this article 
the town granted leave to set trees on the Common, 
and chose a committee of seven to say where they 
shall be placed. Francis Tuttle, John Fletcher, 
Winthrop E. Faulkner, John White, Nathan Brooks, 
Simon Tuttle and Rufus Holden were appointed as 
this committee. 

The said trees were to consist of rock maple, button- 
wood, elm and white ash. As the result of this ac- 
tion of the town, the committee extended a general 
invitation to all the inhabitants to bring in suitable 
trees for transplanting, of the kinds mentioned, on the 
19th of April. As the 19th came on Sunday that 
year, the trees were set on the following day under 
the direction of the committee. The people responded , 
nobly, and from all parts of the town the citizens 
came into the village on the morning of the 20th 
loaded with trees ; nearly all lived and grew well. 
Most of the rock maples were set out at a later date, 
1850. 

Our notice of the village of the Centre would be 
incomplete without the mention of the name of one 
prominent in the business history of the town for . 
years. John Fletcher, at first a country trader in a | 
small way, began the manufacture of boots and shoes 
in 1815. Finding a ready sale for his goods, he con- 
tinued to enlarge his manufacturing facilities until his 
boots and shoes were well and creditably known far 
and wide. He associated his two sons, John and Ed- 
win, with him under the firm-name of John Fletcher 
& Sons. The firm did a successful business for many 
years. 

The Great Fire. — In the evening of Oct. 24, 
1802, occurred the greatest fire Acton has ever known. ■ 
Beginning at the stable near the hotel, the shoe man- ■ 
ufactory of John Fletcher & Sons, the hotel, and 
store occupied by Daniel .Tones, and finally the town 
hall, formerly the meeting-house, built in 1807, all 
were in a short time consumed. 

The incendiary had done his work but too well, and 
had left, as he had threatened, a black mark in the 
Centre Village. Looking over the scene of desolation, 
it seemed as though the place was doomed to extinc- 
tion. Good friends, however, came to the rescue. In 



ACTON. 



2(59 



the November warrant for town-meeting an article 
was inserted to see wlmt action ttie town will take in 
regard to building a new town-house. At this meet- 
ing it was voted to choose a committee of six persons, 
one from each school district, to obtain plans, specifi- 
cations and estimates to report at a future meeting. 

On Tuesday, the 2d day of December, another meet- 
ing was called to hear the report of the committee. At 
this meeting it was voted not to build a town-house. 
Another meeting was called on the 15th of the same 
month. In the warrant was inserted the following : 
" To see if the town will build a house suitable for a 
town hall and armory for the Davis Guards." 

At this meeting it was voted that when the town 
build a town-house it be built on the spot where tlie 
old one stood. Also voted to choose a committee of 
seven, by ballot, with full powers to build a town-house 
with an armory in it suitable for the town within the 
next twelve months. This committee consisted of 
Daniel Wetherbee, Samuel Hosmer, James Tuttle, 
Cyrus Fletcher, David M. Handley, Artemas M. 
Rowell and Luther Conact. 

This was erected the next year, as also the large 
shoe manufactory of John Fletcher and a new hotel 
by John E. Cutter. Thus, in a measure, was replaced 
Acton's great loss by fire. 

Among other noted residents of the village for 
many years was Jonas Blodgett, blacksmith and auc- 
tioneer. He came to Acton about the year 1830, and 
carried on his trade until failing health and eyesight 
obliged him to retire. 

West Acton.' — The brick house on the corner 
was built by Bradley Stone. He also built the first 
store at the corner in 1837, where Mead Brothers are 
now, occupied formerly by Burbeck & Tenney, then 
Sidney and Henry Bull. 

In 1858 Charles Robinson moved that building to 
where it now stands, occupied by George Conant, 
bluine manufactory, and built the present store. The 
hall now used by Isaac Davis' Grand Army Post was 
built by Mr. Robinson for the use of the Uuiversalist 
Society, and was used by it for ten years. 

The first meat market was opened by John R. 
Houghton under the tin-shop of L. M. Holt, and was 
occupied by him until he built his present market. 
A blacksmith-shop was built by Bradley Stone where 
the house of Y. B. Mead now stands. When this was 
burned he built a new shop near the site of the old 
one, and where it now stands, occupied by Samuel A. 
Guilford. The .shop was run for awhile by Enoch 
Hall, who in 1865 transformed a barn standing near 
it into the present wheelwright-shop of Herbert F. 
Clark. 

The New England Vise Company in 1868 erected a 
building for its business which proved unsuccessful. 
The Butter and Cheese Factory Company was incor- 
porated about 1873, and ran three or four years. 

1 Items furnished by A. A. Wyman, Esq. 



This venture proved unprofitable, and the building 
erected for the company is now occupied by William 
H. Lawrence, blacksmith, and Waldo Littlefield, car- 
riage manufacturer. 

A part of the ground now occupied by the refriger- 
ator and apple-house of A. & O. Mead & Co. was a 
building put up by the West Acton Steam Mill Com- 
pany in 1848, which was burned in 1852, and, as the 
business had not been satisfactory, was not rebuilt. 
The building for the manufacture of overalls and 
clothing was put up by Charles H. Taylor in 1886. 

Soon after the railroad was built through West 
Acton a tin-.shop was built by Henderson Rowell, 
who occupied it until his death, in 1860. Since then 
it has been carried on by various persons in the same 
place, and is now run by Lorenzo M. Holt, who does 
a large and increasing business. 

About 1858 a shoemaker's-shop was built, and was 
occupied by Oliver C. Wyman until his death, in 
1885. The business since then has been carried on 
by William Mott. 

In 1845 Shepley & Davis built a house, which was 
occupied by a Mr. Page and called Page's Tavern. 
After a few years it was purchased by Adelbert and 
Oliver Mead, and reoccupied by them for a dwelling- 
house a number of years. Since then it has been oc- 
cupied by various tenants. 

In 1848 Dr. Reuben Green opened an office. In 
1852 he was bought out by Dr. Isaiah Hutchins, who 
still occupies the building erected by Dr. Green. In 
1848 a post-office was opened in Dr. Green's office, in 
which building it remained until Dr. Hutchins, in 
18.54, resigned, whereupon it was transferred to the 
store, where it remained until the Cleveland adminis- 
tration, when Hanson Littlefield became postmaster, 
and the office was removed to his store. In 1889 
Charles B. Stone, the present incumbent, was reap- 
pointed, and removed the oflice to the room specially 
built for it. 

The grain and grist-mill and cider-mill of E. C. 
Parker & Co. was built in 18l)8, burned in' 1869 and 
rebuilt in 1870. The cigar-factory of Frank R. 
Knowlton was over the store of Hanson Littlefield 
until the new factory was built in 1889. 

Tabs and Pails. — B. F. Taft began the manufacture 
in the building and was succeeded by Samuel Sargent. 
Sargent was succeeded by Enoch Hall, who, with his 
sons, now carry on the business. The business has 
become an important source of thrift. It was started 
seventeen years ago and has been steadily increasing. 

The lumbering business has been introduced and 
enlarged ; wood lots and farms have been bought in 
the neighboring towns with reference to the lumber 
supply. Tubs, churns and pails are manufactured in 
large quantities and sent for market in all directions, 
as far as Australia, South America, California and 
Europe. Twenty-five men are employed through the 
year, with extra help in the winter. Estimated aver- 
age sales per year, 5^50,000. 



270 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Mrs. John Hapgood, the mother of Mrs. Nash, a 
few weeks before her death, when enjoying unusual 
clearness of mind, though over eighty years old, wrote 
out carefully these items from her own personal recol- 
lections, and the original copy in her handwriting is 
now with the town clerk. The statements have since 
been corroborated by Deacon Samuel Hosmer, over 
eighty -six years old, whose memory is quite clear and 
retentive. 

B. A. Gould's Place. — Deacon Jonathan Hosmer 
was the first settler on the place that is now owned by 
Mr. Gould ; he had four sons — Jonathan, Stephen, 
Abner and Jonas. Abner was the one that fell, April 
19, 1775, at Concord Bridge, with Captain Davis. I 
remember of hearing my aunt Sarah Hosmer, sister 
of N. D. Hosmer and wife of Samuel Hosmer, when 
she was very young, say that her grandfather went 
out to see if be could hear any news on that day, and 
when he returned he groaned when he passed their 
window to go into the front door. What sorrow was 
then experienced ! 

Stephen Hosmer, one of the sons of Deacon Jona- 
than Hosmer, settled on the homestead with his 
father (at Gould's place). His sous were three — 
Stephen, Nathan Davis and Jonathan. Nathan 
Davis Hosmer, son of Stephen Hosmer, bought the 
place, the homestead, and built the new house which 
is now occupied by Mr. Gould. 

The old house was pretty large for those days, two 
front rooms with entry between, upright back part 
with two rooms below. The back chanbers were low 
and unfinished. 

Aaron Hosmer, son of Nathan D. Hosmer, had 
made arrangements to keep the place, the homestead, 
as his own ; but he died a few months before his 
father died. If Aaron Hosmer had lived, tlie place 
would probably have been in the Hosmer name now, 
which would have been the fourth generation. 

Jonathan Hosmer, son of Deacon Jonathan Hos- 
mer, bought and settled on the place now occupied 
by Mr. Neil, the Simon Hosmer place. It is the first 
house beyond the Kelley place toward Acton Centre. 
He had but one son, Simon Hosmer, Esq. He 
bought the place and lived there most of his lifetime. 
Afterwards it went into other hands. Francis Tut- 
tle owned it at one time. 

li'oijes & Barker Place. — Ephraim Hosmer owned 
the farm that is now occupied by Noyes it Barker. 
He was a nephew of Deacon Jonathan Hosmer ; he 
had a number of children, but buried two or three by 
the dreadfiil disease of malignant sore throat. My 
grandmother, Sarah Davis, wife of Stephen Hosmer, 
said tliat one of the girls told her she was huugry but 
she could uot swallow — a terrible disease. to get into a 
family. He had two sons that lived, Joel and Samuel, 
father of Deacon Silas Hosmer. 

Joel kept the home place, but when the turnpike 
was being made, he thought it would be important to 
have a hotel or tavern, as it used to be called, and he 



built the large house for that purpose now owned by 
Joseph Noyes and Joseph Barker ; but custom failed, 
it did not meet his expectation, and after a few years 
the farm had to be sold, a very great disappointment 
to him and all of his family. 

Frank Knoivlton' s Place. — Samuel Hosmer, brother 
to Joel Hosmer and son of Ephraim Hosmer, bought 
the place that Frank Knowlton now owns. He lived 
in a small house, but had quite a large barn. He was 
the father of Deacon Silas Hosmer, who succeeded his 
father on the home farm and built the large two-story 
house since remodeled by F. R. Knowlton, who is 
the husband of Emma, daughter of Deacon Silas 
Hosmer. 

Handley Place. — Mr. John Tuttle owned that place 
in 1800 and was called a very wealthy man. It has 
been owned by many different persons since — Jacob 
Priest, Reuben Handley. 

Isaac Beed's Place. — William Reed was the first 
owner of the farm, living there during his lifetime. 
Then his son William bought and lived there during 
his life. The present owner is his son, Isaac Reed. 

Andrew Hapgood's Place. — It was owned by a widow 
Brooks. Ephraim Hapgood and Nathaniel Hapgood, 
two brothers, bought it of her, Ephraim keeping the 
old house and Nathaniel building a new one just 
above it. Ephraim Hapgood and Nathaniel Hapgood 
were sons of Ephraim Hapgood. 

Ebenezer Smith's Place. — Mr. Smith bought the farm 
when he was quite a young man (do not remember 
the person); the house was an old one, but they lived 
in it a number of years, then built a new one; it was 
called nice in those days. After his death Edwin 
Parker owned it, living there several years, then sold 
it to the present owner, Amaaa Knowlton. 

Ephraim Hapgood's Farm. — Ephraim Hapgood 
thought it would be a good plan to go to Maine and 
take up a large tract of land and settle there, as he had 
several boys. Accordingly, one summer, he went to 
see about it. The next summer he took two of his 
sous and went to Maine, to a place called now Nor- 
ridgewock, and worked all summer, intending to take 
his family the next year. 

When the time came for them to start for home 
Ephraim, grandfather of Mrs. Nash, one of the sons, 
said he would walk home instead of going by water, 
and by that means saved his life, for the vessel was 
shipwrecked and the father and son were both drowned. 

Ephraim Hapgood gave up all idea of going to 
Maine after the death of his father and brother, 
bought the home-place, took care of his mother, living 
there his lifetime. After his decease his two youngest 
sons, John and Benjamin Franklin, bought the farm, 
keeping it together several years. Then Benjamin 
F. bought out his brother John and lived there until 
his death. He was killed at the crossing of the Fitch- 
burg Railroad, near Andrew Hapgood. Nathaniel 
Hapgood was also killed at the same time. The farm 
was afterwards bought by Cyrus Hapgood. He kept 



ACTON. 



271 



it a few years then sold it to a Mr. Prescott. The 
house was burned not a great while afterwards. The 
land is now owned by individuals — only a small house 
upon it, owned by Mr. lilanchard, for the accommo- 
dation of hired help. 

Simon Blanchard's Place. — Abraham Hapgood, 
brother of Ephraim Hapgood, and son of the one that 
was drowned, bought the place and lived there during 
his life. 

James Hapgood, his only son, bought the place, 
keeping it several years, afterwards sold it to Alvin 
Raymond. He kept it a few years, then sold it to Mr. 
Jonathan Fletcher. After his death Simon Blanchard, 
the present owner, bought the place ; married for his 
first wife Elizabeth Fletcher, daughter of Mr. Jona- 
than Fletcher. 

J//-. Hager's Place. — Elias Chaffin lived on this place 
a number of years. The next owner was Jonathan B. 
Davis. He kept it a good many years, then sold it to 
the present owner, Mr. George Hager. 

Lelaml Place. — It was the home of Captain Stevens 
Hayward, the father of Stevens Hayward, Esq. Mr. 
Hayward living there during his life, then his son 
Stevens owned it many years, afterwards he sold it to 
Benjamin Lentell. He lived there several years and 
sold it to Mr. Leland. 

-1. -1. Haynes' Place. — -It was the home of Deacon 
Benjamin Hayward. He had three sons — Moses, 
Aaron and Luke. Moses was accidentally shot by his 
own son. His home then was the late L'yrus Hay- 
ward's place. Aaron Hayward after the death of his 
father settled on the homestead, but died when quite 
young. 

Alden Fuller Place. — Nathaniel Faulkner in the 
olden time lived there ; he owned the place ; he had 
several sons. Nathaniel kept the home-place and 
lived there during his life. His daughter Sarah mar- | 
ried Alden Fuller. He bought the home-place and 
lived there during his life. 

Hougldon Place. — Oliver Houghton bought that [ 
place, living in a very old house for a long time. 
There have been two houses built on that place, the 
low one built first. Levi Houghton succeeded his 
father and built the new house. Since his death 
George H. S. Houghton, a nephew, owns the farm and 
is living on it. 

Mrt. Iliipgood's Place was formerly owned by the 
Faulkners. A widow lived here who had three chil- 
dren. The son's name was Moses. There must have 
been two generations before it went into other hands. 
It has been owned by Brown and a Wilson. Daniel 
Wetherby bought it afterwards, then John Hapgood 
bought it. 

Coffin Place. — Deacon John Hunt owned this farm 
for many years, for Mother Hapgood said (Molly Hunt, 
daughter of Deacon J. Hunt) when she was very 
small she remembered the 19th of April, and looked 
out of the window and saw James Hayward walking 
along as fast he could, with gun in his hand. He 



seemed to be in a great hurry. It was the morning 
of the day he was killed in Lexington. Jotham 
Hunt, son of Deacon J. Hunt, became owner of the 
place, lived there many years, then sold it to Porter 
Keed. Afterwards it was owned by George Coffin. 

James Hayward's Place. — Samuel Hosmer, brother 

of Deacon Silas Hosmer, built that house, occupying 

I it several years. Some other families lived there be- 

I fore Mr. Hayward bought it. There was a Mr. Hay- 

[ ward, the father of Jonas Hayward, who died when 

he was a young man. Samuel Hayward owned the 

farm that William Reed owned and lived there during 

his life. It was tlie place that Joseph Cole carried on 

several years and died there two or three years ago. 

James W. Wheeler Place. — The old house that 
stood near that elm-tree was owned by Samuel Whee- 
ler. His son Nathan succeeded him and still occu- 
pied the old house during his life. James W. Whee- 
ler, his son, after a few years bought the farm and 
built a new house, owned by Octavius Knowlton. 

Elisha Cutler Place. — Deacon John Wheeler, 
brother of Samuel Wheeler, owned this farm, living 
there during his life. Joel Whitcomb owned it awhile. 

Simon Hunt was a brother of Deacon John Hunt, 
and his home was what was called the Bright Place, 
the next house beyond the late Cyrus Hayward's 
place as you go towards Stowe. 

A. & 0. W. Mead & Co.— The history of this firm 
has such relations to Acton that a brief account of 
its record is here given. 

0. W. Mead was born in Boxboro' Oct. 19, 1824. 
Worked on his father's farm until he was twenty-one 
years of age. His education was limited to the dis- 
trict school until of age. He afterwards attended 
academy in Lunenburg three terms, and taught school 
in Lunenburg and Littleton, one term each. 

At twenty-three years of age he went into the mar- 
keting business with his brother Adelbert, and drove a 
horse team to Boston weekly with all kinds of pro- 
duce. 

He moved to West Acton in 18-10, and there con- 
tinued his business with his brother successfully, 
transporting their freight over the Fitchburg Railroad 
to Boston. In 1867 his brother Adelbert, Varnum B. 
and himself leased store No. .35, on North Market St., 
and carried on the produce business under the name 
of A. & O. W. Mead & Co. Their business has been 
varied and extensive to the present time. 

Their lumbering interests in New Hampshire and 
Maine have been large, in cattle and lands in Iowa, 
Minnesota and Territories considerable. 

They built in West Acton the first refrigerator for 
storing fruit — in this country — ^which proved very re- 
munerative for many years. 

The first house has been supplanted by several 
larger and more costly buildings. 

The firm has expended large sums of money in 
West Acton in buildings and otherwise, which has 
done much towards the adornment and general pros- 



272 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



perity of the village, and have always taken a lively 
interest in the welfare of the town of their adoption. 

O. W. Mead was an active director in the American 
Powder-Mill for twenty years, has been intrusted with 
the settlement of several estates, three years a direc- 
tor in the Florida Midland Railroad, been one of the di- 
rectors of the Board of Commerce, is now a director 
of the First National Bank of Ayer, one of the trustees 
of the North Middlesex Savings Bank, also president 
and manager of one of the largest herds of cattle in 
the Territory of Wyoming. 

The business of this firm extends into millions year- 

ly- 

Their father's name was Nathaniel ; their grand- 
father Deacon Oliver Mead. Their mother was Lucy 
Taylor, daughter of Capt. Oliver Taylor. 

Luke Bhini-hard — fie was born in Boxboro' Jan. 17, 
182(5, and lived there until he was twenty-four years 
of age. 

He was the son of Simon, and moved into Acton in 
1852. He married .Terusha M. Yose April 8, 1858, 
and had the following children: Mary Florence, 
born Aug. 8, 1859, died in two years and four months ; 
Anna Maria, born Oct. 7, 1862 ; Arthur F., born 
Jan. 21, 1864 ; Mary Alice, born Dec. 21, 1867, died 
Feb. 2, 1889. 

He has been a prosperous businessman, accumulat- 
ing successfully through his own exertions. His bus- 
iness has been largely marketing and trading. His 
property is distributed in several towns, but his chief 
local interest has been for several years in West 
Acton. 

He is grandson of Calvin Blanchard, who was at 
Bunker Hill, and helped build the breastworks pre- 
paratory to the fight, and was at the Concord fight 
April 19th. 

He is the granduephew of Luther Blanchard, who 
was the fifer at the Concord fight — in Capt. Davis' 
company — and a brother to Simon, grandson of Calvin. 

HiSTOuiCAL Map of Acton.'— -Old road from 
Capt. Davis' house to 1st Meeting-House : 

Capt. Isaac Davie, 1775 ; .losepli Brown, 1S13 ; Ward S. Haskell, Na- 
thaniel G. Brown, 1825; Cliarles H. Wheeler. 

Rev. John Swift, 1740 ; Dea. Josiah Noyes, 1780 ; David Barnard. 
Esq., 18UQ ; Joash Keyes, Eliab Grimes, Jonathan W. Teele, Dea. W. 
W. Davis. 

Captain Phineas Osgood, 1744; Edward Harrington, ISOO ; Thoniaa 
F.Lawrence, 1872; Eev. James T. Woodbury, Capt. Daniel Tnttle. 

The old Parsonage: 

Josiah Piper, 1735 ; Rev. Moses ,\dams, 1819 ; Rev. Marshall Shedd, 
1831 ; Isaac BuUard. 

The old School-House north of the Parsonage, 
1798: 

The Centre Village.— Edward Tuttle, Joseph W. Tuttle, Charles Tnt- 
tle, Dea. Joseph Brabrook. 

First Store. — Dea. John and James Fletcher, his brother, Kev. James 
Fletcher, Memorial Library. 

Peter Goodnow, SL D., Hon. Stevens Hayward, Mrs. Elizabeth Blood, 

Benjamin M'ilde, Jr., Timothy Hartwell, Silas Jones. 

1 By Horace F. Tuttle. 



Store. — Stephen Weston, John F. Davis. 

James Jones, Widow Leighton, Dea. John Fletcher, Cyrua Dole, 
Henry M. Smith, John E. Cutter. 

Samuel Chaffin, Jerusha Noyes, Elizabetli Brooks, T. Frederic Noyes. 

Hotel— Lient. Henry Duraut, 1808 ; Silas Jones, 1822 ; Horace Tuttle, 
18:!.'> ; Daniel Tnttle, 1840 ; John E. Cutter. 

Samuel Jones, Esq., Doctor Abram Young, Simon Davis, Widow Har- 
riet Davis, 

Store — Dea. John and James Fletcher; Shoe Manufactory, John 
Fletcher and Sous. 

Fii-st Meeting-house, 1736 ; School-house, 1771. 

Brooks Tavern, Daniel Brooks, 1762 ; Paul Brooks, James Fletcher, 
Jr., Nathaniel Stearns. 

James Fletcher, 1794, Dea. John's father, Abel Proctor, Silas Conant. 

Jones Turnpike. — Laid out in 1817. 

Widow Hannah Leighton, Samuel Jones, Esq., James Conant. 
Jonas Blodgett, Frank Hosmer. 

Theodore Reed, Horace Tuttle, Dea. William D. Tuttle. 
William Reed (3d), Joseph Reed. 

The new road through the Centre. Laid out in 

1806. 

John Cragin. 

Allen Richardson, 1826 ; Charles F. Richardson, Ai. Robbine. 

The road over the Strawberry Hill, 1735. Bounds 
renewed 1803, and road straightened 1807, over the 
brook. 

The road from Littleton line — Nashoba Corner, 
called Proctor's Road, 1746 — leading to Cemetery, 
and crossing Harvard Turnpike at Daniel McCarthy's, 
1735, and on to Joel Conant and so. east Acton. 

Cotton Proctor, Peter Fletcher, Oliver Wetherbee, John Grimes. 
Blagog Hill. 

Jonas Allen, 17G2 ; Simon Tuttle, 17r,2 ; Francis Tuttle, Town of Ac- 
ton. 

Simon Tultle ; Jr., 1828. 
Charles Handley, 1827. 

School, 1787, at the crossing leading to Mr. Ham- 
mond's, burnt 1795. 

Dr. Abraham Skinner, Charles Tuttle. 
Rocky Guzzle. 
Woodlawn Cemetery, 1736. 

Daniel F. Barker, 1S09 ; Dea. Samuel Hosmer, 1839. 
Joseph Barker, 1762-1809 ; Lieut. Reuben Barker, Joseph W. Wheeler. 
Abner Wheeler, Capt. Silas Jones, Daniel McCarthy. 
Daniel Shepherd, 1735 ; John Cole, 18liU ; .Vlvin Raymond, Jedidiah 
Tuttle. 
Joseph Cole, 1800; George B. Cole, William Hosmer. 

The Stow and Carlisle road, 1735-1803. 

Capt. Samuel Davis, 1735 ; John Adams, Jr., 1770 ; Ebenezer Barker, 
1807 ; Jonathan Barker, 1847 ; Cyrus Barker, 
S. E. School, 1771 ; Forge, 1766. 

County road from Mill Corner to Assabet River and 
Faulkner Mills, 1776. 

Joseph Dudley, 1793 ; Reuben Barker, William S. Jones. 

Josiah Hayward, 1735 ; Simeon Hayward, 1792 ; Mrs. Mary Skinner 

Hayward's Mills. 

Towards Faulkner's Mills. 

Lieut. John Adams, 1750; Moses Fletcher, 1826; Peter Fletcher, 
Lemuel Dole, Frank Pratt. 

Dea. Joseph Fletcher, 1735 ; Capt. Daniel Fletcher, 1776 ; Stephen 
Shepherd, Benjamin Wilde, 1797-1822 ; Asa Parker, 1826 ; Frank D 
Barker, 1885. 

Reuben Hosmer, 1800 ; Joseph Wilde, 1825 ; William A. \\ildc. 

Charles Robbins. 

Capt. John Hayward, 1775 ; John S. Fletcher, Daniel Fletcher. 

Bei^amiu Robbins, 1820; John Fletcher, 1845. 



ACTON. 



County road leading iVom Faulkner's Mills to S. E. 
Acton Mills. 

Ammirubainnut Faulkoer, before 1735, Francis Faulkner, Francis 
Faulkner, Jr., Wiutlirop Faulkner, Col. Winthrop E. Faulkoer. 

Road to Mayuard, 1847. 

Road to Store from Mill Corner, 1736.- 

Joseph W. Tiittle, Capt. Aaron C. Handley. 
Bloses Haywanl, Cyrus Hayward. 

David Forbush, 1735; David Forbuah, Jr., 1771; Ephraim Forbush, 
Abel Forbush, Isaiah Reed. 

Road to Store from Mill Corner. 
John S. Fletcher Cross road. 

CyruB Putnam, 1829. 

Simon Hunt, 1731 ; Capt. Simon Hunt, Js,, 1775. 
Joaiah Bright. 

Nathan Robbing, 173G; George Robbing, 1775 ; George Robbins, Jr., 
1826. 

Sumner Blood Cross road. 

Tilly Kobbina. 
Tilly Robbing, Jr. 

Road from Mill Corner and Stow to Concord 

School. 

Jonathan Tower. 

Ezra Wheeler, 1762 ; Lewia Wood, 1828 ; Mrs. C. D. Lothrop. 
Samuel HandUy, 1807 ; Joseph Brown, 1820; Elijah Brown. 
Daniel Brooks, 177G ; Dea. John Brooks, 1735 ; Jonaa Brooks, Esq., 
1776 ; Nathan Wright, Obed Symonds. 
Titus Law, ITIio ; Joel Conant, 1823^; John Conaut, H. Hanson. 
John and Stephen and Amos Laws, 1735 ; Abel Cole, IS'JO. 
Asae Hosmer, Dea. Samuel Hosnier, Nathaniel Jones, Doctor Warner. 

Road from the Laws to Silas Holden's, 1770. 
Road from Stow and Concord Road to Harvard 
Turnpike, 1833. 

Joel Hoamer, Jonathan Hosuier, Nat. Thurston Law. 
Josiah Piper, 1825. 

Joseph Piper, 1774 ; Joseph Piper, Jr., Silas Piper, Jonathan Piper, 
Abel Farrar. 

Road from Harvard Turnpike to Ptoses Taylor, 
Esq.'s, site, 1797. 
Road from Moses Taylor, Esq. to Centre, 1774/ 

Joseph Barker, 1702 ; Moses Richardson, 1800 ; Silas Taylor, 1822 ; 
Moses Taylor, Esq. 
John Barker, 1736 ; Thad. Tuttle, 1797. 

Road from Mill Corner to the Centre, way to meet- 
ing, 1735. 

Store, Samuel Jones, 1735 ; Samuel Jones, Jr., Aaron Jones, 1770 ; El- 
nathan Jones. 

Capt. Abel Jones, Abraham H. Jones. 

Universaliflt Church, 

Simon Hunt, School, 1771. 

William Cutting, 1735 ; William Cutting, Jr., 1808 ; Luther B. Jones, 
1826. 

Cross road to the West road. 

Dea. Jonathan Iloamer, 1735 ; Stephen Hosmer, 1765 ; Abner Hoamer, 
bom 1754 ; Nathan D. Hosmer, 1800 ; Aaron Hoamer, Herman A. 
Gould. 

Simon Hosmer, Jr., Reuben L. Reed, John Kelly. 

Jonathan Hosmer, 1760; Simon Hoamer, Esq., 18oo ; Francis Tuttle, 
Esq., Edward O'Neill. 

County road along the brook from Mill Corner to 
the Stow and Carlisle road, 1847. 

Road from Universalist church, Mill Corner to 
beyond the Ford Pond brook crossing near Mt. Hope 
Cemetery — before 1735. 
IS 



Jacob Woods, 173o ; Oliver Jones, 1771 ; Abraham Conant, Esq., Win- 
throp F. Conaut. 

Simon Hunt's new house, 1735 ; John Hunt, 1765 ; Jotham Hunt, 
1S2I> ; Joseph r. Read, George Coffin. 

James Faulkner, Aaron Faulkner, 18lX) ; Andrew Wilson, 1826 ; 
lianiel Wetiierbee, John Hapgood. 

Jlount Hope Cemetery. 

County riiad from Mt. Hope Cemetery to btore in 
West Acton, 1706. 

Universalist Church. 
Baptist Church. 
Store, School. 

Farr's road to Meeting in 1735, coming from Stow 
to West Acton. 

Stephen Farr, 1740; Oliver Houghton, Levi Houghton. 

TLonias Farr's, 1735 ; Nathaniel Faulkner, KM; Nathaniel Faulkner, 
Jr., Nathaniel S. Faulkner, Frank H. Whitcomb. 

Capt. Samuel Hayward, l"3.:i ; James Hayward, born 1750 ; Capt. 
Stevens Hayward, Hon. Stevens Hayward, Orlando Leland. 

Ezekiel Davis, Capt. Isaac Davis, bom 1745; Elias Chaffln, Jonathao 
B. Davis, George Hagar. 

Capt. Samuel Hayward's way to Meeting, 1735- 
1800. 

Hezekiah Wheeler, 1735 ; Samuel Wheeler, 1775-17'J7 ; Nathan 
Wheeler, James W. Wheeler. 

Joseph Wheeler, Dea. John Wheeler, Elisha H. Cutler. 

Road laid out 1702 — a short line. 

William Reed, Joseph Reed. 

Road from Store in West Acton to Littleton, 1760. 

Bradbury Stone. 
I John Tuttle, 1800 ; Reuben Handley, Jacob Priest. 
; Timothy Brooks, William Reed, William Ueed (2d), Isaac Reed. 

David Brooks, 1735 ; Joseph Brooks, 17S0; Silas Brooks, Ephraim 
Hapgood, 1810; Kphraim Hapgood, Jr., Andrew Hapgood. 

Nathaniel Hapgood, 1800. 

Nathaniel Wheeler, 1702 ; Roger Wheeler, Eben Smith, Edwin Parker. 

Abraham Hapgood, 1775 ; James Hapgood, Simon Blanchard. 

Cyrus Hapgood, Benjamin F. Hapgood, John Hapgood, Ephraim 
Hapgood, Jr., Ephraim Hapgood, 1760, 

Xashoba road from West Acton. 

Judge Gilbert, 1775 ;»JameB Keyes, Ivory Keyes, 1845 ; Nahum Little- 
field. 

From Nashoba to the Gravel-pit road, 1753. 

John Chaffin, 1702 ; John Clmflin, Jr., Antoine Bulette, 1829. 
Robert Chaffln, 1762 ; Robert Chaffln, Jr., 1829 ; A. Risso. 
Lieut. Thomas Noyes, 1753; Capt. Joseph Noyes, 1808; Thomas J. 
Noyes, 1829 ; Alonzo L. Tuttle. 

Gravel-pit road- — County, 1846. 

John Chatfin's road to Meeting in 1753. 

James Fletcher, 1791 ; Potter Conant, 1795 ; Paul Conant, Samuel P. 
Conant, 1808 ; Benjamin Bobbins, Phineas Harrington, Simon Bobbins. 

Samuel Pa'rlin, 1770 ; Davis Parlin. Jonathan Parlin, Thomas Ham- 
mond. 

Oft'from the Harvard turnpike in coming from West 
Acton. 

Samuel Hosmer, 1795 ; Dea. Silas Hosmer, I8I2; Frank W. Knowl- 
ton. 

The road leading from Stow to Concord before 
1735. 

Dea. Benjamin Hayward, .\arou Hayward, Lowell Wood, Albert A. 
Haynes. 

Nagog Pond. 

Captain Daniel White, J. K. Putney. 

Dea. John White. 

David Lamson, 1762, in from road. 



274 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Joseph Obaiiiberlain, in from road. 

Frederic Ronillard. 

Solomon Dutton. 

John Handley, David Haudley. 

Joseph Uobbins, 1774 ; John Dineniore Robbiiis, James Keyee, George 
R. Keyes, 

Capt. Jolin Handley, 1830; John Ronillard. 

Eben Robbins, Abraham Handley, Henry Loker. 

Thomas lilanchard. 

Charles Robbins. 

Joseph ChaJhn, 1797 ; Jonathan Wheeler. 

Amos Jsoyes, Luther Davis. 

Reuben Wheeler. 

Joel Oliver, Ephraim Oliver. 

Mark White (^d), William Stearns, Robert P. Boss, Ephraim Davis. 

David Davis, Calvin Hayward, Solomon Smith, Samuel Tuttle, 180U ; 
Horace Hosmer. 

William Billings, Henry Brooks. 

Aaron Chaffin, Silas Conant. 

School. 

Kdward Wetherbee, Jonathan Billings, James E. Billings, Otis H. 
Forbush. 

James Billings, 1776 ; James Hapgood, Isaiah Perkins. 

John Bobbins, 1800; Elbridge Robbins. 

Joseph Wooley, 1735. 

Joseph Harris, 1735; Joseph Harris, Jr., 1736 ; Daniel Harris. 

John Barker, Jr., 1735. 

Edward Wetherbee, 1775 ; Edward Wetherbee, Jr. 

Elbridge J. Robbins. 

Grist mill. 

Daniel Wetherbee. 

Eoad leading from Edward Wetherbee's across the 
brook, south of the saiv-niill, 1749. 

Forge before 1735. 

Capt. Joseph Robbins, 1775. 

In from the road near the rivulet, south of Joseph 
Robbins. 

Capt. Thomas Wheeler, 1668. 
Nathan Robbins, before 1735. 

Road from Daniel Wetherbee's to Silas Holden's 
place, on the Harvard Turnpike, 1865. 

Samuel Wright, 1761 ; Samuel Wright, Jr., 1812; Silas Holden, 1823; 
Pope & Lyman. 

New road over Strawberry Hill. 

Solomon Burges, John Whitney. 

Mark White, 1735 ; Samuel White, 1756; Simon Hapgood, Benjamin 
F. Hapgood. 

Road to Concord, from Strawberry Hill, 1735. 

Jonathan Cleaveland, 1735. 

Reuben Wheeler, 1800 ; William Wheeler. 

Addison Wheeler. 

Col. Nathanial Edwards, 1750 ; John Edwards, Daniel McCarthy. 

John Davis, 1735 ; Capt. Samuel Davis, 1763 ; Paul Dudley. 

Branch from Littleton road. 

Lieut. Jonathan Billings, 1735 ; Jonathan Billings, 1762 ; Paul Dudley, 
1808 ; Calvin Harris. 

Ephraim Billings, 1776 ; Darius Billings, Joseph Estabrook. 
Israel Giles. 

Old road to Concord, 1735. 

Benjamin Brabrook, 1735 ; House built, 1751 ; Benjamin Brabrook, 
1770 ; George Brabrook, Hammond Taylor, 1890. 

Near Concord line, 1735. 

Seth Brooks, 1707; Nathan Brooks, Nathan Brooks, Jr., WilberG. 
Davis, 1887. 

The old road to Littleton in 1735. 

Abram B. Handley. 

Capt. Daniel Davis, Ebenezer Davis, Ebenexer Davis, Jr., Amnsa 
Davis, William Davis. 
Ebenezer Davis, William B. Davis. 



The road from Acton Centre to Carlisle, 1735-1803. 

Amos Handley, 1800. 

Jonas Davis, Abel Conant, Luther Conant, Luther Conant, Jr. , Esq. 

George W. Tuttle, 1800. 

Old road from Acton to Carlisle. 

Joseph Cbaffin, 1784 ; Jonathan Wheeler, 
Thomas Thorp, 1776 ; Nathan Chaffin. 
Thomas Wheeler, 1736 ; Nehemiah's Hill. 
Jerry Hosmer, 182-1. 
James Harris, 18_9. 

Uriah Foster, Hugh Cash, Ebenezer Wood. 

John Harris, 1769 ; John Harris, Jr., 1808 ; George H. Harris, 1889. 
Moses Woods, 1800 ; Aaron Woods. 
Cyrus Wheeler, 1844. 
James Davis, 1800 ; Ebenezer Hayward. 

Samuel Wheeler, 1735 ; Gershom Davis, 1740 ; John Hayward, Jr., 
Daniel Davis' Mill, 1775 ; Lieut. Phineas Wheeler, Francis Robbins. 
Elijah Davis, 1776. 
Jonathan Davis, 1800. 

Old East Cemetery before 1735. 

School, Dea. John Heald, 1735 ; Lieut. John Heald, 17C2 ; Timothy 
Brown, 1800 ; John Nickles. 

John Davis's Mill, 1735, on Charles Tuttle's brook. 

Daniel White's Mill on the Nagog brook below Abel 
Robbin's house, south of Thomas Moore. 

The Davis Monument— The citizens of Acton 
believing that the name of Captain Isaac Davis, the 
first officer who fell in the struggle for independence, 
and also the names of his two brave townsmen, Abner 
Hosmer and James Hayward — one of whom fell by 
his side on the famous 19th of April, 1775, at the 
old North Bridge in Concord, and the other in the 
pursuit at Lexington on the same day — were deserv- 
ing of a better fame than history had usually awarded 
them, and a more commanding and enduring struc- 
ture than ordinary slabs of .slate to tell the story of 
their martyrdom and mark the spot where their dust 
reposes, passed the following vote at a large town- 
meeting holden on the 11th November a.d. 1850 . 

" Voted, That the town of Acton erect a monument 
over Captain Isaac Davis, Hosmer and Hayward, and 
that their remains be taken up and put in some suit- 
able place on Acton Common, if the friends of said 
Davis, Hosmer and Haj'wardare willing, and that the 
Selectmen and the three ministers in the town be a Com- 
mittee to lay out what they shall think proper or pe- 
tition Congress and the State Legislature for aid in 
erecting said monument." 

A petition for this object was presented to the Leg- 
islature early in the session by Rev. J. T. Woodbury. 

The committee consisted of Ivory Keyes, Luther 
Conant, James Tuttle, selectmen; James T. Woodbury, 
Robert Stinson, Horace Richardson, ministers, in be- 
half of the town. 

The joint committee of the Legislature or the Mil- 
itia to whom this petition was referred, unanimously 
submitted a report in favor of the project. The mat- 
ter was fully discussed, and after the eloquent address 
and appeal of Mr. Woodbury, the resolve was passed 
by a large majority. 

Two thousand dollars were appropriated, to be join- 
ed by an appropriation of five hundred dollars by the 



ACTON. 



275 



town of Acton, to be expended under the direction of 
the Governor, George S. Boutwell, and a joint com- 
mittee of the town. 

There was a ditterence of choice by the committee 
as to where on the Common the monument should 
stand. The decision was finally left with the Gover- 
nor, who decided upon the present site, a spot not 
suggested by any one before, but which all agreed 
was just the place for it as soon as mentioned by the 
Governor. 

Another question decided, was whether it should be 
made of rough or hewn granite. "Let it be of God's 
own granite," said Mr. Woodbury, " and let it be from 
the Acton quarry nearest to the site." Most of the 
granite was taken from the hill in the rear of Mr. 
Woodbury's residence, less than a mile from the Com- 
mon to the north, and given by him for the purpose. 

The model finally approved by the committee has 
been universally admired for its beauty, simplicity 
and impressivenesa. It is seventy-five feet high ; the 
top is four feet four inches square ; a square shaft, 
reaching upward from a finely -proportioned arch on 
each side at its base. The base is fifteen feet wide, 
and extends eight feet into the earth, and is of good, 
split, heavy blocks of granite. Through the centre 
of the cap-stone projects upward a wooden flag-staff, 
twenty-five feet in length, from the top of which a 
flag is kept floating, at the expense of the town, on 
all public days of patriotic import. 

In a panel on the side facing the main avenue the 
inscription reads as follows: 

" The Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the town 
of Acton, co-operating to perpetuate the fame of their 
glorious deeds of patriotism, have erected this monu- 
ment in honor of Capt. Isaac Davis and privates 
Abner Hosmer and James Hayward, citizen soldiers 
of Acton and Provincial Minute-men, who fell in 
Concord Fight, the 10th day of April, a.d. 1775. 

" On the morning of that eventful day the Provin- 
cial officers held a council of war near the old North 
Bridge in Concord : and as they separated, Davis ex- 
claimed, 'I haven't a man that is afraid to go!' and 
immediately marched his company from the left to 
the right of the line, and led in the first organized 
attack upon the troops of George III. in that mem- 
orable war, which, by the help of God, made the 
thirteen colonies independent of Great Britain and 
gave political being to the United States of America. 

'•Acton, April 19, 1851." 

The old gravestones, which stood for seventy-five 
years to mark the resting-place of the three patriots 
in Woodlawn Cemetery, have beeu laid on the sides 
of the mound at the base of the monument. They 
are very ancient in appearance, and bear the follow- 
ing interesting inscriptions : 

"Menenti Moao. 

*' Here lies the body of Mr. Abner Hosmer, who was killed at Con- 
cord April 19^ 1775, in ye defence of yejuBt rights of his country, beitig 
in the twenty-first year of his age." 



Hay ward's is even more interesting, containing, in 
addition, this poetry : 

" This monument may nnburn ages tell 
How brave young Hayward like a hero fell, 
When fighting for his countries liberty 
Was slain, and here his body now doth lye — 
He and his foe were by each ottier slain. 
Hie victim's blood with his ye earth did stain. 

Upon ye field he was with victory crowned. 
And yet must yield his breath upon that ground. 
He expressed his hope in God before hie death. 
After his foe had yielded up his breath, 
oh, may his death a lasting witness lye 
Against oppressor's bloody cruelty." 

This contains the story of his death. After the 
defeat of the British he stopped at a pump to drink, 
when a British oiBcer, who came out of the house, 
exclaimed, " You're a dead man ! " Both aimed, fired, 
and both fell mortally wounded, the ofiicer dying a 
few seconds before young Hayward. The powder- 
horn worn by Hayward was pierced with the ball, 
and is now preserved, having been silver-mounted by 
Edward Everett. 

The third stone is that of Captain Davis, which is 
headed, "I say unto all, watch!" and then, after a 
record of his death, this is added : " Is there not an 
appointed time to man upon ye earth? Are not his 
days also like the days of an hireling? As the cloud 
vanisheth away, so he that goeth down to the grave 
shall come up no more. He shall return no more to 
his house; neither shall his place know him any 
more! Job 7: 1, 9, 10." 

The dedication of this monument was a day to be 
remembered by every loyal citizen of the town ; in- 
deed, by every one present true to the flag of the 
Union. It occurred October 29, 1851. The monu- 
ment was surmounted by the stars and stripes, and 
from each side of the apex was extended a line of 
streamers and flags Across the principal streets were 
also lines of flags, which were tastefully grouped and 
arranged by Mr. Yale, of Boston. 

The day was cloudy and lowering, but still favor- 
able for the ceremonies — no rain falling until they 
were all concluded. 

The attendance of the citizens of the surrounding 
towns was quite large. Five thousand persons were 
judged to be present, mostly the hardy and intelligent 
yeomanry of Old Middlesex, and their wives and 
daughters. 

The ceremonies of the day consisted of a proces- 
sion, an oration by His Excellency, Gov. Boutwell, 
a poem by Rev. J. Pierpont, of Medford, and a din- 
ner, which was succeeded by speeches from several 
distinguished gentlemen, among whom were Robert 
C. Winthrop, of Boston, Hon. B. Thompson, of 
Charlestown, Col. Isaac H. Wright, of Lexington, 
and Hon. Charles Hudson, of Lexington. A thou- 
sand plates were set for the dinner, under a mammoth 
tent, erected by Mr. Yule, of Boston, a few rods to the 
north of the monument. 

The procession was formed on the Green about 



276 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



noon. The military escort, which made a fine ap- 
pearance, was under command of Col. James Jones, 
of the First Artillery, with Major J. S. Keyes and 
Adjutant E. C. Wetherbee as stafl'. The following 
companies composed the battalion : The Concord 
Artillery, Capt. James B. Wood, accompanied by 
Flagg's Boston Brass Band ; the Prescott Guards, of 
Pepperell, under command of Alden Lawrence, first 
lieutenant ; the Sudbury Rifles, Captain Ephraim 
Morse. 

Following the escort was the civic procession, under 
command of Col. W. E. Faulkner, as chief marshal, 
assisted by Ed. W. Harringtou, A. L. Hutchinson, 
Simon Davis, Henderson Rowell, Henry Brooks, 
George G. Parker, A. J. Clough and H. L. Neal, 
mounted aids, and Messrs. L. Gilman, Marshall Par- 
ker, V. Lintell and Lowell Stearns, on foot to escort 
the ladies ; the Governor and aides, consisting of 
Colonels Heard, Chapman, Williams and Needham ; 
the President of the Massachusetts Senate, invited 
guests, the president, vice-presidents and committee 
of arrangements of the various towns, composed the 
second division. The third division embraced No. 1 
Division of the Order of United Americans, and the 
"O'Kommakamesit" Fire Company, No. 2, of Marl- 
boro'. The fourth and fifth divisions were composed 
of citizens from Lexington, Concord, Littleton, Box- 
boro', Sudbury, Westford, Stow and Acton. Several 
of these towns carried appropriate banners. That 
from Lexington was a liirge, white banner with a red 
fringe. On the front was the inscription, "Lexing- 
ton, April 19, 1775. O, what a glorious day for 
America ! '" On the reverse — " Freedom's Offering I " 
and the names of Parker and other patriots who fell 
in the fight at Lexington. 

From the Green the proces=iion proceeded towards 
the Old Burying-ground, southeast part of the town, 
where the remains of the jjatriots Davis, Hosmer and 
Hayward were deposited, awaiting their removal to 
the monument. 

The bones, which were disinterred some days before, 
were nearly entire, and were enclosed in an oblong, 
black walnut box, highly polished and studded with 
silver nails. The remains were enclosed in different 
compartments, each marked upon the cover by a 
silver plate bearing the name of the old patriots. 
The cheek-bone of Hosmer showed the trace of the 
ball which caused his death, entering just below the 
left eye and coming out at the back of the neck. 

The box was placed in a hearse, and under the 
escort of the " Davis Guards," First Lieutenant Dan- 
iel Jones in command, met the procession at the 
junction of the two roads leading to town. Here 
both parties halted— the military escort in open 
order, and with arms presented awaited the approach 
of the sacred remains — the Lowell Band, which ac- 
companied them, playing a beautiful dirge, composed 
by Kurick. Flagg's Brass Band, which accompanied 
the escort, then performed the dirge, " Peace, trou- 



bled;" after which the escort fell into position and 
the procession, including the remains, proceeded to 
the monument. Eight venerable citizens of Acton, 
all of them over seventy years of age, appeared as 
pall-bearers. They were: Joseph Harris, Dr. Charles 
Tuttle, each eighty-two years old ; Nathan D. Hosmer 
(nephew of Abner), eighty ; John Harris, Daniel 
Barker and James Keyes, each seventy-six years; 
Jonathan Barker, seventy-four ; and Lemuel Hil- 
dreth, seventy. The hearse was driven by John 
Tenney. 

Upon arriving at the monument the box contain- 
ing the remains was placed upon a stand in the street, 
which was covered with a black velvet pall. The 
box was opened and an opportunity given to all who 
wished to look upon the remains. The box was tben 
closed and deposited in the monument in the place 
designed for it. The procession was then again 
formed and proceeded to the tent, under which the 
remaining scenes of the day were to take place. 

The tent was hung around with streamers festooned 
and in the centre was the beautiful flag which had 
recently been presented by the ladies of Acton to the 
" Davis Guards." The tent was reached about one 
o'clock. Rev. J. T. Woodbury, president of the day, 
called upon Rev. Mr. Frost, of Concord, to invoke a 
blessing on the table and the day. An original hymn 
composed by Rev. Henry Durant, of Byfield, a native 
of Acton, was sung to the tune of " Hamburg." 
The first and sixth of the seven stanzas are here 
given 

" God, we give the praise to Thee, 

The hjonor of our nation's birth ; 
It was Thy power that made uh free — 

The power that guides the rolling earth. 
\a on this pile, beneath lAose skies, 

The peaceful light of heaven shall play. 
So the Heroic Past shall rise 

And meet the glories of that day." 

The oration, poem and speeches then followed, 
which were eloquent and stirring with patriotic senti- 
ment and fully appreciated by the responsive crowds 
in attendance. 

The closing words of Governor Boutwell. — " To-day 
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the town ot 
Acton dedicate this monument to the memory of the 
early martyrs of the Revolution and consecrate it to 
the principles of liberty and patriotism. 

"Here its base shall rest and its apex point to the 
heavens through the coming centuries. Though it 
bears the names of humble men and commemorates 
services stern rather than brilliant, it shall be as im- 
mortal as American history. 

"The ground on which it stands shall be made clas- 
sical by the deeds which it commemorates, and may 
this monument exist only with the existence of the 
republic : and when God, in His wisdom, shall bring 
this government to nought, as all human governments 
must come to nought, may no stone remain to point 
the inquirer to fields of valor, or to remind him of 
deeds of glory. 



i 



ACTON. 



"And finally may the republic resemble the sun in 
his daily circuit, so that none shall know whether its 
path were more glorious in the rising or in the set- 
ting." 

Judge Hoar's seniimrnt (of Concord). — " The mem- 
ory of Davis and Hosmer and their brave companions 
in arms : The men who fell at the Old North Bridge, 
of Concord, and the men who ai-engcd tlieir fall : the 
first who received the enemy's fire, and the first officer 
who returned it. One in purpose, one in patriotism : 
separated by the fortunes of that day — united forever 
in the gratitude and admiration of their country- 
men." 

Rev. Mr. Pierpont, the poet, gave this as his senti- 
ment, alluding to the slight interruption by the noise 
of knives and forks near the close of his poem, and 
sayinu that, having pitted his tongue against a bul- 
lock's, and been most terribly worsted, a speech could 
not be expected of him. 

" Let Poets learn at dinner to be brief, 
Else wiU tiieir tungues be beaten by the beef." 

Daniel Webster's sentiment, forwarded from Marsh- 
field. — " Isaac Davis : an early grave in the cause of 
liberty has secured to him the long and grateful re- 
membrance of his country." 

The Davis Monument was honored by a visit of the 
Stale Military Camp, of Concord, under the command 
of General Benjamin F. Butler, in the fall of 1870. 
The noon hour in camp was a scene of bustle in 
preparation for the afternoon march to Acton. While 
dinner was yet in a state of service at division quar- 
ters, the drums of the First Brigade were heard in 
the far distance to the right and the long line was 
marked by its dust, wending its way by a circuitous 
route to the review field. In half an hour the other 
brigades were on the march and at quarter of two 
o'clock five thousand men were inline. The infantry 
were on the right and centre, and the whole artillery 
and cavalry were mas^sed on the right. 

Promptly at two o'clock General Butler, mounted on 
a white horse, and with his full staff, took his place 
at the head of the division and rode out at the 
north corner on the Concord Road. He wore no 
plume. The marching column was about a mile and 
a quarter in length. The road from Concord to Acton 
was largely the same as the Acton troops took in the 
. Revolution, the division marching in column of fours. 
At frequent intervals groups of men, women and 
children were gathered to witness the pageant. 

The head of the column reached Acton at ten min- 
utes afier four o'clock. The selectmen, W. W. Davis, 
Elbridge J. Robbins, Jr., and Charles Robinson, with 
a committee of citizens and ladies, headed by John 
Fletcher, Jr., had made ample preparations to wel- 
come the troops. Houses were decorated and barrels 
upon barrels of lemonade and apples had been got 
ready. 

The monument was elegantly decorated and also 
the town hall adjacent. The streets were crowded 



with people in holiday attire. W. W. Davis, chair- 
main of the Board of Selectmen, addressed General 
Butler in an eloquent and earnest manner. The gen- 
eral responded : " In behalf of the soldiers of Massa- 
chusetts gathered herein your good old town, I thank 
you for your earnest welcome and for your otferid 
hospitality. It seems most pleasant to us to find so 
beautiful a resting-place after our long and weary 
march. You have referred to the services of the 
militia in the late war, and you will allow me to say 
that the character and conduct of Co. E, of Acton, 
evidenced that the spirit of the Revolutionary sires 
has not died out of the good town of Acton. 

"You have the honor of having erected the third 
monument of the War of the Revolution, and of 
having suffered among the first in that struggle. You 
have earned the right to say that the sons will, by 
deed and work, keep green the memories of this his- 
toric spot. You and they have made a noble record, 
and, as it has been in the piist, so may it be in the 
future. 

" I doubt not that the sight of this monument, and 
the thought that we stand on the ground made sacred 
by the ashes of heroes, will be of value to the Military 
of Massachusetts, in increasing in their bosoms the 
holier emotions of patriotism, and inspire them to be 
able defenders of the institution for which Davis, and 
Hosmer and Hayward fell. 

" We rejoice that we are able to be here and thank 
you again for the welcome and the bounty with which 
you greet us. We propose to close our response by a 
salute of thirteen guns, which will be fired by one of 
our light batteries, as a further tribute of respect and 
afl'ection for the men of Acton living and dead." 
The event was a lively one, and a feature of the week 
that will long be remembered by those who partici- 
pated in it, and by those who witnessed it. 

The War of' 1812.— The War of 1812 was not 
popular in this part of the country, but in the begin- 
ning of the war several men were enlisted in the 
army. In 1814 the military company called the 
Davis Blues was ordered into service as a body and 
was despatched to Boston to assist in the defence of 
that place against a possible attack. Hon. John C. 
Park, of Boston, a native oi Acton, and a grandson 
of Rev. Closes Adams, thus writes, describing the 
event : 

" 1 well remember the commotion in Acton on the 
day when the Blues met to take up their march to 
Boston. We boys were wild with excitement, but 
when the large doors of the meeting-house were 
thrown open and it was understood that the company 
would have prayers offered for them, we were so- 
bered at once. I thought the prayer was very earn- 
est and appropriate, and was indignant when after- 
wards, among the gathered knots of men in front of 
the porch, I heard some criticising it as being too 
much tinctured with the good old minister's anti-war 
seu'.iments. In a few davs the fifer returned and 



278 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



gave glowing accounts of their enthusiastic reception 
and the march of the Blues through Boston. It 
seems that at every street-corner the men and the 
boys would cheer, and the drum and fife were ex- 
pected to respond with a triple roll and salute. The 
poor fifer was so exhausted with his untiring efforts, 
to pipe shrill for the honor of his corps and the town, 
that he was taken with spitting of blood and had to 
return home. This I believe was the only blood shed 
during the campaign." 

The enemy kept away from Boston, otherwise the 
" Davis Blues " might have patterned after the style of 
the Davis minute-men thirty-nine years before at 
Concord. John Fletcher, afterwards captain of the 
company, was then clerk and went to Boston as clerk. 
Silas .Tones, the son of Aaron Jones, was the captain. 
His company was the first to report at headquarters 
(after receiving the orders) of any in the regiment. 
Three times since the existence of the nation a com- 
pany from Acton has l>een summoned at the outbreak 
of war, — the Revolution, the War of 1812 and the 
War of the Rebellion — and in each case has been the 
first to appear on duty. 

A list of Acton Davis Blues who went to South 
Boston in the War of 1812, whose names have been 
copied from the original-pay roll, in the handwrit- 
ing of the clerk of the company, Deacon John 
Fletcher, now in possession of Deacon Samuel Hos- 
mer : 

Captain, Silas Jones, son of Aaron Jones ; Ist Lieutenant, James 
Jones; 2d Lieutenant, Aaron Hayward ; Ensign, Jonathan Hosmer, Jr. ; 
Clerk, Jobn Fletcher; Samuel Conant, John Hendley, Silas Piper, Jr., 
tifer ; Paul Conant, bass drum ; Ahner Wheeler, small drum ', Luke 
Hayward, James Fletcher, Jr. (brother to the clerk) ; Jonathan B. 
Davis, James Hayward, Josiali H, Adams, Joseph Barker {2d), Jonathan 
Billings, Jr., Ephraim Billings, Josiah Bright, Jr., James Conaut, Joel 
Conant, John Conant, John Chaffln, Joseph T. Chamberlain, Ezekiel 
Chamberlain, Ebenezer Davis, Luther Davis, John S. Fletcher, Abel 
Forbush, Silas Hosmer, Moses Hayward (shot accidentally), Nathaniel 
Hapgood, John Harris, James Keyes, George Robbins, Joseph Bobbins, 
George W. Robbins, Jobn D. Robbins, William Reed (3d), Allen Rich- 
ardson, Jonathan Wheeler, Samuel Whitney, Oliver Wetherbee, Nathan 
D. Hosmer. 

ScHOOL-Hou.SES. — There was a movement in 1740, 
soon after the town was organized, to obtain an appro- 
priation for school purposes, but the movement failed. 
At a meeting in 1741 the town voted that a reading, 
writing and moving school be kept for six months. 

This early ac;tion in favor of a school on wheels 
shows that the idea is not original with the present 
generation. 

In 1743, at a special meeting in December, the town 
voted £18, old tenor, for a reading and writing school 
and to divide the town into three parts. 
• This division continued until 1751, when the dis- 
tricts were increased to six, in 1771 another was add- 
ed for a few years. 

From 1790-1800 there were five districts, then four 
for nearly thirty years, when the present division 
into six districts began. When there were only four 
districts the inhabitants of the southeast part of the 



town received their school money from the town and 
united with certain inhabitants of Sudbury and Con- 
cord, and had a school in a house which was just 
across the Sudbury line. This was called the School 
of the Three Friends. At this time the North and 
East Districts were one. Previous to the organiza- 
tion of the town there were buildings erected for school 
purposes at private expense, and the schools kept 
according to the circumstances then existing in differ- 
ent localities. 

The first schoolmasters were mostly residents of 
the town. As late as 1771 there were four school- 
houses which were private property. The first appro- 
priations for schools were very small — not more than 
£12. 

But few studies were taught and the teachers but 
poorly paid. The schools were called reading and 
writing schools, and none but the simplest rudiments 
of knowledge were taught before the present century. 

A master in the winter received but little more per 
week than a day-laborer, and the teacher of a 
" woman's school " but little more than a servant girl. 

In 17G0 an order was drawn to pay a master fifteen 
shillings for keeping school two weeks and a half, and 
another drawn for his board for half that sum. 

An aged resident of the town said that when she 
was a girl the lady teacher had one dollar per week 
for her services and her mother received one dollar 
per week for boarding her. The grant for schools was 
greatly supplemented by donations and subscriptions 
by the citizens for private schools. 

For several years a private school was supported 
in the autumn at the Centre of the town. Rev. Asa 
D. Smith, D.D.,late president of Dirtmouth College, 
was one of the teachers of that school. 

The town records give the following items : " October 
14, 1796, it was voted that there shall be five districts 
in this town, and the school-houses shall be built on 
the same places that was agreed upon by a former 
vote of the town, viz.: One of the said houses to be 
built near Mr. John Dexter's Paster bars on the 
road leading from the meeting house to Dr. Abraham 
Skinner's. 

" One on the hill West of Jonathan Tower's house. 

" One on the crotch of the road West of Samuel 
Wheeler's house (where Mr. Cyrus Wheeler's house 
now stands nearly). 

" One where the school house near Samuel Tuttle's 
now stands (in the East District, near Horace Hos- 
mer's present residence). The other house to be 
built where the school-house now stands near John 
Harris. 

" January 21st, 1797. To see if the town will agree 
to build a school-house to accommodate the District 
where the school-house was consumed by fire. 

"To see if the town will agree to form themselves 
into a certain number of school districts and provide 
each District with a school-house and divide the 
school money into so many equal parts." 



ACTON. 



279 



In 1797 a town-meeting waa called "to see if the 
town will reconsider all former votes respecting 
building school-houses, if any there be on record, and 
see if the town would build a school-house in the 
district that had the school-house burnt." (This house 
that was burnt stood at the turn of the road beyond 
Mr. Charles Tuttle's site leading to Mr. Thomas 
Hammond, in the south corner). 

" Voted to reconsider all former votes respecting dis- 
tricts for seven years past. Voted that there be a com- 
mittee of five men to fix a place for a school-house in 
the North District to which Lieutenant Noyes belongs, 
and that Jonas Brooks, John Edwards, Esq., Aaron 
Jones, George Robbins and Edward Wetherbee be 
the Committee. 

" Then voted fifty pounds to build said house and 
that said committee build such house as they think 
Propper for said District and the best way they can." 

In November, 1708, the committee appointed by 
the town reported they had " attended to the service 
and soaled four of the oald school-houses, viz.: one 
by Mr. John Adams, Jr., one by Oliver Jones, one by 
Hezekiah Wheeler's, and one near the meeting- 
house. The whole of which was soaled for Fifty- 
five dollars and approved notes given to the Town 
Treasurer for the same payable within nine months 
from the date." • 

The school-house located and built by this com- 
mittee, of which Jonas Brooks was chairman, was the 
old red school-house which stood for the next forty 
years a few rods north of the parsonage, then newly 
built, on the same side of the road. The frame of 
this school-house is now the substantial part of Mr. 
Cyrus Hale's house. It stood on rising ground facing 
the east. It was well built, square, with a high desk 
in the centre of the west side and rows of double 
desks rising on the north and south sides, the highest 
row on a level with the windows, styled the back 
seats, where the oldest scholars sat. This was the 
model for the school-houses built at tnat time. 

It answered the purpose of a grand amphitheatre 
for the development of the muscle and brain of 
xVcton's near future. 

Here the Tuttles, Taylors, Joneses, Fletchers, 
Hosmers, Conants, Stearnses, Richardsons, Davises, 
Parlins, Handleys, Browns gathered for their daily 
tilt with themselves, their mates and their masters. 

They came in groups from all parts of the district, 
ranging out a mile and a half and numbering in some 
winter terms nearly a hundred, all grades in charge of 
one teacher. The elements which collided and har- 
monized in this arena during a single day, and day 
after day, was a miniature picture of Acton's liveliest 
town-meeting. 

The story of this one-school-house would fill a vol- 
ume, but we have no space for the romance here, — • 

" Beside yon straggling fence tliat skirts the way 
With blossom'J furze, uuprotitably gay, 
There in his noisy mansion, skilleilto rule, 
The village master taught hislittle school ; 



A man severe ho was and stern to view — 
1 knew him well, and every truant knew." 

By-\vay.s axd Nooks of Actox.'— There is a de- 
serted farm lying to the southeast of Nagog Pond 
which many years ago was the home of a family 
named Chamberlain. The house and other buildings 
are now gone, but their location may be determined 
by the remaining well and cellars. 

This place suggests the stanza in one of Miss 
(Jhandler Moulton's poems : 

"The cowslips spring in the meadow, 
The roses bloom on the hill 
.\nd beside the brook in the pasture 
The herds go feeding at will," 

Itexactly answers to all the particulars. If the stanza 
had been written especially for this place, it could 
not have come nearer to reality. 

There is a profusion of cowslips in the meadow, an 
abundance of old-fashioned damask rosea on the 
hill near the well and a pretty brook, and almost al- 
ways there are cattle pastured there. 

The house, if it was still standing, would add greatly 
to the quaintness of the place. It is a quiet nook, 
away from all traces of civilization. There is an 
abundance of wild fruits in their season, and a rare 
place for boating or fishing on Nagog Pond. 

In a northerly direction from Strawberry Hill is 
where the Indians, once iuhabitants of this and the 
neighboring towns, used to go to manufacture their 
arrow-heads. They would never tell the early settlers 
definitely where they went, but would indicate that 
direction. Some years ago a hunter's dog while dig- 
ging for a rabbit or a fox, cut his paws badly. His 
master found he had dug intoa great quantity of very 
small sharp-edged, flint-like rocks, which, without 
doubt, were the remains left by the Indians from mak- 
ing their arrow-heads. 

Probably the first settlers of South Acton were 
Nathan Robbins and wife, who came from East Acton 
and located at a site now owned by Mr. James Tuttle 
on the road to Stow, called the Bright's House. They 
started from their home beyond the cemetery in East 
Acton. Mr. Robbins drove the team loaded with the 
household goods and the wife took charge of the baby 
and also the family pig. In her journey she came to 
the big brook, which the pig would not cross. He 
seemed to have some premonitions of his fate and 
that of his desceudants, should he head for that part 
of the country, but the woman was as resolute as the 
pig. She landed her most precious freight across the 
stream first, and then returning, pigged it over all 
safe, and at last reached their new home. The story 
is that Mrs. Robbins and freight reached the spot 
first. At any rate, for some unexplained reason, the 
ladies in that part of the town have always been a 
little ahead. 

The Old Chestkut-Tree, — If you have not seen 
that chestnut-tree don't miss the next chance. It is 

1 By Bertha H. Iloamar. 



280 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



one of the original settlers of the town. Its birth 
record is not on town-books, but some think it is well 
on to two hundred years old. It was in a flourishing 
condition when Captain Davis and his company 
passed that way in 1775. It was a large tree when 
Simon Hapgood, father of Benjamin, was a child. 

Thoreau and his sister came up from Concord to 
visit it before he died, and he made it twenty-two feet 
In circumference then. It is now more than that. 
The interior of the tree is hollow. The cavity is cir- 
cular, sixty inches in diameter and twenty-five feet in 
height, through which one may look and see the sky 
beyond. An opening has recently been cut at the 
bottom and entrance can be easily made. There are 
worse places for a night's lodging. A good crop of 
chestnuts is yearly produced by its living branches. 
The town should get possession of this luscious tablet 
of the bygones and see that no ruthless axe take it 
too soon from the eyes of the present generation. , If 
you wish to find it, go to the residence of Benjamin 
Hapgood, on Strawberry Hill, turn in from the road 
to the southeast from Mr. Hapgood's barn a few rods 
to a piece of woods, and you will easily find the 
venerable specimen. 

Geologic Sketch of Acton.'— Acton, unlike some 
of the neighboring towns, owes the principal part of 
its natural scenery to the irregular surface of the rock 
strata which form its foundation. The contour, 
through the action of the various atmospheric agen- 
cies, had nearly reached its present form before the 
glacial period, and it was but slightly modified by the 
action of the ice during that period. Rising to its 
greatest elevation near the centre of the town, the 
slope to the northward received the greatest force pro- 
duced by the motion of the ice toward the south, 
which resulted in grinding down and polishing the 
surface of the rock and in making the slope to the 
north more gentle, while the slope to the south was 
left steep and often ragged. 

The rock is a micaceous gneiss, often merging into 
mica schist firmly stratified, with a strike north 60° 
east, and a very steep dip to the northwest. This 
rock is a member of that crystalline series which 
forms the oldest portions of the earth's crust. Above 
this solid rock is the loose material known generally 
as earth — that is, the accumulation of gravel, sand, 
clay, loam, etc., which was brought to its present 
position and deposited by the agency of the ice sheet. 
Portions of this material were accumulated under the 
ice in a comparative thin layer over nearly the entire 
surface of the country. In certain places, however, 
it was built up, by a process not yet understood, into 
lenticular masses, with their longer axes parallel to 
the motion of the ice or nearly north-south. This 
gave rise to a prominent feature in our topography, 
the class of hills known as drumlins, and of which the 



hill just west of West Acton Village, the two south of 
South Acton, and Strawberry Hill, toward the north- 
east part of the town, are typical examples. On the 
surface of the ice and throughout its mass was a 
large amount of earth and rock, which was scattered 
over the surface of the country as the ice disappeared. 
This being in loose form, and easily acted upon by the 
floods produced by the melting of the glacier, was 
washed over and separated into distinct areas of sand, 
gravel and clay. These washed-over portions natur- 
ally accumulated in the lower levels, giving rise to 
the sand and gravel plains which extend along the 
courses of Nashobaand Fort Pond Brooks, and to the 
southeast merge into the larger areas bordering the 
Assabet River. Another and very peculiar feature 
of the washed-over material is the kame. This was 
formed by the small boulders and pebbles accumulat- 
ing in the channels of rivers running upon the ice, 
and which, upon the disappearance of the ice sheet, 
were deposited upon the surface of the country, form- 
ing long, narrow, winding ridges of coarse gravel. A 
very fine example of this occurs in Acton, extending 
from the extreme southeast corner of the town, near 
the powder-mills, with occasional gaps by the ceme- 
tery near the Centre, and thence nearly parallel to and 
just west of Nashoba Brook, nearly to Carlisle line. 
The streams which flow through the town still fol- 
low generally the valleys formed by them before the 
advance of the ice sheet, but in a few cases their 
courses have been slightly changed by the accumula- 
tions de|)osited by the glacier. The larger ponds oc- 
cupy pre-glacial valleys ; but the smaller ponds, like 
Grassy Pond in the north and Sinking Pond in the 
southeast, simply occupy small depressions in the 
surrounding sand plains. 

The Artist's View of Acton.^ — The surface of 
Acton, like that of most Middlesex towns, is sufiB- 
ciently broken and varied in its character to possess 
a fair share of picturesque localities. With the 
neighboring towns of Westford and Littleton, it forms 
an elevated range of hill country similar to that 
formed by Harvard and Bolton, only of lesser height. 
Within its boundaries and those of its neighbor 
towns are found some of the largest ponds of Middle- 
sex. Although unlike Concord or Sunbury, which 
are flat and meadowy, and which have the benefit of 
a river to supply their most beautiful points, this 
town may be said to possess a landscape not inferior 
to them. 

From a picturesque point of view, the near vicinity 
of running water is most favorable for producing in- 
teresting places. The variety of tree forms found in 
such localities, with the diflTerent crops on the culti- 
vated lands adjoining, are enhanced by the winding 
course of the stream. Though without a river, this 
town has two mill .streams which in a great degree re- 
place one. Two sections of the town are crossed by 



1 By George Barton, a native of Acton, and geologic teacher in tlie 
School of Technology, Boston. 



- By Arthur F. Davis, resident of the town. 



ACTON. 



281 



large brooks. Both West and South Acton are tra- 
versed by Fort Pond Brook, and the frequent dams 
erected for mill purposes create a succession of 
charming ponds. 

The finest stretch of this stream is perhaps that from 
South Acton Village to the road leading to Concord 
Junction at Hanson's. There it bends and twists its 
way through a fine succession of rocky and woody 
hollows, with here and there an interruption in the 
shape of a mill. In this section we are sure it is 
equal to any similar water-course in Middlesex in 
beauty. Through West Actcu it creates by its way- 
ward course many interesting places, but is not so 
picturesque as the locality just mentioned. 

As one comes along the highway leading from 
East Acton to the Centre, he crosses a stream con- 
verted by a mill-dam just below into a long, shallow 
pond, which extends northward some distance. This 
is Nashoba Brook, and, although smaller than the 
other, is the most picturesque stream within the town. 

Nashoba, from its source in Westford, comes down 
a long, winding valley into the meadows of East 
Acton. Where it enters Acton it is a quiet stream, 
flowing unnoticed through stretches of low land until 
it reaches the first mill, some two miles from its 
head-waters. At this place, where is a saw-mill, are 
found some rare bits, considered from a painter's 
point of view. 

Three tributary brooks enter Nashoba within the 
territory of Acton. The first enters near the Carlisle 
boundary; the largest, Nagog Brook, the outlet to 
Nagog Pond (this name is not Magog, but Nagog. 
The old Indian name is a good one) joins it a mile 
or so below the first mill-dam. Just below this is a 
smaller rivulet, which drains the meadows north and 
west of the Centre. The territory which lies between 
the first and third mills embrace the finest and most 
picturesque spots ou the stream. 

The old Jonathan Wheeler place, which is in this 
neighborhood, is particularly notable as being one of 
the most beautiful localities in the town. Just be- 
lojt the third mill the brook is crossed by a bridge a 
few rods south of the old Revolutionary bridge (now 
gone), over which, the minute-men marched to Con- 
cord via the Strawberry Hill road and the fields. 
Still farther down the stream is the long pond first 
mentioned, with its wide reach of intervale on either 
side and picturesque surroundings of the old mill 
and dam which creates it. 

Both our Acton brooks are tributary to the Assabet 
River, and unite their waters with it just over the 
Concord line. Although, like other streams, ours are 
perhaps the most attractive in the spring and fall, 
yet no season will be found unattractive about them. 
Each has its peculiar charm, which, if noticed, can 
never fail to give pleasure to the observer. Each 
cook and corner in their vicinity will amply repay 
the effort made to visit them, and a spare hour spent 
about them is looked back upon with interest. 



The pond region belonging to Acton is not exten- 
sive. There are only two small ponds — Grassy and 
Sinking Ponds — which are entirely within the town 
limits. Grass Pond is unique in having a singular 
sedgy growth about its margin, and is a pretty little 
sheet of water, famed for its lilies with pink-tinted 
leaves, which grow in great profusion. 

Sinking Pond is a minute reproduction of Walden, 
as it used to be before the building of the railroad 
and the advent of the modern pic-nic ground. The 
water of this pond, which has no visible outlet or in- 
let, is very clear and pure. Scarcely any vegetable 
matter appears about its borders, and it is surrounded 
by a high ridge of scrubby sand-hills. 

Nagog, of which Acton possesses the larger part, is 
the first lake in this section in point of size, its length 
being about two miles and its width one mile. Its 
waters are quite clear and deep, and are broken only 
by one small island near the southern end. 

There are many fine groups of trees about this 
southern end, which is wild and woody. Here are 
the greatest number of choice spots in early spring 
days, when the young leaves of the birches first green 
the wood, and the brilliant oriole hangs her nest on 
delicate pensile limbs over the water. 

The shore on this side is fringed by quantities of 
blueberry bushes and is rocky, without a beach. Back 
from these the hills rise up in broad bush-grown 
swells to the highest point of Acton — Nagog Hill, as 
it is called. 

The most vital and peculiar feature of our Acton 
landscape is found in its apple orchards. These are 
the most interesting part of the natural scenery here. 
Other towns, doubtless, share with Acton in this re- 
spect, but in none of them, in Middlesex at least, 
does the apple-tree reach such a picturesque state. 
The farmers do not think, many of tl:em, that the 
chance and irregular groups of wild apples springing 
up beside the road, side wall, or in corners in the 
pastures, are worth consideration. However, there is 
no more beautiful combination of color in the land- 
sca])e than that offered by these trees in the time of 
their bloom. 

Wild apples are proverbially famous for the deli- 
cacy and fragrance of their bloom, which is also of 
richer color than that of the cultivated varieties. 
Cultivated orchards, of course, are in greater number 
than these wild trees, and are rightly paramount in 
commercial importance. Although planted as they 
are in checker-board form for economy of space and 
ease of cultivation, nature early asserts her magnifi- 
cent arrangement and leans the trees in different di- 
rections. There is nothing commonplace about the 
apple-tree wherever found. Its limbs are crooked 
and full of surprising twists, and its spray, though 
coarse, is full of characteristic kinks. With the jios- 
sible exception of a few varieties, it never forms a 
regular cylindrical head, but with its growing years 
increases in the beauty of its irregular outline. The 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



orchards are, in short, most typical of our rocky, hilly 
country, and are its crowning beauty. 

The magnificent blooming tree is a perpetual re- 
proach to those who only consider it after its fruit is 
packed away in a cellar or in barrels ready for mar- 
ket. The aboundant growth of wood and orchard af- 
ford the birds sufficient protection and food to enable 
them to multiply without molestation in Acton. 
Consequently, our ornithological list embraces most 
of the species found in inland New England, with 
the exception of the sea birds, a few of which visit 
our ponds and brooks in the early spring or fall. The 
large family of wood warblers in particular thrive 
here; the catalogue often comprises upward of twelve 
species and, doubtless, a more practical observer 
might extend the list. 

In the flora, too, Acton offers particularly rich op- 
portunities. The varied character of the country af- 
fords protection to a surprisingly wide variety of 
plant growth. Among the trees we have nearly all 
found in Massachusetts. One, however, the true pa- 
per or canoe birch, is well-nigh extinct here, only a 
few scattered specimens remaining in town. 

Game in Acton. — The hills, woods, brooks and 
ponds of Acton have been noted from earliest dates 
for the frequent visits of the disciples of the gun and 
rod. The Indians for generations had the first chance 
on these grounds. We need not go to the books to 
be sure that they were in goodly numbers and in trim 
for luck among the fins, the furs and the feathers. 

The apostle John, when he went on his missionan.- 
tours among the Indians, had to come to these parts, 
for he was sure to find an audience along the Nashoba 
waters and the " big brook." These Indians could 
sing. Eliot had good success in that line. Wilson 
relates that at their meeting " the Indians sung a 
Psalm, made Indian by Eliot in one of our ordi- 
nary English tunes melodiously." In 1689 there 
were twenty-four Indian preachers. In 1676 there 
were 567 praying Indians at Nashoba plantation. 

James S|)ear, with his Indian choir, sung Psalms at 
one of Eliot's meetings May 14, 16.54. There has 
always been something in the atmosphere or in the 
ground or in the spot in th's vicinity congenial to 
music. We have heard fish and game stories among 
the veterans of our own day, and have heard them 
sing and whistle and blow their horns on their home- 
ward beat ; but those red men of the past, if they 
could speak, would easily silence these modern 
tongues. 

The earliest records show that the brooks were once 
stocked with some varieties not now common. 

Captain Daniel Tuttle's mother, Harriet Wether- 
bee, sister to Edward Wetherbee, Senior, used to go 
down to the brook, below the dam, and throw out 
shad and alewives in her day. They had atone time, 
on the Assabet, at Southeast Acton, a fish warden 
and fish weirs. 

As early as 1.5th of February, 1739, there was an 



article in the town warrant " to know whether the 
town will insist on Mr. Faulkner's opening his dam 
30 days in a year, as ye law directs, where alewives 
and other fish pass in great plenty." 

There used to be a deer's man appointed by the 
town to look after the deer and decide upon questions 
relating to the matter, which shows the deer were 
here. There have always been self-appointed private 
wardens to look after the dears, but these were bona- 
fide deer. 

Men who hunt and fish for sport are noted for their 
quiet, modest ways, and it is difficult to get any state- ■ 
ment from them on their luck, but by hard pressing, 
a few items have been secured, which may be of in- 
terest to the public. Worse records even than these 
could be had, if the right men could be interviewed 
by the right man. Tliey did not intend to have 
their names mentioned, and so are not responsible for 
the publishing of the inglorious tale of their life 
record : 

Elnathmi Jones: pickerel, .'iOOO ; perch, 3000; trout, 200; bass, 
100 ; liirgest pickerel, Gj^^ lbs. ; largest bass, 5 lbs. At one lucky trip 
the average weigbt of the perch, 1^ lbs., several woighing 2 lbs. ; 
foxes, ;J0 ; gray squirrels, 200. 

Hiram Uapgood in ten yeai-s; bass, 20 ; pickerel, 200 ; perch, 400 ; 
pouts, 100 ; crows, 1. 

J. K. W. Wetherbee : bass, 10 ; pickerel, 1000 ; perch, 2000 ; pouts, 
2500 ; gray squirrels, 500 ; raccoon, 1 ; hawk, five feet across from tip 
to tip. 

Swift Fletcher : pickerel, 3000 ; the largest number at any one time, 
167 ; pouts, 2500 ; bass, 100 (three weighing over 4 lbs., not one over 
5 lbs.) ; foxes, 100 ; raccoons, 7 ; ducks, 30; gray squirrels, 600 ; sold 
105 skins one year for a robe for Captain Whitcomb ; partridges, 2000 ; 
rabbits, lOOO ; pigeons, 400 ; Otter, 1. 

Fifty years ago pigeons were abundant in the woods, 
and during some seasons made it lively for the hunts- 
men, who would have great sport in shooting them 
upon the wing as they flew in flocks over certain lo- 
calities. 

The pigeon-stands were quite common, where, by 
nets and proper baiting, they could be caught in large 
numbers. 

The stocking of Nagog Pond a few years since by 
the town with bass has introduced a new variety in 
the fishing sport. ^ 

On the 1st of July, when the permit is issued Tor 
trying the luck on these delightful waters, there is a 
decided fish smell in this vicinity. The most sober 
men in town — deacons, ministers, lawyers, justices of 
the peace, senators and representatives — doctors — the 
moderator himself — may be seen rigging their poles 
and reeling to and fro — with their lines, if per- 
chance, they may strike the spot where they are sure 
of a prize. 

Just watch the justice a moment. He is leaning 
over the boat. He hears the click of the reel as his 
line spins out through the ruffled waters. What are 
all his cases in court now? There is only one case 
on the docket just now, and that must have all the 
nerve and muscle. You maj' laugh at him and call 
him a fool, and off his base ; but the question fairly 
holding the court is, bass or no h'us. 



ACTON. 



283 



The 19th of April, 1861. — Again the historic day- 
returns, rich with its patriotic memories. We hail 
its presence as we would that of an old and endeared 
friend come back to the family hearthstone. It re- 
calls events which should never be forgotten while 
the government remains or its annals stand upon the 
imperishable record. 

In the War of the Revolution, without the 19th of 
April, there might never have been the 17th of June, 
and without the 17th of June there might never have 
been the 4th of July, and without the 4th of July the 
stars and stripes would never have floated o'er land 
and sea to the joy of many generations. To the citi- 
zens of Acton and vicinity this day has been for over 
a hundred years, of all other days in the year, the 
most marked. Its yearly advent has been celebrated 
with new and old rehearsals of what occurred at the 
North Bridge at Concord, with the ringing of bells, 
the firing of salutes, the parade of military, oration.s, 
bonfires and general glorification. The old patriots 
wlio were at the bridge in 1775, when Captain Davis 
fell at the head of his command, have told it to their 
children and their children's children. The monu- 
ment which stands upon the village green is but an 
embodiment, in solid native granite, of the sentiment 
which has thus been alive among these hills and val- 
leys for over a hundred years. 

When the telegram came to Captain Daniel Tuttle, 
on the evening of April 15th, to have his company 
report the next morning at Lowell, armed and equip- 
ped for war service, it found a response prompt and 
earnest from every man. 

Though scattered in different towns, and not ex- 
pecting the summons, the bells were rung in the 
night, messengers sent in all directions post-haste, 
equipments forwarded, carriages procured, overcoats 
provided — for it was a cold, cheerless April night — 
and at 7.3<> o'clock on the morning of April 16th, 
Captain Tuttle was able to report to Col. Jones, of the 
Sixth Regiment, hi.s whole command ready for duty. 

Farms, shops, stores, homes, families, friends, plans, 
had been left behind in an instant, and they were on 
their way to destinies which none could foretell. 
They had played the soldier on the parade-ground in 
peaceful days, in holiday attire. It now meant busi- 
nc-is. The country was in a death-struggle all at once. 
Its very capitol was in danger of capture or destruc- 
tion by rebel hands. 

Captain Daniel Tuttle was born February 14, 1814, 
on the heights which overlook the village and town, 
one of the oldest of a large family of children. His 
father, Francis Tuttle, Esq., was for a long time an 
officer and influential citizen of the place. The cap- 
tain was elected to command the Davis Guards in the 
years 1855, 1857, 1859, 1861. He was twice postmas- 
ter. He was forty-seven years old at the outbreak of 
the war, and exempt by age from military duty. He 
was a Breckenridge Democrat in the preceding can- 
vass for the Presidency against Lincoln. He had at 



the time a large farm on his hands, a wife and numer- 
ous children — some of them young. 

At the opening of a new season, and with all his 
cares so pressing, it seemed impossible for him to 
leave ; yet when the summons came there was but 
one decision. When seated in his wagon, just as he 
was about to leave, he said to family, neighbors and 
townsmen, as a parting word, " God take care of you 
all." 

In those dark, ominous moments of suspense, the 
appearance of the old Sixth Regiment in Boston, in " 
the early morning after the evening's summons, and 
its steady march down Washington Street, with knap- 
.sacks, overcoats, flashing bayonets and beating drums, 
on their way to the seat of war, and the cheering 
and almost frenzied crowds which accompanied every 
step, was a scene which it is worth a life to witness. 
No one not present can know the enthusiasm of that 
occasion. 

Their march down Broadway, New York, was a 
repetition of the same scene, only on a grander scale, 
and in a city whose citizens were not supposed to be 
so largely in sympathy with the soldier. The appear- 
ance of the old Sixth Massachusetts in their streets, 
made up of all parties, and with each man's life of- 
fered for sacrifice, united the divided city, and they 
became as one man in saying "The Union shall be 
preserved." The passage through Philadelphia was 
in the night, or there would have been another repe- 
tition of the same boundless cheer and God speed the 
right, from the surging crowds of that ever loyal city. 

Baltimore was reached on the 19th of April. It 
was the North Bridge of division between the 
contending sections of the land. The city overflowed 
with bitterness, and cursing against the Union, and 
the men who came to defend her. 

"On this morning," says the historian, " the streets 
were filled with a scowling, angry mob, as the cars, 
eleven in all, containing the Sixth Massachusetts 
Regiment, rolled into town. The cars were drawn by 
horses across the city from one railroad to another. 
As they penetrated ferther into the city the crowd be- 
came more dense, and the faces grew blacker with 
hate. Stones, brickbats and all kinds of missiles 
were thrown through the windows of the cars. At 
first the soldiers bore it patiently and without resist- 
ance, until all but two of the cars reached the station. 
These two, separated from the others, were surrounded 
by a yelling crowd, that opposed their passage. The 
officers consulted and concluded to disembark the 
men and march them in solid column to the station. 
The brave fellows went on through a shower of stones, 
bricks and scattering shots. 

" At last, just before they reached the station, the 
colonel gave orders to fire. The soldiers discharged their 
guns among the crowd and several of the mob fell 
dead or wounded. The troops reached the station and 
took the cars. The scene that ensued was terrific. 
Taunts, ilothed in the most offensive language, were 



284 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



hurled at the troops by the panting crowd, who, breath- 
less with running, pressed to the windows, presenting 
knives and revolvers and cursing up into the faces of 
the soldiers. Amid such a scene the Massachusetts 
regiment passed out of the city, having had four of 
their number killed and thirty-six wounded. 

"On this very day, the 19th of April, eighty-six 
years before, the first blood shed in the war of the 
Revolution had stained the grass in front of Lexing- 
ton meeting-house, and on the Concord plains. 

" On the second anniversary, long to be remembered, 
the first blood in the Civil War flowed in the streets of 
Baltimore, shed from the veins of the descendants of 
tKese early patriots." 

The Davis -Ouards received at home, on their 
return, Aug. 10, 1861. The Davis Guards arrived at 
South Acton at about 8.30 o'clock, Saturday morning. 
A large crowd had collected to welcome them home. 
After cordial greetings a procession was formed and 
proceeded to the Centre in the following order : Col. 
W. E. Faulkner, chief marshal, assisted by Henry 
AVilder, James Wetherbee and John H. Sanborn ; 
National Band of Worcester ; Union Guards, Capt. A. 
C. Handley, 50 men ; Liberty Guards, Capt. S. Willis, 
40 men; Drum corps ; Hayward Guards, Capt. Daniel 
Jones, 62 men ; Lowell Brigade Band (this band 
barely escaped with their lives at Baltimore) ; Davis 
Guards, Capt. David Tuttle, 52 men ; Concord Artil- 
lery, Capt. Prescott, 54 men ; Detachment of Concord 
Artillery, with field-pieces, Capt. M. Hobson, 12 men ; 
Chief Engineers of Concord Fire Department ; Hook- 
and-Ladder Co., Charles Stowell, foreman, 10 men ; 
Independent Engine Co., Jonas Melvin, foreman, 60 
men. 

A little out of the village a procession had been 
formed, under the direction of Samuel Hosmer, Esq., 
of the citizens of Acton and the adjoining towns, 
awaiting the arrival from South Acton. 

Upon the arrival of the military they formed in 
the rear, and were thus escorted into town. Upon 
the arrival of the procession in town it gathered 
around the speaker's stand, when prayer was offered 
by the chaplain, Rev. Alpha Morton, after which Dr. 
John M. Miles, in behalf of the town, welcomed them 
in an eloquent address. This was responded to in be- 
half of Capt. Tuttle, by Dr. Harris Cowdrey. 

Col. Faulkner made a brief address to the audience. 
About 12.30 o'clock the companies formed into line, 
and marching to the monument, three cheers were 
called for and heartily given for the American flag, 
and at the same time a new, beautiful banner was run 
up to the lop of the monument by Willie Boss, from 
which point, as if by magic, it sprang into the air, 
the band playing the " Star Spangled Banner." Hon. 
Charles Hudson, of Lexington, then delivered a very 
able address. 

After an intermission of an hour, sentiments were 
oftered by the toast-master, O. W. Mead, Esq. Brief 
addresses were made by Rev. James Fletcher, of Dan- 



vers (a native of Acton), Hon. E. W. Bull, George 
Stevens, Esq., John White (a member of Davis 
Guards, who fought under the stars and stripes in 
Mexico, who is an Englishman, but when the order 
for marching came, volunteered to go with the Davis 
Guards), Hon. James M. Usher, of Medford, George 
M. Brooks, Esq., of Concord, Capt. Phelps, of Lex- 
ington, and Lieut. Bowers, of the Concord Rifles. 

There were about three thousand people present. 
The route of the procession was handsomely decorated 
with flags and mottoes, as was also the new store of 
James Tuttle & Co., at South Acton. Over the ar- 
mory, " Davis Guards not afraid to go ; " in the town- 
house, " God defend the right;" on the monument, 
" Union, Davis, Hosmer, Hayward ; " at Capt. Daniel 
Jones', "Welcome home;" at Lieut. .T. Blodgett's, 
" Honor to the brave ; " at Hon. John Fletcher, Jr.'s, 
" First to go ; " at E. S. Buffum's, " Safe return ; " over 
J. Fletcher & Sons' store, " Through Baltimore." 

A detachment of the Concord Artillery fired a na- 
tional salute on the arrival of the Guards at South 
Acton, also as the procession reached the centre of 
the town. 

The Civil War.' — The existence of a military 
company in Acton at the outbreak of the Rebellion 
was of great advantage to the town. 

In 18.50, on the seventy-fifth anniversary of Con- 
cord Fight, a union celebration took place at Con- 
cord, in which the inhabitants of Acton took part. 
A large company from Acton represented the minute- 
men of the Revolution, ofiicered by Colonel Win- 
throp E. Faulkner, as captain, and Daniel Jones, the 
son of Captain Silas Jones, who commanded the 
Davis Blues in Boston in the War of 1812, and James 
Harris as lieutenants. They wore a flannel blouse 
and carried canteens with 1775 stenciled on them as 
uniform, and armed with guns of no particular stand- 
ard, though some of them looked old enough to have 
been at the original Concord Fight; but the contents 
of some of the canteens, judging of its potency, was 
of a hiter period. 

The marching of this company elicited warm en- 
comiums from military men present, and the result 
was a reawakening of interest in military matters in 
Acton and the permanent organizing of Company E, 
Sixth Massachusetts Regiment, known as the Davis 
Guards, the following winter. 

Colonel Faulkner was the first captain of this com- 
pany, and its other commanding officers till the out- 
break of the Rebellion are here given : Captain Dan- 
iel Jones, Rufus Holden, Captain Moses Taylor, Cap- 
tain Daniel Tuttlle, Captain .\aron C. Handley. and 
again Captain Tuttle who was still at its head in 1861. 

In obedience to General Order No. 4, issued by 
Governor Andrew, January 16, 1861, requiring the 
militia of the State to be forthwith put into a state of 
efliciency, this company practiced at drill every 



1 From an address by Luther Conao^, Eeq., before the Grand Army. 



ACTON. 



2S5 



week during the winter and recruited its ranks to be 
ready to answer any call. On the 19th of January, 
at a meeting of the field officers and company com- 
manders, at the American House in Lowell, it was 
unanimously voted to tender the services of the 
Sixth Massachusetts Regiment to the Governor and 
Legislature when such services shall become desir- 
able for purposes contemplated in General Order No. 4. 

On the 23d of January, the Legislature proffered to 
the President of the L^nited States such aid in men 
and nJoney as he he may require to maintain the au- 
thority of the National Government. This resolution 
was forwarded the same day to the President. 

The result of this act of volunteering was that the 
Sixth Regiment was the first regiment called, and 
General Butler was the first to receive a commission 
as a general officer of volunteers. 

Many have never been able to understand how a 
regiment from Massachusetts should have reached 
Washington in advance of nearer States. 

The circumstances of the transmission of the order 
are given somewhat in detail. The proclamation of 
President Lincoln calling for 75,000 men, and convok- 
ing an extra session of Congress was dated April 15th, 
but did not re.ach Boston until the l(3th and was not 
received at Albany until the 17th, receiving from the 
Governor of New York on the 19th the response by 
telegram to the President that the Seventh would 
start for Washington that evening. 

On the 15th of April Governor Andrew received 
a telegram from Senator Henry Wilson announcing the 
call for troops. 

The Governor at once issued his Special Order No. 
14, commanding the coloneh of the Third, Fourth, 
Sixth and Eighth Regiments forthwith to muster their 
commands in uniform on Boston Common, and sent 
it by special messengers. Colonel Jones, who was 
in Boston, received his order first, took it to Brigadier- 
General Butler for regular transmission and issued 
his orders the same day by telegraph to the Lowell 
and Lawrence companies of the Sixth and took the 
four o'clock train on the Fitchburg Railroad to carry 
the order to the companies in Acton and Groton to 
assemble in Huntington Hall in Lowell on the morn- 
ing of the Kith at seven o'clock — uniformed and ready 
to proceed to Washington. 

Colonel Jones, on his trip to Groton, met Captain 
A. C. Handley in the railroad station at South 
Acton, who immediately started with the order to 
Captain Tuttle. 

Late in the afternoon of the 15th Captain Daniel 
Tuttle was chosen in town-meeting to an important 
office. On being requested by the moderator to be 
sworn as usual, he declined for the reason that he 
was liable to be sent out of the State with his com- 
pany any day. 

In a little more than an hour the summons came 
Captain Tuttle started immediately for Lowell and 
messengers were sent at once to rally the absent men. 



Captain A. C. Handley went to Leominster to notify 
the Wilder Brothers and returned with them on time. 

Other messengers were sent in different directions, 
and at two o'clock in the morning of the Kith the bells 
of the town-house and church were rung, calling the 
people of Acton to witness the departure of that mil- 
tary company which was the first in this or any other 
State to leave their homes in response to the Presi- 
dent's call. 

The company reached Lowell before the hour 
named, 7 a.m. on the morning of the IGth, and with 
the other companies of the regiment were dispatched 
to Boston during the day. Its departure to Washing- 
ton was delayed somewhat by reason that it was late 
on the morning of the 16th that Governor Andrew 
decided to attach to the Sixth Regiment Companies 
L and R, from Stoneham and Boston. 

The regiment left Boston about sunset on the even- 
ing of the 17th, and reached New York the next 
morning and Philadelphia the next afternoon. It 
left Philadelphia at one on the morning of the 19th, 
and, had there been no delay, would have passed 
through Baltimore early in the morning and probably 
without opposition; but the train carrying the Sixth 
was a very long one, and the passage of the Susque- 
hanna (then made by ferry) consumed so much time 
and the slow rate of speed owing to the length of the 
train delayed its arrival at Baltimore until ten o'clock 
in the forenoon. 

At that time each separate car was drawn through 
the streets of the city by strings of horses, and thus 
the different companies of the regiment became sep- 
arated. 

The first six companies, including Company E 
(Davis Guards), passed through without serious molesta- 
tion, but the remaining five companies were attacked 
by the mob, through which they gallantly forced their 
way, though not without thirty-si.\: of the men re- 
ceiving gun shot wounds and the loss of four soldiers 
killed. 

In the long procession of fallen patriots who were 
to pass forward and onward to eternity from the bat- 
tle-fields of the Rebellion, these four Massachusetts 
soldiers led the way. 

Leaving Baltimore about two o'clock the Sixth 
reached Washington — forty miles distant — late in the 
afternoon, and were received by General McPowell, of 
General Scott's staff, and were assigned quarters in 
the Senate chamber in the Capitol, where they re- 
mained about twelve days. 

The regiment, aided by a partof the Eighth Regiment 
and a battery, the whole under the command of Gen- 
eral Butler, then went back and re-opened the route 
through Baltimore, staying tliere some ten days, and 
were detailed to guard the junction of the main track 
of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at the Washing- 
ton branch, at the Relay House, where they remained 
till the expiration of their service. 

At this time detachments were sent to Baltimore — 



286 



HISTOKY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



one to arrest Marshal Ham and another to capture a 
noted rebel who was wanted at Fortress Monroe. 

The regiment was mustered in at Washington 
April 22d, and discharged August 2d, being absent 
from home about 115 days. The term of service, 
though brief, is assured a high place in history. This 
regiment was the first to leave home and the first to 
be attacked. It received a vote of thanlis from the first 
session of the Thirty-seventh Congress for the alacrity 
with which they responded to the call of the President, 
and for the bravery and patriotism which they dis- 
played on the 19th of April in fighting their way 
through Baltimore on their march for the defence of 
the national Capitol. 

In his order dismissing the regiment Governor 
Andrew said: "Its gallant conduct has reflected new 
lustre on the Commonwealth, and has given new his- 
toric interest to the 19th of April. It will be re- 
ceived by our people with warm hearts and generous 
hands." Of the fifty-two men who went out under 
Captain Tuttle, twenty-seven are now living. 

Shortly after the return home of the Sixth Regiment, 
Colonel Jones commenced to recruit a regiment of 
three years' men, to be numbered the Sixth Massachu- 
setts. It was not till the ranks were full and it was 
nearly ready to leave for the seat of war that Gover- 
nor Andrew decided to retain rhe old Sixth as a militia 
regiment, to be called upon in cases of special 
urgency. 

The new regiment was numbered the Twenty-Sixth, 
Most of the officers and many of the men of the old 
Sixth had enlisted for three years, and were enrolled 
in the Twenty-sixth. Captain Tuttle's health not per- 
mitting him to return to the war, William H. Chap- 
man, lieutenant of Company E, old Sixth, became 
captain of Company E, Twenty-sixth Regiment, 
and twenty members of the old company enlisted 
in the new one. This regiment was mustered into 
the service of the United Stales October 18,1861, 
ami left the State November 21st, same year, taking 
passage on the steamship "Constitution" to Ship 
Island, on the coast of Louisiana, and remained at 
Ship Island about tour months. 

At that time the fleet under Commodores Farragut 
and Porter, bombarded Forts St. Philip and Jackson, 
on the Mississippi River, and the Twenty-sixth Regi- 
ment moved in rear of the forts in readiness to assault, 
but the surrender of the forts avoided the necessity 
of an attack, and saved many valuable lives. 

After the surrender the regiment garrisoned the 
forta about four months, and then was ordered to New 
Orleans for provost duty. It remained there about a 
year, then started with General Banks on the expedi- 
tion up the Red River as far as Opelousas; then or- 
dered back to New Iberia, where about three-fourths 
of the company re-enlisted, and were given a fur- 
lough, commencing April 4, 1864, of one month, to 
visit their friends at home. Upon the expiration of 
the furlough the regiment was ordered to return to 



New Orleans, La., which journey was made on steam- 
ship "Cahawha" and arrived at its destination May 
20th. 

After occupying Carrollton and Morganza, it re- 
turned to New Orleans, and on July 11th embarked 
on steamer "Charles Thomas" for Bermuda Hun- 
dred, Va., which place wiis reached the 21st of July. 
On the 28th the regiment marched to Deep Bottom, 
Va., where considerable picket firing took place, but 
no casualties happened. Subsequently the regiment 
was ordered to Washington, D. C, and then marched 
through a portion of Maryland to the valley of the 
Shenandoah River, reaching Winchester on the morn- 
ing of the battle of September 19, 1864. The battle 
commenced about 10 o'clock in the forenoon and 
lasted till 5 p.m, when the enemy retreated. The 
regiment, being in the lead, advanced too far without 
proper support, and found itself with the enemy not .1 
only in front, but on both flanks, and, being thus ex- I 
posed to a severe cross-fire, suftered severely. Company I 
E having seven men killed or mortally wounded. Of 1 
the four months' men who went into the battle, at its 
close only twenty-three were fit for duty. The battle 
of Fisher's Hill took place three days later. 

On October 18th the three years' term of service of 
that portion of the regiment that did not enlist hav- 
ing expired, the regiment was consolidated into a 
battalion of five companies by Special Order No. 64, 
and those whose term of enlistment had expired were 
separated from their comrades who had re-enlisted. 
In the battle of the following day, let it be said to the 
credit of many of those discharged men, though under 
no obligation to do so, they gallantly again entered 
the ranks, fought all day and helped to change a tem- 
porary defeat into a glorious victory. , 

I am sorry to say that this voluntary act of patriot- ll 
ism cost some of these noble men their lives. Corporal 
Loker tells me that after the fight he helped to bury 
two men killed in the action whose term of service 
had expired before the battle. 

On October 19th the rebel army surprised the 
Union troops at Cedar Creek, driving them back four j 
miles in confusion. This was the scene of Sheridan's 
famous ride from "Winchester, twenty miles away," 
though, as a matter of fact, the Union troops had 
made a stand before his arrival. The remarks he 
made to his men greatly inspirited them, though it 
is not probable that these remarks will ev«r take a, 
place in polite literature. 

The results of the battle of Cedar Creek were the 
capture of nearly all of the rebel baggage-train and 
field artillery, and the complete dispersion of Early'a 
forces. The battalion remained at Winchester dur- 
ing the winter, were ordered to Washington May 2d, 
and one month later were sent to Savannah, Ga., 
where they remained until August 26, 1865, when the 
battalion was mustered out of service; left Savannah 
September 12th, and reached Boston September 18th; 
were sent to Gallop's Island for final payment, and 



ACTON. 



287 



reached Acton the evening of October 21, 1865, after 
an absence of four years and three days. 

In the narrative of Company E, Twenty -sixth Regi- 
ment, I stated that Governor Andrew decided to retain 
the Sixth as a militia regiment to answer sudden calls. 
In response to such a call it left the State August 31, 
18G2, to serve for nine months under Colonel Albert 
S. FoUansbee, of Lowell. Company E, of Acton, was 
officered as follows: Aaron C. Handley, captain; 
Aaron S. Fletcher and George W. Rand, lieutenants ; 
Dr. Isaiah Hutchins, hospital steward for the regi- 
ment. 

Captain Handley had commanded the Davis 
Guards some years before the war. His grandfather 
had served in the Revolutionary War and his father 
did military duty in the War of 1812. 

The regiment was ordered to proceed to Suffolk, 
Virginia, near Fortress Monroe. It assisted in the 
construction of Forts Nansemond and McLellan. The 
regiment was detailed for guard duty in the forts, 
afterwards for scouting duty and destroying rebel 
railroads, among which were the Norfolk and Peters- 
burg Railroad and the Seaboard and Roanoke. 

The regiment took part in several battles and skir- 
mishes. Among these may be mentioned the Deserted 
House, CarrsviUe and Ludlow Lawrence's home. In 
these actions the Sixth had twenty-seven men killed 
and wounded. No casualties in Acton company, 
though that company lost three men by disease. The 
regiment was mustered out June 3, 1863. 

The services of the old Sixth were required for the 
third and last time during the war, for a term of 
enlistment of one hundred days, commencing July 18, 
1864. 

Col. Follansbee again led the regiment, and Co. E, 
Davis Guards, of Acton, was under the following list 
of officers : Frank M. Whitcomb, who was orderly ser- 
geant during the nine months' term of service in 1861 
and 1863, was captain, with George W. Knight and 
Isaiah Hutchins as lieutenants. The regiment was 
ordered to proceed to Washington, D. C, and marched 
to Arlington Heights and performed fatigue duty in 
front of Fort Stevens for two or three weeks. This 
fatigue duty consisted in leveling the ground and fell- 
ing trees to give greater range and efficiency to the 
great guns of the fort. After this time it was ordered 
to garrison Fort Delaware and to guard the rebel 
prisoners in the fort. After a useful but uneventful 
term of service it was mustered out, Oct. 27th, and re- 
turned home. 

Of the one hundred men in Captain Whitcomb's 
company, twenty-nine were from Acton. No casual- 
ties or deaths occurred during this enlistment. 

The official military record of the town of Acton re- 
ports as sent to the army during the War of the Rebel- 
lion 215 different men, including twenty commissioned 
officers. The adjutant-general's report for 1865 states 
that at the close of the war she had answered all calls 
required to till her quota, and had a surplus of thirty 



men to her credit. The number of commissioned offi- 
cers was exceptionally large. No Acton-born soldier, 
credited to her quota, deserted, or failed to receive an 
honorable discharge. 

The recruiting committee of the town were the 

selectmen : James E. Billings, J. K. W. Wetherbee and 

Jonas K. Putney, with an assistant committee of 

tliree : Daniel Wetherbee, Capt. A. C. Handley and 

I Varnum R. Mead. 

1 Four brothers enlisted from one family, and the 
head of that family a widow, Mrs. Abram Handley. 
; Though one of these brothers (Frank) died early in 
the war, and another (George) was discharged for dis- 
ability, their combined terms of service were more 
than ten years. 

Mr. Wheeler's three sons all enlisted. In six other 
cases, two brothers were in the ranks together, and in 
one both father and son, William and William B. 
Reed, were in the service at the same time. _^ 

Luke Smith was credited three times to the quota 
of the town, whose father, Solomon Smith, marched 
over the same road under Captain Isaac Davis to the 
old North Bridge that his son, Luke, followed in part 
under Captain Daniel Tuttle, eighty-fcjur years later. 
Mr. Smith was the oldest soldier credited to Acton's 
quota, having at his last enlistment (for one hundred 
days) in 1864, reached the age of more than fifty 
years. 

Thomas Kinsley, Jr., was the youngest recruit, being 
but fifteen years and two months old at the time of 
his enlistment. 

Of the 216 men credited to Acton, eighteen died 
while in service, either killed in battle or victims of 
disease. This does not include natives or residents 
of Acton, who were credited to other towns, who died 
in service. 

Memorial Library. — This memorial structure, 
just completed, stands upon the north side of the 
Main Street at the Centre, nearly opposite the Davis 
Monument. It has an ideal location, partially 
shaded by the elms and maples, which give it a 
classic repose even at the start. 

Its approach is bj' an easy ascent from the east, 
south and west, over concrete walks. It is a few rods 
northeast of the Town House, with which it is con- 
nected by concrete and a fine lawn, a site known for 
over sixty years as the Fletcher Homestead. It is the 
most unique and costly building ever erected in town, 
and is destined to be the centre of culture for many 
generations to come. 

The style of architecture is Romanesque. The ex- 
ternal appearance and the internal arrangements and 
furnishings are in harmony with this idea, and can be 
properly judged only from that standpoint. The 
architects are H. W. Hartwell and William G. Rich- 
ardson, of Boston. The building is composed of red 
brick and brownstone. 

Its extreme length is sixty-six feet si.x inches and 
its depth thirtv-two feet and ten inches from south to 



288 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



north. The principal entrance opens upon the south 
and through a hirge, solid freestone arch, which has 
rich mouldings and carved spandrels, within which 
are to be placed memorial tablets to the soldiers in 
the War of the Rebellion, of which this town furnished 
a large number. On entering the building, a reading- 
room, called the Jlemorial Room, sixteen by twenty- 
five feet, is found at the left. It has heavy beamed 
ceiling, a large antique brick fire-place and decorated 
walls. Above the fire-place is a handsome brown- 
stone tablet, with this carved inscription : 

" This building a uift to his native town by 
William Allen Wilde." 

The room has rich oak tables, settees and 
chairs, all in the olden style. Opposite the read- 
ing-room, and at the right, is the book apartment, 
thirty-two feet six inches long, twenty-four 
feet six inches wide, twenty feet high. Along the 
sides of this are arranged book alcoves, two stories 
high, having light connecting galleries for the second 
tier, reached by stairs at the right and left of the 
desk occupied by the librarian. The desk is so lo- 
cated that the person in charge of it can command a 
view of the book-room and the reading room also, 
this latter opening into the central reading space by 
a large open archway. Located at the north of this 
central hall is the room devoted to the library trus- 
tees, thirteen by fifteen feet, with a northern light, 
richly furnished. Opening out of this is a fire-proof 
vault, where articles of value and the archives of the 
town can be stored. In the opposite corner is a 
toilet-room, fitted up with all modern conveniences. 
All the spaces and rooms are brilliantly lighted from 
chandeliers, and heated by two large furnaces in the 
cellar, which is by itself quite an institution — ce- 
mented, drained and plastered. The water arrange- 
ments are quite a specialty, embracing a tank in the 
attic, which can be easily filled by a force-pump 
connecting with a well that belonged to the estate, 
seventy-five feet deep, the bottom of which is a solid 
ledge, containing an unfailing spring of the purest 
and coolest water. 

The corporators of the library under the charter 
are Luther Conant, Adelbert Mead, Moses Taylor, 
Hiram J. Hapgood, Delette H. Hall and Daniel 
James Wetherbee. These are constituted trustees 
for life, with power to fill vacancies in case of death 
or resignation of any one of their number. Three 
additional trustees are to be chosen by the town, one 
for three yeare, one for two years and one for one 
year. 

In the future, after the organization, the town is to 
elect by ballot each year one trustee of the three, 
elective for three years. 

Mr. Wilde's letter presenting Memorial Library 
Building to the town of Acton : 

" MiLDEN, Mass., Feb. 27, 1890. 
" To the Selectmen uf Acton ; 

" Gentlemen, — For a long time past it has been my iDtentiun, if ever 
I waa able to do so, to remember my native towiiby the gift of some mem- 



orial to the memory of those brave and patriotic men of Acton who go 
freely gave time, strength and health — and many of them their lives — 
in the War of the Rebellion, 18G1-65. 

" To carry out this plan in what seemed to me the most advantageous 
and permanent method possible, I have purchased the estate of Bev. 
.lames Fletclier, adjacent to the Town-Huiwe, and erected thereon a 
Memorial Library, placing upon its shelves some four thousand volumes, 
more or less, and I beg the privilege of presenting this property to the 
town as a free gift, only stipulating that it shall forever be kept as a 
Jlemorial Library, and free to all the citizens of the patriotic old town 
of Acton, which I shall always love and be proud of, 

" If it shall please the town to accept this gift I shall be glad to pass 
all necessary papers for the tiunsfer of the property to whom and at 
such time as the town shall direct. 

" I am, gentlemen, yours truly, 

" William \. Wilde." 

Upon reading this letter, by 3Ir. Howard B. White, 
chairman of the Board of Selectmen, to the citizens of j 
Acton, in town-meeting assembled, March 3, 1890, \ 
Rev. James Fletcher presented the following resolu- 
tions, which were unanimously adopted by the town, 
to be forwarded to Mr. Wilde in response, and to be 
placed upon the town records : 

" Whereas a charter of Incorporation has passed the Let^islature and 
been signed by his Excellency Gov. J. Q. A. Brackett incorporating the 
Memorial Library, and Hon, William A, Wilde, a native of Acton — now 
a resident of Maiden — has signified bis readiness to deed to the town the 
Memorial Library Building just completed at his expense, and the land 
on which it stands, and all the appurtenances thereof, including books 
already selected, the Memorial Room and the town-vault for the arch- 
ives of the town, — 

" Hes-)lt'ed \gt, We, the inhabitants of the town of Acton, in town- 
meeting assembled, do accept the trust and authorize the Selectmen, in 
behalf of the town, to sign all papers and perform all acts necessary to 
complete the transfer pf the property to the care of the trustees, 

" Resolved 2d, In passing this vote we wish to express to Mr, Wilde — 
in behalf of the present inhabitants of the town ; in behalf of all future 
generations who may be resident here, and participants in tho benelite 
to be enjoyed ; in behalf of the soldiers of the War of the Rebellion, 
whose memory and valor he has so tenderly cherished in the name and 
arrangement ef the structure — our profound appreciation of his gener- 
ous gift." 

" We assure him of our hearty thanks for remembering the place ot 
his birth by a memento so enduring and so befitting the past histoi-y and 
future needs of the town, 

" We assure him or our cordial co-operdtion in doing what in us lies 
to perpetuate the intentions and possibilities of the trust, 

"We tender to him, his companion and his children our best wishes 
for their life, health and prosperity, and our prayer that the donation, in 
which they each have a personal share and honor, may contribute to 
their mutual and lasting enjoyment," 

The selectmen and the whole Board of Trustees 
were authorized to make all necessary arrangements 
for the dedication of the building. 

The trustees chosen by the town at the March 
meeting, 1890, are the following : William D. Tuttle 
for three years, James Fletcher for two years, Howard j 
B. White for one year. 

Mr. William Allen Wilde, the donor, was born in 
Acton, Mass., July 11, 1827. He is now resident in 
Maiden, ]\Iass., and does business as a publisher, his 
ofiice being at 25 Bromfield Street, Boston. His father, 
Joseph Wilde, lived in Southeast Acton, married 
Sarah Conant, of Stow, sister to Abraham and Simeon 
Conant, of Acton. He died in Acton, in the eighty- 
second year of his age. Their children were : Mary, 
now living in JNloultonboro', N. H.; Silvia, deceased ; 
Sarah, living with Mary ; John, who was drowned ; 



ACTON. 



289 



Joseph, living in Natick, wiih seven children and 
prospering in business ; WilUiam A.; and George, 
living in Somerville. 

Benjamin*, the father of Joseph Wild^, died when 
fifty-six years old, of yellow fever. He married Sil- 
via Thayer, of Boston. She died two days after her 
husband and was buried in Acton. Her daughter, 
Silvia, died of yellow fever two days after her mother 
and was buried in Acton. 

AVilliam AVild', the father of Benjamin*, lived in 
Randolph, Mass., and died when eighty-seven years 
old. 

William', the father of William', lived in Brain- 
tree, Mass., and died in his eighty-seventh year. 

William Wild', the father of William-, landed 
from England in 1C32, and lived in Randolph, Mass., 
which was then a part of Braiutree. 

William A. Wilde", the son of Joseph W^ild^, 
married, first, Loise A. Mace, of Peppere!!, Mass., 
without issue. Married, second, Lydia Jane Bride, of 
Berlin, Mass. Children : Jennie, born September 7, 
lSo-1, deceased at sixteen years of age; Carrie, born 
October 12, 18-56, deceased at seven years of age ; Wil- 
liam Eugene, born in Acton September 12, ISoS, mar- 
ried, in 1885, Eflie Jean Dresser, of Portland, Me. Mar- 
ried, third, Celestia Dona Hoyt, of Wentworth, N. H. 
Children : Alice Elizabeth, born June 12, 1869 ; Al- 
len Hoyt, born April 29, 1874. 

Mr. Wilde was educated at Groton and Pepperell 
Academies. He has taught school twelve years, been 
superintendent of the schools of the city of Maiden ; 
five years chairman of the Water Board when large 
and expensive water-works were being constructed. 

He represented Maiden two years in the Legisla- 
ture, and was chairman of the House Committee of 
Education. He has been trustee of the Maiden Li- 
brary eight years, and is now one of the Prison 
Commissioners of the State of Massachusetts. 

OrB Honored Dead (Tablet List). 

BY JTLIAK TCTTLE. 

Luke W. Bowers ; he enlisted in .^.ug., ]8G2, Co. E, 33d Ma£s. Keg. ; died 

of wounds May 1, 1SG4, at Resaca, Georgia. 
Albert Conant, enlisted Dec, 1861, in Co. F, 30th Mass. Reg. ; he died 

at sea Jan., 186^, on the voyage home. 
Elbridge Conant, enlisted Aug. 18, 1S62, in Co. E, Cth Mass. Keg. ; died 

Feb., 1863, at Suffolk, Va. 
Eugene L. Hall, enlisted Feb., ISM, in Co. E, 2Cth Mass. Reg. ; killed 

Sept., 1804, at Winchester, Va. 
Frank Handley, enlisted Sept., 1861, in Co. E, 26th Mass. Beg. ; died 

July, 1862, at Fort St. Philip, near New Orleans, La, 
Augustus AV, Hosmer, enlisted Sept., 1861, in 26th 31ass. Keg. ; band; 

died Nov., 1861, at Acton, Mass. 
Eli Huggins, enlisted Sept., 1861, in Co. A, 2Cth Mass. Keg. ; died Oct , 

1863. at New Orleans, La. 
Samuel C. Hanscom, enlisted Dec, 18G2, in Co. A, 2d Mass. Cavalry ; 

killed July, 1864, at Aldie, Va. 
James P. Haoscora, enlisted May, 1861, in Co. E, 1st Minne&ota Keg. ; 

died Nov., 1862, at Portsmouth Grove, K. I. 
John A. Howard, enlisted Aug., 1862, in Co. E, 26th Mass. Keg. ; died 

Dec, 1863, at New Orleans, La. 
John S. Harris, enlisted June, 1861, in Co. F, 11th Ma£3. Reg. ; killed 

May, 1863, at Chancellorsville, Va. 
Francis Kinsley, enlisted Sept., 1861, in Co. E, 26lh Mass. Reg. ; died 

April, 1861, at Acton, Masa. 

19 



Thomas Kinsley, Jr., enlisted Feb., 1864, in Co. E, 26th Maes. Reg,; 

died Xov., 18(;4, at Washington, D. C. 
George Warren Knight, enlisted Oct., IS62, in Co. E, 53d Mass. Reg. ; 

died April, 1803, at New Orleans, La. 
HeDF.v W. Lazell, enlisted Sept., 1861, in Co. E, 26th Mass. Reg. ; died 

Aug , 1SG3, at New Orleans, La. 
James R Lentell, enlisted Sept., ISiil, in Co. E, 26th Mass. Reg. ; died 

Nor., 186^ at New Orleans, La. 
William H. Loker, enlisted in Sept., 18G1, in Co. E , 2Cth Mass. Reg. ; 

died April, 1863, at Acton, Mass. 
Marivan Miner, enlisted Aug., 1862, in Co. I, 26th Mass. Reg. ; died 

Feb., lSG:i, at New Orleans, La. 
Matthew McKinney, enlisted Aug., 18G3, in Co. E, 26th Mass. Reg. ; 

died Sept., 1865, at Berwick City, La. 
William B. Reed, enlisted Au^., 1862, in Co. E, 26th Masa. Keg. ; died 

Jan., lSt>4, at Franklin, La. 
Warren R. Wheeler, enlisted Sept., 1861, in Co. E, 26th Mass. Reg. ; 

died July, 1862, at Fort St. Philip, near New Orleans, La. 
James M. Wright, enlisted Nov., 18G1, in Co. B, 32d Mass. Reg. ; died 

Sept., 1S62, at Philadelphia, Penn. 
John H. P. White, enlisted Sept., 1863, io Co. E, 26th Mass.jReg- \ died 

July, 1863, at New Orleans, La. 
Samuel E. WiUon, enlisted in 18j4, in Co. K, 7th California Reg. ; died 

Feb., 186fi, Mt Fort Yuma, Cal. 
Daniel- A. Loverlng, enlisted Aug., 1S62, in Go. H, 13th Mass. Reg.; 

killed June, lfe61, at Cold Harbor, Va. 
Luke Robbins, enlisted in Boston, Mass., June, 1864, as a seaman for 

two years; served on board the "Ohio" and "Seminole ; " was 

killed on the "Seminole" at Galveston, Texas, May, 1865. 
Frank J. Barker, enlisted in Co. C, 118th III. Reg., Aug., 1862 ; died at 

Milliken'sBend, La., April, 1863, aged 19. 
Eben Barker, enlisted in Co. F, 5Uth 111. Beg., Aug., 1861 ; died at 

Quincy, III., Jan., 1862, aged 22. 
Cyrus E. Barker, enlisted July, 1861, in Co. H, 13th Mass. Reg. ; dis- 
charged Jan., 1S63, for disability; afterwards enlisted in Co. C, 

59th Mass. Reg. He was at the battle at Weldon Railroad ; was 

taken prisoner, and after seven months was exchanged; died at 

Annapolis, Md., April, 1865, aged 22. 

The names of Acton men who served in the War of 
the Rebellion, and who survived that war: 

Colonel, William H. Chapman ; Captains, Aaron C. Handley, Daniel 
Tuttle, Frank H. Whitcomb ; Lieutenants, Silas P. Blodgett, Henry 
Brown, Aaron S. Fletcher, Elias E. Haynes, Isaiah Hutchins, George 
Willard Knights, James Moulton, George W. Rand, William F, Wood ; 
Privates, Frank W. Ames, George T. Ames, George B. Barker, John F. 
Blood, Charles H. Blood, George F. Blood, William H. Boss, Henry L. 
Bray, Daniel R. Briggs, Charles A. Brooks, Samuel R. Burroughs, 
Hiram Butten, Patrick Callahan, Ge»rge Fay Campbell, Waldo Chap- 
lin, William Chaplin, Jr., William D. Clark, Rolwrt C. Conant, Simon 
T. Conant, J. Sherman Conant, John Conway, George B. Cran, John B. 
Cran, Waldo G. Dunn, Oscar Dwelley, Abel Farrar, Jr., Daniel H. Far- 
rar, Winthrop H. Faulkner, James W. Fiske, John W. Fitzpatrick, 
Charles W. Fletcher, Aaron J. Fletcher, Ephraim B. Forbush, Channey 
U. Fuller, Meldon S. Giles, Henry Gilson, Nathan Goss, W'illiam B. 
Gray, William H. Gray, Delette H. Hall, George Handley, Charles 
Handtey, William S. Handley, Abram Handley, Charles A. Hanscom, 
Marshall Hapgood, Henry Hapgood, Francis E. Harris, Forestus D. K. 
Hoar, J. Sherman Hoar, Walter 0. Holden, Gilman S. Hosmer, Judson 
A. Huggins, Eri Huggins, Jr., Sylvanus Hunt, Loriug 31. .Jackson, 
Mortimer Johnson, George A. Jones, Edwin A. Jones, Charles Jones, 
George Jones, Richard Kinsley, Jonathan W. Loker, Emory D. Lothrop, 
Lewis J. Masten, William Morrill, Charles Morse, Charles H. Moulton, 
Albert Moulton, Augustus P. Newton, George B. Parker, Henry D. 
Parlin, George E. Peck, George N. Pierce, George M. Pike, Michael 
Powers, Oscar E. Preston, John Putnam, William Reed, Levi H. Rob- 
bins, Joseph N. Robbins, Elbridge J. Bobbins, Luke J. Robbins, Varnum 
F. Robbins, Albert Rouillard, George Rouillard, George W. Sawyer, 
Andrew J. Sawyer, George H. Simpson, Benjamin Skinner, Dennis 
Shehan, Luke Smith, George D. Smith, Silas M. Stetson, Emory A. 
Sj-monds, Edwin B. Taft, Edwin Tarbell, Daniel G. Taylor, Warren L. 
Teel, Daniel L. Veasey, Robert Wayne, John Wayne, James Wayne, 
Hiram W. Wetherbee, Addison B. Wheeler, Lincoln E. Wheeler, Everett 
Wheeler, William F. B. Whitney, Samuel E. WiUon, James H. Wood, 
Eben F. Wood, Charles H. Young. 



290 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



The Congregational Chukch. — Thischurch and 
society was launched upon its mission amid great 
religious commotion. The times were full of sharp 
and heated controversy upon doctrinal points. The 
lines were rigidly drawn, and neutrals were at a dis- 
count. 

The worship was first in a chapel, built for the pur- 
pose, now occupied .by Mr. Julian Tultle. This was 
the scene of many earnest gatherings. It was where 
Mr. Woodbury began his most effective preaching, 
and it being a time when all this section of country 
was marked by great religious awakenings, the events 
are easily recalled by those still living, cotempora- 
neous with those early dates. 

The church was organized by a council March 13, 
1832, and a house of worship fifty by forty-four feet, 
built the next year. Many of the importanr, members 
of the old church united with the new in its first forma- 
tion. Rev. James Trask Woodbury was ordained and 
installed March 13, 1832. After preaching twenty 
years, he was dismissed at his own request June 23, 
1852, and was afterwards settled in Milford, Massa- 
chusetts, where he died January 15, 1861, aged fifty- 
eight years. 

Kev. Benjamin Dodge, of Wilton, Maine, was his 
successor. He was installed October 28, 1852, and 
dismissed April 17, 1855. 

Until September, 1855, the church was supplied by 
Rev. Messrs. Alvord and Francis Horton. 

Rev. Charles Rockwell then commenced his labors 
as a stated supply. On his leaving in July, 1856, 
Rev. Martin Moore, of Boston, and others, supplied 
the pulpit until January, 1857, when Rev. Joseph 
Garland was hired two years. 

From January, 1859, to May of the same year the 
pulpit was supplied by various clergymen. 

Rev. Alpha Morton was then engaged for four years 
successively, resigning May 1, 1863, to accept an en- 
gagement with the church at West Auburn, Maine. 

Rev. George Coleman was ordained and installed 
Kovember 12, 1863, and was dismissed in May, 1869. 

The Rev. Franklin P. Wood was orduined July 24, 
1871, and installed as pastor October 10,1872, and 
dismissed December 17, 1874. 

During Rev. Mr. Woodbury's pastorate two houses 
of worship were erected. 

The following is a description of the present house 
as found in the church records in Mr. Woodbury's 
handwriting: 

"1847, January Ist. The new meetinghouse erected on the spot 
where Btuod the former one was duly dedicated to Almighty God, Son 
and HuIyGhi)8t, Dec. 16, 184G, Wmiuesday at one o'clock p.m. House 
76 feet liy 60, with a basement story of stone with 82 pews ; Cost about 
$6000, exclusive of the fresco painting of the interior and the cnshious, 
carpets, lamps, cloclc, communion table and chairs, Bible and hymn 
books, which all cost S700, and were all absolute gifts to the church and 
the house, not to be put upon the pews. 

"The building Committee were: Dr. J. M. Miles, Samuel Hosnier 
(2''), Simon Tuttle, John P. Buttrick, Col. Wintljrup E. Faulkner, and 
they did their duty faithfully and are ontiUed to the lasting gratitude of 
the church." . 



I; 



More than six hundred different persons have been 
members of this church. 

Some repairs and alterations were made in the 
early part of 1867, and a fine organ introduced at a 
cost of S1320. The deacons and oflRcers of this church, 
have been as follows : Deacons Silas Hosmer and 
Phineas Wheeler, died in 1838, aged sixty-five, chosen 
at the organization ; Deacon Hosmer died in 1872, 
eighty years old ; Deacon Stevens Hayward, chosen 
April 3, 1835, died in 1868, aged eighty-one ; Deacon 
John Fletcher, chosen December 7, 1838, died in 
1879, aged eighty-nine; Deacon Abraham Conant, 
chosen February 3, 1843, died in 1861, aged seventy- 
seven ; Deacon John White, chosen February 3,1843, 
died in 1860, aged seventy-five ; and Deacon Samuel 
Hosmer, Albert Hayward, William W. Davis, and 
Joel F. Hayward, chosen January 1, 1804. 

March, 1885, William Davis Tuttle chosen. He 
has been superintendent of the Sabbath School, also 
Deacon Davis. 

Rev. George M. Stearns is the present pastor, in- 
stalled September 23, 1887. 

Deacon Silas Hosmer was clerk of the church from 
its organization to his death. 

Rev. James T. Woodbury was born in Frances- 
town, New Hampshire, May 9, 1803, and died at Mil- 
ford, Massachusetts, January 16, 1861, aged fifty- 
eight. He married Miss Augusta Porter, of Medford, 
daughter of Jonathan Porter. His father. Honorable 
Peter Woodbury, was a pioneer merchant, and for 
many years a practical farmer in the upper division 
of old Hillsborough County. His father was dis- 
tinguished through his whole life for his strong, plain, 
common sense, great energy of character, as well as 
for his uncompromising integrity. He was for a great 
many years a member of one or the other branches of 
the New Hampshire Legislature, commencing almost 
with the first session after the adoption of the Consti- 
tution by that State and being at the time of his death 
a member of the Senate. His father and his mother, 
whose maiden-name was also Woodbury, were of dif- 
ferent distantly related families of Beverly, of this 
State, and they could both trace their origin to the 
ancient town of Woodbury, in Devonshire, England. 
His mother was a woman of rare ability. James T. 
Woodbury was a younger brother of Honorable Levi 
Woodbury, an eminent jurist and popular and able 
public ofiicer, for years a judge of the United States 
Supreme Court. There were twelve children. James 
T. was graduated at Harvard University in 1823. He 
began a course of legal studies under the direction of 
his distinguished brother at Portsmouth, New Hamp- 
shire; was admitted to the bar in his native state in 
1826. He at once opened an office for practice as a J 
lawyer in Bath, Grafton County, New Hampshire. ^ 
No young man for many years had come to the bar 
with fairer prospects. With a thorough education, 
with talents of the highest order, with an unblem- 
ished character, with great natural physical and in- 



ACTON. 



291 



tellectual powers, married to an amiable and highly 
accomplished wife, beloved by a large circle cf friends, 
all looked that he should rival the fame of his elder 
brother, who had even then reached the highest 
honors within the gift of his native State. But in the 
midst of his apparent worldly prosperity his ambition 
was suddenly checked and his whole course of life was 
suddenly changed. Under the preaching of the Kev. 
Mr. Sutherland, a Scotch clergyman of Bath, familiarly 
known as Father Sutherland, he became a sincere con- 
vert to the religious creed in which he had been edu- 
cated by his pious and excellent mother. After a 
long struggle with himself, and against the adviceand 
remonstrances of many friends, he relinquished his 
profession as a lawyer, and all his hopes and dreams 
of future greatness and worldly glory, and devoted 
himself to a course of theological studies. As soon 
as this course was completed he was ordained over 
the Evangelical Church in Acton, where he remained 
from 1832 to 1852, when he became a pastor of the 
church in Milford, and remained a pastor till the 
time of his death. 

No person could stand for twenty years in any com- 
munity, holding the relations which were held by 
Mr. Woodbury in Acton, without making a deep im- 
pression upon the public mind. He had a personal 
presence, traits of character, mental peculiarities and 
forces, which took him out of the ordinary line of 
influence, so that when he left town, not the parish 
simply, but the whole community and neighboring 
towns felt the change. 

By a large majority this change was lamented and 
is to this day, even by some who were his opponents 
while here. 

As a preacher Mr. Woodbury was especially noted. 
Why so noted ? It was not because of his rare theo- 
logical training. In this he was confessedly deficient, 
and at times even boasted of the fact that he had not 
been to Andover, or any of the other celebrated schools 
of the day. It was not because he had a natural 
theological acumen, which would supplement the de- 
ficiency of school discipline. His most ardent admir- 
ers admitted this, and some were glad of it. It was 
not because of his labored preparations for the Sab- 
bath effort. Few have carried into the pulpit prepa- 
rations apparently so meagre. His discourses were 
seldom written, and when partially so, were for some 
cause the least effective. He had simply the lawyer's 
brief, a small bit of paper, which none but himself 
could decipher, and he with difficulty at times. 

But he had a large, commanding person — a character- 
tic of the Woodbury family. He had a clear-ringing, 
variable voice, which he could modulate to any cir- 
cumstances, grave or comic, to any audience-room, 
large or small. He had a quick, susceptible nature 
which flooded his face with tears, sometimes offender 
sympathy and sorrow, of sudden humor or contagious 
passion. He would cry when others had no thought 
of it. It was all the same to him. He had a rare gift 



df descriptive narrative. Not often did he finish a dis- 
course, however impressive, without telling some 
anecdotes which, told in his blunt, quaint style, would 
raise a smile through the house and cause one to look 
to his neighbor as if to say, "That is just like him 
and nobody else." He had a fondness for nature in 
all her varied forms, human nature not excepted, 
which, bubbling up like water from a living spring, 
gave a freshness to his words and sentiments and 
bearing before an audience. 

There was a frankness and boldness and what some 
would call a rashness in uttering his convictions which 
provoked approval and opposition, and he did not 
seem to care which. People gave him credit for 
meaning what he said, even if they did not agree 
with him. 

His emotional conception of every subject which he 
treated, whether in the pulpit or on the platform, gave 
him a power which he wielded with wonderful effect 
on great occasions. 

The monument which stands upon our village 
green never would have graced the spot nor extend- 
ed the patriotic fame of the town but for his memora- 
ble address to the Legislature. 

His only enkindled emotions transferred into the 
membership of the House thrilled them for a moment 
into a patriotic ecstasy. 

They could hear again the rattle of the musketry 
at the North Bridge, and the shriek of Captain Davis 
as he fell at the head of the advancing column. 

The 19th of April was back with all its parapher- 
nalia of stir and fire and blood. 

In this gush of excitement it was easy for them to 
vote yea when they had thought and purposed to vote 
nay on the appropriation. 

As a reformer Mr. Woodbury's gifts were conspic- 
uous on the platform. His humor and pathos and 
passion and wit, his bluntness, quaintness and oddi- 
ties, his independent honesty and high purpose gave 
him at one time a foremost rank as an anti-slavery and 
temperance advocate. 

In all the region around about and in many distant 
places his efforts when in happiest moods will be re- 
membered as sparkling with telling points and a 
burning oratory. 

The whole town revived under his manly strokes. 
The houses and farms and shops and roads and schools, 
which had languished under the blight of intemper- 
ance now took on a new lease of prosperity. 

Many a man headed for the drunkard's grave re- 
versed his steps, thanks to Mr. Woodbury's eloquent 
appeal. Peace be to his ashes ! 

His oft-repeated wish to be buried in Acton, with 
the dear people to whom he had ministered in the 
buoyancy and strength of his best years, has been 
gratified. He sleeps in Woodlawn Cemetery, by the 
granite shaft which he erected in memory of his 
beloved son, James Trask, Jr., by the side of his 
Augusta, as he was wont so fondly always to call her, 



292 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



the companion, stay and grace of his entire married 
life. 

Extracts from an ordination charge by Mr. Wood- 
bury to a young pastor : 

'• My Son, 1 hnTe begotten yoii in tlie Goepel, so I call jon my eon. 

"My Sod. let. Get your eennouB from the Bible, the cloaot and the 
fields. 

*' 2d. Be hrief. You are a eliurt man and tlie peoiile will not expect 
long eermone from yuii, my Son. Vulese you deem yoiireelf u veiy olo- 
qucnt man. Be brier! be brief ! 

" 3d. If it rains, lei it rain! The min may do good. If you try to atop 
it, it may rain so much tlie harder. My Sou, lei it rain! 

'■ 4th. Tlin)W liiiysic to the dogs! Tliey may not like, but they might 
as well have it afl you. You don't need it. Air, exercise, good food and 
plenty of it, are better than physic. Let the dogs have it. 

" 5th. Trust in tiod and keep your powder dry. If your powder is wet 
it will not be of any use. Trust iu God, but you must have dry powder 
or your shooting will not hit the nuirk. My son, Gud bless you and 
your people. Amen." 

Reminiscences.- — One hot summer morning in July, 
quite early in the day, there was heard a loud shout- 
ing from a carriage which had stopped iu the street 
opposite : " I say ! I say .' ! I smj ! ! ! 

Hurrying to the door, Mr. Woodbury, of Acton, 
some thirty miles distant, was recognized sitting in 
the carriage alone, stripped all but his pants and 
shirt. He was not expected. His first salutation was, 
"Isay! have you amj milk f other questions followed, 
but the first thing to be settled was milk ; he was 
thirsty. 

Why Mr. Woodbury liked to live outside the vil- 
lage. "Because," he said, "he could shout as loud 
as he pleased without disturbing his neighbors." 

Why he wore a broad-brimmed hat, loose-fitting 
coat and pants of blue color, carried a blue umbrella, 
instead of black, had boots with sole leather project- 
ing a half-inch beyond the upper leather, drove his 
oxen through the village in a farmer's frock, with 
pants in his boots. Because he had a mind to. 

Why he liked the Acton choir. Because it was a 
large choir and made up of ladies as well as gen- 
tlemen, and Augusta stood for years a prominent 
and graceful singer among them. He got tired of 
this all gander music when in college. 

Deacon John Fletcher was born in Acton July 21, 
1790, and died July 1(5, 1879, in his ninetieth year. 
He was the son of James, the son of Timothy, the son 
of Timothy, the son of Samuel, the son of Francis, 
the son of Robert, who came from England to Con- 
cord, Mass., in 1630, when thirty-eight years of age. 
He was at the time of his death the oldest person in 
Acton. He was nine years of age when George 
Washington died, and remembered distinctly the 
sensation which that event made throughout the 
country. In his boyhood all the territory west of the 
Hudson was a wilderness. 

He married Clarissa Jones, the youngest of eleven 
children, all but one of whom lived to mature life, 
whose father was Aaron Jones. She died in her sev- 
enty-sixth year (February 8th), after being married 
over fifty years, the mother of seven children. He 



united with the church, together with his wife, No- 
vember 3, 1833, and was for many years one of its 
deacons. 

In his early life he was captain of the Davis Blues, 
and was familiarly called Captain Fletcher. He was 
clerk of the company when it went to Boston in the 
War of 1812. He held the olBce of special commis- 
sioner for Middlesex County for several years. He 
was for a long period of years the veteran boot and 
shoe manufacturer of this region, and in company 
with his sons, John and Edwin, carried on the busi- 
ness up to the time of his decease. He was consci- 
entious in his dealings with his patrons, stamped his 
name upon his work, and made it good, if at any time 
there was a failure. He was largely interested in the 
general appearance of the Common, in the planting 
of the noble elms which now give dignity and beauty 
to the village, and but for his exertions and those of 
Francis Tuttle, Esq., they would have perished in the 
severe drought of 1840, after they wtre set out. He 
was interested in the erection of the public buildings 
of the Centre. 

After his former shoe-factory and the old church, 
which was used as a town hall, were burnt, he en- 
couraged the town to rebuild on the old site a new 
and commodious structure, offering to rebuild a shoe- 
factory which should be an ornament to the place, 
which he did as promised. 

As early as 1815 he began an industry in the town, 
which, till within a few years, was of great advantage 
to the material interests. He early es'poused the tem- 
perance cause, and became an earnesc advocate of the 
principles of anti slavery. His ardent support of the 
temperance cause cost the loss of a valuable orchard 
in 1843 — destroyed by the girdling of his trees — and 
the same was repeated upon him a few years after- 
wards. When he became convinced that a certain 
course was right he gave himself to it heart and 
hand, with but little regard to the consequences to 
himself. In 1828 he, with his brother James, built 
the homestead, which till recently remained on the 
site now occupied by the Memorial Library. 

Simon Hapgood died in Acton December 21st, aged 
eighty-six years and ten months. He was one of the 
original founders of the Congregational Society, was 
for nearly forty years an exemplary member of the 
church, and for many years a teacher in the Sabbath- 
school; was one of the earliest advocates of temper- 
ance and emancipation, and was always identified 
with that which is for the best good of the community 
and the world at large. 

Deacon W. W. Davis was born in Harvard March, 
1824; came to Acton April, 1861. He married Mar- 
tha Taylor, of Boston, April 7, 1853. She died De- 
cember 8, 1868. Children : William and Ada. He 
has taught school eighteen terms. In 1861 he repre- 
sented the towns of Boxboro', Littleton, Carlisle and 
Acton in the State Legislature, being what was called 
the War Session. August 3, 1882, he married Abby 



ACTON. 



■293 



R. Worthiley, of Andover. He has been selectman 
of Acton, two years; School Committee superin- 
tendent, three years; Sabbath-school superintendent, 
fifteen years; deacon of the Congregational Church 
since 1862. In politics the deacon has been uniformly 
a Republican. He has been a hard-working man, 
greatly improving his farm and lifting from himself 
burdens which at the beginning he had to assume. 

Hon. John Fletcher was the son of Deacon John 
Fletcher; born in 1827. He was of the firm of John 
Fletcher & Song till his father's death, in 1879. Since 
then he has been in the firm of S. T. Fletcher & Co., 
with his son, Silas Taylor, at 77 Clinton Street, Bos- 
ton. The business is that of butter and eggs commis- 
sion store. Though retiring in his habit.-", he has 
taken an active interest in public affairs, in parish, 
town and country. He has been chorister twenty 
years ; representative to General Court in 1862; in the 
State Senate two years (1870-71); a director in the 
Lowell and Nashua Railroad; president of the Schu- 
bert Choral Union since its organization; superin- 
tendent of the cemeteries ; on the Executive Commit- 
tee of the village improvement, and prominent in his 
activities for the home support of the Civil War. He 
married Martha Taylor, daughter of Silas Taylor. 

Univeksallsts. — The following extracts from an 
able sermon preached by Rev. I. C. Knowlton, D.D., 
at the dedication of the new meeting-house at South 
Acton (1878) are given. In a recent note from Dr. 
Knowlton he adds, " I send you the missing links in 
your sketch of our folks in Acton. I spent much 
time and labor in preparing the sermon from which 
you copy ; I cannot go over the ground again. I think 
its statements are ail correct." 

The first Universalist sermons were preached in 
Acton by Rev. Hosea Ballard as early as 1814 or 1815. 

January 19, 1816, the first Universalist Society of 
Acton was organized, consisting of eleven members. 

In 1821 and 1822 Rev. Dr. Benjamin Whittemore 
preached one-half the Sabbaths in Acton in halls, 
school-houses and private residences. 

January 27, 1821, the First Universalist Society of 
Acton W.18 legally incorporated. It consisted of fifty 
paying members, two years after of sixty-one and 
eventually of over eighty paying members. 

December 17, 1833, a church of thirty-nine mem- 
bers was formed as the result of the labors of Rev. 
Joseph Wright, who, that year, became pastor of this 
society. 

October 4, 1834, the Boston Association of Univer- 
salists met at Acton. During the next six years the 
religious services were in the First Parish Church 
and well attended. 

June 29, 1836, Rev. Isaac Brown became the resi- 
dent minister of the society and continued in this re- 
lation three years. 

July 4, 1837, Rev. Isaac Brown was formally in- 
stalled as pastor of this church with appropriate ser- 
vices. 



In 1842 ail attempt was made to resuscitate the 
First Parish by uniting all the elements not afii Mating 
with the Evangelical Church. At about this time 
there was a Methodist Church organized and there 
was Methodist preaching for a few years. 

About 1850 our interest there, at Acton Centre, 
peacefully expired. 

From 1850-58 there was no regular Universalist 
preaching in Acton. In 1858 halls were provided in 
South and West Acton, and Rev. J. M. Usher 
preached in these two places for a period of six years. 
The parishes in South Acton and We.st Acton, al- 
though entirely separate, were started at the same 
time and have always worked together in perfect har- 
mony. The same pastors have officiated in each 
place. Rev. J. JI. Usher, an energetic and well-read 
man, was really the founder of both. 

After the retirement of Mr. Usher, in 1864, Rev. 
Edwin Davis became pastor of both these societies 
and continued until April, 1872; Rev. W. W. Har- 
ward, three years ; Rev. N. P. Smith, one year. Rev. 
r. C. Knowlton, D.D., assumed his charge in October, 
1875, fifteen years, and is still occupying the pulpits, 
with acceptance, in his seventy-first year. 

In 1868 the West Acton Society built, furnished 
and paid for a very pretty and pleasant meeting- 
house, which it has used and greatly enjoyed ever 
since. 

In 1861 the South Acton Society moved into Ex- 
change Hall, a large and handsome auditorium, 
where it worshiped for seventeen years. 

In the spring of 1876 a church of more than thirty 
members was organized at West Acton. Present 
number of members, about sixty in all. 

On February 21, 1878, a handsome and completely 
ftirnished church edifice was dedicated, with appro- 
priate services, at South Acton. 

Each parish, at the date of this writing, though de- 
pleted by the removal of many of its young people to 
city centres, is enjoying a fair state of prosperity. 
Each meeting-house is pleasant and convenient, kept 
in good repair and occupied every Sunday. 

The Baptists. — The Baptist Church is located at 
West Acton. It was organized July 10, 1846, with a 
membership of twenty-three persons. The present 
membership is over one hundred; the average con- 
gregations 200. The Sabbath-school has always been 
a flourishing adjunct of the church, now numbering 
one hundred and fifty. They have an attractive 
meeting-house, located centrally in the vill.ige, with 
all the modern contrivances to promote the interest 
and profit of the worshipers. They have a large and 
instructive library connected with the society, adapted 
to give general culture as well as religious instruction- 
The following is a list of the pastors and the length 
of their pastorates: Rev. Horace Richardson, seven 
years; Rev. W. H. Watson, seven years; Rev. Jacob 
Tuck (2d), three years ; Rev. W. K. Davia, five years ; 
Rev. J. C. Boomer, four years; Rev. J. R. Haskins. 



294 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Rev. C. L. Ehoades came to the West Acton Bap- 
tist Church, as its pastor, from the Lexington Church. 
He was a man of great enthusiasm, and during his 
pastorate of four and one-half years his hands were 
filled with work. He resigned in January, 1888, to 
go to the Fourth Street Church, of South Boston. 

Rev. Frank A. Heath came direct from Hamilton 
Theological Seminary and was ordained June 7, 1888. 
He is now in the midst of his work, with able and 
liberal assistants in active co-operation, and with 
high hopes of a success in the future exceeding any 
record of the past. Their first meeting-house, dedi- 
cated July 19. 1847, was burned July 2, 1853; their 
second meeting-house was dedicated September 19, 
1854. 

Daniel Wetherbee, Esq. (East Acton). — Few 
men have held a more prominent position in Central 
Middlesex. From his youth he was acknowledged 
a^ a leader. His early education commenced and 
was continued in the old tavern situated on the 
"Great Road" from Fitchburg to Boston, of which 
he became proprietor in later years. Wetherbee's 
Tavern was known from the Canada line to our me- 
tropolis, and was a temporary Mecca of drovers and 
drivers of baggage-wagons for more than half a cen- 
tury preceding the advent of railroads. 

The small stream running through his ancestral 
domains he at once improved and enlarged, till Weth- 
erbee's Mills comprised one of the most important 
points in the illustrated map of the county. Of 
public life he had his full share. He was town clerk, 
assessor and selectman for many years, and five years 
a representative to the Legislature. He was largely 
instrumental in establishing the State Prison at Con- 
cord Junction. He became one of the originators of 
the Lowell and Framingham Railroad, and a perma- 
nent director. He married Clarissa Jones, daughter 
of Abel Jones. He died July 6, 1883, aged sixty- 
eight years, leaving a widow and seven children. 

The American Powder - Mills.— These mills, 
incorporated under the laws of Massachusetts, having 
their business ofiice in Boston, are located in the 
corner of four towns — Acton, Sudbury, Maynard and 
Concord. They cover an area of 401 acres. The 
capital is $300,000. The annual production is in the 
range of $240,000. 

These mills were started by Nathan Pratt, in 1835, 
and they were run by him till 1864; then the prop- 
erty was sold to the American Powder Company, and 
that company was formed by the union of Massachu- 
setts Powder-Mills, located at Barre, Mass., and in- 
corporated under the name of the American Powder 
Company, 1864. 

They did a very successful business, and went out 
of business in 1883, and were succeeded by the Amer- 
ican Powder-Mills. About sixty men are employed 
at the present time. They are doing a large and suc- 
cessful business. 

The patriotic emergencies of Acton have always 



had at hand a bountiful supply of the very choicest 
quality of powder, and at reasonable rates. 

South Acton. — Fifty years ago the principal 
business at South Acton was done at the Faulkner 
Saw and Grist-Mill. 

The houses within a quarter of a mile of the depot 
were those of the tavern, for many years the residence 
of Aaron Jones; the house of Abel Jones, his son, 
across the road opposite, on the hill, and that of Col. 
Faulkner. 

Besides these there was a small school-house, a few 
barns, cooper-shops, stables and out-buildings. Now 
there are over a hundred pleasant residences, a num- 
ber of mills, stores and factories, a fine church, 
assembly hall, chapel, a commodious school-house, 
large store structures, railroad facilities for traffic aud 
travel, and a village noted for its comfort and neigh- 
borly and social culture. 

Tuttle, Jones & Wetherbee. — On the rise of ground 
facing the Fitchburg Railway track stands the central 
structure of the vicinity — the hub of trade for years 
of this section of country. This firm is composed of 
these gentlemen, in the order of their connection 
with it : James Tuttle, Varnura Tuttle, sons of 
Francis Tuttle, Esq. ; Elnathan Jones, a grandson of 
Aaron Jones, and J. K. W. Wetherbee, each marrying 
sisters of James and Varnum. No other than these 
have ever been in the partnership. The present 
name was adopted February 8, 18G7, when Mr. Weth- 
erbee was admitted. Mr. Jones joined about 1852, 
and between these dates it was James Tuttle & Co. 
From 1843 to 1852 it was J. & V. Tuttle. James 
Tuttle began trade on his own account in 1839. A 
year or so here and three at Acton Centre, and he 
was ready to start with his brother at the South Vil- 
lage, which had just been reached by a railroad from 
Boston. Then the lower part of the building now 
occupied by jeweler Baldwin was constructed, a single 
story, with its basement, for the beginning of these 
operations. The house of Mr. James Tuttle is to the 
rear of this enlarged structure. These young men 
of twenty-five and twenty-one started with good 
pluck and with a will to succeed, but with little idea 
of the possibilities of their future. The railroad 
terminus was then at West Acton. All things seemed 
at the time to favor that village. Long after they 
started no little trade went past them to the prosper- 
ous concern of Burbeck & Tenney. That was then 
called Horse-power Village, and this nothing but Mill- 
corner, where merged a half-dozen roads Irom Box- 
boro', Acton Centre, Westford, Sudbury and Stow. 
That was a stage, this only a saw and grist-mill 
centre. 

In a few years they won the good start which is 
half the battle. 

In those early days they did a business of $25,000 
per year. This gradually grew until ii reached a 
quarter of a million, with appliances to match the 
growth. In 1850 they moved to their new store on 



ACTON. 



295 



the site of the present grocery. This building con- 
sisted of basement, a full story above and an attic 
floor. Shed, carriage-house and barn stretched from 
it back along the Concord pike. 

James Tuttle has always been a shrewd and jolly 
helmsman, and when he set his craft on these waters 
he was bound to steer straight to the destined port. 
This store was burned January 20, 1866. Within a 
year the restored building was ready for a new launch, 
and it has floated safely on its way ever since. 

The large dry-goods store on the hill was built in 
1860. It is 70 by 38, and 60 feet high, with a central 
tower on front. 

E.xchange Hall, up three flights from the ground 
at front, has been devoted to public uses from the 
outset. The Universalists worshiped there until the 
new church was occupied in February, 1878. Ei'ery 
sort of gathering and entertainment has been held 
within its walls. Its dances, socials, concerts, lec- 
tures,, campaign meetings, caucuses and conventions 
have made it well and widely known. 

The prosperity of the firm rests upon its equity, 
Yankee sagacity and thrift. The gentlemen con- 
nected with it, many and various, stand high in the 
regard' of their fellow-townsmen. The senior, Mr. 
James Tuttle, has been selectman, assessor, overseer 
of the poor, chairman of committee for building 
school-house, church and other public buildings. 
Mr. Jones has been prominent in town affairs. Mr. 
Varnum Tuttle has been a stanch pillar of the 
chapel enterprise. Mr. Wetherbee has been for fif- 
teen years postmaster at Acton, town treasurer for 
years, which office he still holds ; selectman for many 
years, and trustee and executor of many private 
estates. , 

J. W. Tuttle & Sons.— Mr. Joseph Warren Tuttle, 
brother to Francis Tuttle, Esq., was the senior mem- 
ber of this house, and lived in one of the finest man- 
sions at South Acton. The business is a wholesale 
commission-merchant's for the sale of all kinds of 
country produce; office. No. 16 and 18 Clinton Street, 
Boston. An honorable and successful career of forty- 
five years has given the house a high standing in 
the great thoroughfares of trade. The business was 
founded in 1843 by J. W. Tuitle. 

In 1848 Mr. George W. Tuttle was admitted to 
partnership, in 1874 Charles Jones, in 1875 Charles 
H. Tuttle, and 1883 Herbert A. Tuttle. 

/. A. Bowen. — The shoddy enterprise at South 
Acton, now in charge of Mr. Bowen, is one of import- 
ance. The privilege and land were first obtained of 
Abel Jones for a woolen-mill during the war, by S. 
S. Richardson, by whom the first dam was erected. 
The amount of the shoddy and extract productions 
for a year is now estimated in the vicinity of $100,000 
per year. The business has been profitable and em- 
ploys over thirty hands. Mr. Bowen, the proprietor, 
is a gentleman of quiet habits, of enfeebled health, yet [ 
an intelligent, reputable and liberal citizen of the vil- 



lage, whose enterprise in the successful management 
of the interest, and whose generous contributions in 
the way of public improvement are appreciated by 
the community. 

Charles Augustus Harrington. — He was born in 
Shrewsbury, Worcester County, Mass., December 22, 
1814, where he lived the first thirty years. He mar- 
ried, May 31, 1866, Mary J. Faulkner, daughter of 
Colonel Winthrop E. Faulkner. He came from Wis- 
consin to Acton in 1867, and has resided in town 
most of the time since. Though interested in public 
aflairs he has never sought or held official positions 
of responsibility except to act as assessor for Acton 
four years. He is an earnest Republican in politics 
and liberal in his support of enterprises for the benefit 
of the community. He has been largely instrumental 
in giving to South Acton its new impetus towards a 
prosperity exceeding all previous records. He built 
his own elegant mansion which overlooks towards 
the west, the Faulkirer house and the water scenery 
of the "Big Brook," and the fine mansion recently 
built on the western and northern slopes of the vil- 
lage; the retreating low-lands of the New England 
settlement are also seen in the distance, with clusters 
of comely dwelling-houses. 

The thirty daily incoming and departing trains 
which pass on the Fitchburg Railroad help the ef- 
fectivene.-s of this panorama of beauty as seen from 
the windows of Mr. Harrington's home. He has re- 
built and enlarged the Faulkner Mills, put in an ice- 
house, store- house, barn and an elevator for the flour 
and grain business at an expense of $17,000. He re- 
built the piano-stool factory which was burnt Novem- 
ber 9, 1886, putting in steam at an expense of $10,000. 
The estimated productions of this factory, run by Mr. 
Chadwick, annually are $75,000, which are shipped 
to all States east of the Mississippi and to Canada. 

At the grain and flour-mills, now in charge of F. J. 
Hastings & Hezzleton, a very heavy business is now 
carried on. No place in this region has a more com- 
plete stock for feed, fertilizing, garden seeds, farming 
tools ; flour comes in and goes out by the car-load. 
It is the heaviest grain business between Waltham 
and Fitchburg; estimated annual amount, $150,000. 

The Actox Light Ixfantry was organized in 
1805 and then consisted of forty-one raember;^, includ- 
ing officers. The following gentlemen previous to 
1830 commanded this company: Paul Brooks, Simon 
Hosmer, Abijah Hayward, Silas Jones, James Jones, 
Aaron Hayward, Jonathan Hosmer, John Fletcher, 
John Handley, Jr., Simon Davis, Abel Furbush, 
George W. Tuttle and Thomas Brown. 

The following is the list of town clerks: Thomas 
Wheeler, 1735-36; Simont Hunt 1737-43; Jonathan 
Hosmer, 1744-55; John Davis, Jr., 1756-57; Jona- 
than Hosmer, 1758-61; Francis Faulkner, 1762-1)6; 
Aaron Jones, 1797; John Edwards, 1798-99; David 
Barnard, 1800-07; John Robbins, 1808-17; Joseph 
Noyes, 1818; John Robbins, 1819-20; Joseph Noyes, 



296 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



1821; Abraham Conant, 1822; Francis Tuttle, 1823- 
27; Silas Jones, 1828; Stevens Hayward, 1829; Fran- 
cis Tuttle, 1830. 

Deacon Ephraim Robbins and Asa Parlin, Esq., 
were of Carlisle when it was a district of Acton. 

Captain Daniel Fletcher was chosen a delegate to 
the convention in Boston, 22d September, 1768; 
Francis Faulkner and Ephraim Hapgood to the Pro- 
vincial Congress ill Concord, October, 1774; Josiah 
Hayward to Cambridge, February, 1775, and again in 
May ; Francis Faulkner to the convention in Cam- 
bridge, for forming the Constitution, September, 1779; 
Captain Joseph Robbins to the convention in Con- 
cord, to regulate the prices of articles of produce, etc., 
October, 1779; Simon Tuttle and Thomas Noyes to 
Concord 23d of May, 1786; and Asa Parlin to the 
convention in Boston in 1788, to ratify the Constitu- 
tion of the United States. 

Representatives. — Nathan Brooks, 1836, 1837, 
1838, 1840; Phineas Harrington, 1841-42; Ivory 
Keyes, 1843, 1846 ; Daniel Wetherbee, 1844, 1845, 
1848, 1853, 1857 ; Rev. James T. Woodbury, 1850-51 ; 
Moses Hayward, 1852; Joseph Noyes, 1854; Aaron 
C. Handley, 1855, 1863; William D. Tuttle, 1856 
John Fletcher, 1861; Luther Conant, 1866, 1886 
George W. Gates, 1870 ; George C. Wright, 1873 
Moses Taylor, 1881 ; Charles Wesley Parker, 1884 
Aaron C. Handley, 1889; Daniel Fletcher, 1768 
Josiah Hayward, 1774-75 ; Mark White, 1776 ; Simon 
Hunt, 1780; Francis Faulkner, 1782, 1785; Thomas 
Noyea, 1787, 1789 ; Ephraim Robbins, 1790 ; Jonas 
Brooks, 1791, 1802; Asa Parlin, 1803; Jonas Brooks, 
1804; Samuel Jones, 1805-06 ; Jonas Brooks, 1807-11 
Stevens Hayward, 1812 ; Joseph Noyes, 1813-18 
Joseph Noyes, 1821 ; Francis Tuttle, 1823-27 
Steven Hayward, 1828-29; Francis Tuttle, 1830-31. 

Forty-four years during the ninety-five since incor- 
poration the town was not represented in the General 
Court. 

Senators.— Stevens Hayward, 1844, 1845; Win- 
throp E. Faulkner, 1853, 1854 ; John Fletcher, 1870, 
1871. 

Town Clerks.— Francis Tuttle, Esq., 1830-32, 
1834, 1835 ; Silas Jones, 1832-33 ; J. W. Tuttle, 1836, 
1838; Daniel Wetherbee, 1839-54; William D. Tut- 
tle, 1855. 

Graduates of College. — Nathan Davis, son of 
Samuel Davis, born November 30, 1737 ; graduated at 
Harvard College 1759; ordained minister at Dracut 
20th November, 1765 ; dismissed in 1785 ; removed to 
Boston and was appointed chaplain at Fort Indepen- 
dence, and a review officer; died March 4,1803, 
aged 65. 

John Swift, born November 18, 1741 ; graduated in 
1762; settled as a physician in Acton ; died in 1775. 

Asa Piper, son of Josiah Piper; graduated in 1778, 
and was ordained at Wakefield, New Hampshire, 
1785; was a retired pastor in that place after leaving 
his pastoral charge. 



Solomon Adams, son of Lieutenant John Adams ; 
born March 18, 1761; graduated in 1788; ordained 
pastor at Middleton, October 23, 1793; died Septem- 
ber, 1813, aged 53. 

Daniel Brools, graduated in 1794 ; settled as a 
trader in Westmoreland, where he held the office of 
justice of the peace ; died at Springfield, Vermont. 

Thomas Noyes, son of Thomas Noyes, born Febru- 
ary 5, 1769; graduated in 1795; ordained pastor of 
Second Church in Needham, July 10, 1709; dis- 
missed in 1833, after a faithful discharge of his 
official duties thirty- lour years. To his clerical 
brethren he set an example of diligence, punctuality 
and perseverance. As a preacher he was respectable, 
grave and sincere, practical rather than doctrinal. He 
brought beaten oil into the sanctuary. He was a de- 
scendant of the Puritans and a consistent Congrega- 
tional ist. 

Lutlier Wright, born April 19, 1770 ; graduated in 
1796 ; ordained pastor of the First Parish in Med- 
way, June 13, 1798 ; dismissed September, 1815 ; in- 
stalled at Barrington, Rhode Island, January 29, 
1817 ; dismissed July 5, 1821 ; he resided at HoUiston 
afterwards. 

Muses Adams, son of Rev. Moses Adams ; born 
November 28, 1777 ; graduated in 1797 ; settled as a 
physician in Ellsworth, Maine, and was sherifl' of the 
county of Lincoln. 

William Emerson Faulkner, son of Franc's Faulk- 
ner, Esq. ; born October 23, 1776; graduated 1797; 
read law with his brother-in-law, the Hon. Jabez 
Upham, of Brookfield, with whom he formed a part- 
nership in business ; he died October 1, 1804, aged 
28, and left a most worthy character. 

Josiah Adams, son of the Rev. Moses Adams ; born 
November 3, 1781 ; graduated in 1801 ; read law with 
Thomas Heald, Esq. ; was admitted to the bar, June, 
1807, and settled in Framingham. He delivered the 
Centennial address in 1835. 

Luther Faulkner, son of Francis Faulkner ; born 
May 7, 1779 ; graduated in 1802 ; was a merchant in 
Boston. 

Jonathan Edwards Scott, a native of Nova Scotia; 
a resident in Acton before he entered college ; grad- 
uated in 1802 ; commanded a vessel at sea. 

Joseph Adams, sou of Rev. Moses Adams; born 
September 25, 1783; graduated in 1803; settled as 
an attorney in West Cambridge ; died June 10, 1814. 

John Buggies Cutting, son of William Cutting; 
graduated at Dartmouth College, 1802 ; ordained at 
Waldoborough, Maine, August, 1807; dismissed 
March, 1812, and was afterwards a teacher of youth. 

Henry Durant graduated at Yale College, 1828; was 
a tutor in Y'ale ; all these, excepting the two first and 
the last, were prepared for college under Rev. Mr. 
Adams. 

Rev. James Fietcher.—He was born in Acton, Septem- 
ber 5, 1823, and was the son of Deacon John and 
Clarissa Jones Fletcher. He fitted for college at 



ACTON. 



2;»7 



Leicester Academy, Massachusetts, and New Ipswich 
Academy, New Hampshire. He graduated at Dart- 
mouth College in 1843, at Andover Theological Sem- 
inary in 1846, and was a resident licentiate a year ; 
pastor of the Maple Street Congregational Church, 
Danvers, fifteen years ; principal of the Holten High 
School, Danvers, five years; of Lawrence Academy, 
Groton, six years ; of Burr and Burton Seminary, 
Manchester, Vt., three years. He has taught forty- 
nine terms in all ; been committeeman eighteen 
years and superintendent of schools six years. He 
married in Andover, Mass., October 10, 1849, Lydia 
Middleton, daughter of Rev. Henry Woodward, mis- 
sionary to Ceylon, granddaughter of Prof. Bezaleel 
Woodward, of Dartmouth College, and adopted 
daughter of Hon. Samuel Fletcher, late of Concord, 
New Hampshire. 

George O. Parker. — He was born in Acton, June 19, 
1826. He was the oldest son of Asa Parker and Ann 
Margaret (McCaristone) Parker. He fitted for college 
at Lawrence Academy, Groton, and Appleton Acad- 
emy, New Ipswich, N. H. He taught school in Ac- 
ton and elsewhere. He graduated from Union College, 
New York, in 1852 ; studied law at the Albany Law 
School, New York, and was admitted to the bar of 
that State. 

In 1856 he settled in Milford, Mass., and was ad- 
mitted to the Worcester Co. bar, where he has since 
practiced. For many years he has been chairman of 
the Board of School'Committee of Milford, senior 
warden of the Trinity Episcopal Church, Milford. 
In politics he was a Republican, but joined the Gree- 
ley party in 1872, was a member of the Cincinnati 
Convention of that year, and represented the Demo- 
cratic party in the Legislature in 1876. December 
26, 1854, he married the eldest daughter of Rev. 
James T. Woodbury, Augusta. Their child, Marga- 
ret Augusta, died at Milford in 1861. 

William M. Parker, M.D.—Ke was born in Acton, 
June 15, 1828, son of Asa Parker and Ann Margaret 
(McCaristone) Parker. He acquired a thorough aca- 
demical education, and entered the Berkshire Medical 
Institution at Pittsfield, and graduated in 1853. He 
practiced in Shutesbury about five years. He there 
served as a member of the School Committee. From 
1856 to 1860 he was surgeon of the Tenth Regiment 
of Massachusetts militia. In 1858 he removed to 
Milford, and there followed his profession till his 
death, March 1, 1883. He was a member of the 
Massachusetts Medical Society and of the Massachu- 
setts Medico-Legal Society, and at the time of his 
decease was State Medical Examiner in Worcester 
County. He was married June 25, 1872, to Miss 
Emma T. Day, whose death preceded his own by 
about six months. He left his only child, Lillian 
Blanche, to Mr. and Mrs. George G. Parker, by whom 
she was adopted. The Milford historian, Mr. Ballou, 
speaks of his social standing as being in accord with 
the doctor's eminence as a physician and citizen. 



Son. Henry L. Parker. — He was born in Acton. 
He was the son of Asa Parker and Ann Margaret 
(McCaristone) E'arker. He graduated at Dartmouth 
College in 1856. He was admitted to the bar of 
Worcester County in 1859, and commenced the prac- 
tice of law at Hopkinton, Mass., and was trial justice 
for about three years ; removed to Worcester in 1865, 
where he has been in practice since. 

In 1886 and 1887 he was representative to the Gen- 
eral Court from Worcester. In 1886 he was a mem- 
ber of Committee on Probate and on Drainage. In 
1887 he was chairman of Committee on Probate. In 
1889 and 1890 he was Senator from the First Wor- 
cester Senatorial District. In 1889 he was member 
of Judiciary Committee and chairman of Public Ser- 
vice. In 1890 he was appointed chairman of the fol- 
lowing Committees: Judiciary, Rules, Election Laws 
and Special Elections. In Worcester was six years 
a member of the School Board. For the past two 
years he has been president of the Worcester County 
Horticultural Society and senior warden of St. 
Mark's Episcopal Church, also member of the Board 
of Associated Charities. 

Rev. Ephraim Hapgood, son of John and Clara 
Hapgood, graduated at Brown University in 1874, 
pursued theological studies at Newton Theological 
Seminary ; was settled in Seward City, Nebraska. 

Jieu. Josiah W. Brown graduated at Dartmouth and 
Andover Theological Seminary. 

Edward F. Sherman. — Born at Southeast Acton, 
graduated at Dartmouth College in 1843, and prac- 
ticed law in Lowell. The mi Is at Southeast Acton 
called the Sherman Mills. 

Luther Jones, M.D. — He was the son of Silas Jones, 
and graduated at Dartmouth College in 1841. 

Ebeyi H. Bavis.^lie was born in Acton, 1840. He 
w.as the son of Eben Davis. He graduated at Kim- 
ball Union Academy in 1857, and at Dartmouth Col- 
lege in 1861. He took a course at the Harvard Law 
School, and then entered upon his life-work, that of 
teaching. He was principal of the Belmont High 
School, and was then elected, in 1869, superintendent 
of the schools in Nashua, N. H., where he remained 
a year and a half, when he resigned and became the 
superintendent of the schools in Woburn, which 
position he held for thirteen years, and has been 
superintendent of the schools in Chelsea six years. 
He has made a specialty of primary methods in teach- 
ing, has written for educational magazines, both in 
the South and in the Northeast, has lectured in several 
States at Institutes, and is now editing a series of 
readers, in behalf of the Lippiucott Publishers. 

Julian A. Mead, M.D. — He was born in Acton ; the 
son of Oliver W. Mead. He was fitted for college at 
Exeter, N. H ; graduated at Harvard College and 
Harvard Medical School : studied over two years in 
the medical schools and colleges of Europe, and is now 
in active practice in Watertown, Mass. 

George Herman Tattle, son of George Tuttle ; pre- 



298 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



pared for college at Concord High School ; gradu- 
ated at Harvard, 1887 ; has been one year at the Med- 
ical University of Pennsylvania ; one year at Harvard 
Medical School. 

Frederick Brooks Noyes, son of T. Frederick Noyes, 
has graduated from Anduver Theological Seminary, 
and nearly completed his course at Harvard Univer- 
sity. 

Physicians. — Dr. John Swift, son of the minister, 
was the first physician. 

Dr. Abraham Skinner was from Woodstock, Conn., 
and commenced practice in Acton in 1781, where be 
died, April 16, 1810, aged 53. He married Sarah, 
daughter of Francis Faulkner, Esq., 1788. 

Dr. Peter Ooodnow was from Bolton ; commenced 
practice in Acton 12lh October, 1812 ; left February 
18, 1827, and was afterwards a merchant in Boston. 

Dr. Beta Gardner resided here from 1823 to 1828; 
removed to Vermont. 

Dr. Harris Cowdry, born at South Reading ; grad- 
uated at the Berkshire Medical Institution, 1824 ; 
commenced practice in October, 1826. 

Paid C. Kittridge, from Littleton, commenced prac- 
tice in Acton August 30, 1830. 

Harris Cowdry, 31. D., was born at South Reading 
(now Wakefield), Mass., September 23, 1803. He 
studied with Dr. Hunt, of that place, and graduated 
at the Berkshire Medical School, Pittsfield. Mass. 

At eighteen he applied himself to the vocation of a 
nurse, and in this work he acquired a t-iste for the 
medical profession. He entered upon this pursuit 
with the greatest enthusiasm. He grappled bravely 
with the obstacles that met him at the outset of his 
profession, and soon took a front rank. 

In choosing a field for practice, several places were 
in mind. The fruits which abounded in Acton, even 
at that early date, attracted his notice, and here he 
determined to locate. Possibly, other attractions may 
have helped his decision, for, in due time, he found a 
helpful companion in Miss Abigail Davis, daughter 
of Eben Davis, a native of Acton. Here he practiced 
his profession for nearly half a century — nearly the 
average life of two generations. 

The country in Acton and the adjacent towns is 
but sparsely populated, and his rides were long and 
fatiguing. 

As a physician he was faithful and conscientious 
to all — both rich and poor. With the latter he was 
attentive and sympathizing, and in his charges leni- 
ent. The case of each patient he made an especial 
study. He was continually gathering up improved 
methods of practice from medical works and from 
the experience of friends, not allowing his mind to 
run in ruts. 

As a general practitioner he excelled. Others in 
the profession may have been his superiors in some 
special branches, but for the varied work to which he 
was called, few have been hij equals. As he entered 
the sick-room he brought a cheerful countenance and 



a happy style of conversation, inspiring confidence, 
both in the patient and attendants. He was fond of 
children, and apt in discovering and treating their 
ailments. 

He was an early member of the Evangelical Church 
of Acton, and its firm supporter to the end. He was 
a reformer, zealous in the cause of temperance and 
anti-slavery. 

He was interested in education ; a superintendent 
of the schools sixteen years, and chairman of the 
School Committee at the time of his death. He was 
fond of music, and, however pressing his professional 
cares, seldom was he missed from the village choir, 
seldom even from the rehearsal. 

He was an ardent patriot. As a specimen of the 
man at the outbreak of the Rebellion, his letter to 
Captain Daniel Tuttle, dated May 1, 1861, is here 
givw : 

" You can't tell what an anxious night we spent 
after the telegraph bad flashed it up to South Acton 
that the Sixth Regiment had been attacked in Balti- 
more. We are proud of you, and, more than that, 
we are glad the friends of freedom the world over 
know of your noble bearing. 

" We know if the South don't back down, and there 
comes a fight, the Davis Guards will do their duty 
bravely and well. 

"If prayers and tears can help you, be assured you 
have them all. You never saw such a town-meeting 
as we bad last Saturday. We are ready to do any- 
thing for the soldiers." 

He was one of those few men who never grow old. 
He was in his seventy-third year during that last 
winter campaign. His locks were silvery, but his 
step was elastic, his eyes flashed with the fire of early 
manhood, and he dashed through the streets, on his 
way to the sick, whether the call came by day or 
night, in sunshine or storm. 

He died, as he wished, with the harness on. That 
Centennial Day at old Concord, April 19, 1875, was 
too much for him. The severity of that raw, chilly 
day gave him a fatal attack of influenza, from which 
he died, after a short but painful sickness. May 6th. 

More died from the exposures of that day than 
from the original 19th, a hundred jears before, and 
Dr. Cowdry was one of these patriotic martyrs. 

He had two children : Arthur H. Cowdry, a suc- 
cessful physician in Stoneham, Mass.; Mrs. Helen 
Little, widow of Charles Little, M.D., whose active 
professional life began in Acton in 1866, and his mar- 
riage to Dr. Cowdry's only daughter soon after, and 
his death at the age of thirty-three, after a promising 
but brief professional career. 

Charles Little, M.D. — Dr. Little was born in Bos- 
cawen, N. H. ; graduated at Dartmouth College in 
1860, and received his medical degree in the same in- 
stitution in 1863; died November 16, 1869, thirty-two 
years old. During the same autumn he entered the 
navy as assistant surgeon, where he remained until 

/ 



ACTON. 



299 



the clope of the war. TJnwilling to enter upon a 

private practice without a more thorough preparation 
for his work, he passed the winter of 18G5-6G at the 
College of Physicians and Surgeons, and at the hos- 
pital in New York. He commenced his active pro- 
fessional life at Acton in the spring of 1866, and soon 
after married the only daughter of Dr. Harris Cowdry, 
of Acton. 

Dr. Little was a good classical scholar, and had an 
excellent knowledge of the minutiae of his profession. 
His practical career, though short, was long enough 
to give him a place in the confidence of the people, 
and betoken a useful and successful career. He was 
modest in his manners, but outspoken for the right. 
In the home circle he was best appreciated. He was 
a genial husband, brother and friend. His end was 
peaceful and like a summer's cloud. 

John M. Miles, M.D. — He was born in Temple, 
K. H. His father was a minister in Temple for sev- 
eral years, where he died. He married a daughter of 
Josiah Taylor, of Temple. He was educated at a 
medical college. He practiced in Boxboro' and Lit- 
tleton and settled in Acton in 1843, and practiced 
here until his death, March 22, 1865, aged sixty-three 
years and five months. 

Isaiah Hutching, M.D. — He was born in Westford, 
Middlesex County, Mass., September 23, 1829 ; lived 
on his father's farm in Groton till eighteen years of 
age. His education was in the public schools and 
Lawrence Academy at Groton. He entered the office 
of Dr. Walter Burnham, of Lowell, as a student in 
the study of medicine, and graduated from the Wor- 
cester Medical College in 18.52, and the same year 
began the practice of medicine at West Acton,- and 
for most of the time since has continued in it at the 
same place. 

He was in the Union army during the nine months' 
campaign, acting assistant surgeon most of the time 
in the same regiment, Sixth Massachusetts, during 100 
days' campaign as second'lieutenant Company' E. He 
married a daughter of Alden Fuller, West Acton. 

Charlei Barton Sanders, 31. D., born in Lowell, 
Ma«s., February 19, 1844. He received his early edu- 
cation in the common school at Berwick, Me., and at 
Berwick Academy, South Berwick, Me. Enlisted as 
private August 11, 1862, in Rollingsford, N. H., 
and served with the Thirteenth New Hampshire 
Volunteers (being promoted to corporal) until 
March 1, 1864, when he was discharged by orders 
of the War Department to receive commission as 
first lieutenant in the United States colored troops, 
and was assigned to the Thirtieth Regiment; 
was through the Wilderness campaign and was 
taken prisoner July 30, 1864, at the battle of 
" Crater," front of Petersburg, and was confined in a 
rebel prison at Columbia, S. C, seven months. Mus- 
tered out of service December 10, 1865, having served 
as adjutant of regiment from 1st of June, 1865. Re- 
ceived medical education at Harvard and Bowdoin 



June 1, 1869. His early years of practice were in 
Lowell. In July, 1875, he located at Acton Centre. 
September 4, 1878, he married Elizabeth Taylor, 
daughter of Moses Taylor, Esq. 

LAWYERS.^5am«e^ Jones, Esq., resided here as an 
attorney in 1805-06, but left the town and died in the 
South. 

Fi'rdinand Adolphus Wyman, Esq. — He was born in 
Waltham, Mass., December 28, 1850. He is a prac- 
ticing lawyer, resident in Hyde Park, which place he 
repre-sents for the second term in the Massachusetts 
Legislature. He was educated in the schools of West 
Acton. He was assignee of T. Shaw & Brothers, the 
extensive leather manufacturers, and as assignee or 
trustee has settled other large estates. He was ad- 
mitted to the Suffolk bar in 1886. He is a member of 
the House Committee on Railroads. 

A. A. Wyman, Esq. — Mr. Wyman's full name is 
Alphonso Adelbert Wyman ; he was born in West 
Acton January 29, 1862. He was educated in the 
common schools of Acton and Lawrence Academy, 
Groton ; he entered Phillips Exeter Academy, 
1875 ; graduated at the head of bis class of thirty in 
1879. He was president of the Golden Brand, a 
literary society founded in 1817. He was managing 
editor of the Exonian, a school paper, and he was 
class historian by unanimous choice of his class. In 
1879 he entered Harvard College, from which he 
graduated with honors in 1883. He was one of 
twenty-five in a class of 200 elected to the Phi Beta 
Kappa, holding the highest rank in scholarship. In 
December, 1883, he began the study of law in the of- 
fice of Henry W. Paine and William Varen Vaughan, 
20 Washington Street, Boston, and was admitted to 
the Suffolk bar in June, 1885, since which time he 
has been engaged in the practice of his profession in 
Boston and West Acton. On July 28, 1886, he was 
married to Laura Aldrich, and his residence ha.s been 
in West Acton. 

Francis C. Nash, Esq., a native of Maine, gradu- 
ated at Tufts College, 1863 ; admitted to practice in 
Maine in 1866, and was in active practice in the 
Maine courts for several years. He opened an office 
in Boston (54 Devonshire Street) in 1880, residing at 
West Acton, at the homestead of Mr. John Hapgood, 
whose daughter Clara he married. He has been on 
Board of School Committee as chairman and superin- 
tendent of schools in Acton, and held other positions 
of trust. 

Mrs. Clara Httpgood Xash, daughter of John and 
Clara Hapgood, was admitted to practice before the 
Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, October, 1872. She 
was the first lady admitted to the practice of the 
court, in which she was for several years in co- 
partnership with her husband. She was, before her 
law practice, a teacher in public schools, was for a time 
an assistant principal of the Danvers High School. 

Charles B. Stone, Esq. — He was admitted to the 
Suffolk bar February, 1890. 



300 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, xMASSACHUSETTS. 



From Shattdck's History of Concord. — A 
post-office was established in 1828, and Silas Jones, 
Esq., was postmaster. 

Appropriations : 

Object 175X 17r,n. 177). 1780. 1790. 1800. 1810. 1820. 

Minister £50 £52 £70 £3562 80 363 353 630 

Scliools IS 12 24 2000 49 333 450 450 

Roads 20 70 60 800 120 400 600 600 

lucidental 20 12 80 1000 100 6oO 10,000 1400 

In 1826 the aggregate time of keeping schools was 
28 months, attended by 412 pupils, (227 males, 185 fe- 
males) ; 139 under? years, 160 from 7-14 and 113 from 
14 upwards. 

In 1825 there were 2 carding-macbines, 2 fulling- 
mills and 4 saw-mills ; valuation, $862,928. 

Barrels were the staple production of the town, 20, 
000 estimated as the annual production. 

The population in 1764 was 611 ; in 1790, including 
Carlisle, 853 ; in 1800, 901 ; in 1810, 885 ; in 1820, 1047; 
in 1830, 1128. 

In 1821 there were 140 dwelling-houses, 230 other 
buildings, 513 acres of tillage land on which were 
raised 705 bushels of rye, 932 of oats, 5833 of corn, 
75 of barley, 140 of beans; 1527 acres of mowing 
land, producing 956 tons of hay ; 2026 acres of pas- 
turing, keeping 939 cows, 196 oxen ; 2055 acres of 
wood, 3633 acres of unimproved, and 1311 unimprov- 
able ; 240 used as roads and 500 covered with water. 

It then had 3 grist-mills. 

Miscellanies. — The dark day, so called, was May 
19, 1780. Joseph ChaiBn died in 1836, eighty-four 
years of age. Solomon Smith, the father of Luke, 
died July 25, 1837, aged eighty-four. One hundred 
and thirty-two dwelling-houses in South Acton in a 
range of a mile from the centre of the village; 109 
in West Acton; 60 in the centre. Seventy thousand 
barrels of apples are shipped from West Acton per 
year. Between eight and nine thousand barrels are 
raised within a mile of Acton Centre and of the 
choicest quality and variety. 

Quarry Works in North Acton.— This enter- 
prise has opened under the management of David C. 
Harris and John Sullivan, with encouraging pros- 
pects. They already do an extensive business, send- 
ing their granite as far west as Nebraska, and as far 
south as Pennsylvania. The granite has a peculiar 
merit in its tint, fineness of grain and durability, and 
gives a growing satisfaction to those who have tried 
it. 

It most resembles what is known as the Concord, 
N. H., granite, though in some respects it is thought 
to be superior to that. 

The granite has been known for quite a number of 
years. 

A part of the monument at Lexington came from 
this quarry, and was drawn by oxen. 

The Great Blow— It came Sept. 23, 1815. From 
" Our First Century," by K. M. Devens, in the article 
relating to the gale, is the following statement : 



" In the little town of Acton the damage amounted 
to forty thousand dollars. 

" This gale was severe at the Centre, blowing down 
several of the horse sheds arouLd the meeting-house. 
It came from east and went to the west. It was es- 
pecially severe among the forests on Myers hill oppo- 
site the residence of Charles Robbins, in the east part 
of the town. It is remembered by several now living, 
and they have never forgotten the scene of falling 
forests." 

The area of Acton is 12,795 acres. Its valuation in 
1886, $1,286,089. Its population by the last State 
Census in 1885 was 1785 ; dwelling-houses, 413. The 
number of children between the ages of 5 and 15 in 
1889 was 267. In 1885 there were 190 farms, the pro- 
duct of which was $209,533. The product of the 
dairies, $77,065. Hay, straw and fodder, $.50,132. 
Vegetables, $19,417 ; 29,756 fruit trees, 1467 neat 
cattle, 240 horses. Aggregate of goods in 1885, $332, 
345. Valuation in 1888, $1,310,947. School property, 
$22,600. Two thousand volumes in the West Acton 
libraries ; 4000 volumes in William A. Wilde's Me- 
morial Library. The general heakhfulness of the 
climate is well established by the records of the past. 
Fatal epidemics have been rare. Seldom have the 
years been marked with prevailing sickness. 

The average longevity for the last 26 years includ- ■ 
ing those dying in infancy, has been 44 years and 6 
months. This may be taken as an approximate aver- 
age for the entire history of the town. Longevity has 
always been a feature of the locality. 

During these 26 years the average number of deaths 
in town has been 30 ; the total, 789. Those reaching 
60 years, 289; those reaching 70 years, 211; those 
reaching 80 years, 98; those reaching 90 years, 14. 
The highest age reported is that of Mrs. Mehitable 
Piper, 101 years and 2 months, March 25, 1872. She 
was the wife of Silas Piper. 

From Shattuck's "History" we learn that during the 
twenty vears subsequent to 1800 there were published 
208 intentions of marriages, and there occurred 161 
marriages, 344 births, 302 deaths, of whom 72 died 
under one year old, 32 were 80 and upwards, 8 were 
90 and upwards and one lived 99J. The average 
number annually was 15, about one in 70 of the whole 
population. The mean average age was 35. 

Longevity. — The causes explaining this longevity 
are not obscure. They may be found in the frugal 
habits of the people ; in the tonic air of the hills; in 
the pure water of the springs ; in the excellent drain- 
age of the low lands, by means of running brooks and 
larger streams; in the variety of the soil, fertile 
enough to encourage a diligent culture; in the land- 
scapes ever present and ever shifting to accommodate 
the moods of the resting or laborious hours; in the 
vicinage of the ocean, near enough to enjoy its cool- 
ing baths in the heat of summer, and distant enough 
to escape the extreme chill of the more vigorous 
months. 




1 




' ACTON. 



301 



DEATHS OF THE OLDEST PERSONS. 

BeDJnmin Brabrook, April 27, 1744; Jamps Brabrook, died at Nova 
Scolia, Fort Lawrence, May 8, 175IJ ; Suuiiiel Brabrouk, died at Remefurd 
Island, July 14, 1760 ; FraDcis Baker, ISlfl ; Isaac Davis, Sr., 1740 ; John 
Davis, died in Littleton, Oct. 0, 17.'i3 ; Ebenezer Davis, died March 5, 
17oS; John Edwards, died Sept. &, 17li(l ; Nathaniel Edwards, April 6lh, 
about ISUU, SO years old; Dea. Joseph Fletcher, Sept. 1, 1746; Amuii 
Faulkner, Aug. 4, 17.^>(J, (J4 years ; Jonathan Hosmer, Jr., Oct. 1, 1777 ; 
Ejihraim Hapgood and Nathaniel, lost in a vessel at sea coming home 
from Maine, Nov. 1, 1780 ; Samuel Jones, Nov. 29, 1796 ; Phineas Os- 
good, on Daniel Tultle place, Dec. -27, 17Ji ; Samuel Prescott, July 25, 
1758 ; George Bobbins, July 24, 1747 ; Nathan Bobbins, June 7, 1764 ; 
ThoniasSmith, May 10, 1768; David Stinison, Sept. 25, 174C; Daniel 
Shepherd, Sept. 15, 1785; William Thomas, Sept. 26, 1796; Joseph 
Wheeler, June 27, 1766 ; Ensign Mark White, Oct. 5, 1758 ; Abraham 
Wood, Feb. 20, 1769; Jacob Wood, March 7, 1769 ; Hezekiah W'heeler, 
May 5, 1750, supposed to be grandfather to Josiah D. W'heeler ; Joseph 
Wooley, June 24, 1787; 1S2;J, James Billings, on Perkins' place, 74 
years; 1S24, John White, 64; David Forbusb, May 19, 1803, 85; 
Titus Law, Feb. 16, ISlll, 84 ; Dorothy Kobbins, widow of Nathan, July 
9, 1802, 93; Joseph Piper, Dec. 19, 1802, 85 ; Sarah, widow of Samuel 
Jones, Dec. 29, ISOJ, 86 ; Simeon Hayward, June 5, 1803, 48 ; Lieut. 
John Adams, Oct. 30, 1803, 87 ; Stephen Law, Nov. 7, 1784, 77 ; Francis 
Faulkner, Esq., 77, Aug. 5, 1805 ; Widow Sarah Cutting, Dec. 25, 1805, 
97 ; Lucy Hunt, wife of Dea. Simon, March 31, 1808, 71, ; Esther Piper, 
widow of Joseph Piper, April 27, 1810, S5 ; Catharine Davis, widow of 
Simon. Jan. 3, ISlo, 81 ; Dr. Abraham Skinner, April 17, 1810, 54-; 
Lieutenant John Heald, Oct., 1810, 90; Thomas Wheeler, Nov. 17, 

1810, 65; Ephraim Hosmer, Nov. 17, 1811, 89; Rebecca Faulkner, 
widow of Francis, Esq., 76, April 3, I8l2; Deacon Joseph Brabrook, 
April 28, 1812, 73; 1813, Phillip Bobbins, Feb. 6, 73; 1813 Samuel 
Wright, March 2, 87 ; 1813, Captain Joseph Brown, Aug. 9, 61 ; 

1813, Roger V* heeler, Dec. 30, 77 ; 1814, Lieut. Simon Tutlle, April 21, 
So ; 1814, Lieut. Henry Duraut, May 0, 40 ; 1814, C'apt. Zedekiah Smith, 
in the Army, May 13, 45 ; 1814, Silas Brooks, Aug. 11, 68 ; 1814, John 
llariis, Nov. 26, 80; 1815, David Davis, Sept. 16, 72; 1816, John Hunt, 
April 4,78; 1816, John Shepherd, May 27, 64; 1800, Capt. Joseph 
Eohbins, March 31 ; 1810, Capt. Daniel Davis, Dec. 7, 67 ; 1817, Samuel 
Wheeler, April 5, 82; 1817, Capt. Stevens Hayward, Oct. 6, 66 ; 1817, 
John Handley, Dec. 12, 81 ; 1819, Benjamin Wild, in Boston, Aug. 2, 
.'.6; 1819, Thomas Law, March 20,78; 1819, Abraham Hapgood, April 
6, 66 ; 1820, Ezekiel Davis, Feb., 68 ; 1820, Dea. Simon Hunt, April 28, 
86; 1820, Oliver Jones, Aug. 11,82; 1820, Daniel Brooks, Aug. 25, 82; 

1821, Joseph Barker, April 12, 99 ; 1821, Nathaniel Faulkner, July 2, 
85; 18^1, John Bobbins, Dec. 3l8t, 60; 1821, Dea. John Wheeler, 50; 

1822, Josiah Bright, 63; 1822, Jonathan llosmer, July 10, 87; 1822, 
Smith Foster, 67 ; James Marsh, 71; 1822, Lieut. Thomas Noyes, Nov. 
19, 82 ; 1824, Joseph Brooks, 74 ; 1824, David Barnard, 64 ; 1824, Samuel 
Hayward, 82 ; 1824, Jonathan Billings, died in Concord, 85 ; 1824, John 
Wheeler, 64; 1825, Stephen Chaffin, 05 ; 1820, Jonas Brooks, 78 ; 1825, 
Joel Willis, 44; 1826, Samuel Temple, 74; 1827, Benjamin Brabrook, 
85 ; 1827, Israel Robbins, 82 ; 1827, Samuel Parlin, SO ; 1827, Quartis the 
colored man, 61 ; 1827, William Reed, 85 ; 1828, Ephraim Forbusb, 72; 
1828, Nathan Wheeler, 57 ; 1828, Robert Chaffin, 70 ; 1829, Nathan 
Brooks, 56 ; )829, John Lamson, 89 ; 1829, John Hunt, 01 ; 1829, Theo- 
dore Wheeler, 52; 1830, Joel Hosmer, 60 ; 1830, Reuben Davis, 70 ; 1831_ 
Seth Brooks, 91 ; 1831, Calvin Houghton, 78 ; 1831, Joseph Barker, 87 ; 
1831, John Reed, 73 ; 1S31, James Fletcher, 43 ; 1832, Elias Chaffin, 
77 ; 183i, Jonathan Davis, 80 ; 1832, Elijah Davis, 82 ; 1832, John Hay- 
waid, 09; 1833, Thomas F. Lawrence, 62; 1633, Daniel Holden, 00; 
1833, Abel Conant, 87 ; 1831, William Cutting, 80 ; 1834, Ephraim Bil- 
lings, 83; 1834, Aaron Hayward, 48; 1834, John Faulkner, 73; 1836, 
Capt. Seth Brooks, 91 ; 1835, Moses Fletcher, 50 ; 1835, Lemuel Dole, 
54; 18.36, John D. Bobbins, 58; 1836, Jonathan Fletcher, 64 ; 1836, 
Aaron Jones, 82 ; 1836, Joseph Chaffin, 8-1 ; 1836, John Robbins, Esq., 
74; 1836, Daniel Taylor, 65; 1830, Luther Wright ; 1837, Moses 
Woods, 87 ; 1837, Solomon Smith, 84 ; 1837, Amos Noyes, 72 ; 1838, 
Deacon Phineas Wheeler, 05; 1838, Ebenezer Barker, 73 ; 1838, Silas 
Piper; 1838, Benjamin Hayward ; 1839, Nathaniel Faulkner, 73 ; 1839, 
David Barnard, 45 ; 1839, Peter Fletcher ; 1819, Jonathan Powers; 1840, 
Capt. John Handley, 54 ; 1840, Simon Hosmer ; 1840, Daniel F. Barker ; 
1840, John Oliver ; 1841, Jonathan Billings, the clock maker, 04 ; 1841, 
Reuben Wheeler; 1841, Joseph B. Chamberlain ; 1841, Daniel White; 

1811, Ephraim Brooks; 1841, Peter Haynes ; 1841, Hannah Leighton, 
92 ; 1842, Jonas Wood ; 1842, Abel Proctor, 87 ; 1842, John Wheeler ; 
1843, Paul Conant; 1841, Luther Robbins, 41; 1844, Samuel Hand- 



ley; 1844, William Stearns; 1845, Moses Faulkner; 1846, Amml F. 
Adams, 79; 1846, Charles Handley, 87; 1846, William Reed, 08; 1847, 
Danforth Law, 44; 1847, Amos Handley, "5; 1847, John Chaffin, 08; 
1848, Samuel Hosmer, 86, Revolutionary soldier; 1828, Amos Law, 61 ; 

1848, John S. Fletcher, 67 ; 1848, Ebenezer Bobbins, 00 ; 1848, Jonathan 
Wheeler, 01 ; 1849, Ephraim Hapgood, 67 ; 1819, .\lleii Richardson, 03 ; 

1849, Nathaniel Stearns, 01; 1.S49, Joseph Barker, 74; 1849, Thomas 
Thorp, 94; 1850, Joseph Brown, 44: 1851, Nathaniel G. Brown, 70; 
1851, Nathan Wright, 00; 1851, Ebenezer Davis, 74; 1852, Tilly Rob- 
bins, 79; 1852, Silas Holden, 68; 18,i3, Daniel Wetherbee, father of 
Phineas, CO ; 1853, Daniel Barker, 79 ; 1854, Nathan D. Hosmer, 83 ; 
18d4, Joseph Harris, father of Daniel, 85 ; 1854, Henry Woods, 79; 
1855, Ebenezer Barker, 53 ; 1855, Jonathan Barker, 78 ; 1855, Asa Par- 
ker, 63 ; 1855, Luther B. Jones, 67 ; 1850, Dr. Charles Tuttle, 87 ; ISiO, 
Abijah Oliver, 86 ; 1850, Ebenezer Smith, 81 ; 1856, John Handley, 
father of David SI., 93; 1856, Solomon Smith, 61 ; 1858, Reuben Bar- 
ker, 72 ; 1859, Paltiah Brooks, 77 ; 1839, Eli Faulkner, 79 ; 1859, Silaa 
Piper, 67; 1800, Francis Piper, son of Josiah, 80; 1860, Dea. John 
White, 75 ; 1861, Silas Jones, 74 ; 1861, Edward Wetherbee, 79 ; 1861, 
Jcdidiah Tuttle, 67 ; 1861, Abraham Conant, 77 ; 1662, Cyrus Wheeler, 
59 ; 1802, Joel Oliver, 84 ; 1863, John Harris, 88 ; 1803, Joseph Bra- 
brook, 83; 1803, Reuben Wheeler, Josiah D.*8 father, 81; 1803, Joel 
Conant, 75 ; 1863, Abel Robbins, 71 ; 1864, Simon Tuttle, 71 ; 1861, 
James Keyes, 69; 1804, W^illiam Reed, father of Moses' father, 83; 
1805, Dr. John JI. Miles, 63 ; 1865, George W. Rohbin8,.sou of Philip, 
84; 186.5, Charles Robbins, 79; 1866, Luther Conant, 80; 1867, Ivory 
Keyes, 62 ; 1808, Hon. Stevens Hayward, 81 ; 1868, Jonathan B. Davis, 
78; 1808, Luther Davis, 81 ; 1809, Dr. Peter Goodnow, died in Boston, 
80 ; 1870, Cyrus Putnam, 72 ; 1870, Amos Handley, 70; 1872, Mehitablo 
Barker Piper, 101-2-1, March 25 ; 1872, Abel Jones, 88 ; 1872, Dea. Silas 
Hosmer, 80; 1872, Jonathan Hosmer, 80 ; 1S72, Simeon Knights; 1873, 
James Harris, 68; 1873, Abel Farrar, 76; 187.!, Elnathan Jones, 78; 
1863, William Reed, 09 ; 1874, Silas Taylor, 80 ; 1874, Nathaniel Hap- 
good, 89 ; 1874, George Robbins, 90; 1874, Simon Hapgood, 86; 1875, 
Alden Fuller. 77 ; 1875, Dr. Harris Cowdry, 72 ; 1870, Ithamar Parker 
78; 187B, Amos Cutter, 88; 1876, Oliver W. Drew, M.D., 78 ; 1870, Mrs. 
Eliza, wife of Elnathan Jones, 79 ; 1870, Samuel T. Adams, 79 ; 1870, 
Mrs. Susan Abel Forbush, 76; 1877, Francis Tuttle, Esq., 86: 1877, 
Rufus Tenney, 82 ; 1877, Dennis Putnam. 82 ; 1878, Mrs. Harnet Tuttle, 
widow of Francis Tuttle, Esq., 82 ; 1878. Nathan Chaffin, 77 ; 1878, 
Thomas Taylor, 72 ; 1878, Silas F. Bowker, 83 ; 1878, Miss Submit 
Wheeler, 75; 1879, Daniel Jones, 60; 1879, Dea. John Fletcher, 89; 
1879, Mrs. Sarah B. Stearns, 85 ; 1879, Jeremiah Hosmer, son of Amos 
and Susan, 85; 1879, Mrs. Harriet Davis, 82; 1879, Levi Chamberlain, 
72 ; 1879, Ruth Dole, 96; 1879, Mrs. Myra T. Miles, 74 ; 1880, Ebenezer 
Wood, 87 ; 1880, Jonathan Wheeler, 89 ; 1880, Peter Tenney, 81 ; 1880, 
Col. Wiuthrop E. Faulkner, 74 ; 1880, Mrs. Ruth Hager, 91 ; 1880, 
Mrs. Lucy Noyes, 06 ; 1880, Mrs. Betsey Chaffin, 87 ; 1880, William 
Davis, 69; 1881, Nathan Brooks, 81 ; 1881, Mrs. Ruth C, wife of Joseph 
P. Reed, 73 ; 1881, Abel Forbusb, 84 ; 1881, Mrs. Betsey H. Adams, 80 ; 
1881, Aaron Fletcher, 80; 1881, Joseph P. Reed, 73; 1881, Jonathan A. 
Piper, 73; 1881, James W. Wheeler, 69; 1882, Joseph Wheeler, 85; 
Jonas Blodgett, 71 ; 1883, Tilly Bobbins, 81 ; Daniel Wetherbee, 68 ; 
1881, Simon Hosmer, 84 ; 1887, Robert Chaffin ; 1888, David M. Handley, 
80; Cyrus Barker, 85. 



BIOGKAPHICAL. 



HENRY SKINNER. 

We are fortunate in being able to secure this me- 
mento of the past, in the portrait of Mrs. Skinner's 
husband. It is an excellent presentation of the man 
as he appeared in early manhood. He was a genial, 
cultured gentleman; fond of reading, though not a 
graduate of college ; moving in the choicest circles 
of society ; quiet in his style, but buoyant and active. 

He went to Brookfield, when a youth, to act as 
clerk in a store. The storekeeper told him never to 
find fault with the butter which the customers brought 



302 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUI^TY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



for barter, but simply, upon examining its quality, to 
tell them how much he would give them. 

His father, Dr. Abraham Skinner, died in 1810, 
when Henry was obliged to return to Acton, and, in 
company with his brother, Francis Skinner, for awhile 
had charge of the farm. The homestead and farm 
were afterwards owned by Charles Tuttle. 

Dr. Skinner built the house on this site in 179i, 
which, in its day, like that of Mrs. Skinner, built 
about the same time, ranked among the most elegant 
in town. 

■ The wife of Dr. Abraham Skinner was a Miss Coit, 
from Marlboro'. He had a large medical practice for 
years. Dr. Skinner's father was noted as a violinist. 
He could play on the violin and jump through a 
window and not break the time or the tune. 

Francis Skinner, the brother of Henry, was a noted 
merchant in Boston, and became quite wealthy in 
trade, and was generous in his treatment of his broth- 
er's widow. 

Mrs. Skinner tells this anecdote of her husband, 
after locating in business in Andover: "A friend of 
Mr. Skinner, Mr. Kidder, said to him, one day, 'Now, 
Skinner, you ought to be married ; and I wish to 
make you this proposition : If you will get married 
within a year you shall have ray house, rent free, for 
a year ; but if you don't get married within a year, 
you shall give me one of your best carpets for my 
new house.' Upon this," Mrs. Skinner eaid, "he 
came right over to Acton and got married. He could 
not afford to lose the rent of that house a year, any 
way," said Mrs. Skinner, smilingly. 

Mr. Skinner was noted, while a trader in Andover, 
for his earnest temperance principles. He was in 
full sympathy with Dr. Edwards, of Andover, who 
was, at that time, stirring the whole community with 
his appeals for a reform. 

Among his papers is this quaint agreement, signed 
by Mr. Skinner, showing his style of work in this 
line: 

** This is to Cerlify, That Henry Skinner agrees to giye Kogers Blood 
cloth to make a good coat, providing he does not drink any rum, gin or 
brandy, wine or any kind of intoxicating spirits, for twelve months 
from this day (Andover, July 20, 1828), and Blood is to forfeit ten dol- 
lars if be does not abide by this agreement. Signed in presence of 
John Berby, who promises to make the cloth into a coat for Mr. Blood 
if he obtained it in the aforesaid way." 

The autograph appended to the portrait of Mr. 
Skinner, here presented, was cut from this agreement. 

Mr. Skinner dying before the fulfilment of this ob- 
ligation, there is this additional statement: 

" Andover, April in, 1830. 
"Received of Josiah H. Adams, administrator, six dollars, in full the 
within obligation by me. Booees Blood." 

Mr. Skinner was active in exertions to repress the 
liquor traffic in Andover, urging the rumseller to 
stop, and in some cases securing pledges to that effect. 
H is early death was a great public calamity as well 
as a private grief. 



JO.SEPH BRABROOK. 

He was the father of George, Alfred, Sarah and 
Benjamin. His fine engraving, presented to the pub- 
lic in this history of Acton, is that of a man who had 
some notable features of character worthy of special 
remembrance. He was an honest man. So all the 
records prove ; so all the reminiscences of the man 
reported by his most familiar contemporaries affirm. 
He was honest in large trusts ; his honesty went down 
also into the minutije of life equally sure. If he had 
made the mistake of a cent in trade with the store- 
keeper anywhere in town, his first steps were directed 
back to the man with whom the mistake had been 
made, and his conscience was uneasy till full satisfac- 
tion had been given. The witnesses who rise up in 
judgment on the man all agree. SayiS one: "If 
there ever was an honest man in the town of Acton, 
Joseph Brabrook was that man." 

His integrity was impressed upon the memories of 
his fellow-townsmen as vividly as the clear outlines 
of the beautiful eminence on which has stood for 
nearly a century and half the Brabrook homestead. 
Thanks to his son George, we have a permanent re- 
minder of all the good qualities of his father and family 
and ancestry associated with that structure in the life- 
like engraving of the artist. It is a fitting tribute of 
a loyal son to a worthy father. The noble elm to the 
left in the landscape is of the same age with Alfred, 
another son. This cluster of elms around the Bra- 
brook house, like the other notable elms in town, are 
typical illustrations of the nobility of the men who 
planted them and lived and died under their shade. 

The house itself, though built in 1751, was put to- 
gether from cellar to ridgepole with Brabrook thor- 
oughness, and it stands to-day unrocked by the 
roughest winds that sweep over the heights. 

Mr. Brabrook was a cooper and made barrels in 
the winter, and the Brabrook stamp was enough to 
carry them forthwith into and out of the market. He 
raised hogs, and there were no cleaner or better hogs , 
in town. He did not let them revel in their trough 
after dinner, but invented an arrangement for lifting 
it at once out of their reach till the next meal was 
ready. He raised peaches, and they were of the best 
quality and had the real Brabrook flavor. The can- 
ker worms at one time made their raid upon his 
peach orchard. He met them at their first outset, 
and said, "Those worms are not to eat my peach 
orchard," and off went the branches. A new and bet- 
ter growth soon repaid for the trimming. 

He was a man of moderate size; not large, nor tall, 
not demonstrative, not loud spoken on the streets or 
elsewhere, but efficient in bringing about sure results. 
He lost no time at the loitering places of the village. 
If he took his oxen to the blacksmith's to be shod 
and Blodgett said, " Please wait a few minutes, and I 
will attend to your case shortly, Mr. Brabrook," heat 
once started them on their homeward beat, saying, 
"I will come again," and he would do it, a second 





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303 



and a third time if necessary. He was a peaceable, 
careful, reverent man. He kept up his babit of ask- 
ing a blessing at the table in his latest life, even when 
his voice could scarcelj' be heard by him who sat 
nearest at the table. Silas Conant, Sr., heard one of 
his last utterances. It was this: " O God, we thank 
thee for this food that is set before us ; we thank thee 
kindly for Christ's sake." 

He was devoted to his family. He had an efficieiit, 
worthy companion in his wife, whose energy and 
wisdom aided him essentially in accomplishing the 
grand issue of his life-work. 

His quiet, faithful ministries in her last painful 
and prolonged sufferings are remembered, and have 
endeared his name to a large circle of appreciating 
neighbors. His children rise up at the remembrance 
of his life on the Hill and call him blessed. He died 
February 15, 1863, aged eighty-three years and six 
months. His wife, Sally, died December 17, 1847, 
aged sixty-five years and six months. 

Two Brabrook's brothers were here as early as 
1669. 

Thomas married Abigail Temple, daughter of 
Richard Temple, in 1669, and died in 1692. Joseph, 
from whom those bearing the name descended, mar- 
ried Sarah Graves, in 1672, and had one, Joseph, who 
married Sarah Temple, and died in 1719. He was 
father to Benjamin and grandfather to Deacon Jo- 
seph. 

Second, John, who died a soldier at Lancaster, in 
1705. Several daughters. 

James, died at Fort Lawrence, in Nova Scotia, in 
1756. 

Benjamin Brabrook, the father of Deacon Joseph 
Brabrook, was second lieutenant of Company 5, Third 
Regiment of Militia, March 7, 1780. John Heald, 
first Lieutenant ; Simon Hunt, captain. He died Jan- 
uary 14, 1827, aged eighty-five. 

Joseph Brabrook was chosen deacon September 29. 
1775, and died April 28, 1812, aged seventy-three, 
holding the office thirty-seven years. Anna Bra- 
brook, widow of Deacon Joseph, died March 2, 1816, 
aged seventy-five. 

Joseph Brabrook, the son of Benjamin and Dorcas, 
was born March 24, 1738. Benjaminj son of Benja- 
min, was born July 12, 1741. Benjamin Brabrook, 
son of Beijamin, was married June 6, 1773. 

Joseph Adams Brabrook, son of Joseph, Jr., and 
Sally, was born November 18, 1806. Benjamin F. 
Brabrook, son of Joseph, Jr. and Sally, was born 
September 15, 1809. Sarah Appleton Brabrook, 
daughter of Joseph and Sally, born November 29, 
1826. George, son of Joseph, and Sally, born No- 
vember 9, 1828. Alfred. 

Benjamin was a Baptist minister, and preached 
with efficiency, but died young. 



BEADLEY STONE. 

He was born Sept. 4, 1801, in Chesterfield, N. H. 
His father's name was Joel and his grandfather's 
Peter. He came to West Acton when a young man, 
and established himself as a blacksmith and soon 
exhibited an originality and versatility of talent 
which inspired great hopes of his future success. 

Sept. 29, 1828, he married Clarissa Hosmer, daugh- 
ter of Nathan and sister of Mrs. John Hapgood, 
recently deceased. She was born March 11, 1804. 
She has been a bold, patient, cheerful helper and 
companion all his days. She lived with him uncom- 
plainingly in the little school-house at the cross-roads 
till he built the brick house on the corner, where 
they lived ten years. She was efficient in house- 
keeping, cooking at one time for thirty men when the 
railroad was in process of construction. She looked 
after the sick of the village during the long period of 
its growth, still caring for the game after her strength 
failed. 

They have journeyed happily together for more 
than sixty years, and are now stepping down the de- 
clivities with sprightliness, hand in hand, ready for 
the Master's call. They must be the olde.st couple 
in town, the husband in the eighty-ninth and the 
wife in the eighty-sixth year. 

The names of their children are here given : George 
Henry, born in Concord, June 1, 1829, died June 24, 
1856; Mary Ann H., born in Acton, May 2,1831; 
Edwin, born Dec. 31, 1834, died April 27, 1886; Na- 
than Hosmer, born Oct. 4, 1838, died March 1, 1874 ; 
Clara E. Stone, born Aug. 27, 1842 ; Charles Bradley 
Stone, born July 17, 1848. 

From the very construction of his mind he has 
been an enthusiast in every line of work or improve- 
ment which he has undertaken. He has watched 
with zest signs of progress in the village of his adop- 
tion. He built the first store, and when the 
merchandise came too tardily from the metropolis, he 
projected the Fitchburg Railroad. His genius and 
pluck, combined in sharp rivalship with that of Col. 
Faulkner at the South, insured the success of the 
enterprise. 

His first thought was a new route and road-bed to 
the city, but this finally yielded to a railroad charter 
from the Legislature, which was carried by the com- 
bined forces of the projectors. Then the question 
wa.s — -which village shall have the depot '? This was at 
first decided in fiivor of the South, then the decision 
reversed in favor of the West, then the compromise 
by which both secured the advantage. The West 
was, however, for quite a period, the distributing 
centre for the country beyond in all directions, far 
and near. 

The fire still kindles with its old lustre in the eye 
of Mr. Stone as he tells the story of this railroad con- 
test, in which he, was so conspicuous a figure. 

He has been, from the beginning, a warm advocate 
of the temperance cause, of the schools and of the gov- 



304 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



ernmeiit. His first vote, Democratic, was cast for 
General Jackson as President, but during the Fugitive 
Slave Bill excitement he became a Republican, 
on which side he has voted most of h's public life. 
He watches with an old man's eagerness the recent 
developments of grjwtli in his vicinity, and is sure of 
a future for the village and the town as a whole which 
will rival all the past. 



GEORGE CLEAVELAND WBIGHT. 

He was born Jan. 7th, 1823, in Bedford, Mass. His 
father, Joel Wright, lived in Boxboro'. His mother, 
Dolly H. Reed, was born in Littleton, Mass., and af- 
terwards taught school in Boxboro'. George lived in 
Boxboro' from the age of fifteen to nineteen years, 
when he learned the shoemaker's trade, at which he 
worked for nine years, the first two years in the em- 
ploy of Deacon John Fletcher, of Acton, and the 
rest of the time in business for himself at West Acton. 

December 31, 184G, he married Susan H. Davis, 
daughter of Jonathan B. Davis, granddaughter of 
Simon Hosmer and grandniece of Captain Isaac 
Davis, who was killed at Concord fight. 

Four of their children lived to grow up, born as 
follows: Estella M. Wright, December 20, 1849; 
George S. Wright, July 13, 1857 ; Effie R. Wright, 
June 13, 1860 ; T. Bertha Wright, June 5, 1866. 

At the age of thirty-one, after being in the milk 
business in Charlestown and Boston two years, he 
engaged in the cofiiee and spice business as a member 
of the firm of Hayward & Co., which, after twenty- 
five years of successful business, united with Dwinell 
& Co., and soon afterwards with Mason & Co., making 
the firm of Dwinell, Hayward & Co., the largest coffee 
and spice-house in New England. Though always 
an equal partner in every respect, he has never asked 
to have his name attached to the firm-name. 

For the past thirty years he has been the coffee 
buyer of the firm, and his frequent trips to the New 
York markets have made him personally known to 
most of the prominent coffee men of this country. 

As a coffee buyer he has few equals and no supe- 
riors. With the courage of his convictions, backed 
by a most thorough knowledge of the statistical po- 
sition of the article in question, he has shown his 
right to the foremost position in his department of 
the business ; notably so in the rise of 1886-87, when 
the Brazilian coffees advanced in one year more than 
250 per cent, in value. 

From small beginnings the firm of Dwinell, Hay- 
ward & Co. has seen a healthy and legitimate growth, 
and to-day distributes the products of its extensive 
factory, located at the corner of Batterymarch and 
Hamilton Streets, Boston, in almost every State and 
Territory this side the Rocky Mountains. 

Mr. Wright is strictly a self-made man. Without 
rich or influential I'riends to help, he has won for 
himself a position in the business world that any 



man might envy and few attain, and he bids fair, at 
the age of sixty -seven, to enjoy for many years the 
competency that he so well deserves. 

Early in his successful career, 1861, he secured for 
himself a worthy home on the brow of the hill over- 
looking the village of West Acton, and which com- 
i^ands a glorious view of the surrounding country. 
Here his children grew up and here he still resides. 

He has been prominently identified with the Uni- 
versalist Parish in West Acton, and was one of three 
to contribute a large sum toward the erection of its 
present meeting-house. 

In all village and town improvements Mr. Wright 
has always shown a lively interest and a generous 
help. 

Lyceum and temperance, school and library, have 
found in him a firm friend and a most liberal patron. 

In the Legislature of 1874 he represented the towns 
of Acton, Wayland and Sudbury as a Republican, 
wilh credit to himself and with satisfaction to his 
constituents. 

Though a Republican in politics, Mr. Wright has 
never hesitated to work and vote for principles, not 
party — for men, not machines. 



MOSES TAYLOR. 

He was born in Acton April 16, 1822. He was the 
son of Silas Taylor and Sophiii Hapgood, who were 
married April 11, 1820. She was the daughter of 
Ephraim and Molly Hapgood and was born Febru- 
ary 13, 1792, and died March 10, 1869. Silas Taylor 
came from Boxboro' to Acton, and bought of Moses 
Richardson the estate situated where Moses Taylor 
now lives. The house then standing was unpainted, 
with a roof running down in the rear. There was a 
well-sweep and an oaken bucket in front. The chim- 
ney was made of flat stone, laid in clay and twelve 
feet square. It stood on that site for over a hundred 
years. The new house was built by Mr. Silas Taylor. 
The old site was known as the Barker place, Joseph 
Barker, (2d) originally. 

Mr. Silas Taylor, the father of Moses, was a man of 
rare sense and wit, of great physical power and en- 
durance, a laborious and saving man, and accumulat- 
ed for those times great possessions. He was a soldier 
of the war of 1812, and served at Sackett's Harbor on 
Lake Erie, receiving a pension for the same in his later 
life. He was kind to the poor, and in his quiet way 
befriended many in embarrassed circumstances. He 
was favored in the companionship for forty-nine years 
of a woman of rare modesty, judgment and grace. 

The grandfather of Moses Taylor was Silas Taylor, 
a resident of Stow, formerly of Watertown. He com- 
manded a company from Stow in the battle of Ben- 
nington, Vermont, August 16, 1777, and was present 
at the capture of Burgoyne. He was for many 
years a justice of the peace in Stow, and town clerk, 
and did most of the marrying and other town business. 



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ACTON. 



805 



The sword which he carried at Bennington, as 
also the sword carried to South Boston by Captain 
Silas Jones in 1812 war, have recently been presented 
to the Memorial Library of Acton, by Moses Taylor. 

He was educated in the common schools of Acton, 
and in addition attended the academy at Ashby two 
terms. Ha had the offer of a liberal education by his 
father, but chose rather the homestead farm, whose 
acres he still cultivates to the full measure of his 
strength and beyond measure. 

June 18, I84(), he was married, by Rev. James T. 
Woodbury, to Mary Elizabeth Stearns, daughter of 
Nathaniel Stearns, of Acton, formerly of Waltham. 
She was born in Littleton November 5, lS2o. Her 
mother was Sophia Hammond, the daughter of Mary 
Bigelow, of Weston — of the ohl Bigelow stock. 

Mr. Taylor, though a busy, hard-working man upon 
the farm, has ever taken a deep personal interest in 
public affairs, having earnest convictions upon all 
subjects which engaged his attention. In politics he 
has been a Whig and Republican. In 1882 he was 
elected by his district of towns including Acton, 
Concord, Littleton, Stow and Boxboro', as a Republi- 
can, to the Legislature. He has been justice of peace 
thirty years in succession, beginning in 1840. 

He has been an ardent friend of the military, having 
held commission in the Davis Guards as fourth, third, 
second, first lieutenant and captain, which he resigned 
1857. Otherwise he would have been in position to 
command at the outbreak of the Rebellion. He was 
deputy marshal to enroll soldiers during the Re- 
bellion. He took the United States census of Little- 
ton, Stow, Boxboro', and Acton in 1870. 

He built or remodeled the following houses at 
the Centre. .Dr. Sanders', the parsonage, Mrs. Rouil- 
lard's, Reuben Reed, Lyman Taylor's, the two new 
structures at the east of the Common, formerly 
the Fletcher homestead, where the library now stands. 

When the project of building the library was 
pending in the mind of Mr. Wilde, rather than have 
the project fail, Mr. Taylor came forward with his 
thousand dollars and cleared the grounds for the 
structure. He has been parish collector at 
times, and on the Parish Committee for over forty 
years, and a member of the choir, with his wife 
and children, most of the time. He is the oldest 
member of the Board of Trustees of the Memorial 
I^iibrary, having been selected by Mr. Wilde as a mem- 
ber for life in the charter of incorporation. 

Mr. Silas Taylor, the father of Moses, died January 
28, 1874, aged eighty years and seven months. Sophia 
Taylor, sister of Moses, born March 8, 1821 ; died 
August 5, 1839, aged eighteen years, four months and 
twenty-seven days. Martha Taylor, sister of Moses 
and wife of Hon. John Fletcher, born March 8, 1829, 
and died August 14, 1882, aged fifty-three years and 
five months. Silas Taylor, Jr., brother of Moses, 
born April 2, 1825, and died March 18, 1844, aged 
eighteen years and sixteen days. 
20 



Children of Moses and Elizabeth : Silas Hammond 
Taylor, born March 25, 1847, married Mary Thomp- 
son, of Oxford, Nova Scotia. Children of Hammond 
and Mary: j\[ary Elizabeth Taylor, Moses Taylor, 
Martha Taylor, Marion Celeste. 

Moses Emery Taylor married Clara Tuttle, daugh- 
ter of Edward Tuttle. Children of Emery and Clara : 
Carrie Elizabeth, Wilmot Emery, Simon Davis. 

Lyman Cutler Taylor married Addie Tuttle, daugh- 
ter of Capt. Daniel Tuttle. Children of Lyman and 
Addie : Grace Evelyn, Eula Sophia. 

Lizzie Sophia Taylor married Charles B. Sanders, 
M.D. Children of Lizzie and Dr. Sanders : Ralph 
Barton, Richard Stearns, Helen Elizabeth. 

Mary Etta Taylor married Charles Pickens. 
Children of Mary E'ta and Charles Peckens ; Carl 
Pickens, Effie Eloise Pickens. Mrs. Pickens mar- 
ried, after the decease of Mr. Pickens, Edward 
Wetherbee Conant, son of Winthrop F. Conant. 

Simon Davis Taylor, son of Moses and Mary Eliz- 
abeth, born November 2, 1855 ; died. Arthur Wil- 
liam Taylor, born November 13, 1863. Charles Carl- 
ton, son of Moses and Mary Elizabeth, born October 
4, 1868. 



SIMON BLANCIIARD. 

He was born in Boxboro' January 29, 1808. He 
was the son of Simoa, who was the son of Calvin, 
who was the son of Simon. He married, April 23, 
1849, Elizabeth Dix Fletcher, daughter of Jonathan 
Fletcher. She died July 28, 1874. The children by 
this marriage are here given : William, born April 
3, 1840, died February 15, 1877; Ellen Ann, born 
September 13, 1851, married January 1, 1873, Calvin 
M. Holbrook ; Elizabeth Fletcher, born October 31, 
1856, married Amasa Knowlton ; Mr. Blanchard, 
April 15, 1877, married his second wife, Susan 
Wheeler, daughter of Abner Wheeler. 

Mr. Blanchard lives on one of the choicest land- 
scapes of the northwest corner of the town, towards 
Littleton, in a comfortable two-story farm house. It 
is in a neighborhood of well-cultured farms and 
orchards. He has occupied the same site for fifty-one 
years. His steady, industrious habits have made their 
impress upon the homestead and all the surroundings. 
If he has not held commissions and moved in circles 
of public notoriety and struck the pavements with 
his dashing steeds he has maintained his integrity, 
deserved titles which he might have had for the ask- 
ing and reached a venerable age, receiving the confi- 
dence and regard of the community among whom he 
has lived in peace these many years. 

Mr. Blanchard has been a Wliig and Republican in 
politics, a Baptist in his religious faith and a man of 
order, sobriety and good sense in all his public and 
private relations. His countenance beams with in- 
telligence and good fellowship and is itself a benedic- 
tion which we are happy to have where it can be of 
service to the public. 



306 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

ASHBY. 

DESCRIPTIVE. 

BY ITHAMAR B. SAWTELLE. 

AsHBY is situated in the extreme northwest corner 
of the county, bordering upon New Hampshire, and is 
bounded on the north by Mason and New Ipswich, 
on the east by Townaend and Lunenburg, on the 
south by Fitchburg, and on the west by Ashburn- 
ham. The central village is forty-seven miles north- 
westerly from Boston, thirty-one miles nearly north 
from Worcester and four hundred and twenty-six 
miles northeasterly from the city of Washington, in 
latitude 42° 40' north apd longitude 4° 16' (very 
nearly) east from Washington. The area of the town 
is about twelve thousand and three hundred acres, 
containing only a small portion either of ledges, 
ponds or plains. The surface is hilly and diversified. 
The outlines of the landscape are majestic and grand. 
Many of the elevations are bold and rough, while 
others are gracefully rounded and some of the ele- 
vated swells of land are fertile to the summit. The 
soil is that common to the hill towns in this vicinity — 
comparatively stubborn and rocky, yet mostly arable 
and productive. The subsoil is of the nature of clay, 
which holds the moisture, and springs of the purest 
water are abundant. 

The town is well watered. All its streams flow 
easterly either into the Souhegan, the Squannicook 
or the Nashua Rivers. The stream running through 
the northwest corner of the town, and draining the 
northeast part of Ashburnham through Ward Pond 
and Watatic Pond and thence onward through New 
Ipswich, is really the south branch of the Souhegan 
River. 

Willard's Stream, made up at first from the 
drainage of Nemoset and Russell Hills in Ashburn- 
ham, passes out of that town and soon falls into the 
Ashby reservoir and thence on northeasterly through 
the entire breadth of the town; it joins the Squanni- 
cook in Ash Swamp, in Townsend. 

Trap Falls Brook, having its origin in the 
southern slope of the hills in New Ipswich, takes a 
southeastern direction through the town, and after 
receiving the waters of several small brooks and 
leaving the meadows easterly from the town's Com- 
mon it hurries on, rattling and foaming over the rocks 
till it leaps into the whirling and hissing water of 
Willard's Stream. 

Locke Brook comes from the hills in the north- 
east part of the town, running southeasterly. For a 
considerable distance before leaving Ashby it flows 
through deep gorges, entering Townsend at the head 
of the Ash Swamp, and onward, joining Willard's 
Stream only a short distance from its confluence with 
the Squannicook. Near the southern border of the 



town a nameless brook, flowing through " Wright's 
Ponds," takes a southeastern course till it comes near 
to the corner of the town, where it falls into Pearl 
Hill Brook, which then makes a detour to the left, 
running nearly north, leaving Ashby and thence 
onward through Townsend till it joins the Squanni- 
cook in Ash Swamp. 

Watatic Mountain (sometimes in old records ' 
spelled Watahook and Wettetook or Wateticks) is 
situated in the northeast corner of Ashburnham, and 
in the northwest corner of Ashby, the town line pass- 
ing over its northeast slope cutting off about one-third 
of it and leaving its summit in Ashburnham. It has 
an altitude of 1847 feet above the level of the sea, and 
according to a map of Ashby delineated and publish- 
ed in 1831, it is 829 feet higher than the Unitarian 
Church. It must have been a conspicuous landmark-^—* 
for the Indian in his warlike expeditions, and a \ 
resort for the white man for the purposes of observa- 
tion in traveling from the seaboard to the Connecticut 
River. 

On its summit is a pile of stones which has been 
collected in obedience to an Indian legend, that every 
one who visited the summit must add a stone or be- 
come unlucky for life. From this standpoint, near at 
hand, the bold outlines of the hills, with their inter- 
vening ponds and villages, keep the observer spell- 
bound; while in the distance the fast-moving rail- 
road trains, the shimmering lakes and rivers, many 
church spires and prominent buildings are brought 
to view. 

Nemosit Hill (called in the town records Pros- 
pect Hill, and known as Blood Hill) is situated iu the 
west part of the town, part of it being in Ashburnham. 
The view from its summit nearly equals that from the 
Watatic. A large part of this hill is rough and rocky, 
but there are nice soils and excellent farm buildings 
crowning its southeastern slope. The lastsnow -drifts 
of spring linger, diminish and then fade away from 
its eastern crest. 

Jewell Hill, in the southwest part of the town, 
viewed from the school-house yard, near the reservoir 
dam, surrounded with nice grazing lands, with its 
rough and precipitous outlines sharply drawn against 
the sky, contrasts beautifully with the water seen at 
its base. 

Jones Hill, a little west of the centre of the town, 
is wild and rocky on its south side, but on the north 
is easy of ascent. It has a cave or " Indian house," 
as it is often called, which is an object of some curi- 
osity. 

Pine Hill and Battery Hill range along the 
eastern border of the town, overlooking the valley 
ar.)und the Squannicook River. 

The arborial productions of Ashby are not particu- 
larly different from those of the adjoining towns. In 
the banks of the cuts made in grading the roads may 
be seen pine stumps, which, considering their great 
size, must have supported gigantic trees. Tradition 



J 



ASH BY. 



307 



says that the siuth part of the town was covered with 
an exceediug heavy growth of pine when the settlers 
began to break the wilderness. Various kinds of de- 
ciduous trees, including theoak, maple and birch, have 
usurped the places of these raonarchs of the forest. 
Jfany acres are covered with a young growth of 
thrifty trees, among which the sapling pine grows 
rapidly, promising an abundant supply of building 
timber for the oncoming generations. 

The wild animals that roamed over these hills, and 
occasionally caught the eye of the settler, were those 
common in this latitude. In 1789 the town voted to 
pay a bounty on wolves; but a town of more than six 
hundred inhabitants would not at that time have many 
animals of this species. Deer were protected by offi- 
cers chosen for that purpose. The fox remains with 
u-f, causing the poulterer some trouble, but affording 
the sportsman great excitement in the chase through 
the first snow-fall of winter. Ourbrooks attract thean- 
gler for the trout, while other disciples of Isaac Wal- 
ton occasionally take good-sized strings of perch and 
pickerel from the reservoir. The roads in the early 
\history of the town were merely " bridle-paths," 
running through the woods aad over the hills, wind- 
ing around and making the traveled distance between 
two places much greater than what it is now. Trav- 
eling on horseback was the custom. Besides, there 
were so many roads contemplated, that it was impos- 
sible for the settlers to make even bridle-paths of 
many of them. 

Roads. — Between 1734 and 1745 the Townsend 
' proprietors deeded a large number of tracts of land 
situated in Ashby. In every one of these convey- 
ances may be found this reservation : " There is also 
an allowance for a road whenever the town shall 
think it nece.ssary." 

The old Northfield road, running from the middle 
of Lunenburg westerly through the south part of 
Ashby and on through Ashburnham and Winchen- 
don, had Northfield for its terminus. This road was 
made in 1733, and is the oldest road in town. At 
present diSerent parts of it are used as a public high- 
way. Northfield. was a frontier town for a long time, 
-, and had suffered greatly during the Indian wars, 
many of its citizens being killed. In 1690 the settle- 
ment was broken up by the Indians, but again com- 
menced in 1713, at which time the town was incor- 
porated. The sympathies of the people of Concord, 
Groton, Lancaster and Lunenburg were so excited in 
behalf of their friends at Northfield, that they made 
this road that they might more easily assist them in 
their skirmishes with the Indians. 

A road, alluded to in the Townsend records as early 
as 1742, but of which there is no record of its being 
laid out, was called the " Ashuelot Road," which en- 
tered Ashby at the same place where the old road is 
now traveled, and followed the same a short distance 
and then turned to the left and went over Trap Falls 
Brook, and then turning to the right, winding over 



and around the hills to the northwest, till it passed 
out of the corner of Ashby and over the north side of 
Watatic Hill. Daniel Adams and Ephraim Jones, of 
Concord, cut a bridle-path and marked the trees for 
this road from Willard's Stream to Keene, N. H., 
and petitioned the General Court to pay them for do- 
ing the work, which the Court refused to do. These 
are ths earliest roads in the town known to the 
writer. Ashby has been very fortunate in its choice 
of town clerks. Every entry in the entire six vol- 
umes of records has been made in a neat and schol- 
arly manner. It may, with propriety, be remarked 
that more pages in these first four volumes are given 
to the subject of roads than any other single matter, 
which shows that the voters had learned that the dis- 
tance around a hill was about the same as over it, 
and that roads made to accommodate a few must in- 
tersect at just the right place with those more trav- 
eled highways which converged to their house of wor- 
ship. 

Old Settlers. — It is not known beyond a doubt 
who were the first settlers in town. Samuel Stone and 
James Locke, who lived on Battery Hill, were the 
first settlers in the Townsend part of Ashby. 

Samuel Stone built and lived in the house now 
owned by Francis S. Wheeler. James liOcke's house 
stood in the garden just north of where the old, aris- 
tocratic, unpainted Locke mansion is now situated 
on the westerly side of the road to New Ipswich, 
nearly a mile northerly from the house of Samuel 
Stone. The fear and dread of Indian incursions , 
hindered the settlement of pioneers in this vicinity 
till about 1750. Persons who located at considerable dis- 
tance from several neighbors built block-houses or 
" garrison houses," as they were called, for their pro- 
tection. These houses were made of pine logs of con- 
venient length hewed on two sides and set close to- 
gether in the ground. The roof consisted of timbers 
laid across the top of the body of the structure, upon 
which dried bark, either of birch or hemlock, was 
laid in courses, overlapping each other to protect from 
the rain, with port-holes on each side. There were 
three houses of this kind on the land now in Ashby, 
between 1739 and 1750. One was situated near the 
Locke place, above described ; another was built north- 
westerly from the central village and another on the 
rise of ground in the corner made by the road north- 
westerly, and nearly opposite to the brick house now 
owned and occupied by Paul Gates. 

John Fitch owned and occupied the last-named 
garrison, which he made in 1739, when he and hia 
wife and two children moved there from Bradford, 
and from which, on the 5th day of July, 1748, he and 
hisjamily were taken by the Indians, and carried to 
C anada ^ Between the years 1740 and 1748 the Indi- 
ans kept the inhabitants in the frontier towns in a 
state of constant alarm. England was waging war 
with France, and her colonies suffered dreadfully from 
the incursions of the savages, who were instigated by 



/ 



308 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



the French in Canada. The French government paid 
a large bounty for English scalps, and a larger one for 
English prisoners. Indian scouts were frequently 
seen in and around Lunenburg, and fears were daily 
aroused from a conciousnesa of insecurity. The savages 
had lurked around this locality, taking their observa- 
tions from thesumrait of Ilollstone Hill, for some time 
before making their attack on Mr. Fitch's garrison. 
The inhabitants in Lunenburg and vicinity, apprehen- 
sive of an attack, assisted Mr. Fitch in fortifying his 
• house, and early in the year 1748 four soldiers were 
stationed within the garrison. Mr. Fitch had traded 
considerably with the Indians, and his frontier posi- 
tion was well known to them. They were resolved 
upon his capture, knowing that he was a man of much 
force of character and that his friends would contrib- 
ute liberally for his release from captivity. Accord- 
ingly a party of them, not far from seventy in number, 
on the morning of the day above mentioned, stealthily 
approached his abode during the absence of two of 
his soldiers, and suddenly fell upon him and his two 
remaining companions, who were a short distance 
from the garrison. One of the soldiers named Zac- 
cheus Blodgett was instantly killed. Mr. Fitch 
and the other soldier named Jennings, escaped 
within the house, where they exchanged shots with 
the foe for an hour and a half, when Jennings re- 
ceived a fatal wound in the neck from a shot 
through a port-hole. The wife of Mr. Fitch loaded 
the guns while her husband continued his efforts to 
drive away the assailants. At length the Indians dis- 
tinctly told him that if he persisted in continuing the 
fight he and his family should perish in the burning 
of his cabin, but if he would surrender they promised 
to spare the lives of all in the house. He then sur- 
rendered, and his house and pens for his animals, with 
the fences, were immediately burned by the Indians, 
and Mr. Fitch with his wife and five children were 
started on their dismal journey towards Montreal. 
The wife of Jlr. Fitch carried an infimt in her arms 
about five months old, the ages of the other children 
varying from four to thirteen years. The news of this 
capture did not reach Lunenburg until about daylight 
the next morning, when the alarm (three muskets 
heavily loaded, discharged with a certain interval be- 
tween each report) was immediately fired. Soldiers 
arrived in an incredibly short period from Groton, Lan- 
caster and even from Westford. They quickly put 
themselves under command of Major Hartwell and 
started in pursuit. The Indians proceeded along the 
south sideof Watatic Mountain, and made their first 
stop at the meeting-house in Ashburnham. The in- 
habitants of that place had given up and abandoned 
their settlement only a short time previous. Some- 
where in the township of Ashburnham the soldiers 
in pursuit discovered a paper fastened to a tree con- 
taining a few lines written by Mr. Fitch imploring 
his friends not to attempt his rescue, as the Indians 
had promised to spare all their lives if unmolested. 



i 



but threatened instant death to himself and family 
if his friends attempted to deprive them of their cap- 
ture. The pursuing party then returned. After en- 
during the severest hardships in their long journey 
through the wilderness in captivity, the family were 
ransomed by their friends in Bradford. They returned 
by way of New York, Providence and Boston. The 
wife of Mr. Fitch, after enduring bravely her captivity, 
was taken sick while returning and died in Provi- 
dence, December 24, 1778, almost six months after 
the date of capture. 

Some of the incidents connected with their journfy 
to Canada are worthy of record. When the prisoners 
left the smoking ruins of the garrison one of the In- 
dians, among other things plundered, took a heavy 
draft chain and carried it on his shoulders to Canada, 
and then sold it for a quart of rum. Catherine, aged 
thirteen, and John, eleven years, walked along with 
their parents. The two boys, under six years of age, 
were each strapped to the back of an Indian and car- 
ried along. The younger one, then four years old, 
suffered much; his legs became dwarfed and much 
deformed on account of the tightness of the deer-skin 
thong which bound him to the back of the savage. 
Susanna, the infant prisoner, endured the trials of 
captivity with less unhappiness than any one of the 
family. She married Joshua Chase, of Shirley, in 
June, 1770, and surviving her husband, she died in 
Shirley July 10, 1827. After the return of Mr. Fitch 
with some of his children to Lunenburg (now Ashby), 
he again made himself a home at or near the same 
place where the garrison was burned. In 1772 he 
moved to Rindge, N. H., where he owned several lots 
of land, and after living there several years he moved 
back to Ashby. He lost his property in his old age, 
his mind being somewhat impaired, and he became 
an object of charity. In 1793 the town record has the 
following: " Voted, that the selectmen provide for 
Mr. Fitch in the best manner they can at their dis- 
cretion." From that time until his death the town 
supported him. 

He was born in Billerica in 1708, died at Ashby 
April 5, 1795. In January, 1749, soon after his re- 
turn home, he sent the following petition to His Ma- 
jesty's Governor and Council and House of Repre- 
sentatives: 

"To the Honorflt)le Spencer Pliips, Governor-in-cliief of tlie Province 
of MaSBachr.settB Bay, in New England, for the time heing ; to the Hon- 
orahlc, His Miijesty's Council and House of Representatives in General 
Court assembled : 

"John Fitch hunihly shows that in the year A.n, 1739 he purchased 
about one hundred and twenty acres of land, about seven miles and a 
half above Lunenburg meeting-house, and about three miles and a half 
above any of the inhabitants, on the road leading from Lunenburg to 
Northfield, and there by industry built liim a house, and improved so 
much land as to raise provision for his growing family and some to 
spare, whereby he entertained travellers, and being a carjjonter, 
was furnished with some tools necessary for that business, and being dis- 
tant from neighbors, was obliged to keep the chief of his tools and live 
within himself, and had husbandry utensils and household stuff, and 
that upon the war breaking out, although he had no near neighbors to 
join with him in a garrison, yet divers of the inhabitants of Lunenburg, 



ASHBY. 



309 



knowing the great security that a garrison at his place miffht be, urged 
him to biiild one ; and many uf tlie inhabitants assisted and iielped hini 
in it, after which the seveial officers appointed over the soldiers and 
scouts ordered a quota to that garrison, and it was a place of resort and 
refreshment to town scouUand for large scouts from Northflold, Town- 
send, Ashuelot and other places. And your petitioner received and en- 
tertained them, and in the year A. D. 1748 the scouts from Lunenburg 
and Townsend were ordered to meet there onco every week, and he had 
four soldiers allowed to keep said garrison, and on the oth day of July in 
the sinie year, by reaaoa of bodily infirmity, there were but two S'ddieris 
with him, although others with the scouts were to come that day. On 
that day before noon, and before tlie ncouts came, the Indian enemy ap- 
peared and shot down one soldier upon being discovered, and immedi- 
ately drove him and the other soldier 'nto the garrison, and, after be- 
sregiug the same about one hour and a hal f, they killed the othy sol- 
dier through the port hole in the flanker ; and then your petitioner was 
Ifft alone with his wife and five children, soon after which he surren- 
dered and became a prisoner with his said family, and the enemy took 
and carried away such things as they pleiised, and burnt the house and 
garrison with the rest, and then we entered into a melancholy captivity, 
with one small child on the mother's breast, and two more became suck- 
ing children in the way for want of provisions, which, with other hard- 
ships, brought my dear wife into a bad state of health and languish- 
meat, and in our return, being by New York, Rhode Island and Provi- 
dence, there in D^-ccmber last she departed this life, and when I, with 
my five children, arrived at this province, we vvera ibjects of charity for 
food and raiment, which some charitable people bestowed upon ua. Yet 
your petitioner's family are dispersed by reason of poverty, and must so 
remain unless some charitable help may some way or other be bestowed, 
for your petitioner is utterly unable to put himself again into suitable 
circumstauces, and to bring home his dispersed and melancholy family, 
having his substance burnt as aforesaid and fences also ; and your peti- 
tioner begs leave to inform you that he is utterly unable to build, fur- 
nish and fence and maintain his dispersed family, two children being a 
continual charge since our captivity, on? being under the doctor's care 
ever since. Your petitioner also lost his only gun, worth thirty pounds, 
and an ox at the same time, and hie stock of cattle are chiefly gone, 
having do hay last year, and is under very pitiable circumstances, and 
begs relief in some way or other, as this Honorable Court shall think 
beat, aa ia duty bound shall ever pray." 

This petition bears the following endorsement: 

"In the House of Representatives, April 9, 1750. Received and or- 
dered that there be allowed out of the Public Treasury to the petitioner 
eight poun Is, in consideration of his sufF^-'ringft within mentioned, and 
to enable him to resettle himself and family on his plantation. Sent up 
for concurrence. Thomas Hubbard, Speaker pro tern. 

*' In council April 9, 1750. Read and concurred. 

Samdel Holbsook, Dept. Sect." 

"Consented to, S. Phips." 

The following petitions show that the Indians were 
in considerable force, and that some of them did not 
leave with the captives after the burning of Fitch's 
little garrison: 

" To His Excellency, William Shirley, Ksq., Governor, with the Hon- 
orable Council of tlie Province of Massachusetts Bay assembled: The 
petition of the inhabitants of Lunenburg and Leomin6''er humbly show- 
eth that, Whereas the Indian enemy have very lately been among us in 
considerable numbers and with unusual boldness, and have destroyed 
one of our garrisons, killing and captivating the inhabitants, and as we 
have no more than ten soldiers allowed by the government for our pro- 
tection (who are all in Lunenburg), and though in Leominster we have 
a small scout of your inhabitants, the circumstances are so weak and 
exposed that the commanding officers can hardly think it prudent to 
send them into the woods ; so that we arc forced to look upon ourselves 
in a very hazardous, as well as distre.'sed, case to such a degree that we 
cannot many of us labor on our farms or abide in our houses with toler- 
able safety, but ourselves and families must be in danger of suffering 
much, either by penury or the direct insults of a cruel and barbarous na- 
tion, or both of them. It is, therefore, may it please your Excellency 
and Honors, our humble and earnest prayer that you would grant us for 
our protection such a number of soldiers as in your great wisdom and 
fatherly compassion you shall deem requisite for the preservation of our 
estatejn, our liberties and our lives. Such kindness and tender caro in 



your Excellency and Honors we shall ever with sincere gratitude re- 
member, and your petitioners shall ever pray." 

This petition was signed by fifty-eight of the citi- 
zens of Lunenburg and Leominster, and is dated July 
8, 1748, three days after the surrender of Mr. Fitch. 

Remonstrance of the Commissioned OJicers and Selectmen of Luitniburg. 

"The humble remonstrance of the commissioned officers and the Select 
Men of Lunenburg sheweth that on the fifth day of this instant, July, 
the enemy beset and destroyed one of the outmost garrisons of the town 
aforesaid, killed two soldiers and cajitured a family, consisting of a man, 
his wife and five children, and that on the seventh day of the month 
they discovered themselves in a bold, insulting manner three miles 
further into the town than the garrison which they had destroyed, when 
they chased and shot at one of the inhabitants who narrowly escaped 
their hands, since which we have had undoubted signs of their being 
among us. Several of the garrisons built by order of the general court 
are already deserted for want of help, and several more garrisons of 
equal importance, that were built at the cost aud expense of particul.tr 
men, are deserted likewise. For three days in four the last week the 
inhabitants were necessarily rallied by alarms and hurried into the 
woods after the enemy, and this, we have just reasoH to conclude, will 
be the case, frequently to be called from our business, for almost daily 
the enemy are heard shooting in the woods above us, and to be thus fre- 
quently called from business in such a season must impoverish us, if the 
enemy should not destroy us; and what we gieatly regret is, our ene- 
mies, having a numerous herd of our cattle to support themselves with 
and feast upon, among which they have repeatedly been heard shoot- 
ing, from which we conclude that there may be great slaughter among 
oxir cattle. 

" EliWARD HaRTWELL, 

Jonathan Willard, 
JosiAH Dodge, 
Jacob Gould. 
Bksj. Bellows. 

JO.N'ATHjIN BRADSTREET, 'k 

Benj. Goodrich, \ Selectmen of 

John Grant, C Lunenburg. 

Benj. Foster. ^ 

"July 12th, 174S." 



Commissioued 
officers. 



After the Indian war^ 



i-^aded, and the war be- 



tween Great Britain and France was closed by treaty, 
the settlers in the frontier towns of the Province gave 
their attention particularly to religious matters, 
among which was the nearest and best way to attend 
public worship. The language in the charters of 
most all the towns in regard to territory, without fix- 
ing the boundaries, expressly gives the grantees an 
area *'not exceeding six miles square ; " but in some 
way when the surveyors a.ud sworn chairmen, attended 
by interested parties, finished their work and submit- 
ted the plan, their lines inclosed, in many instances 
more than one-third more acres than were granted. 
This was the case with Lunenburg, chartered in 1728, 
and with Townsend, chartered in 1732. The distance 
from Lunenburg meeting-house to its western bound- 
ary was about eigh' and one-half miles. The dis- 
tance from the meeting-house in Townsend to Ash- 
buruham line was about eight miles. From a.d. 
1750 to 1765 the number of inhabitants living in the 
territory which i? now comprised within the limits of 
Ashby increased considerably. The people of Town- 
send had located more in their western border. The 
excellent land in the northwestern part of Lunen- 
burg was settled with neighbors at convenient dis- 
tance. The northeast part of Ashburnham, contain- 
ing an induitrions colony of Germans, was only a 



310 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



>. 



short distance from the present Common in Ashby. 
All these people were anxious to have a town of their 
own and an easy distance to a meeting-house. Until 
17G4 the territory included within the present towns 
of Towusend, Lunenburg, Ashburnham, Fitchburg 
and Ashby was embraced by the three towns first 
named. In 1764 Fitchburg was set off from Lunen- 
burg, and at that time included the southern part of 
Ashby. In 1765 Ashburnham w'as incorporated with- 
out changing any town lines. 

On the 5th day of March, 1767, the town of Ashby 
was incorporated I'rom the west part of Townsend, 
the north part of Fitchburg and about twelve hun- 
dred acres taken from the northeast part of Ashburn- 
ham. It will thus appear that John Fitch and his 
neighbors, living, in 1763, in the southern part of 
Ashby, were citizens of Lunenburg; in 1764 they 
were in Fitchburg; and 1767 they were in Ashby. 
In the brief space of three years, without changing 
their domicile, they were voters in three diiferent 
towns and attended town- meetings in each of them. 

The petition for the incorporation of Ashby was 
before the General Court for more than two years be- 
fore it was acted upon. Neither Townsend nor Fitch- 
burg objected to giving up the portions of their ter- 
ritory asked for by the petitioners, but Ashburnham 
became much excited, because so many of its citizens 
owning so much territory in that township were anx- 
ious to join in making up Ashby. There were several 
town-meetings called on this subject and the record 
of one of them contains the names of the remon- 
strance of sixteen of the voters against granting the 
petition. After the matter was fully explained to 
the General Court, only about one-fourth part of the 
proposed area was severed from Ashburnham. James 
Locke, Jr., of Townsend, John Fitch, of Fitchburg, 
and Jacob Sehoff, of Ashburnham, constituted the 
committee which appeared before the General Court 
in behalf of the petitioners. They were In attend- 
ance at the Court sometimes collectively, sometimes 
singly, at different times, and within a few months 
after the creation of the town an amount of money 
was voted to pay their expenses. 

There has been only one alteration in the bound- 
ary lines of Ashby since its creation. There was, 
however, a slight alteration in the line between Fitch- 
burg and Ashby, made by the General Court, March 
3, 1829. Some of the citizens in the northeast part of 
Ashburnham, in 17!'l, who did not succeed in being 
annexed to Ashby in 1767, remembering their disap- 
pointment for twenty-five years, and not being in full 
sympathy with a majority of the town in matters of 
religion, were determined to make another effort to get 
away from that town. When a new meeting-house was 
proposed at that time the desire to leave was much 
greater. They gave Ashby to understand that they 
wanted to be annexed to that town. Ashby, with much 
promptness, " Voted to receive Isaac Whitney, James 
Pollard, James Bennett, Joseph Damon, .Jeremiah x^b- 



bott, John Hall, Daniel Brown, John Abbott, Amos W 
Brooks, John Shattuck and others, with their lands, 
together with the non-resident land within the 
bounds of a plan that they shall exhibit to the town 
if they can be legally annexed to this town." This 
movement caused a sharp controversy among the cit- 
izens of Ashburnham, more bitter, if possible, both 
in and out of several town-meetings, than that of 
1767. The dispute was carried to the Legislature, 
where two of the most influential men of the town, 
with .lacob Willard, who was the Kepresentative, 
made an earnest effort against the measure, but the' 
petitioners accomplished their object and the act was 
passed November 16, 1792. The act in part is as 
follows : 

"Beit enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in Gen- 
eral court assembled, and by the authority of the same, that John Ab- 
bott, James Bennett, James Pollard, John Shattuck, Joseph Damon, 
Isaac Whitney, Jeremiah Abbott, John Hall, Amos Brooks and Daniel 
Brown, with their families and estates, and also the lands contained 
withiD the following lines (excepting the lands now owned by Henry 
Hall) to wit : beKinniug at the northeast corner of Ashburnham at the 
line between the states of Massachusetts and Kew Hampshire, and run- 
ning westerly by and with said states lines 504 poles to the laod of 
James Spaulding ; thence running southerly in a straight line by land 
of said Spaulding 145 poles to land of Capt. John Bloor. Thence run- 
ning southerly in a straight line 870 poles to Ashby line at a stake and 
stones ; thence running by Ashby line 753 poles to the corner of Ash- 
burnham first mentioned he, and hereby are, etc." 

By this excision from Ashburnham Ashby acquired 
about six hundred acres of land and fifty inhabitants. 
The language of the grant is quoted here to account 
for some angles in the town-line not mentioned in the 
report of the selectmen cf both towns, dated October 
16, 1793, when the line was established. This line 
was not made according to the grant, but according to 
the needle of Matthias Moseman, who was the sur- 
veyor. 

As before stated, Fitchburg was willing that John 
Fitch and others living in that part of Fitchburg 
which is now in Ashby should be set off into a town 
or parish. In September, 1764, Fitchburg " voted 
that two miles on the westerly line of this town, be- 
ginning at the northwest corner, and half a mile on 
the easterly line, beginning at the northeast corner on 
Townsend line, then running a straight line from one 
distance to the other, be set off' to Mr. John Fitch and 
others in order to make a town or parish among them- 
selves." Mr. Fitch was popular in Fitchburg, having 
Ijeen first on the committee which was active in get- 
ting the charter of the town. Three years after this 
A.shby entered the sisterhood of towns. The act of 
incorporation empowered James Prescott, Esq., of 
Groton, to call the meeting for the municipal organi- 
zation of the town, and he drew his warrant, dated 
March 23d, directed to John Bates, requiring him, "in 
his Majesty's name," to notify and warn the inhabit- 
ants of Ashby qualified to vote in town affairs to as- 
semble at the house of Peter Lawrence " att nine 
o'clock in the forenoon." The house where this 
meeting was held was burned. It stood on the foun- 
dation where a cottage-house now stands on the south- 



ASHBY. 



311 



eriy side of the main street running through the 
central village, and about one-third of a mile westerly 
of the Fitch Jlonument. Peter Lawrence was the 
son of Jonathan Lawrence and Tryphena Powers, 
born in Townsend October 14, 1742, died in Ashby 
October 21, 1798. His hous^e was probably built just 
before his marriage, of which there is no record, but 
his first child was born May 25, 1766. 

The second meeting of the town, and the first under 
its own organization, was held at the house of Jonas 
Barrett. From the proceedings at this time it appears 
that the house of Peter Lawrence wiis fl.xed upon as 
the place where their civil and religious meetings 
were to be held. Twenty pounds were appropriated 
" to hire preaching" and a committee chosen to ex- 
pend the same. Measures were also taken to secure 
a suitable place to bury the dead. The first valuation 
was made in 1768, which gives the names of forty- 
three of the fathers of the town, with the account of 
their estates. Like other people in a newly-settled 
town, they were poor in this world's goods but rich 
in all the elements of manhood and patriotism which 
came down from the pilgrims of 1620. 

Before the town had passed one year of its munici- 
pal existence, Lieutenant Amos Whitney, of Town- 
send, was chosen a delagate to a convention called by 
the inhabitants of Boston, to discuss the critical con- 
dition of the Colonies in relation to Great Britain, and 
the selectmen were instructed to communicate to him 
the sentiments of the town, which were as follows: 
" As there is a prospect of some of His Majesty's 
troops arriving in this Province, we judge it may be 
of importance, if they should arrive, that proper meas- 
ures be taken that their order may be discovered 
before they are suffered to land, and the province re- 
ceive notice of the same ; and if, upon discovery of the 
same, they appear to be manifest infringements of the 
natural rights of the people, or upon our Charter 
Rights, of this Province in particular, that all proper 
and prudent measures may be taken to defend and 
secure the Province." 

For the next few years the efforts of the citizens of 
Ashby were mainly directed to securing a place of 
public worship. In March, 1769, the town voted to 
build a meeting-house and decided on its dimensions, 
but it was more than two years after that before the 
frame was covered and the floor laid so that a town- 
meeting could be held within its walls. 

In the month of March, 1772, the arrangement for 
finishing the pews on the lower floor of the house 
and building a pulpit was completed and the work 
done. In 1774 the house, e:^cept finishing the pew 
ground in the gallery, was considered by those who 
were to occupy it as finished ; and although it was 
not an elegant structure, only a mere shell where two 
or three hundred people could be seated, it undoubt- 
edly held within its walls as sincere worshipers as 
were the contemporaries of David who exclaimed, 
" How amiable are thy tabernacle.s, Lord of Hosts." 



The town records are silent in regard to the dedica- 
tion of this building; neither i.'j the date given when 
it was opened for religious services. June 4, 1772, 
by vote of the town, was observed as a day of fasting 
and prayer. Five ministers from the neighboring 
towns were invited to be present, and it may be that 
it was dedicated at that time. The first money ap- 
propriated for schools was in 1773, when four " squad- 
rons " (districts) were formed, each of which was to 
draw its portion of what it paid from the eight pounds 
assessed for that purpose. The same year the town 
appropriated thirty pounds to support preaching. 

As the town records come down nearer to the 
opening of the Revolutionary War we find the opin- 
ions of the citizens of Ashby, entered on these records 
more bold and outspoken. When the citizens of 
Boston resolved that the tea of the East India Com- 
pany should be sent back to the place from whence it 
came, their action was quickly responded to by the 
citizens of Ashby, and the message went back "That 
it is the opinion of this town that the proceedings of 
the town of Boston at their meeting in November 
last respecting the East India Company's tea imported 
to, and intended for sale in America, is agreeable to 
reason and the natural rights of this free people, and 
the same appears to have been necessary at that 
time." July 11, 1773, the town ordered the selectmen 
to offer to all persons in town for their signature the 
" Solemn League or Covenant, to suspend all commer- 
cial intercourse with the mother country, and neither 
purchase nor consume any merchandise imported 
from Great Britain, after the last day of August," and 
the selectmen were instructed to act as a Committee 
of Inspection to see that the covenant was fully ob- 
served. October 4, ] 774, Captain Samuel Stone was 
chosen to represent the town in the Provincial Con- 
gress, which met at Concord and adjourned to Cam- 
bridge. In the warrant for this meeting His Majes- 
ty's name was omitted and the call was made " By 
Virtue of our Charter Rights," thus ignoring the 
royal prerogatives and taking the first step towards 
independence. 

On the 13th of October the Provincial Congress 
advised the several constables and collectors through- 
out the province, having money in their possession, 
payable to the order of Harrison Gray, to retain the 
same; on the 28th Henry Gardner, of Stow, was 
named as treasurer and receiver by the Congress. 
December 29th the town instructed the constables to 
pay the amount in their hands to Henrv Gardner, 
and that his receipt should discharge them from any 
obligation to the town. June 16, 1774, the town 
" voted to instruct the selectmen to procure thirty 
hogsheads of salt for the use of the town." Their 
stock of ammunition and arms was also replenished, 
and when the crisis came they were able to lend to 
their neighbors. February 24, 1775, in accordance 
with the recommendation of the Continental Con- 
gre.ss, the Solemn League and Covenar»t was dissolved 



312 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 






and the resolution passed September 30th in respect to 
the iniportation and exportation of any goods from 
or to any of the ports of Great Britain was adopted, 
and a Committee of Inspection chosen. 

The lyth of April, the day on which the troops of 
Great Britain and her Colonies first came in hostile 
collision, had dawned. The British troops reached 
Concord at seven o'clock a.m., and the " Alarm '' 
which aroused the Ashby minute-men wa.s fired at 
about nine o'clock. There are good reasons for the 
belief that the " Alarm" was fired in front of Lieu- 
tenant Jonas Barrett's house. He was an inn-holder 
and the second in command of the " minute-men " 
who must have had some rendezvous for their arras 
and equipments, which were kept in readiness for 
instant action. Within a short time this company of 
forty-six men, under the command of Captain Samuel 
Stone, shouldered their muskets and hurried on 
towards the scene of action. Before the Ashby men 
had reached Concord, the enemy hurried back and 
had arrived at their quarters by the tide-water. 

"A miieter Roll of the minute company under the command of Cap- 
tain Samuel Stone in Colonel William Prescott's regiment enlisted April 
19, 177.5; Samuel 8tune. Captain; Jonas Barrett, Firet Lieutenant; 
James Bennett, Second Lieutenant; Abijah Wyman, Saigeant ; Benja- 
min ypaulding, Sargeant ; Isaac Brooks, Sargeant ; ,\nioB Wheeler, 
Sargeant ; Kpliraim Gibson, Corporal ; Peter Lawrence, Corporal ; 
William I'lagg, Corporal; Joliu Meede, Corporal; Samuel Stone, Jr., 
Fifer ; Timothy Stone, Drummer. 

"S<j/rficr6-. — Joseph Davie, Caleb Nurss, Salmon Dutton, Oliver 
Wright, James Spaulding, Joseph Goodrich, Nathan Davis, Thomas 
Dutton, Benjamin Newton, Jonathan Barrett, Benjamin Barrett, Sam- 
uel Winch, George Newell, John Lawrence, Walden Stone, Stephen 
Patch, Betij.'vinin Hodgman, Nathan Barron, Joshua Barron, Jacob 
Wheeler, Elisha Davis, Thadeus Smitli, Isaac Stearns, Joseph Wheeler, 
"William W'alker, Jonathan Daby, Solomon Coleman, Jonathan (iibaon, 
Jonathan Stone, .James Jones, Jonathan Lawrence, Jr., John Stone, 
John Wheeler." 

The time of service of these men was short, vary- 
ing from five to thirty days. Lieutenant Barrett 
served forty-four days. They were paid the usual 
wages aud for one hundred miles travel. April 20th 
the militia, under command of Captain John Jones, 
enlisted and hurried on to join the Provincial forces 
In the field. 

*' M-uster Roll of Ashby men in Colonel James Prescott's Regiment of 
m ililia who marched on the 2tith of April, 1775 ; John Jones, Captain ; 
Stephen Gibson, First Lieut.; Jonathan Locke, Second Lieut.; Samuel 
March, Sergeant; Joseph Walker, Sergeant; Benjamin Walker, Ser- 
geant ; Abraham Gates, Sergeant. 

"Su/rfjcrs.— Joseph Wheeler, Samson Ilildreth, Benjamin Hodgman, 
Jacob Upton, David Locke, Timothy Emerson, Asa Walker, Samuel 
Fletcher, Asa Shedd, Rufus Wilder, Jacob Lewis, Isaac Gregory, Sam- 
uel Howard, Ira Bennett, Jolin Dunsnmre, John Gibson, Joseph Barker, 
Silas Brown, John Foster, Jonathan Foster, Jacob Damon, John Read, 
Joseph Damon, Aaron Coleman." 

This company remained in and around Cambridge 
and Cbarlestowu till April 29th, when its members 
were paid for seven days' service and for one hundred 
miles' travel. These two rolls are copied from Vol- 
umes XIII. aud XIV. in the State archives, which are 
indexed, " Military Rolls, Lexington Alarm." 

The Provincial Congress, considering the necessity 
of a stronger military force, on the 23d of April re- 



solved to raise 13,000 troops from Massachusetts, and 
in order to promote enlistments as fast as possible, 
those who raised companies or regiments were prom- 
ised commissions. Under this arrangement Abijah 
Wyman, who was first sergeant in the company of 
"minute-men," raised a company, twenty-four 
members of which were Ashby men, eight were from 
Captain Stone's company and four from Captain 
Jones'. Second Lieutenant Thomas Cumlngs and 
ten men were from Westford and others were gath- 
ered from diiferent places. First Lieutenant Isaac 
Brown was one of the selectmen at that time. He 
was wounded at the battle of Bunker Hill. John 
Gibson, of Fitchburg, and Ca'sar Bason (colored), of 
Westford, were killed. Amos Wheeler, of Ashby, 
was wounded and died on the 2lst of June. Benja- 
min Bigelow, of Ashby, and Oliver Stevens, of Town- 
send, were taken prisoners and died in the liands of 
the enemy. Ezekiel Bigelow was severely wounded. 
John Meede fell on that day. 

Forty-three ol the citizens of Ashby participated 
In the siege of Boston and the organization of the 
little army of Washington. Seven of her townsmen 
joined in the terrible campaign in Canada and passed 
through privations and suU'erings almost unparalleled 
in modern warfare. They probably marched with 
Arnold through the wilderness of Maine, for Lieu- 
tenant Brown states in his return, made October 3d, 
that John Campbell was detached from the company 
September 7th, and given a command in Quebec. 

At a town-meeting held on the 1st day of July, 

1776, " Voted, That if the Honorable Congress, for the 
safety of the Colonies, should declare them independ- 
ent of the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Inhabitants 
of Ashby will solemnly engage with their lives aud 
fortunes to support them in that measure." 

On the 24th of July, 1770, fourteen men enlisted 
for five months, and served at or near Ticonderoga, 
and Ezekiel Bigelow and William Walker were killed 
In this campaign. At about the same time three men 
enlisted for three months and served at or around 
Boston. 

In September, 1776, eight men joined " Company 
No. 7," consisting of sixty men from Townsend, Pep- 
perell, Ashby and Groton, in a regiment organized by 
Brigadier-General Oliver Prescott, of Groton, with Cap- 
tain Thomas Warren, of Townsend, who were on duty 
at New York. In December seven more enlisted for 
three months and served at the .same place. In some 
one of the engagements occurring there Simon Patch 
was wounded, and died on his way home. August 2, 

1777, five men were drafted to serve three months at 
the westward, and on the 14th of .the same month, by 
an additional draft, five more were required to report 
for duty for three months at or near Bennington. 
On the 30th of September, 1777, in compliance with 
an order from General Prescott, seventeen men were 
detached from the militia company, to serve for thirty 
days after they arrived at the camp of General Gates, 



ASHBY. 



313 



and marched the next morning. This company, con- 
sisting partly of volunteers, contained sixty-six men, 
rank and file — Jaiues Hosley, of Townsend, captain ; 
Asa Kendall, of Ashby, first lieutenant. In the 
roll may be found the names of " Privates William 
Prescott, E-q., formerly Colonel ; Henry Woods, 
Esq., formerly Major; Samuel Stone, Major in the 
militia." When veterans like these join the ranks, no 
wonder that the over-confident Burgoyne was com- 
pelled to surrender. 

The year 1778 opened with a call for eight men to 
perform guard duty at Cambridge, who were prompt- 
ly furnished. IMay 18th three men enlisted for nine 
months in the Continental Army. October 29th five 
men were detached from the militia and ordered to 
the frontier, distant 180 miles. In addition to these 
oft-repeated calls the town was required to fill her 
quota of three years' men for the Continental Army. 
From this record of enlistments it must be evident 
that Ashby made every possible efl'ort to redeem the 
solemn pledge made July 1, 1776. 

The first town war-rate made in 1778 to cover its 
liabilities was £1245 14.?. Id., but this sum not being 
sufficient to meet its obligations, the people were 
obliged to tax themselves the second time, in the 
same year, to the amount of £934. The town was re- 
quired, by the General Court, to furnish many arti- 
cles of clothing, shoes and blankets for soldiers dur- 
ing the war, which it found difficult to procure, but 
whicli were vigorously exacted by those in authority. 
Here is a receipt for some things sent: 

"CoNCOKD, October ye 10"', 1778. 
*' Then received from Mr. Asa Walker, one of the selectmen of Asbby, 
fourteen pairs of shoes, fourteen pairs of stockings, twenty-eifiht shirts, 
agreeable to the resolve of the General Court of the7>i^ of Juno last. 

"Joseph IIosmeu, agent for Middlesex." 

It appears from the town record of August 7, 1776, 
that one man was suspected of being a Tory, but as 
nothing is recorded further concerning this matter, 
the presumption is that he uncovered before the as- 
sembled dignity of the town and made satisfactory 
apologies. Ar/icle in the warrarit: "To see if the 
town will take under consideration the case of Oliver 
Rlood concerning toryism, together with the proceed- 
ings of the committee of safety." Twelve of the citi- 
zens of Ashby were in sympathy with the ill-advised 
and irrational revolt known as the Shay's Rebellion. 
Most of them were good soldiers in the long War of 
the Revolution, and all of them were much-respf cted 
townsmen. The town records show that they all, at 
different times (from 1787 to 17'J1), appeared before 
some magistrate or the town clerk and " took the oath 
of allegiance and delivered up their arms." From 
the fact that some of them took the oath before Oliver 
Prescott, Esq., of Groton, it may be presumed that 
they were in Job Shattuck's company. Names of 
these men : William Stacey, George Darricott, Etirl 
Stone, Benjamin Barrett, Jr., Elijah Houghton, Jr., 
Isaac Gregory, Stephen Patch, Charles Lawrence, 



Jonas Barrett, John Lawrtnce, Benjamin Adams and 
Eleazer Shattuck. It may be well to allude to some 
of the causes whicli induced some of tlie men of 
Massachusetts to enter upon an open and armed re- 
volt against their government. After the declaration 
of peace, in 1783, a general stagnation of business 
ensued. The united Colonies owed a debt of about 
840,000,000, without any means of paying it. Con- 
gress, under the confederation, had power only to ad- 
vise the Colonies to adopt certain measures to meet 
the wants of the times. No uniform system could be 
agreed upon to pay this debt or even the interest ac- 
cruing upon it. The whole body of the people be- 
came alarmed and all confidence was destroyed. 
Even the certificates of the public indebtedness lost 
their credit with the people, and many of the officers 
and soldiers of the late army, who were poor, were 
obliged to sell these certificates at greatly reduced 
rates. These soldiers naturally hoped and expected 
that if they could gain their independence and a 
government of their own be established, that public 
and private prosperity would certainly follow and 
everything move on pleasantly. In this they were 
greatly disappointed. The war had stopped the in- 
troduction of gold and silver money into the Colonies, 
and paper money was worth only about two shillings 
on the pound. There was no business, no way for 
the people to earn any money, and money-lenders 
were in a panic and commenced suits against all who 
were indebted to them. This .'^tate of affairs affcjrded 
a rich harvest for the sheriffs and lawyers. Never 
were the services of the lawyers in greater demand or 
the courts filled with so much business. The pa- 
tience of the people was entirely exhausted on seeing 
their property seized on executions issuing from these 
courts. They knew not the origin of the evils, but 
supposed that there was some defect in the laws — that 
there were too many or not enough. A lawyer on 
one side and a sheriff on the other, with poverty in 
front staring a man in the face, will cause him some- 
times to resort to desperate measures to extricate 
himself. Under these circumstances a large number 
in Worcester County and from the towns of Groton, 
Pepperell, Shirley and Townsend participated in 
what was known as the "Shay's Insurrection." From 
this it will be understood why sucli men as Jonas 
Barrett, Deacon John Lawrence and others were 
obliged to take "the oath of allegiance and deliver 
up their arms." 

After the inauguration of Washington, in 1789, 
Ashby gave strict attention to the improvement of 
the condition of the schools. The militia was as 
well organized then as before the war, and there was 
much interest taken in its general good appearance 
at the fall musters. In 1797 the town chose a com- 
mittee and instructed them " to procure two horses 
and a wagon, to be under Captain Kendall's direction, 
to go to Concord ; also to provide, at their own dis- 
cretion (to be paid for by the town), bread, meat and 



314 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



cider; also one pint of ruiS per man, for all the mili- 
tia, both foot and troop, who were obliged to muster 
at Concord on the 26th of September, instant." 



CHAPTER XVII. 

ASHB r— ( Continued). 

MECHANICAL INDUSTRIES. 

The numerous seats of power along the courses of 
the brooks, with their precipitous banks, invited the 
people to leave the cultivation of the soil, and tem- 
porarily to engage in mechanical pursuits. There 
are twenty-three mill-sites in Ashby, where the water 
at some time previous has been or is now utilized to 
drive machinery. Some of the primitive mills were 
simple in the extreme, having only an " up-and-down " 
saw, which, with slow progress, cut out boards, joists 
and timber for building purposes. These, however, 
were absolutely necessary for the progress of the 
settlement. Not many of these have contributed 
much towards the wealth of the town, being in use 
only a part of each year, and through neglect they 
were at an early date allowed to fall to the ground. 
There has been no effort made to particularize all 
the mills and mill-seats in town. The first grist- 
mill was built about 1750, by James Locke, and it 
stood a short distance below the bridge, over the 
Locke Brook, in the road from Greenville, N. H., to 
Fitchburg. This mill was burned (date unknown), 
and one of the run of the stones was broken in the 
fire and remains on the spot at the present time. 
One of the substantial contributions, coming from 
Ashburnham, at the incorporation of Ashby, was a 
mill, standing on the brook which comes from Ward 
Pond, situated on the southwest side of the road lead- 
ing from the west cemetery to New Ipswich. This 
mill was built by Moses Foster, Jr., and Zimri Hay- 
ward in 175C, and it was used in various indus- 
tries for more than a century. During its existence 
it was enlarged, repaired and utilized for grinding, 
sawing, threshing and driving lathes for the manufac- 
ture of tubs and pails. Some of the owners, since 
the Germans were proprietors, were Richard Richard- 
son, Calvin and Newton Wood, Lewis Whitney (made 
chairs). Gushing Burr, Joel Balcom, Alvah Stacey, 
F. W. Wright and Abram M. White. Joel Balcom 
was killed in this mill by a circular saw April 25, 
1845. A part of the old stone dam and a neglect- 
ed building, once a paint-shop, are all that remind 
us of the days of yore. 

The next mill above, on this young Souhegan, 
which has had many proprietors, is occupied by S. M. 
Bu.xton, who uses modern machinery for sawing all 
kinds of building lumber. Mr. Buxton also makes a 
large amount of cider, his customers not having the 



fear of the prohibitionists before their eyes coming 
from all directions. A short distance above this is 
another mill owned by Mr. Adriel Jefts, which at 
present is not used. The next mill up stream, situ- j. 
ated near the town-line, is owned by Mr. Levi E. 
Flint. This is a large and commodious building, and 
is used in the manufacture of boards and shingles, 
and stock for making tubs and pails. All the appli- 
ances here, for this business, are first-class so far as 
room, power and machinery are concerned. A set of 
tub and pail lathes have recently been put into this 
mill. On a brook, which is an affluent of the Sou- 
hegan, draining the easterly slope of the Watatic, 
and its surroundings, is a mill that was built at an 
e»rly date at the side of the New Ipswich road. 
Here is a strong stone dam holding in its grip a nice 
little privilege, and the mill, owned by Mr. Asa Holt, 
is in fair condition considering its age. Besides be- 
ing used as a saw-mill it has been a chair factory, and 
Colonel George Waters used it for a starch factory as 
long as that business was remunerative. At present 
there is no business done here. There was a saw-mill 
on Trap Falls brook, called "the Ralph Hill mill," 
near where Perley Gates died, before the town was 
incorporated. 

About 1804 Samuel Whitney and Asa Wright 
built a saw-mill on Willard's Stream, situated just 
below the bridge next below the Sheldon bridge. 
This mill was carried away in 1856 by the breaking 
of the reservoir dam. Before 1791 Captain Abijah 
Wyman built a saw-mill on Willard's Stream, a short 
distance above the Sheldon bridge, which has been 
gone for a long time, but a part of the stone foun- 
dation and mud-sill still remain to mark the location. 
On the next mill-site above this, a mill was burned, 
in which Benjamin D. Lawrence, William Lawrence 
and Martin Allen, in 1831, made the first tubs and pails 
which were made in Massachusetts, which were turn- 
ed in a lathe. James O. Kendall in 1846 built the 
mill now standing here, which is used in sawing, 
turning and planing, owned Mr. Harry Wilder. 

The next mill above this is the tub and pail factory 
of Alonzo A. Carr. This mill also was built by James 
O. Kendall in 1847. It was used for a saw-mill till 
1853, when Abram M. White bought it and put in 
tub and pail lathes, and from that time to the present 
it has been used in this manufacture. This factory 
has always been a source of wealth to its owners. Mr. 
Carr employs from twelve to fifteen men and his 
annual sales amount to about twenty-five thousand 
dollars. About 1780 Beajamia Lawrence built a 
grist-mill which stood about one hundred feet below 
where the present grist-mill at the South Village now 
stands, which was in existence till about the begin- 
ning of the present century, when Ephraim Hay ward 
bought it, tore it down, and built the mill now in 
operation. This property has passed through the 
hands of several owners. Joseph Kendall, father of 
James O. Kendall, who owned it soon after it was 



ASHBY. 



315 



built, probably had the largest amount of custom in 
g:Tindins the cereals which were raised in Ashby, at 
a time when a part of the grain was taken in payment 
for grinding. The present proprietor, William O. 
Loveland, is doing considerable business in grinding 
Western corn and in the sale of grain and meal. 
With the new road just finished and the improve- 
ments lately made in the saw-mill, this establishment 
must be a source of profit to the owner. In the south- 
east corner of the town, on the Pearl Hill Brook, and 
near the Fitchburg line, Daniel Ware has a saw- 
mill which is run a part of each year in the manufac- 
ture of that kind of coopering stock which is worked 
by hand. Two mills, on this brook, one above 
Ware's mill and the other below, called "the Lord 
mill," have gone down. The Lord mill was made for 
wool-carding, cloth-dressing and coloring, by a man 
by the name of Holt, from Fitchburg, in 1827 or 1828. 
It was not used much for lackof proper management. 
In 1810, Joseph Kendall built the antique-looking 
mill which is situated a short distance above the 
Carr tub and pail factory. He put in machinery for 
carding wool, fulling, coloring and dressing the 
woolen cloth which the farmers' wives and daughters 
spun and wove by band. This mill was rented for 
this business to Paul Gerrish for a term of years, 
who, after the expiration of his lease, located in the 
same business at Townsend Harbor. It was of great 
benefit to Ashby and the adjoining towns all along 
till the spinning jeuny and "the power loom" took 
the places of the " patent-head " and the hand loom 
of '' the mothers." Austin Hayward is the present 
owner, who does something in this line of wool-card- 
ing for the few who can spin or knit. 

Jabez Lawrence, in 1824, built a mill for the man- 
ufacturing of starch, which was situated on the road 
from Lunenburg to Ashburnham, on Willard's Stream 
less than a mile below the reservoir. The manufac- 
ture of potato starch at that time was a very profita- 
ble business. Potatoes were easily raised in this 
vicinity then; the fiirmers had large families and stal- 
wart boys capable of doing good work. 

Samuel Abbot, an educated man, of Wilton, N. H., 
originated the idea of making starch out of this pro- 
duct of the soil. In 1811, Ezra Abbot, brother of 
Samuel, erected a building about twenty feet square, 
the lower story for a horse to turn a shaft connected 
in the second story with machinery for washing and 
grating the potatoes, and also having an apparatus 
for cleansing and drying the starch. The building 
and its contents did not cost six hundred dollars. 
Months passed before the machinery was all in, du- 
ring which time there was much wonderment in the 
neighborhood concerning what was to be done here, 
as Abbot kept his own counsel, and never gave any- 
thing but evasive answers to the questions of the 
curKius. The first year of his experience in this in- 
dustry showed a manufacture of 6000 pounds of 
starch, at the rate of eight pounds of starch to each 



bushel of potatoes. For a market he made repeated 
visits to the cities on the tidewater, selling some and 
leaving some to be sold on commission. He sold at 
eight cents a pound, and traders often put the price 
as high as twenty cents a pound. It was used in 
families for making puddings, and otherwise, and was 
recommended by druggists as a delicate food for 
invalids. Soon after the practicability and profitable- 
ness of this business was learned, these two brothers 
entered largely into this manufacture. Farmers 
found a ready market for their "long reds,'' and there 
was some rivalry among them as to who could raise 
the largest crop for the Abbots. The price of pota- 
toes, at that time, varied from fourteen to twenty- 
three cents a bushel, according as the season was 
favorable or unfavorable for the production of thfi 
crop. About this time a starch-mill was established 
in Mason, and another in New Ipswich, and another 
in Jaffrey, owned by the Abbots. The success of the 
Abbots, presumably, was the incentive which caused 
Jabez Lawrence to build his factory for this work in 
Ashby. The building was large and convenient, and 
the power suflScient to do the amount of work re- 
quired, but the business did not prove to be as profit- 
able as was expected, and it was not used in this man- 
ufacture for many years. It was afterward converttd 
into a sash and blind factory, and run in this business 
til 1840, when it was burned. 

In 1853 five mill-owners — John Burr, Joseph Foster, 
Hiram Aldrich, James O. Kendall and Abram M. 
White — built the reservoir dam and adjusted the dam- 
age done to the owners of the land which the dam 
caused to be covered with water. On the 11th of 
April, 185G, this dam broke away, and the valley be- 
low was flooded, and considerable damage was done. 
There was a heavy rainfall for nearly thirty hours 
before the accident occurred ; and when the clouds 
lifted, a brisk wind from the southwest set in, sweep- 
ing across the pond and driving the waves against the 
dam. Soon a small, but continuous, stream flowed 
over the top of the dam on the southeast end of it. 
The current at that point plowed deeper and deeper 
every moment, until the dam yielded to the force of 
the escaping water. A mounted courier was dis- 
patched down the valley to notify interested parties 
of the approaching danger. The flood dashed rapidly 
down the bed of the stream in ifa work of destruc- 
tion. The old dam which Jabez Lawrence made to 
obtain power for his starch factory was swept away ; 
arriving at the grist-mill at the South Village, the 
current spread out on both sides of the building and 
washed the earth and stones away clean down to the 
ledge, leaving the mill standing, but carrying away 
considerable lumber and other property. 

The first bridge below where Carr's tub and pail 
factory now stands was washed away. On reaching the 
Sheldon bridge, that yielded to the mighty force of 
the water. The mill which stood just below the 
next bridge down stream, built by Lemuel Whitney 



316 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



and Asa Wright, was suddenly lifted to the top of 
the waves and scattered in the fury of the flood. 
From this point the wrathful current went dashing 
down stream on a steeper grade between two precipi- 
tous banks, lifting great boulders from their beds and 
howling and seething with increased velocity till it 
reached the more level land in Townsend, where two 
or three cellars were filled with water, and from 
whence quite an amount of wood and lumber was 
carried down into Ash Swamp. The town was 
obliged to pay large bills for the repair of roads and 
bridges caused by this washout. The bill for re- 
building the Sheldon bridge was over $450. The 
owners of the reservoir, not disheartened at their 
loss, soon after employed James O. Kendall, one of 
their number, to reconstruct the dam, which he did in 
a workmanlike, substantial manner, completing the 
job in the month of the following July. 

Three citizens of Ashby — Abraham Edwards, Alex- 
ander T. Willard and Philander J. Willard, two 
brothers — were considerably noted as clock-makers. 
The clocks made by them were put in cases a trifle 
more than six feet in height, were metallic and would 
run for eight days without winding, their dials being 
nearly one foot in diameter. From 1780 to 1840 this 
kind of a clock was very much in use. This is the time- 
piece that dudes and people of mawkish sentimentality 
are so anxious to possess. These gentlemen accumu- 
lated considerable wealth in this trade, as many of 
their clocks were made to order and the price -was 
fixed accordingly. Mr. Edwards' place of business 
was in a building which stood on the ground on or 
near where Francis W. Wright, Esq., now lives. The 
Willards owned and occupied the premises where 
Lysauder Willard now resides. About 1815, Gushing 
Burr put in taln-vats and erected buildings conven- 
ient for tanning and currying leather, which were 
situated a little west of where the Post-Oflice now 
stands. This gentleman and those who succeeded 
him in this branch of industry were successful in 
that trade till about 1840, when the combined capital 
in places like Woburn and other large towns, made it 
impossible for those doing a smaller business to place 
their goods in the market at the prices then paid. 
Levi Burr and Jackson Burr were in this business 
when it was discontinued. Gushing Burr, Jr., was 
interested here part of the time. 

Perhaps Jonas Prescott Whitney excelled all other 
Ashby men in mechanical ingenuity. While working 
at the carpenter's trade in Boston, he bought a small 
reed organ to gratify his musical taste, upon which he 
learned to play. On looking it over he concluded 
that he could make an instrument superior to the one 
he had. Soon after he moved to Ashby and com- 
menced organ-building in the house now occupied by 
Miss Clara Mansfield. He made every part of his 
organs: the keys, the reeds, the bellows and stops ; 
he made ca.ses and sawed the veneering, getting his 
power from a wipd-mill on top of his house. He 



painted and finished his instruments and tuned them 
so nicely that they became celebrated. Some church 
organs made by him sold as high as $1500. Presum- 
ably he did not get rich in this enterprise, but his son, 
Andrew Whitney, who went to Fitchburg, owns about 
as large a part of that city as any one man. He has 
followed the advice of the Avon poet : 

*' Say less thau thou knowest, 
Have more thau thou showeat." 

A half a century ago the mothers and daughters of 
Ashby were engaged in braiding palm-leaf hats. The 
traders furnished the leaf to the workers, who made 
it into hats and returned them to the stores and took 
their pay in goods. For some time hats of this kind 
nicely made, were worn here, but most of them found 
a market south of Mason and Dixon's line. In 1837, 
69,989 hats of this kind were made in .\shby, valued 
at $7751.50, and this was about the annual average. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



ASHB Y—{ Continued). 



ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS. 

Three years before the incorporation of the town 
the people levied a ministerial tax upon themselves 
and hired itinerant preachers, holding their meetings 
at private houses, generally at the residence of Peter 
Lawrence. This custom was continued until their 
meeting-house was in a condition to accommodate 
them. The interests of the town and those professing 
religion were one and inseparable. From these facts 
it will be easily seen that in this dual arrangement 
the town held a controlling influence in all its relig- 
ious interests. In 1771, "voted not to hire Mr. Lan- 
caster any more." This gentleman is the first minis- 
ter named in the records. The town was not 
successful in securing the services of a pastor who 
pleased the people, or, if one was found whom they 
liked, he could not be induced to settle with them. 
Before a church was organized three reverend gentle- 
men had each received a formal "call "to become 
their pastor. One of them was Rev. Joseph Goodhue, 
of Dunstable, who gave as a reason for not accepting 
that he " distrusted his ability in making the town 
united in approval of his services." Different min- 
isters supplied ; the names of some of whom are not 
on record. Rev. Abraham Fowler was dismissed 1777. 
That is all that is said of him. About this time Rev. 
Jabez Fisher supplied the pulpit for a short time 
(there was a pulpit in town then), but he did not 
prove a lucky "fisher of men." In 1788 a call was 
given to Rev. Samuel Whitman (born in Weymouth, 
March 1, 1751 ; Har. Col., 1775), which was accepted, 
and he was ordained as the town's minister. From 



ASHBY. 



31-i 



the commencement there appears to have been a lack 
of unanimity between the church and the town. In 
1781, at their annual town-meeting, this article was 
in the warrant: "To see if the town will pay Mr. 
Whitman hi.s salery fortwo years." The town voted to 
pay him, but four of the citizens "ordered their dis- 
sent to be placed on record." It was with consider- 
able difficulty that the money was collected to pay 
his salary the next year. 

In 1783 he was obliged to sue the town before his 
salary was paid. Soon after this he was dismissed. 
In 1784 Rev. Joseph Langdon (Dart. Col., 1783) sup- 
plied the pulpit for a short time, and in 1786 Rev. 
David Hascol and Rev. Bailey were the preach- 
ers. In 1792 the name of the preacher was Gideon 
Dorranel. For the next four years they had a variety 
of ministers as usual. On the 14th day of June, 1797, 
Rev. Cornelius Waters was installed. He was born 
in Sutton, May 6, 1749; graduated from Dartmouth 
College 1774; married Sibyl Gardner, of Brooklyn, 
N. Y. ; died at Ashby, July 30, 1824. He was dis- 
missed February 14, 1816, having a pastorate of nine- 
teen years. He was a man of average ability. The 
town voted to print his sermon delivered on Febru- 
ary 22, 1800, on the death of Washington. During 
the latter part of his pastorate sectarianism and doc- 
trinal differences began to disturb the people. Soon 
after, the town extended a call to a person whom the 
church would not accept, which caused a tedious con- 
troversy. In 1818 an ex parte council was convened 
which advised the church to withdraw and worship 
separately from the town ; but it was more than a 
year before a large majority of the church finally left 
the town's meeting-house and held services by them- 
selves. A part of the people of the town went with 
the church. At that time the church had one hun- 
dred and ten members, all but nine of whom left — 
one male and eight females. After the separation in 
1819, the church and minority of the town worshiped 
for more than a year in the house of Fred Estabrook. 
From 1819 till 188.5 the church was connected with 
an ecclesiastical society known as the "Calvinistic 
Congregational Society." On the 17th of April, 1885, 
by an act of the Legislature, it took the name of the 
"Orthodox Congregational Society in Ashby." In 
1820 this society built a meetitig-hou.se located on 
land which at present is covered by a thrifty apple 
orchard at the east side of Charles C. Green's house. 

For fifteen years this building was quite well filled 
on the Sabbath, near the end of which time it was 
considered too small for vestry and Sabbath-school 
accommodations, and was sold to a number of gen- 
tlemen, who moved it to a lot facing the east end 
of the Common, and fitted it for an academy — now 
Watatic Hall. This building is now owned by the 
town. The first story is used as a town-house, the 
second for the High School and the basement con- 
tains the selectmen's room, with the archives of 
the town. The meeting-house now used by the Or- 



thodox was built in 1835, and dedicated January 1, 
1836. 

Under the new arrangement, after the withdrawal 
from the town, the first pastor was Rev. John M. 
Putnam, who was ordained and installed December 

13, 1820; dismissed December 13, 1825. This gen- 
tleman was here just five years, aud he had the 
pleasure of receiving forty-six members into the 
church during the second year of his pastorate. 

The next man was Rev. Albert Barlow Camp, 
born in Northfield, Vt., February 16, 1797 (Yale 
College, 1822, Andover 1826) ; ordained and installed 
January 24, 1827; dismissed March 28, 1832. 

The next pastor was Rev. Orsamus Tinker, born 
in Worthington November 5, 1801 (Williams Col- 
lege 1827, Andover 1830), installed January 1, 1834; 
died October 13, 1838. 

Rev. CharUs Wilkes Wood, born in Middleborough 
June 30, 1814 (Brown University 1834, Andover 
1838); installed October 30, 1839; dismissed Janu- 
ary 7, 1858. 

Mr. Wood is a weli-balanced man of amiable and 
exemplary character, besides being a preacher who 
secured the attention of his audience by the clear- 
ness and force of his arguments. During his pas- 
torate of more than eighteen years he was much 
respected. He was popular as a school superinten- 
dent. He was the orator at the Ashby Centennial, 
September 4, 1867. At present he resides at Mid- 
dleborough. 

The successor of Mr. Wood, upon whom his mantle 
fell, was Rev. James M. Bell, born in New York 
City February 25, 1833 (Union College 1854, Ando- 
ver 1827); ordained and installed July 21, 1858; 
dismissed June 21, 1864. He was genial and pre- 
possessing in his manners, an excellent scholar, 
always knowing what he wanted to say, and always 
saying just enough. He now has a pastorate at 
Lisbon, N. H. 

Rev. Horace Parker, who was graduated from 
Amherst College in 1860 and studied theology with 
Rev. J. C. Webster, of Hopkinton, was installed 
May 18, 1865; dismissed April 1, 1870. A corre- 
spondent says of him : " Mr. Parker did good work 
here; not a great scholar, but quite original — rather 
blunt in his way." During his ministry forty-five 
were added to the church. 

Then came Rev. James Monroe Bacon, who was 
installed November 2, 1870, and his labors were 
closed by death March 5, 1873. 

Rev. George F. Walker (.\mher3t College 1844) 
was installed June 11, 1873; dismissed November 
18, 1875. 

Rev. Azro A. Smith, a graduate from Andover, 
supplied the pulpit from January 4, 1877, till July 

14, 1878. 

Rev. Frank E. Mills, born in Charlestown April 
8, 1847 (Andover 1878), was ordained and installed 
November 13, J878; dismissed May 24, 1882. 



318 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Rev. Melvin J. Allen, born in Cincinnatus, N. Y., 
May 7, 1852 (Amherst 1879, Andover 1882), ordained 
and installed November 8, 1882; dismissed 1889. 

From what has been gathered from the records 
the inference is that religion in Ashby, among all 
its inhabitants, is a great improvement on that of 
one hundred, or even fifty years ago. Now a man 
of one faith Cdn look at another of different views 
without calling forth a shudder or a scowl from 
either party. Harmony Ind "goodwill" between 
the Arminian and the Calvinist have become subs'.i- 
tutea for discord and bitterness. Some of the peo- 
ple of Ashby have been slightly irritated, however, 
from the fact that the Orthodox pastors in their 
church manuals, and at all times, when alluding to 
the history of their church, have invariably repre- 
sented that their church was the church which was 
gathered in 1776. 

It is difficult for any one who is perfectly disinter- 
ested to understand it in any other way than that 
there was a great difference of opinion between a 
large part of the town and a small part of the church 
on one part, and a large majority of the church and a 
small part of the town on the other part; that the 
last-named part, angered at not having a controlling 
influence, seceded and established a church of their 
own, and called it the " Calvinistic Congregational 
Church." The decision of the Court at Concord, in 
1822, whereby those who withdrew from the town's 
meeting-house in 1819 were compelled to return cer- 
tain property to the town and church, shows conclu- 
sively that the church organization was perpetuated 
by the nine members and the congregation which 
worshiped with them. 

In 1809 the first meeting-house, which was built in 
1770, was torn down, and a new one was erected by 
the town on the same location. This is the house 
now in use by the First Parish. Joseph Kendall and 
Darius Wellington, of Ashby, did all the carpenter's 
work on this building. In 1841 the First Parish re- 
modeled this house by making a floor across, on a 
level with the gallery floors, supported by strong in- 
sulated pillars, thereby making a commodious audi- 
torium on the second flat, with a large hall below, 
which is used for secular, social and literary purposes. 
The funds for the purchase of the bell were raised by 
subscription, headed by Lewis Gould, a number of 
gentlemen following his example and giving twenty- 
five dollars. In 181(5 he was a donor to the town of 
$300, given expressly for the purpose of buying the 
town clock, to be placed on this church, and in 1847 
he contributed $100 towards defraying the expense of 
the Fitch monument, now on the Common. 

"The Congregational Church in Ashby," with the 
majority of the town sympathizing in its behalf, anx- 
ious to secure the services of a spiritual adviser, 
extended a call to Rev. Ezekiel Lysander Bascom to 
become their pastor. He was born in Gill, August 
20, 1777 (Dartmouth College, 1798); on the 24th of 



September, 1800, he was married, and ordained the 
same day at Phillipston, where he was pastor of the 
First Congregational Church for twenty years. He 
was installed in Ashby June 2, 1821. He was a man 
of scholarly attainments, a good extemporaneous 
speaker, and was highly appreciated by his iiarish- 
ioners. He retained his relation with his people till 
his death, although he was unable to perform the 
active duties of his office. He died at Fitzwilliam, 
N. H., April 20, 1841, and was buried in Ashby. His 
colleague during the last six years of his life was 
Rev. Reuben Bates, who was so much appreciated 
that he was chosen as his successor. Mr. Bates was 
born in Concord, March 2, 1808 ; Harvard College, 
1829; Harvard Divinity School, 1832; dismissed 
August 14, 1845 ; died December 1, 1862. 

On the 14lh of January, 1846, Rev. \Villiam Pit- 
kin Huntington (Harvard College, 1824), was in- 
stalled and was dismissed on the 20th of the fol- 
lowing November. Mr. Huntington was succeeded by 
Rev. Theophilus Pipon Doggett, born in Taunton, 
January 20, 1810 (Brown University, 1832; Harvard 
Divinity School, 1835) ; installed February 24, 1847 ; 
dismissed April 23, 1853; died May 7, 1876. He 
had pastorates in Bridgewater, Ashby, Barnstable 
and Pembroke, where be performed pastoral duties 
for more than thirty years. He had a ministerial 
ancestry. His biographer says of him: "He was a 
faithful and devoted worker in his various fields of 
ministerial service." 

Rev. John Stillman Brown, born in New Ipswich, 
April 26, 1806 (Union College, 1834), supplied the 
pulpit from April 1, 1855, till April 27, 1857, and was 
followed by Rev. Nathaniel Gage, born in Andover 
July 16, 1800 (Harvard College, 1822 ; Harvard Di- 
vinity School, 1827) ; installed June 5, 1858. He did 
ministerial work in Nashua, N. H., Haverhill, Peter- 
sham and Westford before he came to Ashby. He 
was a man of attractive personality, never spoke 
harshly of other denominations, and was much re- 
spected. As a preacher he was considerably above 
mediocrity. He died in office, much lamented, May 
7, 1861. 

November 1, 1861, Rev. Charles Bugbee, who grad- 
uated from Meadville Theological Seminary, Mead- 
ville. Pa., 1853, was called to supply the place thus 
made vacant, but on the 7th of July, 1865, he, too, 
passed over " the peaceful river," leaving sorrowful 
friends behind. 

Rev. William Tait Phelan, a graduate from Mead- 
ville Theological Seminary, 1862, supplied the pulpit 
for two years, from March, 1866. 

On the 18th of July, 1868, Rev. George Stetson 
Shaw received a unanimous call to settle with the 
parish, which he accepted. Mr. Shaw was born in 
Bristol, R. I., April 8, 1838 (Meadville Theological 
Seminary, 1862); married Miss Mary E. Gates, of 
Ashby, June 1, 1869. Mr. Shaw is courteous and 
unassuming in his intercourse with his fellow-men, 



ASHBY. 



319 



and his pastorate, which has extended nearly through 
a quarter of a century, has been an era of concord 
and good-feeling. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



ASHBY- {Continued). 



THE GREAT CIVIL WAR. 



J 



On the breaking out of the slave-holders' Rebel- 
lion, at a legal town-meeliiig held May 1, 1861, the 
following action was taken by the town : 

" Resolved, That we pledge owrselvea and our posterity to BustaiD the 
Constitution, the freedom and the rights hequeathed to us by our fathers, 
ahd that we will defend them to the last. 

" Htsotved, That the town raise two thousiind dollars, and that fifteen 
hundred dollars be loaned to the State, and made payable to the order 
of the Governor of Massachusetts." 

At a town-meeting held July 22, 1862, it was 

*• Sesohed, That in view of the sacrifices which men must now make' 
in being called from their business at this season, and in view of the 
perils and hardships they are called to undergo, it is just and proper that 
additional pecuniary inducements should be otiered to those who shall 
enlist to constitute the quota from this town." 

In consequence of this vote the treasurer was 
ordered to pay one hundred dollars to each volunteer 
for the service of the town when he should be mus- 
tered into the service of the United States, and by a 
.subsequent vote in 1864, the bounty was increased to 
one hundred and twenty-five dollars. At a town- 
meeting on the 3d of April, 1865, " voted, that the 
selectmen be authorized to procure recruits in num- 
ber sufficient to make the surplus credited to the 
town fifteen." During this war Ashby furnished one 
hundred and nine soldiers, eighteen of whom lost 
their lives either from being killed in action, from 
cruelty and starvation in captivity, or the usual casu- 
alties of war. John Mayo, Eliab Churchill and 
David Wares fell dead at Lookout Mountain ; Albert 
Davis, at Fredericksburg; Daniel Daily and Amos 
Eastman, at Antietam ; Henry Rice died from cruelty 
and neglect in Andersonville prison ; Daniel D. 
Wiley, at Baltimore; Albert Shattuck, at sea; Lyman 
W. Holt, .John Gilson and Benjamin H. Bigelow, at 
New Orleans; Daniel Coff'e and James Sullivan, in 
Louisiana ; John R. Wilder, at Baton Rouge ; Morton 
Gilson and John Savin at home, from disease con- 
tracted in the army ; George A. Hitchcock passed 
five months at Andersonville, and one or two others 
thirty days ; Lieutenant Henry S. Hitchcock was 
badly wounded at Petersburg ; Sanders, at Fredericks- 
burg ; Wares, in the battle of the Wilderness ; Mor- 
gan and Ferguson, at Dallas, Ga ; and Davis, in 
some one of the many engagements during the war. 

It will thus seem that Ashby did its honorable 
part by contributing both men and money. The 



votes of the town were earnest and patriotic in main- 
taing the Union, while the mothers, wives, daughters 
and sisters at home bravely and faithfully did their 
part to assist those in the field by sending them food, 
clothing, medicines and home comforts of every 
description, and by keeping up the home farms and 
households. When the news of the surrender of 
Lee (on April 15, 1865) reached Ashby, there was 
great rejoicing. Every one was an.xious to tell 
somebody that the war was ended. The church bells 
rang out their merry peals, which reverberated among 
the hills. They were used to 

" Ring nut the old. 
Ring in the new. 
Ring out the false. 
Ring in the true." 

And the only cause of sadness was the tender recol- 
lection of " the loved and lost," who, during " this 
cruel war," were put into " that dreamless sleep that 
knows no waking." 



CHAPTER XX. 

ASHB Y—{ Continued). 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

The Turnpike. — At the commencement of the 
present century the turnpike mania raged about the 
same as the railroad excitement did forty years after- 
ward. After the debt caused by the Revolutionary War 
was paid, and the country had felt the influence of 
peace in accumulating wealth, a moderate amount of 
capital began to be collected in the hands of a few 
men in most every town, and trading and trafficking 
was on the increase. Better facilities for travel and 
freight between the larger towns and centres of trade 
had become necessary when turnpikes began to be 
built and controlled by private corporations. Towns 
situated on tlie lines of these thoroughfares were 
greatly benefited. Taverns, stores and blacksmith- 
shops became more numerous, all of which were, to a 
great extent, dependent on these roads for patronage. 
In 1801 the town of Ashby " voted to measure the 
route from Stone's tavern in Townsend to Milliken's 
tavern in Jaff'rey." At that date the turnpike from 
Keene, through Peterborough, New Ipswich, Town- 
send and on through Groton, had just been com- 
pleted. In 1803 the town " chose a committee to 
look after a turnpike." It will thus be seen that the 
town was in earnest in its efforts to have as many im- 
provements as were enjoyed by its neighbors over the 
line in New Hampshire. The desired turnpike 
from Keene, through Rindge, Ashby and Groton, was 
incorporated in 1807 and finished in 1811. It inter- 
sected with the road leading from the west part of 
Townsend to New Ipswich at a short distance from 



320 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Ashby line, and is now the traveled road between 
Townsend and Ashburnhani, leaving Ashby a short 
distance from Watacic. It had two toll-gates in 
Ashby, one at each border of the town. This road, like 
all others of this class, did not receive the patronage 
required to return any dividends to the stockholders, 
and, after an existence of about fifteen years, was 
given up and assumed by the towns through which it 
passed. Stockholders of comparative wealth were 
financially ruined, and the hard-earned dollars of 
those in moderate circumstances were sunk in the 
general crash. The prominent and wealthy men in 
Ashby suffered considerably, among whom were Alex- 
ander T. Willard, Abraham Edwards, Gushing Burr, 
the Wymans, the Kendalls and others in affluent cir- 
cumstances, besides those who invested on a much 
smaller scale. But if from a financial standpoint 
turnpikes were failures, they were of great benefit in 
encouraging the growth of the country, in turning 
trade into channels heretofore unused, and particu- 
larly in setting the example of a well made road-bed. 

From the time that this turnpike was completed 
till the advent of railroads there was a great amount 
of travel from the southern part of New Hampshire 
and Vermont through Ashby. Long lines of teams 
and much travel for pleasure passed over this road. 
Heavy wagons, drawn by four, six and sometimes 
eight horses, loaded with agricultural products for 
Boston market, which returned with full loads of 
goods for the country stores, were continually going 
and coming. The four and six-horse stage-coaches, 
which passed daily each way, were always objects of 
interest to everybody. There was life and activity 
when they arrived and when they departed. The 
landlords at the taverns answered the calls of many 
guests, while their servants and hostlers grew weary 
in their constant labor and attendance. 

November 6, 1826, the owners of the turnpike re- 
leased and quit-claimed their right to and interest in 
the land over which their road was built to the town 
for $000, which might have been fifteen per cent, of 
the cost of the land added to the making and 
fencing it. 

Cemeteries. — Most of the older towns, many 
times by gift, secured eligible locations for the burial 
of their dead on land joining their first meeting- 
house, in order that the departed might repose be- 
neath the shadow of these sacred temples. In 1770 
Mr. Jonathan Lawrence, who came from Woburn to 
Ashby in 1758, sold to the town two and one-half acres 
" for a cemetery." After the town had taken a title to 
this land, it was found that the frontage on the main 
road was less than was desirable. This tract comprised 
the west part of the Common and a part of the 
" church-yard." A meeting-house was in contempla- 
tion, and a larger lot being the desideratum, Mr. Jo- 
seph Davis, who owned land joining on the east side 
of this two and one-halfacres, in 1771, gave the town 
one and one-half acres, which is now the east part of 



the Common and cemetery. When the meeting-house 
was builr, six years afterward, in order to have a spa- 
cious Common, it was located so far back from the 
road that the smaller part of the four acres was left 
for a cemetery. This burial-place contains the usual 
number and variety of moss-covered slate stones. 
" With uncouth rhymes and shapeless sculpture 
decked," interspersed with nicely-polished marble 
tablets and costly monuments. In 1802 the town 
" Voted to fence the burying ground bought of Ben- 
jamin Willington." There is nothing further on 
record concerning the cemetery in the west part of 
the town to which allusion is made by this vote. Tra- 
dition says that a small part of the east end of this 
narrow belt of land was bought of Mr. Benjamin 
Willington, and that the west end was given by Mr. 
John Wright. Quite a number of graves are here 
which have no head-stones. The oldest date on any 
stone is " 1800." As has before been stated, the Ger- 
mans living in this vicinily did not associate cordially 
with the Ashburnham people, who, at that time, had 
but one cemetery. From the fact that this spot oc- 
cupied a central location in their large domain, and 
that some Germans lie buried in a separate place in 
Ashburnham, outside of the town's cemetery, it may 
reasonably be inferred that these unmarked graves 
are those of "ye Dutclimen," and that later, others 
were buried here, until finally it was accepted by the 
town. 

The Glenwood Cemetery. — In 1850 there was an 
effort made to have a new cemetery. At a town- 
meeting a committee was chosen and instructed to 
purchase a suitable tract of land for that purpose, 
and in the discharge of its duty this committee 
bought a lot of land and the town took a title to it. On 
reflection, not being quite satisfied with the location, 
and without much excitement, at a subsequent town- 
meeting the town, by a large majority, voted to sell 
this land. The citizens, who were particularly in 
favor of a new cemetery, induced others to share 
equally with them in the purchase of four acres of 
land which they had in view, to be used for this pur- 
pose. The number of proprietors was forty, who 
paid ten dollars each, and became mutually inter- 
ested in the ground where some of them now repose. 
This "city of the dead " is conveniently located and 
pleasantly situated in plain view from the main 
street. The proprietors have made liberal appropria- 
tions in grading, opening avenues, and improving the 
natural surface of the ground, and it contains many 
chaste and substantial works of monumental art. " It 
was consecrated with appropriate religious services, 
and solemnly dedicated as a resting-place for the 
dead " on the 30th day of September, 1851. Ad- 
dress by Rev. Charles W. Wood. Consecrating 
prayer by Rev. Theophilus P. Doggett. 

Social Organizations. — The citizens of Ashby, 
as an aggregate body, have for the last thirty years 
been noted for their free intercourse and familiarity 



ASHBY. 



321 



with each other. There is no aristocracy of wealth 
here to excite the envy of any one. At the meetings 
of their ditferent organizations, all assemble and " a 
good time " is the result. They put their money into 
their enjoyment. Xo matter what the occasion may 
be, — at the dan^e, at the grange, at the farmers' sup- 
per, at their literary entertainments, — their exercises 
are conducted in a friendly and enjoyable manner. 
The first instance of an organization of a social na- 
ture in this town may be learned from the following 
extract taken from the records of the Grand Lodge 
of Masons in Massachusetts: 

"Grand Lodoe, 12tli March, 5708. 
" A petitiou was received from Eliaa Welliugtuu and others prajing 
fur a charter to hold a Lodge in the town of Ashbv, county of Sliddle- 
6fX, by the name of Social Lodge, was read by the Grand Secretary with 
the papera accompanying the same — and being properly recommended, 
voted that the prayer of the petitioners he granted." 

Abijah Wyman, the Wellingtons, the Kendalls, 
Gushing Burr, Sr., and others, not a large number, 
constituted the members of this fraternity at that 
time. During the last nine or ten years of its exist- 
ence Rev. Ezel^iel L. Bascom was its chaplain. This 
gentleman was also Grand Chaplain for six years, be- 
tween 1 804 and 1826, of the Grand Lodge of JLissa- 
chusetts. This lodge met at Oliver Kendall's house, 
near the place where John Fitch was taken captive 
by the Indians. In a quiet way this fraternity did 
some good till about 1830, when anti-Masonry went 
into politics and a great excitement spre.id through- 
out the country, caused by men who had " a zeal but 
not according to knowledge." 

About that time the temperance cause began to 
be agitated by the people here, and large audiences 
assembled at the First Parish Hall to listen to the 
harangues of the reformed drunkards, the Washing- 
tonians and the Goffs of that period, some of whom 
were eloquent. Then the pledge was jjassed around 
and pleasant intercourse followed. 

Coming down to the present time, we notice the 
JIay-day gatherings of veterans who were once " the 
boys in blue," who bear in the place of arms, 
flowers, to be placed upon the graves of those who 
gave up their lives in the defense of the nation many 
years ago. In those battle years, which seem so near 
but are .so far away, these men went at their country's 
call, and steadily, sometimes wearily, but never 
doubting, went forward in their path of duty. From 
some of them the stalwart vigor of manhood has de- 
parted, and it is well for them to have these annual 
gatherings to clasp each other's hands, to call to mind 
again the scenes and incidents of a soldier's life ; to 
talk ag.ain of bivouac and battle ; to recall fast- van- 
ishing recollections and, saddest of all, to mark the 
changes which the hand of time has wrought among 
them. The exercises of Decoration Day are wit- 
nessed by the town's people of all ages and conditions, 
and it has become one of the social holidays of the 
year. 

Perhaps "The Ashby Farmers' and Mechanics' 
21 



Club" has had as much influence during the last de- 
cade in leveling off differences of opinion, causing 
kindly feelings and exciting a love of home as any 
other association in town. This club was organized 
February 1?, 1880, wiih the following officers: Pres- 
ident, Francis W. Wright ; Vice-President, Rev. 
George S. Shaw ; Secretary and Treasurer, Jonas P. 
Hayward ; Committee, Joel Foster, Edwin K. John- 
son, Ivers H. Brooks. Mr. Hayward, the secretary, 
an excellent fruit-grower, has since deceased. The 
preamltle to the constitution then adopted sets forth 
the object in forming the organization in manner as 
follows : " We the undersigned unite in forming a 
Club for the discussion of questions pertaining to 
farming and other material interests of the town." 
It is an old maxim that he who needs advice concern- 
ing any trade or business, should ask it from a per- 
son who earns his living by that business. Now these 
discussions before this club are engaged in by men 
who know what they are talking about. The market 
gardener, the man who sold grapes recently for two 
dollars a pound, the cultivator of small fruits and 
berries, the man who has the best hoed crop, the men 
who raise graoes and cucumbers under glass, in fact, 
men who cultivate most everything that is produced 
in this climate, are in this club and give the result of 
their experience. The meetings of the club through 
the winter months are held every two weeks, and 
they are fully attended by those who enjoy the dis- 
cussions. Occasionally, literary and musical enter- 
lainments take up the lime of an evening. "The 
club has received and paid out over $2000, much 
being to members as premiums ; has been the means 
of establishing the Ashby Creamery; has held a 
number of field meetings and two institutes, which 
were of unquestionable benefit to the farmer and all 
concerned. Reports of the Amherst Experimental 
Station are received by the secretary and distributed 
each month, also the crop reports sent out by the 
State Board of Agriculture." Since its organization 
there have been twenty-three lectures delivered before 
this club by persons of considerable distinction, 
araong'whom are Carroll D. Wright, Mrs. Mary Liver- 
more, ex-Congressman Edward Burnett and other.-s. 

Ashby has another organization in the interest of 
the husbandman, called The Grange, which has been 
here for a short time and has become quite an en- 
joyable in.stitution. It is a congener to the Farmers' 
Club and does not diff"er materially from it, except 
that a larger number of the gentler sex are connected 
with it, who hold certain offices and participate more 
freely in its exercises. Every member is required to ^ 
contribute something, within certain stated times, for 
the instruction, amusement or literary entertainment 
of the association. Most of the male members are 
interested in the Farmers' Club. 

Ashby Musical Association.— For a town of its 
size (numerically considered), Ashby has always boast- 
ed of a more than average number of peojjle of 



322 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



musical abilities. The early settlers of the town 
must have given the matter some attention, or else 
the pure air of the hills developed a natural talent 
for music, for their descendants have always been 
musically inclined. The record of their doings pre- 
vious to the present century is unknown to the 
writer, but doubtless one exists. " In 1818 Jonas Bar- 
ret taught insturaental music in New Ipswich." In 
1826 the Calvinislic Congregational Parish " Voted to 
pay the expense of the singers at the ordination of 
Mr. Albert B.Camp." In 1827 "Voted to pay $10 
for singing books, Deacon N. D. Gould's collection, 
and that Isaac Patch take charge of them." In 1828 
" Voted $25 fcr singing, to be laid out by the discre- 
tion of the assessors." If these sums seem small for 
these purposes, it may be noticed, in passing, that the 
minister's salary for 1828 was only $450, and that 
" Capt. Jona" Blood undertook to open and sweep 
the meeting-house for one year for $2." He had no 
fires to build, for the society had just " voted not to 
have a stove in their meeting-house." At a meeting 
held soon after the musical fund was, however, in- 
creased to $50. In 1829 " voted to consent to have 
the orgen stand in their meeting-house." This was 
probably the organ built by Mr. Whitney, referred to 
in another paragraph. About the year 1827 Deacon 
N. D. Gould, a noted teacher of vocal music, taught 
a singing-school in Ashby ; and he was followed in 
later years by Isaac Wright, Peter H. Clark, David 
Wares and Messrs. Fuller, Partridge, Kimball and 
others. In 1857 a glee club, composed of eighteen 
young persons, under the leadersliip of Myron W. 
Whitney, did some good singing and enjoyed many 
pleasant hours, the memory of which will linger in 
the hearts of those who participated in it while life 
lacts. For many years the musical services of the 
Second Parish were in the care of Mr. Paul A. Hay- 
ward, who was organist and director. He was assisted 
by his wife, who possessed a soprano voice of rare 
strength and purity, and in later years by his daugh- 
ters also. Since 1875 Mr. Homer J. Hay ward has 
served as choirister. The Unitarian Society will 
long remember with gratitude the services of Mrs. 
Perley Gates, now deceased, and of her daughter, 
Mary Gates, now the wife of Kev. George S. Shaw, 
in the cause of sacred music. 

Ashby boasts of having furnished to America the 
finest basso, in the person of Mr. Myron W. Whitney, 
that this country has ever produced. As a represent- 
ative of oratorio music he has probably no equal. Mr. 
Whitney now resides in Watertown, and a sketch of 
t his life, accompanied by a steel engraving, may be 
found in this history in that part thereof relating to 
Watertown. 

" The players on instruments " have not been lack- 
ing. Of those who achieved marked success in this 
direction may be mentioned Mr. Edward A. Wright, 
of Boston, leader of Wright's Orchestra, of whom it 
has been said, " he can play any musical instrument 



he sees." His specialties, however, are the cornet and 
violin. Since the beginning of the present century 
several brass bands have been organized in Ashby. 
which, in their time, did some good work, but were 
not long-lived. 

At present Ashby has a cornet band, composed 
principally of young performers, but already it gives 
promise of a successful future. Its members are 
prompt in their attendance at its meetings, and, 
although they have not enjoyed a long practice to- 
gether, " discourse sweet music." 

Frederick A. Willard, leader, b cornet; William 
O. Loveland, second leader, e cornet; Willis G. 
Spaulding (business manager), tuba ; Harry F. Bing- 
ham, b tenor; Oscar A. Hubbard, b clarionet; John 
J. Piper, e alto ; Oeorge H. Piper, baritone ; Willis 
B. Hayward, b tenor ; Herbert P. Hay ward, b clar- 
ionet; Frank A. Forseman, e tuba; John C. Elliott, 
b bass ; John A. Willard, ealto; Curtis Huckins, 
b tenor ; Clifford W. Davis, e alto ; George Wright, 
snare-drum ; Charles A. Porter, bass-drum ; E. Mon- 
roe Bennett, e cornet. 

Th>? f e r tennial of Ashbv was celebrated September 
14, 1867 . On that pleasant autumn day a large as- 
sembly was gaihered on the Common. The principal 
address was made by Eev. Charles W. Wood. It 
embodied what may be called the domestic history of 
the town, military, religious and material, and must 
have cost a great amount of patient, plodding re- 
/search. It was delivered well and was received with 
much relish. After the usual exercises on such occa- 
sions, there was a spontaneous movement for the 
mammoth tent, which had been improvised, under 
which long tables, laid with plates sufficient to ac- 
commodate seven or eight hundred persons, were 
covered and loaded with culinary delicacies, such as 
farmers' wives and daughters only know how to pre- 
pare. The rich viands, the tempting fruits and fra- 
grant bouquets had rivals in the forms and faces of 
the fair ones who moved around among them and 
waited upon those at the feast. The day will long 
be remembered by those who were in attendance. 

Schools. — At the annual town-meeting in 1773, 
"Voted to raise eight pounds for the support of 
schools. This was the first appropriation made here 
for school purposes, and about the same amount was 
raised " to hire preaching." The money thus raised 
for both of these objects, when changed into our cur- 
rency would be about thirty dollars, and yet these 
small appropriations would compare well with sums 
raised in the neighboring towns at that time for simi- 
lar purposes. At a town-meeting on the 13th of May 
following, " Voted to have but four squadrons. One 
squadron at the centre of the town, one in the south 
side, two in the north side of the town and that each 
man shall give their names to the selectmen by the 
first day of July next of what part or squadron they 
will be of, and each party to draw their proportionable 
part of the taxes they pay." The word squadron was 



ASH BY. 



323 



first used in this sense in those towns which had been 
surveyed and laid out into ranges and quadrangular 
lots, and the territory contained in a certain number 
of these squares, which itself was square, constituted 
a district. In some towns at this time the word 
"diocese" was used instead of district. For the next 
four years ten pounds were raised, and in 1778 the 
town raised fifty pounds for schooling. In 1785 the 
town " Voted to build school-houses in the four squad- 
rons in town, the money to be ])rovided to each squad- 
ron according to their pay, and chose a committee to 
see the houses built, and chose in the centre squadron 
Captain Wyman, Lieutenant Daiuon and L. Barrett; 
South, Stephen Barker, Amos Putnam, Stephen 
Patch ; Northeast, First Division, Major Stone, Ben- 
jamin Adams, Jonathan Foster; Second Division, 
Jonathan Loclce, David Locke, Timothy Emerson; 
Northwest squadron, John Yaquith, William Rice 
and Timothy Stone. Voted to raise 120 pounds for 
the above purpose and chose the following committee 
to expend the same: Jonathan Locke, Abijah Wy- 
man and Deacon Lawrence. Voted that the assess- 
ment of the school-house money be suspended till the 
town rate is assessed." At that time they must have 
had private schools or they would not have given to 
their sons and daughters the amount of learning 
which we know they had. The town records during 
the time from its incorporation to the end of 
the century were as well kept as at any other period. 
The amount of matter on record, changing one man 
from this district to that, and altering different dis- 
trict boundaries, shows that there was much interest 
in schools at that time. And again in 1792, when the 
town received additional territory and almost fifty 
inhabitants from Ashburnham it went through theex- 
citementof making another school-bouse in a new dis- 
trict at the extreme northwest part of the town. 

Presumably no person in Ashby can tell where 
more than one of the school-houses of 1785 stood, and 
the location of some of those of a more modern date, 
where the ferule has been applied to the disobedient, 
and where the "lads and lasses" enjoyed themselves 
at the evening spelling-schools and in going home, 
cannot be pointed out. From the beginning of the 
present century until now Ashby has made liberal 
appropriations for the public schools, and from that 
time to the present the best men of the town have 
served on the School Committee. The reports of the 
Board of Education for the last twenty years show 
that the Ashby schools have had a good average at- 
tendance. In 18G8 there were only thirteen towns in 
the state that had a better average attendance. In 
1875 there were twenty-four towns which stood better 
than Ashby ; and in 1880, among the three hundred 
and fifty cities and towns in this Commonwealth, 
Ashby stood first in its average school attendance. 

In 1842 the town "voted to raise one hundred and 
thirty-five dollars for the purpose of establishing 
a library in each school district." The town received 



from the State just the same amount, which was added 
to this appropriation, and the books were bought and 
put into the schools. In 1864 the town raised two 
hundred and fifty dollars for the support of a high 
school, and since then larger appropriations have been 
made for the same object. 

In 1836 the meeting-house built by the Orthodox 
Congregationalists in 1820 having been abandoned 
for more than a year, some of the public-spirited |)eo- 
ple of the town suggested that it should be used for 
an academy. This idea met with a favorable res|)onse 
from its owners, and accordingly the building, includ- 
ing the land, was sold at auction. May 11, 1836, for 
five hundred and twenty dollars, to Amos Wellington. 
The pew-owners gave their interest in the house in 
order to have an academy. A subscription was taken 
to collect money "for the purpose of fitting up ther 
meeting-house lately occupied bj' the Second Parish 
for an academy, provided eight hundred dollars is 
raised for the said purpose." Eztkiel Coleman head- 
ed the list of twenty-one subscribers to this document, 
in which the sum of S774.50 was pledged for the ac- 
complishment of this object. The ladies very soon 
collected the sura required to make the original sub- 
scription binding. The building was soon moved to 
its present location, September 1, 1836. Amos Wel- 
lington sold this house to the five trustees of this 
academy — "Rev. Orsanus Tinker, Deacon Paul 
Hayward, Deacon Ephraim Hayward, Mr. Ezekiel 
Coleman and Amos Willington, Esq."— for §420. No- 
vember 14, 1836, an examining committee of eleven 
men, eight of whom were clergymen, from this and 
the adjoining towns, was appointed for this academy, 
which commenced August 4, 1836, with Worcester 
Willey as teacher, who was to receive all the tuition 
money for his services. The next year he was paid 
$400 for the same work, and he was the only teacher 
who continued two years in office. There was no 
deficiency in numbers on the board of trustees, as it 
appears that, in 1838, fifteen gentlemen were added 
to the five who were chosen two years before. In 1840 
Luke Wellington and others and their successors, by 
an act of the Legislature, were made a corporation by 
the name of "The Proprietors of Ashby Academy," 
with the power to hold personal and real estate to the 
amount of §15,000. This school did not receive the 
patronage which it appeared to deserve, perhaps on 
account of its proximity to New Ipswich Academy, or 
from the popularity of older and more richly endowed 
institutions of its kind. It was discontinued at the 
close of the summer term of 1860, but there is no 
doubt that the good influences emanating from this 
academy are still guiding many of those who availed 
themselves of its privileges. Ashby has a public 
library of 1584 volumes, with which its inhabitants 
have a pleasant and profitable acquaintance. The 
Unitarian Sabbath-School Library, 783 volumes ; the 
Orthodox Sabbath-School Library, 300 volumes; 
Ladies' Library, 230 volumes. 



324 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Hotels and Stores. — When the town was in- 
corporated there were three inn-holder.s in Ashby, 
who, on a small scale, sold spirituous liquors and 
occasionally gave hospitable reception and entertain- 
ment to travelers. There was not much drunkenness 
in those days; but the fact that the town at an early 
date put a set of stocks on the Common is suiBcient 
proof that, at least on public and social occasions, the 
place was not entirely free from those who loved 
strong drink. Capt. Samuel Stone, living in the east 
part of the town, was an inn-holder. Jonas Barrett, 
who built and lived in the house now owned by Jonas 
Curling, kept a house of this kind; and, before the 
town was incorporated, James Coleman kept an inn 
in the westerly part of the town, on the road leading 
from the West Cemetery to the old turnpike, only a 
short distance from the "friendly guide-post" which 
points toward Ashburnham. He was the most popu- 
lar man among the Germans who became citizens of 
the town when it was created. The foundation of the 
house may still be seen, over which the flip was drunk 
and the merry jokes passed around. John Abbot 
kept a tavern, in the beginning of the present cen- 
tury, in the northwest part of the town, on the old 
county road, in the house now occupied by Mrs. 
Amanda Kendall. He had ample room, both in the 
house and at the stables, and he gave strict attention 
to his business, having a large acquaintance, and was 
deservedly popular. For a long time Stone's tavern, 
at the foot of the hills, in Townsend, and Abbot's tav- 
ern were the favorite stopping-places on the road. 
Capt. Abijah Wyman built his house, about 1780, at 
the southwest corner of the Common. It constituted 
what is now the south end of the main building which 
faces the Common. Two or three additions have been 
made to this building; besides, stables and sheds have 
been added, and now the many roofs cover a number 
of square rods of land. It is not probable that this 
house was built for a tavern, but the location was so 
eligible that it eventually was used for this business. 
John Wyman, a son of Capt. Abijah, was landlord 
here for a short time; but whether he was the first 
man who kept a tavern here is unknown to the writer. 
In 1809, when the Unitarian meeting-house was being 
built, the town voted to hold the town-meeting -'at 
the house of Nathaniel Adams." Chester Mann was 
landlord here for several years, and his house was 
extensively patronized by guests and his stalls were 
well filled. Besides these men, the house has had 
two or three other landlords, among whom was Fran- 
cis Wyman, a grandson of Capt. Abijah Wyman. 
The house did a paying business till the railroads were 
made, or till about 1850. 

Joseph Kendall, Sr., in 1802, built the house 
and out-buildings where Joel Foster lives expressly 
for a hotel. Thomas Rice was either the first or one 
of the earliest landlords. Those who succeeded him 
were Leonard Patch, Josiah Prentice, Owen Willard 
(who was a favorite landlord, and kept the house a 



long time) and Abel Walker, who remained here till 
the house was closed to the public for want of pa- 
tronage. 

Stephen Adams kept a tavern near Towniend line, 
and had considerable custom, more than fifty years 
ago, at the place where John Butterfield now lives. 
"The pledge," which was strictly kept by many from 
1830 to 1850, and the railroads, which diverted travel 
from the main roads and thoroughfares, proved fatal 
to many of the country hotels of New England. 
Population of Ashby in A. D. 1830, 1240; 1840, 
1246; 1850, 1208. Since that date the population 
has decreased each year in a small degree. 

The names of all the traders who have done busi- 
ness in this town cannot be given, but it will interest 
some people to learn something concerning the men, 
the places where and the dates when stores were kept 
here, William Green, grandfather of Charles O. 
Green, was a trader here at as early a date as any ex- 
cept perhaps Captain Abijah Wyman. He came 
from Pepperell about 1795 and he had a small stock 
of groceries in the building which stands just west of 
the post-office. This building was afterward con- 
verted into a nice cottage-house. He did not continue 
long in trade, but sold out to Abij^ih Wyman, with 
whom he could not compete in business. Wyman's 
store was at his dwelling house, situated nearly a 
quarter of mile westerly from the Common. Nathan- 
iel Adams had a store in the tavern on the corner of 
the Common, at the same time that he kept a public- 
house there. Noah Start built a store in 1820, which 
stood between C. O. Green's house and the house on 
the corner of the street; and he traded there until 
about 1828, when he sold out to Nathaniel Adams. 
Mr. Adams was followed by Spooner & Kendall, 
these men by Nathaniel Whittemore, and he by 
White & Adams. The length of time that these men 
and firms traded here cannot be ascertained, but the 
building in 1862 was moved to Filchburg and con- 
verted into a dwelling-house. A notice of Lewis 
Gould and his store is in another part of this work. 
The following named gentlemen have traded in the 
store "on the hill:" Andrews Edwards, F. W. 
Wright, 1844; Martin Howard, 1846 and 1848; 
George E. Rockwood, J. M. J. Jeftsand Edwin Whit- 
ney. Commencing about 1840, Abram M. White and 
Winthrop White (brothers) had a store on the road 
leading northerly and not far from the Common. 
Their room was small, but they had a good share of 
the trade. They carried the first blueberries from 
Ashby to the Boston market. About 1820 Alfred 
Spaulding came from Townsend to the South Village 
and put a stock of goods into the building which is 
now the dwelling-house of W. H. C. Lawrence, and 
opened a store there. He carried on coopering in 
that village and continued in trade six or seven years, 
and then sold out his business to James Bancroft, an- 
other Townsend man. Mr. Bancroft continued the 
business for a few years, and then sold out to Ephraim 



ASH BY. 



n25 



Hayward, who was the last person who had a store at 
the South ViUage. Tue following named gentlemen 
and firms have been in trade in t'ae store in which the 
post-office is now located. The date following their 
names is the year or about the time when each of 
them commenced: Burr & Balcom, 1840; Burr & 
White, 1S43; F. W. Wright, 1846; Toleman, Milli- 
kin & Co., 1851 ; Gushing Burr & Co., 1853; Burr & 
Wallace, 1856; Burr & Green, 1860; Charles O. 
Green, 1865; and Mr. Green ha-s continued in busi- 
ness at this location during the last twenty-five years, 
and in connection with dealing in wood and lumber 
he does an extensive business. 



CHAPTER XXL 



ASHB Y— ( Continued). 



CIVIIv HISTOKY. 

TOWN OFFICERS. 

17R7. Moderator, Jolin Fitch; Clerk, James Lock, Jr. ; Selectmen, 
James Lucke, John Fitch, John Jones, Jr. 17(iS. Moderator, James 
Lock; Clerk, James Locke, Jr. ;. Selectmen, James Lock, Jr., John 
Junes, Jacob Puffer, Jonathan Barrett, Levi Houghton. 1760. Modera- 
tor, James Lock, Jr. ; Clerk, WiUiam Parkman ; Selectmen, Jacob 
Puffer, Thomas Stearns, Benjamin SpaUling. 1770. Moderator, James 
Lock, Jr. ; Clerk, William Parkman; Selectmen, Stephen Gibson, John 
Bales, William Parkman. 1771. Moderator, Thomas Stearns; Clerk, 
Jainea Bennett; Selectmen, James Bennett, Jacob Puffer, John Lock. 
1772. Moderator, James, Lock, Jr. ; Clerk, Jonas Barrett; Selectmen, 
Jonas Barrett, James Lock, Jr., John Jones. 1773. Moderator, James 
Lock, Jr. ; Clerk, Jonas Barrett ; Selectmen, Samuel Stone, John Jones, 
Jonaa Barrett. 1774. Moderator, Thomas Stearns ; Clerk, Jonas Bar- 
rett ; Selectmen, Jonas Barrett, Samuel Stune, James Bennett. 177o. 
Moderator, Thomas Stearns ; Clerk, Stephen Gibson ; Selectmen, Stephen 
Gibson, Samuel Stone, Isaac Brown. 177G. Moderator, Thomas Stearns ; 
Clerk. John Lawrence, Jr. ; Selectmen, Isaac Gregory, John Lawrence, 
Jr, Isaac Brown, Joseph W'alker, Abijali W'ynian. 1777. Moderator, 
James Bennett ; Clerk, Isaac Gregory ; Selectmen, Isaac Gregory, Sam- 
uel Stone, Jonathan Lock, 1778. Moderator, Thomas Stearns ; Clerk, 
Isiiac Gregory ; Selectmen, Samuel Stone, John Jones, Asa Walker, 
Isaac Gregory, Jacob Damon. 1779. Moderator, Thomas Stearns : 
Clerk, Jonathan Lock ; Selectmen, Jonathan Lock, Jacob Damon, Asa 
Walker. 1780. Moderator, Thomas Stearns ; Clerk, Isaac Gregory; 
Selectmen, .A.8a Kendall, John Lawrence, Jr., Hooker Osgood. 1781. 
Moderator, Asa Kendall ; Clerk, Jonathan Lock ; Selectmen, Samuel 
Stone, Asa Kendall, Stephen Patch. 1782. Moderator, Stephen Gibson ; 
Clerk Jonathan Lock ; Selectmen, Jonathan Lock, Jacob Damon, kh\- 
jah Wyman, 1783. Moderator, Thomas Stearns; Clerk, Jonathan Lock; 
Selectmen, Jonathan Lock, Abijah Wyman, Jacob Damon. 1784. Mod- 
erator, ThomarStearus ; Clerk, Jonathan Lock ; Selectmen, Jonathan 
Lock, Abijah Wyman, Jacob Danicm, .John Jaquith, Timothy Stone. 
^7^^5. Moderator, Abijah Wyman ; Clerk, Jonathan Lock ; Selectmen, 
John Lawrence, Isiuic Gregory, Charles Lawrence, nsfi. Moderator, 
Abijah Wyman ; Clerk, Isaac Gregory; Selectmen, Isaac Gregory, 
Charles Lawrence. Stephen Patch. 1787. Moderator, Abijali Wyman; 
Clerk, Isaac Gregory ; Selectmen, Isaac Gregory, Stephen Patch, 
Charles Lawrence. 1788. Moderator, Abijah Wyman ; Clerk, Waldren 
Stone ; Selectmen, Waldren Stone, Benjamin Adams, Stephen Patch. 
1789. Moderator, Benjamin Adams ; Clerk, Waldren Stone; Selectmen, 
Waldren Stone, Benjamin Adams, Stephen Patch. 179i». Moderator, 
Abijah Wyman ; Clerk, Isaac Green; Selectmen, Isaac Green, Jacob 
Damon, Isaac Gregory. 1791. 3Ioderator, Benjamin Adams ; Clerk, 
Is;iac Green ; Selectmen, Isaac Green, Stephen P^tch, Asa Kendall, Jr. 
17'>2. Moderator, Abijah Wyman ; Clerk, Isaac Green ; Selectmen, 
Stephen Patch, Asa Kendall, Jr., Benjamin Coleman. 179.3. Moderator, 
Abijah Wyman ; Clerk, Isaac Green ; Selectmen, Isaac Green, Stephen 
Patch, Benjamii^ Coleman. 1794. Modemtor, Abijah Wyman ; Clerk, 



Benjamin Coleman ; Selectmen, Benjamin Coleman, Stephen Patch, 
Isaac Gregory. 1795. Moderator, .\bijah Wyman ; Clerk, Benjamin 
Colemun ; Selectmen, Benjamin Coleman, Peter Lawrence, Abraham 
Edwards. 1796. Moderator, Abiiah Wyman ; Clerk, Benjamin Cole- 
man ; Selectmen, Benjamin Coleman, .■Vbraham Edwards. Asa Kt^ndall, 
Jr. 1797. iloderator, Abijah Wyman ; Clerk, Benjamin Coleman ; 
Selectmen, Ben.ianiin C<)leman, Abraham Edwards, Asa Kendall. 1798. 
Moderator, Abijah Wyman ; Clerk, Benjamin Coleman ; Selectmen, Ben- 
jamin Coleman, Abraham Edwards, Asa Kendall, Jr. 1799. Moderator, 
Abijah Wyman ; Clerk, Allen Flagg ; Selectmen, Cushing. Burr, Wil- 
liam Green, Benjimin Damon. 18U(J. Moderator, Abijah Wyman; 
Clerk, Allen Flagg; Selectmen, Gushing Burr, William Green, Benja- 
ruin Damon ; Representative, Stephen Patch. 1801. Moderator, <'usl»- 
ing Burr; Clerk, Allen Flagg; Selectmen, Cushing Burr, William 
Green, Benjamin Damon. 1802, Moderator, Cushing Burr; Clerk, 
Allen Flagg ; Selectmen, Cushing Burr, William Green, Isaiic Walker. 
1S03. Moderator, Cushing Burr ; Clerk, Allen Flagg; Selectmen, Cush- 
ing Burr, William Green, Amos Willington. 18(H. Moderator, Cushing 
Burr; Clerk, Allen Flagg; Selectmen, Cushing Burr, William Green, 
Benjamin Damon ; Representative, John Locke. 1805. Moderator, 
Cushing Burr ; Clerk, Allen Flagg; Selectmen, Cushing Burr, Elijah 
Prescott, Benjamin Damon; Representative, John Locke. 18(^6. Mod- 
erator, Amos Willington ; Clerk, Allen Flagg ; Selectmen, Allen Flagg, 
Amos Willington, Isaac Walker. 1807. Moderator, Amos Willington ; 
Clerk, Allen Flagg; Selectmen, Allen Flagg, Amos Willington, Stephen 
Patch, Jr. 1808. Moderator, Amos W'lllington ; Clerk, Allen Flagg ; 
Selectmen, Allen Flagg, Amos Willington, Stephen Patch, Jr. 1S09. 
Moderator, Cushing Burr ; Clerk, Allen Flagg ; Selectmen, Allen Flagg, 
Cushing Burr, Amos Willington. 1810. Moderator, John Locke ; Clerk, 
Amos Willington ; Selectmen, Amos Willington, Wm. Green, Jonathan 
Roff. ISll. Moilerator, David Wood ; Clerk, Allen Flagg ; Selectmen, 
Amos Willington, Wm. Green, David Wood ; Representative, Amos Wil- 
lington. 1812. Moderator, Amos Willington; Clerk, Allen Flagg ; Se- 
lectmen, Amos Willington, Wm. (ireen, Stephen Patch, Jr. 181.3. Mod- 
erator, John Locke ; Clerk, Allen Flagg ; Selectmen, Allen Flagg, Cushing 
Burr, Oliver Kendall ; Representative, John Locke, 1814. Moderator, 
John Locke; Clerk, Allen Flagg ; Selectmen, Allen Flagg, Cushing 
Burr, Oliver Kendall. 181.i. 'Moderator, John Locke; Clerk, John 
Locke; Selectmen, John Locke. Cushing Burr, Oliver Kendall. 18Iii. 
Moderator, Cushing Burr ; Clerk, John Locke ; Selectmen, John Locke, 
Cushing Burr, Oliver Kendall. 1817. Moderator, Cushing Burr ; Clerk, 
Alexander T. Willard ; Selectmen, Cashing Burr, Oliver Kendall, Rob- 
ert W. Burr. 181S. Moderator, Cushing Burr; Clerk, Ale.xander T. 
Willard ; Selectmen, Curbing Burr, Oliver Kendall, Robert W. Burr. 
1819. Moderator, Gushing Burr; Clerk, Alexander T. Willard ; Select- 
men, Cushing Burr, Oliver Kendall, Robert W. Burr. 1820. Moderator, 
John Locke: Clerk, .\lexauder T. Willard; Selectmen, Cushing Burr, 
Oliver Kendall, Roliert W. Burr. 1821. Moderator, John Locke ; Clerk, 
Alexander T. Willard; Selectmen, Cushing Burr. Oliver Kendall, Rob- 
ert W. Burr. 1822. Moderator, Cushing Burr; Clerk, Alexander T. 
Willard ; Selectmen, Cushing Burr, Oliver Kendall, Robert W. Burr. 
1823. Moderator, John Locke; Clerk, Cushing Burr, Jr.; Selectmen, 
Cushing Burr, Robert W. Burr, Stephen Wyman ; Representative, John 
Locke. 1824 Moderator, Cushing Burr; Clerk, Cushing Burr, Jr.; 
Selectmen, Robert W. Burr, Stephen Wyman, Asa Kendall. 1S25. 
Moderator, Cushing Burr ; Clerk, Cushing Burr, Jr. ; Selectmen, Stephen 
Wyman, Asa Kendall, Asa Stratton. 1826. Moderator, Nathaniel 
Adams; Clerk, Cushing Burr, Jr.; Selectmen, Asa Kendall, Oliver 
Kendall, Cushing Burr, Jr. 1827. Moderator, Nathaniel Adams ; Clerk, 
Andrews Edwards; Selectmen, Cushing Burr, Jr., Isaac Haitwell, Oli- 
ver Kendall ; Representative, Ezekiel L. Basconi. 1828. Moderator, 
Nathanel Adams; Clerk, Andrews Edwards; Selectmen, Stephen W'y- 
man, Cushing Btirr, Jr., Abraham Haskell ; Representative, Ezekiel 
Bascom. 1829. Moderator, Nathaniel Adams ; Clerk, Andrews Ed- 
wards ; Selectmen, Stephen Wyman, Cushing Burr, Jr., Abraham Has- 
kell ; Representative, Ezekiel L. Bascom. 1830. Moderator, John 
Locke; Clerk, Abraham Haskell, Jr.; Selectmen, Stephen Wyman, 
Cushing Burr, Jr., Joel Balcom ; Representative, Abraham Haskell, Jr. 
1831. Moderator, Nathaniel Adams; Clerk, Abraham Haskell, Jr. ; Se- 
lectmen. Cushing Burr, Jr., Joel Balcom, Noah Start; Representative, 
Abraham Edwards. Previous to this the representatives were chosen in 
May. In November, 1831, Cushing Burr was chosen Representative for 
the session of 1832, and all his successors were chosen io serve the next 
winter after their election in November. 1832. Moderator, Nathaniel 
Adams; Clerk, Abraham Haskell, Jr.; Selectmen, Cushiug Burr, Jr., 
Joel Balcom, Isaac Uartwell. 1833. Sloderator, Nathaniel Adams ; 
CUrk, Abraham Haskell, Jr. ; Selectmen, Cushing Burr, Jr., Joel Bal- 



326 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



com, Tsanc Iljirtuell ; Reiirescntativo, Cusliing Burr, Jr. 1834. Mode- 
rator, Nwtlianirl A<lniiie ; Clerk, AlTuliani Haskell; Selectmen, Cushing 
Burr, Jr., Slepbea Lawrence, Isaac Ilurtwell. 1S35. Moderator, Nu- 
tlianifl AiiaiiiB; Clerk, Abraliam Haskell; Selectmen, Ciishing Buir, 
Jr.. Joel Balcoin, Slppheri Lawrence ; Eeiiresentative, Gushing Burr, Jr. 
IS.'JG. Modt-ralur. Nathaniel Adams ; Clerk, Abraliam Ha^fkell ; Select- 
men, CuehiUK Burr, Jr., Stephen Lawrence, Joel Balcom. 18:J7. Mod- 
erator, Nathaniel Adams; Clerk, Cufehing Burr, Jr. ; Selectmen, Stephen 
Lawrence, Joel Balconi, David Lawrence ; Representative, Gushing Burr, 
Jr. 1838. Bloderator, Joel Balcom ; Clerk, Abraham liaekell ; Select- 
men, Joel Balcom, Levi Burr, CushiuK Burr, Jr. 1839. Moderator, 
Joiiaa Patch ; Clerk, Cushing Burr ; Selectmen, Abraham Haskell, 
Lube Wellington, Isaac Haskell. lS4t). Moderator, Joel Balcom; 
Clerk, Cuhhing Burr; Selectmen, Abraham Haskell, Isaac Hartwell, 
Samuel Bamon ; Kepreseutative, St'-phen Jones. 1841. Moderator, 
Nathaniel Adams; Clerk, dishing Burr; Selectmen, Cushing Burr, 
Kphraim Hayward, Isaac Patch ; Kepresentative, Asa Walker, Jr. 
1842. Modenitor, Joel Balconi ; Clerk, dishing Burr ; Selectmen, Jonas 
Patch, Ephrnim Haywaid, Howard Gates; Represenlative, Asa Walk- 
er, Jr. 1843. Moderator, Joel Bnlcom ; Cleik, Cushing Burr; Select- 
men, Isaac Hartwell, Ephraim Hayward, Joel Hayward ; Representa- 
tive, Amos Willington, Jr. 1814. Moderator, Joel Baleom ; Clerk, 
Cuffhing Burr; Selectmen, Ephraim Hayward, Joel Balcom, Jod Hay- 
ward ; Representative, Reuben Bates, 1845. Moderator, Joel Balcom ; 
Clerk, Cushing Burr ; Selectmen, Joel Balcom, Alfred Hitchcock, James 
Hayward ; Representative, Reuben Bates. 1846. Moderator, Cephas 
Walkins ; Clerk, Ciibhiug Buir ; Selectmen, Cuthing Burr, Alfred 
Hitchcock. James Hayward; Representative, Charles W. Wood. 1847. 
Moderator, Abraham Haskell; Clerk, Cubhing Burr; Selectmen, Cubb- 
ing Burr, James Hayward, Hoeea Kendiill ; Representative, Alfred 
Hitchcock. 1848. Moderator, Francis W. Wright ; Clerk, Francis Tin- 
ker ; Selectmen, James Hayward, Alfred Hitchcock, Asa Walker, Jr. ; 
Representative, Hosea Kendall. 1849. Moderator, Frederick W. Har- 
ris ; Clerk, Cushing Burr; Selectmen, Cushing Burr, Martin Howard, 
Silas Rice; llepresentative, Howard Gates. 1850. Moderator, Francis 
W. Wright; Clerk, Francis Tinker; Selectmen, Martin Howard, Silas 
Rice, Samuel Burr ; Representative, Howard Gates. 1851. Moderator, 
Francis W. Wright ; Clerk, Francis Tinker ; Selectmen, Cushing Burr, 
William Sheldon, Francis W. Wright ; Representative, Hosea Kendall. 
18r)2. Moderator, Francis W. Wright; Clerk, Francis Tinker; Select- 
men, ('usliing Burr, Francis W. Wright, STartin Howard; Represeuta* 
tive, Amua Wellington. 1853. Moderator, Seromus Gates ; Clerk, Fran- 
cis Tinker; Selectmen, Martin Howard, Stephen Wyman, William 
SheUKm : Representative, Benjamin Allen. 1854. Moderator, Francis 
\V. Wright; Clerk, Cushing Burr ; Selectmen, Francis W. Wright, 
Steplien Wyman, Silas Rice; Representative, Benjamin Allen. 1855. 
Moilerator, Francis W. Wright ; Clerk, Cushing Burr ; Selectmen, Fran- 
cis W. Wright, Luke Wellington, Silas Rice. 1856. Moderator, Francis 
W. Wright; Clerk, Cushing Burr; Selectmen, Stephen Wyman, Levi 
Burr, Robert Spencer; Representative, Cyrus A. Davis. 1857. Modera- 
tor. F. W. Wright; Clerk, P. C. Burr; Selectmen, F. W. Wright, Luke 
AVullington, Joseph Foster. 1858. Moderator, F. W. Wright ; Clerk, P. 
C. Burr; Selectmen, F. W. Wright, Luke Wellington, Joseph Foster. 
18.59. Moderator, Stephen Wyman; Clerk, P. C. Burr; Selectmen, Levi 
Burr, Stephen Wyman, Samuel P. Gilsou. 180O. Moderator. B. W. Sea- 
mans; Clerk, P. C. Burr; Selectmen, F. W. Wright, Luke Wellington, 
Paiil Gates; Represeutative, Joseph Foster. IStiL Moderatoi', B. W. 
Seamaus; Clerk, P. C. Burr; Selectmen, Silas Rice, Josej)!! Foster, B. 
F. Waliis. 1862. Moderator, B. W. Seamans; Clerk, P. C. Burr; Se- 
lectmen, Joseph Foster, B. F. Wallis, John S. Jaquith. 186:5. Modera- 
tor, F. W. Wright; Clerk, J. M. J. .fefts ; Selectmen, F. W. Wright, 
John S. Jaquith, Liberty Wellington ; Representative, Paul Gates. 
1864. Moderator, F. W. Wright; Clerk, E. H. Hayward; Selectmen, F. 
W. Wright, J. S. Jaquith, Liberty Wellington. 1865. Moderator, F. 
W. Wright; Clerk, E. H. Hayward; Selectmen, F. W. Wright, J. S. 
Jaquith, Liberty Wellington ; Representative, George L. Hitchcock. 
18ii6. Moderator, F. W. Wright; Clrrk, P. C. Burr; Selectmen, F. W. 
Wright, J. S. Jaquith, Libeity Wellington. 1867. Moderator. F. W. 
Wright; Clerk, Francis Tinker; Selectmen, Liberty Wellington, Chas. 
0, Green. Julius K. Gates. 1868. Moderator, Francis W. Wright ; Clerk, 
Francis Tinker ; Selectmen, Samuel R. Damon, R'jbert Spencer, John C. 
Wliituey. 1869. Moderator, Dennis Fay ; Clerk, Alonzo A. Carr ; Se- 
lucttnen, Samuel B. Daniou, John C. Whitney, Julius K. Gates ; Repre- 
sentative, Samuel R. Damon. 1870. Moderator, F. W. Wright; Clerk, 
Alonzo A. Carr ; Selectmen, F. W. Wright, John C. Whitney, Charles S. 
Allen. 187L Moderator, F. W. Wright; Clerk, Alon/.oA. Carr; Se- 
lectmen, John C. Whitney, E. P. Stone, Joel Foster. 1872. Moderator, 



F. W. Wright ; Clerk, A. A. Carr ; Selectmen, John C. Whitney, F. W. 
M'right, George Handley. 1873 Moderator, F. W. Wright; Clerk, A. 
A. Carr; Selectmen, F. W. AVright, George Handley, JoB<-ph Foster; 
Representative, Alonzo A, Carr. 1874. Moderator, F. W. Wright ; 
Clerk, A. A. Carr ; Selectmen, F. W. Wright, Joseph Foster, Jess© 
Foster. 1875. Moderator, George S. Shaw ; Clerk, J. W. Sheldon ; Se- 
lectmen, Joseph Foster, Jesse Foster, J. P. Hayward. 1876. Moderator, 
F.W.Wright; Clerk, J. W. Sheldon; Selectmen, Jes-e Foster, J. P. 
Hayward, F. W. Wright. 1877. Moderator, F. W. Wright ; Clerk, J. 
W. Sheldon ; Selectmen, J. P. Hayward, F. W. Wright, Jesse Foster- 
1878. Moderator, Edwin K. Johnson ; Clerk, J. W. Sheldon ; Selectmen. 
Jesse Foster, Joel Foster, William S. Estabrook ; Representative, F. W. 
Wright. 1879 Moderator, Edwin K, Johnson ; Clerk, J. W. Sheldon ; 
Selectmen, Jesse Foster, Wm. S. Estabrook, Joel Foster. 1880. Mode- 
rator, F. W. Wriglit; Clerk, J. W. Sheldon; Selectmen, Wm. S. Esta- 
brook, Levi Lawrence, Julius K. Gatee. 1881. Moderator, F. W. 
Wright; Clerk, J. W. Sheldon; Selectmen, Wm. S. Estabrook, Julius 
K. Gates, Ivers H. Brooks. 1882. Moderator, F. W. Wright; Clerk. 
J. W. Sheldon ; Selectmen, AVm. S. Estabrook, Julius K. Gates, Ivers H. 
Brooks ; Representative, Alonzo A. Carr. 1883. Moderator, F. W. 
Wright ; Clurk, J. W. Sheldon ; Selectmen, Julius K. Gates, George 
Handley, Wm. S. Estabrook. 1884. Moderator, F. W.Wright; Clerk, 
J. W. Sheldon ; Selectmen, George Handley, F. W. Wright, Alonzo A. 
Carr. 1885. Moderator, F. W. Wright ; Clerk, J. W. Sheldon ; Select- 
men, F. W. Wrigbt, A. A. Carr, David H. Damon. 1886. Moderator, F. 
W.Wright; Clerk, J. W. Sheldon ; Selectmen, F. W. Wright, David 
H. Damon, Jesse Foster. 1887. Moderator, F. W. Wright; Clerk, J- 
W. Sheldon ; Selectmen, F. W. Wright, David H. Damon, Jesse Foster. 
1888. Moderator, F W.Wright; Clerk, J. W.Sheldon; Selectmen, F. 
W. Wright, Jesse Foster, Horace S. Brooks. 1889. Moderator, F. W. 
Wright; Clerk, J. W. Sheldon ; Selectmen, Julius K. Gates, Joel Fuster, 
Johu T. Cair ; Representative, Horace S. Brooks. 

Magistrates. — There was no person appointed 
here as a justice of the peace by royal favor during 
the eight years of existence which Ashby had under 
the reign of His Majesty. After the adoption of the 
Constitution the duty of appointing these officers de- 
volved upon the Governor. One hundred years ago 
there was much dignity attached to this office. The 
salutation on meeting would invariably be "Good 
morning (if that was the hour), Esquire Smith." 
Enquire Smith, always instead of Mr. Smith, was the 
prefix used. There has been a great change within a 
quarter of a century, and now men holding this office 
do not enjoy the distinction that once attended the 
position. 

The following is a list of the Ashby justices of the 
peace, giving the dates of their appointment and the 
dates of their death: 

Jonathan Locke, commissioned 1788, died Auguht 29, 1808 ; Allen 
Flagg, commissioned 1798, died October 7, 1815 ; Abijah Wyman, com- 
missioned 1802, died November 24,1804; John Locke, commissioned 
1802, died August 24, 18.')5 ; John Wyman, commissioned 18U8, died 
May 9, 1816 ; Alexander T. Willard, commissioned 1811 , died December 
14, 185(1 ; Ezekiel Coleman, commissioned 18KJ, died December 10,1854 ; 
Stephen Wyman, Sen., commissioned 1827, died April 30, 1852; Amos 
Welliugton, commissioned 1839, died November 2it, 1857 ; Luke Wel- 
lington, commissioned I84:i, died January 20, 18C8 ; Isaac Patch, com- 
missioned 1843, died April 26, 1847; Alfred Hitchcock, commissioned 
1843, died March 30, 1874 ; Cushing Burr, commissioned 1848, died 
February 6, 18GG ; Francis W. Wright, commissioned 1848; Stephen 
Wyman, Jr., commissioned 1850, died February 13, 1808 ; Leonard 
French, commissioned 1858 ; Martin Howard, commissioned 18.59 ; Ben- 
jamin W. Seamans, commissioned 180(», died November IC, 1SG6 ; Zeoas 
Allen, commissioned 1863, died May 20, 1887 ; James M. J. Jefts, com- 
missioned 18G4, died December 22, 1886; Dennis Fay, commissioned 
18G5, died February 22, 1889; Francis Tinker, commissioned 18G6; 
Benjamin F. Wallace, commissioned 1867 ; Alonzo A. Carr. commis- 
sioned 1874; Charles O. Green, commissioned 1874; Jonas P. Hayward, 
commissioned 1874, died November 29, 1887 ; Samuel R. Damon, com- 
missioned 1876; S. Joseph Bradlee, commissioned 1884. 



i 



ASHBY. 



827 



The last named gentleman has the power to issue 
warrants and take bail ; and the office was given to 
him because Ashby is situated about seventeen miles 
from a Middlesex District Court. 



CHAPTER XXir. 

A SHB Y—(C<m linued) . 

POST-OFFICE, PHYSICIANS, AGRICULTURAL, PER- 
SONAL NOTICES. 

_EosT-OFFirE. — A post-office was established in 
Ashby in 1812, soon after the turnpike wds finished. 
The following list of postmasters, with the dates of 
their appointments, was furnished by the Post-office 
Department at Washington : 

Alexander T. WillanJ, appointed January 27, 1SI2 ; Lloyd Hall, ap- 
pointed Octolwr 4, 183y ; William Weston, Jr., appointed May 21, 1847 ; 
Martin Howard, appointed May 31, 1S48 ; Nathaniel Whittemore, ap- 
pointed July 8, 1849 ; George L. Adams, appointed April 12, 1856 ; 
.\bram White, appointed December 19, 1S5G ; Samuel M. Allen, ap- 
pointed May 8, 1S60 ; Uenjamin W. Seamans, appointed August 15, 
ISGl ; Perez C. Burr, appointed March 23, 1864 ; Charles 0. Green, 
appointed October 31, 1867 ; George Handley, appointed November 
24, 1SS5. 

Mr. Willard held the office twenty-seven years, 
eight months and seven days. At first the office' was 
kept by Nathaniel Adams, at the tavern on the 
corner of the Common. A part of the time it was 
kept at the Start store. Mr. Hall was a shoemaker, 
and he had the office in the west wing of C. O. 
Green's store. Since 1860 the office has been kept at 
its present location. 

Physicians. — Dr. Thomas Carver was the first dis- 
ciple of Galen, who had the courage to commence in 
the practice of his profession in Ashby. He settled 
here in 1774, seven years after the incorporation of 
the town, but nothing is known concerning his birth- 
place, or where he received his education. His name 
does not appear on the town records more than once 
or twice when he was chosen on a committee. The 
fact that he remained in practice here for nearly forty 
years furnishes sufficient evidence that his professional 
services were appreciated here. He was a skillful 
physician and an honorable man. He died October 
7, 1815. 

Dr. Allen Flagg came to Ashby in 1708; his pre- 
vious history is also unknown. He opened an office 
and shared the practice with Dr. Carver. While 
here he built the house which stands on the ea.st side 
of the road from the post-office to the South Village, 
just after crossing the rivulet, the next house south of 
the Goodnow house, built by Lewis Gould. He had 
an extensive practice, sometimes riding beyond the 
limits of the town, and he was a much-respected citi- 
zen. He was the second person in Ashby who re- 
ceived the appointment of justice of the peace. The 



next year after he came here he was elected town 
clerk, and with the exception of two years he held 
the office till his decease. He died October 15, 1815, 
just one week after the death of Dr. Carver. 

Dr. Abraham Basle/l, Jr., soon after the death of Dr. 
Flagg located in Ashby, and practiced medicine here . 
about three years, when he sold out to Dr. Moses 
Kidder and removed to Leominster, where he was in 
practice for some time, but he returned to Ashby and 
bought out Dr. Kidder, and remained here till his 
death, April 23, 1851. 

Dr. Moses Kidder was born in Billerica, July 25, 
1789. He entered Williams College two years in ad- 
vance, and spent the junior year (1810) in that insti- 
tution, but he did not proceed further in a collegiate 
course of study. He studied with Dr. Stickney, of 
Antrim, N. H., during 1811, and with Dr. Matthias 
Spaulding, of Amherst, N. H., during 1812. In 1813 
he was a surgeon stationed at Fort Warren, where he 
remained until the close of the war. He was a self- 
made man. quick of apprehension, and remarkable in 
regard to his power of memory. He was not a healthy 
man, and for this reason while he was here at differ- 
ent times he had two men of his profession with him 
as assistants. He was skillful and faithful to his 
patients. He left town about 1825, after which time 
he was in practice at Townsend, Littleton and Dub- 
lin, N. H., a short time in each place, and at last he 
removed to Lowell, where he died. 

Dr. Georye Haskell was the successor of Dr. Kidder. 
There is nothing paiticular in tradition concerning 
this gentleman. He remained here about five years 
when he removed to Alton, Illinois. 

Dr. Daniel B. Cutter was born in Jaffrey, N. H., 
May 10, 1808; graduated from Dartmouth College in 
1833, from Yale College Jledical Department 183J. 
He came to Ashby in 1834, and remained here two 
years and then he moved to Peterborough, X. H., 
where he not only became popular as a physician, but 
he was a prominent citizen, holding the most im- 
portant offices in the gift of the town, and where he 
died in 1889. 

Dr. Alfred Hitchcock was born at Westminster, Vt., 
October 23, 1813. In 1831 he went to Xew York City 
and spent three or four months to he cured of stam- 
mering, which was a great annoyance to him and an 
impediment from which he suffered greatly during 
his youth. He returned partially relieved, but he 
never entirely overcame the embarrassment. His 
early education was acquired at the "People's Col- 
lege," the common school, although he pursued his 
studies at the academy at Bennington, Vt., and at 
Phillips Academy, Andover, a short time at each 
place. His health failed him so that he was unable to 
study; and from Andover he went home and passed a 
long time under the care of a doctor. In 1834 he 
commenced the study of medicine in his native town 
with a physician of considerable note, with whom he 
remained a year or more. He graduated from Dart- 



HISTORY OF BlIDDLESEX COUJSTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



mouth College Medical Department in 1837, and 
commenced the practice of medicine in Ashby the 
same year. In the beginning of his practice fortune 
seemed adverse, and it is said that lor the first six 
weeks he had no business. His merits, however, soon 
began to be appreciated, and k was not long before 
he entered upon a sphere of usefulness which attended 
all his labors as long as he lived. Through his influ- 
ence Ashby, though a small town and surrounded by 
able physicians, btcame a centre of medical practice. 
Young nieu resorted thither to avail themselves of 
his teachings, particularly in anatomy. He repre- 
sented Ashby in the General Court in 1817, and was 
one of the selectmen in 1848. During the next two 
years he was invited and importuned even, by the in- 
fluential people of Fitchburg to remove to the town. 
He went to Fitchburg in 1850. In 1851 he attendtd 
medical lectures in Paris during a visit to Europe. 
In 1861-62-63 he was a member of Governor Andrews' 
Council. His death, which occurred March 30, 1874, 
was caused by angina pectoris, which was exceed- 
ingly distressing at times, and at a partial relief of 
what proved to be the final paroxysm his last words 
were, "Now I will rest." 

Dr. Leonard French, son of Leonard C. and Nancy 
(Hutchinson) French, was born in Bedford, N. H., 
Nov. 11, 1817. Fitted for college at Gilmanton (N. 
H.) Academy ; gradualed from Dartmouth, 1843 ; took 
his degree of M.D. from the same college in 1846. 
April 1, 1847, he came to Ashby and entered into 
partnership with Dr. Hitchcock, with whom he re- 
mained three years. He then located in Fitchburg; 
but for some reason, known only to himself, he only 
remained there three months, and then returned to 
Ashby, and continued the duties of his profession 
until November, 1861, when he removed to Manches- 
ter, N. H., where he now stands at the head of the 
medical profession. While he was here he" had an 
extensive practice, was consulted in ditficult cases 
from the adjoining towns, and was much respected. 
He was one of the counselors of the Massachusetts 
Medical Society. He has two sons, both of whom 
were born in Ashby, who are practical physicians 
and surgeons. Dr. L. Mellville French, born July 
26, 1849, commenced the study of medicine at home 
in 1869, afterward attended lectures at the Univer- 
sity Medical College, New York, through a course, 
and in 1873 graduated from Dartmouth College Med- 
ical Department. He is now in practice at Manches- 
ter, N. H. Dr. Henry M. French, his second son, 
was born April 1, 1853; graduated from Dartmouth 
College in 1876 ; took his degree of M.D. in 1879, from 
the same institution. In 1880 he attended a course 
of lectures in New Y'ork City, and afterward was con- 
nected with the hospital at Flatbush, N. Y. He is 
at present in practice at Concord, N. H., where he is 
a successful phyi-ician and surgeon. 

Dr. Charles Davis followed Dr. French soon after 
he lei't. Dr. J. S. Atidrewa was in Ashby a short time. 



Dr. James Emerson was born in Barnstead, N. H., 
in 1817; graduaied from the Dartmouth Medical 
School in 1857 ; was in practice at Ai^hby from 1862 
to 1865 ; resided in Gardner since that time until he 
died there, January 18, 1890. 

Dr. Josiah M. Blood, son of Ebenezer and Betsy 
(Abbott) Blood, was born in Hollis, N. H., July 3, 
1832. He fitted for college at Worcester Academy, 
but did not pursue a collegiate course. He graduated 
from University Medical College, New Y'ork, in 1857. 
An alumnus of this college says of him, " He was one 
of the six best scholars in his class of one hundred and 
twenty." He commenced practice in Temple, N. H., 
and lemained more than two years in that town. 
From Temple he removed toTownsend and practiced 
his profession until the commencement of the Civil 
War, when, in 1862, he was appointed assistant sur- 
geon in the United States Army. He remained in 
the service until the close of the war. He came to 
Ashby in 1865, and for a quarter of a century he has 
held, and now holds, the confidence of its citizens. 
He is a modest man, skillful, cautious, prompt to an 
appointment, and his record compares favorably with 
any of his predecessors who have practiced medicine 
in Ashby. 

Agricultural. — The farming interests of Ashby, 
compared with that of the adjoining towns appear to 
good advantage. The last decennial census (1885) 
gives the number of farmers as 157, number of farm 
laborers as 101. The population of the town at that 
time was 871 — number of males, 436 ; number of 
females, 435. Number of boys in the public schools, 
60. The aggregate of the farmers, laborers and boys 
was 376, leaving 118 males including those who were 
either too old or too young for labor, who are engaged 
in every other industry. Of this 118, 43 are repre- 
sented as either retired or at home (children under 
ten years), leaving only 75 males in town who do not 
work .it farming. These workers produce annually 
on their farms over 3000 tons of hay, about 12,000 
bushels of potatoes, about 3000 bushels of Indian corn, 
about 1000 bushels of oats, about the same quantity 
of barley and other grains and vegetables in about the 
same proportion. From their orchards, in every " odd 
year," they gather about 13,000 bushels of merchanta- 
ble apples besides the fruit not fit for market, which 
is made into cider amounting to about 12,000 gallons. 
They have 584 milch cows, and a creamery, operated 
by a small engine, the annual product of which is 
40,000 pounds of butter. Quite an amount of dairy 
products does not go through this creamery, but is 
used at home. A large amount of milk is put on the 
cars for Boston market and some retailed in Fitch- 
burg. Besides these sources of income they have 
large graperies and acres of land covered with vine- 
yards, which (except an occasional year when frost 
comes too early) pay them well for their labor. One 
man sold twenty-six pounds of grapes recently for 
filty-two dollars. And thee the peaches, the straw- 



ASHBY. 



329 



berries, and other small fruits, receive an equal 
amount of attention, and pay equally as well for the 
trouble of cultivation. 

If the farmers in this climate can accomplish as 
much and do as well as is above represented, it cer- 
tainly shows a lack of good judgment for so many 
young men in New England to leave the old home- 
Btead and begin anew in the land of cyclones at the 
far West. One thing is certain beyond dispute : it 
will be long time before any real estate agent will 
make a fortune on commissions in selling farms in 
Ashby. Its citizens love tlieir homes and do every- 
thing they can to induce their children to be attached 
to the town, by approving of all innocent amusements, 
by giving them excellent advantages in schooling, 
and by supplying them abundantly with those news- 
papers and magazines which reflect the thoughts of 
some of the keenest minds of this nation. The people 
of this town have a good amount of wealth, and their 
buildings are kept up with neatness and good taste. 
They enjoy good air, good water and delightful 
scenery, and best of all, they are " not slothful in bus- 
iness," but "given to hospitality." 

The person who named the town is unknown, but 
it is known that its name has for a long time and still 
is pronounced wrong by many. It is not Ashbye, but 
Ashbee, the last syllable sounded like bee. In no 
other State or nation is it pronounced Ashbye, but it 
is Ashbee. No one ever heard of General Canbye — 
pronounce it Canby and the Indian fighter flashes be- 
fore the mind. 

Personal Notices. — James Lode, a very enterpri- 
sing man, came from Hopkinton in 1749, and bought 
two lots of land of Amos Whitney, situated on Bat- 
tery Hill, and commenced a settlement on it the 
same year. This land was taken into Ashby at the 
incorporation of the town, and it lies on both sides of 
the road leading from Greenville to Fitchburg. This 
was the next year after John Fitch was captured by 
the savages, and for self-preservation he built a strong 
garrison-house near the log cabin in which he lived. 
Tradition has it that he was a man of great physical 
strength aud endurance, and very industrious. He 
was first in the list of church members, and he built 
a grist-mill, situated on the Locke Brook, about a 
quarter of a mile easterly of the spot where the large, 
unpainted house now stands on what was his home- 
stead. He died September 1, 1782. 

James Lode, Jr., born in Hopkinton in 1729, came 
to Townsend with his fiither, and they lived together 
for some time, until he married, and then they were 
near neighbors. He made great exertion to get a 
good common education. When the petition for a 
new town (which resulted in the incorporation of 
Ashby) was before the General Court, he appeared at 
Boston at two or three diflerent times as representa- 
tive of that part of the petitioners belonging to Town- 
send. At the first and second town-meetings under 
the charter he was chosen town clerk, and for the 



next two years he was moderator of the annual town- 
meetings. He served on the Board of Selectmen 
four times, and was on the committee for building the 
meeting-house. In 1773 he moved from Ashby to 
Townsend, and lived on a farm situated about a mile 
northerly from the harbor, and it was at that place 
where the sheep were sheared and his wife and 
daughter spun the wool, wove it into cloth, and made 
a suit of clothes for one of the family who was drafted 
into the army at .so short a notice.' He was second 
lieutenant in Captain James Hosley's company of 
minule-raen, who responded to the call of the 19lh of 
April, 1775. From 1774 to 1787 he was clerk of the 
Townsend proprietors, and the records he made, both 
in chirography and language, are equal to those made 
at the present time. In 1777 and 1778 he represented 
Townsend in the General Court. 

Jonathan Locke, Jr., born Dec. 7, 1737, a brother 
of the former James Locke, Jr., came to Ashby from 
Hopkinton in 1772, at the solicitation of his father 
.to care for him, as he had become old and well 
stricken in years. He was then thirty-five years old, 
and he inherited the activity and energy of his father. 
He was town clerk in 1782 and 1785, aud one of the 
selectmen five times from 1777 to 1785. He was on 
important committees several times. He was second 
lieutenant in Captain John Jones' company, which 
marched at the alarm on the 19th of April, 1775. He was 
the first man in Ashby who held the otfice of justice of 
the peace appointed by the Governor. In proof of 
his enterprise and force of character, we have only to 
look at the set of farm buildings, which have resisted 
the force of the elements for more than a century, 
now standing on the place where he lived and died, 
and which he built. The farm is now owned by 
Isaac B. Hayward. He died August 29, 1808. 

Captain John Jones, son of Thomas and Mary 
(Miles) Jones, was born in Concord December 7, 1730. 
He married, October 24, 1754, Phebe Brewer, of 
Weston. He lived in Concord until 1762, when he 
settled in the northeast part of Dorchester Canada 
(now Ashburnham). He was a selectman of Ash- 
burnham in 176r) and 1707. In 1767 Ashby was in- 
corporated, and his farm was a part of the new town. 
At the first town-rtfeeting of Ashby (1767) he was 
elected a selectman, and also for the years 1768, 1773 
and 1778. He was constable 1771 and town treasurer 
in 1768 and 1771. He wrote a fair hand and gave ev- 
idence of an education beyond that of a majority of 
his time. He commanded the company of militia 
which marched on the memorable 19th of April. He 
became one of the original members of the church, 
and in town afl!airs was often chosen on important 
committees. The location of his house and land gave 
the name to "Jones' Hill'' in the westerly part of 
the town. He died December 18, 1811. 

Major Samuel Stone, son of Jonathan and Chary 

> See Sawtelle's " History of Townsend," pp. 201, 202. 



330 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



(Adams) Stooe, was born in Lexington, June 10, 
1727. He moved to Ashby in 1770, and soon after 
built the liouse where Francis S. Wheeler now lives, 
near Towusend line. He was an inn-holder here for 
several years. His grandson. Captain Prentice Stone, 
of Ashby (now an old gentleman), has the sign which 
hung in front of his house, on which is painted a man 
on horseback with the word " entertainment " under- 
neath. The Stones from whom he descended were 
among the early settlers of Lexington, and " were 
quite numerous in the town, so much so that they 
were, in many instances, in the Lexington records, 
designated by their geographical position as John 
Stone, east, and John Stone, west, and Samuel Stone, 
east, and Samuel Stone, west." He bought, in addi- 
tion to his first purchase, four or five lots of land 
which were sold for non-payment of taxes in 1772, so 
that he had a large amount of land. He built the 
first mill on the site where Stickney'smill now stands, 
at the base of the Ashby Hills, in Townsend. At an 
early date he had a brick-kiln near Trap Falls Brook.. 
He commanded the minute-men who responded to 
the call, April 19, 1775. In 1776 he was chosen 
major in the militia. From 1772 to 1782 he served 
six times on the Board of Selectmen. In 1777 he 
served as a private, side and side with Colonel Wil- 
liam Prescott, of Pepperell, and Major Henry Wood, 
of Groton, in a volunteer company of sixty men, most 
of whom belonged to Townsend, commanded by Cap- 
tain James Hosley, of Townsend, which went to the 
assistance of General Gates, and they participated in 
the battle which resulted in thesurrender of the over- 
confident General Burgoyne. No other battle of the 
Revolution except that at Bunker Hill,wasof so much 
importance to the patriots. Major Stone died in 
Ashby, December 15, 1806. 

Captain A bij ah (Fi/maH, son 9f Abijah and Abigail 
(Smith) Wyman, was born in Lancaster August 9, 
1745. No Ashby man except John Fitch ever iiad 
so eventful a life as he passed. On the 14th of Au- 
gust, 1758, he was impressed into Captain John Car- 
ter's company for a drummer-boy. This company 
marched on an expedition to Fort William Henry 
and returned the following November. In 1762 he vol- 
untarily served in Captain James Reed's company in 
the same capacity. This experience on the rough side 
of life, added to the few weeks in each year passed at 
the common school until he arrived at majority, was 
the extent of his education. With his father, in the 
manufacture of brick, he accumulated some money, 
and at the age of twenty-six he came to Ashby. In 
1773 he bought a farm of 130 acres of Deacon Jonathan 
Lawrence, situated northerly and westerly of the Com- 
mon and joining land, at that time, of Joseph Davis 
on the east. In 1772 the province laid a tax on all 
non-resident land in Ashby, and empowered the 
assessors to sell all the land on which the tax was not 
paid, to collect the money due the town. At these 
sales he bought four lots of land for a small sum of 



money. Soon after he bought three other tracts of 
land in Ashby, one from Abijah Wyman, of Woburn, 
making him owner of nine lots of land in town, some 
of them joining each other. He was first sergeant in 
Captain Stone's company before mentioned. When 
that company returned, under a provincial call for 
men he enlisted a company consisting of citizens of 
Ashby and other towns, of which he was appointed 
captain. His company was in Colonel William Pres- 
cott's regiment and was engaged in the battle of Bun- 
ker Hill, in which two of his men were killed and 
two taken prisoners, who soon after died of their 
wounds received in the action. He married Bettie 
Stearns, of Billerica. After the war ended he indus- 
triously applied himself to the improvement of his 
real estate and the general prosperity of the town. 
He served on the Board of Selectmen five years, and 
was moderator of nine of the town-meetings, from 
1774 to 1801. He was one of the charter members of 
Social Lodge of Free Masons, and for a short time he 
was landlord at the tavern which adjoined the south- 
west corner of the Common. He died in Ashby, No- 
vember 24, 1804. 

Hon. John Locke, son of Jonathan and Mary 
(Haven) Nichols Locke, was born in Hopkinton Feb- 
ruary 14, 1764. He was not a brilliant scholar, but 
he had much patience, and while engaged in teach- 
ing school through several terms he, for the most part, 
fitted himself for college. He graduated from Har- 
vard College in 1792. In 1796 he was admitted to 
the bar, and commenced the practice of law in Ash- 
by. He held the responsible oflices in the gift of the 
town, and took much interest in its welfare. He rep- 
resented Ashby in the General Court in 1804, 1805, 
1813 and 1823. In 1820 he was the member for 
Ashby in the Constitutional Convention. In 1823 he 
was elected a member of Congress for the North Wor- 
cester District, Ashby being then in that Congres- 
sional District, and was twice re-elected, making a six 
years' service in Congress. As a lawyer he was not 
an eloquent advocate, but as a judge of law and as a 
counselor he stood in the front rank in the profes- 
sion. In 1804 he built the dwelling-house on Main 
Street, now owned and occupied by Mrs. Willard, 
which has been kept in excellent condition since he 
left the town, and it is decidedly the most substantial 
and elegant dwelling-house in Ashby. He lived a 
few years in Lowell, but the latter part of his life he 
spent in Boston, where he died August 24, 1855. 

Cashing Burr, son of John and Emma (Gush- 
ing) Burr, was born in Hingham January 21, 1759. 
He settled in Ashby about 1788. He carried on a 
farm a part of the time ; besides being interested in 
the tannery, he was engaged in making wooden dry- 
measures, consisting of those holding from half a 
bushel to quart-measures. He was a man of action 
rather than of words ; very decided in his opinions, 
although always courteous towards every one. He 
was much respected by his townsmen, being one of 



ASH BY. 



331 



the selectmen fifteen times between 1801 and 1825, 
and moderator of tiie annual town-meetings thirteen 
times between 1800 and 1825. He accumulated a 
large amount of property for his time, the appraisal 
of his estate at his decease amounting to over $16,000. 
He died September 19, 1838. 

Levtis Gould (I have been unable to learn the 
names of his parents) was born in Franklin October 
16, 1771, was graduated from Harvard College 1797, 
and tradition says that he pursued a course of theo- 
logical studies with the intention of entering the 
ministry. Little is known concerning him prior to 
1804, when he came to Ashby and opened a store in 
a building which stood where Austin Hayward's 
house now stands. He always dressed in a scrupu- 
lously ceat manner with the ruffle shirt accompani- 
ment of his time ; was eccentric, and sometimes his 
language would be in bad taste fur a man holding his 
position in society. But under a somewhat rough ex- 
terior he carried a warm heart, and in all his dealings 
he was strictly honest, courteous and obliging. Dur- 
ing the long time in which he was in trade here he 
must have acquired a small fortune, as his family ex- 
penses were light and he was prudent, but not mis- 
erly. In 1846, after a residence here of more than 
forty years, he wrote a polite letter "To the Inhabit- 
ants cf the Town of Ashby," in which, on certain 
conditions, he offered to give three hundred dollars 
with which to buy a town-clock. The town acceded 
to his wishes, which were in regard to the tower on 
which it was to be put and the care that should be 
taken of it. After the object was accomplished the 
town, not willing to be outdone in etiquette by the 
donor, chose a committee to draft suitable resolu- 
tions to be spread on the town records concerning 
the matter, of which the following are a copy: 

" Reiolved, That the towu tpnders to Mr. Lewia Gonld their respect 
and gratitude for bia very niueh ueeded and useful donation of S3(I0 for 
the purchase of a Town Clock. 

*' Itcsolre^y 'That in accepting Mr. Gould's donation and complying 
with his wishes in presenting a Town Clock, we have a beautiful and 
enduring memento of bis judicious taste, public spirit and benevolence. 

" Robert Spencer, 
"Alfred Hitchcock, 

** CommiUeey 

Mr. Gould, as has before been stated, gave the 
town-clock, the Fitch Monument on the Common to 
the town, and twenty-five dollars towards the bell on 
the church of the First Parish. He died in Ashby 
April 14, 1851, and was buried at Mount Auburn 
Cemetery. 

Benjamin, Elias, Amos and Liberty Wellington, sons 
of Benjamin and Lucy (Smith) Wellington, were born 
in Brookfield. Benjamin in 1764, Elias in 1766, Amos 
in 1770, and Liberty in 1774. They came to Ashby 
between 1786 and 1790, and settled on farms in the 
northwest part of the town, some of them on the north- 
erly brow of Jones Hill. They were carpenters and 
bricklayers, and well adapted to make themselves homes 
in a newly-settled town. They made large and com- 
modious dwelling-houses, brought many acres of wild 



land into a good state of cultivation, and set out large 
orchards, which they enclosed with stone walls. They 
and their descendants were mucli-respected citizens. 
Benjamin died November 9, 1817; Elias died Janu- 
ary 28, 1824; Amos died November 20, 1857, and 
Liberty died April 24, 1851. Amos was town clerk, 
1810, 1812; representative in 1812; selectman six 
times between 1805 and 1813, and moderator at the 
annual town-meetings seven times in the same length 
of time. His son, Amos Wellington, Jr., represented 
the town in 1852. Liberty served on the Board of 
St^Iectmen for five years, and was chosen on several 
important committees. 

Gushing Burr, son of Gushing and Emma (Cush- 
ing) Burr, was born in Ashby October 24, 1791. He 
was decidedly a business man : engaged in a tannery, 
in storekeeping and in the lumber business. Novem- 
ber 21, 1821, he married Miss Hulda Wright, and 
lived. and died in the house which is the present res- 
idence of Charles O. Green. He was a popular and 
useful citizen, was moderator several times, and town 
clerk for thirteen years between 1840 and 1857. He 
was one of the selectmen for seventeen years, between 
1824 and 1852, and he served on the most important 
town committees. He represented Ashby in the Gen- 
eral Court in 1832, 1833 and 1835. He died in Ashby 
February 8, 1866, and was buried with Masonic 
honors. 

James 0. Kendall, son of Joseph and Mary (Haynes\ 
Kendall, was born in Ashby January 4, 1821. He is 
one of the successful men who were born in this town. 
In his youth his time was divided between an attend- 
ance at the district school and working with his father 
at the carpenter's trade. On his arrival at manhood 
he began in the manufacture of tubs and pails at the 
South Village. He built two of the mills now in 
operation there. In 1853 he married Miss Phebe H. 
Denny, of Leicester. He was one of the five mill- 
owners who built the reservoir. In 1856 he moved to 
Hartford, Wisconsin, where, for a few years, he had 
liberal pay for his services as a mill-wright. In 1860 
he bought an interest in the Hartford mill property, 
including the water-power, saw-mill and flouring- 
mill at that place, situated on the Milwaukee and 
Saint Paul Kailroad. The firm with which he is con- 
nected does business under the name of .1. O. Ken- 
dall & Co. The business of this firm increased so 
rapidly that, in 1873, they built an extensive brick 
fiouring-mill, known as The Hartford Mills. In 1883 
the firm remodeled the mill into a complete roller- 
system, and now the firm handles from 125,000 to 
150,000 bushels of grain annually. 

Francis Tinier, son of John and Philena (Francis) 
Tinker, was born in Worthington January 3, 1816. 
He acquired a good education at the academy in his 
native town and at the academy at Ashby. He 
learned the harness-maker's trade, and while here he 
worked at it for some time, which is good evidence 
that he had a sensible parentage. Men who graduate 



332 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



from the benches of the New England mechanics 
generally carry with them the best equipment to 
enter the battle of life. He came to Ashby in 1842, 
and remained here until 1853, when he removed to 
Leominster, and while he was there, in 1860, he was 
elected one of the three representatives to the Gen- 
eral Court from the Sixth Worcester District. In 
1865 he removed back to Ashby and was four times 
elected as town clerk and has served on the School 
Committee in a very acceptable manner. In 1866 
Ashby chose a committee " to compile incidents and 
facts in regard to the early history of the town," con- 
sisting of "William Sheldon, Joel Hay ward, Stephen 
Wyman, Jonas Patch, George S. Hitchcock and 
Francis Tinker." Generally the gentleman first 
named on a committee has " to bear the heat and 
burden of the day." Not so in this instance, as Mr. 
Tinker worked faithfully and was the only active 
member of that committee: and just here I wish to 
acknowledge my indebtedness to him for most of the 
facts and incidents relating to the part taken by the 
citizens of Ashby in the Revolutionary War and in 
the War of the Rebellion. He is author of " History 
of Norwood" in the "History of Norfolk County," 
edited by D. H, Hurd. At present this gentleman 
resides at Norwood, where he has held the office of 
town clerk since 1872, when that town was incorpor- 
ated, where, like mine, his 

*' slay of life 
Ib faU'n into the sere, the yellow leaf,'* 

Francis Walter Wright, son of Abiel and Martha 
(Baker) Wright, was born in Nelson, N. H., Septem- 
ber 27, 1819. He worked on his father's farm while 
he was not at school, until he was twenty years old. 
Like many New Hampshire young men who have 
amounted to something, he took his turn at teaching 
school. He was a trader in Marlow, N. H , for about 
a year. He came to Ashby in 1844 and opened a 
store in the building which stands^ next west of his 
dwelling-house. After being in trade here for some 
time, he exchanged his stock of goods for an interest 
in a tub and pail factory, which stood in the north- 
westerly part of the town. This business required 
too much of his personal attention and interfered 
with his taste for general speculation ao much that 
he sold out, and since 1848 he has been trading in 
neat stock, horses, real estate, and, in fact, most every- 
thing that could be bought and sold at a profit. He 
has shipped many car-loads of horses from Canada 
and sold them in this vicinity. He has held nearly 
all the town offices. He has served as moderator of 
thirty-one ai.nual town-meetings since 1850, besides 
holding the bame office many times at special town- 
meetings, and hiS held the office of justice of the peace 
since 1848. He represented Ashby in the General 
Court in 1879, and he pays the most money in taxes 
of any citizen of Ashby. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



MYEON W. WHITNEY. 

The subject of this sketch was born in Ashby Sep- 
tember 5, 1835. He is descended from John Whit- 
ney, who lived in Isleworth, near London, in the 
early part of the seventeenth century, and who 
embarked at London for New England in April, 1635, 
in the "Elizabeth and Ann," Roger Cooper, master, 
with his wife, Elinor, and five children — John, Rich- 
ard, Nathaniel, Thomas and Jonathan. At the date 
of emigration John Whitney was thirty-five years of 
age, his wife thirty, and the sons were eleven, nine, 
eight, six and one, respectively. Soon after his ar- 
rival Mr. Whitney settled in Watertown, where he 
bought sixteen acres of land which had been granted 
by the Massachusetts Colony to John Stricjiland. 
These acres were, however, only the nucleus of a 
much larger estate of which he was the possessor at 
the time of his death. Mrs. Whitney died May 11, 
1659, and her husband married, September 29, 1659, 
Judith or Judah Clement, whose death was followed 
by that of Mr. Whitney June 1, 1673, at the age of 
seventy-four. Three sons — Joshua, Caleb and Ben- 
jamin — were born in Watertown, and there, with the 
exception of Caleb, all the other brothers were living 
at the time of their father's death. 

John Whitney, Jr., son of the ancestor, was born in 
England in 1624, and married Ruth, daughter of 
Robert Reynolds, of Boston. He was a prominent 
man in Watertown, and served on the Board of Select- 
men from 1673 to 1679, inclusive. He had ten chil- 
dren : John, born September 17,1643; Ruth, April 
15, 1645; Nathaniel, February 1, 1646-47 ; Samuel, 
July 28, 1648 ; Mary, April 29, 1650 ; Joseph, Janu- 
ary 15, 1651-52 ; Sarah, March 17, 1653-54 ; Elizabeth, 
June 9, 1656; Hannah (date of birth unknown), and 
Benjamin, June 28, 1660. Of these children Benja- 
min married, March 30, 1687, Abigail Hagar and a 
second wife, Elizabeth, and remained in Watertown. 
His children were Abigail, born May 3, 1688; Benja- 
min, baptized July 10, 1698 ; Ruth, baptized July 10, 
1698; John, born June 15,1694; David, June 16, 
1697, and Daniel, July 17, 1700. Of these children 
David settled in Waltham and married a wife, Re- 
becca. He was an ensign in the navy, and died be- 
fore April 30, 1745, the date of the division of his 
estate. His children were Rebecca, born in Novem- 
ber, 1721 ; David, September 25, 1723 ; Anna or Han- 
nah, August 8, 1725; Ruth, February 23,1728-29; 
Josiah, November 22, 1730 ; Jonas, June 25, 1733, 
and Jonathan, February 10, 1735. Of these children 
Josiah lived in Waltham, and married, June 15, 
1762, Sarah Lawrence. He died December 3, 1800, 
and his children were Sarah, born April 18, 1763; 
Josiah, June 23, 1765; Rhoda, August 22, 1768; 
Jonathan, May 8, 1772; Aunie, baptized April 2, 
1775, and Lucy, baptized July 28, 1776. Of these 




<c 



. ^J ('j/i<t 



'cIm^^:^ / ( . ^J ('j/-L^^scs-7-i 



ASHBY. 



333 



Josiah married Mary Barrett, of Ashby, to whom he 
was published January 10, 1794. His children were 
Josiah, born in Waltham March 20, 1791 ; Sally, 
born in Waltham March 19, 1792 ; Jonas Prescott, 
born in Waltham September 22, 1793 ; IMary, born in 
Waltham September 14, 1796; William, boru in Lin- 
coln July 20, 1798; John born April 7, 1801 ; Nancy, 
March 29, 1803, and Alice, December 17, 1805. He 
was, with his wife, dismissed to the church in Ashby 
November 24, 1799, and in that town the death of his 
wife occurred, August 23, 1841, followed by his own, 
December 24, 1842. Of these children William lived 
in Ashby and married Fanny Lincoln, a native of 
Marlboro', N. H. He is the father of Myron W. 
Whitney, the suliject of this sketch, and is still living 
(June, 1890) in his native town at the advanced age 
of ninety-two. 

Myron W. Whitney, until the age of sixteen, at- 
tended the public schools of Ashby, and then removed 
to Boston, where, at the age of twenty, having devel- 
oped musical and vocal talents of great promise, he 
began with E. H. Frost to study for the profession in 
which he has won distinction, and soon became a 
member of the well-known Tremont Temple Choir, 
of which Mr. Frost was director. During his mem- 
bership in the choir, which continued several years, 
he sang with marked success in oratorios and con- 
certs; but, conscious of powers which needed a better 
education than Boston could afford, he went to Italy 
in 1869 at the age of thirty-three, and availed himself 
of the instruction of the celebrated Vannucini, of 
Florence. After leaving Florence he went to Lon- 
don, and, with Signor Randegger, the distinguished 
oratorio teacher, perfected himself in that department 
of musical art. While in England his singing of 
Elijah with the Birmingham Festival Choral Society 
won for him a reputation which opened the way for 
a brilliant reception and career on his return to his 
native land. After his return he sang in oratorios 
concerts and festivals until 1873, when he again vis- 
ited England, under a contract with the distinguished 
soprano, Madame Rudersdorf, to sing with her in a 
concert and oratorio tour through England, Ireland 
and Scotland. The reputation which be had acquired 
at his earlier appearance in England was enhanced 
by his later efforts, and the power and compass of his 
voice, ranging from low C to high F, gave him a uni- 
versally acknowledged claim to a place in the front 
rank of the bassos of his day. 

In the autumn of 1873 he sang at Covent Garden 
Theatre in London during six weeks in concert and 
oratorio, under the direction of Sir Arthur Sullivan, 
Sir Julius Benedict and other celebrated directors, 
and returned home in the spring of 1874 to fill en- 
gagements at vaiious American festivals, and made a 
tour of the United States with Theodore Thomas and 
his unequalled orchestra. In 1875 he again visited 
England under a contract with Novello, Ewer & Co. 
for a three mon'hs' season of oratorio and concert in 



Royal Albert Hall, London. This engagement was 
unusually brilliant and successful, and at its close 
Mr. Whitney sang almost nightly in the larger cities 
of Great Britain until his return to America, in the 
spring of 1876, which was hastened by an urgent in- 
vitation to take part at the opening of the Centennial 
Exposition in Philadelphia of that year. Mr. Whit- 
ney was on that occasion the only soloist of the cele- 
bration. The immense space in front of the art 
building was filled by a crowd estimated approxi- 
mately at 100,000, and the voices of the speakers 
failed to reach the ears of more than one-tenth part 
of the multitude. Far within the circumference of 
the audience the voices of even the chorus were in- 
distinct, but over and beyond the limits of the great 
congregation the grand notes of Mr. Whitney cut 
their way with a power and clearness which excited 
the wonder and admiration of all who were present 
and heard them. Xo human voice was ever subjected 
to such a test, and no test of far less magnitude was 
ever by the human voice more triumphantly met. 

Since 1876, though frequently urged to repeat his 
visits to England, he has confined himself to engage- 
ments at home, which have been arduous and unre- 
mitting. He has sung in all the large festivals of the 
country, with the Handel and Haydn Society in 
their Boston oratorios, in eight of the nine festivals 
in Cincinnati and in New York, Chicago, Cleveland, 
Pittsburgh and Indianapolis festivals. He probably 
has the most extensive repertoire of any basso in 
concert and oratorio, while his later efforts have given 
him an enviable repertoire in grand opera also. His 
operatic experience, extending over a period of ten 
years, and including two seasons with the American 
Opera Company through the United States, has 
crowned a reputation as basso which no other singer 
of our country has ever attained. His success in the 
grand role of King, in " Lohengrin," no American 
audience has ever seen surpassed, if even equaled. 

Among the more celebrated artists with whom Mr. 
Whitney has sung may be mentioned, — Parepa Rosa, 
Christine Nillson, AdelinaPatti, Annie Louise Carey, 
Clara Kellogg, Campanini, Charles Adams, Candi- 
dus and Gorg Henschel in the United States ; Mad- 
ame Titiens, Madame Lemmfens Sherrington, Madame 
Trebelli, Madame Patey, Antoinette Sterling, Sims 
Reeves, Vernon Rigby aud Julius Stockhausen in 
England ; and Madame Rudersdorf and Edward 
Lloyd in both the United States and England. As 
conductors he has sung under Sir Michael Costa, Sir 
Julius Benedict, Sir Arthur Sullivan, August Manns, 
Signor Randegger and Sir Charles Halle in England ; 
and Theodore Thomas, Carl Zerrahn, Gericke and 
others. During the present year of 1890 he has sung 
in the festivals of Boston, Springfield, Cincinnati, 
Mansfield, O., and Pittsburgh, and his engagements 
end only with the advent of summer, 

Mr. Whitney married, 5Iay 4, 1859, Eleanora Brea- 
sha, of Boston, in which city he held his residence 



334 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



until December, 1888, and has three cliildren,— Wil- 
liam Lincoln, Lizzie Gertrurie and Myron W., Jr. 
In 18SS he removed to Watertown, where he bought 
an estate which he has since oocupit'd, and which he 
has discovered is a part of the estate owned by his 
ancestor, John Whitney, during his residence in that 
town. In 1880 he bought land on the shore of Long 
Pond, in the town of Plymouth, on which he built a 
house which he occupies as a summer residence. 
The pond on whose margin his house stands, and the 
large numer of other ponds in the vicinity, afford him 
abundant opportunity for the indulgence of his taste 
for fishing during intermissions from his professional 
labor.''. His skill with the rod is only surpassed by 
his musical attainments, and it is a matter of doubt 
whether he is not less proud of his reputation as an 
artist than of the feat he has performed of landing a 
trout weighing twenty-five pounds and fourteen 
ounces with an eleven-ounce rod. 

Mr. Whitney is in the prime of life, with health 
unimpaired, and with a voice promising istiil greater 
triumphs than it has ever yet achieved. During his 
summer residence in the native town of the writer of 
this sketch he has won hosts of friends, and not the 
least of his successes was the part gracefully accepted 
by him at the celebration of the completion of the 
National Monument to the Pilgrims on the 1st of 
August, 1889. On that occasion the beautiful hymn 
of Mrs. Hemans, "The Breaking Waves Dashed 
High," as sung by him before an audience of 2000 
persons, was one of the most interesting features of 
the day. 



EDWIN K. JOHNSON. 

Edwin Kendall Johnson, son of William and Betsey 
(Wright) Johnson, was born in Ashby October 5, 
1827. He married Lucy M. Thayer, of Lebanon, 
Maine, July 19, 1866. She died in Ashby October 
19, 1870. No children. He is descended in the fifth 
generation from Captain Edward Johnson, born in 
Heme Hill, Kent, England, in 1599. He came to 
New England in 1637, and settled in Charlestown in 
that part thereof which is now Woburn. He is known 
as the author of the remarkable historical work 
entitled " Wonder- Working Providence of Sion's Sa- 
viour in New England." He was a joiner, a promi- 
nent military man, and deputy from Woburn to the 
General Court many times. He died in Woburn 
April 23, 1702, and his sons were the leading men of 
that town. William was a favorite Christian name in 
the Johnson family, and every paternal ancestor of 
the subject of this sketch since the time of Captain 
Edward had that name. His grandfather lived in 
Acton, was a prominent man there, a soldier in the 
Revolution under General Arnold, was in the battle 
at Saratoga when Burgoyne surrendered. He saw 
Major Andre executed and testified to his attractive 
personality and his quiet submission to his fate. He 
movedto Ashby in 1791 and settled beneath the evening 



shadow of Nemosit Hill, known also as Prospect Hill 
and Blood Hill. Edwin K. distinctly remembers his 
grandfather, and when not at school he worked 
with his father on his farm. He attended the 
academy at Hancock, N. H., one term, was at New 
Ipswich Academy three terras, and at the Ashby 
Academy most of the time for two years. He learned 
the mason's trade, and after he became master of the 
business he went to Boston, where he made a special- 
ty of setting boilers, ranges and furnaces, and he fol- 
lowed this occupation successfully for twenty-one 
years. He attended strictly to his business, saved his 
money and invested it with good judgment. For the 
last twenty years he has lived on the ancestral home- 
stead, where he cared for his parents in their declining 
years and to some extent has improved his farm. He 
has never coveted office, although he has served as 
moderator at the annual town-meetings and has been 
on the School Committee several years. He is a Re- 
publican in politics, having voted for every Republi- 
can candidate for the Presidency since that party was 
formed. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

WOBUHN. 

by william r. cutter. 

introduction. 

Woburn, according to a recent authority, is one of 
the older towns of Massachusetts, having been settled 
in 1642. Its growth, however, — it continues, — was 
slow, and it is only in recent years that it has at- 
tained to marked importance. This indeed is true ; 
still, Woburn has, nevertheless, quite a history, and 
in the past has faithfully performed her part in the 
State and country. In the earlier days, when the 
fathers were slowly and broadly laying the foundation 
of the privileges and advantages her present sons en- 
joy, many of her sons were sent to adorn and benefit 
other municipalities, where their careers not only gained 
credit for themselves but increased the renown of the 
places they had selected for their adopted homes. 
The same is true of her daughters; and the careers 
of these, and of the others whose lives have been 
spent on their natal soil, in very many instances have 
shown commendable examples of worth and useful- 
ness, sobriety, industry, good sense and abounding 
activity in all common emploj'ments. Due regard 
has also been paid to all religious, educational and 
moral and pecuniary obligations. The financial 
credit of the town and city in its corporate capacity 
has always been good ; and its bills have always been 
paid with commendable promptness. The place has 
also contained among its inhabitants many public- 
spirited citizens, both male and female, who have 
given generously of their time and means for its so- 



WOBURN. 



335 



cial advancement and the improvement of the mental 
and physical coadition of its inhabitants. Those of 
our native population who have traveled, or have 
found homes elsewhere, have felt, wherever they 
have been, that Woburn has been a place good to 
hail from. For ourselves we are proud to say that 
we are native to Woburn ; that our birthplace was 
here on its goodly soil ; that its peojjle were our ear- 
lier and later friends ; that within its bosom rest the 
remains of our beloved parents; many of our earlier 
friends rest in its soil with them — peace to their 
ashes I We are not ashamed of Woburo's past, and 
have no fears for its future. From a natural love of 
the work we have made the history of the town the 
study of a lifetime. This has been partly an inher- 
ited taste. Our advantages in the prosecution of the 
task have been great, if not unusual. We are thank- 
ful to all who harte aided in any way in helping with 
special or general information. The response has 
always been faithfully met. In the following pages 
we have attempted to show the results of a few of our 
researches. In this undertaking we have had the 
sanction of the members of the Rumford Historical 
Association and the assistance of his honor, Edward 
F. Johnson, the first mayor of the city of Woburn, 
and of the Rev. Leander Thompson, both natives of 
Woburn ; the latter gentleman for a long series of 
years having made the history of the town, its 
churches and the genealogy of its people a special 
and favorite study. 

If with all these advantages the writers have failed 
to meet the reasonable expectations of the public in 
these sketches, it is hoped that their fiiilure may be 
attributed to their want of ability, rather than to their 
want of zeal in the prosecution of their researches. 
The mass of material before them from which to select 
is immense, and the subject is one that possesses, be- 
sides, a great variety of aspects; to select judiciously is 
a task of no small difficulty, and opinions may differ 
on the wisdom of their choice. But it has been de- 
termined to rest generally on the decision of their 
own judgment, governed to some extent by the custom 
usual in such matters. It has been their determina- 
tion to present their facts in the most compact lan- 
guage at their disposal, to avoid disquisitions, and to 
confine themselves to a clear statement of facts, letting 
the facts carry their own weight of interest and im- 
portance, believing that the serious student will find 
in them much of value and usefulness, in spite of 
possible or positive defects. 

The Sketch in the "Social Statistics of 
Cities." — The town assumed sufBcient importance, 
even before its incorporation as a city, to form the 
subject of a chapter in the "Social Statistics of Cities," 
a report of the United States Government, published 
in connection with the census of 1880. In this sketch 



the population in the aggregate, from 1800 to 1880, 
is given, with 1228 inhabitants in 1800; G287 in 
1860; 8560 in 1870, and 10,931 in 1880, the latter 
numbers illustrating the period of its greatest 
growth. Its latitude, 42° 29' north; longitude, 71° 
9', west from Greenwich, are given; also an outline 
map, showing its distance and direction from five 
neighboring cities — Boston, Salem, Haverhill, Lowell 
and Waltham, Mass.; also statistics of its population 
by sex, nativity and race, at census of 1880 ; and its 
financial condition, followed by an historical sketch, 
another map and statistical accounts collected by the 
census office to indicate the condition of Woburn in 
1880, as to location, railroad communications, topog- 
raphy, tributary country, climate, streets, water- 
works, gas, public building.s, places of amusement, 
cemeteries; sanitary authority with features of Board 
of Health, infectious diseases and municipal cleans- 
ing; police, Fire Department and public schools. On 
the larger map are shown the location of the "four 
villages," of greater or less size, comprised within its 
limits; the area occupied by its "small rural popula- 
tion," and the situation of its nearly "75 miles" of 
streets;' also the principal pond — Horn Pond — the 
principal elevations, such as Horn Pond Mountain, 
Mount Pleasant, Rag Rock and Whispering Hill, 
with other general features, such as streams and rail- 
roads. On the whole, giving a very good general 
idea of the character of the town. The historical 
sketch is comprehensive, beginning with the settle- 
mept in the wilderness, which then stretched to the 
west and northwest, broken only in one or two places 
by small settlements, while the nearest incorporated 
towns were Rowley and Ipswich on the north; Salem 
and Lynn, northeast; Charlestown, east; Cambridge, 
southeast and south, and Concord, southwest. The 
territory roundabout had then been but very little 
explored. Two-thirds of the sketch, which in the 
main is quite accurate, is devoted to the period pre- 
vious to 1700, and an account is given of the leather 
industry, which has been for many years the leading 
manufacture of the place. This is the latest extended 
account of the town (1886), which we have seen pub- 
lished. Since the facts on which it was based have 
been collected the growth has been considerable, and 
by 1892 — the year of its two hundred and fiftieth an- 
niversary — the population, it may be supposed, may 
be increased in number by at least one-half, if former 
years are a criterion of judgment on which to base a 
calculation of such importance. 

Note.— C/. Eucy. Britannica, 9tli e<l.,i[xi>. 625-62C ; U. S. Centus Itt- 
port on Iht Social alalulics of CitUa (Wiuih. 1886), pt. 1, :i30-334. 



1 An elaborate article oo the streets of Woburn is published in the ap- 
pendix of Mayor E. F. Johnson's iuauguml address, Jan. 0, 1890. The 
actual length in mites is, however, 63.1 miles. 



33G 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

WOS URN—{ Continued) . 
CIVIL HISTOEY TO 1800. 

The civil history of Woburn to the year 1800 is 
much lilce that of other towns of equal age ; town- 
meetings were held, officers were chosen, common 
lands were distributed, eccleaiastical and secular 
matters pertaining to the jurisdiction of a town were 
properly attended to, and till 1730 the town and par- 
ish were practically one in the etfect of their action. 
Wilmington had been set oif from Woburn in 1730, 
and in the same year the remaining portion of the 
town was divided into two parishes for religious pur- 
poses — the First, or Old Parish, including the present 
territory of Woburn and Winchester, and the Second 
Parish, or Woburn Precinct, as it was often called, 
including the part later set off as the town of Burling- 
ton. Town-meetings after this period were often held 
alternately in each parish. This is evident from the 
entries to be found in the records and in the contem- 
porary diary of Samuel Thompson, Esq., a gentleman 
long identified with the town as a public and parish 
officer. The extant result of this business — besides 
the gradual effect of measures and duties consecu- 
tively performed upon the welfare of the public — is a 
series of handsomely written and well-kept records, 
well preserved and well cared for, of which, as a 
whole, the place has no cause to be ashamed, but 
cause for congratulation in the choice of her early 
clerks and the excellent handwriting of the greater 
part of them. Good ink and a large hand was the 
rule, and Woburn has in this series of books a price- 
less treasure, which we hope no fire will destroy or 
vandai purloin or mar. 

In the course of events unusual transactions have 
occurred which possess a general interest, and atten- 
tion is directed to a few. First and foremost, the 
facts in relation to the settlement of the town set forth 
in the first volume of the town records, which volume 
has been published. The discovery of the territory 
was accomplished with difficulty, and the inducing of 
settlers to locate on the lots already laid out by the 
parent town, or on lots to be laid out, or to stay after- 
wards, was a matter of still greater difficulty, and 
subjected the leaders to periods of discouragement. 
The courageous persistence of a few accomplished the 
work. Second, in the ordination of their first minis- 
ter, some proceedings esteemed irregular by the au- 
thorities occurred, which excited the attention of that 
time and some interest later until the present age. 
This matter belongs to the ecclesiastical history of the 
town. Third, when once established, the community 
prospered, and with the exception of the loss of a 
portion of her territory and people to form another 
town, increased in population and resources till the 
opening of the war of the American Eevolution. This 



contest imposed burdens which impaired the prosper- 
ity of her people, and when recovery had commenced 
the loss of nearly half her territory and much of her 
population to form the town of Burlington, in 1799, 
crippled her prosperity to a considerable degree. The 
principal dependence for wealth to that date had been 
agriculture, and the town was a large farming com- 
munity, in comparison wiih similar communities in 
the State. After the beginning of the present century 
the leather industry began to assume important pro- 
portions and became the principal production. The 
town suffered no further loss of her territory till the 
separation from her limits of trie town of Winchester 
in 1850. Fourth, such matters of great inter^st 
to the fathers, but now of little importance, as the 
Mistick or Medford Bridge controversy and the 
extinction by mismanagement of the loan funds ac- 
quired from the Province, and the sale of the town's two 
thousand acres in 1734, — ntiatters which were before 
the public for a long series of years, — having been 
fully treated in the already published history of 
the town, it seems needless to go over them again ; 
and the same might be said of the arbitrary proceed- 
ings of Sir Edmund Andros in Woburn in 1687-88, 
which belong especially to the account of the life of 
William Johnson. The greatest injury the prosper- 
ity and growth of the town received before 1800, was 
the separation from it of two towns and the conse- 
quent loss of territory and population. The losses of 
the Revolutionary War were partly supplied by the 
sale of some public lands. 

Note.' — The particulars of the settlement are given in Sewall's Wohurn 
chap. i. ; customs of the settlers for the first fifty years described, 
chap. ii. ; proceedings of Andros in Woburn, chap. iv. ; Wedford Bridge 
and loan business, chap, iv., vi. and ix.; separation of Wilmington as a 
town, and the part now Burlinglon as a precinct or parish, chap. viii. ; 
embarrassment of the town by debt after the Revolution, chap. xiii. ; 
incorporation of Burlington, ditto. Mr. Champney (Drake's Middk- 
tex CovttUj ii. 530) treats the Medford Bridge and the loan matters 
(532-533). The main points of the history of the town are concisely 
stated in a brief sketch by Dr. B. Cutter, in catalogue of First Church, 
published in I8t4. The substance of this statement was that Wohurn 
anciently included the major part of the present towns of Wilmington 
and Burlington within its bounds', and for more than ninety years had 
but one church and one phice of public worship for all its inhabitants. 
In 173U Wilmington was set off; and the remaining facts are ecclesias- 
tical in their nature. These facts are repeated in the church catalogue 
ot 1852 and 1871. 

In the following pages it is purposed to treat, under 
separate headings, various topics connected with the 
civil history of the town before 1800. We shall 
make use of such light as recent discoveries afford, 
and some of the topics will be : — The origin of the 
name; the early settlement, and certain contempora- 
neous incidents ; the earthquake of Oct. 29, 1727, 
concerning which much material is eStant ; the his- 
tory of the ancient public burial-grounds, etc. 

Origin of the Name. — The reason why Woburn 
was named for the Woburn in Bedfordshire, England, 
is a recent discovery. Captain Edward Johnson, in 
some curious lines at the beginning of the first volume 
of the Woburn town records, says in line four of this 



WOBrRX. 



unique production, in which the town is supposed to 
be speaking in the first person : 

" Nuuell, Svinnies, Seiigwiok, tlifSi- luj iiiitruiis wt'iv." 

These were infiueutial names. Nowell, was In- 
crease Nowell, a well-known magistrate and leadins 
citizen; Symmes was Zacliariali Syninies, tlie minis- 
ter of Charlestown, tlie parent town ; wliilc Sedgwick 
was Robert Sedgwick, a military otlicer of eminence 
and one of the distinguished men of his time. Now- 
ell and Sedgwick were tlien both residents of Charles- 
town ; and wliile much has been written in the past 
concerning Xowell and Symmes, developments ol 
recent date place Sedgwick in an interesting light as 
the individual to whom the >Jew England town o( 
^Voburn owes its name. This discovery was first 
made public by E. F. Johnson and W. R. Cutter in 
the first issue of their publication of the Woburn 
records in the M'obuni Ji/unm/. for Jlay 18, 1888: the 
former is a lineal descendant of Captain Eilward 
Johnson, and the first mayor of the city of Woburn. 
Cutter having read in the uu.iiber of the Neu: Emj- 
laiid Histoiical and Genealoykni Riyii/er for April, 
1888, a statement that Maj.-Gen. Robert Sedgwick, of 
Charlestown, was baptized at AVobiirn, Bedfordshire, 
England, investigation was immrdiately made to see 
what intimate connection that fact might have with 
his relation to the Woburn in New England. The 
line above quoted from Edward Johnson in the rude 
poem at the beginning of the Woburn records, and 
designed to memorialize, if not to immortalize, the 
fact.s relating to the origin of Woburn, shows that he 
was one of the three principal patrons of the enter- 
prise ; and the fact noted by Savage ( Oe/i. Did. iv. 48) 
that Sedgwick was "a neighbor" of Johnson when 
the latter resided in Charlestown, and the latter men- 
tioning Sedgwick, in the " Womler-working Frovi- 
di lice," as " the first Sergeant-Major chosen to order the 
Regiment of Essex [equivalent to the present colonel], 
stout and active in all feats of war, nursed up in Lon- 
don's Artillery garden, and furthered with fifteen 
years' experience in New England exact theory; 
besides the help of a very good headpiece, being a 
frequent instructor of the most martial troops of our 
artillery men," etc. (IT. IF. /*/■(«■., ed. 18(!7, p. 1112), 
and the first mention .lohnsou makes of him in the 
Woburn records being in the words " Noble Captain 
Sedgwick," show's he was held in high estimation by 
Johnson. The Woburn records show Sedgwick's 
part in the work of exploring the lands at the time 
of the settlement of the town, and the influential 
position he had in selecting the present site for the 
village, or the spot where the meetinghouse should 
be. He was also the chairman of the committee of 
thirteen appointed by t'harlestown, Nov. 4, 1640, to 
set the bounds between the two places and select the 
site for the new town. This was the first important 
action on the part of the parent town in a corporate 
capacity, in regard to the setting apart and settling 
of Woburn. 



.V biographical sketch of Sedgwick is given in the 
number of the N'eir England Hixtorual and (Ji-nealoiji- 
ral Register already referred to. He was the son of 
William Sedgwick and Elizabeth Howe, who were 
married, according to the registers of Si. Mary's 
Church, al Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, \[lril 10, 
11)04. His father, William, was a warden of that 
church, and was buried there July 25, 1(;32. Robert 
Sedgwick was baptized at Woburn, Bedfordshire, 
England, May 6, 1(313. The. family was one of dis- 
tinction in England. After a distinguished career in 
New England, he was sent by his friend and com- 
mander Cromwell to Jamaica, where he was high in 
office, and died in 165ij.' 

The fact that Sedgwick came liom Woburn, Bed- 
fordshire, England, was the reason why the name of 
the place of his origin was given to the Woburn in 
New England, in whose founding he took such a lead- 
ing part ; to say nothing of the inlluence of .lohnson, 
the father and projector of the infant settieuient, in 
imposing such a name on the town, in honor of its 
principal patron. It is not so stated in the records ; 
but it is evidently true. The matter of naming a New 
England town in the seventeenth century from the 
leading man, either layman or pastor, is mentioned 
by an excellent English writer, Doyle, English Culu- 
nifs in Aintrica, in. 7 ; and he says, " The town was 
luimed, not after the individual, but after his former 
abode; thus Duxbury, Groton and Haverhill com- 
memorated the birthplaces of Standish, of Winthrop, 
and of Ward." 

The the(n-y in Sewall's Wb/juni, p. 5;i:», which has 
been widely copied, therefore, has no force. The 
honor conferred on Richard Rn.ssell in this matter 
was misplaced. He canle, also, from Hertfordshire, 
where none of the English Woburns are placed. 
There are three of these in England : Woburn, £cd- 
furd-fhire ; Woo-burn, Bucks; 0-burn, /Jorset. All 
three spellings were used by the early settlers of New 
England, but which was our namesake was unknown. 
It was not known till this discovery that any person 
connected with the settlement of this Woburn had 
any relation with the English Woburns. From the 
statements made the matter is now clear, and Woburn, 
liedfordshire, is the place whence our town derived 
its name. 

NoTK. — F'jr lucal urticleaon tlie subject of Wubuni, Beilfunlsliire, see 
Our P,iper (IS7.1), 34, mid (IS70) 54, 59, 02 ; also lame, vol. L' (ISVIl) 11, 10, 
H, 42, li7 ; Wolmm .Iimmal, Oct. 25, ISVa, Oct. 3, io, and Dec. 5, hsS4, 
iinil Aug. 5, 1887, It woulfi be easy to add more. Natives of Wobiiiu, 
Now Eiigluud, have from time to time visited Woburn, lieiifordsliire 
Kngland, notably Edward V. .totiusoti, wbogavea lecture on his expe- 
riences before the Runiford Historical Association on.\i)ril !), ISS'J, pub- 
lished in tile \V->hunt Jonrnnl, May 2, IS'Jll; and Epbraini Cutter, 31.1). 
who gave a description of his visit in a letter publislied in the Wolmrit 
Bn'tf/H for July 18, 1S62. Also Leonard Thompson, trustee and vice- 
president of the Kuinford Histirical As-sociation, who gave an account of 
his visit in a letter published in the Woburn Jourwtl, July 21'., I.SHi). 

The Early Settlement. — On the first ptige of 



1 ('/. Frothingham's Cliarleslown (1S46), 135-139, which cites a quota- 
tion from Carlyle's Ortnitwell, ii. 198, regarding Sedgwick. 



338 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



the first volume of the town records are the following 
lilies, composed by Captain JOdvvard Johnson, intended 
to be a sketch of the history of the settlement of the 
town.' 

I'atllispcr t-'ni.^ 

In i)eiinilGH^ age, I, Woburji tuwn, began ; 
(Jhiirh'stuwii fiint uiuVL'd the court my lines to span ; 
To view my land place, compiled body rear,^ 
Nowoll, Symmea, Sedgwiclt, tliese my patrons were. 
Some fearing I'll grow great upon these grounds, 
Poor, I waj* put to nurse among tlie clowns, 
Who being taken with eucli mighty things, 
As had been worli of noble queens and kings — 
Till babe 'gan cry and great disturbance make — 
Nurses repent they did her undert^ike. ^ 
One leaves her C|uite& — another he doth hie 
To foreign lands, free from the baby's cry. " 
Two more of seven, " seeing nursing prove so thwart, 
Thought it more ease in following of the cart. 8 
A neighbor by, ^ hoping the babe would be 
.\ pretty girl, to rocking lier went he. 
Two nurses, less undaunted than the rest,l'^ 
First houses finish ; thus the girl 'gan dressed. 
It's rare to see how this poor town did rise 
By weakest means ;I1 — too weak in great ones' eyes. 
AntI sure it is, that metal's clear extraction ^~ 
Had never share in this poor town's erection. 
Without which metiil, and some fresh supplies, 
Tatrons conclude she never up would rise. 
If ever she 'mongst ladies have a station. 
Say 'twaa from parents, not her education. 
.\nd now conclude the Lord's own hand it was 
That with weak means did bring this work to pa«8. 
Not only town, but sister church too add, 
Which out of dust and ashes now is had. 
Then all inhabit Woburn town, stay, make 
The Lord, nut means, of allyou'uudertake.^-* 

I Though the records begin in 1640, these lines were supposed to be 
composed in 1G42, trom the allusions to events of that year. They 
are published with the crudity of their original spelling by Sewall 
(Hfe*. 6.30-1), I'oole ( 11'. W. P., 1867, Ixxjcvi.), and Trothingham (UUt. 
of a, 108-9). 

- Ltit. "I have lived fora short time."' or I have been a little while. 
"I" meaning the town. 
3 Meaning " my compact body to rear." — Frothinghftm, 

* "The distinguished patrons of Woburn, fearing it would one day 
rival Charlestown, discouraged the enterprise, and gave it to those they 
regarded of a lower grade in society, or as the 'cltwns.' But difficul- 
ties discouraged them also, and they ' repent they did her undertake.' " 
— Frotliiiigliftm, 

^ Ezekiel Kichardson, supposed. Others have thought Sedgwick the 
person referred to. 

* Thomas Graves, the admiral, evidently. For biog. sketch, see 
Frothingham {Hisl. of C, 139-40), and Sewall (Hisl. 08-71) ; also see 
Winvlitster Record^ ii. 397-8. 

^ The number of the commissioners for the founding of Woburn. 

* The two were the brothers Samuel and Thomas Richardson, evi- 
dently. 

9 Edward Johnson, "the author of the metre in the text." 
!<» Kdward Converse and John Mousall. 

II Or from the humblest circmnstances imaginable. 

1- A phraae signifying gold or silver money, mainly the latter. 

13 'rhe preliminary quotation is from Plautus(ft. 1, 1, 36) " Comedy 
of the Liar:" qnwti aohtilitUiti lierba, paulispfr fui, *'A8 a summer's 
flower, I have lived fora short time," — true :w to the existence of Wo- 
burn in 1042. Theaecriptiouofglory to the Lord for what had been 
accomplished, the failure of patrons to encourage or aid, the opposition 
of Charlestown, the consignment of the imdertakiug to " the clowns," 
the absence of supposed solid means, the dilliculty of the enterprise of 
opening a new settlement in a dense wilderness; all this, as expressed 
in Johnson's verse, truthfully shows, it may be supposed, the meagreness 
of the means at the outset. The enterprise was finally conducted by 
the common people in their own way. 



At the present day one can little conceive.the ob- 
stacles that surrounded these persons. The difficul- 
ties to be met in the forest were to be overcome by 
men with hard muscles, long inured to severe toil, 
and such as the hardiest alone could stand ; work of a 
kind to be accomplished by laborers of the roughest 
sort — the " clowns " of Johnson's verse — rustic and 
ill-bred, but full of determination to win and over- 
come natural obstacles of a most disheartening char- 
acter. They toiled, says John,wn, their leader, with 
much difficulty, traveling through unknown woods 
and through wtitery swamps ; sometimes passing 
through thickets where they were forced to make way 
with their hands for the passage of their bodies, and 
their feet clambered over crossed trees, from which if 
they missed their footing they sunk into an uncertain 
bottom in water and waded up to their knees ; they 
tumbled, sometimes higher and sometimes lower, and 
wearied with this toil, at the end would meet with a 
scorching plain ; yet, in the quaint phrase of Johnson, 
it was there not " so plain," or easy, for the ragged 
bushes of the place manifested their presence by 
scratching the explorers' legs " foully." The sun also 
cast such a reflecting heat in such places from the 
sweet fern, whose scent was very strong, that some of 
the party were very near fainting from it, although 
they had very able bodies to undergo such hardship 
and travel — the toil of a new plantation being like 
the labors of a Hercules — never at an end. 

See a reference to the above extract from the Won- 
der-working Providence, in the Winchester Hecord, iii. 
18, 23 ; also for a further ijuotatiou from Johnson, 
ibid, i., 49. 

A publication entitled Good News from Neiu 
Enijhiitd {London 1048), reprinted in Mass. Hist. 
Soc. Coll., 4th 8., cf. i. 201, 212 — refers to Woburn 
thus: " Woo-burn, Wickham [meaning Wenham] 
Redding [Reading] built with little silver mettle 
[metal]." The " Good News " being a relation partly 
in rhyme, a comparison of Johnson's verse-making 
with that writer's shows that the work of one is about 
the same as the other ; and a mixed relation in verse 
and prose appears to be a common feature of the lit- 
erary productions of the day, particularly in descrip- 
tions of New England. 

A second reference to Woburn in this production 
of 1648 is the following, referring to Thomas Carter 
as minister [M.) of the town, and to his salary of £(30 
(60^.) in a list of towns and ministers : '' Woo-burn : 
M. Tho. Carter, 60/." 

The territory called Woburn, says Frothingham 
(" Hist, of Charlestown," chap, xiii., a.d. 1846) was 
regarded in llUO as remote land, whose roads were 
Indian |)athways, with crevices of rocks and clelts of 
trees for shelters. To explore it, or occupy it, was 
viewed as a great labor, and not to be accomplished 
without danger. The Woburn records note every 
step. This author, with characteristic ability, gives 
each important incident in the history of Wob urn to 



WOBURN. 



339 



the death of Rev. Thomas Carter, in 1684. Of some 
of the features of the town orders, he remarks — 
"small things, some may think .... but let them 
not be despised ; for such are the fibres of our na- 
tional tree ! " The history of the town's settlement, 
he says, is "minutely detailed by the early authori- 
ties " — referring mainly to the writings of Captain 
Edward Johnson — and it aflbrdeda "good illustration 
of some of the peculiarities of the times, and of the 
way in which towns were organized." The town, he 
said, shared largely in the early dangers, and "par- 
took of the prosperit}' of the country." 

The peninsula which is known to us to-day as Charles- 
town was the site of the original settlement of that 
municipality, and territory was added to that small 
tract till the area of many present towns was covered 
by the name of Charlestown. The town of Woburn 
was the first to be set ofl'. Shorn of this external ter- 
ritory in the course of years, Charlestown has again 
shrunken to her original limits, and has lost her name 
also in that of Boston. 

Posterity owes a great debt to the perseverance of 
the first .settlers of Woburn and to Edward Johnson, 
the leader, who patiently recorded the story of their 
labors. No fuller account of the origin and settle- 
ment of a town of equal age has been given in the 
annals of New England. His history is now the basis 
of many writers on historical and political science, 
when treating of the New England people. Froth- 
ingham called him " the father of Woburn." He was 
a native of Kent, of the parish of Heme Hill, in 
England. He was connected intimately with a place 
called Waterham, in that parish in the old country, 
where he left possessions mentioned in his will. 
Captain Johnson was a citizen of Charlestown after 
1630, and returning to P^ngland, brought over on his 
second passage from that country his family, consist- 
ing of his wife, his seven children and three servants. 
This is supposed to be about 1G3G or 1(537. At 
Charlestown, says Frothiugham, " he lived in Bow 
Street," anciently Crooked Lane, the location of his 
houses and gardens being verified in Hunnewell's 
Century of Tiiinn Life, plans, pp. 108, 129. "Yet," 
says Frothinghani, " it is strange that the name of so 
noted a civilian and religionist is not found in the 
church records at all, nor on the town records before 
1640, except in divisions of lands and in a description 
of his property, where he is styled captain." As we 
have intimated, he was " the author of the vei'y curious 
work entitled Wrmilcr- Working Providence of Zion'n 
Saviour " (I^ond. 1604), " a relation of the first plant- 
ing of New England." From the outset he took a 
•leading part in the settlement of Woburn, and at the 
first meeting of the commissioners for the purpose 
presented a plot of the contemplated town and was 
chosen its recorder or clerk. He was active in lound- 
ing the church and was the lirst captain of the mili- 
tary company at Woburn. He was a man of much 



influence in the Colony at large, held many oflBces, 
and died April 23, 1672.' 

Edward Converse, another citizen of importance 
among the settlers, was the first ferryman at Charles- 
town, and a selectman there from 1(135 to 1640. At 
Woburn he built and occupied the first house erected 
in the town and was the owner of the mill. These 
buildings were at what is now Winchester Centre. 
He represented Woburn in the General Court in 1660 
and died Aug. 10, 1663. Frothinghani states that be 
left an estate valued at £827 5,«. 6(/. to his wife, his 
three sons and daughter. He was of Charlestown in 
1630. (See Frothingham, Hist. C, 78.^) 

Thomas Graves, the rear-admiral, was a prominent 
character among the settlers also. His farm was lo- 
cated in North Winchester, near present Montvale. 
The celebrated John Harvard or Mrs. Harvard had a 
lot laid out near (120 acres) which was sold to 
Thomas Graves. — Winchester Record, ii, frontispiece, 
and pp. 15, 21. 

The names of the seven commissioners for the 
founding of Woburn were: Edward Johnson, Edward 
Converse, Thomas Graves, John Mousall, and the 
brothers, Ezekiel, Thomas and Samuel Richardson. 

Notes. — The Cditntv of Kent whenle Cai-tain Kuwaru .roiiNSo.i 
CAME IN England.— The obligations of Nbw Eiiglaml to tlio county of 
Kent is the (jtUiject of an address by (ieorge F. Iloar, before the A »ii-r. 
Anliq. Soc. (Worcester), 18S5. Kent, from the earliest historic period, 
says ttiis writer, was the " England of England," and reniurkaMe for 
the courage and warlike quality of its people, for their tenacity in 
clinging to their own customs and for the part their customs have 



t Edward Johnson was probably the best known citizen of the town 
in his time in the Commonwealth. His fame extended even in his life- 
time to England, where an English squire printed in London !iis 
unique and valuable " History of New England "' a.s his own proiluction. 
For nuiny years the fraud upon the laVwr and brains of our worthy 
town father passed unrecognized ; but posterity now recognizes its true 
source, and his name and fame are assured aa the author of that earlv 
New England history. He was a pioneer explorer of the forest, and in 
connection with one expedition his initials were cut in a rock at tlie out- 
let of Lake Winnepesaiikee, and are still to be seen. As a deputy from 
Woburn in the General Court he was appointed to servo with tiie most 
distinguished men of the Colony on important committees, ami it 
would be easy to enumerate from the colony records a long list of his 
services. This has lieen already done by the present writer in a lecture 
before the Rumford Historical .\ssociati'>ri, on April S, I.SS7, a copy of 
which lecture in manuscript is in the archives of that society. Johnson 
was a lieutenant, lti44, and captain, irt.5(t. After his decease the (.Jen- 
eral ('ourt pronounced an opinion on him as a local historian, by men- 
tioniiig his name with others of the highest repute. There is no stone 
to mark his grave and the spot is forgotten. For early sketches of 
•fohnson, see N. H. Hist. Soc. Coll. (Concord, 18:H), iv. ; 0>luinbian Venti- 
ud, June 16, ISl'.i, copied, with a few alterations, into Farmer and 
MooT^^i Cull. (IS22), article by Jolin Farmer. Also among a great many 
other notices, one in the Wincheslfr Recird, i. 41-47. 

- Edward Converse and two others, in Ui:i-"i, made the first exploration 
authorized by Charlestown, into the country. His ferry Wiia where 
Charles Kiver Bridge now is, and was established in lt>;;l. He wait a 
memberof Woburn Church from the beginning and a deacon in it, one 
of the tirst two till his death. Selectman from the first choice, 1644, till 
his decease. He was evidently a power in all those early enterprises. 
Of. Frothinghani, Hiat of C, C.'>, 94-5 ; Sewall's Woburn, 72-3 ; Winches- 
ter Record, i., 22i-43, 247-59 ; ii., 208-22. For criticism of genealogi- 
cal position in ib., ii., 208-22, see N. E. HUt. Gen. Reg., xli., 344. Some 
curious minor references to Converse, before lGi2, are found in Colony 
Rec, vol. I. and ii. 



340 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



pliij'ml ill llif liistoiy ul liheity. blarkBtone has BaicI, " Wlieii lihoi'ty 
(lies out, it will ^ive ilH Itist groan iiriiorij; the ytonicu ol' Kent ! " The 
county of Kent is the home of the original Yankee, and the peojile who 
emigrated thom-e to New England were the "Yankees of the Yankeee." 
The following iiersons i:unnecled » ith Ihe early history of Wohuru 
were certainly from Kent, and their names were of Kentish origin : Kd- 
ward Johnson, Thonum Graves, Joliji Monsall, Isaac Cole, Zachariah 
Symmes, Daniel (Jookin and Simon Willard. Thus three of the seven 
commissioners for the settlement of the town were from Kent. 

Early Explorations and Map.s. — The first 
recorded exploration of this vicinity was iu 1021, 
when an exploring party from Plymouth entered 
Boston Harbor and made an excursion into the inte- 
rior in the direction of the present localities of Med- 
ford and Winchester. It is doubtful if they ijuite 
reached the latter place, ttlthough their explorations 
extended to the vicinity of Mistick Pond. Cf. on this 
subject the Mem. Hist, of Boston, i. 6.3, etc., and the 
authorities there mentioned. It is probable, also, 
that the few white settlers scattered about the site ol 
Boston from 1623-24 to 1629 (see account in the 
Narr. and Crit. Jfist. of America, iii. 311) had an ac- 
quaintance, more or less superficial, witli this neigh- 
borhood. The principal immigration from Enghiud 
was between the years 1030 and 1640, and after 1630 
the knowledge of the territory adjacent to the princi- 
pal settlements increased and was becoming consid- 
erable by 1633, from the evidence shown by two maps 
of this section of that date, one being recently 
discovered, i. e., the Winthrop map, the other being 
Wood's rjap. The Winthrop is evidently the older, 
and Wood's was apparently made from it. Gov. John 
Winthrop was the namesake of one and William 
Wood, author of jVeu) Enyland's Prospeti (Loud. 1634). 
of the other. Wood's work is the earliest topcigrai)!)- 
ical account of ■Massachusetts. The Winthrop map 
is minutely described in the recently puiilished Narr. 
and Crit. Hist, of America, iii. 381, which expresses 
the opinion that the topography corresponds with 
Wood, if both are not drafted from an earlier map, 
the result of a previous survey. They are crude 
drawings. Spot Pond, Mistick Pond and Horn Pond 
are named on both maps. Horn Pond is the name 
given to a pond which is plainly Spy Pond, in Arling- 
ton, and the true Horn Pond is not represented. The 
use of its name, however, shows that the cognomen 
is of greater anti(iuity than the town itself and older 
even than the year 1638, when it was used iu the de- 
scription of the Waterfield lots. The map-makers of 
1633 evidently did not have an intimate acquaintance 
with the actual pond, or they would not have left it 
out of their maps. It is presumed that the whites had 
by that time penetrated to it and named it. Horn 
Pond Mountain, though unnamed, is shown as a hill 
in Winthrop's map, and three small ponds are repre- 
sented uear, intended to be the ponds iu Winchester, 
known as Wedge and Winter Ponds. The Mistick 
Pond is stated on tlie Winthrop map to be sixty fathoms 
deep ; Fresh Pond, Cambridge, forty fathoms deep. On 
that map is a stream representing the Aberjona River 
as unnamed and as leading into the country. 



Spy Pond, in Arlington, has been called by that 
name since 1656, and references to it by that name are 
frequent in that century. On Aug. 15, 1716, news 
was brought that the celebrated Cotton Mather, while 
fishing on Spy Pond in a ticklish boat, fell into the 
water, but was not hurt from the bath. See Narr. and 
Crit. Hist, of Amer., iii. 347; Seira/l's Diary (M. H_ 
('.), 5th ser. i. 482, ii. 15*, iii. 98; Cultrr's Arli>i</ton, 
9, 20. 

EXTRACIS FROM THE FiRST VOLUIME OF THE 

Chablestown Records Relating TO the Early 
Plantation of Woburn.' 

1633. Any of the inhabitants have liberty to go with- 
out the town neck to build, aud grounds areallowed to 
three individuals, aud another tract to one of them, 
provided he plow it up in four years. The parties 
were Nowell, Beecher and Wade. 

1635. Edward Converse, William Brackenbury 
and Mr. Abraham Palmer were desired to go up into 
country upon discovery three or four days, for which 
they were to be satisfied at the charge of the town. 
('/'. Frotliiiigham'a Charltstown, 65 ; Charlestown Rec- 
ords, i. 18, 23, 24, etc. In this year an order was 
passed adverse to granting house-plots outside the 
neck. The order of the General Court is copied 
that Charlestown bounds shall extend eight miles 
into the country from their meeting-house. — Col. 
Kec., i. 168; the order was dated March 3, 1635-6. 
The following year (1636) grants were made to the 
brothers Ezekiel and Thomas Richardson, and to 
Thomas Pierce, outside the neck and near Cambridge 
line. Five hundred acres were also reserved to 
further the Hax trade. 

1638. Other lands to the amount of three hun- 
dred acres were reserved outside the peninsula's 
limits, and among them the Waterfield lots above 
Jlr. Cradock's farm, or Medford, "to remain in the 
town's hands for the supply of such as may come 
with another minister." In this year Edward Con- 
verse and Ezekiel Richardson were desired to lay out 
a highway over the meadow at th? head of the North 
River, on Mistick Side, Maiden, and a record was 
taken (1638) of all such houses and lands as were 
possessed by the inhabitants, including the Water- 
field allotments, or the locality now covered by Win- 
chester and Woburn. These were divided among 
them " by a joint consent, after the General Court had 
settled their bounds by granting eight miles from the 
old meeting-house into the country Northwest-north- 
erly, aud the bounds of the said town lying or being 
betwixt Cambridge, alias Newton, on the West -south- 
west and Boston land on the east, as it appears upon 
record by the several grants of General Courts to all. 
aforesaid bounds." The Boston land is that on the 
Maiden side, or more properly that adjoining Chelsea 
and Revere — by Maiden, Everett and Maiden are 
meant. Waterfield is explained by a map and de- 

■From tho iibslr»ct« e.\ecuted 1853-54, by ThoDiaa B. Wyman. 



WOBURN. 



:mi 



sci'iptioii in the Winchcsft)- Record, ii. (1880) where 
the a|)proxim;ite location in 1638 of the lots granted 
to the CharleStown residenls in the limits of Wo- 
burn is shown, i'our years before the incorporation, 
and two years at least before the actual settlement 
of the town was begun. Some remarks on this 
subject are published also in the same volume of the 
Record, 394-98. VVaterfield, therefore, meant Wo- 
burn, or a locality in ancient Charlestown em- | 
bracing the vicinity about Horn I'ond and the greater 
portion of Wincliester. The name does not a|ipear ol 
long continuance. E. F. Johnson, first mayor ol 
Wobnrn, in his inaugural address, 1889, alludes to 
Waterfield, as follows : " In ward one were laid out 
fully four years before the incorjioration of the town, 
the Waterfield lots, so called, which were the first 
possessions of civilized man within the present 
limits of the city." 

So the votes go on through 1638 and '39, and Ed- 
ward Converse is a figure in them. The " Rocks " 
are mentioned as a locality in 164<i. On the 4th 
of the 9th month, 1640, the committee appointed 
to set the bounds betwi.xt Charlestown and the Vil 
lage, afterwards called Woburn, and to appoint the 
place for the village, was chosen by the body of the 
freemen. The number of this committee was thir- 
teen. It included the following names: Captain 
Robert Sedgwick, Thomas Lynde, Edward Converse, 
Ezekiel Richardson, John .Mousall, Jlr. Thomas 
Coytemore, Samuel Richardson, Francis Willonghby, 
Abraham Palmer, Mr. Thomas Graves, Ralph Sprague, 
Edward Johnson and Robert Hale. These on occa- 
sion were to advise with Mr. Nowell, the magistrate, 
and the elders or ministers, in any diffienlties they 
meet with. 

It is a noteworthy fact that the name of Captain 
Robert Sedgwick, in whose honor Woburn was named, 
from his abode or birth-place in the old country, 
should head the list of this committee to select the 
site, and determine the bounds of the new town in 
1640. It is also significant that this committee 
headed by him should select the spot for the village 
(Nov. 17, 164tl) near the sitewhere the meeting-house 
was afterwards erected, or the present Woburn 
Centre. Thomas Graves and others were in favor 
of a site at the ea.sterly side of the town, at present 
Montvale, and secured a favorable recognition ol 
their plan to the extent of laying the s[>ot out (Feb. 
In, 1640-41), but a ('harlestown committee headed by 
Nowell and Sedgwick advised (Feb. 29, 1640-41) 
"to remove the house lots and place for the 
meeting-house" to the place that the original 
committee had selected, or Woburn Centre. Sedg. 
wick, therefore, was again influential in assuring 
this .site for the town's village. He was a moving 
spirit in the enterprise always, and the town was fitly 
named in his honor. Edward Johnson, whose. lands 
were at the extreme westerly side of the town, was 
also more favorable to the centre site, than to one so 



distant. These facts are ably presented in the 
Winchestrr Record, ii. 397-98. On the 8th of the 
10th month, 1640 (Dec. 8, 1640), a committee was 
chosen to join with the villagers, on Charlestown's 
behalf, tb " compound any dirterences" that may occur. 
The members of this committee were Mr. Nowell, 
Thomas Lynde, Abraham Palmer, Richard Sprague, 
Ralph Sprague, Robert Hale, Francis Willoughby, 
Ralph Mipusall, William Stilson and Robert Sedgwick. 
The further references to Woburn in volume one 
of the Charlestown reconls relate to the bounds (1643, 
1650), to land grants (1(143, '47, '48, '49, '50, '52), and 
to the laying out of a highway from Woburn to 
Mistick Bridge, or Medford. With modernized 
spelling, this extract is as follows : 

llim. Vol. i, p. 137. Tbo mil clay of the Itlli month, IWO. We, 
whose namp.s are hereunto .snbsiTihed, viz., from Cbarle-^towri, Solomon 
Phips. Kichard Lowden anil William Symines; from Aletlfonl, Thomas 
Eames; from Wobnrn, Michael Bacon, .losiah Converse ; bein^ deputed 
by the several places wberennto we belong, a committee to lay out a 
country highway, viz,, from Woburn to iMistick Bridge: We do unani- 
mously determine the highway to lie as followeth : viz. — That highway 
which hitherto liatii been used comuionly near Wobnrn nieeting-house,^ 
that now is to Edward Converse's mill,- to be full four poles in breadth, 
and so to remain where it hath been unto the parting of the ways of 
the Converses and Kichardsons to their now dwelling-houses;-' and the 
way to run along upon a brow * until yoi» come to a bridge » made at a 
place called Halfway Swamp,^ holding four poles breadth from the trees 
marked " on the southwest side ; and from the fore-mentioned bridge to 
run east and by sorith a.*i doth ai)peiir by frees marked on the south 
side, until you come to a valley,'^ where the highway is bounded by a 
way formerly used,'' until you come to a i>ine tree, which standetli in 
the middle of the way, a-s by the marks on each side I" doth appear. 
.\nd llienco to run south and by east until you come to the highway 
now used, that is. by the mill-pond to the mill :" where is a white imk 
marked, north and south, being in the middle of the way. And thence 

in a way [that] hath commonly been used, over a place called 

Bridge.^- From which bridge, still to keep the old way and the fore- 



1 On tlie couiuion at Woburn Centre. 

■- .\t Winchester t'entre, site of the present Whitney mill. 

■'Or to the corner of I'ross Street, lu- its e<|uivalent, the main highway 
being Main Street from Woburn (Auumon to that point. Oross Street 
was the way to the Ricliardsotis (on Uiehardson's Row, or W'ashington 
Street, Winchester), and the ways lo the Converses (at Winchester 
Centre), were by some etiuivalent of jiresent Main Street, or by a way 
through Pond, ('ambridge anil Church Sti-eeta (Winchester) — the last 
two being "Plain .Street" and *' Driver's Lane." 'I'o Cross Street the 
way appears to he an old one in use from the beginning of the first 
settlement (jirobably the one laid out in HUfi, the report being lost), and 
from Cro.ss Street the way onwards to Winchester appears in some parts 
to be new (ir.ti i). 

* Description of its present pas.sage through Cutter's Village. 

s Evidently over the oiitlel of Horn Pond at that village. 

6 Halfway Swamp is the low tract at Winchester Centre, now and 
for many years past covered by water by the raising of Whitney's dam, 

".Marked or " blazed " trees; practically a forest path. "On the 
soillhwi'St side," means, on the southwest side of the highway, t, e., the 
marked trees, in this instance, stood on that side of the highway. 

s Evidently near the present bridge over the outlet of Wedge Pond." 

'•"' Improved" is the word in the original. This is evidence that an 
older way formerly e.\i8ted, on this route, from Cross Street to the pres- 
ent centre of Winchester. 

'"That is, liy the marks [on trees) on each side of the highway. 

" t'onverse's mill. 

1'- Blank Bridge in the original. This bridge is supposerl to be over the 
outlet of a pond which existed on the site of the present Sanilerson's 
store. 

■ Crossing Main Street at right angles, it ran back of the houses of 
Messrs. P. W, Swan and Edmund Sanderson, — M'inchi;sti:r l!>cind (1885), 
i. '28U. 



342 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



mentioned breadtb, until you come to an inclosure, pertaining to Ed- 
ward Converse, wliere by a tree marked Buutliward, the way runs di- 
rectly from that tref unto the eastermoat corner of his old orchard, 
and theuce over the niiU-dain, east and by south, until you come 
to a tree marked southwest ; and then to run southerly in the way 
formerly used, until you come to the highway leading to 'Notomie's 
Ware [Weir] ; > and thence to run east and hy south, until you come 
to a place called Bare Hill,- the foot of that hill bounding the [high- 
way] ; [p. I'.iH] and thence to a tree marked west ; and so along to a 
place called Elbow Ilill,^ the foot of which bill, on the easterly side 
bounds the way westward. And thence to run along over the swamp 
called Halfway Swamp,* between two ways formerly improved, as by 
marked trees is manifest. From the swamp, until you come to Mistick 
Bridge, the way, from one end unto the other, [is] agreed to be four 
poles i n breadth ; and accordingly bounded on the north with marked trees. 
[Report signed by] Solomon Phips, Richard Lowden, William Symmes, 
Thumas Eanies [mark : T. E.], Josiah Converse, Michael Bacon. 

This was evidently the re-laying out of an old way, 
which had existed for some time. The account of a 
former laying out is preserved in the Woburn records, 
i. (», but no report appears with it. On September 
14, 1(346, it is stated that Edward Converse and Sam- 
uel Richardson were appointed by Woburn "to lay 
out a highway between this town and Mistick 
Bridge"; they "being joined " in the work "with 
some of Charlestown and some of Mistick Houses," 
or Medford. This committee was constituted in the 
same manner as the later committee of 1660. There 
can be no doubt that they performed their duties, 
and that the highway had existed before 1646 — even 
so early, probably, :is August,' 1641, when a bridge 
was built with great pains over the Horu Pond River, 
evidently the one referred to in the document above 
presented.^ 



1 Menotomy, now Arlington. The weir referred to was located on 
the Mistick River at the point where the road from Medford to Arling- 
ton passes. The bridge here being called the Weir Bridge for a long 
period. Here in ancient times vast quantities of fish were caught. The 
highway above described waa probably a shorter cut to present Grove 
street. 

"The long height extending across the easterly side of Winchester, 
and lying partly in Stoneham. 

^ElhowIIill, a neighlioring height of the former. Supposed to be 
the height latterly called Ridge Hill," but now mostly dug down. The 
Winchester Unitarian Church edifice occupies a part of the spot. 

^The location of this part of Halfway Swamp is already described in 
the last part of the preceding paragraph as the low tract of ground 
below Symnies's corner, now occupied for agricultural purposes by 
Marshall Synuiies. The way from this point to Medford or Mistick 
Bridge, was by the street caHc'd on tbw present maps by the name of 
Woburn Street, and thonce by High Street in Medford to present Mis- 
tick or Mudl'ord Bridge. Another way to accomplish the same object 
was a longer route by present Grove Street. This was the ancient way. 
mentioned in the Symmes plan of 1705, as the "county road to Cam- 
bridge." It was also th& way to the Weir Bridge, between present Med- 
fori! and Arlington, also to Menotomy, or Arlington itself; Arlington 
being originally a part of Cambridge principally, the part of that town 
nearest Mistick Rivor and I'ond being a portion of Charlestown, — the two 
parts together formed a diKtrict named Menotomy, from the Indian name 
of the river separating Arlington and Cambridge. 

&The appearance of the spot where this way once led in Winchester, 
is much changed. A body of water now covers a large portion, which 
was then dryland. The water was then confined to the channel of 
the Aberjona, and to the channel of two streams, the outlet of Horn 
Pond and Wedge Pond. These smaller streams united in one stream 
before they entered the Aberjona River, across which Converse'sdam was 
built. 



» Cf. Wiixh. liec. i. 114, 208. The name was extant in 1766. 



Some help is gained in tracing this way on Thomp- 
son's road-map of 1797. The points shown on these 
comparatively recent maps demonstrate that the situ- 
ation in 1794 and 1797 was practically unchanged 
from 1660. There is a good description of Main 
Street in the Winchester portion, in the Winchestfr 
Recordy i. 280, and a number of important historical 
facts are there stated. The author of that descrip- 
tion has furnished valuable aid in locating for our 
use the channels of these streams. Further aid in 
.showing the old channels is found on a plan of the 
Abel Richardson farm, by Loammi Baldwin, Jr., 18;-!5. 
The same situation of the channels is also shown on a 
much smaller scale in the plans of the town made for 
the first and secoDd State maps of 1794 and 1832. 

Plans Uluslruliug the present ctfxtre of Winchester, showin;i the past posi- 
tion of the Slrearna a»d main road. The first two are loaned through the 
rourtesy of Mr. Arthur E. Whitney, as they illustrate the history of bis 
mill privilege, and were copied by his direction for that juirpose. 

1. Plan of the Abel Richardson Farm, Woburn, owned by S. S. 
Richardson, contains 39 acres. Surveyed and drawn by L. Baldwin, 
-Jr., October, 1835. 

2. A second plan, undated, of the same spot, including Wedge Pond, 
<h"awn about 18fi3, shows the manner of entrance at that date of Horn 
Pond River into Wedge Pond, a former inlet into the outlet of Wedge 
Pond from Horn Pond outlet being at that time obliterated {see plan 
tinder 1) ; the channels of Aberjona River and of the streams easterly 
of the present roadway of Main Street being obscured by the height of 
water, which covers nearly as much territory as it does now. 

3. A plan of Woburn, surveyed in " October and September," 17'.i4, 
on the scale of 200 rods to one inch, by Samuel Thompson, surveyor, 
seGfacaimile in Winch. Rec, ii. 286. This was the plan of the town made 
for the first State map of 1794. 

4. Plan of the town of Woburn, on a scale of 100 rods to one inch, in 
<'ompliance with a resolve of the Legislatui-e passed on the Ist day of 
March, A.n. 1830. Surveyed by Bartholomew Richardson, 1831 — see 
facsimile ia Winch. Jiec. ii. 417. This was the plan of the town mai-e 
for the second Slate map of 1832. 

5. A road map by Samuel Thompson, Esq., of date about 1797, enti- 
tled, " Road to Woburn : plan of road, two routes (through Woburn) ; 
one from Charles Bridge (Boston) to Billerica line." The other route 
begins at the "Powder House" (in Somerville). and pa^^ses through 
present Arlington (the part formerly a part of Charlestown), the westerly 
parts of Winchester and Woburn, and into Burlington by present meet- 
inghouse to Billerica line also. The distances are given in rods. The 
original is in jiossession of the M'oburn Public Library — Thompson Plans. 

6. A plini of Symmes Farm, 1705, by Joseph Burnap, surveyor. On 
this ia the following inscription : " These plans contain Captain William 
Symmes's farm in Charlestown ; his Bare Meadow ; his marsh at Menot- 
omy ; and a parcel of swamp that joins the farm, now in the po.ssession 
of John Francis; (also) the lines of Mrs. Marj' Torrey's thirds of the 
several parcels of land as they were set off. . . . The mareh mny be 
drawn too near the farm, yet it lieth at Menotomy by old Mr, Fille- 
brown's and Mr. Nathaniel Cutter's. Finished 3d July, 1705. Josepli 
Burnap, surveyor." On the plan of the farm proper are shown such 
well-known landmarks as the river (Aberjona), the county road, roail to 
Charlestown, co»inty road to Cambridge, road to Mr. Gardner's, Mr. 
Gardner's corner, Mr. Gardner's farm, (he upper end of Mistick Pond. 
The county road from Woburn Centre is seen crossing a part of tliis 
farm, from the junction of present Main and Washington Streets in 
Winchester to present Symmes's corner. The county road to Cambridge 
is seen branching off from this road at Symmes's corner in a way anal- 
ogous to Grove Street, while the road to Charlestown crossing a plot 
called Mr. Symmes's 8wamp,continues on in the direction of Medford 
village to Charlestown. The Bare Meadow plot would imply a connec- 
tion with Bare Hill. Thy ma)"sh at Menotomy, near old Mr. Fillebrown's 
and Nathaniel Cutter's, is, as implied in the inseriplion, at some distance 
from the farm, being located in present Arlington on the ancient Menot- 
omy Riyer or present Alewife BrooU.^ The swamp that joined the farm, 

« Cf. Cutter's OuUer Family of New England, 35, 376 ; Cutter's Arlington , 



wo BURN. 



34:^ 



< itileii in the pian Mr. Symmea's swiinip, lot'ateil beluw Syminea'a coruer 
in the dire^'tiun of Medford — on tlie north of the highway to Sledford 
or Oharlestown from that point, — it» the low gronnd lienoniinated a part 
of the Halfway awanip in the description of the Wohurn and Medford 
highway in IIHIO, being considered a part of the low tract palled Half- 
way swamp covering a large part of tlie [iresent centre of Winchester, 
as described in previons pages. 

In 1640 the General Court, on petition of the town 
of ChailesUiwn, granted, on Jlay 13th, "two miles at 
their headline, provided it fall not within the bounds 
of Lynn Village," and they "build within two years"; 
iu other words, lay the foundation of a ni'w town, 
which was called Woburn. Another grant was made 
October 7th, in addition to the former, "of four miles 
square, to make a village"; 500 acres of this to be 
given to Mr. Thomas C'oytemore. In these grants 
"Cambridge line" was not to be crossed, nor were 
the bounds to "come within a mile of Shawshin 
River." The "great swamp and pond" were to lie 
in common. This, according to the records, was in- 
tended "to accommodate such useful men as might 
settle and form a village for the improvement of such 
remote lands as are already laid out." Three thou- 
sand acres also were laid out at the head of the new 
grant, betwixt Cambridge line and Lynn bounds, "to 
remain as their upper land, to accommodate with 
farms there, such as they shall have occasion." 
Frothingham mentions the repeal of an existing law, 
providing that no immunity should be granted a new 
plantation, but we fail to lind the verification of this 
statement in the published records of the General 
Court. This, if true, was evidently for the sake of 
aUbrding this particular enterprise substantial en- 
couragement on the part of the general government. 
Immunity, was, however, granted to "Charlestown 
Village," afterwards Woburn, "for two years' exemp- 
tion from public rates," on such stock as they had 
there "only." — Cf. Frothingham's Ctiarlestown; vol. 
i. of the Chiirleslown Records, 41, 51-2; Colony lie- 
cords, i. 290, .306, 32!), 330. 

The bounds between Charlestown and the Village, 
it was determined, should be from the " partition o! 
the ponds" to the northwest corner of Jlr. Cradock's 
farm (Mistick or Medford) and thence to that part of 
Lynn Village (since called Reading) that turns from 
Charlestown headline by a straight line; provided 
that this line should be half a mile from the lots in 
the nearest place. That the lands'of the village bor- 
dering upon the Common may have "benefit of com- 
mon" for milch and working-cattle. The village was 
to allow, also, so much land "a.s shall be taken in," 
more than the straight line; besides "the 3000 acres." 
Also that the place of the village meeting-house 
should be "above the head of the old bounds, near 
against Robert Cutler's." This agreement from the 
Charlestown records was assented to in p.art, but 
"afterwards denied." It was the action of the com- 



212 ; Paige's Ctimhridge, 544 ; Wyinau's Charlestown Genealogies, 346, 927, 
930. 



mittee of thirteen, originally chosen to conduct the 
affair of establishing the bounds "betwixt (Charles- 
town and the Village, and to ai^point the place for 
the village." 
The foregoing matter calls for a few words of— 
Exi'LAXATiON. — The "partition of the ponds." 
Mistick Pond, in its division or separation from the 
upper ponds, such as Wedge, Winter and Horn Ponds. 
This line was also the "head of the old bounds," and 
the line of division between Woburn and Charles- 
town till 1842. It was a little north of the Win- 
chester and Arlington line (1850 to pre.sent time), a 
part of West Cambridge, now Arlington, being taken 
to form the town of Winchester. 

Reading bounds. The line here turned at Charles- 
town headline, or uppermost bounds, and continued 
by a straight line, which is in part the bounds between 
Woburn and Reading to-day, across the present Wil- 
mington, till five miles were accomplished in a north- 
westerly direction, and Andover line was reached. 
This line was to be located half a mile from the near- 
est lots, the space between being reserved as common 
land; and such land as should be taken in, more than 
the straight line allowed, .should be added by the 
village to the common lands. 

Robert Cutler's lot, near where the meeting-house 
was to be, being above the head of the old bounds, or 
the bounds before the new grants were made, would 
be near, and the meeting-house where the present 
Common is at Woburn Centre. This lot was a large 
one, just north of that spot, according to the ma]) of 
the Waterfield grants of 1638. The present Common 
is included apparently in George Bunker's lot on that 
map. Bunker afterwards gave his lot, a very large 
one, to the town, and this gift was the origin of the 
town's title in part to the Common, to Meeting-house 
Hill and other lands adjacent. He was the person 
after whom Bunker's Hill on the Charlestown penin- 
sula was named, and we think that Common street in 
Woburn should be changed to the name of Bunker 
street, in honor of this early l)enef:tctor. The phrase, 
moreover, that the location of the meeting-house 
should be " near against " Robert Cutler's lot, which 
it would certainly be in the position on the present 
Common, further confirms the idea that its location 
was intended to be on an adjacent lot, which lot, as 
we have shown, happened to be Bunker's lot, on 
•which it was eventually built and stood till 1672. 
This site was also the choice of Sedgwick and his 
committee, and the spot where the meeting-house 
stood was also the location of the village of the town. 
The matter of the Woburn line not coming within 
a mile of the Shawshin River in Billerica, is treated 
in the lately published history of that town, whose 
author infers that Woburn was eager to obtain for 
herself the tract between the line and the river; but 
his inferences, we think, were not those of the found- 
ers of the two settlements. 
The " great swamp," mentioned in the early grant, 



344 



HISTOKY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



was the irreat Cedar Swamp in Wilmington ; and the 
" pond " was Horn Pond. ]5oth were to lie in com- 
mon, or in other words, to be public property from 
the beginning. 

Thc300() acres at the head of the newgrant, so called, 
were located in Wilmington. This remote territfiry 
bore the name of "Nod," or the "Land of Nod," and 
though belonging to Charlcstown, was under the jur- 
isdiction of Woburn. Frothingham, Hist, of C, 
under the subject of Woburn, gives a history of this 
tract, which was appropriately named, as it was 
neither remarkably fertile nor valuable. 

Coytemore's grant of ."JOO acres was laid out against 
the Billerica line, and was eventually added by pur- 
chase to the Wymans' farm in the same locality, 
which, containing the same amount of land, was a 
source of agitation to the Wymans and their neigh- 
bors in Billerica; the Wymans being forced, from 
the nearness of their situation to that town, to pay 
dues for the maintenance of Billerica as well as for 
their own town of Woburn. Cf. Sewall's Woburn, 
35, 3G. 

Cambridge line, which was " not to be crossed," 
embraced in 1G40 the lines in the direction of Wo- 
burn of the present towns of Billerica, Bedford and 
Lexington. 

Lynn Village of KHO was soon called Reading, and, 
so far as the present bounds of Woburn are concerned, 
is the present Reading. Tlio town of Wilmington, 
incorporated 17.30, was formed of parts of Woburn 
and Reading. The former boundary line extended 
through it in a northwesterly direction, and about 
two-thirds of its territory was originally included in 
Woburn. , 

The position of Oharlestown head-line. This 
was the limit of ('harlestown's boundary, and lier 
.3000 acres were located outside it. The position was 
determined by the fact that Charlestown's lines or 
bounds should extend eight miles into the country 
from the Charlestown meeting-house (1635), or eight 
miles into the country northwest-northerly, from their 
old meeting-house. This line was sometimes men- 
tioned as the eight-mile line, and its termination 
showeil the position of the head-line. This head-line, 
as thus deterniiued, was at the limit of the two-mile 
grant ; and to this the four-mile square grant was 
added; and 3000 acres additional were laid out at 
the head of that, adding another two miles to the six- 
already granted. The head-line w.as an extension of 
the head-line of present Stoneham across the original 
territory of Woburn. The head or eight-mile line, 
however, came a little above or beyond the present 
centre village of Woburn, in passing across the town 
from east to west. It would include, therefore, ail 
the lots shown on the map of the Waterfield lots ; and 
the two-mile grant would with pro|)riety be called 
Waterfield, aiTd be the Waterfield of the fathers. 

In the description of the bounds between Woburn 
and Lynn Village, now Reading (1044), they were to 



begin at the little brook in Parley JMeadow, where it 
begins to turn upward toward the northeast, and so 
(or thus) it says, to abut upon " Charlestown head- 
line;" and thence the line ran north and by west 
into the country {Col. Rer. ii. 75). The 3000 acres 
of land "out of the bounds of Woburn," i. e., at 
the northern extremity of the four-mile grant, were 
to begin (lG.50)"at the uttermost corner northerly 
next Reading line, and so to run southerly along two 
miles deep on the east side of Shawshin line, till the 
full extent of the 3000 acres be out." — Chdrlentown 
Records, i. 91 ; see also Sewall's ^Vllburn, 28-.30, 



where the agreement from 
reproduced entire. 



those records, i. 00-01 , is 




Jl. Tlic two-inilo grunt cifWaterfiHl.!. 

/.'. The four mite sipiare grant. 

C. The .'inon acres, or " Nod." 

•( — h. Oliarletitown Iieaii-liiie, 

c— it. Original Ijonnds. Two miles (2 M.) : Tlie two miles bonndary 
line of rile :jll(ill ftcrey grant. 

I'"lc:. 1. W^lllnr^ and its relation to Charlestown, from Osgood Carle- 
Ion's map of Ma«siiclinsctt.s pnldisheil liy order of the lloneral Oonrt in 
l,SliI.—Seo Mfm. I[ml. J!ml<m, iii. S, 0. The sertion also sliowB the 
towns fornierl.v a pait of Charlestown. Medford, located in tlieir midst, 
was never a part of Charlestown. The appearance was nnieh the same 
in lf:\9. The change in the relation between (•harle3l..wii an.l Wohnrn 
honndaries oecnrred in tS42. 

N. H.— The npper nnmher in each town is the distance from Boston, 
the lower tbe distance' froiii the shire town. 

In 1042 a committee of the General Court was ap- 
pointed to take the length of Charlestown eight-mile 
line by exact measure and to set the bounds between 
the two villages, which were afterwards named Wo- 



wo BURN. 



:!4.") 



burn and Reading. See Misoellasy. These lacts all 
go to show its exact, location, which is given on the 
accompanj'ing map. (See Fig. 1). 

In 104:2, also. Governor Winlhrop writes: "The 
villiige at theend of C'harlestown bounds was called 
Woburn.'" 

The heavy lines on this map of 1801, the earliest 

general map we have found, represent the two-raile 

• grant and the four-mile square grant and the 3000 

acres grant of 1(540; also the position of Charlestown 

he.ad-line, so called, in that year. 

The Story a.s told ix the First Volume oe 
THE WoniRN Records. — These records have already 
been published, and our citizens, therefore, have an 
idea of their nature and value. The volume con- 
tains an account of the early settlement of the town, 
and the facts there given illustrate our previous state- 
ments. 

May 14, l(i40. The "true record'' of the proceed- 
ings of the committee "chosen by the church of 
Charlestown," for the erection of a church and town, 
now called the town of Woburn, commenced, their 
duty in establishing the church and town having been 
performed " by great labor." There is internal evi- 
dence in this paragraph that the original was writ- 
ten after the period to which it relates, or probably in 
1G42. 

In 1640, also, was granted by the General Court, 
the " two miles of land square, to be added at the 
head-line of Charlestown, which accordingly was 
granted, and afterwards was increased to four miles 
square." The evidence of this paragraph would lead 
to the belief that the two-mile grant was included in, 
and a part of the four- mile sipiare grant, based on 
the Charlestown head-line, which extended from the 
northerly bounds of present Stonehara head-line 
across Woburn to present Lexington line. See map 
(Fig. 1). We believe that the position taken in the 
map is right, for the following reasons : 

The e.xact language of the record is this: Charles- 
town is granted their petition, that is, two miles 



1 Hi.^hiiy Afew Eiightnd (ed. 1853), ii. \W (Tolunie paging*. .Imiie^ 
Saviigif, the editor, in a note illustrating tbe text, gives a i;on8idi?ral)le 
account of Thoniaa Carter, (lie first minister, and the iliurcli. The same, 
ii. .Tin, contains a reference to Mr. Carter's at.ilities in a lettei- nf I(;4i', 
On .Vpril 30, li:<t*l, acomniittee \\ii..f appointed to settle the " North and 
hy West line " hetween " Reading lands and the lands of this town of 
Wohilrn." They agreed "to run tive miles from the Corner t)ounds at 
Parley Meadow, according to the order of Mr. George Cooke and Mr. 
John Oliver, to run the north and by west point ;" accordingly the com- 
mittee of both towns "run the five miles, want fifty poles;" which 
fifty poles were afterward "run out '" hyCaptaiu Kdward .fohnson and 
iitliers, *'and so completed the five miles." — tVohitttt Hft'oi'ln, i. 2o. 

For some time uncertainty api)ears to have evjsted as to the precise 
positiiin of the bounds, and in ^f>t<b John Sherman, a surveyor employ- 
ed hy the town, certified that he had measured the bounds of their grant 
of four miles square, and stated that he could not afhrm that they had 
any more land in quantity than the circuit of " four miles square ;" 
not accounting in it " the 3O00 acres on the north side of Reading;" 
ami a committee from the town had accordingly settled the bounds of 
Woburn on the siiles of .\ndover, Reading and Hillerica. — Wnhitni 
It^iiirtU, i. 31. The bounds with t'harlestown had been settled on 
another occasion, after considerable delay (lfi.50). 



at their head-line, provided it fall not within the 
bounds of Lynn Village, and that they build within 
two years" (Cnl. /?cc. i. 290). " Charlestown petition is 
granted them the proportion of four-miles square, ici/h 
their former Inxf (/rmii, to make a village, whereof r)l)0 
acres is granted to Mr. Thomas Coytemore, to be set 
out by the (Jourt, if the town and he cannot agree, in 
which they shall not cross Cambridge line, nor come 
within a mile of Shawshin River, and the great 
sw.amp and pond to lie in common " {CoL Rer. i. 300). 
The italics are ours. It will be noticed that the two- 
mile grant was at the Charlestown head-line; and 
that nothing is said about it.s being beyond or this 
side that line ; also that the second grant was the 
proportion of four-miles square, " with their former 
last grant," making a grant of six miles (4+2) of 
land ; and also that nothing is said in the record 
about the first grant being a " two-miles square " grant. 

Jlay 1.3, 10)40, seven citizens of Charlestown, with 
an artist or surveyor, examined the land lying within 
the " two-miles square," whatever that meant, evidently 
the two-miles wide grant, where the village was after- 
wards located. We do not wish to appear wiser than 
the fathers, but there was evidently some confusion 
on this point of dimensions and bounds even in their 
day. 

Sept. 0, 1640, ('aptain Sedgwick and others went to 
view the bounds between Lynn Village (Reading) and 
this town. Like Jacobites [Gen. 28:11] when night 
drew on, laying themselves down to rest, they "were pre- 
served by the good hand of God, with cheerful spirits, 
though the heavens poured down rain all nii;ht in- 
cessantly." On this occasion they were subjects of a 
" remarkable providence — never to be forgotten." 
Some of the company lying under the body of a great 
tree ; it lying some distance from the earth ; when the 
daylight appeared, no sooner was the last man come 
from under it — when it fell down, to their 
amazement; the company being forced to dig out 
their food, which was caught under it ; the tree 
being "so ponderous," that all the strength they had 
could not remove it. 

Sept. 30, 1640, the parties aforesaid met at Lynn, 
and remained there all night; and, on tbe next day, 
when accompanied by Lynn men to the " confines of 
their bounds," they endeavored to point out to those 
persons the divisional line hetween their " new 
town " (Reading) and " this." On Nov. f) the discov- 
erers were lost " in snow : ' having gone to di.<cover 
the land about the Shawshin River, tbe paity, being 
lost, were forced to lie under the rocks, while the 
rain and snow did "bedew their rocky beds." Dec. 
18, 1640, after certain details of municipal action, the 
first regular meeting of the company to accomplish 
the settlement was held, when Kdward Johnson was 
chosen their recorder, and town orders were adopteil ; 
a day of fast was held on Dec. 22, at the house of one 
of their number, the wives of the members of the 
company also being present. Other meetings follow- 



346 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



ed, and the details of the settlement were soon under 
way.^ 

1 A word In relation to these "town orders," ao called. J. A. Doyle, 
M. A., \u h\s Kuglisk 0}lonu-$ iti Ameriia {^ew York, 1887), vol. iii. (ii. 
of the Puritan ColonioB) p. 10, gives an account of the settlement of 
Woburii, under the general title " Creution of a Town," in which he 
haa selected Woburn as an example. "The author of the Wonder- 
working Providence," he says, "has left a riiiiiute account of the manner 
in which his own town, M'ohuru, came into being. A tract of four 
miles s(juare wiiB set off by the iieueral Tourt, and vested in seven nien 
on the undeititanding that they M-ould build houses and create a town. 
To this end they were empowered to grant land to individuals. Sixty 
families were soon gathered together. The seven grantees were allowed 
to exercise a certain amount of choice, excluding all who were ' exorbi- 
tant and of a turbulent spirit, unfit for civil society.' Each inhabitant 
received two plots of land — one, the home lot of meadow in the neigh- 
horliood of the meeting-house ; the other, of ' upland,' further oft", to be 
cleared and tilled. Nearness to the meeting-house was held to enhance 
the value of a home lot, and those who were less favored in this matter 
received a larger share. The corporation, a.H represented by the seven 
trustees, acted as a landlord and received from the original settlers a rent 
of six pence per acre, and from those who came in afterwards a shilling. 
The town itself was not allowed to spring up according to the fancy of 
the inhabitants, but was methodically laid out in streets by the trus- 
tees." 

This isthe substance of the important articles of the "town orders,*' 
and Johnson's description of 1G52 very properly and correctly stated by 
this Oxford writer. He continues: 

" In this case civil union came before ecclesiastical. But before the 
trustees took any steps towards actingon their powers as a corporation, a 
minister was chosen, a ineeting-houae built at public cost, and a church 
formed under a covenant binding its members ' to walk together in thf 
ordinance of the Gospel and in mutual love,' and 'to renounce all errors 
and schisms and by-ways contrary to the hles-sed rules revealed in the 
tiospel.' The seven trustees formed the nucleus of the church as of the 
township. But the two corporations were distinct. Tlie cliurch never 
professed to be co-exteusive with the town, but only received from time 
to time such citizens as of free choice attached themselves to it." 

The " town orders," without the preamble, were as follows: 

[May 13, 1640. First order. For sixpence an acre.] " For the carry- 
ing on common charges, all such persons as shall be thought meet to 
have land and admittance for inhabitants, shall pay for every acre of 
land formerly laid out by Cbarlestown, hut now in the limits of Woburn, 
sixpence ; and for all hereafter laid out, twelvepence." 

[Sectmd order. To return tlieir lots if not improved in 15 months,] 
" Every person taking lot or land in the said town shall, within fifteen 
months after the laying out of the same, build for dwelling thereon, and 
improve the said land, by planting, either in part or in whole, or sur- 
render the same up to the town again ; also they shall not make sale of 
it to any person but such as the town shall approve of." 

[Third order. About fencing.] "That all manner of persons shall 
fence their cattle of all sorts either by fence or keeper ; only it is re- 
quiied all ganlen plots and orchards shall be well enclosed, either hy 
pale or otherwise." 

[Fourth order. About inmates.] *' That no manner of person shall 
entertain inmate, either married or other, for longer time than three 
days, without the consent of four of the selectmen ; every person offend- 
ing in this particular shall pay to the use of the town for every day they 
offend herein, sixpence." 

[Fifth order. About timlier.] *'That no person shall fell or cut any 
young oak like to be good timber under eight inches square upon for- 
feiture of five shillings for every such offence." 

[These per.sons subscribed to these orders.] " Edward Johnson, Ed- 
ward Converse, John IVIouaall, Ezekiel liicbardson, Samuel Richardson, 
Thomas Ki-dianlson, William Learned, James Thompson, John Wright, 
Michael Bacon, John Seers, John Wyman, Francis Wynnin, Benjamin 
Butterfield, Henry Jefts, James Parker, Mr. Thomas Graves, Nicholas 
Davis, Nicholas Trarico, John Carter, James Converse, Daniel Bacon, 
Edward Witin, Henry Baldwin, Francds Kendall, John Tidd, Henry 
Tottingham, Ilichard Lowdeu, William Green, John Russell, James 
Britton, Thomas Fuller." 

NoTK.— Of the :i'2 subscribers to the town orders of Woburn, 1G40, twen- 
ty-seven had died before I70(i. Two died in ITt'O— Richard Lowden, at 
Cbarlestown, in his 88th year, and Henry Jefts, at Billerica. aged about 
94 — and three survived that year. One of the latter, James Parker, 



Between 1G40 and 1642 the following public works 
were accomplished by the community : Feb. 10, 1041 
[1G40-41], the first bridge was laid over Aberjona 
Hiver, at a spot *' over against" Edward Converse's 
house: This bridge was called Cold Bridge, and its 
location was at the present Winchester Centre, Feb. 

died at Groton, in 1701, aged SZ; another Francis Kendall, died at Wo- 
burn, 1708, aged 88 ; and the last survivor, James Converse, died at 
Woburn, 17ir>, " in the 95th year of his age," according to the record* 
upon bis gravestone still standing in our first burying-gronnd. 

A striking connection of the period of 1040 with the present ismade 
thriugh the person of a lineal ilescendant of the last named— the cen- 
tenarian, Joshua Converse, of Woburn. The latter individual was born 
in Woburn in 1707, and died in his native town in the year isiJS, aged 
IMI years and Iii days. A brother of his, Jesse, died in 18G4, when he 
lacked but a few inonth.s of Vieing lOU years old. By means of the life- 
time of an individual who knew both Joshua Converse and bis ancestor, 
James Converse, the last survivor of tlie subscribers of lt;40, a connec- 
tion may be formed through three or four persons between that period 
and the present. When the modern centenarian, Joshua Converse, had 
attained the ago of twenty-four years, Mrs, Rebecca Russell, a grand- J 
daughter of Francis Kendall, died in W<d»urn (1791) aged 96)^ years — I 
the records say 'j9 years, and another authority "about 98 years." She 
was 20 years old in 1715, the year wlien James Converse died, and ]:i 
years old in 1708, the year when her grandfather, Francis Kendall, tbe 
next longest survivor of the subscribers to.the original orders, died. She, 
therefore, was oid enough to have known both these men well, and (o 
have heard intelligently the story of the original settlement of Woburn 
from their lips. She also could have received an account from them, 
had she asked, of the personal appearance of Captain Edward Johnson, 
and the other leading worthies who took part in the tii-st settleiuent, 
and this she coidd have communicated in her old age, bad he wished, to 
Joshua Convei-se, and he, had ojiportunity occurred, could have commu- 
nicated the facts of such interesting nature, to some of ns. But the 
connection, such as we have mentioned, was never known to have taken 
place, and the opportunity is now forever lost I 

Another person, a grandson of John Car.ter, one of the subscribers to 
the town orders of 1040, died in Woburn in 1787, aged 92, or 96 accord- 
ing to the records— the year when Joshua Converse was twenty yearn 
old. This was Samuel Carter, generally known as Captain Samuel 
Carter, and who, residing on the Winchester Hills in the westerly part 
of the town, was a comparatively near neighbor of James Converse, the 
last survivor of the subscriljers of ltj40. Ashe belonged to a fannly of 
considerable prominence in this vicinity, he must have been well known 
to Joshua Converse, and from the nearness of tlie neighborhood an 
intimate acquainlance of the veteran, James Converse, who died in 
171.'i, when the above saiil Samuel Carter was 20 years old. 

The same remarks made in the other case apply to this. But the op- 
portunity is lost. 

After 1774, when Joshua Converse was seven years old, no less than 
70 pei-sons died in Woburn who were alive in 1715, the year when James 
Converse died. Of this number more than a tlozen had reached their 
majority in that year. Many of tlie hitter died at a great age. Four of 
them, containing the names of two of the oldest, do not hear the long- 
stiinding Woburn names, and died here during the war of the Revolu- 
tion, being pi'ohably briMigbt here from other places during that period. 
What traditionary infoituation these persons might have imi)arted is 
probably now all lost or scattered, and this loss magnifies the im|»ort- 
ance of the publication of the records. 

A final curious instance of longevity in the person of one who was 
alive apparently in 1715, but too young then to have known the elder 
Converse intelligently, may be cited in the case of Prince Walker, a 
black man, who died at the almsliouse in Woburn, in 1825, at the age 
of 115yeai'8. His birth is not discovered on the records, but the fact 
that he was thrown on the town of Woburn for support in his latter 
days, shows that be origin;ited in Woburn and was probably a native of 
the town. He had been a slave of the Rev. Timothy W'alker at Con- 
cord, N. II., and having obtained his freedom about 1784 went to An- 
dover, Mass., to live, and eventiuilly returned to Woburn again. That 
he was interviewed by the local antiquaries is evident from the fact 
that one of them, the late Colonel Leonard Thompson, was told by biin, 
i that he (Prince) remembered the Rev. Edward Jackson (of Woburn, 
1729-1754) hearing him repeat the catechism. [See Woburn Journal, 
June l:i, 1884, and Hisf. of Tro6uni, p. 518.] 



WOBURN. 



'M-i 



16, following, there was more laying of bridges, forty 
persons coming to the place where the new village had 
been located on the Feb. 8, previous. These persons 
spent their time in marking trees and laying bridges, 
but with many of them — "the way being so plain 
backward — divers never went forward again." On 
Feb. 8 a place for the village had been selected "on 
the east end of the land " granted to the town. This had 
been accomplished after a two days' search. The de- 
cision was the selection of a majority, but not a 
unanimous choice; on the KUh the laying out was 
Hnished. Two of the principal men, Sedgwick and 
Johnson, were evidently opposed to the site. On 
Feb. 29 a committee, by Charlestown appointed, con- 
sisting of Nowell, Sedgwick and others, advised " to 
remove the house-lots and place for the meeting- 
house " to the place where the village has been ever 
since. March U, 1041 [1640— tl], lots were first laid 
out in the place thus appointed, or at the present 
centre village; and on May 18, 1641, more lots were 
laid out. 

In August, 1641, while things w^ere "going heavily 
on," and many obstacles were in the way, on the 26th 
inst., a bridge, called Long Bridge, was made over 
Horn Pond River; and in spite of the boggy condi- 
tion, and the absorption of much wood before it could 
be made passable, it was tinished and named, as 
above said. The location of this bridge has been a 
matter of controversy [ Winchester Record^ ii. 42i>, iii. 
16] ; but it may reasonably be supposed to have been 
at Winchester, near Cutters' Village, where a bridge 
existed previously to 1660, crossed by a highway in 
use in 1646', if not before 1641. 

First Sermons. — On November 21, 1641, the Rev. 
Zachariah Symmes, of Charlestown, preached his 
first sermon — if not the first sermon — at this town, 
from Jer. 4 : 3. Mr. Carter, first minister, i>reached his 
first sermon in Woburn, December 4, 1641, from Gen. 
22 : encouraging to trust in the Lord for the means. 

Other Events.— On March, 1, 1642 [1641-42], 
the minister's house begun by the people — "means 
very weak." The church was gathered Angnst 14, 
1642, and on November 22. following, the first minis- 
ter was ordained. [The precise time when the first 
meeting-house was built, has not been transmitted; 
the probability is that it was finished about the time 
of Rev. Tliomas Carter's ordination in 1642. — Sew- 
alTs Woburn, 77.] 

After this period the entries are of the nature of a 
regular town record. 

Incorporation. — The town was incorporated 
September 27, 1642. ^ 

' Note on the incorpvralion of titc town. On September 27, 1042, 
CbarleatowQ Village was called V^nimvn.— Cot. Itec. ii. 28. The 
date was September 27, O.S., or October 7, 1042, N.S., or acconlint,' to tlie 
pre8ent style of reckoning. Sewall, by mistake, p. 23, gives this last 
date, October Gtli. Cbickering, Disc, 1S09, p. lo, gives the original 
date wrong (May IH, 1642), the manuscript records not being so clear on 
the subject, as the more recent printed tmes. Sewall, Amer. (Juar. Reg. 
1839, xi. 187, perpetuates the error, and it was continued till 1888, in the 



Two remarkable events, exciting public interest, 
occurred at this period. 

manuals of the General Court. The error in the date asHigned for the 
incorporation of the town was noticed by Frothinghani, Htxt. C, 
1840, p. 107, He gets nearer to the truth, but given the wrung date, or 
September 8, 1642. Poole, W. W. Prov. introd. xci. LStiS, correct:< 
the date, referring, as does Sewall, Hist. Wob., I8G8, p. 2:i, to the Colon;/ 
Records, Bost., 1853, ii. 28. There is no reference to the date of in- 
ci>rporatiou in the early Woburn records. 

DescrijUum of W'-burn Ui lfi52, by Cnpf'iin F.^fw.ird J--hu^nn. From 
bis Wouder-ivorking Proridence (Lond., 16ri4). Ten years had now 
elapsed since the incorporation, " The situation of Ibis town is in tiie 
highest part of the yet peopled laud; near upon the bead springs of 
many considerable rivers or their branches, fls the first rise of IpHwirh 
River and the rise of the Shawshin River, one of the most considerable 
branches of the Merrimac, as also the first rise uf Mistick Kiver and 
I'ouds. It is very full of pleasant springs and great variety of very good 
water, which the summer's heat causeth to be more coo]t;r, and the 
winter's cold maketh more warmer. Their meadows are not large, but 
lie in divers places to particular dwellings, the Hkt^ ilotli their springs- 
Their land is very fruitful in many places, itltliough they have no great 
iinantity of plain land in any one place, yet doth their rocks and swamps 
yield very good food for cattle ; as also they have ma>it and tar for 
shipping, but the distance of place by land causeth them, as yet, to be 
unprofitable. They have great store of iron ore. Their meeting-house 
stands in a small plain where four streets meet. The people ure very 
laborious, if not exceeding, some of them.'"— H". IK. Prot\, quoted in 
Hewall's Woburn, :i2-35. 

Again, "this town, as all others, bad its bounds lixed by the Genera! 
Tijiirt to the contents of four miles square, beginning at the end of 
Cliarlestowii bounds."— /7,i,Z. The balance is abridged. The grant was 
(o seven men, having power to grant lands to dwellers in the precinct 
without respect to persons. Such Jis were unfit, they rejected. The 
seven ordered antl disposed of the streets. Those nearest the place for 
Sabbath assembly had a leaser quantity of land at home, and morn fur- 
ther off for corn. Men were not refused for their poverty, but were 
aided, when poor, in building their houses and in the distribution of 
land, according to the ability of their bdper.s. The poorest had .six or 
seven acres i>f meadow and twenty-five of uitland or about. "Thus was 
this town peopled to the number of sixty families." Not till they came to 
hopes of a competent number to maintain a minister, did they establish 
themselves as a separate community; "it being as unnatural fin' a 
right New England man to live without an able ministry, as for a 
smith to work his iron without a fire." 

•' Not ra.shly running together, to gather themselves into a church, 
before they had hopes of attaining an ofii'-er to preach the word." 

The people having provided a dwelling, built at the charge of the 
town, welcomed their minister with joy. I!y ir..V2 the church had in- 
rreased from ^even (1042) to seventy-four. 

Description of Woburn in the year ItJGl). From Samuel Maverick's 
Dfscriplion of Xetp Enyluud (ItiOO). "Woburn," says this writer, 
" is four or five miles above Maiden, we8t,"\and is a *' more consider- 
able town," where "they live by furnishing the sea towns with provi- 
sions," such as " corn and flesh," and also "furnish the merchants | 
with such goods to be exported." Item extracted from an otlicial report 
to tim British government, on the condition anri resources of all the 
New Kngland towns in 1000. The distance of the village from Mahlt-n 
IS not correctly stated, while the direction is given more arcurately. 
The jiarticnlars as to its size, and the principal occupation of its inhab- 
itants may be better relied upon. The impresaion given is that of a 
prospering and enterprising agricultural town ; furnishing th** "sea 
towns," or the home market, with fresh provisions, and raising also ;t 
sufficient quantity for exportation. A spirit of thrift evidently pre- 
vailed, and since the statements are derived from a smme unfriendly to 
the principles of the puritan settlers, they are probably devoid of exag- 
geration. A phr;i.se of Captain Edward Johnson's, at this period, was an 
allusion to early New England as a wilderness, and he brings in various 
changes of this sentiment, such as " may it please this honorable court 
to vouchsiife some help to our town of Woburn in dividing a lump of this 
wilderness earth ; " " Helping on in this wilderness work;" "this vast 
wilderness;" the "wilderness condition," etc. ; but the descriptions of 
the state of the town in 10.">2 and 1600 show tliat a reasonable growtli, 
had occuiT.-d, and that the " wilderness condition " was in a fair way 
of being appropriated to the advantage of the settlers and that its origi- 
nal rigors had sensibly diminished. 



3-18 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



1. The Petition of the Church and Town of 

WOBURN, 1053, ENTITLED THE JIeMOJUAL FOR 

Christian Liberty. — The petition to the General 
Court, dated Woburn, August 30, IG^S, and signed 
by twenty-nine persons, and called by antiquaries 
the " Woburn memorial for Christian liberty," ap- 
peared in print in 1S25 — see Massachusdls Histotirol 
Society Collecfionx, 3d scr. i. 38, reprinted in 1S4(!. No 
allusion to this is made by the town historian, and 
the document is remarkable now, mainly for the dis- 
play of courage it evinced on the part of a number 
of the early citizens in taking a stand, contrary to 
current opinion, on a question of little, if any, pres- 
ent consequence. The question had reference to the 
privilege of a lay brother to conduct |uiblic religious 
services in the absence of a regular minister, a privi- 
lege pertaining to the sparsely-settled districts of the 
country, where the services of a regular minister 
were with difficulty secured ; the petitioners sensibly 
pleading that if such "as exercise at such begin- 
nings," be brethren approved by the church of which 
they were members, and which best knew " their 
abilities," that there was no practical difficulty in the 
case. The petition is lengthy,- and the subject one ot 
greater interest to the fathers than to the present 
generation. It shows, however, that a courageous dis- 
position prevailed in the young town towards inde- 
pendency in religious, as well as in secular concerns. 
The petition was the production probably of John 
Russell, afterwards a lay preacher or elder among the 
Baptists. 

The petition begins: " We, the humble petitioners 
of the church and town of Woburn, with such whose 
names are underwrit [ten], do show," etc. The sign- 
ers' names, alphabetically arranged, are as follows : 
Daniel Bacon, James Britton, Thomas Chamberlain, 
Allen Converse, James Converse, Josiah Converse, 
George Farley or Fiirlom, Thomas Fuller, Ralph Hill, 
Francis Kendall, John Koight, Joseph Knight, Isaac 
Learned, John Mousall, Miles Nutt, Abraham Parker, 
James Parker, John Parker, Bartholomew Pearson, 
John Pierce, Robert Pierce, John Russell, John 
Seers, Richard Snow, James Thompson, Simon 
Thompson, John Tidd, Henry Tottingham, John 
Wyman. Some of these names were of persons who 
settled at Chelmsford, about 1(553, and the petition 
might have had reference to the plan they desired to 
adopt there, regarding religious ordinances. 

These persons have been called the " bold peti- 
tioners for liberty of prophecy." Scientifically stated 
the position was this : August 30, 1G53, " Woburn 
inhabitants and church members petition the General 
Court in relation to an order, ' that no person within 
this jurisdiction shall undertake any course of public 
preaching or prophesying without the approbation o( 
the elders of four of the next churches, or of the 
county court. '" — (Cf. Savage, Gen. Die/., and chron. 
table, Mass. Hist. Snc. Coll., 3d ser., x. 253). The peti- 
tion was unsuccessful. 



Note. — Mr, Sewall, Hist. Woburn, chap, v., gives an account of tbe 
early Baptists in Woburn. The datt' he assigns for tlieir appearance is 
ir.Tl. The principles ennnciafed in the petition uliove woulfl show that 
their views had weight in lll'iri. The denial of the jtetition probably 
fostered the troubles whieh later arose regarding the citizens who be- 
came liaptists, and nniy account for stinio of the "troubles" in the Wo- 
burn Church, alluded to at that period by coteniporaries. The early 
records of the church .are lost to posterit.y. A remembrance also of the 
dithculty experienced in procuring their first minister, might have intln- 
enced some who signed thi* petition. There were two John lIussellH, a 
senior and junior. They are couhnindetl by some writers. Both were 
IJaptist elders, and the junior a pastor of the Bo9t(»n Baptist (.'huieh. 
— Sewall's llVi/o/rn, 158-111 : ^^uss HM. full,, 3d ser., i. 44, note. I'lil- 
liey's 7/i.v!. iV. V?., iii. id, refers to the controversy with the IJaplisIs, 
about l(i70, and mentions .lohn Russell, of Woburn, where there were 
five Baptist brethren near, that could meet with him, "a first days," 
when they could not attend the regular meetings at Noddle's Island, or 
Hoston ; more converts at Woburn then were expected to join them, 
"The new Woburn church, it seems, had its share of threats and vexa- 
tions, but still not of the must aggravated kind." This so-called *' per- 
secuting spirit " was. as this writer justly observes (i7iirf, 92), a "pet 
prejudice " of tbe age, and the sect were not long in living down their 
ill-repute. Another matter in connection with this controver.<!y was 
this: John Russell, the preacher, being a shoemaker, Sanuiel Willard, a 
distinguished minister of the day, wrote a tract, entitled, " Ne Siitcr 
ultra Crepidam " — l,et not the shoemaker go beyond his last. Referring 
to the estimation he jdaced upon the performances of such a man as a 
preacher and expounder of doctrines, — Palfrey, iii, 92; Sibley, Hajt. 
Orad. ii. 17 ; Frotbingbam, IlisL of C, 172, 

Among the events of the year 1653, Caplain Edward Johnson's Won- 
eler-workinif Pmruknre was in the coui-se of publication at London, 
Nathaniel Ward, a distinguished minister, from whose writings a pre- 
anjble to the Woburn town orders was adapted, died, 

2. Edward Converse and his Trouble Con- 
cerning THE King's Letter, 1662. In other 
words, " Edward Converse acquitted of disrespect to 
the King." A tempest in a tea-pot of other days 
(Cf. Mass. Col. Rec, iv. (ii.) 72-74; also Palfrey, 
Hist. N. E., ii. 531 ; Frothingham, Hist, of C, 155.) 

A constable and a selectman of Woburn were pre- 
sented for having refused to " publish the king's 
majesty's letter," and " spoken of said letter to be 
popery, etc.;" but the court did not find sufficient 
evidence for their conviction. 

Slay 27, 1663, act of the Council, the secretary 
made his return of what he had done, in obedience to 
order, Boston, March 5, 1662. Several informations 
being given that Isaac Cole, constable of Woburn, 
'■ had refused to take and publish the king's majesty's 
letter, and also to serve attachments in his majesty's 
name, and that some one of the selectmen is informed 
to have Hj)oken of said letter to be po]iery, etc., the 
council judgeth it meet to order that the secretary 
.send forth his warrants by order of this council to 
convene the accuser and witnesses before him, and, on 
due evidence, to send for the accused, binding the 
accuser to prosecute, and the accused to answer for 
his high misdemeanors to the next General (Jourt, 
taking security for the same." 

Dutton complaint against Isaac Cole. Warrants 
issued March 12, 1662, and on March 19th, Thomas 
Dutton, as accuser, was bound, and Isaac Cole, con- 
stable, and Edward Converse, one of the .selectmen, 
as accused, were respectively bound to prosecute and 
make answers, as the order above directs. The 
warrants and bonds were on .lie at the time the 



WOBFRN. 



y,4fl 



parties :ip|jeaied before the General Court, who 
" having heard what Thomas Dutton couid say in way 
of accusation against the said Isaac Cole, constable ol 
Woburn, for his refusing to take and read his ma- 
jesty's letter and serve attachments, and considering 
of the evidences produced, which are on tile, ordered 
as underwrit, etc. " 

Idem against Kdward Converse. The court having 
considered what the said Dutton could say against 
Edward Converse, etc., it was put to the question. 
" whether there be anything contained in the testi- 
monies of Thomas Dulton and William Siniuiids 
against Edward Converse which doth retiect on his 
majesty's letter." It was resolved in the negative. 

The court granted the said Thomas Dutton his bill 
of costs (sixteen shillings) to be paid by the treasurei 
of the country, and also ordered that Isaac ('ole be 
dismissed home at present till the court ordered his 
appearance again. 

Note. — Frnthinghani says, "Snnip feeliug was niauifestt-il at WuImifii 
on reailiug thi,s letttr. Isaac Ctile refused to read it, ami Kilward Cou- 
verse openly declared," etc. The letter was read in the towu-nieetinss 

Thomas Dnttou was a pai'ty in a difference between Captain Kdward 
.Johnson, Ensign .lohn Carter and himself, 1658-o9, about land. The case 
was decided against him, find he wassub.jected to the payment uf money ; 
and for "clamorous abuse" of Ensign John Carter, was reijuired to 
make puldic acknowledgment in a full meeting on the Lord's day, thai 
he h.id " wrongfully abused said Carter." In default, he was to iia> 
till flue. — Oii. Ike. i%-. (i.) ;S.i3, :i73, 4n7-S. 

There is also in the records above cited the following reference to 
Captain Edward Johnson in connection with His Slajesty's letter : 

Committee about His Slajesty's letter. The coutt on long and serious 
debate of what is nece-SSJiry to be done in reference to His Majesty's let- 
ter, and there having beeu much time already e.\pended thereabouts, 
the coin-t intending to break up speedily, in answer to His Majesty's 
pleasure, for the satisfaction of all persons concerned, ordered that cer- 
tain gentlemen, inchidiug Captain Edward .lohnson, be a committee to 
consider said letter, and prepare an answer to be plesented at the next 
session of the court. 

CONTRIBfTION FKOM IrELASD IX 167t). — In lOTO 

the Massachusetts Colony received from Ireland a 
contribution in aid of the sufterers by the Indian war. 
This was named the " Irish Charity," and was dis- 
tributed through the towns in proportion to their 
losses. In a list taken January 22, lG7tJ-77, Woburn 
is nametl tis a recipient from this benefaction of £t) 
Us., to be distributed among eight families numbering 
forty-three persons. Cf. Frothiughaui's Cliarkstou-ii, 
ISO. 

Great Comet of 1680. — "The middle of Decem- 
ber, 1680, appeared a very great blazing star, to the 
wonder of the world." — • Woburn Records, i. lOo. This 
was the great comet of IJjSO, commonly called New- 
ton's comet, the most remarkable tor brilliancy, 
probably, of any of which there is accurate account. 
It i.s described by Increase Mather, of Boston, Dis- 
course concerning comets, ichcrcin the nature oj blar.iini 
stars is emjuired into (Bost., 1683). Its first appear- 
ance was on the evening of December lOth, when the 
blaze only, and not the star, was visible. On Decem- 
ber 12th the blaze was red and fiery. Its head was 
discerned December 14th. On December Kith its ap- 
[icarance was '' terrible," and tlie blaze ascended 



above sixty degrees, "almost to its zenith." It grew 
continually broader from its head, was brightest at 
both ends, and the middle was considerably darker 
than " either of the sides." It became smaller soon 
afterwards, and about the middle of Februarv van- 
ished "out of sight." C/. Mem. IJist. Bosioii, iv. 4!ll, 
for mention of I. Mather's researdies on comets. 

Miscellany. — An examination of the Colony rec- 
ords reveals some facts of special interest concerning 
Woburn. For instance, in 1636 the churches gath- 
ered were placed during the initial ceremony under 
the control of the magistrates, which accounts for the 
presence of Increase Xowell, inagislraie, as the pre- 
siding otfieer when that ceremony was first performed 
at Woburn, 1642. Early in the founding of the Col- 
ony cavalry coips were encouraged by a rebate on 
taxes, etc.; the town was well represented in that 
arm then and atterwards. On June 14, 1642, legisla- 
tion of a minor character occurred on account of Wo- 
burn. X commiitee on the "difference" between 
Charlestown Village and Lynn Village was appointed 
to view the place, and to take the length of Charles- 
town eight-mile line by exact measure, also to set the 
bounds between those two villages. Our village is 
mentioned in connection with the grant of Snawsbin 
(or HiUerica) to Cambridge. On [September 27, 1642, 
the town was incorporated (ii. 28). On May 10, 1643, 
Edward Converse, Ezekiel Richardson and others 
were appointed to lay out the highway from Cam- 
bridge to Woburn. A " partition agreement " was 
made between Woburn and Lynn Village (called 
Reading) on May 29, 1644, the Hue to begin at the 
"little brook in Parley Meadow," and extend north- 
westerly into the country (ii. 75). In 1609 the town 
was regarded by the General Court as somewhat " re- 
mote" (iv., pt. i. 382). In the same year the answer 
of the court was given to fne petition of three Car- 
ters — Thomas, Joseph and Samuel — in relation to the 
orphans of William Green (iv., pt. i. 404), action hav- 
ing beeu taken at earlier date (1653) on the petition 
of Mary Carter and that of the brothers, Thomas, 
Samuel and Joseph, her sons, relative to her giaud- 
childreu's inheritance (iii. 329). In 1664, at the be- 
ginning of the troubles with the home government 
about their charter, which the colonists resisted as 
infringements on their liberties, a mauifesto to the 
General Court, from Woburn and other towns, sub- 
scribed by " very many hands," was received and 
noted. This was a testimonial of the people, signify- 
ing their " content and satisfaction " in the "present 
government," and offering the services of the towns 
in assisting and encouraging it. In 1664, in answer 
to petition, 2000 acres of land were granted to Wo- 
burn ' From 1666 to 1668 the difficulties respecting 

1 In tho state Archives, vol. 5, p. r>, is a plan of these 2(HXt acres 
granted to Woburn, entitled, " This plan contains 2000 acres laid out for 
the town of Woburn, lying about N. by W. from Lanca.stcr, joining 
to the North corner of Nashaway new grant, I'liraefiervolonl; Pond ex- 
cluded. Being about eight or nine miles from Laiiaister town. Taken 
by Joseph Buriiap, surveyor, May '2:J, 1717." , 



350 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



the Woburn and Billerica bounds were adjusted, and 
those respecting the two Wyraans' farms near the 
Billerica line; also the long standing grant of 500 
acres to Thomas Coytemore or his heirs, in Woburn, 
was adjudicated and located at the farm of the two 
Wymans — Francis and John — near the Billerica line, 
in Woburn bounds, and next adjoining their land, 
" where their houses stand." Much concerning the 
two Wymans and their farm and troubles on its 
account is found, Col. Rec, iv. pt. ii. Cf. Hazen's 
Billerica, Sewall's Woburn, 3t>. In 16G7 an order 
was passed by the General Court about Woburn's 
common lands. An investigation having revealed 
some disorder touching the manner of keeping their 
records, the entries in their town-book concerning 
the common lands not being clearly expressed, the 
court confirmed the grants already made and settled 
the matter. In l(i72 the Mistick Bridge question ap- 
peared. Previously, in l<it)2. in a case between the 
artillery company of Suffolk, plaintifl', and Michael 
Bacon and William Simonds, both of Woburn, de- 
fendants, in an action of trespass on land of the said 
artillery, the court found for the defendants, costs ol 
court. See Genmlogical Sketch of William Simonds, 
by E. F. Johnson, p. 14. In 1684 Israel Reed, 
desiring the favor of the General Court to grant 
him a license to keep an ordinary or inn in Woburn, 
in answer to his petition the license was refused, the 
number appointed already being considered sufficient 
(v. 460). 

A list of all the heads of families in Woburn ii. 
1680 is preserved in the records (ii. 153-.54). The 
names are grouped under their respective tithiugmen 
{cf. i. 108). The list was printed in connection with 
the publication of the first volume of records in the 
Wohtirn Journal. Cf. Sewall's " ]l'o6!<rM,'' 49, note; 
Winchester Record, i. 276-77. The leading names are 
Richardson (with six families); Carter, Converse, 
Pierce, Snow and Walker (four families each) ; and 
Brooks, Johnson, Reed, Simonds, and Winn (three 
families each). Further are Cleveland, Green, Ham- 
let, Houghton, Kendall, Knight, Polly, Wilson, 
Wright, and Wymau (two families each) ; and Bacon, 
Baker, Baldwin, Blodget, Brush, Buck, Burbeeu, 
Butters, Clarke, Cragin, Dean, Farrar, Flagg, Fowle, 
Fox, Glazier, Hall, Henshaw, Jaquith, Lepingwell, 
Locke, Mousall, Rice, Roberts, Sawyer, Seers, Stevens, 
Summers, Thompson, Tidd, and Waters (one family 
each); the number of families in all being ninety- 
two. This number shows an increase in 1680, over 
the number of si.\ty families reported in 1652. A 
rough enumeration by families comprises all the 
statistics of population we have of that early period. 

The northerly side of the grant meafiurod one mile, sixteen poles ; the 
easterly side two miles, twenty-eight jioles, and one length on the wester- 
ly side Wiw one uiile, 212 poles. The name of the pond on the map 
itself is spelled " ITncachewolenk Pond." The proper spelling of this 
name would appear to be Vncachewnhtnl-. Cf. E.ti-bi Iti'corda of Lancaster ^ 
index ; and this pond is now in the limits of Lunenburg. 



The increase of the names in the tax rates and the 
number of men enrolled for military service show a 
corresponding growth in the town ; but the actual 
population can only be guessed at. The grouping of 
the families under the names of their respective 
tithingraen also conveys an idea of the locality of 
their residence, so that it can be readily determined 
whether they lived in Winchejiter, or Woburn, or 
Wilmington, or Burlington. For this feature our 
readers are referred to the list as printed in the 
M^oburn Journal (Woburn Records, i. 108, note). 

The births exceeding the number of deaths would 
al.so, to some extent, show the rate of increase. The 
number of births recorded in Woburn from 1641-1701 
was 1313 ; and the number of deaths recorded for the 
same period (1642-1701) was 340. The effects of 
immigration and emigration during the same period 
on the town itself were probably small, in view of 
the main cause of the growth of population being the 
large birth-rate, and the small death-rate above men- 
tioned. It is known that the birth-rate is high in 
new countries, owing to the large proportion of 
young men there, and an unusually large number of 
the women there being young also, or of the child- 
bearing age. Old people being the exception in such 
communities. Sewall (//«'.</. Wob. 241) has under- 
taken to show that the rate-payers of 1700 were only 
187, against 305 in 1725. He also shows that in 1708 
Woburn was the fourth town in Middlesex County 
in the point of numbers and wealth. Charlestown, 
Cambridge and Watertown exceeded her, and Con- 
cord and Medford were behind her. The number of 
her polls in that year was 225, and her real estate was 
estimated at X22 8s. 3rf. 

Occurrences before 1700. — The captain of a military 
company at Charlestown was ordered (Aug. 22, 1686) 
to impress twelve men from the two companies of 
that town "to appear at Woburn," at noon, "the 
28th." There was trouble at that time with the 
Indians. About this period a farmer of Woburn 
was called to an account by the authorities for his 
wife's extravagance in dress, — the powers that be 
having vainly endeavored to suppress the love of 
dress inherent to the female sex. This honest farmer 
answered, " That he thought it no sin for his wife to 
wear a silk hood and silk neck [? neckerchief] ; and 
he desired to see an example before him !" Froth- 
ingham, Hist, of C, 226. The anecdote is given by 
Frothinghara, ih. 210, who refers to Rev. Samuel 
Sewall as his authority for it. 

The First Church Records of Roxbury [N. E. Hist. 
Gen. Reg. xxxiv. 301 ; rej)!. in lith Bost. Rec. Comr.'s 
i??/)/.], kept by Rev. S. Danforth, mention "a sad 
accident at Woburn " about Nov., 1670, where three 
men who were digging a well were met by a calamity 
in the earth's caving in, and burying two of them 
alive ; the third hardly escaping the same fate. This 
one was dug out; his head fortunately not being cov- 
ered with earth. Under date of Sept. 8, 1671, thia 



WOBURN. 



351 



statement was entered in the same records: "An 
Indian executed and hung up in ciaaina for murder- 
ing an English maid at Woburn." Fixing the year 
of a murder, which is described in Sewall's Wo- 
burn, 120, being one not committed in a time of war, 
as was usually the case. The diary of Samuel Howall, 
of Boston, mentions a few items, such as, there being 
a considerable quantity of snow, a warm rain swelled 
llie waters, so that Woburn and other places suffered 
by the damage done, Feb. 9, 1682-3. There is a maid 
at Woburn possessed by an evil spirit, Jan. 21, 
1C85-6, a rumor. The Woburn church is "under 
much disiiuiet," another rumor, Aug. I'J, lliST. One 
year afterwards, Aug. 19, 1688, the lieut.-gov. "gees" 
to Woburn to secure some Indians engaged in gather- 
ing hops. This severe measure was caused by the 
news of the slaying of five English persons by 
Indians at the westward. Before their arrest, it ap- 
pears that these Woburn savages had met together for 
religious worship, and were "praying'' when se- 
cured, or shortly before. Dr. Increase Mather, His- 
lor;/ King Philip's War, ed. 1862, 160, relates an inci- 
dent occurring at Woburn, wliich he regards as a 
solemn providence upon certain people for holding 
opinions partial to the sentiments of the Baptists, if 
such opinions were not influential among the causes 
which brought on that war as a judgment upon them 
for that sin. The incident he relates was the birth 
of a child, accounted a monstrosity, to the wife o' 
Joseph Wright, at Woburn, Feb. 23, 1670, which was 
born without a breast and back-bone, and with other 
serious deformities of body, the head and shoulders 
being natural. The event occasioned some excite- 
ment, and a description was testified to, before 
Deputy-Gov. Francis Willoughby, on March 2d fol- 
lowing, by a number of persons belonging to Wo- 
burn, all of whom had seen the child. These were 
Mrs. Johnson, the mid-wife, Mary Kendall, Ruth 
Blodgett, Lydia Kendall, Capt. Edward Johnson, 
Lieut. John Carter, Henry Broolcs, James Thompson 
and Isaac Cole. This misfortune to some ajiparently 
worthy people, Mather believed, "bore witness" 
against the "disorders of some in that place," mean- 
ing Woburn, and the activity of those who had im- 
bibed the principles of the Baptist sect, of which 
there were several in the town, including the Wrights. 
This theory was imparted oo Mather's editor by the 
Rev. S. Sewall, the historian of Woburn, and Wright 
had been presented by the grand jury to the court, 
with others, Dec, 1671, for his connection with the 
practices of the Baptist-j. The wife of Joseph Wright 
was Elizabeth Hassell. and though a married woman 
with a husband living, and apparently well able to 
support her, she taught school in Woburn in 1673. 
One of her eleven children was Sarah, born Feb. 25, 
1669-70, according to the Woburn records, and of 
this child we find no further date, and it appears to 
l)e the one referred to by Mather. The father, Joseph 
Wright, afterwards became reconciled to the tenets 



of the Woburn First Church, of which he was a 
deacon, 1698-1724, and signer of a declaration of 
principles by that church, 1703. He was a select- 
man, a soldier in Philip's War, a lieutenant of the 
militia, 1693-1700, and held other offices. Wohnrn 
Journal, Jan. 12, Feb. 16, 1883; Savage's (len. Diet. 
iv. 658 ; Sewall's Woburn, 151-56, 175 ; N. E. Hist. 
Gen. Reg. xxxvii. 76-7; also Mather's i/isi'. Philip's 
War, 160, already cited. 

The accident to Samuel Converse, son of Edward 
Converse, who was killed by the water-wheel of his 
father's mill, February 20, 16()9-70. was an event the 
mention of which was omitted in the local records, 
but a full account is found in the Middlesex Court 
Records, file 20, 1670, No. 3, in the " verdict on his 
death." Two persons — Isaac Brooks and James 
Thompson — being in the corn-mill belonging to the 
Converses at Woburn, on a sudden heard a voice at 
the mill-wheel, saying, "Stop the wheel." Thomp- 
son ran to the mill-gate, and looking towards the 
wheel, saw, as he thought, a man thrown down ; and 
being related to the victim of the accident, cried out, 
"My uncle is killed!" Brooks also, in the mean- 
time, ran to the water-wheel, and found Samuel 
Converse, the victim, with his head fastened between 
the water-wheel and the water-wall. Thompson 
having shut the gate, came running to the said 
Brooks, and the wheel being turned backwards was 
raised upwards sufficiently to release his head. The 
two then took him up alive, but bleeding excessively, 
and carried him into his house, where, soon after he 
was brought in, his bleeding stopped; but in about 
half an hour, as his bearers conceived, he was 
dead. 

The verdict of the jury of ijuest on his death calls 
him by the title of Sergeant, and speaks of his "sud- 
den and untimely death," and conceives that he was 
cutting some ice ofl'the water-wheel of the corn-mill, 
and overreaching with his axe, was caught by his 
coat in some part of the wheel, and the coat being 
rent to the collar and that not giving way, his head 
was drawn down until it was sucked in between the 
water-wall and the water-wheel. In all jirobability, 
decides the jury, he received his mortal wound soon 
after he spoke to stop the wheel. They saw much 
blood in the place where he was thought to stand, 
and there was blood upon the snow from the place to 
the house where he was carried alive. Being set in 
a chair his blood quickly settled within him, and 
wholly prevented him from speaking, and in about 
half an hour he was dead. The jury found the back- 
side of his head greatly bruised, and the gristle of 
his nose broken, as they conceived, and the "said 
C«mverse, his head lying as before expressed," they 
judged came to his death by means of the "water- 
wheel of the corn-mill" (verdict dated February 22, 
1669-70). See article by the discoverer of this item, 
.Arthur Vj. Whitney, in the Wlnokestcr Becord, i. 257- 
259. For genealogy of Samuel Converse's descend- 



352 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



ants, see Hill's Family Record of J. ]V. and E. S. Con- 
verse (ISSl ) , 95-177. 

Note— The lirst volume of thetown recorilsl)i>ingm print, it is thought 
best to omit lualiiiig any special e.xlracls in illustration of further topics 
from tlieni. Tlie original entries .-ire more full and explicit than any ah- 
stract wo might m.ike from them. Before leaving them, however, we 
would like to refer to the second recorder or clerk of the town, William 
Johnson. He was the .^on of ('aptain Kdward .lohnson, aud a faithful 
town orticcr. His career us such may he carefully tr.iced in the records. Ik- 
was a prominent milifaiy officer, and these features are noticed more 
particularly under BIii.ii'Aiiv HisroRV. He was noted for his zeal for 
the old charter, or order of tliiugs in New England, in opposition to the 
changes hrought about by the administration introduced hy Sir Edmund 
.\udros. His course in timt matter was attended by some danger. On 
.Inly :il), 168(>, he was sharply reproved by the council for bis carriage 
on a fast day. when he staid at home out of disrespect to that occasion, 
aud had besides a dozen men with him at his house. He was told he 
must take the oath of allegiance; and desiring an hour's consideration, 
then said he could not take it. A miltiiinis was then written, or in the 
process of writing, for his committal to prison, when he considered the 
order again, aud took the oath, rather than go to prison. He objected, 
says tile diary of Samuel Sewall, Muss. Hist. Coll , 5th ser. v. 145, to 
the clause of "acknowledging it to be lawful authority who adminis- 
tered,'' and would see the seals. He Wius deprived of his civil oflices 
until the overlhrowof the Audros government in 1689. 

The Earthquake of October 29, 1727. — A dis- 
course by the Kev. John Fox, entitled on cover; 
Mr. Fox's Sermons on the Earthquake; but on the 
title-page, "God by his Power causes the Earth 
and its inhabitants to tremble: the substance of two 
sermons on 1 Sam. xiv. 15, preached soon after the 
earthquake, at Wobourn ; by John Fox, A.M. ; and 
now printed at the earnest request of many of the 
auditors for their own particular use; Boston : printed 
for N. Belknap, at his shop near Scarlet's Wharf, at 
the North End, 1728. 58 pp. 16". The earthquake, 
which was the subject of thi.s discourse, is called "a 
work of God," and caused such a trembling of the 
earth and such a trembling among the people, that 
its etiects were felt for hundreds of miles, causing 
mountains to shake, and the firmest artificial build- 
ings to totter. Such a trembling as this, says the 
sermon, " we have lately been sensible of, to our 
great consternation and astonishment." The awful 
trembling night, October 29Lh — ''a night never to be 
forgotten " — appeared to threaten a sudden and ter- 
rible destruction. The houses and beds trembled and 
shook. It was a dark and dismal night indeed — a 
night that might be ciilled minioriaissalnb, fear and 
terror round about. The timber in the buildings, the 
stones, in the walls were shaken ; the people were 
awakened in a surprising manner as their beds rocked 
under them like cradles; the quake was " loud to the 
bodily senses," and the people were brought into, a 
sudden and great consternation by this " new and 
unusual voice." The preacher liad delivered an im- 
pressive discourse to his people on the day preceding 
the evening when they were surprised by this earth- 
quake. From this published discourse the Kev. John 
Fox would appear to have been an able preacher, as 
able as the average ministers of his time ; not bril- 
liant or sensational, but painstaking, solid and faith- 
ful. Professor Williams, who made a study of earth- 
quakes felt in New England, Mtni. Amer. Acad. i. 



200, writes, about 1783, of the great earthquake of 
October 29, 1727, as follows ; 

After an interval of sixty-four years, there came on another very 
memorable one, October 29, 1727, O. S., about 10 h. -10' P. M.,in a very 
clear air and serene sky, when everything seemed to be in a most perfect 
calm and tran<|uility, a heavy rumbling noise was heard ; at first it 
seemed to be at a distance, but increased as it came near, till it was 
thought equal to the roar of a blazing chimney, and at last to the rat- 
tling of carriages driving fiercely on pavements. In about half a minute 
from the time the report was first heard the earthquake came on ; it was 
observed by tliose who were abi'Oad that as the sluike pasted under them, 
the surface of the earth sensibly rose up, and then sunk down again ; 
the violence of the shock, like that of other great earthijuakes, wassuch as 
to pause the houses to shake and rock as if they were falliug to pieces ; 
the doors, w indow-s, and moveables made a fearful clattering ; the pew- 
tei- and china were thrown fr<)m their shelves; stone walls, and the 
tops ok several chimneys were shaken down ; in some places the doors 
were unlatched and burst open, and people in great danger of falling. 
The duration may be supposed to have been about two nnnutes. The 
limits of this earthquake extended from the river Delaware, in Penn- 
sylvania, southwest, to the Keunelieck, northeast, aud at both these 
places it was sensibly felt, though the shake was but small. Its extent 
must at least have been7<i'i miles ; it was felt by vessels at sea, and in the 
most remote westerly settlements (17^3), and severalspringsof water and 
wells, never known to be dry or frozen, were sunk far down into the 
earth, and some were dried up.^ 

There are no remarkable events of civic character 
after this, till the period of Samuel Thompson's diary 
IN. E. Hist. Gen. Ee,i.. xxxiv. 397-401]. This 
writer rei;ords a number of incidents from the year 
1755 and onward, connected with Woburn or with 
other places, e.g., a great earthquake, 1755; a violent 
wind, 1761 ; a remarkable storm, 1770; two remark- 
able freshets, 1771 ; twenty persons in Woburn were 
frozen on a very cold day, 1773; in 1777, August 15, 
a hurricane tore oft' nearly all the roof of Woburn 
Second Parish meeting-house (the one at Burlington), 
and parts of other buildings were destroyed, together 
with Joshua Jones' barns ; a great many apple trees 
were blown down, many large and strong trees turned 
up by the roots, and almost all the limbs were blown 
otf some, leaving tlieir naked trunks standing, some 
five or seven, and others eight or ten feet high ; the 
devastation reaching two or three miles in length. 
The account of the Dark Day, May 19, 1780, is a 
plain statement of that occurrence. It began to 
grow dark between nine and ten o'clock in the fore- 
noon, anil the darkness increased by degrees till 
after twelve, when it was darker than usual on a star- 
light night. Candles were lighted at mid-day, and 
the people were astonished and affrighted, calling to 



1 The catalogue of the American portion of the library of Rev. T. 
Prince, by W. II. Whitmore, assigns another publication to our Woburu 
.John Fox. As tlie Prince library is now a pait of the Unstiui Public 
Library, Honorable M. Chamberlain, the librariau, has kindly furnished 
a verbatim copy of its title : 

Time aud the end of time, in two discourses ; The first about Iltilentp- 
li'ni "/ 'I'iiiir : The second about CoHsif/crd/ioHS of oar /((«er e»d. B,v JonN 
Fox. Psalm 90 ; 12. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply 
our hearts to wisdom. Lam. 1 ; 9. Her filthiuess is in her skirts, she 
remembereth not her last end, therefore .she came down wonderfully. 
Nou pudet te reliquias vita- tibi reservare, et id solum Tempos boua^ 
menfi destinare quod in nullam rem conferri possit ! (Juam ferum est, 
tune vivere incipere, cum desireudiini est V Seu de brev. vit. Boston, 
in New England. Reprinted by B. Green and J. .\llen, fnr Samuel 
Phillips, at the Brick Shop, 1701. 234 pp. 24o. 



WOBURN. 



353 



mind passages of sacred writ, namely, the sua shall 
go down at noon ; the sun, his shining shall be 
clothed with sackcloth. The darkness departed 
gradually, and the natural day revisited the earth 
about three o'clock in the afternoon. In 1784 Meet- 
ing-House Hill was surveyed, the town having de- 
cided on its sale. In 1793 Independence Day (July 
4th) was celebrated by about eighty Woburn inhabit- 
ants and a number of other gentlemen. A singing 
exhibition and a lecture occurred this year— unusual 
events. The era of Middlesex Canal commenced by 
a preliminary survey. In 1794 a new burying-place 
was provided in the First Parish of Woburn. On 
July 4, 1796, one citizen raised a spire-vane or 
weather-cock — Independence having been declared 
twenty years past. In 1798 there was a school exhibi- 
tion — another unusual occurrence. In 1799 a hear- 
ing occurred on the floor of the new State-House 
about dividing the town of Woburn, and on January 
16, 1800, Dr. Morse, of Charlestown, addressed the 
people of Woburn on occasion of the public services 
of the town on the death of General Washington ; 
and on February 22d, following, Mr. Oliver, then 
preaching in the town, delivered a funeral sermon on 
Washington. Thus Woburn closes the century with 
prospects among the people of greater enterprise and 
hopes of future prosperity. 

Note. — From 1755 to 1800 the town had its share of accidents and lesser 
calamities. A few are here cited : Henry Reed's wife was burned to death, 
17G8— a strange event. Benjamin Brooks, was Itilled while felling a tree, 
1769. Moses Noyes having injured Peter Alexander in a scuffle, 1771, 
who soon after died, .\lexander being infirm at the time of the struggle, 
Noyes was tried, but acquitted ; the jurors tiudine that Alexander died a 
natural death. In 1774, Thomas Jones, the pastor of the Woburn 
Second Church, or Burlington Church, was stricken with paralysis in the 
pulpit, and died the same day. Nathaniel Kendall died of injuries in- 
flicted by Benjamin Edgell's stallion, 1776. There was a great stir about 
the small-pox 1775 and 1785. Kiots stop certain courts in the State, 
178G, and troops are collected and marched otT to the scene of trouble, 
1787. The Rev. Samuel Sargeant's house in Woburn was on fire on a 
Sabbath in 1783. The shed of Jonathan Kendall was blown down, and 
in its fall injured William Tay, by breaking his thigh, and otherwise 
bruising him, 1789. The inlluenzii prevailed in 1789 and 1790, and 
many aged persons died. Cyrus Baldwin, who was drowned at Dun- 
stable, was brought to Woburn and buried, 1790, and a strange malady, 
consisting of a swelling over the eye and then of other parts of the head 
and throat, occurred 1791. Luther Simonds was killed by a log that 
rolled on him at his saw. mill, 1792, being found dead under it, and his 
father's wife was killed by the kick of a horse, about ten years previous- 
ly, or in 17813. The small pox prevailed and inoculation was permitted 
in Woburn and other towns, 1792. X young man. Benjamin Kdgell, Jr., 
died suddenly while dancing at a ball, 179.1. Lightning struck Bar- 
tholomew Richardson's house, and hurt hi^ daughter Phebe, 1794. The 
Bchoolhouse was on fire, but was put out soon, 179G. Benjamin Simonds's 
house was burned down, 1797. 

Of all these casualties, but one only, and that the most important, we 
have found to be the subject of newspaper notice : the strange death of 
Henry Iteed's wife was the subject of a notice in the Boglon WeeUj/ 
Xewdelter for March 31, 1768. This was a mysterious affair, and occur- 
red in the Precinct, or Burlington part of Woburn, January 18,1768. 
The woman was found burned to death. Her husband went to do a 
day's work for a neighbor, leaving her as well as usual, and three of her 
neighbors had called to see her, leaving her about sunset as well as ever, 
also; the husband returned home about 9 p.m., and on opening the 
door saw a candle burning on the table ; the fire on the hearth wag 
secure, but the room was filled with smoke. The man concluded that the 
house was on fire, and on looking around thought at first that the wife 
was in bed, but afterwards to his great surprise found her body fallen 

23 



backward on the floor some six or seven feet away from the fireplace. 
The clothes on the forepart of her body were burned to a coal; but, 
singular to relate, neither her clothes or body, or her face, hands or 
arms were burned above the " tying of the strings of her coats," or her 
feet below the ankles. Imprudently, it appears, the body was buried 
without a jury of inquest. This act occasioned a great uneasiness 
among a number of people who feared that violence on the part of some 
ill-minded person might be the cause of the woman's being burne<l in 
such a shocking manner. Her husband thereupon desired that her 
body might be dug up, which wa5 done on March IS, 176S, or nearly six 
weeks after burial, and a jury of inquest sat on the case. After a strict 
enquiry, it appeared that no violence had been ofl'ered her— two suspected 
persons, Mr. Reed and Mrs. Howard or Hay ward, laid their hands on her 
body and declared their innocence, as the great God was their judge ! — 
and the jury agreed that she came to her death by her clothes catching 
fire. After this verdict some were better satisfied, while others were 
not so well; but here the matter ended. The fact that an attachment 
was discovered between Reed and the Mrs. Hayward of the above state- 
ment, whom he married on September 22, 170S, she being the widow of 
Thomas Hayward, led to suspicions that the first wife had been foully 
dealt with, and the two, according to the customs of the times, were 
forced, as above stated, to undergo the ordeal of touch ; the belief being 
that if the murderers were made to touch the murdered body, there would 
be some demonstration, possibly miraculous, of guilt. In the Reed case, 
it is said, there was no such demonstration. The house where the event 
happened was near Billerica line, and also near Wilmington line, in 
present Burlington. See Reed's m<l. Bted Fam. (I8G1) 69. 

The list of casualties from 1768-1826, is the subject of articles in the 
W'ihurn Journal, July, August, 1870. 

The diary (175.5-lSU) of Samuel Thompson, Esq., is extant, and 
copied and anuotated, 1755-1SU5. It is full of particulars for the period 
covered. 

Ancient Public Burial-Grounds.— Those in 
Woburn proper are two in number; the first and 
oldest is on present Park Street, Woburn Centre, and 
is probably coeval with the first settlement of the 
town (1642), and the second burial-ground — that on 
Montvale Avenue — and also like the other near the 
Common, was opened first as a parish burial-ground 
in 1794, and purchased later by the town in 1824. 
As the city has arranged to publish the matter pre- 
pared under this head, it is omitted here. 

The Census of 1800. — From a volume containing 
the census of four towns — Woburn, Burlington, Lex- 
ington and Bedford — prepared under the direction of 
Samuel Thompson, Esq., assistant to the marshal, 
containing the names of the heads of families, the 
number in each family by age and sex and color, 
Woburn 's total was 1228. Houses, lo6. The first 
total obtained was 1217, but an omission of eleven 
persons increased the total to 1228. The details of 
population on the basis of 1217 inhabitants are made 
up as follows : 

Males. Females. 

To 10 years 174 l3g 

"16 " 109 75 

"26 " 122 100 

"■45 " 107 115 

AboTe 45 years, 100 104 

Total 612 532 

Negroes and mulattoes, male and female 18 

Male whites, 612 

Female whites, 53-2 

Laborers on the Middlesex Canal, some foreigners, and 
some from the neighboring States 55 

Total, 1217 

Omis^ionn. 
Elisha Clapp and wife, 2 



354 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



SamulTEanies Wyman and family, 9 

Total 11 

Previoaa total 1217 

No. returned to marBhal, . . .' 1228 

Woborn 1228 

BurliDgtoD . . 534 

LexingtuD 1006 

Bedford, 638 

Whole number 3;iU6 

Professional yiES.— The Ecclesiastical Profession. 
— Sketches of the lives of the members of this profes- 
sion in Woburn are given under the heading of 
Ecclesiastical History. 

Tlie Educational Profession. — The Eev. Leander 
Thompson wrote an elaborate historical sketch of the 
schools of Woburn, Mass., for the century closing 
1876, which was published in the annual town report 
of that year, pp. 131-186. He expresses his indebted- 
ness to the History of Woburn by the late Rev. 
Samuel Sewall, for items of interest regarding the 
schools previous to 1775, and gives the substance of 
all to be found on the subject in that work. Little is 
left unsaid, and the account for the period covered 
(to 1876) is very full and complete. There is not 
known to exist any record or notice of schools prior 
to 1673. In that year mention is made of Alien 
Converse's wife and Joseph Wright's wife as teaching 
school, and in the following year (1674) the selectmen 
agreed with Jumathan Thompson to teach the bigger 
children, and with Allen Converse's wife to te.ich the 
lesser children. Jonathan Thompson, therefore, was 
the earliest schoolmaster mentioned in the records of 
AVoburn. Otherteachersof this early period were Sam- 
uel Carter, a son of the first minister, Mrs. Walker, the 
Rev. Jabez Fox and the Rev. John Fox, his son, Tim- 
othy Wadsworth, of Boston, or his son, John Tufts, 
and many others, most of them young men who had 
been connected with the college at Cambridge, and 
some of them natives of the town. Others were school- 
masters by profession and natives of Woburn, such 
as the three Richardsons, Adam, Isaac and Jabez, 
and the two Fowles, James and John — the latter a 
teacher of eminence — and Ebenezer Thompson. The 
schools were originally kept in private houses. In 
1713 a school-house was erected by private subscrip- 
tion." The grammar school, kept by law by the town, 
was for a period of thirty-five years movable or rotary, 
or, in other words, kept for a while each in a number 
of difl'erent neighborhoods. In 1775 and 1776 a 
grammar school was kept in each of the two parishes. 
In 1792 the people of Woburn appear to be aroused 
from a long lethargy in relation to their schools, and 
active steps were taken to improve them. Soon after- 
wards nine new school-houses were built. 

It seems needless to go over the same ground so 
well and so ably covered by this report concerning 



the period covered by the schools of the nineteenth 
century. A High School was organized and com- 
menced in 1852. The Warren Academy was founded 
in 1827 and incorporated in 1830. The sketch closes 
with a valuable list of a number of the male teachers 
in the town during the earlier part of the present cen- 
tury; to this list we would add two names of school- 
masters of the last century whose names are not there 
given, viz.: Joseph Burbeen, died 1794, sometimes 
styled Rev., a graduate of Harvard College, 1731, a 
schoolmaster and occasionally preached, but was 
never settled in the ministry, and Jacob Coggin, a 
graduate of Harvard College, 1703, a schoolmaster by 
profession and occasionally preached. His grave- 
stone in the second burying-ground calls him " a 
preacher of the gospel." He died in 1803, in his 
sixty-fourth year. Like Joseph Burbeen above, he 
was a native of Woburn. Jacob Coggin, A.M., and 
Abigail Blanchard, both of Woburn, were married by 
Rev. John Marrett, July 3, 1777. 

A list of teachers of the grammar school in Woburn 
till 1771, with explanatory notes, is given in Sewall's 
Woburn, 586-87. See also ib. 545-46 for an orig- J 
inal document; also ib., chaps, ii., vii., xiii., xvi. ^ 

This subject is also amplified in articles in the 
Winchester Record. Cf. vol. ii. 64-69, 304-15, 463. 
According to a statement in one of these articles the 
town had but one school-house till 1760, certainly in 
the part now Woburn and Winchester. School dis- 
tricts as such were first established in 1792, and these 
districts were not much changed till 1845. 

The Medical and Legal Professions. — The material 
on this subject comprises a chapter by itself, covering 
tl^e colonial, provincial and later periods. 

The Military Profession. — The material on the sub- 
ject of the military history of Woburn is comprised 
in chapters by themselves, covering the colonial, the 
provincial, the revolutionary and later periods. 

Social Library. — The history of a social library 
existing in Woburn prior to 1800 is included under 
the subject of Libraries. 

Catalogue of some interesting documents of the 
provincial period that have been preserved in the Wy- 
man Collection in the Woburn Public Library : 

Giles Alexander, house formerly licensed for an inn or tavern, pur- 
chased by Noah Wynian Blarch 21, 1761, who petitions the General 
Court for an iniiholder's license on that date. 

Samuel Blodget, letter to .lames Fowle, Aug. 26, 1771. 

Nathaniel Felton and Joshua Hammond, heirs of the Rev. Edward 
Jackson, receipt to Jamea Fowle, Dec. 30, 1755. 

Thomas Fleet (printer in Boston), undated letter to, from Samuel 
Coolidge. 

James Fowle, unsigned receipt to, for a horse to Cambridge com- 
mencement, killed by a chair. Receipt dated -Tuly 2, 17G0. (.\ chair, 
more recently called a "gig," was a two-wheeled vehicle, or chaise 
without the top. The body resembled a chair.) 

Nathan Richardson, letter, Feb. 18, 1765. 

Draft of a petition to the General Court by inhabitants of Woburn, 
and others, in behalf of the "fowls called pigeons," April 1, 1771. 



WOBURN. 



355 



CHAPTER XXV. 



WOBURX— ( C(mUnued). 



CITIt HISTORY FROM 1800 TO THE PRESENT 
TIME. 

The opening of the present century witnessed a 
very different Woburn in the general appearance ol 
its buildings and dwellings than the one to be seen 
at the present time. The town then embraced all the 
territory which had been formerly included within 
the limits of the old Fir.->t Parish, and both were, in 
the effect of much of their action, practically one. 
The number of houses in the town at this period was 
156, scattered over the aiea now included principally 
in the towns of Woburn and Winchester. The pop- 
ulation of Woburn at the beginning of the century 
was 1228. An unfinished description of real estate 
in Woburn First Parish (October 1, 1798), intended 
practically to show the condition at the opening of 
the new century beginning with 180O, conveys an 
idea of the character of the houses and of the business 
resources of the inhabitants, and the extent of their 
property. From this description it would appear that 
the buildings, with scarcely an exception, were all of 
wood ; that the greater portion of the dwelling-houses 
were of two stories, a goodly proportion of the num- 
ber being of the kind described as " two stories in 
front and one in rear," a number of which yet remain. 
A small number (21) are mentioned in the unfinished 
description as one-story houses, and in some cases the 
number of stories is not specified. As a general 
thing they were un painted structures, with small pre- 
tensions to beauty. In the extant list, eighteen are 
described as " old houses ; " five as " very old houses;" 
three as "old and poor;" five as "not tenanted or 
tenantable;" three as "very poor;" two as "out of 
repair;" one was "part brick and part wood ; " one 
was "half old and half new, and unfinished;" one 
was "in good repair;" three were new houses ; one 
was " almost new ; " another was "' not finished," while 
one only is spoken of as painted. The condition of 
some of the barns and out-buildings in the town would 
appear to be even worse than some of the dwellings 
we have described. We have not space to go into an 
enumeration of further details concerning them, but 
the number of shoemakers' shops would give that busi. 
ness a rank next to agriculture in the general occu- 
pations of the inhabitants. At the opening of the 
century there were, at least, twenty-two of these shops 
on the estates of those owning them. They generally 
stood near the dwelling-house, and were small build- 
ings, their average area being eleven by eleven feet. 
There were at that time two buildings used as curry- 
ing shops, the area of the largest being only 16x14 
feet ; one tanner's shop, 16x12 ; two tan-houses, the 
largest 30x22 ; and one bark-house, 24x20 feet. 
There was certainly one store, kept in an unfinished 



building, 24x18 feet, and having two windows of the 
largest size. There was another store of lesser value, 
in the present limits of Winchester, and this building 
was styled a " trading shop." There was a store at 
the Centre Village, kept by Zebadiah Wyman, as 
early as 1796, in his dwelling-house, and not in a 
building separate from it, a.s in the above instances. 
A store of the same kind was kept by Major Abijah 
Thompson at North Woburn, or New Bridge, in his 
dwelling-house. In 1802 Colonel John Wade, who 
died in 1858, began business in a store at the Centre, 
with a capital of $170. These appear to be all the 
stores then in the town. 

Of shops devoted to mechanic trades, other than 
the leather trades, are the following: Wheelwright 
shop, 1 ; blacksmiths' shops, 5 ; saddlers' shops, 2 ; 
coopers' shops, 6 ; joiners' shops, 2 ; other workshops, 
5. The saw-mills in the town were 3, and the grist- 
mills, 7. There were one cider-mill, three cider-mill 
houses, a bakehouse, a malthouse, and ten chaise or 
"shay" houses, for a vehicle of some note at that 
period. The saw-mills had one saw each, and each. 
grist-mill had one pair of stones. 

The situation was probably but little changed till 
afier 1825, about which time more houses were built 
around the Common at the Centre, and the village 
began to grow in that quarter. After the opening of 
the Woburn branch railroad, in 1844, the village in 
this part of the town received a second impetus in 
the way of increased building, particularly in the 
neighborhood of Academy Hill. A view of Woburn 
from that height in 1820, by Bowen Buckman, Esq., 
gives a good idea of the appearance of the centre vil- 
lage at that date, before the marked changes of a 
later period had occurred. The Common at that date 
would appear to be destitute of trees, and in the im- 
mediate foreground no houses exist on the level tract 
easterly of Pleasant Street and southerly of the Com- 
mon, except a blacksmith shop of E. W. Reed. The 
other buildings shown in the sketch are less than 
thirty in number, and several of these are at some 
distance from the central point. One or more houses 
near the Common are not included in this pictorial 
representation, but the whole, we have been told by 
one who remembered and who was present with Mr. 
Buckman when the sketch was made,' gives a good 
illustration of the buildings near the Common as they 
were from about 1809 to 1820, and, with the exception 
of the large meeting-house in the foreground, and, 
perhaps, one or two other buildings, the same as they 
were in 1800, when the town meeting-house stood on 
the Common, and a town school-house stood on the 
spot where the large meeting-house stands, as shown 
in the illustration of 1820. 

AsNALS. — Embracing some events of general im- 
portance. 1801, " New Century," writes Esquire 
Thompson. The same writer mentions the following 

1 The late Colonel Leonard Tbompson, of Woburn. 



356 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



important incidents : Jacob Eames's liouse was 
struck by lightning July 3, 1801. Deep snow in 
February, 1802, " very difficult to pass the great 
roads." A boat and a large raft were afloat on the 
Middlesex Canal, at Wilmington, April 22, 1802, and 
on July 5th following, two hundred to three hundred 
people sailed on the canal, showing that its construc- 
tion was progressing, and the manner in which some 
celebrated the anniversary of American independ- 
ence, July 4th that year being Sunday. On May 29, 
1803, Sunday, the diarist went to meeting in a boat by 
way of the canal, which appears to be open from 
North Woburn to Woburn Centre at that time. The 
canal w;u opened its entire length in this year. In 
February, 1804, the roads were obstructed with large 
snow drifts, and the traveling continued bad through- 
out March. In .Tune, 1804, there was a conference 
with young people, probably on the subject of reli- 
gion, for, in August, 1804, near twenty persons of- 
fered themselves to the local church. Mary Ann, 
child of Zebadiah Wyman, was burned to death, 
Sunday, January 5, 1806. The almshouse is men- 
tioned in 1806. The mail stage, 1806. Esquire 
Clapp's house, July 14, 1807, was raised and fell, 
killing three and wounding twenty. or more persons, 
some very badly. On the day following were three 
burials of victims of this disaster — John Lyman, Sam- 
uel Wright and Joshua Richardson. On July 19th 
following, another victim, Nathan Parker, died of his 
wounds by his fall off this tumbling house-frame. 
An account of this distressing accident appeared in 
the Columbian Centinel, Boston, July 18, 1807. The 
frame of a house belonging to Major Jeremiah Clapp, 
of Woburn, was raised on Tuesday, July 14, 1807, 
a day fair and warm, and when the raising was 
nearly completed, the whole frame fell, carrying down 
with it all who were upon it. Two persons were 
killed outright and another died the night following. 
The newspaper sets the number of wounded at six- 
teen, and some, it feared, of these were " wounded 
mortally." One of the latter, Nathan Parker, died 
of his wounds on Sunday, the 19th instant, the day 
after the publication of the above newspaper notice, 
and was buried on the 19th. It was a sad disaster to 
all the participants, and made a profound impression 
on the community. Long and curious and quaintly 
eulogistic inscriptions on the gravestones of three of 
the dead victims of the accident are to be seen in the 
old second burying-ground, on Montvale Avenue, and 
all state the cause of death to be " the fall of a 
house-frame." These were Parker, Wright and 
Richardson, no stone to the memory of Lyman 
being found. Jeremiah Clapp, the owner of the 
house, was also buried in the same burying-ground. 
His gravestone there standing gives the date of his 
death as November 11, 1817, at the age of flfty-flve. 
The late Colonel Leonard Thompson, in some facts 
published by the present writer in the Woburn Jour- 
nal, February 6, 1869, states that the number of per- 



I 



sons on the frame at the moment of its fall was thirty 
or more. The house was to be a large, square man- 
sion of three stories, and when afterwards completed, 
stood a well-known object at Central Square till 
within thirty years. It was on the westerly side of 
Main Street, near the junction of Wyman Street. Mr. 
Charles Flagg's present house is near its former site. 
When it was erected it was the fashion to raise the 
frame of a side complete from the ground, and 
" raisings," as the performances of putting together a 
frame of this sort were termed, were popular, and a 
general entertainment of refreshments was provided 
for all persons present. The attendance on this oc- 
casion was unusually large, the house to be con- 
structed being of more than ordinary dimensions. 
Two sides were to be of brick, to be put in after the 
frame was erected. These, in this case, were not suf- 
ficiently provided with braces and occasioned the 
fall. Hence, when the framework for the crown-roof 
was put in place, the weight, with the large number 
of men upon it, was too great for the rest of the 
structure to sustain, and the frame was first noticed 
to lean, it then leaned more, and soon fell with a loud 
crash, followed by a cry of agony from the injured. 
The spectators were aghast. Then followed a rush to 
extricate those buried in the ruins. The confusion 
baffled description. The ruins had fallen in a west- 
erly direction. The hour when the disaster occurred 
was six P.M., when the raising was suppo.sed to be 
about completed, and an entertainment was to be en- 
joyed. But instead of that occurred this fatality ! 
All efforts to avoid the result failed. The bodies of 
the killed were removed, horribly mangled. Lyman, 
of North Woburn, after excruciating suffering, died 
that night. Parker, residing near by, on the Black 
House estate, died, as we have before said, during the 
week. Thirty or forty of the "strong men " of the 
town were wounded in a variety of ways. Some of 
them lingered months and even years, even till death, 
before they were relieved of pain. Some were made 
cripples for life. Jonathan Tidd, of North Woburn, 
had his back broken, and never walked readily after- 
wards. Many recovered gradually from their hurts. 
Among the names of those injured were Captain Ish- 
mael Munroe, of Burlington, Deacon Benjamin 
Wyman, Captain John Edgell, Josiah Parker, Jona- 
than Thompson and Jacob Converse, of Woburn. 
Colonel Thompson said the funeral of Richardson, 
Wright and Lyman was held in the Third Meeting- 
house, which stood on Woburn Common. The pas- 
tor, Joseph Chickering, delivered an appropriate dis- 
course on the occasion to a large and sorrowing au- 
dience. The text was Job i. 19. Richardson and 
Wright were both about to be married, and their be- 
reaved ladies appeared with the chief mourners at 
these funeral ceremonies. 

The next event of importance which occurred in 
Woburn was the burning of the town meeting-house 
on June 17, 1808 — the anniversary of Bunker Hill 



4 



WOBURN. 



357 



Battle. Oq this date, " Woburn meeting-house was 
burned to the ground, at eleven o'clock at night ; 
thought to be purposely done." After the burning of 
the meeting-house, religious servicf?s were held in the 
school-house at the Centre. On July 17, 1808, oc- 
curred a storm of thunder and wind, very tempest- 
uous in its character. Stables were blown down, 
chaises were broken, glass windows also were broken 
in pieces, the destruction being the greatest in Wil- 
mington, Reading, etc. At a town-meeting on the 
afternoon of August 1, 1808, it was voted to set the 
next meeting-house where the school-house then 
stood, or on the spot now occupied by the Unitarian 
Church edifice. A month later, on September 1, the 
timber for the new meeting-iiouse arrived at Woburn 
from New Hampshire, by the Middlesex Canal, and 
on the 2d and 3d of that month it was drawn 
out of the canal and carried to the training-field, or 
to the open spot easterly of the present Unitarian 
Church, now traversed by Winn Street. On the 23d, 
24th and 2.jth of October, 1808, etc., the raising of 
the Woburn Meeting-house was in progress. On 
June 19, 1809, the meeting house pews were sold, and 
on the 28th inst., following, the new meeting-house was 
dedicated. This was a great occurrence for Woburn, 
The chronicler devotes the following paragraph to it: 

" June 28, 1809. Woburn new meeting-house dedi- 
cated. Ministers and people from the adjacent towns 
attended and assisted. A fine day, and all parts of 
the services were performed decently and in order." 

On July 2, 1809, "Mr. Chickering," the parish 
minister, " preached in the new meeting-house the 
first Sabbath," or the first Sunday after its dedica- 
tion. 

In December, 1809, there was some legal difficulty 
about the town common lands. In January, 1810, 
Joseph Brooks and Benjamin Brooks were both frozen 
and found dead in the woods; both were buried the 
23d of January. On January 18 the two went into 
the woods to cut wood, a little before noon, the 
weather then being very mild. In the evening it be- 
came excessively cold and they were supposed to have 
perished on that day, or the night following, from 
its efl^ects. They were found on the 20th. One 
was fifty, and the other was forty-five years old. Cf. 
Wubiirn Journal, August U, 1870 ; X. E. Jlist. Gen. 
Rig., xxix. 156. The weather on the 18th, was " fine 
morning, fair; cloudy, P. m." ; on tbe 19th, Friday, 
" severe cold, fair ; " this was the memorable " cold 
Friday" of that year, concerning which much has 
been said and written by tiie people of th.at day ; 
the 20th was " fair and excessive cold ; " Sunday, the 
2lsl, was " fair and very cold ; " the cold had " some 
abated" on the 22d, and the cold weather continued 
till the last day of the month. Asa G. Sheldon in 
his hook (Woburn, 1862), has some account of the 
events on this "cold Friday " (.Tanuary 19, 1810) ; the 
day before was unusually warm for winter, he says, 
but the next morning brought a great change — " the 



cold was intense." Cf. Woburn Journal, for January 
1(5, 1885. 

December 25, Christmas, was called by that name 
for the first time in these annals in the year 1810. 
February 2, Candlemas day, is named as such in 1811. 
On February 4, 1811, was a deep snow with great 
drifts ten feet deep. On the 11th of February the 
sun had not been seen for ten days past. On the 21st 
there was much snow on the ground. On June 30, 
1811, there was a contribution in Woburn for New- 
bury (port), destroyed by fire. 

In 1812, E-iquire Thompson, the diarist, was eighty- 
one years old, and though his items are continued till 
1814, there is a dearth of incident. In 1815 occurred 
an event of considerable interest to a large portion of 
the community, namely, the death of the wife of Mr. 
Chickering, the Congregational minister. Three of 
their children also died about the same time as their 
mother. Her age was thirty-one years. There has 
been preserved a paper containing the order of the 
procession at the funeral of Mrs. Chickering, which 
occurred on Monday, November G, 1815. The pro- 
cession was to move from the house of the Rev. 
Joseph Chickering, precisely at half-past two o'clock 
P.M., to the meeting-house, in the following order: 

First marBlial. Meinl)ers of tlie Fenialo Kciiiling Society. Second 
mardliat. Corpse. Mourners. Neigliborinj; ministers witli tlieir wives. 
Meniljera of the church. Members of tlie society. Strangers. Third 
niarsliat. 

A marble slab in ihe second burying-ground covers 
her " earthly remains" and these of her three chil- 
dren who died at nearly the same time as she did. 
She was Betsey White, of Concord, Mass. 

At this period .also was issued a license to a manu- 
facturer of leather, namely, to Abijah Thompson, 
afterwards General Thompson, to conduct a tannery 
of twelve vats in Woburn, owned by himself, for the 
tanning of leather for the term of one year. This 
license was given in conformity to a law of the United 
States, and was dated October 21, 1815. In 1815 oc- 
curred the famous September gale. 

In 1815, also occurred some interest in the matter 
of public vaccin.ation of the inhabitants. One Doc- 
tor Fansher proposed to vaccinate all in Woburn 
who needed it at the dilierent school-houses at an ex- 
pense to the town of seventy-five dollars. He would 
attend also to see that each had the genuine " kine- 
pock " and insure their safety from the small-pox. 
The doctor called this a "general vaccine inocula- 
tion." He signed his name S. Fansher. He had the 
support of the two village doctors and the Congreg.a- 
tional minister. There is extant a petition to the se- 
lectmen, dated Aug. 9, 1815, for an article in town 
warrant, to see if the town will accept the proposals 
of the above doctor, " for a general inoculation of the 
line-pock throughout the town," signed by Drs. .Syl- 
vanus Plympton and Francis Kittredge and tbe Rev. 
Joseph Chickering, and others. Again, in 1823, Dr. 
Francis Kittredge and nine others petitioned for an 



358 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



article in the town warrant concerning the purchase 
of one or more " bathing tubs " for the public use of 
the town. This was a species of sweating-box, or 
bath, used in connection with cases of malignant 
fever, particularly the spotted fever, a disease which 
raged with great fatality in this region in the earlier 
part of the present century. 

In 1815, Mr. John Brooks Russell, a native of the 
town of Arlington, Mass., went to school in Woburn 
a couple of weeks to one Hall J. Kelley, who had 
started a school of half-a-dozen scholars at New 
Bridge. Mr. Russell s.ays "I boarded with a Mr. 
Thompson in a house where Count Rumford was 
born." His impressions of Woburn in 1815 are given 
in the following brief recital : " I recollect Woburn 
onl}' as a terribly dull farming town, partaking largely 
of the depression that was pretty general after the 
war of 1812." It may be inferred that, at the time 
Mr. Russell describes, those who pursued mechanical 
trades, or even exercised their skill in the learned pro- 
fessions, combined with those employments the occu- 
pation of agriculture, which was one of the main 
sources of their support. Even the most well-to-do 
e.xercised themselves personally in the various duties 
of farming, such as haying, laying walls, planting, 
gathering crops, caring for cattle, cutting wood, etc., 
etc., and the situation remained apparently unchanged 
in 1837, when the shoe manufacture was an import- 
ant business in the place, as it had been at the begin- 
ning of the century, and the tanneries were only four 
in number. After the opening of the Lowell Railroad 
in 183.5, which passed to the east of the main village, 
a community grew up at what was the"b called East 
Woburn, now called by the name of the village of 
Montvale, and here an India rubber factory was es- 
tablished and other business, with an attempt also to 
establish a " silk farm " for the prosecution of the 
silk industry, a subject then attracting considerable 
attention in the country at large, and also a building 
enterprise, the whole proving less of a success than 
its projectors expected. At the time of the opening 
of the Lowell Railroad the south village in Woburn, 
now the town of Wiachester, began to show signs of 
growth, particularly in the vicinity of the railroad. 
Here a village grew up which was soon dignified with 
the name of South Woburn. The population of the 
whole town in 1837 was only 2600, of which number 
383 males and 320 females were employed in the man- 
ufacture of shoes. The number of hands employed 
in the tanneries was 77. In the door, sash and blind 
manufacture were employed 17 hands in three facto- 
ries. The number of hands employed in the India 
rubber manufacture is not given. The Middlesex 
Canal, which ran a little to the west of the main vil- 
lage, was in operation, and added an element of vari- 
ety and enterprise, but it was soon destined to fail, 
because of the superior advantages of the railroads. 
The main village was described, at that date, as con- 
sisting of about " 70 or 80 dwelling-houses, a number 



of mechanic shops and mercantile stores, with 4 
churches, — 1 Congregational, 2 Baptist and 1 Univer- 
salist, and an academy." Horn Pond at that time was 
also a place of considerable resort, and in the warm 
season a house on its shore was well patronized by 
visitors, who came by boat on the canal, which had 
six locks at this place, the whole spot being made 
attractive by summer houses, bowling alley (on the 
island in the pond), boat-houses, fountain, groves and 
beautiful scenery. 

In 1S46, according to a writer in that year, after the 
Woburn Branch Railroad, two miles in length, to Wo- 
burn Centre, had just been con.'^tructed, Woburn.was 
essentially a manufacturing town ; pleasant villages 
had sprung up in various parts ; the principal manu- 
focture was of shoes and of leather; besides these were 
manufactories of doors, blinds and sashes, mahogany 
veneers and knobs, furniture, tin and cabinet-wares, 
India rubber goods, sewing silk, files, saws and lasts. 
The houses of public worship were then 2 Congrega- 
tionalist, 2 Baptist and 1 Universalist. Warren 
Academy, opened in 1828, was flourishing, and de- 
lightfully situated near the centre on a beautiful emi- 
nence. The town contained some beautiful farms. 
Horn Pond was still remarkable for its rural beauties, 
and numerous visitors were still attracted to it from a 
distance. The hills, dales and woods of the town 
were exceedingly pleasant. To this period the in- 
habitants had been mostly of the original stock. The 
Rev. Mr. Bennett, in 1846, whose career as minister 
of the first Congregational Church in Woburn cov- 
ered the period from 1822 to 1847, speaks of them as 
a peaceable people, as a stable people, — not change- 
able nor fickle, — their habits were country habits ; 
like Mr. Bennett himself, they were born and brought 
up in the country, and were accustomed to industry, 
economy and plain manners. He was, he said, 
brought up to saw his own wood, to make his own 
fire; in a word, to wait upon himself; and in AVoburn 
he was among a plain country people of similar habits 
and customs. With the opening of the railroads and 
the increase of manufacturing came persons who 
were natives of other parts of New England, and set- 
tled down among them, and with them also, in large 
numbers, came a body of foreigners, principally of 
Irish extraction, who readily found work in the shops 
and soon became an important element in the popu- 
lation of the place. This race was strong and willing 
to work, and became the owners, in time, of their own 
dwellings and of much real estate. They have furnished 
the community with many sober, industrious and 
patriotic citizens, and have borne well their share of 
the burdens imposed upon the community. The 
presence of this large body of strangers modified many 
of the customs and peculiarities of the older citizens, 
making them more cosmopolitan in their views and 
manner of life, and the contact of races, it may be 
said without prejudice, has been mutually beneficial, 
— the strangers adopting some of the better qualities 



WOBURX. 



359 



of the older stock in modes of business and life, in 
education and refinement. 

In ISof), after the loss of the village of South Wo- 
burn, which in that year was incorporated as the town 
of Winchester, a miniature directory of Woburn was 
published, wliich contains some valuable particulars 
regarding the amount of business then performed in 
the town and the names of those conducting it. The 
leather manufactories were then thirteen in number, 
conducted by Abijah Thompson & Co., in two yards, 
J. B. Wiiiii & Co., in four yards, John Cummings, Jr., 
& Co., Bond & Tidd, Charles Tidd & Co., Cyrus Cum- 
mings, G. L. Ingerson, William Tidd, Henry Tidd, 
Harris Munroe, Warren Fox, John Shepard and Jo- 
seph Di)w. The shoe manufacturers were Nichols, 
Winn & Co., John Flanders, Grammer & Brother, 
John Tidd & Son, D. Buckman & Son, F. K. Cragin, 
William Flanders, Luther Holden, Oliver Green, Je- 
duth'.in Richardson, S. Caldwell, Frederick Flint, Al- 
van W. Manning, James D. Taylor, Dauiel Cum- 
mings, S. T. Langley, Harris Johnson, Augustus 
Roundy, C. H. Thwing, A. S. Wood, William Leathe, 
A. P. Smith, Nathan Hyde and H. H. Flanders, — 
twenty-four concerns. The boot manufacturers num- 
bered two concerns — Winthrop Wyman and S. R. 
Duren, Jr. Of stores there were six English and 
West India goods stores, kept by Nichols, Winn & 
Co., Thompson & Tidd, William \Voodberry, Martin 
L. Converse, William S. Bennett and Thompson & 
Flagg ; two dry goods stores, kept by John Fowle (2d) 
and Nathan Wyman, Jr. ; merchant tailors' establish- 
ments, two, kept by Gage & Fowle and Philip Teare ; 
Wejit India goods alone, four stores, proprietors, L. 
P. Davis, William Beers, The Protective Union or 
Union Store and J. S. Ellis ; hats, caps and shoes, B. 
F. Wyer & C). ; millinery, M. A. Teare, J. Brainard 
and Betsey Roundy; clothing, Amos Bugbee ; hard- 
ware, Kimball & Ladd and E. Trull ; books and sta- 
tionery, G. W. Fowle ; jewelry, W. M. Weston ; drugs 
and medicines, E. Cooper & Son and E. Trull ; paints 
and oils. Cutter & Otis; lumber. Richardson & CoUa- 
more. There was the usual number of professional 
men for a population of nearly .3800 persons, viz., 
clergymen, lawyers and physicians. The number of 
dwellings in 1860 was 617; shops of all kinds, 279; 
tan-houses, 8 ; ware-houses and store.-^, 21 ; mills, 8 ; 
barns, 241. 

After 1850 the era of the weekly local newspaper 
commenced, which has continued regularly without 
cessation to the i)resent time. Many of these enter- 
prises had been started, and the existence of some of 
them was of brief duration only ; others have bad a 
well-nigh continuous existence from the time of their 
Commencement, particularly the Woburn Journal 
and the Woburn Adcertlrer, in both of which a much 
fuller account is given of the current local events 
than could be in any manner attempted here. The 
Wobura Journal began in 18.51, ami has continued 
under various names, such as the Middlesex Journal, 



1854, and the Woburn Journal again in 1873, to the 
pre<eut time. The Woburn Advertiser began in 1871, 
and continued till 1889, when, by the death of its edi- 
tor and proprietor, who had published it from the 
first, its existence ceased. Its place is now- filled by 
the Woburn City Press, which has entered upon it^ 
second year. Two papers of ability and note — the 
Woburn Budget, 1857-1863, and the Woburn Towns- 
man, 1864 — were published during the years men- 
tioned, but were abandoned on account of their pro- 
jectors and managers entering the army during the 
American Civil War. ' The period between 1850 and 
1860, in Woburn, might be called a money-making 
period ; mechanics made good livings, store-keepers 
accumulated money, and profe.ssional men and man' 
ufacturers accumulated wealth. The financial trou- 
bles of 1857 did not make any great impre-sion here. 
Indeed, the period might be termed :he halcyon 
period of Woburn, when contentment and manufac- 
turing prosperity reigned supreme. In 1860 the Lynn 
strike of shoemakers made some impression in Wo- 
burn, and th€ writer remembers one procession of so- 
called strikers connected with that movement march- 
ing in the streets of this town. But the War of the 
Rebellion, 1861-1865, created an enormous demand 
for leather — Woburn's staple pro'duct — and the 
growth of business and of the town itself was very 
marked — much greater than it had ever been before — 
and the impetus of that period has continued to the 
present. From 017 dwellings in 1850, the number 
had increased to 988 in I860, to 1074 in 1861, to 
1323 in 1870, to 1691 in 1880, and to 2007 in 1887, 
and 2145 in 1889. The most marked civil events 
of the period from 1850 to 18S9 were this rapid 
growth, the action of the town during the civil 
war, which belongs more especially to the military 
history of the place; and an extensive fire in the 
month of March, 1873, which destroyed one church 
edifice and several business structures; and the gift 
of a large sum of money from one of the citizens for 
a free public library ; the construction of a loop of 
the former Boston and Lowell Railroad, now the Eas- 
tern Division of the Boston and Maine Railroad, 
through the place in 1885; the extension of the horse 

1 other newspapers in Woburn were The Sentinel, 18:19 ; Woburn Ga- 

zeUe, IS 12-44 ; Tlie New Englattd Familtt, 1844 or 45 ; GazeUe Hgaiu 1846- 
47 ; Wcekhj Advertiser, 1846 ; Giiide-Posl, 1840-48 ; Yonng Independent, 

I (amateur), lS7i; Oar Paper (L'nitarlan), 187.i-78 ; Church at Work ^ 

(Biiplisl), 1875-70 : The Hileiit Worker (Methodist), 1876 ; Weekltj Iiidr- 
pendent, 1S78 ; IVoliirn Ilfm, 1879 ; GruUan Echo, 1881-82 ; 1^1,60™ 

I Courier, \SSi-Si : t'liion n>t%. 1884-85. 

I Under the topic of " All About Woburn " the publishers of the 

1 Woburn Budget begao a series of articles Oct. 14, 1859, entitled, News- 
papers, Military, Woburn Bands, Firemen, Saw-Manufacturing, Gas- 
Works. Hat Manufacture, Woburn Tract Society, Leather Manufacture, 
etc.,8ubjectsof interest to the people of that time. A parish newspaper 
called Our Paper (1875-78), contained articles of a similar kind, e. tj., 
Woburn in Kngland, Liberal Christianity in Woburn, The Water Sup- 
ply, The Press, and Library. 

The Herald of Tmlh and Emngelical Messenger, a rolisious periodical, 
was published and edited in Woburn by Mark Allen, vol. i. to vii. ISli"- 
74. 



360 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



railroad from North Woburn to Wincliester and the 
construction of another horse railroad from Woburn 
to Stoneham ; the introduction of electric light in ad- 
dition to gas, etc., etc. ; the incorporation of the 
town as a city in 1888 ; the increase of institutions 
and facilities which accompany the growth of a large 
place — these are the evident features, to be observed 
by all comers, of her present prosperity. 

Note.— The description of reii! estate in Woburn First Parish in 1798 
■was designed to serve as a basis for tlie valuation required by the assess- 
ment of tlie United States direct tax of that year. The original volume 
belongs to the Woburn Public Library, and a copy in manuscript has 
been made from it. All the details given are now very valuable to con- 
veyancers and antiquaries. In the original there is an atteniptat alpha- 
betical arrangement The copy is inde,\ed. The description gives the 
dimensions of the houses, the number of their windows, the amount of 
glass, the number of their stories, the names of their owners, and the 
value of the bouses and the land on which they stood. The other prop- 
erty is treated in a similar manner. The original book was i)re- 
pared under the direction of Samviel Thompson, Esq., of Woburn, the 
•' principal .issessor" of the district, and the handwriting is supposed to 
be that of Jeduthun Richardson, "assistantassessor" for Woburn First 
Parish, for the most part. An introduction to the copy above mentioned 
contains considerable information which we cannot give here. The 
description was not completed, because a portion of the act authorizing 
the tax was soon repealed, and the specifications in relation to dwelling 
houses, their situation, their dimensions or area, their number of stories, 
the number and dimensions of their windows, and their building mate- 
rials, were no longer required. A description of some of these houses, 
by Leander Thompson, is published in the Winchester Record, i. 131- 
147, and extracts from the above description of real estate are given in 
articles in the Wiitchester Record, i. 147-101. 

Some interesting plans of the Academy Hill lots, .so called, of date 
184G, are found in the Thompson Collection in the Woburn Public 
Library. These were based on a previous plan of the Coolidge lots, bo 
called, laid out by Luke Fowle in 1827. The n.ames of the owners of 
lots are quite fully given on the plans, as well as in a copy of Luke 
Fowle's field-book, made June 18, ISlii, by Uenjainin Cutter, and pre- 
served with them. 

The particulars of the death of Mary Ann, child of 
Zebadiah Wyman, are told more fully by her father 
in the family MSS. The accident occurred at 3 
o'clock P.M., on the Sabbath. Her mother and her- 
self were at home, while the rest of the family had 
gone to meeting. The child undertook to kindle a 
fire in the house, when her clothes caught tire. By 
shaking them to put it out a blaze was created and 
instantly she was wrapped in flames. Her mother's 
e-xertions were unavailing; the child died in twenty- 
four hours after. At the moment of the .accident, 
Mr. Chickering, the minister, was relating the deaths 
of the year past in the parish and entreating the peo- 
ple to consider the uncertainty of life. "'At that 
moment," writes her father, " the fatal scene opened 
on Mary Ann ! " 

Nathan Wyman in a Bible (edition of Isaiah 
Thomas, Worcester, 1801) made the following entry 
in regard to the dedication of the meeting-house of 
1809: "June 28, 1809, Woburn new meeting-house 
dedicated. Rev. Mr. Osgood made the first prayer 
and Mr. Joseph Chickering preached the sermon 
from Acts 7 : 48. Rev. Mr. Marrett made the last 
prayer." This Bible was the property of Nathan 
Wyman as early as 180.5. Mr. Chickering in his 
printed dedicatory discourse, 1809, gives a number of 



particulars concerning the new house and the burn- 
ing of the old one. The building was the fourth 
meeting-house which had been erected by the church 
and parish. The house was decent and becoming 
their circumstances; it united simplicity with ele- 
gance. After the former meeting-house was discov- 
ered to be on fire near the hour of midnight, June 17, 
1808, in less than an hour it was reduced to ashes. 
Several circumstances evinced a design on the part of 
some one to destroy the house. Mr. Chickering re- 
cites them, but says nothing had transpired to justify 
a suspicion of any individual. It had been custom- 
ary to keep the town's stock of powder in the tower 
of the house, but the explosion of this was so incon- 
siderable on the night of the fire, that most of it 
must have been removed. The house which was de- 
stroyed was raised ia 1748, and finished ia 1752. 
Zebadiah Wyman (the 2d), in his family MSS., speak- 
ing of that house, says, " Our new meeting-house was 
erected in the first week in December, 1748; the stee- 
ple (or tower) was put up in June, 1749." The edi- 
fice of 1809 cost $7911, and the building was orna- 
mented with a handsome steeple. A fund of 13000 
was acquired by the sale of pews, the income of which 
was intended to be applied towards the annual ex- 
penses of the society. 

An interesting illustrated article on the Middlesex 
Canal appeared iu the Boston, (Hobe, Jlay 12, 1889. 
The principal writers on the subject of the canal are 
pjddy, Vose and Sherburne. The stock ledger of the 
canal company belong.^ to the Woburn Public Library. 
Cf. Woburn Journal, Jan. 30, and Feb. 13, 20, 1885, 
for sketches of a trip on the canal and its history. 

The Early History of the Leather Busi- 
ness. — John and Francis Wyman, brother.^, and 
early settlers, were tanners, and had their tanning 
establishment near the corner of Main and the 
present Wyman Street, where the tan vats are still 
said to be buried up in the hollow spot directly 
south of the junction of these two streets. Another 
early tanning establishment was that of Gershora 
Flagg, to the north of Woburn Common, on a spot 
now traversed by Winn Street. Here, in 1673, he 
had one dwelling-house, a bark-house, mill-house, 
beam-house, and tan vals with an acre of land belong- 
ing, being situated, according to the description, in 
High Street, near the meeting-house, and bounded 
west on the lands of the Rev. Thomas Carter, the 
town minister, and eaft by the town burying-plaee, 
now the ancient cemetery on Park Street, and south 
by the training-field, or the present Common or its 
original limits. This land and house-jilot was some 
of it bought and some of it was given by the town. 
As the proprietor of this tannery was killed in battle 
with the Indians in 1690, and as nothing further is 
heard of it, it probably was allowed to go out of use, 
and it is probable that none of these early establish- 
ments were conducted upon anything more than a 
small and very limited scale. The Wymans appear 



WOBURN. 



361 



to be followed in their business in the original place 
by a later member of their family, Jonathan Wynlan, 
and slill later David Cummiiiga, Jonathan Tidd, 
Jeremiah Clapp and Jesse Richardson, the fourth, 
were engaged in the leather manufacturing business 
in buildings of small size in various parts of the town. 
David Cummings, the ancestor of the present Hon. 
John Cummings, of Woburn, came to Woburn from 
Andover, about 1750, and here engaged in the busi- 
ne.s3 of tanning and agriculture on land employed by 
Hon. John Cummings for the same purpose at a 
more recent date. This land was purchased by David 
Cummings of Israel Reed, about Nov, 12, 1756, and 
contained ab lUt thirty-six acres. In 1770 David 
Cuuimings purchased a farm in Woburn of Abijah 
Smith ; that farm contains the old Cummings home- 
stead, and has always been in the possession of the 
family since the date of purchase from Smith. 
The deed was recorded on Aug. 30, 1770. The 
form contained about 127 acres, with a way 
across it. In his day the winter was devoted to 
tanning and the summer to farming, and the tanning 
business was conducted on a very small scale indeed. 
John Cumminus, his grandson, followed David, by 
beginning business as a tanner about 1804, and about 
1830 took up the manufacture of " chaise leather" as 
a specialty, and succeeded in acquiring a wide repu- 
tation for that article. Henext manufactured enam- 
eled leather, and was the first, or among the first, 
to use the splitting-machine, and was subsequently 
the almoner of the fund contributed by the leather 
interest for the benefit of the inventor of that useful 
machine.' He relinquished in later life his business 
to the management and control of his eldest son, the 
present Hon. John Cummings, and it was this bus- 
iness which built up the village of Cummingsville in 
Woburn. General Abijah Thompson, who became 
an apprentice in the business of tanning and curry- 
ing leather, in 1810, and served four years, began 



^There is preserved in the Woburn Public Library (Wyman Coll. MSS., 
index, p. 12!i), a puper of date 1811-12, entitleil, " Acconnt of my time 
and expense attending In the concerns of the proprietors of the patent 
machine for pplittitit; or shaving leathiT,"' but to wliom it refers is not 
evident. Tile inventor of the niacliine was evidently Saninel Parl^er, of 
Billerica, who obtained patentson leather-splitting machines in l.SOS, 1,S09, 
and 1813. He was a poor man. and was helped by .Jonathan Tidd, of 
Woburn, at tlie ontset, and \v;is the person to whom John Cummings, 
Sr., was almoner, as noticed in the text. lie died at Billerica in 1841. 
Cf. HAZeti' 8 Hiftlory, 281 ; Davis' ManupKtnre of LeathrT, ;5S:i. Woburn 
inventore who have obtained patents for impiovementson these machines 
are John B. Tay, 18.5'i ; George Reynolds, )874 ; J. D. McDonald and 
W. BegKS, 18S3 ; E. Cummings, 1883-85. The machines of John D. Mc- 
Donald and William Beggs, and of Kustace Cummings are described at 
length in Davis' M«nufni-litre of Leather, pp. 37.i-8, 380-83. 

other Woburn names connected with inventions used in the manu- 
facture of leather are the following : F. W. Perry and J. H. Pierce, 
1S66 ; J. W. McDonald, ISTS, Tj, '81 ; E. D. Warren, 1881-82 ; C. H. 
Taylor, 1881 ; J. Maxwell, 1874 ; J. Parker, 1800 ; J. H. Hovey, 1882 ; 
W. Ellard, 1801,74; C. A. McDonald, 1872; E. B. Parlihnrst, 1878; J. 
Champion, 1S70; C. B. Bryant, 1883; J. T. Freeman, 188.i-86 ; William 
H. Wood, 1884. Cf. Davis' Mmiufuctiire, pp. 23,), 334, 33S, 4(18, 439, 
440, 400, 407, o-il, 615. James W. McDonald's invention of an unhair- 
ing machine is mentioned io the Encydopiedia ByitannU-'if 9th ed., 
suppl., vol. iii., p. 577. 



with two dollars capital, in 1814, in Woburn, in a 
small tannery in the west part of the town, near the 
junction of the present Cambridge and Russell 
Streets. At this time he had two apprentices. He 
continued in this w.ay for about ten years ; then he 
bought a tract of fifteen acres with a small water 
privilege near the centre of the town. It was a rough 
place, but he commenced clearing it, built a dam, 
erected a building and put down twenty vats, enlarg- 
ing by degrees his business as he gained in capital, 
till he was one of the largest and most successful 
leather manufacturers of the time. Thus the village 
of Thompson ville was commenced, and with the ad- 
vent of General Thompson's factory increased the 
leather manufacture in Woburn till it assumed very 
important proportions. Benjamin F. Thompson, a 
brother of General Abijah, commenced business in 
Woburn on a small scale in 1823, in a long and nar- 
row building, still standing in that part of the town 
now known as Cummingsville, and lived in one end 
of the same building that was also his manufactory- 
He was prospered, removed also his business to the 
centre, where he built a manufactory, and later re- 
moved to Winchester, and there built another. Such 
was the history of the beginning of the leather busi- 
nt ss in Woburn. 

Mi.sc'ELLANY. — A printed report of the first annual 
meeting of the directors of the Woburn Agricultural 
and Manufacturing Company (1836) contains an ac- 
count of the enterprise known as the Woburn siik 
farm, and the matter was made the subject of an arti- 
cle by H. F. Smith in Boston Globe, July 15, 1883. A 
few of the mulberry trees set out at the time are said 
still to remain. The company expected to raise or- 
anges also on their laud, and this feature of their 
enterprise is preserved in the name of Orange Street, 
at Montvale. 

An interesting article on the houses shown in 
Bowen Buckman's picture of 1820, and others, was 
published by the Rev. Leander Thompson in the 
]\obiirn City Press, Feb. 0, 1890. 

A lithographic plan of the building lots owned by 
SylvanusWood and J. E. Littlefield, in 1845, in the 
present populous Highland District in Woburn, shows 
that in that year there was only one house on that 
tract — the house now occupied by the Hon. Joseph 
G. Pollard. Tlie first person to live in the bouse was 
Mr. Littlefield, followed by Mr. Daniel Kimball, and 
later on by his brother, John R. Kimball. At the 
date of 1845 there wa.s a stopping-place on the Wo- 
burn Branch Railroad at the Green Street crossing.' 

The Mishawu.m House. ^ Besides the Horn 
Pond Hotel there was another resort of some celebrity 



20f some interest in (his connection are lithographic plans of house- 
lots, belonging to Jeduthun Fowle, in this same neigiiburhood, of dale 
1849 and 1855. These plans show adjoining tracts of land and streets, 
besides the location of dwelling houses, etc. These, with the original 
drafts, are to be found with the Thompson plans in the Woburn Public 
Library. 



36: 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



in Woburn, known as the Mishawum House, which, 
though on the line ol'the main stage routes, was also 
approached by way of the Middlesez Canal. This 
house was advertiied as a "Hotel in Woburn" as 
early as the year 1813, in which year Thomas Murphy 
from Concord had taken it, describing it as a " pleas- 
ant and commodious house, lately owned by Ichabod 
Parker." It was at that time "half a mile north of 
the [Woburn] meeting-house, and only nine miles 
from Charlestown bridge." Pains had then been 
taken to beautify the garden, to prepare walks and 
bowling-alleys, and there was also a large fish-pond 
near, and a variety of game in the neighboring woods 
and fields ; the place was also said to afford many 
charms to persons fond of exercise and sports. The 
proprietor, in 1813, had a large hall and could accom- 
modate companies for balls, fire-clubs, canal parties, 
etc., at the shortest notice; the canal, he said, at its 
season, afforded a romantic and charming ride. The 
house was only thirty rods from the canal banks. 
Small parties could take the packet boat, which arrived 
from Boston and Charlestown at one o'clock, after- 
noon, dine, spend the afternoon and the morning 
of the following day in fishing and gunning, and re- 
turn at one o'clock, the second day, in the same con- 
veyance, or they could be accommodated with a 
carriage, if desired. The house was on the direct road 
from Boston to Billerica, Amherst, N. H., Andover 
and Haverhill, Mass., and Portsmouth, N. H. The 
distance from Boston was just far enough to ride 
without stopping, and boarders were accommodated 
on liberal terms. The house stood on Main Street, 
near corner of New Boston Street, on the estate now 
owned and occupied by Gritfin Place. A portion of 
the building now stands ou Kilby Street. Many 
years before, in 1775, Woburn was on the upper stage 
route from Bo.ston to Portsmouth, and in 1812 the al- 
manacs speak of the town as being on the road from 
Boston to Amherst, N. H., all of which coincides 
with the statement given in the advertisement of the 
Mishawum Hotel of 1813. In 1828 the hotel was the 
half-way house between Boston and Lowell for the 
line of stage-coaches running between these two 
places, and fourteen stages each way are said to have 
made this house their frequent stopping-place. Cf. 

Woburn Journal, August 21, 1885. 

Events from the Guide-post. — The following 
list of notable events was prepared at our request by 
Mr. J. Gushing Richardson, from the files of the 

Woburn Weekly Advertiser and Guide-post, 1846-1848. 
No. 1 of the former paper was dated Sept. 3, 1846. 
Vol. I, No. 1 : Town-meeting, N. A. Richardson, 
nioderat(.r. Phalanx parade. Notice of Woburn 
Debating Club meeting and Episcopal services at the 
town-hall, Sept. 6. Adverusemeuts of the Marion 
brass band, and of cemetery lots at auction, Sept. 24. 
No. 2: The daughter of Mr. Hood drowned in the 
canal near Hon. William Sturgis's. [Mr. Hood was 
butler lor Mr. Sturgis. — J. (/. /?.] No. 4 : A son of 



Mr. B. Collins found drowned in a barrel of water. 
No. 5: Mr. Symmes buried in a well he was digging 
at South Woburn. No. 6: Rev. Mr. Sewall engaged 
foroneyear to preach at North Woburn [Kew Bridge). 
No. 7: Decision in cock-fighting case.' No. 8: New 
brick block (Wade's block) built. Debating club. 
Notice of lecture by Rev. Owen Lovejoy, of Illinois. 
No. 9: Fire, Isaac Shattuck's house, Richardson's 
Row entirely consumed. No. 11 : A highway rob- 
bery, also a burglary. No. 15: Unitarian service. 
No. 17 : Advertisement for volunteers for Mexican 
War. Volunteers from the town. 1847. No. 28 : 
Notice of a meeting for forming a Liberal Society. 
No. 31: Notice of lecture by Rev. ]Mr. Sewall — a lec- 
ture on Woburn. No. 37 ; Change of proprietors of 
the (luide-pnst. No. 48 : Notice of Mr. Sewall, of 
Burlington, in relation to records of births, marriages 
and deaths. No. 50: Robbery of the A. and M. As- 
sociation. Vol. 11, No. 1 (Oct. 7, 1847): Mr. L. Cox, 
Jr., ordained minister of the Second Baptist Church. 
Advertisement of man lost. No. 2: Complimentary 
letter to A. H. Nelson, Esq., from the grand jury of 
Essex County. Married in Nashua, N. H., Rev. 
Joseph Bennett to Miss CaMine Esly, of Nashua. 
No. 3: Dr. John Nelson appointed justice of the 
peace. Card of Dr. T. Rickard. No. 4 : Letter from 
graud jury of Middlesex County to A. H. Nelson. 
Esq. Notice of military muster. No. 5: Notice of a 
course of lyceum lectures. No. 6 : Fire at New 
Bridge village. No. 8 : The death of the Rev. Joseph 
Bennett; also notice of his funeral. 1848. No. 16: 
At a town-meeting held Jan. 18, voted to grant leave 
to fence the Common. No. 18 (Feb. 27) : Mr. John 
C. Stockbridge installed pastor of the First Baptist 
Church. No. 19 : Mr. Jo-eph Richardson buried 
with military honors. No. 23: Town-meeting do- 
ings. No. 25 : The First Cong. Church call Rev. 
Jonathan Edwards, of Andover, to be their pastor. 

The articles on local historical topics in the paper called Our Paper 
are found by the following referencfs: Woburu in England (references 
already given in the first part of this article) ; Liberal Christianity iu 
Woburn, vol. i. (1876), pp. 65, 77, 85 ; vol. ii. (1876), pp. 1, 9, 17, 29, 37. 
39, 57, 65, 73, 85, 86, 90 ; the Woburn Water Supply, vol. ii., p. 41 ; the 
Woburn Press, vol. ii., pp. 54, 62 ; the Woburu Library, vol. ii., pp. 64, 
62, 71, 78, 91 ; also the issue for 1878, p. 2. 

Beginning with the lirst volume and first number (Oct. 18, 18.51) the 
Wohitrn Journal published the town records of births, marriages and 
deaths, completing the publication July 5, 1856. The compiler (Na- 
than Wyniau) was also a frequent contributor of obituaries and liistori- 
cal articles to that paper ; the la^t efforts of his pen were eleven articles 
entitled, ''Material for History,'' on such subjects as tithingmen, bells, 
strollers, old receipts and bills, Jack Rand, the poetry of Zebadiah Wy- 
man, oration by Abijah Thompson, unpublished letters of members of 
Count RumforU's family ; the first article appeared July 6, 1883, and the 
last Nov. 23, 1883. The present writer's first piece for the Journal ap- 
peared twenty-one years ago, ou Feb, 6, 1869, and a large number from 
his pen on historical subjects have appeared since. The Rev. Leander 
Thompson has also contributed many papers on historical subjects to 
the Journal, and the Hon. E. F. Johnson has been an occasional wnter, 
a unique production of his pen being the " Story of a Hearse," which 
appeared in the Journal on Sept. 10, 1886. 

The principal historical writer in the Woburn Adrertiser was the late 

1 Cf. W'uburn Journal, .\ug. 5, 1881, fur an account of the affair. 



WOBURN. 



363 



Alfred A. Newball. His most notable contributioD was on the bouses 
itt Woburn in 1832, tirst published iu 1871, and again, with additions, in 
1881-1882, or fifty yeanj after 1832. At that date the taverns were Ben- 

jauiin Wood's, Maisball Fowle's,John Fiagg's, Ira Glover's, Haines', 

the lay Taverji, Daniel Mixer's and the Black H.irse. The stores were 
kept by Boweu Bucknian. James Bridge, John Fowle, Zebadiah Wyinan, 
Martin L. Converse, Stephen Nicliols, S. T. Richardson, William Gram- 
mer and Joel F. Thayer. For population in 18 J2, churches, school- 
houses, shoe-manufacturers, bakery, tailor, painter and harness maker, 
tin manufacturer, leather manufacturers, physicians and lawyers, see 
his article in AdcerlUcr, Xov. 3, 1881. The |)eople, the academy, the 
canal and Horn I'ond are the subject of that for Sov. 10, 1881. The 
Youug Meu's Society, the Selectmen and the ministers that for Nov. 24, 
1881. The mills, the use of wood and peat, the town meadow, the tiret 
shoe-store (about 1838), and the stage to Boston that for Dec. 1, 1881. 
The streets, Horn Pond Mountain, Rag Rock, the places where town- 
mi-etiiigs were held, the questions of temperance and anti-slavery form 
the subject of an article, Nov, 17, 1881. These were followed by a aeries 
of articles entitled, "Observations About Town." 

Mr. Charles K. Conn has written some local historical articles for the 
Citi/ Press. Mr. Nathaniel A. Richardson, a well-informed authority, 
has also written some characteristic articles for the Journal. 

Th« principal writers on the paper called Our Paper were the Rev. 
William S. Barnes and Librarian George M. Cbarapney. 

Ned Kendall. — A reminiscence of the Horn 
Pond resort is found in an article by a recent writer 
on the subject of Ned Kendall, the famous Boston 
bugler (1808-1861). This writer says of Kendall: 
" In his palmiest days he frequently went to Woburn 
with military and other organizations, as well as 
with his own ' Boston Brass Band.' The ' Horn Pond 
House,' near a charming lake and in the midst of 
delightful scenery, was a place of great attraction to 
parties of pleasure and recreation. At the tables 
after the cloth was removed, Kendall's Band would 
intersperse the speaking with the most choice and 
enlivening music. Without announcement, without 
baton and beating of time to lead or to show that he 
was leader, he and his compeers would intermix the 
most mellifluous straius that graced the occasion ; 
and drew boys and, perhaps, birds to hear the mar- 
velous music." There is to be seen in the antique 
department of the Woburn Public Library, the pic- 
ture of one of the encampments of these military 
organizations near the Horn Pond Hotel. The pic- 
ture is entitled, " Encampment, Woburn, Mass.," and 
was drawn by C. Hubbard and lithographed by T. 
Moore, Boston. The organization encamped was the 
New England Guard (or Guards), of Boston, with a 
Boston brass band. Two small cannon are shown in 
the illustration, though the organization it.sclf is 
drilling as infantry in the foreground. The field was 
in rear of the Horn Pond Hotel and on the top of 
the Academy Hill, and was an open space, the only 
one, perhaps, on the hill ; the remainder of the hill 
being then covered with woods. It was on Warren 
Street, and to the south of present Sturgis Street. 
The time was the last week of June, 1838. Of. Wo- 
burn Journal, Feb. 2.3, 1883. The Salem corps of 
cadets were accustomed to encamp in a field adjoin- 
ing Horn Pond, being a part of the Josiah Richardson 
farm, till a comparatively recent date. 

One who remembers those days,' says of one of 

1 Dr. Ephraim Cutter, born 1832. 



these military jollifications at the Mishawum House> 
that the boys outside were entertained by parties 
throwing out oranges from the upper windows of the 
hotel among them, to see the boys scramble to get 
them. Our informant was one of the boys who wit- 
nessed the performance, and was a party with them. 
The wanton extravagance and drunken carousals of 
these organizations, on these occa-iious, no doubt, 
brought the military into disrepute among the sober- 
minded citizens of Woburn, and did much to lower 
the true military spirit which should exist in all 
communities for the safety of the commonwealth and 
nation. 

Other Matters. — We have no desire to describe 
the various isms which have afi'ected the community 
in the years since the beginning of the century. 
Whatever has been sensible in them has been appro- 
priated by the common-sense of the community. 
Nor will we describe the various political contentions 
that have arisen and excited unusual attention from 
time to time. In 1834 and 1835 occurred some 
trouble about the election of some representatives, 
and two publications have been preserved which were 
issued concerning it, — one was a remonstrance against 
the election of John Wade and others as representa- 
tives, 1834, and the other a report of the committee 
on elections, case of J. Wade and others, returned 
as members from the town of Woburn, 1835. Mr. 
Nathaniel A. Richardson, of Winchester, who was in 
public life at about that time, probably knows more 
of those exciting days, and their inside influences, 
than any one now living. 

In 1842 the original first church of Woburn cele- 
brated its two hundredth anniversary; and the town, 
coeval in its organization with the history of the 
church, took no particular notice of its own bi-cen- 
tennial anniversary. In 1845 was opened a new 
cemetery on Salem Street. An original printed pro- 
gramme of the exercises at its dedication is to be 
seen in the antique department of the Woburn Pub- 
lic Library ; and a copy of the original printed pro- 
gramme of the two hundredth anniversary of the 
church, in 1842, is in the present writer's possession, 
and another copy of the same programme was given 
by him to the Winchester Historical Society. Such 
prints are now scarce. The new cemetery was dedi- 
cated October 30, 1845. The ceremony consisted of 
an invocation by Rev. Webster B. Randolph, volun- 
tary by the Marion Band, reading of the Scriptures 
by Rev. .Silas B. Randall, original hymn by Mrs. 
Mary L. Bennett, address by Rev. Joseph Bennett, 
consecrating prayer by Rev. Luther Wright, hymn. 
Old Hundred, and the benediction by Rev. Silas B. 
Randall. The day was Tuesday, and the weather 
fine. The ceremony commenced at one o'clock, after- 
noon, and continued about one hour. It was inter- 
esting to the one thousand or more persons present, — 
a large out-door audience for Woburn at that limr. 
The original section of the enclosure was designed 



364 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



by Amasa Farrier, and laid out under the direction 
of a committee composed of Abijah Thompson, 
Oliver C. Rogers, Moses F. Winn, Samuel T. Kich- 
ardson and Nathaniel A. Kichardson. The last- 
named gentleman is the only survivor of that com- 
mittee at the present time. The area has been 
enlarged, and now contains entrances on Salem, 
Charles and Beach Streets. By the donation of $5000 
by the will of Sewall Flagg, in 186G, a tract of eleven 
and three-quarters acres was acquired, which was 
added to the original yard, and is now laid out into 
lots in general use. Another section of over six acres 
being added by purchase, the whole area is twenty- 
eight acres. In 1873 a plan of the whole was made 
by J. R. Carter, C. E., and in 1874 a new receiving 
tomb was built. Cf. Wobiirn Journal, Jan. 9, 1875. 
The first one buried in this cemetery was Jephthah 
Munroe — Larch Path, near receiving tomb. A man- 
ual of Woburn Cemetery, containing lists of the lots 
and their owners, with a historical sketch, the by- 
laws, town votes, etc., was published in 1877. An 
account of its funds was published in the town report 
for Feb. 29, 1888, pp. 94-105. 

Another cemetery was opened by the Roman Cath- 
olic sect, at Montvale, in 1856.' 

The great fire at \V'oburn Centre, loss estimated at 
first accounts at $75,000, occurred March 6, 1873. It 
was the most destructive fire which ever occurred in 
Woburn, was discovered at half-past six o'clock in the 
evening, and at seven o'clock it was apparent that 
the town fire apparatus could cot cope with it, and 
help from other places was sent for. Boston sent two 
engines and a hose-carriage, and Stoneham and Win- 
chester an engine each. The aid which they were 
ready to render was frustrated by the lack of water- 
The fire was occasioned by the explosion of a kero- 
sene lamp. The burned district covered an area of 
nearly four acres, on Main, between Everett and Wal- 
nut Streets. This plot was occupied by two wooden 
blocks of two and a half stories each, owned by Jo- 
seph Kelley, the edifice of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, a two-story furniture store, belonging to G. 
W. Pollock, a small wooden building occupied as a 
shoe-store by C. W. Nute, all on the street, and the 
Methodist parsonage house in the rear. At eleven 
o'clock that night not one of these buildings re- 
mained standing. The losses were Strout's photo- 
graphic establishment, in the upper story of Mr. 
Kelley's building, the building itself, the Methodist 
Cliurch and parsonage, Barrett's barber establish- 
ment. Still's confectionery store, Philip Teare's tailor 
shop ; Frank Flint, shoe-dealer's supplies ; S. F. 
Thompson, civil engineer ; C. W. Nute, boots and 
shoes; G. W. Pollock, furniture; the Literary Insti- 



1 Daniel B. Measures, weaver, for $400, conveyed to Michael Ferrin, 
Hugh Kenney, Patrick H. Cliifr.v. Patricls f'alnaunnd Patrick F. Brown, 
executive committee of the Woburn Catholic Cemetery Association, land 
ill East Woburn, Jan. :«l, 1850. Michael Harney's child was the first 
person buried in the pliice. The child died March 12, 1856.— E. F. J. 



tute, fixtures, etc.; Cyrus Tay, grocer, and Leonard 
Thompson, Jr., hardware. Several accidents occurred 
during the fire, but none of them serious. The fire, 
iu its progress, threatened other buildings, such as 
the Lyceum Hall and Bank Block and others, whose 
occupants prepared lor removal. It was considered 
remarkable that the fire did not extend further. The 
day of the fire was Thursday, and the ruins weie 
smoking lively Friday forenoon, but the danger was 
then passed. No water had then been let into the 
water-supply pipes which had been laid in the streets, 
by reason of the pumping-engines not being com- 
pleted. Mr. Kelley's block, known as Knight's 
building, was erected in 1840, and in it several news- 
papers had been published. The High School was 
first begun in it and the Methodist Society. The 
Methodist Church edifice was built in 1843 by the 
Universalisis, and was afterwards owned by the Uni- 
tarians, being bought by the Methodists in 1867, and 
remodeled and enlarged. The parsonage had never 
been occupied and was just completed. But one 
family, that of Mr. Still, the confectioner, lost their 
home by the fire. The want of water on this occa- 
sion showed the desirability of completing in haste 
the water-works then in preparation. 

Several years ago, July 8, 1886, an account, with 
illustrations, appeared in the Boston Globe, of the 
Walnut Hill shooting range, which was established 
in Woburn by the Massachusetts Rifle Association, 
in 1876. The range is near the line of the Boston 
and Lowell Railroad (now the Eastern Division of 
the Boston and Maine), in the easterly part of Wo- 
burn, between the Walnut Hill Station and North 
Woburn Junction. The targets are in the neighbor- 
hood of the Buck Meadow of antiquity, and are in 
sight from the cars, but the shooting-house is about 
half a mile from the railroad, and is reached from 
the Walnut Hill Station by a waiting barge. This 
building is located at the ancient Button End quarter 
of Woburn. The shooting-house and its uses are 
fuliy described in the article referred to. The rifle- 
men are civilians and military, and the place is in 
frequent use. The land belonging to the range ex- 
tends about two-thirds of a mile parallel with the 
railroad, and its width is about a quarter of a mile. 
The first shoot at these grounds occurred November 
16, 1876, a 200-yards range being then completed, 
and about thirty members of the Rifle Association 
participated. Later in the month, November 28th, 
a second shoot occurred, and a target for 800-yards 
range was ordered. The by-laws and shooting rules 
of the Massachusetts Rifle Association, with a list of 
officers and members, was printed at Boston, 1877,30 
pp., the number of members being then 131.'^ 

2 Directories of Woburn were published by John L. Parker, 1868, 
1871, 1874, 1877 ; by Lemuel G. Trott, 1881 ; by Mark Allen, 1883, 1886, 
and W. A. Greenough & Co., 1889. These useful publications contain a 
great deal of information regarding other matters in the town than the 
list of the residents merely, andean be consulted with profit by any one 
wishing to know about the busiuesa performed in the town, etc. 



i 



WOBURN. 



3G5 



Mr. Johnson, first mayor of Woburn, will here give 
an account of Woburn as a citj', and present some 
observations and facts not alluded to heretofore. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 



^\'0B URN-{Continued). 



WOBURN AS A CITY. 



BY EDWARD F. JOHNSON. 

As early as 1872 the incorporation of Woburn as a 
city was looked upon as an event of the near future. 
In the ten years preceding that date the town had in- 
creased in population from 6500 to 9350. The 
number of its polls in May, 1872, was 2891, as com- 
pared with 1760 ten years before, while its valuation 
during that period had increased from $4,653,000 to 
:?8, 718,000. This decade was indeed the most prosper- 
ous one in Woburn's history, and it is certainly a re- 
markable fact that the valuation of the town on May 
1, 1872, should be greater than it was sixteen years 
later, when it received its charter as a city, and when 
its population was twenty-five per cent, larger. This 
decrease in valuation, however, is attributable to the 
loss in assessed personal property, a loss which has 
exceeded the gain in assessed real estate during the 
same period. From 1862 to 1872 the assessed valua- 
tion had increased nearly 100 per cent., and, assum- 
ing that the future might .safely be judged by the past, 
the selectmen at that time estimated the taxable val- 
uation of the town in 1892 at $32,000,000! Resting on 
this happy financial hypothesis, they felt warranted in 
incurring debts for posterity to pay. 

In their report for the year ending March 1, 1873> 
the selectmen make the remark that " another year or 
two will give us a population entitling us to incorpor- 
ation as a city." In their next year's report the se- 
lectmen refer to the same subject in the following lan- 
guage: " Unfortunately just now our population is 
too large for the proper management of local affairs 
under our present system and too small to come under 
such restrictions and regulations as a city charter 
gives for the control of affairs of large communities. 
With our present population town-meetings are likely 
to be for the next three or five years fine specimens of 
parliamentary tactics and legislative wisdom." 

This last sentence, it is almost needless to remark^ 
is somewhat ironical. Since the days of the war our 
town-meetings had degenerated from a deliberate and 
orderly assemblage of a few hundred citizens or less, 
into a noisy, turbulent gathering of seven or eight 
hundred men, pushing and jamming one another to 
secure a seat, or even standing-room, in Lyceum Hall 
which could not accommodate one-third of the voting 
population of the town. It was, therefore, always 



within the power of a few hundred citizens, by secur- 
ing an early admittance into the hall, to efl'ecta prac- 
tical disfranchisement of their fellow-citizens. With 
the increase in population these evils became more 
apparent and less easy to aveit or control, and with 
the great mass of conservative and thinking citizens 
the sentiment in favor of a city charter grew rapidly. 

Another ten years had to elapse, however, before 
Woburn's population was such as to give the advo- 
cates of a city charter an opportunity to petition for a 
change in the form of government. The population 
in the town on May 1, 1882, as ascertained by the as- 
sessors, was 11,759, or within 241 of the required 12,- 
000. Moreover, the annual increase in population 
since 1878, had been almost uniform, and for the five 
years ending May 1, 1882, it had averaged 265 a year. 
If this ratio of increase continued the population of 
Woburn on May 1, 1883, would be 12,024. 

Relying on these statistics, a petition was presented 
to the selectmen on January 2, 1883, signed by Hon. 
John Cummings and fifty-four others, asking that a 
town-meeting be called " To obtain an expression of 
opinion relative to petitioning the Legislature for a 
city charter." The town-meeting was held January 
18th, when it was voted viva voce, and almost unani- 
mously, to petition the General Court for a city charter ; 
and the selectmen and ten other citizens were ap- 
pointed a committee to prepare such petition and take 
such other action as might be found necessary. The 
selectmen were also authorized to take a census of 
the town if deemed necessary to establish the fact that 
Woburn had the requisite 12,000 inhabitants to entitle 
it to become a city. 

A town-meeting was subsequently held on February 
9, 1883, when the opponents to a city charter rallied 
in sufficient numbers to have laid on the table for two 
years a motion which was made to the effect that the 
expense of taking the census of the town authorized 
at the previous meeting be paid out of the Miscellan- 
eous Department. The committee having the ques- 
tion of a city charter in charge thereupon decided to 
ask the General Court for a charter to be granted on 
condition that AVoburn had the requisite number of 
inhabitants, leaving the question of population to be 
determined afterwards. This course of action was 
therefore adopted, and a hearing was had at the 
State House before the committee on cities. As no 
one appeared before this committee to object, it was 
much to the surprise and disappointment of the peti- 
tioners that the committee voted to refer the matter 
to the next Legislature, for the reason, as alleged, that 
there was no record of a count of votes to show that a 
majority of those present at the town-meeting had 
voted to petition for a charter. The reason thus as- 
signed by the General Court for its adverse report 
was looked upon as a mere pretext, but the petition- 
ers were doomed to disappointment in any event; for 
the result of the census which was taken by the asses- 
sors in the following May showed that the population 



366 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



of the town, instead of increasing in the ratio of pre- 
ceding years, had actually fallen off 305 ; so that the 
population was then only 11,454. These figures settled 
the question of a city charter for the time, although 
some enthusiasts proposed that Burlington be annexed 
in order to secure the requisite number of inhabitants. 
The State census of 1885 gave Woburn a population 
of 11,750, and the enumeration of the inhabitants 
made by the assessors iu May, 1887, showed an in- 
crease to 12,7(iO. The matter of population thus 
being settled, a town-meeting was held on July 27, 

1887, when a committee of twenty^one was appointed 
to prepare a city charter for the acceptance of the 
town. This committee reported a printed draft of a 
charter to a meeting held October 31, 1887, which 
charter, after some discussion, was adopted by a vote 
of 280 to 9. It was further voted to apply to the next 
Legislature for an act of incorporation as a city. In 
pursuance of this vote application was made to the 
General Court in January, 1888, and on May 18, 

1888, the charter submitted by the committee on be- 
half of the town was enacted by the Legislature with 
some slight amendments. It came up for acceptance 
or rejection by the voters of the town at a special 
meeting held June 12, 1888. The polls remained 
open all day, and the chaiter was accepted by the de- 
cisive vote of 966 to 32. As soon as the result was 
announced, twenty-five blows on the fire-alarm alter- 
nated with an equal number of peals from the cannon 
to emphasize the verdict of the citizens in declaring 
Woburn to be the twenty-fifth city in the Common- 
wealth of Massachusetts. 

The charter thus adopted by the town provided for 
acity government, consisting of a Mayor, seven Alder- 
men, eleven Councilmen and a School Committee of 
nine elective members with the Mayor chairman ex 
officio. The town was to be divided into seven wards, 
three of which were represented by the villages of 
Montvale, North Woburn and Cummingsville. The 
Mayor and School Committee were to be elected by 
the voters at large, while the Aldermen and Common 
Councilmen were to be chosen by and from the voters 
of each ward. In its general features, and in the dis- 
tribution of powers and privileges, the charter was in 
other respects a substantial embodiment of the char- 
ters of most Massachusetts cities. 

At the first election held December 4, 1888, the 
following officers were chosen: Mayor, Edward F. 
Johnson ; Aldermen, Squire B. Goddard, Julius F. 
Ramsilell, William C. Kenney, John S. True, Michael 
Golden, Andrew E. Linscott, John A. Doherty; 
Common Councilmen, William H. Bradley, Thomas 
G. Beggs, Charles W. Bryant, Stephen H. Bradley, 
William Beggs, Joseph M. Gerrish, Edward E. 
Thompson, Griffin Place, William McDonough, 
Henry M. Eames, William A. Lynch. On January 
7, 1889, these gentlemen were sworn into office, the 
inaugural ceremonies taking place in Lyceum Hall 
in the presence of a large gathering of citizens. 



Woburn was, in reality, the twenty-seventh town 
in Massachu^etts to become a city, although the an- 
nexation by Boston of the cities of Charlestown and 
Roxbury makes her stand twenty-fifth in the roll of 
cities existing at the time of her incorporation. In 
population and valuation Woburn's rank on January 
1, 1889, was below that of her sister municipalities, but 
in extent of territory she exceeded ten out of the 
other twenty-four cities, containing a larger assessed 
acreage than the neighboring cities of Somerville, 
Cambridge and Chelsea combined, and being two and 
one-half times larger than the city of Maiden. 

Her valuation on May 1, 1888, was $8,575,000, and her 
net debt on January 1, 1889, was $461,746.74, orabout 
5.4 per cent, of the valuation. Her dwelling-houses 
on May 1, 1888, numbered 2085, and her male polls 
3672. Such, in brief, was the status of the municipal 
corporation of Woburn when the administration of 
its affairs was transferred from a town to a city form 
of government. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

WOB URN—( Continued). 

THE MEDICAL AND LEGAL PROFESSIONS : COL- 
ONIAL, PROVINCIAL AND LATER PERIODS. 

BY W. R. CUTTER. 

The Medical Profession. — The earliest practi- 
tioner of medicine or of the science of healing, of 
which there is any record in Woburn, was a woman ; 
and as it is known on indubitable testimony that she 
was very skillful in the art, she was no disgrace to the 
profession. Most of the practice, particularly in 
certain branches, was in the hands of members of the 
female sex. The employment of regular physicians 
from Boston or from adjoining towns was occasional- 
ly resorted to in the early period of the town's his- 
tory, as instanced in the records or in the inventories 
of the estates of the more well-to-do citizens. The 
name of a physician of the sterner sex does not ap- 
pear with the accustomed title till seventy-five or 
eighty years after the town's incorporation, as will be 
noticed in the appended list. The stay of some of 
these doctors appears to be of brief continuance. 
Others were young men just starting in their medi- 
cal career. Others were members of the Woburn 
families by birth or marriage connection. One was 
of enforced residence, viz.. Dr. George Bruscowitz, 
the French Neutral, from Nova Scotia. Several died 
comparatively young. A few only appear to have re- 
ceived a liberal education. Doctor John Kittredge, 
of Billerica, is the earliest non-resident physician 
named by his title in the tax-lists, being taxed in 
Woburn, 1712. He died in 1714, and there is evi- 
dence in the records that the town authorities em- 



WOBURN. 



307 



ployed him on one case in their charge. ^ Other non- 
resident physicians named in the tax-lists previous 
to ISOO are David Fiske, of Lexington, 1781-1782 ; 
William Bowers, of Billerica, 1787-1794; John Hale, 
of HoUis, N, H., 1784; Amos Putnam, of Danve^s, 
1784. These may have had a connection more or 
less intimate v.'ith the town and its people, as the old 
records show, Fiske's lather, likewise a physician, 
had been a resident. Other names, perhaps, might 
be added to the list, and some well known to Wo- 
burn residents ws defer till later on. This is not the 
first attempt to write a history of Woburn's early 
physicians. The father of the present writer, Doctor 
Benjamin Cutter, began the task many years ago, 
and collected a number of names. More than forty 
years ago, or about 1843, he began a list of the early 
physicians of Woburn, which list is stiil extant. 
His list includes the names of Lilley, Brewster, 
Prince, Boscoitz (Bruscowitz), Hay, Flagg, Blodgett, 
Poole and Plympton, the eldest, covering a period from 
1720 to 17S3, and he appears to have depended upon 
the First Pariah records for his principal source of in- 
formation. He was then interested in collecting some 
material for a brief history of the First, now the 
First Congregational Church, and for the history of- 
the town, which had then passed its second centennial. 
This material was much of it incorporated into a 
printed church catalogue issued at that time (1844). 
To Doctor Cutter, also, we owe the recovery of the 
following lengthy statement regarding the skillful 
performance of a remarkable cure by the earliest 
known physician of Woburn residence of which we 
have any knowledge. In 1847 he copied the follow- 
ing extract — his copy being extant— regarding the 
performance of Goodwife Brooks in a medical way 
upon the head of a poor Indian child, who had been 
scalped and badly injured in a foray of hostile In- 
dians. 

Extract frona Gookin's Historical Collectloiis of the Indians in New Eng- 
land, cb&p. 4, 11. From Mau. Hist. ColL^ vol. 1, p. 163. "Tbese 
Maquas, as I said before, are given to rapine and spoil ; and had, for 
Beveraljj'earB, been in hostility wilh our neighbour Indians; as the Massa- 
chusetts, Pawtuckets, Pennakooke, Keunebecks, Pukomtakukes (living 
at Deerfield), Quabogs, all the Nipuniek Indians and Nashaway or 
Weshakini Indians. And in truth, they were, in time of war, so great a 
(error to ;ill the Indiins before named, though ours were far more in 
number than they, that th« appearance of four or five Maquus in the 
woods would frighten them from their habitations and cornfields, and 
reduce [induce?] many of them to get together in forts; by which 
means they were brought to siich straits and povei-ty, that had it not 
been for relief they had from the English, in compensation for labour, 
doubtless many of them had suffered famine. For they were driven 
from their planting fields through fear, and from their fishing and hunt- 
ing places ; yea they durst not go into the woods to seek root^ and nuts 
to sustain their lives. But this good effect the war had upon some of 
them, namely, to turn them from idleness ; for now necessity forced 
them to labour with the English in hoeing, reaping, picking hops, cut- 
ting wood, making hay, and making stone fences and like necessary em- 
ployments, whereby they got victuals and clothes, 

'* These Maquas had great advantages over our poor Indian neighbours, 
for they are inured to war and hostility ; ours, not inured to it. Besides, 
the manner of the Maquas in their attempt gives them muob advantage 

1 Cf. Woburn Records, r. 220. 



and puts ours to terrour. The Maquas' manner is, in the spring of the 
year, to niarrh forth in several ways, under a captain and not above 
fifty in a Iroop. And when they come near the place that they design 
to spoil, they take up some secret place in the \«Dods for their general 
rendezvous. J-eaving some of their company, they divide themselves 
into small companies, three or four or five in a party; and tlien go and 
seek fur prey. These small parties repair near to the Indian habltntiuiis 
and lie in ambushments by the palhsides, in some secure places; and 
when they see passengers come, they fire upon them with guns ; and 
such as they kill or wound they seize on and pillage, and strip their 
bodifs ; and then with their knives take off the skin and hair of the 
scalp of their head, as large as a satin or leather cap ; and so leaving 
them for dead, they pursue the rest and take such as they can prisoners, 
and serve tlieni in the same kind ; excepting at sometime, if they take 
a pretty youth or girl that they fancy, thpy save them alivp ; and thus 
they do, as often as they meet any Indians. They always pr**sfrve the 
scalps of the head carefully, drying the inside with hot a&hes; andso 
carry them home as trophies of their vahmr, fur which they are re- 
warded. 

"And now I am speaking of their cruel and murtherous practices, I 
shall here mention a true and rare story of the recovery of an Indian 
maid, from n'bose head the Maquas had stripped the scalp in the man- 
ner before mentioned, and broken her skull, and left her for dead ; and 
afterward she was found, recovered, and is alive at this day. The story 
is tlius.- 

'* In the year 1670, a party of Maquaa, being looking after their prey, 
met with some Indians in the woods, belonging to Naamkeek, or Wam- 
esit, upon the north side of Merrimak river, not far from some Euglibh 
houses; where, falling upon these Indians, that were travelling in a 
path, they killed some and took others whom they also killed, and 
among the rest, a young maid of about fourteen years old was taken, 
and the scalp of her head taken off and her skull broken, and left fur 
dead with others. Some of the Indians escaping came to their fellows ■ 
and with a party of men, they went forth to bring off the dead bodies, 
wheie they found this maid with life in her. So they brought her home, 
and got Lt. Thomas Henchman, a good man, and one that hath inspec- 
tion over them, by my order, to use means for her recovery ; 3 and tho' 
he had but little hope thereof, yet he took tlte best care he could about 
it; and as soon as convenienrly he could, sent the girl to an ancient 
and skillful w<unan living at Woburn, about ten miles distant, called 
GoonwiFE Brooks, to get he'r to use her best endeavours to recover the 
maid ; which, by the blessing of God, she did, though she were about 
two years or more in curing her. I was at Goodwife Brooks' house in 
May, 1673, when she was in cure; and she showed me a piece or two of 
the skull that she had taken out. And in May last, 1G74, the second 
day, I being among the Indians at Pawtiickett, to keep court, wltti 
Mr. Elliott, * and 3Ir, Richard Daniel, ^ and others, with me, I saw the 
maid alive and in health, and looked upon her head, which was whole 
except a little spot as big as a six-pence migiit cover, and the maid fat 
and lusty ; but there wjis no hair come again upon tlie head where the 
scalp was flayed off. This cure, a-s some skillful in chirurgery appre- 
hend, is extraordinary and wonderful ; and hence the glory and praise 
is to be ascribed to God, that worketh wonders without number." 

This Goodwife Brooks was Susanna, wife of 
Henry Brooks, of Woburn [aee Brooks family in N, 
E. Hid. Gen. Reg. (April, 1875), vol. xxix., p. 153). 
She died September 1-3, 1681. Her husband married 
again, and died April 12, 1683. She had been first 
the wife and widow of Ezekiel Richardson, one of 
the first settlers of Woburn — Vinton's R. Mem. — and 
for proof of this see that work, p. 37 ; and for other 
facts concerning her, see ib. pp. 32-37. The Lieuten- 

2 The Maquas were the well-known Mohawk Indians. See further 
treatment of the subject of this extract in its relation to our local In- 
dians, in Wohuni JourHo/, Jan. 5, 188.3. 

3 Lieut. Thomas Henchman was connected with the Richardson family 
of Woburn, through a daughter's marriage— A'inton's R. Man. 11--13. 
Of the family in which this marriage connection was formed Goodwife 
Brooks wa« the mother— see mention beyond under her name. Hench- 
man waa an able officer of repute. 

^The well-known apostle to the Indiana. 
^ Gentleman, of Billerica. 



368 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



ant Henchman named in the text was connected in- 
directly with her family by marriage, Bridget Hench- 
man, his daughter, having married Lieutenant James 
Richardson, a son of the above Gjodwife Susanna, so 
famous in her day for her extraordinary medical or 
surgical skill. 

Physicians. — Of physicians resident in the place, 
named in the records, are the following before 1850. 

Doctor Peters, 1719-1720. 

Doctor Reuben Lilley, 1722-1723, son of 
Reuben and Martha, born February 24, 1696-97. 
Died October 17, 1723, in Woburn, at the age of 
twenty-six. 

Doctor Isaac Hill, 172.3. " Doctor " on grave- 
stone in Woburn first burying-ground. Died Janu- 
ary 9, 1723, aged twenty-nine. Supposed to have 
been the Isaac, son of Isaac Hill, born December 1, 
1693, mentioned in Savage's Geneal. Diet. He does 
not appear to be long a Woburu resident. The sug- 
gestion is offered that he may have belonged to Stone- 
ham, originally and then a part of Charlestown, and 
that dying before a burying-ground had been estab- 
lished in Stoneham, his interment, as that in another 
case, was effected at Woburn. This would account 
for the want of mention of him in Woburn records. 

Doctor Jonathan Haywood or Hayward, 
1736-1749. "Doctor " per inscription on gravestone 
in Woburn first burying-ground. Died August 13, 
1749, aged 45. Taxed in Woburn, 1736-1748. He 
graduated at Harvard College, 1726 ; married Ruth 
Burbeen, of Woburn, 1735. Was a selectman, 1741. 
See Sewall's Woburn, pp. 590, 595. A son of the 
sama name graduated at Harvard College, 1756, and 
died a pauper in Woburn, 1812, aged seventy-three. 

The following relic of this family has been pre- 
served, having reference to Prince Walker, a negro 
slave and centenarian of Woburn origin, an account 
of whom is given elsewhere : 

"WoBUKN, .Inly 10, 1T51. 
" For value received, I have this day sold to Mr. Timothy Walker, a 
Negro boy, named Prince, which I have owned for Bome time past. 

" Ruth Hayward." 
— See Diarips of Rev. Timothy Walker, ed. and annotated hy Joseph 
B. Walker, Concord, N. H., 1889, p. 26, note. 

Doctor Lot Brewster, 1750-1764. He died in 
Woburn, January 13, 1765. A parcel of curious 
papers is preserved in the Wyman Coll. (box 11), in 
the Woburn Public Library, relating to the settlement 
of bis own and his wife's estate. Dying as above 
stated, the inventory of his estate is dated February 
25, 1765. It mentions, among other articles, two vol- 
umes of practical physic, books, a leather bag, a wine- 
glass, glass bottles, gallipots, two cases of apothecary 
drawers, a book-case, small desk, chest with a drawer, 
a pair of tooth-drawers, two lancets, scales and 
weights, a pestle and mortar of lignum-vitse. The 
whole inventory amounts only to £20 14». 6i. His 
widow Lucy, died, according to her inventory, June 
12, 1765. Her property consisted principally of 
debts and woman's clothing, with a little jewelry. 



Her goods were sold at vendue at house of the widow 
Phebe Richardson, in Woburu, proprietress of a 
tavern which stood on the site of the late Daniel 
Richardson's house, and known by the name of the 
Ark Tavern. This house had been kept previously 
by Noah Richardson, husband of Phebe, whose ances- 
tors, being Walkers, had previously kept the house be- 
fore her time and that of her husband. Her ances- 
tor, Captain Samuel Walker, who died in 1684, was 
the first person licensed in the town of Woburn to 
keep a tavern in the place. The widow Lucy Brew- 
ster appears to have died at Mrs. Richardson's house, 
and Mrs. Richardson brings in a bill against the es- 
tate for nursing in her last illness, and for furnishing 
refreshment (punch, etc.) for the funeral. 

The following memoranda, from one of the docu- 
ments above cited, is interesting to show the state in 
which the affairs of this poor doctor's family were left. 

March 4, 1765, the judge of probate gave all Dr. 
Lot Brewster's estate to his widow forever. 

The widow before her death disposed of, aud spent 
and lost, the value of £8 3». -id., and £12 lis. 2d. re- 
mained and was added'to the inventory of her estate. 

Some of the articles she sold and lost were the 
books, the leather bag (" took off" they said), bottles, 
the two cases apothecaries'-drawers, the book-case, a 
" bow-fat,'' one pair tooth-drawers and a lancet, a 
silver spoon, which did not belong to the estate; a 
cow, a saddle, etc. All these, says the memorandum, 
were sold and lost after the judge gave it (her hus- 
band's estate) to her. There is also a son, William 
Brewster, of these parties mentioned. ' 

Where this Doctor Lot Brewster came from before 
his settlement in Woburn does not appear. There 
was a Lot Brewster, born March 25, 1724, son of Wil- 
liam, of Duxbury, mentioned in Winsor's History of 
Buxburij, p. 237, who may be the same. He was 
possibly an apothecary. He does not appear to be a 
college graduate. What his first success may have 
been, his end would seem to show that doctors in his 
time did not flourish in such a country place as Wo- 
burn then was, and that the profession did not then, 
outside of urban districts, furnish a very abundant 
support. 

Doctor Robert Fiske, 1752-62, son of Robert 
Fiske, a physician of Lexington. In 1760 he was iu 
the French War. In 1764 he returned to Lexington, 
where the entry is found : " Doctor Fiske and family 
came last from Woburn." See Hudson's "Lexington." 
Doctor David Fiske, of Lexington, his son, was taxed 
in Woburn, 1781-82. This son was an inmate of 
Benjamin Edgell's family, arriving February 11, 1771. 
See mention under Doctor Samuel Blodgett, of Wo- 
burn. 

Doctor John Prince, 1754-60. A town order 
(Neutral French) dated May 31, 1756, in favor of Dr. 



1 A William Breweter was a soldier from Woliurn in the Revolution- 
ary War.— See Sewall's Woburn, 568. 



WOBTTRN. 



369 



.f ohn Prince, " for doctoring the French in tliis town " 
(HUtograph, Julia Prince), is about the only memorial 
ol' him extant in this place. ( Wi/m. Coll., Wob. Pub. 
Liby.,8-41.) Of. Sewall's W)6., 561, 5(12. Another 
specimen of hi.« autograph is extant as witness to a 
deed, October 21, 175.5 {W;/m. (hlL, 11-80). His 
signature is a well-written one. 

Doi TOR Wright, 1755. 

Doctor George Philip BuusrowiTZ, 17511-57, 
one of the Neutral French, then resident in Woburn 
(Sewall's " Woburn," 5.58-563). His name is written 
variously, but his own signature extant on a town 
order (Neutral French) dated February 21, 1757, 
writes and spells it as we have given it. On this 
order he styles himself " Med: Doctor in Woburn.'' 
{ Wym. OolL.Woh. Pub. Liby., 8-59.) 

Doctor Edmund Richardson, 1761, son of Noah 
and Phebe (Walker) Richardson. " Doctor " per 
grave-stone in Woburn first burying-ground. Died 
May 30, 1761, in his twenty-ninrh year. Aside from 
his family we have no furtlier information concern- 
ing this person. The statement on his grave-stone is 
the only -warrant for calling him a physician. Per- 
haps he was a pupil of the Doctor Lot Brewster, 
whom we have already noticed. 

Doctor John Hay, 1761-80. A better known 
name than any we have yet nieutioned, from his fame 
as the medical preceptor of the celebrated Benjamin 
Thompson, Count Ruraford. (See Ellis' Life, pp. 
31-39.) The period of the Count's pupilage was from 
1770 to 1772, when the Count was quite a young man. 
Doctor John Hay and Sarah, his wife, were admitted 
members of the Woburn First Church July 8,1765. 
His father was a well-known physician of Reading, 
and having begun his practice at Woburn, the young- 
er Doctor Hay, after the death of his father, returned 
to Reading, where his death occurred, 1815, aged 
seventy-seven. During the Revolution he served in 
the American forces as one of Woburn's quota, and a 
town order on account of military service of John 
Hay, dated March 20, 1777, is preserved in the Wo- 
burn Public Library ; also a bill against his former 
Woburn neighbor, Benjamin Edgell, dated Septem- 
ber 27, 1783. For some particulars regarding his life 
see Eaton's Hist. Jfefidiiu/, pp. 91-92 and 398, in 
which is presented a silhouett(> lik(Miess of the doctor 
and a cut from an origin;il portrait of his father. 
After 1780, wlieu his residence in Woburn appeared 
to end, he still appears to hold property in Woburn, 
for his name is mentioned in the tax-lists, as a Read- 
ing resident, from 1781 to 178(5. At Woburn lu^ re- 
sided in the house at present Central S(iuare, known 
by the name of the Black House, which stood on the 
present Kimball place, 732 Main Street. This house, 
which was old when torn down, was a noted land- 
mark and has a curious history. 

Doctor John Hay was chosen to the ofHce of a dea- 
con of the First Church, November 17, 1777, but ap- 
])ears never to have held the otlice. His name is in 
24 



the list of male members of that church on December 
1, 1777. In a later hand appears the w-ords against 
his name of " out of town." In 1793 the list speaks 
of him as of Reading and as "absent." 

Doctor John Flagg, 17(5r)-(}7. .\ native of the 
town, a graduate of Harvard College (1761), and after 
his removal from Wuburn a well-known physician 
of Lynn, wliere he died 179:i. Lewis and Newhall's 
Hintoni of Lijnn, gives him an excellent record, p. 
358, etc. He settled in Lynn in 1769, and previously, 
on June 21, 1769, he married, in Woburn, Susanna 
Fowle.' His father. Rev. Ebenezer Flagg, a native 
of \Vol)Urn, a graduate of Harvard College, 1725, was 
minister of Chester, N. H. 

Doctor SAsruEL Blodgett, 1769-89. Not imme- 
diately, if remotely, descended from the Blogget 
(or Blodgett) family of this town, so far as yet discov- 
ered. Doctor Samuel Blodgett, from the church in 
Sunderland, was received to membership by the First 
Church in Woburn, January 5, 1772, and Doctor 
Samuel Blodgett and .fane (jtillam, both of Woburn, 
were married, in Woburn, October 2, 1772. On the 
testimony of such an authority as the late George 
Rumford Baldwin the information has come down to 
us that the house opposite to his mansion, known in 
recent years by the name of the Wheeler House, was 
built by Doctor Samuel Blodgett toward the close of 
the last century, but left unfinished, and sold by him 
to Colonel Baldwin, father of (Jeorge R. Baldwin, 
who finished it so far as to admit of having there a 
great centennial jubilee in 1800.- 



1 In an accouut-booli of James Fowle, Esq., and Jr., a father and son, 
lTt!4, etc., is the following memorandum on the fly-leaf: " Augt. ye 
ij'ltli, 1709. Susannah moved to Lynn." The iuscription on the monu- 
ment at Lynn to Dr. John Flagg, is given in full in Lewis & Co. 's 
UM. of A-sm.r Co., vol. i., p. 3(11. («) 

- So much has been said about this house in its sujiiioseci connection 
with yie proposed return of Count Rumford to Ibis country, it having 
been stated that the house was built by Uol. Baldwin for his occupancy, 
that it is well to give a few facts concerning it. In 1820 it is described 
as being on the ea.st side of Main Street, that part of tho street now 
called by the name of Elm Street, the occupant being Archelaus Taylor. 
In 1S;J2 the occupant was Col. Charles Carter. Tho section of Main 
Street now immediately in front of this house was not then e.Ktant. 
The entrance from present Elm Street from a large central gateway was 
lined on either side with rows of trees, chiefly lindens, imported by 
Col. Bahlwiii from England. The fence in fnmt was orluimented and 
took a circular sweep inward at the entrance. In the rear of the house 
was a short branch of the Middlesex Canal, which sonietimea furnished 
a temporary resting-place for a canaiboat. " The whole picture," says 
tho Rev. Leander Thomjison in one of his interesting articles, " like 
that of the Baldwin mansion and grounds, was one of a quiet, well-kept 
anil digiiifled lOnglish country seat, very attractive and restful." About 
ISll-lSIl, the Rev. Thomas Waterman, a pastor of the Baptist Church, 
taught a superior school in this house. His death occurreil in the latter 
year in a sudden manner. A friend of the present writer, Mr. .loliii 
Brooks Russell, a native of Arlington, went to school in this house in 
IKl.'i, to the celebrated Hall J. Kelley, the author of one or more toyt 
books, who became noted later in bis attempts to colonize Oregon. 



» It is ill the t>ld Burying Ground of Lynn, and from it are taken these 
words; " .\s a physician, his skill was eminent, and his practice e.-cten- 
sive and successful. To Death, whoso triumph he had so often delayed 
anri repelled, but could not entirely prevent, he at last himself sub- 
milled on the 27th of May, 1793, in the 50th year of his ago." 



370 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Benjamin Edgell, of Woburn, enters the following 
items of information in his accounts : 

" Doct. Blodgett came June 20, 1769. David Fiske 
came Feb. 11, 1771—1.53 weeks, till July 20, 1772. 
Doct. Blodgett left on July 20, 1772." The two, 
therefore, were apparently inmates of Edgell's family. 
The 153 weeks may refer to Blodgett's stay, or to 
that of both of them, David Fiske, afterwards a doc- 
tor at Lexington, evidently standing to Blodgett in 
the light of a pupil and assistant. The time of Blod- 
gett's arrival and departure from Edgell's is, however, 
definitely stated— 1769-1772. 

Again Edgell writes, "Amos Blodgett, Jr., began 
his year with me, June 12, 1777 ; Amos Blodgett en- 
gaged in the Army, Aug. 18, 1777." Now since it is 
known that Captain Benjamin Edgell, the recorder 
of these items, came to Woburn from the place of his 
former residence, at Lexington, about 1768, and as 
Fiske and Amos Blodgett were known to belong to 
Lexington, the supposition is expressed that our 
Doctor Samuel Blodgett was from Lexington origi- 
nally also, and that he was a member of the numer- 
ous Blodgett family of Lexington, who descended 
from the old family of Blodgett, of Woburn. We 
therefore infer he is probably the Samuel Blodgett, 
born in Lexington April 30, 1727, eldest son of Sam- 
uel Blodgett, concerning whom Hudson, in his Hist. 
Lexington, makes no further statement. We also 
infer he was a former acquaintance or friend, or 
maybe a relative, of Benjamin Edgell's at Lexington, 
and that Edgell was the means of his introduction to 
Woburn. He may have lived for a short time at 
Sundeiland, a small Massachusetts town on the Con- 
necticut River, as his dismissal from the church 
there would indicate, and he appears to have been a 
single man when he came to Woburn. Several 
sketches of Sunderland that we have read make no 
reference to the name of Blodgett as one of the names 
of the early settled families in that town, so we infer 
that he did not originate there. Like many another 
young physician even in our day, he probably tried 
one or more places before he settled down perma- 
nently anywhere. He appears to have been a man 
of energy and spirit, and in the Revolution very pa- 
triotic. He was in 1773 one of a committee of nine 
of the town " relative to the public affairs of govern- 
ment" (Sewall's Wobtirn, 359), and also one of the 
committee of correspondence. Later he was on a 
committee to draw up instructions for the " commit- 
tee of inspection" (Sewall's Woburn, 382). He 

Kelley married a daughter of the distingnisbed Baptist preacher, Rev. 
Dr. Baldwin. "The house," Mr. Knssell said, "stood on a small canal 
built up to the house." The school under Kelley's management, how- 
ever, was a failure. "He had," says Mr. Russell, "but half a dozen 
scholars, and jwid It so little attention that I left after a couple of weeks 
and went to Westford, Mass." Mr. Kussell further sajs, "I recollect 
Woburn only as a terribly dull farming town, partaking largely of the 
depression that was pretty general after the war of 1812." 

The house we have been describing was owned by Mrs. F. C. Wheeler 
in 1886, when the foregoing facts were^gathered. 



was also a delegate to a constitutional convention at 
Cambridge in September, 1779 (TSirf., 383). He was 
also an assessor {Ibid., 3(iS). See other references in 
Sewall, pp. 435, .568. The latest reference to him 
in Sewall's History is January 4, 1790. In a list of 
male church members in the First Church records, 
under date of December 1, 1777, the name of Samuel 
Blodgett appears, but he is spoken of as " out of 
town," " returned," " out of town " again. In a .simi- 
lar list in the same records, under date of 1793, he is 
spoken of as " absent," but it does not say where. 

The fact that Dr. Blodgett was from Lexington is 
still further confirmed by accounts of the transfer of 
his real estate.' 

There is a letter extant from Doctor Samuel Blod- 
gett, dated Boston, April 1, 1785, and addressed to 
.Mr. Zebadiah Wyman, Woburn. It is as follows : 

" Bo.^ToN, April Ist, 1785 
" Sir, — If you will be so kind as to get an order from the Selectmen 
on the Town Treasurer, for the £A 10. 0, which the Town Granted me 
some time past, and send it to me by the first opportunity, you will 
oblige your friend, .Sam'l Blodoet. 

" Mr. Z. Wyman." 

Doctor Blodgett is named in Esquire Thompson's 
financial accounts as late as August, 1790. He is also 
mentioned in the same accounts in June, 1789, and in 
Feb., 1786. He probably left town, therefore, about 
1790. 

The list of Woburn's soldiers during the Revolution 
includes the names of two physicians: Samuel Blod- 
gett, and John Hay. 

Physicians and clergymen were nota.shamed in the 
earlier part of the war to shoulder their arms and 
parade in the ranks as private soldiers. In the diary 
of Rev. John Marrett, minister of the Second Parish 
in Woburn, is this characteristic entry : June 26, 
1775, having attended the funeral of George Reed, Jr., 
who died of a fever occasioned by a surfeit or heat he 
got in Charlestown fight, the 17th inst., he says, ' 
"also appeared with military company and showed 
arms." 

Doctor Blodgett was an active patriot. Rev. Mr. 
Marrett records, under date of Sunday, April 23, 1775 : 
"Soldiers travelling down and returning — brought 

1 My friend, Hon. Edward F. Johnson, first mayor of Woburn, con- 
tributes the following items from the Middlese.Y County records ; 

May 26, 1777, Joseph Simonds, of Lexington, conveys to Samuel 
Blodgett, of Woburn, physician, for £160 \'i$. id., two parcels of land, 
one of 3.1 ac. and the other of 10 ac, with buildings in Lexington. June 
4, 1777, Dr. Blodgett sold bis Lexington purchase to John and Jonathan 
.\mory, of Boston.. 

Previously, on April 8, 1777, he had sold for £.550, to Jonathan Aniory, 
of BoBtfln, 28 ac. land and buildings in Woburn, bounded west by county 
road, north by lands of Joshua Reed and William Scott, east by land 
of beirs of Eleazer Flagg Poole, deceased, and Isaac .Stone, and 
south by land of Joshua Wyman. Also a pot-ash house standing on 
west side of said county road, opposite above named buildings. Jane, 
his wife, unites in said transfer. 

The buildings of this estate in Woburn stood on the present site of 
the house of Dr. Harlow, ou Main Street, and the pot-ash house on the 
site of the estate] opposite, now Dr. Hutchins's; on the estate of the 
latter is a never-failing well, formerly connected with the potash works. 
— Statanent of Miss .'yilsan Edgell. 



WOBURN. 



371 



their arms with them to meeting, with warlike accou- 
trements — a dark day. In the forenoon service, just 
as service was ended. Dr. Blodgett came in for the 
people to go with their teams to bring provisions from 
Marblehead out of the way of the men-of-war.'' 
Ur. John (Ebesezer?) Perry, 1772-1774. 

Doctor Jonathan Poole, 1781-1782. Of HoUis, 
N. H., 1783. Born Woburn, Sept. 5, 1758, son of 
Eleazer Flagg Poole. Studied medicine with his 
father-in law, Doctor or Colonel John Hale, in Hollis, 
whose daughter Elizabeth he married, Deo. 7, 1780. 
He was assistant surgeon in First New Hampshire 
Regiment 1776 to 1780. After trying his practice at 
Woburn, he settled as a physician in Hollis, where he 
died July 25, 1797, set. thirty-eight. See Worcester's 
History Hollis, p. 214. 

Doctor Sylvanus PlYiMpton, 1784-1836. Died 
in Woburn, Jan. 20, 1836, aged seventy -six. A native 
of Medfield, Mass., where he was born, 1757 (Tilden's 
Hist. Medfield, 462). He graduated at Harvard Col- 
lege, 1780. He married Mrs. Mary Richardson, of 
Woburn, May 12, 1785. Both joined the First Cong. 
Church on Oct. 16, 1791, and on Oct. 30, 1791, Luke 
Richardson, son of Mrs. Plympton by a former mar- 
riage, Czarina and Mary, daughters of Dr. Sylvanus 
Plympton and Mary, his wife, were baptized. His 
wife was the widow of Luke Richardson and the 
daughter of Josiah and Margery (Carter) Fowle, R. 
Mem., p. 272. His wife, Mary, died Nov. 1, 1835, 
aged seventy-four. To the memory of Dr. Plympton 
and Mary, his wife, a new stone was erected in the 
Second Burying-Ground a number of years since. 
There appears to be some discrepancy in the year of 
his death as given by various authorities, and the 
same may apply to his age, but 1836 is the year given 
in the town records. 

Through the kindne.s9 of Mrs. Ellen J. Harrington, 
of Woburn, a granddaughter of Dr. Plympton, we 
have been permitted to have the use of several very 
interesting papers relating to the history of her grand- 
father. 

(1). A manuscript sheet endorsed : "Account of 
my Expenses while at College," the body of which is 
as follows: 

'^ A Memorandum. Sylvanue Plympton, .Tunr., arrived at Dartmouth 
Colloge, Sunday eTening, September 22(J, 1776 ; dined with U.D. Wheel- 
ock, President ; 2?,d, examined and accepted by MelR^urs Ripley and 
Smith, Tutors in sd. College Mr. Townsend and ray Father departed 
from College, 26th inst. I received a letter from Mr. Townsend soop 
after informing me of their Journey, and desiring a favor with regard 
to something left behind. D.U. Wheelock died April 24, 1779; after 
which I returned to College, and took a ditimission with a recommenda- 
tion from that Society from Mr. Ripley afores'd, May 31st, 1770. And 
find my expenses since my admittance into that Society, according to 
the most just and critical calculation, including books with all other 
Incidental charges, [toj amount to £277 lis. 6d. After this I went to 
Cambridge, and was examined by the President, Professors and Tutors ; 
was approved and admitted, August 20th, 1779. Settled all acconipts 
and took up all obligations at Cambridge, 23d June, 17.S0, and find my 
expenses to have been since my (irFl admittance into Dartmouth College 
to this time, to have been (including books and other incidental charges) 
one thousand two hundred and seventy-four pounds, or £1274 7«. Irf." 



(2). The bond required by the Faculty of Harvard 
College on his admission as a student, dated August 
20, 1779, containing the autographs of four members 
of his family, viz.: Sylvanus (his father), Jonathan, 
Augustus and Chloe Plympton. One remarkable 
circumstance in relation to this document is, that the 
words " a minor " are obliterated, the student being 
more than twenty-one years old. This paper is 
endorsed : " Mr. Plympton's Bond." 

(3). A letter endorsed " Mt. Jona>.. Townseud's 
Letter and Advice," dated " Dartmouth College, 
Sept. 25, 1776." The letter is admonitory, written by 
the minister of Medfield, who, with the father, accom- 
panied the pupil to the seat of Dartmouth College. 
This appears to be the letter referred to in the paper 
mentioned in paragraph 1. The seat of the college 
is spoken of as at a great distance from the house of 
his parents ; as retired and peaceful ; the faculty in- 
genious, faithful, kind and beneticent, as to appear- 
ance ; the pupils regular and decent and pleasant and 
agreeable, the testimony of theirteachers being in their 
favor. There' is a tender allusion to his mother, who 
could not take the leave of him she wished, and at 
parting wished the minister " to act the part for her." 
It is a touching commentary on this letter that the 
faithful pastor who had journeyed so far to see his 
young friend enter college, that he should have fallen 
a victim to the small-pox, of which he died in the 
same year his letter was written. 

The document of expenses presented in paragraph 
1 is also printed in Chase's Plympton Genealogy, p. 
100, which also contains a notice of Dr. Plympton 
and his descendants, pp. 99, 129, 169, etc. 

The commission of justice of the peace of Dr. 
Plympton, 1816, is preserved in the Woburn Public 
Library, Wym. Coll. 

The daughter, Czarina, of Dr. Plympton, the elder, 
married Otis Danforth, and died, 1S83, in Cambridge. 
A daughter, Mary, married James Bridge, of Woburn. 

Dr. Sylvanus Plympton had estate scheduled in the list of 1798, as 
follows ■ 1 house, 28 x 23, with 14 windows, the house two stories, with 
a yard in front, about 3 sq. rods of land ; a shed, 30 x 10 ; a farm, 10 ac, 
with a barn on it, 30 x 22, the land being bounded E. by the road, N. by 
heirs of Josiah Richardson, W. on Horn Pond, S. on heirs of Nathaniel 
Brooks. [This land was evidently the place now occupied by Mr. Buck, 
near the junction of present Buckman and Blain Streets.] He had also 
in that year \b ac. in Rag Rock ; 3 ac. bought of Jonathan Carter's 
heirs; 15 ac. bought of Capt. Joseph Wyman ; and 6 ac. bought of 
Jonathan Wright, the latter being partly woodland and partly meadow. 
He had also ^^ ac. of Hilt marsh in Maiden. He had 72 ac, valued at 
81500, in 1801. — '* Value of the Several Estates in the town of Woburn, 
taken by the Assessors of said Town in 1801." — Wym. CoU. MSS., Wob. 
Pub. Liby., 7 : 143. 

Later he occupied the house on site of present residence of Mrs. Lewis 
Shaw, Main Street. The house being burned in 1836. 

Augustus Plympton, a son of Dr. Sylvanus, tlie elder 
(born 1796, died 1854, M.D. Harv. i824, Mem. Mass. 
Med. Soc), was a practicing pliysician in Woburn ; 
selectman, 1836, '38, '39 ; representative, 1837. 

Dr. Augustus Plympton died of cholera, June 12, 
1854, aged fifty-eight. A lengthy obituary notice, 
well written and containing an excellent character- 



a-2 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHITSRTTS. 






ization of his diffcient merits, appeared June 17, 1854, 
in the Woburii Journal. It alludes to his death as 
sudden. It says, " He was indigenous to our soil, and 
there are yet many who remember his fatlier. Dr. 
Sylvanus Plympton, whose skill and devotion to the 
laborious duties of his profession at a period when its 
members were comparatively few are often alluded 
to. The son enjoyed the benefit of the father's exper- 
ience and practice, and retained many of the 
peculiarities„both aS a man and as a practitioner, of 
the olden time." 

There is also an account of his case in another 
place in the .same issue of the Journal: On the Mon- 
day previous, about 5 A. m., he was seized with the 
terrible disease of cholera, which terminated fatally 
about half-past ten o'clock the same evening. Dr. Ben- 
jamin (Gutter, who was promptly called, pronounced 
it to be a decided case of Asiatic Cholera. Dr. H. 
Bigelow, of Boston, was also called, and coincided 
with Dr. Cutter in his view of the case. Dr. Plymp- 
ton also pronounced his case to be cholera. There 
was one other fatal case of the same disease in Woburn 
during the same week. 

tSi/lritniis P/i/wpton, a son of Dr. Syivanus, the 
elder (born 1794, died 1864, graduated Harvard Col- 
lege 1818, M.D. Harvard 1822, member Massachus- 
etts Medical Society), was a practicing physician in 
Cambridge. 

Dr. Sylvanus Plympton, of (Cambridge, had two 
daughters who married clergymen, and another mar- 
ried Prof. W. H. Niles, of the Institute of Tech- 
nology, Boston. A son, Ilenrij Sijhuims ^1838-1863), 
a graduate of Harvard Medical School, 1800, and of 
the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, 
1861, was an assistant surgeon in the army and 
navy, 1802-1803, and died at home in Cambridge of 
disease contracted in the service. 

Dr. Augustus Plympton had one son and several 
daughters, all natives of Woburn, viz.: Hannah A.; 
f^liza B., deceased 1887, greatly respected for her 
many useful and amiable qualities; Augustus; Ellen 
J., married C. H. Harrington ; GeorgianaG., married 
George Sanderson. The two last-named daughters 
liave descendants. 

Doctor Silas Barnard, 1784. The Woburn 
Public Library has in its possession a marriage cer- 
tificate, signed by Joseph Heald, town clerk of 
Pepperell, Massachusetts, of " Doctor Silas Barnard 
of Pepperell, and Miss Phebe Russell of Cambridge,'' 
dated Feb. 25, 1782. There is also extant in the 
same library a receipted account of his with Deacon 
Timothy Winn, 1784, for medicines. He was dead 
by 1798.' 

Doctor John Page, 1805. This gentleman was 

1 The wife of Dr. Barnard was Pluibe, daughter of Seth Russell, of 
Oaulbridge.— Cf. Cutter's ATliugtAm, 2y5 ; Paige's Cambridge, 650. Silo 
was born in ITtiO and died in 1851. lu 170s she married for a second 
husband .lames I'illebrown, of Cambridge.— Cutter's AH., 191 ; Paige's 
C<i»»6., 545. 



the father-in-law of Colonel John Wade, and acquired 
his title as an apothecary in Boston, whence he re- 
moved to Woburn. His history is largely to be 
found in an immense mass of account-books and 
letters formerly belonging to him, and given by Na- 
than Wyman, lately deceased, to the Woburn Public 
Library. He ai^pears to have been a man of enter- 
prise, of wealth, and of mark. We can only select a 
few points from them. He was in business under-the 
firm-name of Langdon & Page from 1775 and on- 
wards. In 1775 to 1777 he kept a journal while in 
England. This was at the time of the Revolution. 
His headquarters were mostly at Boston during his 
business career, which is represented by a continuous 
series of account- books from 1783 to 1790, and later 
there are books of date, 1810-1811, and with them 
are books of a firm of much earlier date, which per- 
haps preceded him, 1759-1761. There is an account- 
book of his brother. Captain Edward Page, 178.3-1785. 
Edward was dead by Sept., 1785. A few entries he ■ 
made himself in his book are here presented to illus- " 
trate the history of the times : 

" Pownalboro', Oct. 30, 1784. This day entered the house of Mr. 
.John Page and Langdon. 

" Nov. 1, 1784. This day John Langdon turned out part of my goods 
in tlie street, etc. * 

"June 8, 1785. I arrived at Boston, from Wiscasset Point, with Capl. 
Hasliins." 

Doctor Francis Kittredce, 1814-1828. Died 
1828. This gentleman is still remembered by the 
aged among us. He belonged to a family of physi- 
cians, and had the reputation himself of being a good 
one. In his later life he was the partner in business 
of the father of the present writer, and his death oc- 
curred at a comparatively early age. He does not 
appear to have received a liberal education, or to 
have been a person of extensive culture; but he was, 
nevertheless, a skillful physician and had a good 
practice. In 1824, he built the house now owned 
and occupied by Dr. Graves, near the Library on 
Pleasant Street. This was considered quite an un- 
dertaking for the times, but his death, soon after- 
wards, made this expenditure a cause of family em- 
barrassment, and resulted in an early sale to other 
parties. The house is substantially the same in 
form as it was when built. Articles of agreement 
between Dr. Francis Kittredge and his partner Dr. 
Benjamin Cimer, were entered upon in 1827, and one 
item was that "each party and his own family shall 
receive attendance and medicine of the firm gratis." 
Dr. Cutter appears to be his pupil and assistant as 
early as January, 1H25. 

From his medical receipt-books, still extant, it 
would appear that Dr. Kittredge originated in Tewks- 
bury. The inscription on his gravestone in Woburn 
second burying-ground reads as follows: 

"In memory of Doct. Francis Kittredge, who died Feb. 24, 182.^, 
a;t. 45. 

" l\!y fU'sli shall slumber in the ground, 
Till llic lasl Irunipot's .joyful sound ; 



WOBURN. 



Theu biiiijt the chains with sweet surpriHe, 
And in my Saviour's image risf." 

Dr. Francis Tvittredge and his wife Sybil were 
both members ot'tlie First Congregational t'luircli in 
Woburn ; he joining, according to the records, in 1817, 
and she in 1827. 

In preparing the foregoing sl^etches of physicians 
the writer has been impressed by the truth of the 
ibilowing observation. Its truth, however, should 
not deter any one from performing his whole duty to 
the community where he is called to minister. 

How little is soon known of the average physician ! 
A gravestone in a neglected buryicgground, is, per- 
haps, in a few years his sole existing memorial ! A 
few anecdotes of his prowess in combating disease, or 
a few reminiscences of instances of liis wit, these, and 
even less than these, ofttimes remain, after the genera- 
tion that knew him and respected him have passed 
otl'the stage of mortal existence. He may have been 
skillful in his profession, a scholar, a man of high 
mind — and self-sacrificing, kind-hearted and true — 
but all of these traits and characteristics are gradu- 
ally forgotten with the generation that knew him, as 
the world moves on and others take the place that 
he formerly filled. Like the good Doctor Siugletary 
of the Poet Whittier's tale — he is dead, and forgotten, 
and a very slight impression of his work and sacri- 
fices remains, but he was a benefactor to the com- 
munity nevertheless. 

Doctor Benjamin Cuttee, 1825-1864. Died 
March 9, 1804, aged sixty. Dr. Cutter, soon after his 
graduation from Harvard Ctjllege in 1824, estab- 
lished himself as a student of medicine in Woburn 
under Dr. PVancis Kittredge in the house now occu- 
pied by Messrs. Thomas and Baldwin Coolidge, in the 
north village of Woburn, near the place where this 
sketch is at present penned by bis youngest son. Dr. 
Cutter, on the death of Dr. Kittredge in 1828, suc- 
ceeded to his practice, which he held without cessa- 
tion for nearly forty years, till his own death, in 18G4. 
During his whole life Dr. Cutter was an extensive 
reader of general literature, and a close student of 
the literature of his profession ; he was fond of his- 
tory, and especially so of local history and genealogy, 
and while the duties of his profession were extensive 
and exhausting, he found time to prepare con-^iderable 
material on the subject of the history of his native 
and adopted towns, and upon the genealogy of a num- 
ber of their families. Most, if not all, of this mate- 
rial has been published by the son on whom his man- 
tle of local history has partially fallen — it is to be 
hoped not unworthily ! 

There are those living who well remember the time 
when Dr. Francis Kittredge and Dr. .Sylvanus Plymp- 
ton, the elder, were the two principal medical practi- 
tioners in the town. The public favor, it is said, was 
about equally divided between them. Dr. Plympton 
was, perhaps, the more distinguished of the two in 
the case of fevers and in those diseases which re- 



quired only the offices of a physician, while Dr. 
Kittredge was the more distinguished in cases re- 
quiring the services of a skillful surgeon. Dr. ('utter 
was also distinguished in this latter res[)ect, and it is 
singular that none of the thiee were natives of Wo- 
burn. Plympton, the eldest of the three, was a native 
of Medfield ; Kittredge, still younger, was a native of 
Tewksbury, wherf the fiimily had long been noted as 
a race of physicians of uncommon skill ; while Cut- 
ter, much youuger than either, was a native of West 
Cambridge, now Arlington, where be was born .lune 
4, 1803. All three, in common with the custom of 
the time, used in those days to ride about the country 
on horse-back while visiting their patients. There is 
extant still a note-book made by Dr. Cutter while a 
student of Kittredge's, which is filled with the many 
receipts in use by the medical profession of this vi- 
cinity at that period. Some of them may now be 
accounted "barbarous." The receipt-book is enti- 
tled, " A recipe collect of various scarce and excel- 
lent compositions, both orthodox and empirical, 
1825," and had we space we should be glad to co])y 
some of them. This book was based on similar books 
of Drs. Francis Kittredge, the senior and junior, 
the earliest of them dated 1780. These books are 
still preserved and belong to the present writer. 
Among the receipts are some from such honored 
names as those of Dr. Marshall Spring and General 
Johu Brooks; others from Dr. Jose|)h Fiske, of Lex- 
ingt(ni ; Dr. Danforth, of Billerica; the Rev. Mr. 
Bowes, of Bedford, and others, including receipts 
even from some women.' 

It is a difficult task for a son to write satisfactorily 
about his father. Long sketches of Dr. Cutter have 
appeared in various places,' particularly in the ( 'utter 
Foiiiiii/ MeiiKifial, pp. 1157-142; his fuueral address 
being printed in the appendix to that work, pp. 335- 
38; and an appreciative notice appearing at the time 
of»his death in t\\e .Woburn Townsman for March 11, 
1864. Other notices are cited in the sketch in the 
family memorial referred to. As we have before 
stated, he was born in Arlington, June 4, 1803, and 
graduated at Harvard College in 1824, and took his 
medical degree from Harvard in 1827, and from 
Philadelphia again in 1857. His predilection for 
study becoming early manifest, he was sent from 
home at the age of eight years to enjoy the best edu- 
cational advantages he could obtain. He was sent to 
the academies in Westford and Andover, Mass., and 
in Pelha)u and Newmarket, N. H. In 1820 he en- 
tered Harvard College. His classmate Rev. Artenias 
B. Muzzey presented some interesting particulars 
regarding his college life, which are published in the 
sketch in the Cutter Book. In 1823 and 1824 be 
taught school in Medfbrd and at WcllHecl, and also 
in other places. In 182(1 he was cotnmissioncd sur- 



^Cf. \V. It. Cutter, Chi tlif Sottrcc^ of ICiirly W-'inrn Hutortf, a Ifcllile, 
.\|.ril », 1S8T. 



374 



HISTORF OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



geon's mate, and in 1829 surgeon in the militia, an 
office which he resigned in 1834. He was one of the 
School Committee in Woburn from 1845 to 1849, and 
held various other offices enumerated in the sketch in 
the Cutter work. He was devoted to his profession 
and his last illness was of brief duration. "A large 
community/' says bis medical brethren, " has been 
deprived of an experienced, able and conscientious 
physician, a friend long and thoroughly proved, and 
a citizen of eminent usefulness — ever seeking earnestly 
the best good of the public, and exerting through his 
whole life an exemplary and hallowed influence." 

We cannot do better than submit the Townsman 
notices in full. They touch so many points in the 
character of Dr. Cutter that we think they are worthy 
of presentation. There is preserved also the account 
of the details of his expenses as a college student at 
Harvard from 1820 to 1824. This production has an 
historical as well as an antiquarian interest.^ 



1 The followiog books contaiu the results of some of his antiquarian 
researches : — 

(Ij. A History of the Gutter Family of New England. The compilation 
of the Ute Dr. B«njamiu Cutter, of Woburn, Mass. Revised and en- 
larged by William Richard Cutter. Boston, 1871. Pp. si., 364. A 
supplement, 1875, continues the number of pages to 432. 

{2). History of the Town of ArWigton, Maaaachusetts. Formerly the 
Second Precinct in Cambridge, or District of Menotouiy, afterward the 
town of West Cambridge, 1G35-1879. With a Genealogical Register of 
the Inhabitants of the Precinct. By Benjamin and William K. Cutter. 
Boston, 1880. Pp. viii. 308. 

Various articles by W. R. Cutter in antiquarian publications have 
their origin in the same source. An enumeration of them will not be 
attempted here. 

[Woburn Townsman^ for Friday, March 11, 1864.] 

Deaths. 9th, Dr. Benjamin Cutter, 60 years, 9 mos. 

Editorial.* Death of Dr. Cutter.— It is with deep regret we have 
to announce the death of Dr. Benjamin Cutter, on Wednesday of this 
week. Few men will be missed so much as he, and they are few whose 
death might be so truly regarded as a public calamity. He has for some 
time been in feeble health, but the sickness which was the immediate 
cause of his death was of short duration. Funeral services will be held 
In the First Congregational Church, on Monday afternoon next, at^two 
o'clock. 

In another column we lay before our readers a biographical sketch of 
Dr. Cutter, written by one who knew him well, and who but reflects 
the feeliugs of many others in this eulogy of his friend. 

[Written for the Tou-nsman.]^ 

Dh. Benjamin Cutter. 

Mr. Editor: The death of Dr. Benjamin Cutter has cast a gloom 
over the commmiity. He has lived so long in our midst, and his life 
has been oue of such singular usefulness, that it naturally arresls at- 
tention, and makes us pause to ask how the large wpace made vacant by 
such a bereavement is to be filled. Dr. Cutter was born in West Cam- 
bridge, June 4, 1803, and graduated at Harvard College in 1824. He 
studied medicine and surgery with the celebrated Dr. Francis Kitt- 
ridge, in Woburn, and settled here as a practicing physician in 1825. 
He married Mary, the daughter of Amos Whittemore, of West Cam- 
bridge, who now survives him. 

Dr. Cutter has lived oue of the most active and useful lives. He has 
devoted himself with untiring zeal to his profession, ever ready at the 
call of pain and suffering, cool, calm and skillful. Always studying to 
ascertain the hidden cause of disease, he was fortunate in living one of 
the uiost successful of professional lives. Aside from the arduous duties 
uf his profession, he has found time to accumulate a large amount of 



*Juhu L. Parker. 



t'By Nathan Wyman. 



The widow of Dr. Cutter died June 6, 1871. His 
children who lived to maturity were Benjamin L., 
died 1852; Ephraira ; Mary W., married Samuel A. 
Fowle, and died 1865; William R., librarian of the 
Woburn Public Library and the writer of this com- 
munication. 

Ephraim Cutter, son of Dr. Benjamin Cutter, was 
born in Woburn, September 1, 1832. He graduated 
at Yale College 1852, and received the degree of 
M.D. from Harvard in 185(j, and at Philadelphia in 
1857, and LL.D. from Iowa College, 1887. He is 
known, both in this country and abroad, for his med- 
ical writings and inventions. From 1856 to 1875 he 
practiced his profession in Woburn, and later in 
Cambridge and Boston, and now in New York City. 
He has been honored with a gold medal abroad. 

WiLLARD Adams was a physician in Woburn in 
1842, and was here still earlier. He was connected 
with Marlborough, N. H. (see History of that 
town), and, returning to Woburn in later life, died 
here July 19, 1883. 

The Middlesex East District Medical Society was 
organized at the house of Dr. Benjamin Cutter in 
Woburn, October 22, 1850, and, besides himself, Drs. 
Nelson,, Plympton, Clough, Drew, Piper and Rickard, 
from Woburn, were present. All but Dr. Piper are 
now dead. 

A miniature directory of Woburn, prepared by 
Nathan AV^yman in 1850, contains the names of the 
following physicians resident in Woburn in that 
year: Augustus Plympton, Benjamin Cutter, S. Wat- 



minute facta in relation to the history of the town and its inhabitants. 
He could tell you, for he has visited them, Ihe precise spot where nearly 
all the first settlers of Woburn lived, and where they died, and what 
became of the succeeding generations of children. With a retentive 
memory, a well cultivated and inquiring mind, and a familiar profes- 
sional acquaintance with nearly all the families residing in town for 
the last thirty-eight years, his decision in relation to any genealogical 
fact was considered final. 

For the last thirty-five years he has been one of (he most active and 
iufiuential members of the first Congregational society, and for many •: 
years the clerk of the church, and at the time of his duath was en- ■ 
gaged in making an historical catalogue of all the members of the ■ 
church from its organization ; a work of this kind from a pen like his 
would have been of the greatest historical value. 

In social life he was an aflfable, true-hearted frienij. His honesty was 
proverbial, and his character was above reproach. His modesty was 
akin to bashfulness, yet he was possessed with a courage that did not 
seek the approbation of others, nor fear their censure. lie early en- 
listed in the cause of temperance, when to be its advocate insured to one 
cold looks, bitter words, and a loss of practice. He never thought of 
these things, however, but only asked what was the duty uf a true man. 
The ready and cheerful manner with which he worked in all causes 
which tend to elevate and educate society is itself a noble monument to _ 
his memory. ■ 

He had a noble professional pride, and was not envious of his fellow- ^ 
laborers in the medical profession. I do not think he ever spoke un- 
kindly of any of them. It was not his way to parade the mistakes or 
faults of others before the world, and if he had anything to say it was 
to them, not of them. 

No one could be more missed by the community at large than he, and 
many are the tears that will drop with those of his bereaved family into 
his newly-opened grave. 

Issue for March 18, 1864, contains a notice of Dr. Cutter's funeral. 
Cf. also Townsman fur April 1, 1864, and Wuburn Juurnul, April 2, 1864. ■ 



I 



WOBURN. 



375 



son Drew, John Nelson, Truman Rickard, Richard 
U. Piper, John Clough, Thomas S. Scales.' 

We will not attempt a history of the physicians in 
Woburn since 1850. The oldest of them now living 
here is Dr. John M. Harlow, a native of Whitehall, 
N. Y., and in early life a teacher ; he began the 
study of medicine in 1840, studied in the Philadel- 
phia School of Anatomy, and graduated at the Jef- 
ferson Medical College in Philadelphia in 1844. In 
January, 1845, he commenced the practice of his 
profession at Cavendish, Vt., and remained there 
fifteen years, till obliged to retire from ill health. 
He settled in practice in Woburn in ISiU,-' where he 
has held a great variety of offices, and among them 
that of State Senator two terms. 

Dr. Harlow has a world-wide reputation for a case 
under his treatment of recovery from the passage ol 
an iron bar through the head. The subject of it was 
a young man who, while engaged in drilling a hole 
in a rock in Cavendish, Vt., on the 13th of Septem- 
ber, 1848, a premature explosion of the blast drove 
this iron implement completely through his head and 
higli into the air. The iron was three feet seven inche.s 
in length, round, and comparatively smooth by use. 
After the accident the man was carried some distance 
in an ox-cart, but got out of the cart himself with 
little assistance, and later walked up a long flight ol 
stairs, with the help of liis physician, and got upon 
the bed in the room where he was placed. The man 
spoke and said: "The iron entered there," pointing 
to the hole in his cheek, " and passed through my 
head." He hoped he was " not much hurt." The iron 
had passed through the brain, and the patient con- 
tinued in a reasonably comfortable state, with his 
mind clear, saying he did not "care to see his 
friends," and said he should " be at work in a few 
days." After lingering between life and death — his 
friends were so certain of his immediate death that 
they had his coffin and clothes in readiness — he 
gradually improved under treatment and recovered, 
after which he took to traveling, visited many places 
near home, and in 1832 turned his back upon New 
England never to return. He remained nearly eight 
years in Chili. South America, and eventually went 
to San Francisco, C'al., and died there of convulsions 
on May 21, 1801, twelve years and six montlis after 
the date of his accident." 

» For obituary uotice of Dr. Stephen Watsou Drew, see Woburn Jour- 
nal, Feb. 20, 1875 ; Wobun Adl-crtker, Teb. 25, 1875 ; for Dr. Johu Nel- 
son, Woburn Totunsman, March 2.'), April 1, 1864 ; Woburu Jmnial, .\pril 
2, 1864; Truman Rickard, iru6iirii Journal, August 10, 1801; Woburu 
Butlyel, Aug. 9, 16, 1861 ; .lolm Clough (physician and dentist), Woburu 
Journal. Dec. 6, 1879 ; Woburn Adiertiser, Nov. 27, Dec. 4, 1879 ; Thomas 
S. Scales (Humoiopathic), Woburn Journal, June 17, 1881 ; Woburn Ad- 
vrrliaer, .June 16, 1881. 

Dr. Drew was a native uf Milton, I^ H. ; Dr. Nelson, of Milford, 
Mass. (Cf. Ballou's MM. Milford, 928) ; Dr. Kickarci, of Cornish, N. H. • 
Dr. Clough, of Saubornlon or Tiltou, N. H. ; Dr. Scales, of Ueuni- 
ker, N. H. 

■-Cf. Woburu Budiit^l, Nov. 8, 1801. 

8 For a published account of this case, see " Recovery from the passage 



The Legal Profession. — The legal profession 
does not have any exclusively professional repre- 
sentatives in Woburn till a comparatively late period. 
The ordinary law business that existed in the earlier 
time was performed by persons holding the offices of 
magistrates, and it may be supposed that the more 
liberally educated members of the community, such 
as the clergymen, and, even where such were to be 
found, the physicians, attempted some forms of that 
business, such as the writing of wills and deeds. 
There were various justices of the peace in the earlier 
period, specimens of whose handiwork in the prepa- 
ration of legal documents are still preserved. Among 
these may be mentioned William Johnson, son of 
Edward ; Samuel Carter, son of Rev. Thomas; James 
Converse, the major ; Jonathan Tyng ; Eleazer 
Flagg; Jonathan Poole; and, of still later date, 
James Fowle, whose commission is still preserved, 
dated November 19, 1761 ; Josiah Johnson,' Samuel 
Thompson, Samuel Wyman and Zebadiah Wyman ; 
and later still, before lawyers were accounted numer- 
ous, Timothy Winn and Benjamin Wyman. Two 
of the above personages, viz. : Samuel Thompson and 
Benjamin Wyman, have left papers wfcich are still 
accessible in abundance, showing the large number of 
actions which were prosecuted before them and the 
great number of estates which were settled. 

Lawyers. — Joseph Bartlett, Esq., attorney-at- 
law in Woburn as early as 1790, per that valuable pub- 
lication called the Massachusetts Beyister, was named in 
Esquire Thompson's accounts in Woburn from 
August, 1788, to December, 1792. This Esquire 
Bartlett was styled "Captain" in Woburn from 1789 
to 1796. In 1797 his career as a lawyer in Woburn 
had ended by his removal to Cambridge. He was a 
graduate of Harvard College in 1782, and is said to 
have been a native of Plymouth. He left Cam- 
bridge about 1809, and afterwards resided in Ports- 
mouth, Saco and in Boston, in which place he died in 
1827, "his sun" said to have "went down in a 
cloud." He had no children. The Woburn diarist. 
Esquire Thompson, refers to him, under date of 
January 2, 1789, as follows : " Cloudy and fair. At 
Capt. Bartlett's." This entry shows that the Es- 
quire had settled in Woburn by that date. Again 
Esquire Thompson records : "August 26, 1790. Some 
cloudy and some fair. Mr. Bartlett's house raised." 
And again he records: "June 20, 1797. Went to 
Cambridge to Capt. Bartlett's." This shows that the 
captain, otherwise the squire, had then, or by that 
time, removed to Cambridge. His house in Wo- 
burn was known by the name of the Black House, 

of an iron bar through the head," by John M. Harlow, M.D., of Wo- 
buru ; with a plate. An address before the president and fellows of the 
Massachusetts filedical Society, read June ;J, 1868. 20 pp. 

< Some of these names are recognized iu Wliitniore's Civil I.iet of 
Mum., viz., justices of the peace; William Johnson, 1692; .Miijor James 
Converse, 1700, 1702; Jonathau Tyng, 17U0; Eleazer Flagg ; Jonathan 
Poole, 1727, 1729, 1731 ; Josiah Johnson, 1755, 1761 ; James Fowle, 
1761. 



376 



HISTOKY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



from its color, and was called by that name as long 
as it stood, which was after the year 1850. It stood 
on the estate now numbered 732 Main Street, near 
present Central Square, the residence where dwells 
the writer of this brief sketch of the first lawyer by 
profession to settle in Woburn. The low, one story 
building, now occupied as a dwelling at Central 
Square, near the junction of Main and Vine Streets, 
but located on Main Street, and sometimes called 
the Poole house by the older citizens, is said to 
have been erected for his law-ofBce. This point in 
his day was an important business centre in Wo- 
burn, being on the line of two important stage- 
routes, and conveniently reached. His practice was 
probably as fair as the circumstances of the town 
would warrant. He possessed a singular taste for 
his time in house-decoration. In Woburn he had 
his house painted black, with white paint for the 
window-sashes and green for the doors. At Saco 
he is said to have built a house of a round form, 
and to have painted it a fiery red color. Cf. 
Paige's Hist. Camb., 484. 

LoAMMl Baldwin, attorney, 1803-1805. Gradu- 
ate Harvard College, 1800. Died 1838. Son of Col. 
Loammi Baldwin. Born in AVoburn, 1780. He was 
the distinguished civil engineer. 

Loammi Baldwin, " father of civil engineering in 
America," is one among the leaders of industrial work 
in this country, to whom the community owes much. 
There were few works of internal improvement car- 
ried out in America during the first thirty years of 
the present century with which he was not connect- 
ed. Two great works — the Government dry docks at 
Charlestown and Norfolk — stand unsurpassed to-day 
among the engineering structures of the country as 
specimens of his skill. Such is the commendation 
passed upon him by his biographer, Prof. George L. 
Vose, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 
Loammi Baldwin, Esq., was the son of Colonel Loam- 
mi Baldwin, and was born in Woburn, May IG, 1780. 
He fitted for college, and graduated from Harvard 
College in 1800. His inclination at that time was 
towards mechanical subjects, to which very little at- 
tt-ntion Wiis paid in the college curriculum, and while 
in college he made, with his own hands, a clock, 
which kept good time, and was. the wonder and ad- 
miration of his class. He commenced the study of 
law at Groton, after graduatiiig from college, and sig- 
nalized himself there in a mechanical capacity by the 
construction of a fire-engine in 1802, which is still in 
use. Loammi Baldwin, llie subject of this notice, 
died June 30, 1838. . 

He opened an office in Cambridge, as a lawyer, in 
1804, which business he pursued about three years, 
when he turned his attention to engineering, going to 
England in 1807 with that object in view, and on his 
return settled in Charlestown. For a fuller account of 
his ability as an engineer and his professional works, 
see A Sketch o/ the Life and Works uf Loammi 



Baldwin, Civil Engineer, by George L. Vose : Boston, 
1885, 28 pp., 8vo, with a portrait. An account of 
the fire-engine, "Torrent,"' 1802, with an illustration, 
is given in Dr. Samuel A. Green's Groton Historical 
Series, vol. ii. pp. 393, 394. This was the first fire- 
engine in Groton, and after a use of more than eighty- 
seven years will throw a stream of water over the 
highest roofs in town. Thus Loammi Baldwin's cpn- 
trivance for extinguishing fires has been a very useful 
and eftective one, and Dr. Green says, on several oc- 
casions it has prevented serious conflagrations in the 
town of Groton. 

Abner Bartlett, attorney, 1804-1806. Removed 
to Medford, where his name appears 1808. 

He was a native of Plymouth, and graduated at 
Harvard College 1799, and died in 1850, aged seventy- 
fuur. Cf. Brooks' History of MIeilford, 309. Ab- 
ner Bartlett and Sarah B. Burgess, both of Woburn, 
were married December 21, 1806. 

Wyman Richardson, Esq., attorney-at-law, in 
Woburn, in 1811, and still the same in 1837, was for 
a long period apparently the only lawyer living in 
the town. He died in 1841. He was adjutant in the 
militia, 1820, and brigade major, 1823-1836. He was 
born in Woburn, February 19,1779; graduated at 
Harvard College, 1804; studied law and practiced in 
Woburn ; and died suddenly in this town, June 22, 
1841, aged sixty-one. Cf B. Mem. 336, 337. J 

William C. Jarvis, Esq., attorney-at-law, 1831- ^ 
1833. He represented Woburn in the Legislature in 
1830, was Speaker of the House of Representatives, 
1823, 1824, 1826, and 1827. and at one time a candi- 
date for Governor. Cf. Winchester Record, i. 128. 

" Winchester. Oct. 21, 188'J. 
" BIr. Cutter : — I eend you some facts about William C. Jarvis, which 
you cau use as you please. I well remember liim when he lived in 
South Woburu, although I was a small boy wbeu be came here in \h-l't 
mV '2G. He bought the Swan farm, where the (irammers lived wht-o 
they moved out here in 1822. .\fter Jarvis moved away, about lS3o 
Isaac Shattuck bought the farm — the Shattuck who at one time kept the 
•Academy hoarding-house in Woburn. Jarvis. I am sure, came here 
from Piltsfield, Mass., where he was living in 1820, and where be wrote 
and published a book of -ItXl pages, called the ' Republican, or a series of 
essays on the principle and policy of free states.' 1 have I'ead it, an in- 
teresting and .able work. I do not know where he was born, but do 
know that he moved to Clareniont, N. II., and in 1838, when about fifty 
years old, went over the Connecticut River to the town opposite and 
shot himself, dying instantly. He was quite a hook farmer, a good 
scholar, a stout-built man. He had a law-ollice in Woburn, where he 
went daily, riding in a two-wheeled chaise, with a dog always following 
liehind. He was round-shouldered, had a cock eye, red face, was a high 
liver, hard drinker and fond of women ; had no children. I think his 
wife died here. When he left town his furniture was sold at auction. 
My father bought a mahogany dining table, which I now have. It was 
said he bought a farm and moved here to run as a candidate for Govei- 
nor. I am sure ho wits a candidate and ran as the free bridge candi- 
date — to abolish the toll over Warren Bridge, which at that period was 
being agitated. I think he was elected Speaker of the house when a 
member. He was a Whig in politics and strongly opposed by Col. 
.lohn Wade, but on account of his being strong for the free bridge was 
elected. Most respectfully yours, etc., N. X. RlcUARnsoN." 

Albert H. Nelson, Esq.,' attnrney-at-law, 1842- 



' Lawyers named in miniature Woburn directory for 1850. For obituary 
notices of James M. Randall see WuhuTn Journal, August 3, 1861 ; 



WOBURN. 



:^T7 



43, etc. Albert Hobart Nelson, Esq., of Woburn, died 
at Somerville, June 27, 1858, aged forty-six years. 
He was son of Dr. ,Tohn Nelson, and was born in 
Miltbrd, Mass., Manh 12, 1812. He graduated at 
Harvard College in 1832, studied law in the office of 
Samuel Hoai*, of Concord, Mass., and in 1839 entered 
on the practice of his profession at Concord, and in 
1842 removed to Woburn. He was appointed district 
attorney for Middlesex about 18415, and filled the po- 
sition in a most satisfactory manner. He was a 
member of the Massachusetts Senate for two succes- 
sive sessions, 1848 and 1849; a member of the Execu- 
tive Council in 1S5-1, and continued thus till trans- 
ferred to the chief justiceship of the Superior Court 
of Suffolk County in 1855. He sat on the bench till 
the spring of 1858, w'hen he was obliged to resign be- 
cause of continued ill-health, severe shocks of paraly- 
sis mastering him and carrying him to the grave. 
He was an able and accomplished lawyer, of culti- 
vated intellect, popular, easy and graceful in manner. 
Woburn had reason to be proud of him as a citizen, 
for his many able qualities and his public spirit. Cf 
Woburn Journal, July 3, 1858; Woburn Budget, July 
2, 1858; Ballou's Hist. Milford, 928. 

Asa Spaulding and Jame.s M. Randall,' 1847. 
Joshua P. Converse' (under the firm of Nelson & 
Converse). GoRHA.M Parkes.' 

The lawyers since this period have been numerous 
and we may be pardoned if their names are omitted. 
Most of those who have settled here since 1850 are 
still living, and their names also are given under the 
history of the bar in Middlesex County in another 
part of this volume. 



CHAPTER XXVin. 

WOB URN—( Continued). 

MILITARY HISTORY THE COLOXIAL AND I'KO- 

VINCIAL PERIODS, l()42-]77'). 

BY W. R. CUTTEK. 

The Train-Band. — A few remarks of a general 
nature on this hitherto neglected subject in the history 
of Woburn may not be out of place. The militia 
of the colonial period was intended for the public <le- 
fence, and the companies composing it were expected 
to perform arduous duty and to accomplish important 
military achievements. The training-day was then 
no "mere playing at soldiers," but a serious study for 
the defence of the Commonwealth. The regulations 
covering many pages of the Colony records, and the 



Woburn Budget, August 2, 1861. He was born in Princeton, son of Ed- 
ward and Eliza, and died uf apoplexy August 1, 18(U, aged forty yeara, 
one montb, uiue days. For similar notices of Joshua P. Converse see 
Woburn Journal, March 18, 187(3 ; Wobttnt Advertiser. March 10, ISTO. 
Mr. Converse was a graduate of Brown University, 18-14. 



acts and resolves of the Province, testify to the im- 
portance attached to it [see Mem. Hist. Boston, ii. 
481]; and tlie colonists placed on record their belief 
that their safety and peace could not be preserved 
"without military orders and officers." Military ser- 
vice was required of all able-bodied men to 108G, and 
such service commenced at the age of 16 years, 
and no limit was prescribed for its close. Men of 
70, and even older, were active in the ordinary train- 
ings, and men of GO were always foun<l drilling in the 
ranks. In the old country it had been the practice to 
enlist men in the train-band at 10 years and to dis- 
miss them at 00.^ In 1089 the term of service was 
shortened from 10 to 60 years, though the officers 
often voluntarily served til! a much later period of 
life. The historian of Cambridge mentions several 
notable examples in that town, such as Samuel Green, 
the veteran printer, who held military office at Cam- 
bridge about sixty years, b^ng sergeant, 1643 ; ensign, 
1060; lieutenant, 1686, and captain, 1689, when he 
was seventy-five years old. He died, evidently still 
in office, in 1702, aged 87. He possessed, it was said, 
an extraordinary martial genius, and in an obituary 
notice of his son, in 1733, it was stated that his father 
took such great delight in the military exerci.se, that 
the arrival of the training-days would raise his spirits, 
and when he was so aged that he could not walk, he 
would be carried out in his chair into the field, to view 
andorder his company. Daniel Gookiii,of Cambridge, 
whose name is frequently mentioned in connection 
with Woburn attkirs, was another example of a person 
of great age serving as an active military officer. He 
was captain of the Cambridge train-band about forty 
years, and continued to be the captain or commander 
of his local company, while he held the offices of a 
sergeant-major, or commander of a county regiment, 
and major-general, or commander of all the military 
force of tlie Colony; the immediate command of his 
company while he occupied these higher offices being 
exercised by a lieutenant, sometimes styled captain- 
lieutenant. Promotion was slow, and the practice 
prevailed, and continued probably till the lievohition, 
for a captain to be the captain of his company, how- 
ever highly he might be promoted, so long as he was 
in office. Other instances might be cited of old men 
remaining long in office, .such as C^aptain Thomas 
I'rentice, of Cambridge, the part now Brighton, cap- 
tain of the troop distinguished in I'hilip's War, sev- 
eral members of which were from Woburn ; »Iohn 
Wyman, of Woburn, holding the office of its cornet 
and later of its lieutenant in that war. Edward 
Oakes, of Cambridge, was quartermaster of this troop 
in 1050, and twenty years afterwards was engaged 
with it in Philip's War, with the office of a cornel 
and later a lieutenant. All these Cambridge officers 



2 See a contemporary document of date 1659, printed in Paige's iiisr. 
of Cambridge, pp. 401-02, on the subject why old men of sixty should not 
be requireil to train. Another e.xample of the ctlecl of training on old 
men is given in the same work, p. 40'2. 



378 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



named were old men at the end of their service, and 
the youngest of them died at the age of 75, and the 
oldest at 89 years. Thus it will he seen that a com- 
missioned officer in the colonial militia served prac- 
tically for life; that the unit of military organization 
was the company otherwise called the town training- 
band or train-band, and that the direct maintenance 
of military discipline depended upon the captains. 
These officers were clothed with considerable power. 
Promotion was also systematic and regular, and long 
service in any office the rule. The duties of any 
office, however dangerous, were considered as an obli- 
gation and an honor. Revelations from contemporary 
documents show that some of these men possessed a 
severe and crusty temper, but they exhibited un- 
doubted bravery in battle.* 

Two-thirds of a company, to 1673, were often mus- 
keteers, or men carrying fire-arms, while the other 
third were armed with pikes or lances. The pike- 
men wore corselets and head-pieces, and those who 
could not affiDrd corselets wore buff-coats, or quilted 
coats. The commissioned officers of an infantry 
company were three— a captain, a lieutenant and an 
officer called an ensign, who, when the company 
could afford to have one, carried a standard or ensign 
or flag. These officers had power to punish their 
men for military offences. A foot company had sixty- 
four members, besides officers, and each foot company 
had two drums. A cavalry troop was not allowed to 
exceed seventy members, and one troop was assigned 
to each county regiment. The commissioned officers 
of a troop were a captain, a lieutenant and a cornet — 
the last the third officer in rank, whose duty it was to 
bear the ensign or colors of the troop, a duty anal- 
ogous to that of the ensign of infantry. 

The latest instance found of the use of the term 
training-hand for an infantry company in Woburn 
is in 1787. The term is found in a document en- 
dorsed with the title "The Train-band,'* containing 
the list of the'bames of the members, and an account 
of tjie arms, equipments and ammunition possessed by 
the company, which, on Monday, April 30, 1787, met 
for a review or inspection, of which the above docu- 
ment is a report. 

The list following comprises the officers of the local 
train-band, or foot company, in the town of Woburn 
during the colonial period. All the offices held by 
an individual are included under his name. 

Officers of the Train Bant) in Woburn, 1642-1602. 
Captaim. 
Edwurd Johuson, died 1C72, aged 73 ; lieuteiiaut in Woburu, 1644-49 ; 
of military compauy of Middlesex, 1645; captaiu, 1650-72. 

Johu Carter, died 1692, aged 76; ensign in Woburn company, 1651-61; 
lieutenant, 1664-72 ; captain, 1672-92. In tbe General Court records is 
thia entry : " Woburn military officers, dpon a motion in bebalf of Wo- 
burn company, it is ordered tbat Lieut. John Carter be captain, William 
Johnson, lieutenant, and James Converse, ensign, to the foot company 

1 A curious instance of hasty temper on the part of Major Gookin is 
given in Paige's Hist. Camh., p. 563. John Johnson, apparently of Wo- 
burn, wa« one of the witnessett. 



there," 1672. The inscription on his gravestone in the first burying- 
groiind at Woburn Centre is as follows :" Captain John Carter, aged 
about 76 years, deceased tbe 14th of September, 1692." 

William Johnson, died 1704, aged 74 ; ensign in Woburji company, 
1664-72; lieutenant, 1672-88; captain, 1690-91; major, 1692-17(4. 
There is preserved one incident of his military experience. On the 
niglit of August 23, 1695, after an alarm occasioned by the killing and 
capture of fifteen persona by the Indiana at Billerica on tbe fitb inst. 
preceding, some 30(» men aBsembled in arms at Billerica, from Wo- 
burn, Reading, Maiden and other towns, under the conduct or com- 
mand of Major William Johnson and other otficers, where they were 
found by another officer who had been deputed by the government to 
command them. Their further operations, with Major William John- 
son as second in cocnmand, are described in a document presented in 
Frothingham'H Charle»town, 241, and in Hazen'e Billerica, 132-33. A 
thorough search of tlie country to the northward of Billerica by this ex- 
pedition failed to discover the enemy in force anywhere, and the men 
who had assembled for tbe puisuit of tbe foe were dismissed. 

William Johnson in his time attained to higher civic office than any 
other citizen of Woburn. He was one of the magistrates or assistants, 
as they were called, of the Colony, and a military officer of the several 
ranks to that of major, and, at the risk of imprisonment, resisted the 
spirit of royal aggression in the days of Andros. He was a man of 
ability, and the records be has left are examples of better English than 
that in the famous work of his more celebrated father. 

James Converse, died 1700, aged 61 ; sergeant in Woburn company 
1674-87 ; ensign, 1689 ; captain, mainly in the Colony service, 1689-92 ; 
major, 1693-17U6. His military reputation is greater than tbat of any 
other Woburn man of his period. He was in tbe country service, as it was 
termed, for three years as a captain, 1690-92, in tbe war against thw 
Eastern Indians, and as an officer in the Colony forces stationed in thht 
section commanded the well-known Storer's garrison -bouse at Wells. 
With a very email force he defended tbat place bravely and successfully, 
and with slight loss, against a much superior force of French and In- 
dia.us, after a siege of several days, in 1692, For his gallant conduct on 
that occasion lie was promoted major in 1093. His gravestone in W'v- 
burn first burying-ground presents the titles of both "Major" and 
" Esquire" in connection with bis name. 

LieutenuHts. 

James Converse, died 1715, aged 95, the last survivor of the signers of 
the original town orders for Woburn of 1640 ; sergeant in Woburn com- 
pany, 1658-72; ensign, 1672-88; lieutenant, 1088-1715. He is styled 
"Lieutenant" on bis gravestone in Woburn first burying-ground. 

John Wynian, died 1684, aged about 63 ; sergeant, 1672 ; cornet, 1675 ; 
lieutenant, 1675-84 ; officer, cornet and lieutenant in Captaiu Thomas 
Prentice's troop ; in active service in Philip's War; in the famous Jsar- 
ragansett campaign, which ended in tbe Fort J'ight, where his son, a 
member of his command, was killed, and he himself was wounded 
during a scouting foray by an Indian arrow which bit him in the face. 

Thomas Fuller, died 1698, aged 80; sergeant (Woburn), 1656 and li»85 ; 
lieutenant, 1685-86. He married tbe widow of Lieutenant John Wy- 
man ; resided much of the time elsewhere, and died in that part of Salem 
now Middleton, Mass. See N. E. Zxist, Gen. Rug. xiii. 351. 

Gershom Flagg, killed in battle with the Indians July 6, 1690, at 
Wheelwright's Pond, in Lee, N. H., aged 49; lieutenant, 1690, when 
killed. His captain, Wiswali, and his townsman. Sergeant Edward 
Walker, and others were slain at same time. 

James Fowie, died 1090, aged 49 ; lieutenant, 16y0 ; " Lieutenant " on 
gravestone in Woburn first burying-ground. 

John Richardson, died 1697, aged 56 ; lieutenant, 1690-97 ; " Lieuten- 
ant " on stone in tbe first burying-ground. 

Henry Summers, died 1724 ; licensed to keep ;id ordinary in Woburn 
1682 ; lieutenant, 16i'0-94. 

Joseph Pierce, died 1716, aged 67; "Lieut." in record of decease; 
corporal, 16y0; lieutenant, 1690-1716. 

En%igna. 

Samuel Walker, died 17f>4, aged 61 ; corponil, 1683-84 ; sergeant, 1684- 
90 i ensign, 1690-92 ; became a deacon in 1092, and was styled " Dea- 
con" on biH gravestone in Woburn first burying-ground. The father 
of this Sainuei W'alker was another Samuel Walker, who was styled 
captain, 1083, and probably obtained tluit title elaewliere than in Wu- 
burn. He was tbe first pei-son licensed in Woburn to keep a tavern, on 
site of late Daniel Richardson's place, and died in 1684, aged about 70. 

Joseph Winn, died 1715; "Ensign" in record of decease; ensign, 
1691-1715. 



i 



WOBURN 



379 



ComeL 

WiUlani Green, died 1717, aged 60; corporal of cavalry, 1675-76, in 
Philip's War. On June 1, 1677, Corporal William Green was appointed 
by the General Court cornet of the Three County Troop, Coltnttj 
RtcoTiU, V. 151. 

Qnarterittuster. 

laaac'Brooks, died 1686 ; appointed quartermaster of the Three County 
Troop, June 1, 1677, of which Corporal William Greeu was also ap- 
pointed cornet. Colony Hecords^ v. 151. Quartermaster in tax Itets, 
1684-85. The troop of which he was a member paraded with other 
militia at Charlestown on October 5, 16S5. Sewall'a Uitiry^ cited in 
Frothiugham'fl Charltstown, 185-86. 

SergeanU. 

John Tidd, died 1657 ; sergeant, 16-16 ; the first citizen of Woburu 
named by military' title in the records. 

James Parker, removed from Woburn about 1652 ; sergeant, 1649-51 ; 
attained higher office elsewhere. 

Samuel Converse, accidentally killed at Woburn, I66'j ; sergeant, 
1669. 

Thomas Pierce, died 1683 ; sergeant, 1669-82. 

Henry Baldwin, died 1698 ; sergeant, 1672-85. 

Increase Winn, first child born and recorded in Woburn ; sergeant in 
record of decease, 1690. 

Edward Walker, sergeant in Wiswall's company in active military 
service, 1690 ; killed on Sunday, July 6, 1690, in battle with the In- 
dians at Wheelwright's Pond, in Lee, N. H., at same time when the cap- 
tain, Wiewall, the lieutenant, Gershom Flagg, of Woburu, and othei-s 
were slain also. Two companies of English, it appears, were scouting 
under Captains Floyd and Wiswall, when, coming upon a party of In- 
dians, a bloody engagement ensued, in which fifteen of the English were 
killed and sevei"al wounded. 

Corparal. 
Thomas Pierce, corporal, 1683. 

Of the officers mentioned in the preceding list some 
had been soldiers in Philip's War. This war bore 
heavily on the colony in taxes and men, and was the 
principal war of that period. A list of the men who 
served in this war is given in the appended notes, also 
an account of the killing of such persons, few in num- 
ber, in the town itself, whose deaths were a result of 
that war; and of the killing of one person by an 
Indian a few years previous to that war. 

So far as ascertained, Woburn's casualties in the 
Narragansett campaign, or the principal campaign of 
Philip's War, were one man, John Wyman, Jr., 
killed outright, and seven men wounded. The names 
of all these appear in the following list. The family 
of Wyman suffered in the persons of all its members 
engaged in the war, a father, son and nephew. The 
father was slightly wounded, the son was killed and 
the nephew died soon after his return. All endured 
the rigors of a campaign in the depth of winter. The 
total number of names discovered is eighty-three. 
Woburn furnished a noticeably large proportion of the 
cavalry arm — twenty-one, about a quarter of the whole. 
Her losses in the cavalry were one killed, three 
wounded. Cavalry officers furnished, one lieutenant, 
two corporals ; and thirteen men from the town were 
sent in the ranks of one company of infantry to the 
battle-field. 

Note, — In our researches on this chapter, we have 
examined the Woburn records, the printed colony 
records, and a valuable and scarce copy of the colony 
laws printed in ltj72, and belonging to the Woburn 



Public Library; also the Mem. Tlist. of Boston, and 
other works and manuscripts. Owing to the in- 
sufficiency of data, the years given do not in all in- 
stances illustrate the precise length of the service of 
an officer, though the rank is definitely given. 

Thirty years ago John L. Parker, in Woburn Budget, 
Oct. 28, Nov. 4-25, 1859, wrote a sketch of the mili- 
tary history of Woburn, from 1789 to 1859, based on 
record-books and recollections of men formerly 
connected with it. The subject from the close of the 
Revolution to the opening of the Civil War was fairly 
well covered by these articles, and little can be added 
of value. 

In the Indian wars Woburn men were found scat- 
tered throughout the settlements in garrisons, and as 
members of expeditions of more or less account in the 
country's annals. If to these the names of many 
natives who had found homes in other places were 
added, the number would be very large. The diffi- 
culty of procuring data is prodigious, and much is still 
hidden which the future may bring to light. 

For an account of the militia at the opening of 
Philip's War, see N. E. Bid. Gen. Reg., xxxvii. 
75-76. The local companies were not sent on aclive 
service out of their towns, but men were impressed 
from them and placed under officers appointed for 
special service by the Council. Besides the commis- 
sioned officers, each foot-company had a clerk, ser- 
geants, corporals and drummers. A less number than 
was required for a company was, by a law of lt)52, to 
choose a sergeant and other inferior officers. Cavalry 
corps had, besides their usual officers, a trumpeter and 
a quartermaster, and on special service the number of 
men in a command of any sort was greater than the 
regular number. Part of the outfit of a Woburn 
trooper of the period is given in the inventory of 
William Simonds in 1672, viz., "a pair of pistols, 
holsters, breastplate andcrouper." 

An account of the early militia .system of Massa- 
chusetts is also given in an article of some length in 
the Proc. Worcester Soc. Antiquity, 1888, pp. 105-27. 

The theory and practice of the military art as un- 
derstood by the fathers of New England is set forth 
with curious minuteness in Markham's Epistles of 
Warre (Lond. 1622), a work of which a copy is to 
be found in the Woburn Public Library. It contains 
a dissertation on the duties of every officer from a 
lance-corporal to a general ; nor are the lesser posi- 
tions, such as those of sentinels and r(funders, clerks 
and harbingers, or drummers and fifers, omitted in the 
treatise. From this work we ascertain that the lowest 
of all officers was the lanspesado, or lance-corporal, 
the deputy of a corporal, the leader of a file, and in 
charge of half a squadron ; in other respects little more 
than a common soldier. Thecompaniesbeing divided 
into squadrons, a corporal was appointed over the 
squadron, and under the corporal a deputy corporal, or 
lanspesado. The corporal commanded the fourth part 
of a company of 100 men, and his command was 



380 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



divided into two camarddos, or parties of twelve men 
each, 80 that a full squadron was twenty-lour men, be- 
sides the corporal. This officer, says the old writer, 
"ought to be of reverend and grave years, thereby to 
draw on respect." 

The sergeant would command in particular two 
squadrons, or fifty men or more at discretion. In the 
English armies he was armed with a sword and a hal- 
bert, a short and handy weapon easy to manage at 
close quarters, which he used to keep the band in 
order, and in all marching, standing and other mo- 
tions, to keep the ranks and files in an " even, comely 
and true proportion." By turning the blunt end of 
his halbert toward a refractory soldier, and showing 
he might strike, ifhe would, he insisted on the main- 
tenance of discipline. 

The ensign, or "the first great oflScer of a private 
company . . . hath the guard of his captain's colors 
. . . weareth armor . . . [and a] fair sword by his side 
. . . [and hath] his captain's colors or ensiyn in his 
hand." He chose " four or five especial gentlemen," 
who, as his mates and companions in all services, 
should march about him to guard them . . . and when 
any of his company died, he at the burial trailed his 
colors after the body to do honor to the funeral," but 
when the body was in the ground, he then tossed 
them up and displayed them. In the absence of the 
captain and lieutenant he commanded as the " abso- 
lute captain," but when they were present he was 
" bound to obey them. " 

The lieutenant of a foot company was " the greatest 
officer in the band " — ne.xt to the captain — and com- 
manded the ensign and all other otficers below him. 
In the absence of the captain the entire command 
was upon him. His other duty was "to oversee both 
the officers and whole band," and that their duties 
were duly performed. He was armed in the same 
manner as the ensign, only his weapon was a gilt 
partisan or a kind of halberd. His place of command 
in the captain's presence and marching into the field, 
was in the rear, but in returning home, or after 
service, then in the " head of the battle ; " but in his 
captain's absence, then he was as the captain, and the 
eldest sergeant supplied his place. He had power 
to commit any man under the degree of an officer, 
and the officers in the absence of the captain. 

A captain of foot or of the infantry was the " high- 
est of all private commanders,'' and yet the lowest of 
all "that cominand in chief." In relation to the 
weapon he should carry, some would have "nothing 
but a rich feather-staff", all wrought, gilt, and curi- 
ously tasselled." Others would have a pike, and 
others a sword and gilt target. Some would have a 
" fair feather staff" in time of peace, and a " fair, gilt 
partisan, richly trimmed," in time of war. This 
weapon was not to be above twelve inches of blade, 
but sharp and well steeled, " for it is able to encounter 
against any manner of weapon.'' This treatise was 
opposed to a captain's carrying a musket, which was 



the common practice in America in the Indian wars 
previous to the Revolution, and even General Wolfe, 
in one of his pictures, is represented as armed with a 
musket, minus the bayonet, in the time of battle. The 
captain of horse, in the general parts of his duty, has 
the same as those which belong to the captain of foot, 
"only with an augmentation of care, inasmuch as he 
hath to provide both for man and beast." 

Of the other officers, the Sergeant-major of a regiment 
is "ever some especial captain." The Lieutenant- 
colonel of foot is the second officer in command of a 
regiment. The Colonel of foot was, like the others 
named, a captain ; the colonel retaining the captaincy 
of his own "band '' and electing its officers, his own 
lieutenant being in courtesy called by the title of cap- 
tain, and "in all meetings" to take his place as the 
"puny" captain of the regiment. The company 
commanded by this lieutenant, belonging to the 
colonel, took precedence of place " before all other 
captains of the regiment." The colonel was armed at 
all points like the captain, only his " leading weapon," 
or "feather stafl'," was of a "much less proportion." 
He was mounted on horseback in the ordinary part 
of his duties, but in an assault he was to alight and 
" lead forth his regiment in his own person." The 
lieutenanl-i-ulonel and sergeant-major were also mounted 
officers in the infantry. 

Further, the sentinel was the ordinary sentinel ; the 
rounder, a gentleman discharged from humbler and 
meaner dut'es, but assigned logo the rounds at night ; 
the clerk of a band was a penman, rather than a 
"sword-man," yet by no means a coward; the har- 
binger had charge of the billeting a foot company 
when drawn into garrison. Otherwise the holders of 
these offices were but common soldiers. The drummes 
and 2>hiphes — drummers and fifers — hold offices of 
power, but not "of command," and are, though pri- 
vate soldiers, " ins'.ruments of direction and encour- 
agement to others." The fife was only an instrument 
of pleasure, not of necessity, and to the voice of the 
drum the soldier .should wholly attend, and not to the 
" air of the whistle." The work sets forth the im- 
portance of every man in a force, even the humblest, 
and pays high tribute to valor. 

Extracts from Records. — On February 4, 1079-80, a 
fine was remitted in behalf of the town for not ob- 
serving the law regarding ammunition, on promising 
to be "more observant" in time to come. This favor 
was granted on the petition of Lieutenant William 
•lohnson and James Converse of Woburn. — Colony 
Records, v.26i. On March 2, 1(591, the selectmen met, 
and, in obedience to a warrant received from the 
major-general, viewed the town's stock of ammunition, 
and finding it "not according to law," they appointtd 
Lieutenant James Converse and Sergeant Matthew 
Johnson " to seek out to procure a supply of ammu- 
nition, according to law, for the town."^ — Woburn 
Records, iii. 148. A war (King William's War) had 
commenced, in which the Indians of Canada and 



^ 



WOBURN. 



381 



Maine aided the French. Later, during Queen Anne's 
War, the selectmen, on May 17, 1708, left at the house 
of Cornet Benjamin Simonds, "of the town stock of 
ammunition, viz., in powder, with the weight of the 
two barrels it is in — 103 pounds ; and in shot and 
flints, with the weight of the two small bags they 
were in — 162, the account of which was that day en- 
tered in the town book, by order of the selectmen then 
present, and the said Cornet Benjamin Simonds." At 
Ihe end of this statement in the original record is 
this entry : " Entered in this place to save paper for- 
ward."— Wot^r/? Eerords, vi. 8fi. 

Major Jamex Conrerse. — The exploit at Wells is im- 
mortalized by Cotton Mather {Mafpialia, bk. vii.) 
In 1690, in the earlier campaigns against the Indians 
at the eastward, Converse was under the command of 
the celebrated Major— afterwards Colonel — Benjamin 
Church. .\s major. Converse himself commanded 
the eastward forces in 1693. For allusions to him, 
see Hutchinson's Mass., ii. 67-68, 72; Baylies' 
Plijmouth. pt. iv. 116, 118; pt. v. 88, 96; Sewall's 
nlaru (M. H. C, 5th series), v. 320, 358, 377 ; vi. 
75, 93*. 132; Sewall's Wobiirn, 178-183; Woburri 
Journal, Sept. 27, 1873, etc. ,\n echo of a petty 
squabble of the day in which his name was mentioned, 
is referred to in Savage's Oenealogifal Diit. and 
in the A'. E. Hist. Qen. Register, xiii. 31. It was 
the result of a council of eight churches, called 
by the reverend pastor and church of Ohnrn [Wo- 
burn] and dissatisfied brethren, and convened in 
that town December 4, 1706. It was the question 
whether the oath of Major Converse, which occa- 
sioned the controversy, was really true or false. This 
the council determined did not belong to an ecclesias- 
tical body to settle. They decided it was wrong for 
Jacob Wyman to form a charge of perjury against 
Major Converse, and to prosecute it as he did before 
the pastor, and they advised Jacob Wyman to ac- 
knowledge this wrong act to the church. They deter- 
mine<l it was wrong for the pastor and church to bring 
the matter into a course of ecclesiastical proceeding, 
especially in their act of e.xcommunicating .lacob 
Wyman, and upon his making an acknowledgment, 
the pastor and church were advised to restore him to 
their communion. After some advice on the subject 
of excommunication and church contentions, the 
result closes with some words of admonition to the 
"Christian brethren in Ohurii," to be of a forgiving 
spirit, etc. For particular references to Converse 
in Mather's Magnolia — not indexed — ed. 1853, vol. 
ii.— see pp. 603, 607, (;09-ll, 613-18, 624, 631, 641-43. 
Sullivan's Hist. DiM. Maine (Bost, 1795), 236, men- 
lions the location of vStorer's garrison-house, as well 
as does Bourne, Wrlls ami KennebunI: (Port. 1875) 
197, and Williamson, Ilisl. Maine (Hall. 1832), i. 
627. Sullivan gives a brief account of the action at 
Wells, which he obtained from Hutchinson's Mass., 
but does not mention Converse by name. Williamson, 
vol. i., chap. x.Kiii., gives an account of the assault. 



and mentions Converse, but follows Mather closely. 
Bourne, the locarhistorian, in chap, xv., particularly 
pp. 196-97, 207-16, presents an account which closes 
with an eloquent tribute to the defenders of Wells 
and the courage of Converse. 

The Engagement at Wheelwright's Pond. — An ac- 
count of this action, in which two Woburn men lost 
their lives, is given in Mather's Magnalia, ed. 1853, 
ii. 607. The contest was an obstinate one and lasted 
from two to three hours. The English having 
adopted the Indian mode of fighting, their loss v/as 
comparatively small. Neither party could claim the 
victory. On the following morning. Captain Con- 
verse, of Woburn, vi.sited the battle-ground, and 
brought off seven wounded, who were still alive. Cf. 
Drake's Book Indians, pt. iii., 151 ; Sewall's Woburn, 
109. 

Indian Murders in Woburn. — The murder of an 
English maid at Woburn by an Indian is referred to 
in Increase Mather's Early Hist, of New England, 
Drake's ed., 238. Hubbard's Narr. Indian Wars, 
Drake's ed., i. 18, refers to the same thing, and says 
that the murder was committed upon a maid-servant 
by an Indian to whom she had denied drink. The 
time was about 1669 or 1670. The locality where it 
occurred was Havenville, in Burlington, on the site 
of the late Miss Kuth Wilson's house. A lurking 
Indian having concealed himself in a hop-house 
near, supposing the neighbors were absent at church 
on the Sabbath, went to the house and asked for ci- 
der of a young woman he found there. She went to 
the cellar to draw some, but her murderer, on her xe- 
turn, taking advantage of the opportunity, killed her 
with his tomahawk. A cellar-door, spattered with 
her blood, was long preserved as a memento of the 
occurrence. The young woman's name was not pre- 
served in the local reconls. The Indian, however, was 
apprehended and executed, the Rev. S. Danforth, 
in the Roxbury Church records, stating, that on Sep- 
tember 8, 1671, an Indian was executed and " hung 
up in chains," for murdering an " English maid at 
Woburn.'' Cf. Sewall's Woburn, 120-21; N.E. 
Hist. Gen. Reg., xxxiv. 301 ; Drake's Old Indian 
Chron., 137-38 (and 1.36-37); also his Bool: of Indians, 
with com. of S. Sewall, 698-99, etc. ; also Hubbard's 
Narr., 7. 

The death of Hannah, wife of Samuel Richardson, 
of Thomas, his son, and Hannah, his infant, occurred 
April 10, 1676, in the afternoon of the day. The fa- 
ther, while in his field with a young son, noticing a 
commotion at his house, hastened hither, and found 
his wife and son Thomaa had been killed by a skulk- 
ing band of Indians, who had robbed some gardens 
at Cambridge of linen articles, and, on further search, 
the infant daughter was found killed also. A nurse 
had rted with it in her arms to a neighboring garri- 
son-house for protection, but being pursued, to save 
herself, dropped the babe, which the savages killed. 
The father, rallying a paT-ty, pursued and shot at the 



382 



HISTORY OF l\rTT>T>LESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Indians, as they sat by the side of a tiwami), causing 
them to dro]i their bundle of linen, in which was 
found wrapped up tlie scalps of one or more of their 
victims. From traces of blood afterwards found in 
the woods, it was supposed one of the Indians had 
been hit when fired upon, and the body of one was 
found, buried with leaves, where his associates had 
laid him after death. 

The scene of the Richardson murder was in Win- 
chester, on the former Miller farm, in Richardson's 
Row. Here Samuel Richardson had his house. In 
1798 the Miller place was owned by Jonathan Rich- 
ardson, and Job Miller was the occupant. On the 
place, in 1798, was an old house of two stories, thirty- 
six by eighteen. The farm consisted of fifty acres. 
Miller died 1832, aged eighty-two, and his widow, 
Sarah, 1843, aged eighty-eight — gravestones Woburn 
Second Burying-ground. Cf. Hubbard, Indian Wan 
(1677), and Sewall's Woburn, 119; MS. Desc. of Real 
Estate in the First Parish of Woburn, in 1798. 

The killing of an Indinn on the traininy-field in 1675. 
^For a contemporary account of this occurrence, see 
Gookin's History of the Christian or Friendly In- 
dians, in Trans. Amer. Antiq. Sac, ii. 475. A party 
of Wamesit Indians, all men, thirty in number, on 
tlieir way homeward from Boston, after acquittal 
of the charge of burning a haystack at Chelmsford, 
belonging to James Richardson, son of one of the first 
settlers of Woburn, their home being near the site of 
the present city of Lowell ; while marching through 
the village of Woburn, under guard of Lieut. James 
Richardson, the owner of the haystack, and a file ol 
soldiers in October, 1()75, came suddenly upon the 
train-band of Woburn, when that body were exercis- 
ing their drill. Knowing the prejudice that existed 
against Indians and fearing trouble, Lieut. Richard- 
son halted his party and held out his handkerchief to 
the Woburn company as a flag of truce. The captain 
and oflicers of the train-band thereupon went to Rich- 
ardson and examined his commission from the Coun- 
cil to conduct the Indians in his charge safely home. 
The captain and his oflicers returning to their com- 
pany then gave strict charge to every soldier under 
arms not to fire a gun nor to use any opprobrious 
words while the Indians filed past ; but, notwithstand- 
ing these strict prohibitions, a young fellow, a soldier 
named Knight, discharged his musket when the Indi- 
ans were [passing by and killed one of the Indians 
outright, being very near him at the moment. The 
person killed was " a stout young man," very nearly 
allied to the praying Indians of Natick and Wamesit, 
and whose grandfather and uncle were pious men, his 
father long before having been slain in a war with the 
Mohawks. The murderer was soon apprehended and 
imprisoned, and tried for his life, but was acquitted 
by the jury, contrary to the will of the bench. The 
jury alleged they wanted evidence, and the prisoner 
pleaded that liis gun went off by accident; indeed, 
witnesses, says Gookin, weje " mealy-mouthed " in 



giving evidence; the jury was sent^out again and 
again by the judges, wlio were much "unsatisfied" 
with the jury's proceedings, " but yet the jury did not 
see cause to -alter their mind, and so the fellow was 
cleared." 

The training-field where the military of Woburn 
were accustomed to exercise was the spot at the cen- 
tre village now embraced in part in the present Com- 
mon. It was formerly somewhat larger, and included 
the open space now traversed by Winn Street. Here 
the timber was drawn from the Middlesex Canal when 
the edifice of the First Society was erected in 1809, 
and military companies for parade were formed in 
that part. — See Woburn .Journal, Feb. 16, 1883. 

The Lieutenant James Richardson named above 
was himself afterwards killed in battle with the In- 
dians at Black Point, a locality in the limits of 
Maine. Cf. B. Mem. 43 ; N. E. Gen. Reg. xliii. 
195-97. 

Woburn in King Philip's War. — The series of arti- 
cles by George M. Bodge in the N. E. Hist. Gen. 
Register add further names and facts to what is 
already published. Cf. Sewall's Woburn, chap, iv., 
particularly pp. 113-15, for men ; 115-19 for the 
war; 119-21 for killed in the town itself. 

List of Soldiers from Woburn in Philip^s War, 1675-76. 

(With references to Bodge'e articles, begun in the Seijisttr in 1883. 

xxxvii, 61.) 

John Baker, wounded in fight, De«eniber 19, 1675; one of Captain N. 
Davenport's company ; impressed for that company from Woburn ; cred- 
ited to Woburn in an assignment of wages. Woburn was credited by 
sundry amounts, with £107 12«. 8d,, on .\ugu8t 24,1677. Perhaps this 
was the John Baker in garrison at Marlborough. Cf. N. E. HUt. Gen. 
Reg. xxxvii. 175 ; xxxix. 258, 259 ; xl. 320, 396 ; xliii. 77, 279 ; 
also 2C6. 

Daniel Baldwin, in garrison at Billerica on Charlestown credit. Ih. 
xlii. 290 ; xliii. 26U, 276. 

John Baldwin, impressed from Woburn for Captain Davenport's com- 
pany, lb. xxxix. 257, 250. 

John Bateman, in garrison at Chelmsford ; credited to Woburn in an 
assignment of wages. lb. xxxviii. 220 ; xli. 409 ; xliii. 262, 279. 

Peter Bateman, impressed from Woburn for Captain Davenport's com- 
pany ; died February ly, 1675-76, a result, it is supposed, of exposure in 
battle in the December previous. lb. xxxix. 258, 259. 

Nathaniel Billings, member of Captain Thomas Prentice's troop ; of 
Woburn ; wounded in the Fort fight, December 19, 1675. 76. xxxvii. 
281, 282. 

Isaac Brooks, member of Captain Prentice's troop of cavalry ; credited 
to Woburn in an assignment of wages, lb. xxxvii, 282 ; xlii. 94 ; xliii. 
■279. 

John Brooks, xxxviii. 2-20 ; xlii. 299. 

John Burbeen, impressed from Woburn for Captain Davenport's com- 
pany ; name not in pay lists; in garrison at Chelmsford ; credited to 
Woburn in an assignment of wages, lb. xxxix. 259 ; xli. 409 ; xliii. 262, 
■.270. 

William Butters, credited to Woburn in an assignment of wages. lb. 
xli. 409; xliii. 279. 

John Carter, captain of the local military company ; included in the 
list of impressment of thirteen men. lb. xxxix. 259. 

Thomas Chamberlain, in garrison at Groton. lb, xli. 409 ; xliii. 263. 

Aaron Cleveland, xlii. 299. 

Moses Cleveland, in garrison at Chelmsford: credited to Woburn in an 
assignment of wages. 76. xlii. 100 ; xliii. 261, 279. 

Samuel Cleveland, in garrison at Chelmsford and Groton ; credited to 
Woburn in an assignment of wages. 76. xxxviii. 220 ; xli. 408; xliii. 
262, 26.1, 279. 

Josiah Clopson, or Clarson, in garrison at Chelmsford ; credited to 
Woburu in an assignment of wages, lb. xli. 408 ; xliii. 262, 279. 



WOBURN. 



383 



,I<ihn CoddiDgton, xxxviii. 220. ' 

James Converse, ensign of the locaT military company ; included in 
Ihe list of inipreesmeut of thirteen men. Ih. xxxix. 269. 

Jonathan Trisp, in garrison at Dunatahle and Groton. Th. xxxviii. 
22C ; xli. 408 ; xliii. 263, 264. 

John Cutler, impressed from Wobnrn for Captain Davenport's com- 
pany ; credited to Woburn in an assignment of wages, fb. xxxviii. 46 ; 
xxxix. 257, 259 ; xli. 409 ; sliii. 279. 

William Dean, xli. 274. ' 

Robert Eames, sxsvii. 74. 

Paul Fletcher, xxxviii. 210, 220. 

Richard Francis, credited to Wobnrn m an assignment of wages ; also 
credited to Hinghara. lb. sliii. 272, 279. 

Thomaj^ Fuller, xlii. 95. 

John Green, a cavalryman; also corporal of cavalry. lb. xxxvii. 
284 ; xxxviii. 224 ; xlii. 94, 95. 

William Green, corporal of cjivalry ; credited to Woburn in an assign- 
ment of wages. 16. xxxvii. 175; xxxviii. 224 ; xlii. 94,95, 299; xliii. 
279. On June 1, 1677, Corporal William Green was appointed cornet of 
the Three County Troop. Colony Recovh, v. 151. 

Thomas Hall, impressed from Woburn for Captain Davenport's cora- 
piny ; credited to Woburn in an assignment of wages, lb. xxxix. 257, 
259 ; xli. 409 ; sliii. 279. 

Thomas Henshaw, or Hincher, cavalryman, lb. xxxviii. 66, 284; 
xxxviii. 219. 

Joaiah Hobbs, xli. 408. 

Jeremiah Hood, impressed from Woburn for Captain Davenport's com- 
pany ; name not in pay-lists. lb. xxxix. 2o9; xlii. 96. 

John Jefts, xxxviii. 220. 

William Johnson, lieutenant of the local military company ; included 
in the li^^t of impressment of thirteen men. Ih. xxxix. 259. 

John Kendall, member of Captain T. Prentice's troop ; also possibly a 
substitute; a cavalryman; credited to Wohurn in an assignment of 
wages. lb. xxxvii. 74, 282 ; xxxix. :i81, 382 ; xli. 278 ; xlii. 94, 95 ; xliii. 
279. 

John Knight, xli. 273, 409. 

Joseph Knight, xxxis. 381, 382. 

Benoni JlcDonald, or McDonnell ; credited to Woburn in an assign- 
ment of wages. lb. xli. 273, 41(9 ; xliii. 2T9. 

Daniel McGinnis, or Slagenis, corporal ; in garrison at Medfielrl. lb. 
xxxvii. 66, 1S2; xxxviii. 42; xli. 408, 410; sliii. 267. See note at end 
of this list. 

John Malony, in garrison at Dunstable; credited to Woburn in an as- 
signment of wages. lb. xxxvii. 72; xliii. 263,279. 

John Mous;ill, ca^valryman. lb. xxxvii. 186, 2H4. 

Richard Nevei-s, in garrison at Chelmsford. Ih. xliii. 261. 

.\hraham Parker, in garrison at Dunstable ; credited to Woburn in an 
assignment of wages. lb. xliii. 263, 279. 

Jwsiah Parker, xxxviii, 210. 

Thomas Parker, credited to Woburn in an asaignnieut of wages. lb. 
xliii. 279. 

Joseph Pierce, xxxvii. 66 ; xli. 273, 408. 

Nathaniel Pierce, in the celebrated Falls Fight, under Captain Wil- 
liam Turner ; name given as of Wobnrn. Ih. xli. 210^ 212. . 

Samuel Pierce, xlii. 299. 

Thomas Pierce, member of Captain T. Prentice's troop ; also in the 
cavalry under Lieutenant Oakes ; cavalryman ; rredj^ed to Wobnrn in 
an assignment of wages. lb. xxxvii. 282, 284 ; xli. 278; xlii. 94; xliii. 
279. 

William Pierce, impressed from Woburn for Captain Davenport's com- 
pany ; in giu'rison at Chelmsford, lb. sxxix. 257, 259 ; xliii. 262. 

George Polly, xlii. 299. 

John Polly, impressed from Woburn for Captain Davenport's com- 
pany ; in garrison at Chelmsford ; credited to Woburn in an assignment 
of wages. lb. xxxvii, 74 ; xxxix. 258, 250 ; xliii. 262, 279. 

John Priest, impressed from Woburu for Captain Davenport's com- 
pany ; in garrison at Chelmsford ; credited to Woburn in an assignment 
of wages. lb. xxxix. 258, 259 ; xliii. 262, 279. 

Samuel Reed, in garrison at Grotou. lb. xli. 273; xliii. 263. 

William Reed, member of Captain T. Prentice's troop ; also in the cav- 
alry under Lieutenant Oake?. Ih. xxxvii. 280, 284. This William Reed 
died by a shot fired by his brother Timothy in the woods, November 7, 
1688, who unawares shot him instead of a deer. Cf. Sewall's Woburn, 632. 

John Richardson, cavalryman ; credited to Woburn in an assignment 
of wages. lb. slii. 95, 102 ; xliii. 279. 

Joseph Richardson, cavalryman ; credited to Wohurn in an assignment 
of wages. lb. xxxvii. 74; xxxviii. 441, 443; xlii. 94 ; xliii. 279. 



Nathaniel Richardson, member of Captain T. Prentice's troop ; 
wounded in the Fort fight, December 19, 1675 ; cavalryman ; credited to 
Woburn in an assignment of wages, lb. xxxvii. 281, 282; xlii. 94; 
xliii. 279. 

Samuel Richardson, cavalryman ; credited to Woburn in an assign- 
ment of wages. Ih. xlii. 94 ; xliii. 279. 

Stephen Ritbardson, cavalryman, f b. xxxvii. 284 ; xlii. 94. 

David Roberts. SewalTs Wohtnn, 114. 

Joshua Sawyer, xxxvii. 74 ; xli. 273, 278. 

John Seers, cavalryman. Ih. xxxvii. 284. 

John Sheldon, impressed from Wohurn for Captain Davenport's com. 
pany. Jb. xxxix. 258, 2.59. 

Benjamin Simonds, in garrison at Groton ; credited to Wobnrn in an 
astiignmentof wagee. lb. xxxviii. 220 ; xli. 409 ; xliii. 263, 279. 

Caleb Simonds, wounded ; of Woburn ; iu fight of December 19, 1675; 
impressed from Woburn for Captain Davenpuit's company. Th. xxsix. 
257, 259. 

James Simonds. Sewall's Wobiini, 114. 

Joseph Simonds, in garrison at Chelmsford ; credited to Wnl)urn in an 
assignment of wages. lb. xli. 408 ; xliii. 261, 270. 

Robert Simpson, credited to Woburn in an assignment of wages. lb. 
xliii. 279. Servant of Lieutenant John Wyman, who petitioned the 
General Court, May 16, 1676, that his servant, Simpson, then a garrison 
soldier at Hadley, and needing clothes, might be released and return to 
Wyman, so that Wyman's leather, then in the vats, might not be 
spoiled, Wyman being a tanner. Simpson had been in the country's 
service all that winter. Sewall's Wohurn, 114, 115. 

Zachariah Snow, wounded ; of Woburn ; iu fight of December 19, 
1675 ; impressed from Woburn for Capt^iin Davenport's company. Ih. 
Kxxix. 2.58, 259. 

Cyprian Stevens, in garrison at Groton. lb xliii. 264. 

Heniy Summers, a member of Captain T. Prentice's troop. Ih. 
xxxvii. 280. 282. 

John Tidd, cavalryman ; in garrison at 'Jroton. Ih. xxxvii. 284 ; 
xliii. 263. 

Elijah Tottingham, wounded; of "Oborne ;" at Fort Fight December 
19, 1675. lb. xxxviii. 442, 443. 

Nehemiah Tottingham, xli. 273, 409. 

John Walker, xlii. 299. 

Samuel Walker, xliii. 76. 

Joseph Waters, credited to Wobnrn in an assignment of wages. Ih. 
xliii. 279. 

George Wilkinson. Sewall's Wohurn, 114. 

Benjamin Wilson. Sewall's Woburv, 114. 

John Wilson, credited to Woburn in an assignment of wages. lb- 
xxxvii. 174 ; xlii. 299 ; xliii. 279. 

Increase Winn, member of Captain T. Prentice's troop ; cavalryman ; 
credited to Woburn in an assignment of wages. lb. xxxvii. 282 ; xli. 
278; xlii. 94, 05; xliii- 279. 

Joseph Winn, cavalryman ; credited to Wohurn iu an assignment of 
wages. lb. xxxviii. 42 ; xlii. 94, 95 ; xliii. 279. 

Josiah Wood, xlii. 299. 

•Joseph Wright, member of Captain T. Prentice's troop ; cavalryman ; 
credited to Woburn in an assignment of wages. Ih. xxxvii. 282 ; xlii. 
94 ; xliii. 279. 

Francis Wyman, member of Captain T. IVentice's trooji. 76. xxxvii. 
2S(», 282. It is inferred that he served apparently by voluntary enlist- 
ment. He di«d .\pril 26, 1676, a result probably of exposure in battle in 
the December previous. Sewall's Wi'hinn, 119. Son of Francis and 
nephew of Lieutenant John Wyman. 

John Wyman, cornet ; latterly lieutenant of Captain T. Prentice's 
troop. Ih. xxxvii. 280, 282. 

John Wyman, son of thu above ; member of same troop ; killed at the 
Fort Fight, December 19, 1675. lb. xxxvii. 281, 282. 

Daniel McGinnis, variously spelled, however, 
Mackginnis, Magines. ^lackgennyes, jMaginnah, etc., 
iippeara to have been a citizen of Woburn in 1(374, for in 
a deed, dated June 29th of that year, Michael Bacon, 
of Cambridge, conveyed about seventy-tive acres of 
land in Cambridge to Daniel McGinnis, who is 
referred to in the deed as a resident of Woburn. At 
that time, however, he apparently moved from Wo- 
burn to Cambridge, as he describes him.^elf of the lat- 



3S4 



HISTORY OF BIIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



ter place in a deed to John Tidd, dated June 8, ]fi75. 
In this deed, also, MrCJinnis first speaks of himself as 
being an "Irishman." .Shortly afterwards our early 
Irish citizen seems to have returned to Woburn, for 
the Woburn records give his marriage to Rose Neal, 
February 10, 1676. His first child, Rose, was born in 
Woburn November 19, 1677, and can easily claim to 
be the first Irish-American of Woburn. 

According to Billerica Histori/, McGinnis was 
living in that town in 1678 and 1679. He next ap- 
pears, April 4, 1682, at Watertown. On that date 
" the selectmen of Watertown stated to the Court 
that Daniel Muginnah, an Irishman, is lately removed 
from Medford and hired estate of Richard Houldina, 

4 ^ 

having a poor place and considerable family of 
children, and they disapprove of him as an inhab- 
itant." 

After this rebuff it would seem that Mr. McGinnis 
again sought refuge in Woburn, for under date of 
October 27, 1684, he entered into an agreement with 
Ralph Reed and Benjamin 8imonds about the fencing 
of some land "of the great field in Woburn, called 
the Simonds' field, or Jlount Playnum fields," which 
is the large, level plain now located on Burlington 
Street in Cummingsville, near Burlington town line, 
and even now often spoken of as "The Plains." As 
he clearly owned land at this place, it may be inferred 
that he lived there also. 

In December of the same year his name appears in 
the town rate, where he is taxed four shillings. His 
son Edmund was born here, March 23, 168.5. About 
this time, however, or shortly prior thereto, he again 
migrated, and this time to Rhode Island, for in a 
deed dated February 15, 1680, he describes himself 
"of the King's Province in the Narragansett County 
in New England," and in this deed conveys his Bil- 
lerica land to John Abbott. Further see lieoords of 
the Colony of Rhode Island, vol. iii., p. 234. — E. F. 
Johnson. 

The lieutenant (Oakes) of Prentice's troop, who 
held office at the beginning of the war, having been 
assigned to another command, John Wyraan, the cor- 
net, was promoted to his place. In N. E. Hist. Gen 
Reg., xxxvii. 281, reference is made to a petition ol 
Lieutenant John Wyman, asking for the release ol 
his son, who was lately married, stating that he him- 
self had been in both the Mount Hope and the Nar- 
ragansett campaigns, and in the latter had received a 
wound in his face ; that his eldest son was killed in 
that campaign, and that his servant had been in th*- 
country's service all the past winter. The servant 
was Robert Simpson. Again, a well known charac- 
ter—John Seers, constable of Woburn — made com- 
plaint to the authorities that Lieutenant John Wy- 
man and daughter, named Bathshoba, had together 
resisted him in the impressment of one of the horses 
of the said Wyman for the country's use, and for this 
ofl'ence they were both charged two pounds each as a 
fine. The date of Seers' petition was May 10, 1676, 



and the time of the trouble was April, 1676. Captain 
.lohn Cutler, of Charlestown, marching through Wo- 
burn with several soldiers on the way to Billerica to 
attack the Indians, who had caused a stir at that 
place, having a warrant from the late Major Willard 
to the constable at Woburn and the constable at Bil- 
lerica, to impress Horses or anything desired for the ser- 
vice, found horses were very scarce, because on account 
of the stir at Billerica about twenty of the best of Wo- 
burn men and horses had already gone up to help 
them. Seers recites the hard words and action of 
resistance of Wyman, and prays for such legislation 
"as will prevent such abuse." "That so," he says, "I 
and other constables may not go in fear of our lives 
when we are upon the execution of our office." 

A warrant had been issued to the constable for six 
carriage horses and three men from Woburn. Bath- 
.sheba Wyman, named above, married Nathaniel 
Tay, of Billerica, May 30, 1677. Of. N. E. Hist. 
fren. Reg. xxxviii. 44; Hazen's Billerica, 120. 

The troop of which John Wyman, of Woburn, was 
lieutenant was attached to the Massachusetts regi- 
ment, which was organized for the Narragansett cam- 
paign, and was present with the army in the mem- 
orable Fort Fight of December 19, 1675, being the 
only cavalry organization of the English there. A 
letter of Joseph Dudley at the time mentions a 
slight wound by an arrow in Lieutenant Wy man's 
face, which he received during a scout about four 
days before the occurrence of the famous Fort Fight. 
During this scout a number of Indians were killed or 
taken prisoners in an attack on their wigwams, 
which were burned, the slight wound of Wyman be- 
ing the only casualty received on the part of the 
English in that skirmish. Cf. N. E. Hist. Gen. Reg., 
xl. 80, 88; xliii. 156. 

Officers of the Provincial Period, 1692- 
1775. — During this period occurred certain minor 
Indian wars, and the war of greater magni- 
tude than any that had yet been experienced, 
namely, the French and Indian War. In all these 
contests Woburn men bore an active part. The prov- 
inces were then loyal and true to the government of 
Great Britaiil, and great interest was still taken by 
the people in military affairs. Indeed, it was a ne- 
cessity for their owu protection. The warlike exper- 
ience of this period was a school for the War of the 
Revolution, and many of the ofiicers and men origi- 
nally enrolled under the British colors in these ear- 
lier wars, were later found in arms against the Brit- 
ish Government. First and foremost in the list if 
will not do to omit a sketch of Woburn's most emi- 
nent son, whose military career commenced during 
this period. 

Prime Minister and Commuudiuff General of an Enropean Armij. 
Benjamin Thompsun, rountRiiniford (1T.'>3-1814), a native of W^obnrn; 
pre-eniinpntly her most distinguished son ; was major in the second 
provincial regiment of New Hampshire, 1773, before he was of legal 
age; later a lientenant-coloncl in the British army in a cavalry regi- 
ment composed of royaliste and liesigned for service in America, 1781, 



WOBURN. 



385 



and Inter still a colonel of the King's American dragoons^ 1783. Hav- 
ing gained some military distinction in the British service during the 
Kevolutionjiry War in America, he then entered the service cf the 
Elector of Biivaria, and gained slill higher military disiinction in Eu- 
rope. He was colonel of a regiment of cavalry and general aide-de- 
camp in Bavaria, 17S4 ; major general of cavalry and privy councilor 
of state, 178S ; minister of war and minister or superintendent of po- 
lice, etc., etc. ; head of the cuiiucil of the regency in Bavaria, and 
conimalider-inchief of the Klectnral army, and, in I79r>. while he held 
the high offices last named, Munich, the capital of Bavaria, was 
threatened hy the Austrian and French armies, but owing to his signal 
services and his success, neither the French or the Austrian forces en- 
tered the city, nor gained any substantial foothold in the country, 
which was soon after delivered from their dangerous presence. 

Although tliie eminent man acquired none of his military renown in 
Woburn, he should not be omitted in a consideration of the cnreer of 
Wohurn's military men. It is true that he fought againai liis native 
country in the Revolutionar/ contest, and on the side which was op- 
posed to her liberties, but his eminent services to mankind as a scien- 
tist and a philanthropist are sufficient to overcome tlie opprobrium 
conferred on liini by his countrymen for his course in that struggle 
The world now looks on bim as a benefactor, in epite of serious defects 
in his moral character, and America considers him as one of her 
greatest men. Let us unite in that verdict. 

Among other natives of Woburn who gained distinction in the mili- 
tary profession elsewhere, may he mentioned Brigadier-General lames 
Reed. 

James Reed (1724-1807) was born in Woburn, son of Joseph and 
Sarah, and died in Fitciihurg. Officer of eminence in the Frencli and 
Revolutiouary Wars ; captain, lieutenant-colonel, and, in May, 1775, 
colonel of the 2d New Hampsliiie Regiment, which held the rail-fence 
witii John Stark, at the battle of Canker Hill, and protected the re- 
treat of the main body from the redoubt. In the army in Canada un- 
der General John Sullivan, in l(7r., his regiment snffereii severely from 
disease, and more than one thiid dird. He, himself, wa-s attacked hy 
the emall-pox, and, after a long illness, beiame incapacitated for 
further service. He had, meantime, been appointed a brigadier-gen- 
eral on the recommendation of Washington, and retained the commis- 
BJon m the hope that he might he able to return to active service, but 
becoming nearly blind and deaf, he was forced to give it up, and re- 
tired with hiilf pay. A son, .Sylvanus, was also an active military offi- 
cer, and rose to the rank of colonel. Cf. Appleton^s Oi/vhp. of Amer. 
Biog. ; Reed"s Jieed Famihj, 78-80. 

The father of General Reed resided on the estate of his father at 
Wolturn West Side, in the house and on the place known in the present 
century as the Sylvanus Wood farm, corner present Locust and Cam- 
bridge Streets. Very little reliance can be placed on the statements 
made in the JIUt. Heed Fam., above cited, in relation to General Reed's 
regiment, or the careers of his immediate ancestry. Acionling to thut 
history, 75-76, the General was a grandson of that Jos'^ph Reed who 
was sergeant, 1701-1711; ensign, 1713-1715; lieutenant, 1710-1711; 
and captain-lieutenant {?), 173U-17't(>, in Woburn. 

Another officer born in Woburn, and who gained distinction in the 
French and Revolutionary Wars, particularly in the line of a military 
engineer, was Colonel Jeduthun Baldwin. 

Jeduthun Baldwin (I7:i2-178s). a native of Woburn, son of Isaac and 
Mary, died in Brookfield. Captain in tlie French War. In the siege 
of Boston, 1775-70, he dt^signed the defences of the American forces, 
and, on March IG, 1776, was made assistant engineer, willi the rank of 
captain, to the Continental troops; was subseiiuently ordered to New 
York and made lieutenant-colonel, April iti, 1776; was sent to Canada, 
September, 1776, and later made engineer with the rank of colonel. 
He performed various services and resigned from the army April 26, 
178:i. Cf. Appteton's Cyclop. Amer, Biog.; liichardson Memorial, fur 
genealogy, where it is stated that a brother, Isaac, was killed in Bunker 
Hill Battle. The name of Jeduthun Baldwin often occurs in the docu- 
mentary history of the Revolutictnary War. 

Coloueh. 
Jonathan Tyng, esquire and colonel i)rior to 1708, at which time his 
name is lirst connected with Woburn. He had been major, 1699 ; lieu- 
tenant-colonel, 1702, etc.; and colonel ceitaiuly from 1708-1721, dying 
in the last year named at Woburn, in his eighty-first year. Gravestone 
at Wobura. His previous homes had been in Boston and Dunstable, 
and his family had been one of the most prominent in Massachiisclts. 
His widow, Judith, who had been formerly the wife of the Kev. Jabez 
Fox, of Woburn, dud there, 1736, in her ninety-ninth year — grave- 

25 



atone — and the gravestone of another wife, Sarah (Usher) Tyng, 1713, 
is also to be seen there. Colonel Tyng was a magistrate and one of Sir 
Edmund Andros's council, 1085-16:^7, and colonel of the 2d Middlesex 
County Regiment of Foot. Ho was also entitled to armorial beuringa, 
and there is much preserved to show that he wa«an honorable man and 
a person of ability. The history of Dunstable contains many allusions 
to him, a place where he was the earliest permanent settler, having re- 
mained in that town alone during Uhilip's War, when every other per- 
son had departed from the place for fear of the Indians. lie fortified 
his house, and though obliged to send to Boston for his food, was alone 
in the wilderness among his savage enemies. Town-meetings of Dun- 
stable were held at Woburn, 1G77, and were continued in that way as 
late as 1711. Till 17115 he was kept busy in defending his frontier 
settlement from hostile Indians. At an early period he was appointed 
guardian of the Wamesit tribe. His brother, Edward Tyng, was 
father-in-law of Rev. John Fox, son of Rev. J^bez, of Woburn. We 
will not attempt to enumerate the offices he held at Dunstable. In 
1703, as colonel, he had charge of all the garrisons in his district. The 
standard genealogical dictionaries give the particulars regarding hia 
family and wives, his distinguished connections, and his children. 
One of his sons was the first born child recoided in Dunstable. Two 
of his sons, both graduates of Harvard, were distinguished military 
men, one of them, the eldest, being killed by the Indians in 1710. In- 
teresting details are furnished in the diaries of the period. Samuel 
Sew:ill, Jr.,— Memoranda {Mass. Hist. Coll., Cth ser., ii. 3';4)— alludes 
to these occurrences: 

" Jan. 29, 172.3-24, Col: Jonathan Tyng dies. See News Letter, N. 
1043. Interred the 24th, at Woburn ; I went with two brothers Dud- 
ley ; a large funeral. Gave me and wife gloves." 

The Neirs Letter notice, No. 1043, referred to, was as follows : 

"Wooburn ; Lord's Day, January liUh. We were here entertain'd 
with a very louJ memento moii.i The Ihm. Col. Jonathan Tyng, Esq., 
walking to the place of public worship in tlie afternoon, expiied aa 
soon as he got iuto his seat, during the time of the first prayer, and was 
cnrried out dead, £el>itis 81. His faith and holiness were so apparent 
that we are persuaded he w;is conveyed to the assembly of the first-born 
in heaven, to bear a part with them in glorifying their creator and re- 
deemer." 

On another occasion, March 4, 1713-14, Sewall " went to Woburn to 
attend the funeral of Aunt Tyng." She " was about sixty-nine years 
of age, and died on Sabbath morning, of fever." Sewall "waited on 
the Governor and Lady there," and bad given him "a pair of gloves." 

Eleazer Tyng. son of the preceding, is named in Woburn tax-lists as 
colonel, 1729-37. 

Eleazer Flagg, styled colonel and esquire on gravestone at Woburn, 
which contains a lengthy inscription. He was a sergeant, 1708-13 ; 
lieutenant, 1713-15; captain, 1716-19; major, 1719-22; colonel, 1722- 
26 ; ami died in 1726, in his fifty-sixlh year. His fatherwaa Lieutenant 
Gershom Flagg, who was killed in battle with the Indians in New 
Hampshire, in 1690. The son spelled Irs surname Flegg. He was evi- 
dently a rich man. His wife was called " Madame." The ennmemtion 
of his virtues on his gravestone is curious : " A faithful christian, a 
pious liver, cheerful giver, the wid<)w'8 solace in a doubtful case, a 
father to the fatherless, a tender husband, kind parent, faithful friend, 
a righteous man." A silver cup he gave to the *' church in Wooborn," 
1726, is still in use. He was evidently the successor of Colonel Jonathan 
Tyng as colonel of the 2d Middlesex County Regiment of Foot.'-^ 

1 Memento mori accompanying the phraae fitgit horn, is a common in- 
scription on the gravestones of the period. From the style the notice 
appears to have been written by the Rev. John Fox. 

■-Colonel Eleazer Flagg's inventory, dated April 3, 1727, discloses 
£1242 18s. of personal propertv, and includes " a Negro man and Negro 
maid," valued at £200, and "amies," valued at £12 15«. The " Home- 
stead Dwelling-House, Gristmill and other Buibiings with the land ad- 
joining thereto about 2 hundred acres, and about 100 acres of out 
Lott-," valued at £2200. 

There appears on record an elaborate agreement made by and be- 
tween Mrs. Esther Flagg, the widow, and her eon-in law, Jonathan 
Poole, and Esther Poole, his wife, and providing, among other things, 
that the widow sh'Hild iiave the easterly end of the dwelling house, 
and that her eon in law should keep for her own use, both summer 
and wii.ter, a good coW and horse " suitable for the wiilow to ride " on 
at all times. He also agrees to provide the widow with twenty bushels 
of good Indian corn, fourbushela of rye corn and three barrels of good 
cider yearly, together with 160 pounda of good pork and 100 pounds 



386 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Jabpz Fox, of Falmoiitb, now Portland, Me., a native of Woburn, 
was a culunel. Roland Cotton, a resident of Wuburn, was a colonel, 
1744-52. 

Jonathan Fox, a brother of Colonel Jabez Fox, and eon of the KeT. 
John Fux, of Wobiirn, was a cnptain. 1701-74, and colonel of the 2d 
Middlesex County Regiment of Foot, 1775-81. He died 1790, and was 
called colonel in the record of Iiis decease. In the latter part of his 
life be appears to have been iilflictgd willi some disease which rendered 
him lu-lpless, and there is t-xtant a town order dated February 26, 1790, 
a few months before his death, in favor of JosiahKichardson, for moving 
" Col. Fox up into Doct. BU dget's chamber." A paper entitled '* copy 
of a court-nmrtiul," is preserved, dhtcd Concord, June 29, 1779, a gen- 
er«l court-martial being held that day, upon a complaint brought by 
Lie\itenant Joseph Johnson, of Woburn, against Colonel Jonathan 
Fox, foran alleged violation of the thirteenih section of the militia law. 
The court was of opinion that Colonel Fox was, through inadvertency, 
guilty of raisdenipanor and breach of duty, and Bentenced bini tobe 
reprimanded by tlie brigadier-general. Jonathan Keed, president; 
Eleazer Brooks, hrigadier-general. 

Majors. 

William Johnson, 1C92-1704, and James Converee, 1693-1706, already 
noticed. 

John Fowie, captain, 1738-48; major, 1749-75. Tied 1775, aged 
eighty. 

Joseph Richardson, quart erniaeter, 1709-17 ; lieutenant, 1717-39 ; 
captain, 1745-54 ; major, 1755-oG. Died 1756, aged fifty-eight. 

Nathaniel Thwiug, major of Boston, named in ta.v list, 17f2. Lieu- 
tenant-colonel, 1756. He nmriied the widow of Rev. Supply Clapp, of 
the Second Parish, lldO.—Thwing Fum. (Bo&ton, 1883), 23-25. 

Captains. 

Edward Johnson, enEign, ^93-96 ; lieutenant, 1G9C-99 ; captain, 
17(10-24. Died 17i'5, in his sixty-eighth year. A deacon of the church, 
17'in-25. Died, it is said, of grief at the death of a bod killed in Love- 
well's Fight.— SewalPs Wobuni, 204-05. 

Josiah Converse, lieutenant, 1693-1706; captain, 170G-17. Died 1717, 
aged fifty-eight. "Capt." on gravestone. 

Abraham Filield, styled " Mr." on gravestone, but " Capt."' in record 
of decease. Died 1711, aged fifty-seven. 

Jiinies FowIg, sergeant, 1603-17111 ; captain, 1712-14. Died 1714, aged 
forty-seven. *' Capt." on gravestone and on stone of daughter, Ruth, 
1712. 

Seth Wyman, lieutenant 1705-12 ; captain 1712-15. Died 1715, aged 
fifty-two. " Lieut." in record of death. Perhaps he was one of those 
oflficerscommandinga company, styled captain-lieutenant. He appeared 
to bear this office ap early as 17u7. On February 16, 170C, he was court- 
martialed at Groton, for liis conduct en the February 6th previous, « hen 
he was in command of a scouting party, near Mount Monadnock, ia 
search of hostile Indians. By a false report of the appearance of a 
superior force of the Indians in their front, bis comnuind was stam- 
peded, encouraged, it was said, by the example and ordeis of the 
officers. At the tiial, Wjniau and his under-officers weie exonerated 
from cowardice and dishonorable intentions. Cf. Dr. S. A. Green's 
GruUm during the Indian ll'drs, 98-101. 

James Richardson, captain-lieutenant (?) 1708 ; captain 1711-22. Died 
1722, aged forty-six. *' Capt." on gravestone. 

John Coggin, lieutenant 170.5-17 ; captain 171S-25. Died 1725, aged 
fl,fty. "Capt." on gravestone. 

John FowIe, captain 1721-44. Died 1744, aged seventy-three. 

Stephen Richanlson, ensign 1717-21; captain 1722-52. Died 1752, 
aged seventy-nine. A deacon of the church, 174c -52, and "deacon" 
on gravestone. 

Seth Wyman, ensign and captain, 1725. Promoted for his merito- 
rious services in Lovewell's Fight, May 8, 1725. Died September 5th 
following, aged thirty-nine. His prowess has beeu frequently cele- 
brated in prose and verse. He commanded the company engaged in 
the above action after his superior officers had fallen. It was one of 
the most fiercely contested and bloodifst battles, considering the num- 

of gocd beef yearly. The widow was also to have " the Negro maid 
called Rose." 

There appears to have been considerable litigation over the estate of 
Colonel Jonath'in Tyng, which, as late as 1788, was represented as un- 
settled by John Tyng, one of the heirs. In his inventory, appraisal is 
made of "3 Negro Men," — " Quash," valued at £40; "Boston," at £53 
6#. Sd. ; and " Cornwell," at £53 G». Sd.—E. F. Johnson. 



bers engaged, that ever occurred in New England. The Indians never 
recovered from its results. Six Woburn mtn, four of them grandsons 
of William Johnson, fought in the battle. One was killed and three 
wounded ; two only escaped unhurt, Wyman being one of them. 
Penhallow's Indian Wars (1726) pays a deserved tribute to Ihe actors in 
this battle, and mentions Wymnn especially, who, he says, was, at hie 
return, presented with asilver-hilted swurd and a captain's commission. 
He went out again on another expedition, but the heat of the seafon 
caused many to sicken, and some died when they returned, and among 
them was Captain Wyman. 

Robert Converse, lieutenant 1714-1726 ; captain 172G-36. Died 173G, 
aged fifty-eight. 

Caleb Blogget, captain 1733-45. Died 1745, aged fifty-four. 

Joseph Bowman, captain 1733-35, in tax-lists. Supposed to be a non- 
resident. 

Isaac Dupee, captain 1734-41. Captain in 1734 of a troop of horse 
in a regiment of cavalry of which Estes Hatch was colonel. From out 
of town. 

Joseph Reed, sergeant 1701-13 ; ensign 1713-15; lieutenant 1716-41; 
captain (captain-lieutenant (?) ) 1739-40. Died 1741, aged eighty. 

Samuel Fames, lieutenant 1733-41 ; captain 1741-44. Died 1775, 
aged eighty-four. A deacon of the church 1745-75, and '* deacon " on 
gravestone. 

Samuel Carter, cornet, 1734-40; lieutenant 1741-43; captain 1744- 
87. He appears to be in service in 1770. Two commissions are pre- 
served. The Captain's, addressed to him as gentleman of Woburn, was 
as captain of the 1st Troi'p of Horse to be raised in the regiment uf 
militia in Middlesex County, of which Eleazer Tyng was colonel ; 
dated June 2, 1744. The cornet's was as cornet of the troop of which 
Isaac Dupee was captain, in the regiment of horse of which Estes 
Hatch was colonel, dated June 27, 1734. Captain Samuel Carter died 
1787, aged ninety-six. " Capt." on gravestone at Arlington. Cutter's 
BiM. ArL, 201-U2. 

James Proctor, corporal 1725-32 ; ensign 1733-39 ; lieutenant 1739- 
44; captain 174.^-67. 

Nathan Blogget, ensign 1739-43; lieutenant 1744; captain 1745-47. 
Died 1747, in his forty fourth year. 

Timothy Brooks, quartermaster 1738 ; lieutenant 1744-53 ; captain 
1746-86; perhaps eaptam-lieutenant a part of that period. Died 1786, 
aged eighty-six or eighty-eight. Died the 13th, buried the 15th Octo- 
ber, 17^G. 

Robert Temple, captain in tax-lists 174G-53. Will, 1754, mentions 
farm at Woburn. Widow died here, 1775. Well-known resident of 
Ten Hills Furm, Charlestown. 

Samuel Belknap, lieutenant 1750-51 ; captain (captain-lieutenant (?) ) 
1748 and 1752. Died in Newburgh, N. Y,, 1771.— IVmc/icster Record, 
ii. 274-75. 

Zachariah Flagg, captain 1748-81. 

John Fowle, captain 1749-51. John, Esq., died 1786, aged sixty- 
one. 

John Reed, ensign 1744-50 ; captain 1750-55. Died 1755, aged forty- 
two. Captain of the "3d Military Company of Foot in the town of 
Woburn in the Second Parish." 

Ebenezer Thompson, sergeant 1733-35 ; ensign. 1738-50 ; lieutenant 
1751-53; captain 17ri3-1755. Died 1755, aged fifty-four. Captain of 
the "2d company of foct in the town of Wohurn, in the second regi- 
ment of Middlesex County, of which Eleazer Tyng was colonel ; '* 
commission dated July 3, 17'i3. — Thompnon Mernoriat, 31. 

Thomas Hardy or Hardee, captain I754-G4. The same, lieutenant 
1750-60 (?}. 

Elienezer Jones, generally a resident cf Wilmington, captain 1755-^8. 
Killed in battle at Halfway Brook, near Lake George, July 20, 1758. — 
Sewall's Wohnrn, 551. The Woburn record? give his death as follows : 
Captain Ehenezer Jones, son of Samuel and Abigail, July 20, 1758, in 
his sixtieth year. 

Benjamin Johnson, captain, 1756-81. Died 1781, aged eighty. 

JJibez Carter, lieutenant 1748-71, captain (captain-lieutenant (?) ) 
1756-58. Died 1771, aged seventy one. "' Lieut." on gravestone. The 
following memorial is preserved : A receipt of Jahez Carter, as lieuten- 
ant of military company, for payment of three guns, that were ''burnt 
in the fire, when Joseph Johnson's shop was consumed;" dated July 
20, 1765. 

Ebenezer Converse, ensign 1748-1752; lieutenant 1753-64; captain 
(captain-lieutenant (?) ) 1756-57. Died 1765, aged fifty five. "56th 
year," gravestone. 

Benjamin Edwards, captain 1760-72. 



WOBURN. 



387 



Benjamin Wyman, captain 1762-74. Died 1774, aged sixty-^gbt. 
"Capl.'' on gravestune. 

Timothj' Winn, ensign 1750-o2 ; lieutenant 17".8 ; captain nG2-G3. 
Two of his commissions are preserved. The ensign's, 175fi, to Timuthy 
■\\inn, Jr., ensign of " 3d military company of foot " in Wobiirn Second 
Piiririli, whereof John Reed was captiiin. Tilt- captain's, l"!i2, to Tim- 
othy Winn, captain of "3<i niilitnry company of foot, in tht^ town of 
Woluini," the part now Burlington. Lieutenant Tin)othy Winn was 
culled into active service in 1757, the command containing a number of 
Wobnrn men, whose names are preserved in the rolls at lioston. He 
died ISliO, aged eighty-seven. His portr.iit and that of his wife are ex- 
taut in the house of William Winu, a descendant; John Johnston, 
painter, Septeniiier IS, 17U9. 

Joshua Walker, lieutenant 1759-74; captain (captain lieutenant (?) ) 
17r>2 and 1775. Lieutenant at Lake George, October 21, 1758 — Sewall'a 
M'ohnrn, o5G. Later a captain during the Revolution. Died I79S, aged 
seventy. 

Josiah Pierce, captain 17GS. 

Samuel Kerry, captain 17G9 70. 

Thomas Pierce, captain 1709-73 ; also in tax-lists, 1776-81. 

Xon-resi<lent captains named in taxdiets; William Reed, 1737-43, 
and Samuel Stone, 1748-52, both of Lexington ; Anioe Binney, 1754, 
Bedford; Siiniuel Walker. 1758-59, Wilmington; Nathaniel GreenwooCi 
1759, Boston ; Caleb Brooks, 1759 and 17eO, Medford. 

Liettfeiimita. 

James Thompson, sergeant 1G90-91 ; lieutenant 16'?3. Died 1693, 
*ged fvrty four. " Lieut." on gravestone. Cf. Thomiison Mem., 21-'j2. 

Joseph Wright, Unutenant 1G93-I70U. A deacon of the church, 1G98- 
172i. Died 17'J4, aged eighty. 

Matthew Johnson, sergeant lG72-ft2 ; lieutenant 1693-96. Died 169G, 
aged sixty-two. *' Lieut." on gravestone. 

Josiali Parker, lieutenant 1695-96. 

John Carter, sergeant 1682 ; lieutenant 1700-27. Died 1727, aged 
seventy-five. " Lieut." on grai'estono. 

Benjaraiti Simonds, corporal 1G97-1702 ; cornet 1702-08 ; lieutenant 
170'w26. Died 172G, aged seventy-two. 

John Vinton, lieutenant, 172(', in inscription to wife on gravestone in 
Woburn burying-ground. Belonged to Stonehani; there being no pub- 
lic buryiug-ground there in 172U, bis wife was buried here. Further 
see I'iwfcTH Sfeinorvit, 22. 

Henry Walker, sergeant 1716-20; ensign 1720-21; lieutenant, 1721- 
1725. 

Samuel Snow, sergeant 1708-21 ; ensign 1722; lieutenant 1722-23. 
Removed to Asbford. Ct , 1724, and died there, 17^3. 

Pierson Richardson, corporal 1714-17 ; cornet 1718-22 ; lieuteoant 
1723-54. 

Aaron Cleveland, cornet 1722 ; lieutenaut 1724. Fur. her, seeSewall's 
Wohuni, 600. 

Joshua Thompson, sergeant 1718-22; ensign 1723-26; lieutenant 
1726-38. Of- Wilmington. Died 1760, aged eighty-two. Thompson 
Memoriitl, 25. 

Samuel Kendall, sergeant 1717-32 ; lieutenant 1732-64. Died 17C4, 
aged eighty-thref. "Lieut." on gravestone. His lieuteuaut'a com- 
mission from Governor Belcher, 17 12, is extant. 

Edward Johnson, ensign, 1716-32; lieutenant 173.3-10. Died 1774, 
aged eigbty-five. Deacon. of churcli in the Second Parish 1741-74. 

Tbonias Reed, corjKxal 1718-22; sergeant 1723-.32; lieutenant 1733- 
36. Died 1736. aged fifty-four. "Lieut." on gravestone. 

James Simonds, corpora! 1703-36; lieutenaut n37-7o. Died 1775, in 
bis eighty-ninth year. 

Phineas Riehanlson, ensign 1735-36; lieutenant 1738. Died 1738. 

Israel Reed, corporal 171S-32 ; ensign 1733-38 ; lieutenant 1739-52. 

Joseph Richardtjon, lieutenant 1739-54. Died 1754, aged eighty-two. 

Nathaniel Cutler, lieutenant 1740—18. Died 174^, in his forty-ninth 
year. " Lieut." on gravestone in the Precinct, or Burlington burying- 
ground. 

William Tay, lieutenant 1746-80. Died 1730. 

Joseph Johnson, corporal 1734; lieutenaut 1751-92; commission of 
first lieutenant of eighth company, 2d regiment, Middlesex County, ex- 
tant, dated May 6, 1776. " Lieut." in record of decease. Died 1798, 
aged ninety-seven. 

John Holt, lieutenant 1751-56. Dismissed from the church to the 
"cliurch in Westminster in New York Government," Septeuiber 27, 
1767. — First Chunk Ittcords. 

James Richardson, lieutenant 1756-57. Died 1773 (?) 

Samuel Thompson, sergeant and lieutenant in Captain Ebenezer 



Joneses company in the French War 1758 ; liei^tenant in town records 
1758-77. Died 1820, aged eighty-nine. Ho was an esquire, a deacon, 
an indefatigable clerk, a surveyor, a diarit<t, and held most of thf* high- 
est offices in the town, besides [lerfonning much important town busi- 
ness. Hy fought i[i Concord and Lexington battle April 19, 1775, and 
left an explicit written account of his own pereonal experience. In 
this action bis brother, Daniel Thompson, was killed. It is not too 
high praise ro say that he was one of the most useful men of his day in 
the town, and that posterity owes much to the memoranda he pre- 
served. His gravestone is to be found in the Second buryiug-ground, 
Woburn Centre. 

Phineas Lovejoy, lieutenant 1758-59. 

Thomas Hardy or Hardee, lieutenant 1759-66. See Captains. 

Jonas Richardson, ensign, 1758-59 ; lieut., 1760-74 ; capt., 1775-76. 
Died 177G, aged 44. 

William Belknap, lieut., 1762-67. Died 1767, aged 36. Cf. Wiiichestsr 
Record, ii. 275-70. 

Josiah Parker, lieut., 1702-74. Died 1774. 

Nehemiali Wynian, sergt , in active service in Capt. David Green's 
company, raised by Col. Eleazer Tyng, and marched for the relief of 
Fort William Henry, in August, 17.07; Timothy Winn, of Woburn, was 
the lieutenant. Nehemiali Wyman was again impressed for Col. Eleazer 
Tyng's regt., from Woburn, March 27, 17j9— age 36; lieut., 1763-74. 
Died of the small-pox, 1775, aged 52. 

James Fowle, Jr., lieut., 1764. Died 1793, aged 72. 

Benjamin Flagg, lieut., 1764. Died 1774. 

Eleazer Flagg Poole, ensign, 1702-67 ; lieut., 1768-75. Died 1776, 
aged 42. 

Jonathan Tidd, ensign, 1762-73; lieut., 1774-75. Died I'S!^, aged 59. 

Non-resident lieutenants named in tax-lists: Gersbom Flagg, 1755 
-78, Wilmington ; Abijab Smith, 1760-71, Charlestown. 

Eiisiijiis. 

John Pierce, sergt,, 1G89-91 ; ensign, 1693-1720. Died 1720, aged 76. 

Israel Walker, corp., 1683-90; sergt., 1690-96; ensign, 1096-1719. 
Died 1719, aged 75. 

Samuel Blogget, sergt., 1693-99 ; ensign, 170P-43. Died 174\ aged 84. 

John Ilolden, sergt., 1697-1706; ensign, 1706-56. Died 17.56. Com- 
mission extant as ensign in the "foot co. of which Josiah Converse is 
capt.," dated Nov. 21, 1706. 

Josiah Converse, ensign, 1714-2G. Died 1748. 

Abraham Jaquith, corp , 1719; sergt., 1719-26; ensign. 1720-30. 

Samuel Wyman, sergt., 1734; ensign 1739-43. Died 1743, aged 55. 
** Ensign" on gravestone. 

Daniel Reed, ensign, 1747-53. Died 1757, aged 57. Hitt. Reed Fam.^ 
75; Wyman's Chnrlentown, 803. 

Joseph Pierce, ensign, 1762-67. 

Isaac Snow, ensign, 1764-71. Died 1776, aged 67. 

Timothy Broolis, Jr., ensign, 1768-1772. Removed to Sa'em. "Oo, 
of town," 1777, in a list of male members in the First Church records. 

Matthew Johnson, ensign, 1768. As ensign, he received cash of 
" Major Johnson's company " to purchase colors, £11, 18«. lO^^d. Died 
1775. 

Timothy Winn, ensign, 1772-94. 

John Wood, ensign, 1774 ; capt., 1775. Died 1809, aged 69. Anec- 
dote of him in French war in Sewall's Woburn, 348-50. 

Non-resideut ensign named in tax lists: Daniel Tidd, 1705-72, Lex- 
ington. 

Comets. 

Jonathan Wynian, quartermaster, 1697-1708; cornet, 1708-36. Died 
1736, aged 7.5. 

Jacob Fowle, corp., 172(t-22 ; quartermaster, 1723-24; cornet, 1725-47, 

John Fowle, cornet, 1744-15. Died 1745, aged 45. 

Samuel Wyman, cornet, 1762. Perhaps the Samuel, Esq., died 1787, 
aged 70. 

Non-resiflent cornets named in tax-lists: John Whiting, 1757-60, 
Bedford ; Joseph Damon, 1759, Billerica; Jabez Damon, 176J, Reading. 

Sergeants and other uoder-officors during this period were numerous, 
and the names of those not already mentioned are here given. 
Sergea n/*. 

Daniel Baldwin, 1693-1718. Died 1719. Samuel Waters, 1693-1728. 
Died K28. Francis Wilson, 169:-96. Kbenezer JoliNSoii, 1693-1736. 
Died 17.'.7. John Tidd, 1694-1737. Died 1743. Samuel Wilson, Corp., 
1694 ; sergt., 1695-1729. Died 1729. George Reed, corp., 1694 ; sergt., 
1697-1719. Died 1756, in his 96th year; gravestone at Wo'jurn Centre. 
A deacon of the two Woburn churches, 1719-56. John Walker, Corp., 



388 



HISTORV' OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



1094; Bergt., 1C97-S)'J. .Di<?d 1C99 (?). James Simoiids, 1097-1706. Died 
1717 (?). Timothy Walker, 17nO-U. Died 17(0, aged 34 y., 3d.- grave- 
stone. Benjamin Johnson, 1700-.33. Died 1733. Benjamin Pierce. 
1701-1737. Died 1739. Samuel Walker, Corp., 1694-1702 ; sergt., 1702-8. 
Died 1744. A deacon of the two Woburn churches, 1709-44. See Sew- 
all'e Woburn^ 173. James Pierce, 1705-3.'j. Died 1742. John Converse, 
1707. Died 1708. Henry Baldwin, Corp., 1097; sergt, 1707-37. Died 
1739. Jolin Wyman, Corp., 1706-7 ; sergt., 1707-28. Died 1728. Eben- 
ezer Locke, 1710-23. Died 1723. Jonathan Thompson, 1710-37. Died 
1748. William Bruce, 1712-38. Isaac Walker, 1714-28. Timothy 
Snow, 1716-37. Died 1747. Samuel Pierce, 1717-34. Thomas Hen- 
Bbaw or Hincher, 1720-26. Died 1720. Samuel Buck, Corp., 1718-23 ; 
sergt., 1723-30. James Thompson, Corp., 1718-23 ; sergt., 1723-24. 
Died 1763, A deacon of Woburn and Wilmington churches, 1725-63. 
Thompson Mem., 26-26. William Wyman, 1724-37, and 1747-51. A 
William was sergt. in active service, 1753. Noah Johnson, 1725, a na- 
tive of Woburn, but in 1725 a resident of Dunstable ; sergt., in Love- 
well's companj at LoiewelTs fight, 1725. He resided latteily at Pem- 
broke and Plymouth, N. H., where he died 1798, aged 99 y., 6 m., 11 d., 
being the last survivor of Lovewell's company in the celebrated engage- 
ment which made that company famous. Cf. Sewall's Woburn, 207. 
David Roberts, Corp., 1718-29; sergt., 1727-34. There were jirobably 
two persons of this name holding office at the same time, for David, Sen., 
died 1724. Josiah Pierce, 1727-28. Died 1759. A deacon of the church, 
1742-59. Ralph Reed, Corp., 1726-34 ; sergt., 1733-38. Isaac Baldwin, 
17.13-34. Benjamin Richardson, 1734-36. Eleazer Carter, 1734. Samuel 
Wilson, 1735-37. Died 1750. John Cutler, 1736. Died 1767. Isaac 
<ileason, 1749-.50. Samuel Tidd, 1757, on roll as sergt. in the company 
impressed, under command of Samuel Bancroft, Jr., capt., in 1757, and 
marched to Marlborough, being one of the Woburn names found in 
that company. He died in the army at Lake George, Oct. 10, 1758, 
being under age. Particulars regarding bis sickness, death and burial 
are given in Lieut. Thompson's diary. — Sewall's Woburn, 555-56. 

Corporals, 

Johu Wyman, 1708. Perhaps the John who settled in Wilmington, 
and who died about 1748. James Burbeen, 1714-29. Died 1729. Ed- 
ward Johnson, Jr., 1715. Daniel Snow, 1716-17. Died 1717. Edward 
Walker, 1718-37, and 1747-52, 1764, 1707-68. Supposed to be the same 
person, perhaps the Edward, died 1787, aged 93. Ebenezer Buck, 1721- 
24. John Tidd, 1723-25, and 1735-37. James Thompson, 1725. Thomas 
Kichardson, 1725. Died 1774, in his 93d year— gravestone. He was a 
corporal in Lovewell's company in Lovewell's fight, 1725, and was one 
of the few who escaped any considerable injury in that seriously con- 
tested engagement. Samuel Jones, Jr., 1726-30. Philip .\lexander, 
1733. Andrew Evans, 1733. Died 1778. Thomas Reed, 1739. 

After 1736 the usage of mentioning the names of n-m-commissioned 
officers by title appears to have ceased in the tax-lists, and the names of 
later officers are unknown. The names of two officers bearing the title 
of Clerk are preserved. 

rierks. 

Clerk or Clnrlc Pierce, 1696. ? Thomas, died 1717. Samuel Baker, 
171.5. 

Note. — For authorities on Colonel Tyng, cf. Whit- 
more, Elements of Heraldry, 92 ; Fox's Dunstable 
(1846). There is extant an interesting petition of 
Colonel Tyng's, in February, 1676, showing that he 
then lived " in the uppermost house on Merrimac 
River, lying open to the enemy, yet it was as it were 
a watch-house to the neighboring towns, also near to 
the Indians' fishing place ; there being never an in- 
habitant left in the town but myself.'" He asked for 
three or four men to help garrison his said house, 
which he had been at great charge to foriify. The 
early history of Dunstable was a series of " attacks, 
burnings, captivity and massacre." An engagement 
at Dunstable in which three Woburn men •^vere 
killed occurred September 5, 1724. A small party 
attacked a body of seventy Mohawks, and a rein- 
forcement fared little better. The Indians killed the 



greater part instantly. Eight bodies of the slain 
were found and buried in one grave. The Boston 
Newsletter for September 10, 1724, gave their names, 
including Daniel Baldwin and John Burbeen, of 
Woburn, to which the name of Benjamin Carter, 
of Woburn, should be added. One of the grave- 
stones at the location of their interment contains au 
inscription " to Mr. Benjamin Carter, aged twenty- 
three years." Cf. Fox's Dunstable, 106-110 ; Penhal- 
low's Wars, 1 N. H. Hist. Coll. 109 ; Sewall's Woburn, 
595-598; Reminiscences of Dunstable, 115, etc. The 
writer heard a tradition from his father, Dr. Benja- 
min Cutter, that the last seen of this Benjamin 
Carter by his family in Woburn, was when he de- 
scended the hill near their residence on horseback, 
going down the steep incline by a crooked road that 
formerly existed, opposite to the junction of present 
Cambridge and Church Streets in Winchester; and 
that when the men of his family heard of the man- 
ner of his death, they said, " Ho ! they would not be 
such boys as to be killed by Indians." 

A bill is extant against Jonathan Fox, " Captain 
Fox, his company's expenses for liquor," of James 
Fowle, September, October, 1764. The alarm-lists of 
the Third Foot Company in Woburn, in 1776, and 
following years, contain references to his name in 
the following manner: "Return of training soldiers 
belonging to the Eighth Foot Company in the Sec- 
ond Regiment of foot in the county of Middlesex, 
commanded by Jonathan Fox, Esq., colonel." The 
same was repeated in 1781. The company was com- 
manded by Joshua Walker at this time. In 1782 it 
was Captain Reuben Kimball's company, same des- 
ignation, and the regiment was commanded by Col- 
onel Benjamin Brown. The following are brief ref- 
erences to Colonel Fox : 

"October 6, 1786. Colonel Fox's wife died. April 
17, 1790. Colonel Fox died ; 18th, buried." 

Sewall's Woburn, 332, contains a brief notice. 
April 30, 1770, Captain Fox was debtor to Matthew 
Johnson, constable, for serving a writ for him, Is. 5rf. 

An account lodged February 21, 1791, by the 
widow Mary Fox against Josiah Johnson, one of the 
selectmen for 1786-87, for damage done to her house 
by his putting soldiers therein, in January, 1787, the 
time of Shay's Rebellion, is extant. 

An account of the ancestors and descendants of 
Captain Seth Wyman is published in the Wobxirn 
Jonrnal for July 29th and August 5th, 12th and 19th, 
1887. 

There is extant a memorial in behalf of Elizabeth 
Blogget, in her eighteenth year, daughter of Caleb, 
her father being deceased, being an order of the Gen- 
eral Court to Benjamin Wyman, her guardian, to sell 
her land ; the letter of guardianship being dated 
November 16, 1761 ; the memorial to the court being 
dated January 13, 1762. On December 4, 1749, Eliz- 
abeth Wade, the said minor's mother and legal guar- 
dian, had preferred her petition to the General Court, ' 



WOBURN. 



389 



showing tbat Nathan Blogget, late of Woburn, de- 
ceased, had died siezed of a real estate, and had left 
a widow, but no surviving children; therefore said 
minor, being a brother's child, was heir to a one forty- 
fifth part. 

Lieutenant Samuel Thompson left a diary of his 
experience in the campaign of 1758, which is one of 
the most interesting relics preserved connected with 
the early history of Woburn. The original was 
burned, it is said, in the great fire at Woburn Centre, 
1873. The whole was published, IStiS, in Sewall's 
Woburn, app. ix. The diarist, his brother, Abijah 
Thompson, and a number of his townsmen were in 
the same regiment. They marched to Fort Edward. 
This post was ^'exceeding strong" and "commanded 
by a numerous artillery." They proceeded thence, in 
the direction of Lake George, to a fort at Half-way 
Brook, and to Fort William Henry. They remained 
at the lake when General Abercrombie and the "old 
countrymen " attacked Ticonderoga and were re- 
pnlsed. The body of Highlanders, regulars and pro- 
vincials denominated the *' old countrymen," suflfered 
great losses in killed and wounded, and returned to 
Fort William Henry in confusion after the assault on 
Ticonderoga. The regiment on duty there, the one 
in which the diarist was, witnessed their sad return. 
Later the regiment went again to the fort at Half-way 
Brook, and a fight occurring there with Indians, on 
July 20, 175S, in which it was engaged, it lost four- 
teen or more killed. The diary preserves the names 
of those killed in this fight, including three captains, 
two lieutenants, one ensign, and three non-commis- 
sioned officers, and the bodies of all were buried in 
one grave. After performing hard duty in scouting, 
guarding posts, and labor in the woods, the regiment 
was released about November 1st, and on November 

6, 1758, the diarist arrived home. By the death of 
his captain, Ebenezer Jones, in battle, July 20, 1758, 
at Half-way Urook, Sergeant Thompson was advanced 
to the rank of a lieutenant. 

Catalogue of some intereflting documents of the provincial period that 
have bieu praaerved in the Wyinaa Collection, in the Woburn Public 
Library : 

Kcltemiah Abbott, receipt for a soldier's gun, May 22, 1761. 

Aaron Beard, for son, receipt for military service, Mar. 24, 1762. 

Benjamin Brooks, and others, receipt for military aervice, April 6, 
1759. 

Zechariah Brooks, by Isbac Snow, receipt for military service, Mar. 29, 
1702. 

William Buck, receipt for military services, April 30, 1760. 

Jabez Carter, and otherd, receipt for military services (of a man), 
April 6, 1759. 

John Center, receipt for military service, May 11, 1762. 

Capt. Edwards, named in a lengthy lodging and meals' account, 1761- 
1763, in James Fowle's handwriting. 

Zachariab Flagg, fur sod Zachariah, receipt for military service, Feb. 

7, 1764. 

Joseph Fowle, certificate of military service, 1757 (?) and Sarah Fowie, 
for Joseph, receipt for military service, Aug. 27, 1761. 

James Fowle, representative from Woburn, 14 receipts to him, on ac- 
count of the public military business, 176U-1765. | 

Jonathan Fox, for his son Thomas, an enlisted soldier in the expedi- j 
tion Eitainst Canada, in 1760, petition, 1760. 



John Kendall and others, receipt on account military service, April 6, 

1759. 

John Kimball, receipt on account military service, May 11, 1762. 

Daniel Kittredge, for son, receipt on account military service, Jan. 1, 
1702. Refers also to a gun. 

Benjamin Nutting, receipt for military service, Jnn. aO, 1764. 

Josiah Parker, and others receipt on account military services, April 
6, 1759. 

Jacob Reed, and others, receipt on account military service, April 6, 
1759. 

Benjamin Richardson, town order on account military service, Feb. 
14, 1748. 

David Richardson, for David, Jr., receipt on account military service. 
Mar. 6, MiM). 

Simeon Richardson, twice an enlisted soMier in the e.\pedilion against 
Canada, legislative petition, and report of committee, Jan. 17, 1761. 
Same, receipt for military service. Mar. 30, 1761. 

Benjamin Simonds, and others, receipt on account military service, 
April r>, 1759. 

Timothy Slaughter, receipt for a man for the military service, from 
Medford, in the expedition against Crown Point, Sept. 4, 1756. An en- 
listment certificate of a private soldier with autograph of Slaughter, 
Sept. 4, 1756, ha.-) reference to the same business. The soldier was to be 
under Colonel Gridley in the expedition for reduction of Crown Point. 

Elisha Tottiogham, and others, receipt on account military service, 
April 6,1759. 

Edward Twiss, for son, receipt for military service, and the loss of a 
gun, Dec. 23, 1761. [A Timothy Twiss or Twist, of Woburn, in service, 
176ii, is mentioned inSergt. David Holden's journal, published in pimph- 
letform by Dr. S. A. Green, 1889 {Miss. Hist.SocProc.) and this Timothy 
was later a soldier in the Army of the Revolution, and was probably tho 
son of Edward, above referred to]. 

Artemas Ward, fragment of an undated petition about difference of 
pay of a lieut.-col. anda mjjor, he having served as a lieut.-col. in the 
French War. [The same Artemas Ward who was afterwards a major- 
general and the commander-in-chief of the forces at the beginning of 
the Rt^volution.] 

Jonas Wyman, by John Russell, order for wages for military service 
at Cape Breton, in Capt. Stevens's co., of Andover, Nov. 2S, 1745. [Jonas 
Wyman had died in the military serving at Cape Breton.— Sewall's Wo- 
burn, 655. Another re<^eipt, to Benjamin Wyman, by John Russell, in 
his behalf, is dated Sept. 24, 1745.] 

. Nourse'e SI ilitary Annals of Zaiiccufer contains the names of a number 
of natives of Woburn, who enlisted in the wars as inhabitants of Lancas- 
ter, e. g., Peter Kendall, aged 29, husbandman ; Stephen Kendall, 23, 
laborer; William Chubb, 25, weaver ; Joshua Pierce, 22, housewright; 
and Richard Nevers, 20, blacksmith— all in Vernon's expedition to the 
West Indies, 1749. Most of the men who served in that expedition died 
during their absence. Joshua Pierce, of the above expedition, was capt. - 
lieut. of Col. Willard's co., at Cape Breton, 1745. Matthew Wyman, 
aged 40, laborer, and Uriah Wyman, 21, apothecary, natives of Woburn, 
were in ths Lancaster co. in the expedition against Nova Scotia for the 
capture of the Neutral French, 1755 ; and Jonathan Pierce, of Woburn, 
was in the military service in 1760, and is mentioned in Sergt. David 
Holden's journal, published by Dr. S. A. Green, 1889. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

WOBURN— ( Continued). 

MILITARY HISTORY — THE REVOLUTIONARY AND 

LATER PERIODS TO 1861, ETC. THE CIVIL 

WAR OF 1861-65. 

The Kevoltjtionaey Period. — The military- 
history of Woburn during the Revolutionary period 
began with a war at her very doors. The events of 
the opening struggle at Lexington and Concord, of 
the battle of Bunker Hill and of the siege of Boston 



390 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



occurred within the hearing and observation of her 
inhabitants, and all her people were stirred by the 
exciting scenes around thera. We have heard, as 
well as many others, relations of the terror these 
scenes inspired in the minds of the young and the 
aged, and of the anxiety that prevailed, and of the 
grief in households occasioned by the loss of friends 
who fell in battle or who lost their lives in other 
ways connected with the warlike experiences around 
them. To these distresses were added the ravages of 
the small-pox, which in those days alwaySl accom- 
panied the movements of an army. The irruption of 
this disease occurred in Woburn in May and June, 
1775. Esquire Thompson, in his memoranda, records 
the following deaths: May, 1775, the Widow Jaue 
Winn, Mr. John Burnam's child; June, 1775, Nehe- 
miah Wyman and a nurse-child, all of the small- 
pox ; and all these, he adds, and about twenty more 
had the small-pox at Mr. Joseph Winn's, 1775. The 
effect of these calamitits on the prosperity of the 
people was considerable, and many persons unable 
to bear the strain died, giving an increased death- 
rate to the neighborhood, not counting the much 
greater mortality of the military losses in the 
vicinity. 

Had we space, we would like to enter upon this 
subject in much detail; but it is not feasible. In 
place of it, let us say that on the subject of the Battle 
of Lexington the narratives of Woburn participants 
are principally the following: 

1. Sylvanus Wood's deposition on the events of the 
early morning at Lexington and on his making a 
British soldier his prisoner. This deposition was 
dated June 17j 1826, and has been several times pub- 
lished, notably in Dr. Ripley's "History of the Fight 
at Concord," and in Barber's HM. Coll. Mass., 400- 
401. Wood, on the morning of the 19th of April, 
1775, was an inhabitant of Woburn, living with Dea- 
con Obadiah Kendall at present corner of Rusiell 
and Cambridge Streets. At an hour before daybreak 
that morning he heard the Lexington bell ring, and, 
fearing there was trouble there, arose, took his gun, 
and with Robert Douglass hastened to Lexington, 
about three miles distant, where he found the Lex- 
ington company assembled. He inquired of Captain 
Parker, the commander, the news, and while talking 
with the captain, a messenger arrived and announced 
that the British were within a half a mile. The drum 
was then ordered to beat to arms. The captain asked 
Wood if he would not parade with his company, and 
Wood assented. The captain asked also if the young 
man, Douglass, with Wood, would not also join his 
company. Wood spoke to him, and he assented also. 
Then follows a description of the events that took 
place. Wood was stationed about in the centre of 
the company, which was formed at the north end of 
the common in single file. While they were stand- 
ing. Wood left his place, and went from one end of 
the company to the other, and counted every man 



who had par.ided, and the whole number in line was 
thirty-eight. Just as he had finished and got back 
to his place, the British appeared before them. He 
then gives a circumstantial account of what hap- 
pened. He was intimately acquainted with the in- 
habitants of Lexington, and paiticularly with those 
of Captain Parker's company. After the British had 
begun their march to Concord, Wood, who had re- 
treated from the common with the other Americans, 
returned and found two meu, Robert Munroe and 
Jonas Parker, lying dead at the north corner of the 
common, and others dead and wounded. He assi-ted 
in carrying the dead into the meeting-house, and 
afterwards proceeded towards Cimcord with bis gun ; 
and when he came near the Vile's Tavern in Lexing- 
ton, he saw a British soldier seated on the bank by 
the road. Wood approached him, holding his gun 
in readiness to fire if the soldier should offer to resist. 
He did not, and Wood took his gun, cutlass and 
equipments from him, and, proceeding with his pris- 
oner towards Lexington, and, meeting two other per- 
sons, delivered him to them. AVood then mentions 
the supposed further disposition of his prisoner, 
whose action partakes in a measure the character of 
a deserter, from the feebleness of his res'stance, and 
concludes his deposition by saying: "I believe that 
the soldier who surrendered his gun to me was the 
first prisoner taken by the Americans on that day." 

2. Loammi Baldwin's narrative on the movements 
of the Woburn men during the first half of the day 
and his own experiences. This is very interesting, 
and is included in Rev. Leander Thompson's sketch 
of Colonel Baldwin, given elsewhere. He would ap- 
pear from this narrative to have been in command 
of the body of men belonging to Woburn, holding at 
the time a rank equivalent to that of major. 

3. Samuel Thompson, Estj.'s, narrative on the 
same subject, with his own experiences and observa- 
tions. This has been several tin)es published in full 
or in part. It may be said to be a good general ac- 
count. According to this, the town was alarmed by 
the news of the regulars' march at two or three 
o'clock in the morning, and the men from the town 
were on their march towards Concord before sunrise. 
The AVoburn complement arrived there early, and 
retired before the troops to Lincoln. Some had fired 
on the enemy from the Bedford road, ju^t out of 
Concord, where had occurred a slight skirmi^h. The 
Woburn party placed themselves behind trees and 
walls on each side of. the road where the enemy 
would approach, and when the enemy came up, 
poured upon them a general fire, which both forces 
engaged participated in. The roadway being full of 
the regulars, the iotenseness of the fire greatly an- 
noyed them ; but the walls on each side of the road 
were, however, somewhat of a safeguard to them, as 
they stooped down to avoid the fire as they ran by ; but, 
notwithstanding this precaution, many of them were 
struck at this point by the bullets of the Americans. 



WOBURN. 



391 



Thompson said the Woburn men distinguished 
themselves in this engagement with much valor. The 
Americans had three killed in this particular skir- 
mish, one of them being the brother of Esquire 
Thompson — Daniel Thompson, of Woburn — who, his 
brother writes, " behaved very valiantly." When the 
Americ?.ns engaged the enemy in this skirmish, it was 
thought they had not more than one-third as many 
men as the regulars had. Thompson says, " I shot 
about ten rods at them near ten times, and thought I 
killed or wounded several ;" he was very confident 
that the number was four or five, if no more. He ap- 
parently based his calculation on the fact that when 
the rear of the enemy h.ad gone by, he went where he 
had shot and found three or four of the enemy lying 
dead very near the spot ; and here he got one of their 
guns and some small plunder. 

After this the Americans ran up and fired on the 
rear of the regulars, as they were marching rapidly 
along, and fired from every place where the land and 
turns in the road would give our side an advantage; 
and thus the British troops were pursued to Lexing- 
ton. 

Thompson pursued with the rest, and followed on 
to the point where the enemy burned the houses in 
Lexington. He shot several times more, he said, but 
then returned home, being much fatigued. He was 
at this time forty-three years old. 

A large portion of his narrative is taken up with a 
recital of the general events of the battle, and his 
whole narrative, with all the variations upon it, has 
been carefully copied into the volume containing the 
transcript of the greater portion of his extensive diary. 
These general facts are too familiar for repetition, 
and are not always correct, being based on mere hear- 
say. He says his brother Daniel, who was killed, 
was much lamented. That Asahel Porter, another 
Woburn citizen, was killed in the morning at Lexing- 
ton, with the seven Lexington citizens who then fell, 
at the time of the first fire. This was indeed true. 
Thompson speaks of the 18th of April, the day previous 
to the battle, as being Tuesday ; thus the battle was 
on Wednesday, an interesting fact to be remembered. 
He speaks of the Woburn men at Concord, after their 
arrival in the morning, as watching for a time, with 
others, the enemy's motions. In the fight near Tanner 
Brook, in Lincoln, he says, " Woburn party greatly 
annoyed the regulars," and of the battle as a whole, 
he says, the British troops " marched with great ex- 
pedition all the way," to the end of it. 

He continues with a narrative of the events in 
Charlestown on April 20, 1775, and an account of the 
events of the siege of Boston to about the date of 
September 2, 1775, when the account suddenly ends. 

The particulars regarding Daniel Thompson, " who 
was slain in Concord Battle, on the 19th of April, 
1775, aged 40 years," are very numerous. His epi- 
taph in Woburn first burying-ground has been ofc- 
quoted, and the Thompion Memorial, recently pub- 



lished, gives a view of his house, and an account of 
his life, as well as one of his death. He was very en- 
thusiastic in the popular cause, and his end was a 
courageous one. He was killed in the limits of the 
town of Lincoln. It is said he was firing from behind 
the corner of a barn near the road where the British 
were passing, and that a regular, noticing the execu- 
tion done by his fiiearm, ran around the barn and shot 
him dead, through his back, while he was in the act 
of reloading. His adversary was killed a mornent 
later by an American bullet. This is the generally 
accejited story. See also a description of the locality 
in W. F. Wheeler's sketch of Lincoln, in Drake's 
Middlesex County, where the spot is described as near 
Cornet Ephraim Hartwell's house. His remains and 
those of Asahel Porter were interred in Woburn, on 
Friday, April 21, 1775, at which time the Rev. Josiah 
Sherman, of Woburn, delivered a suitable sermon 
and prayer, and a multitude of persons from Woburn 
and neighboring towns attended, and followed the re- 
mains to the grave. It was the office of his brother 
Abijah Thompson to carry the tidings of bis death to 
the widow and children. The eldest child was about 
fourteen years old, and immediately went raving dis- 
tracted on account of it, a state in which he remained 
for a number of days. 

4. William Tay's deposition on some of the earlier 
and later phases of the battle, comprised in a petition 
to the General Court, dated September 20, 1775. He 
signs himself William Tay, Jr., and begs leave humbly 
to show, that on the morning of April 19, 1775, he was 
aroused from his sleep by an alarm, occasioned by the 
secret and sudden march of the ministerial troops to- 
wards Concord ; that he, with about 180 of his fellow- 
townsmen, well armed, speedily took their march 
from Woburn to Concord, and upon their arrival 
there, with a number of their fellow-soldiers of the 
same regiment, who reinforced them, smartly skir- 
mished with the enemy, being deeply touched by the 
results of the events that had occurred at Lexington, 
where they had seen the bodies of those who had been 
killed in the morning on that fatal field. These 
scenes Served to heighten resentment, and the peti- 
tioner, by the joint testimony of bis fellow-soldiers, 
lent, at least, an equal part through the whole stretch 
of w-ay from Concord to Charlestown, in the action 
that ensued. At or near the latter place the peti- 
tioner, with several others, passing by a house, was 
fired upon by three of the British troops planted 
within. The fire being returned by him and his 
party, two of these British soldiers were killed, and 
thereupon the petitioner, rushing into the house, 
seized the survivor of them, who was a sergeant, by 
clasping him in his arms, and subduing him by 
sundry cuffs, when he then resigned himself and 
weapons to the petitioner, there being no others then 
in the house. It so happened when the petitioner 
was engaged in securing his prisoner, that others of 
the American side were coming up and rushing into 



392 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



the house, when some one to the petitioner unknown 
carried ofTthe arras or weapons of the prisoner, v.hich 
were afterwards found in the possession of a respecta- 
ble citizen of Concord, who, on the pretext of superior 
right, refused to give them up, and the petition liad 
reference principally to their recovery. The petition 
is printed in full in the appendix to Frothingham's 
Siege of Boston, 368-69. 

Asahel Porter, of Woburn, who was killed on the 
morning of April 19, 1775, at Lexington, was shot 
down by the British near the Common, when endeav- 
oring to effect his escape, having been made a pris- 
oner by them on the road, while they were on their 
way from Boston. He is said to have been the son of 
William Porter,andin 1773, when married at Seabrook, 
N. H., to Abigail Brooks, of the well-known Woburn 
family, called himself and bride in the marriage cer- 
tificate, still extant, as " of Salem, Esse.x County, in 
the Province of Massachusetts Bay ; " witnesses, John 
Brooks, Timothy Brooks and Mary Knowlton. His 
body, when found at Lexington, after he was killed, 
was lying close by the stone wall below the plot 
formerly called Ilufua Merriam's garden, east of the 
Lexington meeting-house, as it existed in the earlier 
period. Here it was seen by Amos and Ebenezer 
Locke, of Lexington, who coming up that morning 
towards the easterly side of the Common, where the 
British tlien were, found Asahel Porter, of Woburn, 
shot through the body, and under cover of a wall 
about twenty rods distant from the Common. It is 
said, on good authority,' that Asahel Porter and one 
Josiah Richardson, of Woburn, set out for Boston 
Market during the night of the 18th of April, 1775, 
and that when near the present town of Arlington, 
being on the route the British had taken, they were 
halted by the enemy's column, deprived of the horses 
they rode, and forced to accompany their captors to 
Lexington as prisoners of war. They were released 
when the firing on the Common at Lexington oc- 
curred, on condition they departed without attract- 
ing any especial observation. To do this they were 
ordered to cross the fields at a pace no faster than a 
walk. Porter disobeyed, and ran after walkin'g a few 
steps, and as a result was tired upon and killed. 

His name is inscribed on the Lexington monument. 
His funeral occurred at Woburn, on April 21, 1775. 
No ancient stone to his memory is known to exist. 
A hundred years after his burial a monument was 
erected (April 21, 1875) to his memory by Post 83, 
G. A. R,, near the supposed spot of his burial in the 
first burying-ground, the memorial consisting of a 
plain marble slab suitably inscribed. 

5. The Rev. John Marrett's observations incor- 
porated in his interleaved almanacs. This gentleman 
was pastor of the church in the Second Parish, or 
Burlington. He does not appear to have been pres- 

1 The late Col. Lcooard Tbompeon, of Woburn. grandson of Samuel, 
£9qtiire. 



ent at the battle, and an account he wrote of the 
events of the day as he heard about them is published 
in Sewall's Wohiirn, 363. He had been ordained 
pastor of his church during the December previous 
to the memorable 19;h of April, 1775, which day he 
records was " fair, windy and cold ; a distressing day," 
commencing "an important period." He says the 
adjacent country was alarmed the latter part of the 
night preceding, which corresponds with the state- 
ment of all the other Woburn authorities contem- 
porary with the battle. "Our men," he says, "pur- 
sued them to and from Concord on their retreat back ; 
and several [were] killed on both sides, but much 
the least on our side, as we pick't them off on their re- 
treat." This is evidently an allusion to the part of 
the action in which the Woburn men played a cou- 
spicuous part, though the phrase "our men" may 
refer simply to the Americans in general. "We 
pick't them off" seems a singular expression for a 
clergyman to use, but he probably meant to say " our 
men," the Americans, "picked them off" — one of the 
current phrases of the day, alluding to the marks- 
manship of the Americans upon the British troops, 
as the enemy traced their way through the narrow 
defiles in the woods between the towns of Concord 
and Lexington, and were subjected to a brisk fire of 
musketry, constantly kept up, by the Americans, 
concealed in large detachments, behind trees, walls 
or buildings, where such chanced to be along the 
road traversed by the British in their retreat. 

The Rev. Mr. Marrett would appear to have been 
present at the dinner on the 19th of April, 1775, pre- 
pared by his hostess, Madame Jones, the widow of 
his ministerial predecessor, for her distinguished 
guests, John Hancock and Samuel Adams, together 
with Miss Dorothy Quincy, the future wife of John 
Hancock, on that memorable day. The facts of the 
earlier part of the story are an ol't-told tale. How 
Hancock and Adams and Miss Quincy, having wit- 
nessed the action on Lexington Common in the early 
morning, left the house of Rev. Jonas Clarke, of 
Lexington, where they had lodged the night pre- 
vious, and were conducted as a precautionary meas- 
ure for their safety to the house of Madame Jones, 
about four miles distant, in Woburn Precinct, now 
Burlington, the house afierward occupied by the Rev. 
Messrs. Marrett and Sevvall, and now occupied by the 
latter's son, Mr. Samuel Sewall. This, house had 
been occupied previously by the Rev. Thomas Jones, 
the husband of Madame Jones, and still previously 
by Sergeant Benjamin Johnson, who died in 1733, 
and who probably built it. Here the good lady of 
the house provided for her distinguished guests the 
elegant dinner above mentioned, exerting herself to 
the utmost to gratify them as highly as possible, feel- 
ing lionored by their presence and company. Among 
other delicacies prepared for the occasion was a fine 
salmon procured with infinite difficulty, being an un- 
usual dainty at that season. The hour for dinner 



WOBURN. 



393 



having arrived, the company sat down with expect- 
ant appetites. But scarcely had they seated them- 
selves when a man, terrified beyond reason, rushed 
into the room wiih a shriek, and led them to believe 
that the regulars were close upon them iu hot pursuit 
of the two distinguished proscribed citizens, Hancock 
and Adams. He is quoted as saying: "My wife, I 
fear, is, by this time, in eternity; and as for you," 
addressing himself to Hancock and Adams, " you had 
better look out for yourselves, for the enemy will 
soon be at your heels." The man was evidently a 
coward, fresh from the bloody st^enes at Lexington, 
the sight of which distracted a mind evidently al- 
ready weak. There was really no danger whatever, 
as the enemy were then occupied in securing their 
own safety, and were busily engaged in fighting at 
several miles distance from the place where Hancock 
and Adams then were. But the appeal in the con- 
fused slate of the afTairs of the day had a startling 
effect on the company at table, and all instantly arose 
and- prepared for concealment or flight. The coach 
in which Hancock and Adams rode was hastily put 
out of sight, being hurried into some woods, named 
Path Woods, some distance off", near the road to 
Billerica. Whether Hancock and his companions 
rode in the coach to this point in their flight, does 
not clearly appear. But this much is certain, that 
Mr. Marrett is said himself to have piloted the party 
along a cartway to Mr. Amos Wynian"s house in a 
corner of Billerica, Bedford and Woburn Precinct, 
an obscure quarter, where the distinguished person- 
ages, wh) hid iiitendei to be the guests of Mad- 
ame Jones, having had neither breakfast or dinner 
on that direful day, were glad to dine otT of cold salt 
pork and potatoes, served iu a wooden tray. Cf. the 
narratives of this event in Sewall's Woburn, 3G4-3G6, 
and Rev. Mr. Sewall in Frothingham's Siege of Bos- 
ton, CO. 

On April 20, 1775, the day following the battle, the 
Rev. Mr. Marrett records that he "rode to Lexington, 
saw the mischief the regulars did, and returned home." 
Oa the 2l3t he rode to Concord, and records on that 
day the statement that "the country is coming in 
ftist to our help." On the 22d he was " at home ; all 
quiet here," he records, but " our forces are gathered at 
Cambridge and towns about Boston." He records 
other items of news. On the 23d of April (Sunday) 
he mentioned that " soldiers are traveling down and 
returning," that some of them brought their arms 
and warlike accoutrements with them to meeting — 
" a dark day." " In the forenoon service," he records, 
"just as service was ended, Dr. Blodget came in for 
the people to go with their teams to bring provisions 
from Marblehead out of the way of the men-of-war." 

Mr. Mirrett records nothing further of moment, 
till on Saturday May 27, 1775, he distinctly heard the 
cannon in an engagement at Noddle's Island, now 
East Boston, which occurred on that day. He men- 
tions hearing the cannon at that time all day, and in 



the night, and in the time of morning service on the 
Sabbath following. From his account the firing of 
the cannon throughout the entire siege of Boston was 
always plainly beard at his home in Woburn Precinct. 
According to the contemporary lists the number of 
wounded men from Woburn in the battle of April 19, 
1775, was three, viz., George Reed, Jacob Bacon and 
one Johnson. The number of killed, as we have 
already stated, was two — Daniel Thompson and Asa- 
hel Porter. The following is a list of men from 
Woburn who died in the military service during the 
Revolutionary War. The number, however, may be 
only an approximate one, like that of the number of 
those from the town who entered active service; the 
number in both cases being indefinite for want of 
sufficient records. 

Killed at Lexington and Concoed Battle. 2. Asiibel Porter and 
Daniel Thompson. 

Died from the Effect of Wounds asd E.xposuke in Bunkeb Hill 
Battle. 2. Samuel Russell and George Keed, Jr. 

Died in the Service at Ticonderoga, AfTl'MN of 1776. 3. Wil- 
liam Locke. William Stratton and Abram Alexander, 

Died in the Ahmy at New York, 177U. 2. Jonas Wjman and 
Lieut. Samuel Thompson. 

Died of Small-Pox in the Abmt at the Jebsets. 1. Solomon 
Wood, on March 16,1777; 

Died in Service After 1777, Before the End of their Engage 
ment. 3. Jabez Brooks, Ehenezer Marion, and Charles Mason. 

Making a total of 13 deaths, so far as discovered. Killed in battle, 2. 
Died of wounds, 1. Of disease, or exposure to hardships, 10. 

Bunker Hill Battle. — Colonel Loammi Bald- 
win wrote a letter on the subject of this battle, buc he 
was an eye-witness only, and not an actual participant. 
Samuel Thompson and Mr. Marrett incorporate 
accounts of it in their memoranda, but neither were 
present or even eye-witnes:sss apparently. Mr. Mar- 
rett says of himself that he was at home. The day 
was Saturday, June 17, 1775, and fair, and very warm 
and drying. While he was writing, he says, "the 
adjacent country had gone down," meaning to the 
scene of action. On Sunday, June 18, 1775, the day 
following, he had, at service, a " very thin meeting; 
the men gone down to the army on the alarm yes- 
terday." On June 22, following, the weather being 
fair and drying, in the morning the good pastor of 
the Second Parish was "at home ; " but in the after- 
noon attended the funeral of Samuel Russell, aged 
twenty-one, belonging in the First, or Old Parish, who 
had died, having been "mortally wounded in the 
battle at Charlestown." Again, on the afternoon of 
June 26, 1775, a fair day, he attended the funeral of 
George Reed, Jr. (probably in the Second Parish), 
" who died of a fever, which was occasioned bv a 
surfeit, or heat, he got in Charlestown Fight, on the 
17th instant." Esquire Thompson records concern- 
ing Samuel Russell, this : June 17, 1775, Sam- 
uel Russell, son of Jesse Russell, was that day 
"wounded in the shoulder at the fight in Charles- 
town," and he was brought home and there died 
" with his wounds and a fever." Aside from tradi- 
tion, this is ail that we can glean of the participation 
of Woburn men in this famous battle. 



394 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



The Siege of Boston. — Samuel Thompson con- 
tinued his account of events, being items of news, to 
September 2, 1775. Mr. Marrett's .account is, however, 
more interesting, because he gives some items of his 
own personal experience. The ministers of the 
neighboring parishes often rode to Cambridge and 
Roxbury during the siege and viewed the intrench- 
ments, surveyed the situation of the forces, and 
prayed publicly with the regiments, and they appear- 
ed also at the trainings of their own local military 
companies and showed their arms or weapons for in- 
spection with the rest. On Sunday, March 3, 1776, 
the people were in great anxiety about some import- 
ant events soon to take place between the armies, and 
during that night, from eight in the evening to morn- 
ing, cannon-firing was heard, and on March 4 con- 
tinued. Between twelve and one on that day it con- 
tiuued so vigorously that a general battle was imagin- 
ed, or a smart skirmish, as Mr. Marrett judged, from 
the report of small arms and cannons combined. So 
strong was this feeling that Mr. Marrett's people 
collected rags, etc., for the use of the army. On the 
night of March 4 " the mortars and cannon played 
very fast most all night." After the evacuation of Bos- 
ton by the British, Mr. Marrett rode to Charlestown 
fetry, March 20, and viewed Bunker Hill, the works 
of the enemy and the ruins of the town. He returned 
home by the way of Cambridge. On April 23, 177<), 
he rode to Boston and returned home; "first time," 
he said, " I have been to Boston since the enemy 
evacuated it;" and later, on June 3, 1776, he "went 
to the Castle with Woburn militia to intrench." He 
lodged that night at Roxbury, and on the morning of 
June 4 sailed from Boston to the Castle, and " in- 
trenched all day," and at the close of the day " re- 
turned home with the militia." 

One or two other incidents from Mr. Marrett's 
memoranda only remain to be quoted in connection 
with the events of this period. 

1. "Sunday, July 14, 1776: Five o'clock p.m. 
Preached at lecture at home to a party of soldiers 
going on the Canada expedition." 

2. " July 25, 1776. Woburn company of soldiers 
for the Canada expedition marched for Crown Point. 
Prayed with them at Deacon Bianchard's." 

Two hundred or more men from Woburn were in 
active service in the Revolution during the first two 
years of the war, and nearly as many were afterward 
in service from the town in the regular Continental 
line. Quotas of her men served at Ticonderoga and 
New York, 1776 ; at the northward against Burgoyne 
in 1777, and in guarding his imprisoned army at 
Cambridge, 1777-78; at Rhode Island, 1777-80; on 
guard-duty at Bunker Hill, 1778, and elsewhere near 
Boston, in duties frequent and various, in time of the 
war. The record of much of this service is now prob- 
ably lost. Much of it also, as is usual in wars, was 
not deemed worthy of distinguished mention, though 
useful in its way. There are very many receipts and 



military papers preserved in the W;/man Collection 
of MSiS. in the Woburn Public Library, relating to 
this subject, and Woburn had its representatives in 
the navy as well as in the army of the Revolution. 
The most remarkable instan ce of naval service was that 
of Ichabod Richardson, of Woburn, who, from a long 
absence, proved to be a veritable " Enoch Arden." 
The tale is toKl in an original document presented in 
the Woburn Journal for June 12, 1885. Having en- 
listed himself on board a provincial privateer during 
the Revolution, leaving behind his young wife and 
child, the voyage undertaken proved to be an unfor- 
tunate one, and he was captured by the British and 
carried a prisoner to England, and thence to the East 
Indies. An absence of six or seven years followed, 
with no tidings of his being alive. The wife, being 
courted by a widower and relative of her first hus- 
band, married the latter suitor. After hostilities 
ceased the missing husband returned to find his wife 
had married another. The document alreiidy referred 
to as containing an account of the affair, is a stipula- 
tion, and dated February 15, 1783. The parties are 
the husbands — Ichabod Richard non and Josiah Rich- 
ardson. The wife was named Sarah and the child was 
a son. To settle the difficulty, the wile chose for her 
mate her former husband, because of their child, she 
having had no other child by either marriage. The 
unhappy affair for the participants, by the terms of 
the stipulation, was amicably adjusted as to matters 
of property, the second husband also surrendering the 
wife to the first. The name of Ichabod Richardson 
is found in a journal of American sailors imprisoned 
at Forton, near Portsmouth, England, where he was 
committed June 26, 1777. There are other details 
concerning him, but he appears to have effected his 
escape from that prison. One James Richardson, of 
Woburn, was a prisoner in the Mill Prison, England, 
in 1777, but was later exchanged. 

Note. — On the suliject of the earlier events of the Revolution in their 
connection with Woburn, nrticlea were published by W. R. Cutter and 
otliers, in the IVobuni Journal, notably in Fell, and Blay, 1875, in view of 
the centennial observances of that year. One or two matters of general 
interest niit;llt also be mentioned in connection with the Revolution. 
Action ou the formation of a volunteer military company, or society, in 
Woburn, on account of the warlike outlook, occurred as early as Jan. 4, 
1775, and at a meeting at the house of James Fosvle, Esq., on that date, 
several votes were passed relating to its organization as a company of 
minute-men, or picked men. They voted on that occasion " to show 
anus once a month, according to law," and something was done about 
the town-house, so-called, as a house "to exercise in," Cf. Kvburn 
Journal, for March 31, 1882. There is framed and preserved in the an- 
tique department of the Woburn Public Library a document dated April 
6, 1775, about two weeks before Lexington Battle, from the field oflicera 
of the local regiment urging the Woburn minute-men to action. Some 
old papei^ belonging to the Jolinson family in Woburn Second Paristl 
have an especial interest in relation to affairs that occurred during the 
Revolution in that precinct. Among them is a list of the preachers and 
texts in this parish from the ordination of Rev. John Mairett, Dec. 21, 
1771, to July 16, 1775, and minutes of parish meetings, receipts sliowing 
that the people of this parish donated the sum of £2, lis. 2d. to the suf- 
ferers in tlie war of South Carolina and Georgia in 1782, and the sum of 
£1, IfiB, lod, in 178.3, for the purpose ot building a raeeting-houso in 
Charlestown, burned by the British, June 17, 1775. There are " war " 
papers, and a receipt dated Nov. 24, 1775, signed by Timothy Jones, re- 
lating to the keeping of a portion of the valuables of Harvard College 



WOBURN. 



395 



during the first year of the war, which were deposited in the care of 

DetiCOD JoBeph Johnson in the precinct. The rcceijit enumerates the fol- 
lowing articles : — *'0f the college library fiml apparatus, two liogslieada 
of books, one lari^o box containing glass, two boxes coDtuining a pair "f 
globes, ono large pack of carpets." Oue of the papers in thie collection 
vflates to Lieut Joseph Johnson, an oflicer who was seventy-five years 
old when recummissioned in ITTC*. It was dated from hospital at " Pau- 
pat^quash," a. d., 1778, and was signed by " Jona. Arnold, Director," 
and gave Lieut. Johnson, of Col. Mclntt)8irs regiment, '" unfit for present 
duty," leave of absence on a furlough of six days. Pappasquask is the 
neck of land iu front, or to the west, of the harbor of Bi istol, in Khode 
Island, and about fifteen miles from Newport. Uere a hospital had been 
erected. Cf. Green's Deux Fonls's t'ampuigm in America, 17^0-81, p. 90, 
note ; xV. E. Hist. Gt*n. Jieg.^ xxxvi. I'jSi). The original journal of the 
Fortoii pri&onei-s in England is in the present writer's possession, aud 
was contiibuled by him, with the addition of notes, to the Sew EugUmd 
Hi/'torical and Geitealogictl liejister, aud publi&lied iu the volumes of that 
periuiHcal for the years 187»j, '77, '78 aud '79 a hundred years aifter 
it was written. There are many particulars regarding Ichahod Itichard- 
60U in the article in the Wobarn Journal for Juno IJ, 18S5. 

The following is a list of the principal military characters of the pe- 
riod mentioned. It is a partial list, at best, made up from such sources 
as could be easily found in Woburn. 

Military Officebs bukisg the Revolvtion and from that Period 
TO 1830. 

Major' General. 
John Walker, ensign, 1701 ; capt., 1792 ; lieut.-col., 1703-1796 ; brig., 
gen., 1796-1797; niaj.-gen., 1798. Died 1SI4. Brig. -gen., Ist brig., 3d 
div., Middlesex, 1797, '98 aud '99, per ilf(Z*s. Register. 

Brigadier' General. 
Abijah Thompson, capt., lS-27-1828 ; major, 1829 ; lieut.-col., 1830; 
colonel, 1832-1835, all of the artillery ; brig.-gen., 1836. Died, 1868. 

Colonels. 

Loammi Baldwin, major, 1775; lieut.-col., 1775; col., 1775-1777, all 
in the llevolutionary Army. See an extended notice elsewhere, 

Robert Greatou, 1777, Cont. Army. Non-resident. One of Woburn's 
quota in the Revolutionary War ; Col. of 3d Massachusetts regt., C. A. 

Bill Russell, lieut, 1801-1803; capt., 1804; major, 1805-1806; lieut.- 
col., 181)7-1828, all of the cavalry ; a Revolutionary pensioner, residing 
at Billerica, 1S40, aged 77. 

Abijali Wheeler, col., 1807-1809. Died 1812. " Col." on gravestone 
in Woburn second burying-ground. Removed to Woburn from Tem- 
ple, N. H. 

Benjamin F. Baldwin, capt., 1800-1805; major, 1807-1811; lieut.-col., 
1811-181G. Died 1821. Lieut.-col. commandant of 2d regt., Ist brigade, 
3d div , 5liddlesex County. 

John Wade, capt., 1810-1811 ; commissioned major, Sept. 17, 1811 ; 
lieut.-cul., May 30, 1815; col., July 1, ISIG. Lieut.-col. commandant of 
the 2d regt., Ist brig., 3d d\v., Midd. Co. till such officere were changed 
to colonels, when he received a colonel's commission. He was in office, 
1820. Died U58. 

Samuel TiJd, lieut., discharged from the East company, 1803 ; capt., 
discharged from same Co., 1815; major, 1815-1816; lieut.-col., 1818-1821 ; 
same regiment as named in the two preceding notices. Died 1826. 

William Winn, major, 1816-1821 ; lieut.-col., 1822; col., 182J-1830, 
of the same regiment as the above three otficers. Died 1856. Resided 
in Burlington and in Woburn. 

Leonard Thompson, capt , Jidy 15, 1815; major, Aug. 24, 1821 ; lieut.- 
col., Sept. 24. 1822 ; discharged as lieut.-col.. May 7, 1823. All offices in 
2d regt. infantry, Ist brig., 3d div , same regiment as the preceding offi- 
cers in this list. Died 1880, aged 92. Commissions and other mili- 
tary papers extant, kindly loaLed for examination ly his son, Leonard 
Thompson, Esq. 

Samuel B. White, lient.-col., 1839 ; Charles Carter, col , 1842-184.3 ; 
William T. Choate, major, 1842, lieut.-col., 1843; and Charles Choate, 
lieut.-col., 1816, were some of the field officers of a later period. 

Thonuis Dawes, col., of Boston, 1784, and Samuel Hopkins, lieut.-col. 
of Wilmington, 1812, are named in Woburu tax-lists. 

Mnjora. 
John Hastings attained the rank of a major in the Revolutionary 
army, and resided in Woburn, 1784-1796. He was a graduate of Har- 



vard, 1772, son of Jonathan Hastings, of Cambridge, the college stew- 
ard. 

Samuel Tay, lieut., 1775; capt., 1776-1784; major, 1784-1797. Died 
1804. He coninianded a company of about fifty men, who marched 
June 24, 177(3, to Ticonderoga, trom Woburn, where the company re- 
mained five months in service.— Sewall's Wulmrn, 370-71. 

Robert Douglass, Jr., capt., 1787 ; major, 1788-1793, of the 2d regt., 
1st brig., 3d div., etc. Removed to Portland, Me., 1791. Robert Doug- 
lass, a young man, accompanied Sylvanus Wood to Lexington, early in 
the morning of April 19, 1775, and on the invitation of the captain of 
the Lexington company, paraded with the company on tlie green on 
that morning and received the first fire of the British troops. The Doug- 
lasses, father aud son, lived on the Sylvanus Wood farm in Woburn, 
corner Cambridge and Locust streets. Wood having apparently bought 
it of them before 1800. 

John Radford, ensign, 1792; capt., 1793-1796; major, 1797-1799 ; of 
the 2d regt. above named. Resided in Burlington. 

Jeremiah Clapp, lieut., 1791-1796 ; brigade major, 1797-1813 ; of Ist 
brig., 3d div., Middlesex County. Died 1817. 

Abijah Thompson, lieut., 1796; capt., 1796-1799 ; major, 1800-1816 ; 
of 2d regt. above named. Died 1820. "M»jor" on gravestone. 

Benjamin Wyman, lieut., 1795-1797; second lient. of company of 
cavalry, 1st brig , 3d div., Middlesex, July 14, 1794 ; captain of a com- 
pany in the squadron of cavalry, same brigade, July 0, 1797 ; major of a 
battalion of cavalry, same brigade, January 13, 1800. Three commis- 
sions and his discharge from the service have been preserved. His dis- 
charge as major is dated March 24, 1S02. He was styled major in the 
town records as hite as lbl6. Died 1836. 

Fi-ancis Johnson, capt. of the East company, according to its records, 
from 1798-1S05, when he was chosen major of the regiment— the well- 
known 2d regt., 1st brig., 3d div., Middlesex County. The latest men- 
lion of liim by his military title in the town records is 1816. Died 18J6. 

AVymau Richardson, adjutant, 1820 ; brigade major, 1823-1836. Died 
1841. 

Moses F. Winn, aide-de-camp, 1836; adjt., 1843 ; major, 1845. Died 
1875. 

Staff {other than AdjutaTits). 

William Tidd, adjt., 1823-1830; brigade quarter-master, 1836. Died 
1837. 

Benjamin Coolidge, assistant commissary of clothing at TicoDderoga 
during the Revolution, became late in life a resident uf Woburn. An 
abstract of a deposition of his, before John Roorback, of Albany, N. T., 
dated July 18, 1777, is given in a note. He had been a merchant of Bos- 
ton, but retired from business, and died in Woburn in 1820. 

Rufus Thompson, quarter-master of the 2d regt., 1st brig., 3d div., 
Middlesex, was discharged Sept. 11, 1820. 

Captains. 

Samuel Belknap, lieut. 1775 ; capt., 1776, and styled capt. in the Wo- 
burn records till 1785, about which tinne he removed to Newburgh, N. 
Y. He was a member of Brooks's regiment in the Continental urmy 
prior to 1777, and be commanded one of the three stated military foot 
companies of Woburn at that period. Tlie town, by vote, on Slarcb 22, 
1779, granted him fifteen pounds out of the treasury, as a premium for 
his extraorihitanj trouble in procuring men for the war in the few years 
past. An attested copy of this vote has been preserved, also the names 
of the members of his local company. A grandson, William Goldsmith 
Belknap, was a brigadier-general in the I'niied States regular army. Cf. 
town order dated March 20,1777; Sewall's Uot/urii, 666, 568 ; Belknap 
genealogy iu WincluBtirr liccord, ii. 276-78. 

Benjamin Edgell, a soldier from Lexington, in the French war, 1755 
and 17.">7, capt., 1776, in service from Woburn prior to 1777,and again as 
captain in the Rliodo Island campaign ,1778. Styled captain in the Wo- 
burn records till 1816, when the fasliion of mentioning officers by title 
in the records apparently ceased. Died 1819. Some interesting details 
regarding hia early career have been preserved. 

Thomas Locke, capt., 1775 (?). Died 1792. He resided in Woburn 
precinct in a part latterly annexed to Lexington. There is doubt of his 
being a captain at a period so early as the Revolution, but he appears to 
have been a member of Wood's co., Baldwin's regt., C. A , 1775-76. 

Joshua Reed, lieut., 1775; capt., 1776; in Revolutionary army before 
1777; capt. in Woburn records, 1800. Died 1805. A wooden monument 
to his memory was standing in the second burying-ground as late as 
1847. 

Jonas Richardson, ensign in the provincial period, 17.'i8-1759 ; lieut., 
1760-1774 ; capt., 1775-1776 ; in the Revolutionary service, 1775. '* Cupt. 
Jonas Richardson died January 10, lllS."—Thomp8oti'e Diary. Cf. 
Richardson Memorial, 263, 



396 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Josliua Walker, Heut. in the French war, 1758, also 1759-1774 ; capt. 
(cHpt.-Iiout., ?) 17t>2 nnd 1775; capt. 1775-17S1, in command of one of 
the three stated niilitji-ryconipiiriied of VVoburn during the Revolution- 
ary period. In active service in the Ri^volutioii. Styled captain in the 
Woburn records till I7!l6. Died 1798. 

John Wood, ensign in the provincial period, 1774 ; capt. in active Ber- 
vice in the Revolution, 1775-713. Styled captjiin in the Woburn records 
till 1798. Died in Biirlingtou, 1809. When very young he was deter- 
mined to enlist in the army during the French war and succeeded in 
doing so, and. an interesting anecdote of him connected with his service 
in that war is preserved in Sewali's Koburii, 34S-50. He commanded a 
company composed principally of Woburn men in Baldwin's regt., C. A., 
1776-76, and appears to be also in the army three years after 1777. His 
company wasstationed with Baldwin's regt. at Medford, 177.5. Cf. Sew- 
all, 386, — and a roll of his company is published in the Woburn Journal 
for March 11, 1854. His house is shown on a curioua road map of date 
about 1797. 

Jesse Wyman, who had been a soldier in the French war with Samuel 
Thompson, the diarist, — cf. Sewall, 551, 556, — and whose name was also 
found in a list of twelve men impressed for the military service in 1757 
^Woburn Joum'il, Aug. 19, 1887 — was a capt. 1776-1781, per tax-lists. 
Died 1782. During the Revolution he commanded one of the three 
elat«d military companies of foot soldiers in Woburn. He was in active 
service before 1777, and two months at Rhode Island in 1777, and three 
months on guard duty on Bunker Hill in 1778. 

The names of Charles Anderson, 1779-1782, Samnel Doggett, 1775, and 
Nathaniel Greenwood, 1777-1778, are mentioned with the title of cap- 
tain in the town records, but these persons were probably only tempor- 
ary residents on account of the war. 

Abraham Ajidrews, of the Cont. Army, Whitney's regt., for Woburn, 
was a lieut. 1777-1778 ; capt., 1779-1780. 

Nathaniel Brooks, in Revolutionary service before 1777, was lieut. 
1776-1781 ; capt., 1781-1783. Died 1783. 

Reuben Kimball, in the Revolutionary service for a long period, was a 
lieut. 1776-1782; capt , 1782-1798, in Woburn records. Died in Burling- 
ton, 1814. 

Thomas Dean, Jr., a sergeant in the Revolutionary army, was styled 
a captain in the records from 1783-1787, and died in the West Indies in 
1790. Lieut , 1781-1783. 

Josiah Richardson, lieut., 1782-1784 ; capt., 1784-1793, in town rec- 
ords. Died 1795. Resigned his office of captain, 1787. A number of 
interesting papers regarding his period of service are extant. 

Benjamin Eaton, capt., 1780-1790. Died 1796. 

Joseph Wyman, lieut., 1787 ; capt., 1787-1791. 
■ Joseph Brown, lieut., 1785-1787 ; capt, 1787-1807. Died 1808. "Capt." 
on gravestone. He wan elected Ist lieut., June, 1784. 

James Reed, lieut., 1777 and 1781-1787, in tax -lists ; capt., 178S-1798, 
in Woburn records. Served in Revolution with Capt. Ford, at Cam- 
bridge, 1777-78. Resided in Burlington. — Hist. Reed Family, 470. 

Joseph Bartlett, capt., 1789-1796. Koticed under lawyers. 

William Green, capt., 1790-1791. 

John Johnson, ensign, 1787; lieut., 1787-1792 ; capt., 1792. Died 1792. 
Detailed as an officer of a detachment to rendezvous at Marlborough, 
Feb. 9, 1787, during Shays's Rebellion. 

Nath*iniel Brooks, ensign, 1787-1792 ; capt., 1793-1797, and 1804. Died 
1820. 

Jeduthun Richardson, Jr., capt. of the East company, 1793 (of Med- 
ford, 1791); discharged May 24, 1704 — per orderly book of that company. 

Nathan Richardson, 1794; Jonathan Thompson, 1790— discharged 
1707 from East company ; Jesse Tay, 1796— died at Bedford, N. H.,1797; 
John Wood, Jr., 1797-98 ; Joseph Bond, 1799-1801 ; Nathan Harrington, 
1800-1814; Caleb Richardon, 1806-1809; William Fox, ensign, 1801; 
lieut., 180.5; capt., 1807-1816; Nathan Simonds, 1811; John Eames, 
1812 ; John Edgell, 1812-25 ; Isaac Richardson, 1812-17 (lieut., 1809) 
— discharged from East company, 1813; John Cutter, 1812-16; John 
Eames, Jr., 1813-18 (lieut, 1814) — discharged from East company, 
1818 ; George W. Reed, 1814-15 (uf the cavalry) ; Josiah Richardson, 
eergt., warrant dated Aug. 25, 1801 ; ensign, commission dated April 1, 
3803 ; lieut., Nov. 10, 180G; capt., March 25, 180:J, all of a company in 
the 2d regt., 1st brig., 3d div. ; certificate of resignation as captain dated 
March 16, 1809 ; capt. in town records, 1814-18; Joseph Gardner, 1814- 
IG; John Hastings, 1814; Joseph Eaton, lieut., 1797; capt., 1797-98,— 
discharged from East company, 1798 ; capt., in town records, 1815-16 ; 
John Tidd, sergt., warrant dated Sept. 27, 1809 ; ensign, commission 
dated Dec. 22, 1813 ; capt., Feb. 13, 1818 (ensign in 1814, and lieut., 
1815) all in a company in the 2d regt., 1st brig., 3d div.— discharged 



from East company, 1821 — all are captains of this period named in the 
town record-i. The following also were captains of the East military 
company, which suffered extinction about 1830, from want of actual in- 
terest in the militia: — Stephen Nichols, discharged in 1822; Benjamin 
Wood (2d), discharged 1827 ; Isaac Huffmaster discharged do. ; William 
Reed, elected 1827 or '28, being the last officer named in the company's 
extant records. The company had existed, it is supposed, without inter- 
ruption from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century. 

The following were captains of the West military company, per tradi- 
tion : — William Fox, Samuel Abbott, Dana Fay, Henry Flagg, 1S28, and 
Larkin Livingstone, 1830, the last captain of the company, its fate being 
the same as that of the East company, both having existed for an indefi- 
nite period. 

The orderly book of the East company from 1794 to 1828 has been 
preserved. Joseph W. Beers, clerk, received the book April 28, 1794, 
when Jednthun Richardson, Jr., commanded the company. Richardson 
was discharged 5Iay 24, 1794, and Beers was discharged from doing duty 
as clerk and soldier in 1805. It preserves the fact that two, at least, of 
its captains, Francis Johnson and John Wade, were chosen majors, 1805 
and 1811, and that on Feb. 12, 1800, orders were received to turn out in 
uniform, without arms, to show respect to the death of General Wash- 
ington. On Sept. 20, 1811, the company raised $19 by subscription, to 
purchase a bass drum, and in response to orders turned out on Aug. 30, 
18i4, and marched to Boston to be reviewed by General Lafayette. 

The West company was the subject of a sketch iu the Wuburn Budget 
for Nov. 4, 1859. 

Lieutenants. 

Zachariah Brooks, lieut., 1776, in service before 1777 ; lieut., in town 
record till 1792. Died 1792. When a minor he was a soldier iu an ex- 
pedition against Canada in 1759, being one of the soldiers '* who tarried 
all winter," per receipt of Isaac Snow, dated March 29, 1762. 

Isaac Burton, lieut., 1776-84. Died 1784. In service before 1777— ex- 
pedition to Ticonderoga, five months, 1776. A resident of the Precinct 
or Burlington. 

Nathan Dix, lieut., 1775-76, of the Cont. Army, Wood's co., Baldwin's 
regt., 1775. Eight men, three months, 1778, under Lieut. Dix, guarded 
prisoners at or near Cambridge. His wife died 1780, in Woburn, aged 
31. 

Joseph Johnson, lieut. in the provincial period, 1751-75 ; commission 
extant of fii'St lieut. of 8th co., 2d regt., Middlesex County (the Pre- 
cinct or Burlington co.), dated May 6, 1776. In service at Cambridge, 
two months, guarding stores, 1777. Died 1798, aged 97. Called 
"Lieut." in the tax-lists till 1792, and "lieut." in record of decease. 
His commission of 1776 called him "Joseph Johnson, gentleman," his 
company being the one of which Joshua Walker was the captain, and 
Jonathan Fox, Esq., colonel of the regiment. 

Joseph Perry, lieut , 1770-81, in the records, with Lieut. Dis, near 
Cambridge lines in 1778, and with Capt. Green, at Rhode Island, three 
months, in 1780. 

Jonathan Porter, lieut, 1777, and 1782-84, per tax-lists, with Cont. 
Army three years, 1777-79. He was probably dead soon after 1784, for 
the widow of Jonathan Porter died 1791, in Woburn, aged 30. 

Jeduthun Richardson, lieut., 1776-94, per tax-lists. Deacon of the 
Ist church from 1796-1812. Died 1815. Gravestone in Woburn second 
burying-ground. In the Revolution be had apparently three terms or 
"turns" of active service, the first before 1777, the second with Capt. 
Ford at Cambridge, 1777-78, and the third as a fifer with Capt. Green's 
CO. in Rhode Island, for three months, in 1780. 

John Richardson, lieut., 1776, in active service before 1777. 

Stephen Richardson, lieut, 1776-83. Died 1783. "Lieut." on grave- 
stone iu first burying-ground ; in active service before 1777. 

William Tay, Jr., lieut., 1775-93. Died 1795. He was the author of 
a petition published in Frothingham's Siege of Boston, 368-69, in which 
he recites his experienceti on the day of Lexington Battle, April 19, 1775, 
and tells how he made a British soldier a prisoner, and how he lost his 
own or prisoner's gun by another person's taking it. 

Samuel Thompson, Jr., lieut., 1775-76; according to his father's writ- 
ten statement, lieut. of Capt. Pettingili's co. or the 8th co. of Baldwin's 
regt., 1775. Died 1776. See Tkomjtson Memorial, 47-48. An acrostic on 
his death by the father has been several times published. He died in the 
service at New York, Aug. 12, 1776, aged 22 years, 4 months and 5 days, 
of a putrid fever, so-called. An orderly book iu his handwriting and a 
book containing the inventory of his estate and sundry accounts during 
1775 and 1776 are preserved. The inventory was taken Sept. 20, 1776. 
The orderly book contains general orders and other orders from Aug. 1, 
1775, to Aug. 25, 1775. The father, Samuel Thompson, inscribed upon 



4 

I 



WOBURN. 



391 



it the fotlowfng words: "Samuel Thompson, Esq., lieut. of the eighth 

company in Col. Bald«'in's regiment." 

JfiDallmn Tidd, ensign in the provincial period, 17R2-73 ; lieut., 1774- 
75, was a lieut. from 177G-85, per tax-liets. He whs io the Cont. Army 
for eight months, 1775, or in Wood's co., Baldwin's regt., Cont. Army, 
1775. Died 17S5. 

Joseph Winn, lieut., 177G-08, in Woburn tas-lists. Resided in Bur- 
lington. He was in active service before 1777, and also with Capt. Ford 
at Cambridge, 1777-78. 

Sylvanus Wood, ensign, 1770; lieut., 1777-03, in the tax-lists. Died 
1840. He was a member of his brother's company in Baldwin's regt., 
Cont. Army, 177-'> ; lieut., 1770. He was the aulhor of a deposition on 
t)ie Lexington Battle Mhich has been several times published. He was 
prfsent with Robert Douglass, anutlier Woburn man, at Lexington, 
when the British first fired on the Americans on the memorable morn- 
ing of April 19, 1775, and claimed to have taken the fiist British soldier 
made prisoner in the Kevotution. 

James Wyman, lieut., 1777. In service before 1777. 

Joshua Tay (died 18U1), 1776-92; Seth Johnson (died 1782). ensign, 
1776-78 ; lieut., 1779-81, in active service before 1777 ; Nathaniel Trask, 
1780-84 ; Joseph Lawrence (died 1836), 1782-1801 ; Abel Wyman, 1784- 
98 ; Jacob Richardson (died 1819), ensign, 3d co., 2d regt., 3d div , com- 
mission dated Feb. 17, 1787 ; lieut., 2d regt., 1st brig , 3d div., M dd., 
commissioned Oct. 8, 1787— lieut. iu the town records till 1796 and also 
to 18ij7 ; Jonathan Nichols, 1788-93 ; Josiah Richardson, 1789 ; Samuel 
Ditson, 1789-1793 (ensign, 1788); Joseph Johnson, Jr., I79u; Jonathan 
Tidd, 1792-1816 ; Jonathan Eaton, 1796; Joseph Mclntire, 1796 (ensign, 
1793) ; Cyrus Baldwin. 1797 ; Bartholomew Richardson, 1801-1815 (en- 
sign, 1799) — Bartholomew Richardson, probably another, was the lieut. 
discharged from the East company in 1799 ; Stephen Richardson, 18u5- 
14 ; probably held the office earlier— a Lieut. Stephen Richardson was 
discharged from the East company in ISOo ; Willard Jones, ISuS-lO (died 
1S24— " lieut." on gravestone) ; Moses Winn {died 1838), 1814-10 ; Wil- 
liam Tay, 1801, and 1814-16 (died 1827 — ' ' lieut." ou gravestone) ; and 
Archelaus Tay, 1814-15, are some of the lieutenants belonging to this 
period. 

During the years from 1790 to 1820, meagre mention is made in the 
records of military titles, and doubtlera if facts could be obtained Ibe 
l]»t could be enlarged. 

The list of ensigns is a still shorter one. 

Ensigns. 

Timothy Brooks, Jr.. ensign in the provincial period, 17G8-72, and 
ensign. 1776-78. In the Revolutionary service before 1777. 

Reuben Richardson, ensign, 17*6-79, in service before 1777. Samuel 
Tidd, 177G-1779; Joshua Reed, 1777-86; Joseph Fowle, 1779 ; Ichabod 
Parker, 1787-99; Jesse Dean, 1788-90; Josiah Tay, 1814-16; and Jo- 
seph Parker, 1815-16, were other ensigns of this period. 

Atljuta}its. 

William Fox was adjutant at Cambridge in 1777, in active military 
service, per his order on the town, endorsed with his autograph, which 
is preserved. 

Abijah Thompson (died 1811), was adjutant of militia. — Cf. Thompson 
Memorial, 51. 1 

KoTES. — Maj.-Gen. John Walker was born in Woburn, Feb. 7, 1702 
son of Capt, Joshua Walker, He was appointed by the elder President 
Adams a niajor-genenil to command an army at Oxiord, Mass., in 1798, 
there seeming then to be danger of a war with France. Cf. SewaU's 
Unburn, 171-72; Ammidown's Hist. Coll. (Oxford, Mass., etc.), i. 204. 
He was an elector for President of the United States in 1813. His son, 
James Walker, D.D., of Charlestown, was the president of Harvard Uni- 
versity. On a large marble stone in the Precinct or Burlington burying- 
grouud is the following inscription : 

[Masonic emblems.] 

In memory of Gen. John Walker, who died VITI June, MDCCCXIV, 
in the LIII year of his age. In military life he gained honor and repu- 
tation. As a civil magistiate he was a friend to his country and faithful 
to his trust. In his domestic and social relations those who knew him 
best will speak bis praise. Uniformly striving to give practical efficacy 
to his relations and acts, he became alike distinguished for his integrity 
and enterprise. He was esteemed and valued by all. All must feel his 
loss." 

1 A number of facta gathered concerning these ofiicers are deposited in 
the archives of the Rimfodd Historical Association. 



An extended notice of Col. Loammi Baldwin by the Rev. Leander 

Thompson appears in another place. Another notice in print is that to 
be found in SewaU's U ohtirH, 38o-S9. For some particuiarw of his mili- 
tary history see Frothinglmm's Siege of Boston and Mnis. i/i-ff. Soc PfO' 
ceedings, vol. xiv. A volume of manuscript papers i elating to his service 
isdeposited by the B;ildwin family at the State House in Boston. His 
neighbor, Samuel Thompson, Esij., in bis niemoramla records the item 
that "October, 1807, Col. Loammi Baldwin died 20lh," and was "in- 
tombed " the 23d following.^ 

The spacious mansion of Col. Baldwin is still standing in Woburn and 
is, though somewhat changed, the o'dest dwelling in Woburn. His es- 
tate was scheduled in part only on the list of 1798, and contained 212 
acres, valued at 89000, iu 1801. 

There is reference to a letter of his on the subject of Bunker Hill 
Battle in the NanatU-e and Critical Histortj of America, vi. 187. This re- 
fers to Frothingbam's Battlefield^ p. 43. For an estimate of his scientific 
attainments, see Memorial Hi&tory of Bonton, iv. 511. A letter of his to 
the provincial congress on the subject of surveys and instruments, dated 
Cambridge, June 3, 1775, is printed in Force's American Arvhires, 4th 
ser., vol. 2, p. 9o2. The purpose being to take surveys of the ground 
between the opposing armies, and some mathernatical instruments being 
necessary, request was made for such instruments from the apparatus of 
Harvard College, to be returned a.s soon as the surveys were fini)*hed. The 
use of such instruments from the college as he needed was readily 
granted {Ibid. p. 13^2). There are also letters of Loammi Baldwin to 
General Washington, published in Force's ^mer. Arcliices, 4th ser., vol. 
2, pp. 1748, 1754 ; and vol. 3, pp. 5, 98. The first is dated at Chelsea, 
July 28, the second, Jnly 29, 1775 ; the third at Chelsea, Aug. 1, and the 
fourth, at same, Aug. 13, 1775. The third letter is addressed to Col. Jo- 
seph Reed, Gen. Washington's secretary. There is a letter to Col. 
Baldwin at Chelsea, dated Dec 13, 1775, iu Forte's Anhires, 4tli ser,, vol. 
4, p. 255, and a reference, ibid. vol. 5, p. 1200. The letters all have ref- 
erence to military matters, and one or two of them are quite interesting. 
In one he requests the couimander-in-chief to furnish him with more 
writing materials, and in another he thanks Gen. Washington fur a com- 
pliment he had paid him on the able manner in which he had performed 
bis duties. There are also references to Baldwin in Amer. Archicet, 5lh 
ser., vol. 3, 

Col. Loammi Baldwin was the officer of highest rank furnished by 
W'oburn to the army of the Revolution, The following is an accvunt 
of the number of officers furnished by Woburn to that army, including 
those from other places who f>rmed a part of her quota: Colonels, 2; 
captains, 9; Heutenaot-s, 19; ensigns, 3; adjutants, 1. There were he- 
sides these an unknown number of non-commissioned officers and of 
persons having a part in the field-music. In the latter class were at least 
1 fife-major (James Osborn, 178 ', a non-resident) ; 2 fifers (Jonathan 
Thompson, 1775, and Jeduthun Richardson, ]7bij), and 1 diuiiinier 
(Joshua Reed). Of the sergeants the natues of Bennett, Biscoe, Dean, 
Jones, and Luke Richardson and Silaa Uichanlson are given in SewalTs 
list, and so are two corporals, Caleb Siiuonds and James Walker, but, of 
course, there must have been others whose record is now lost. Silas 
Richardson, Abraham Skinner and James Reed, sergeant.s, are named in 
the town records in 1778. The autograph of Fife-major James Osborn 
has been preserved. He was a handsome penman, and, from the papers 
he wrote, evidently a person of intelligence and of good education. None 
of the papers concerning him, preserved in the Woburn Public Library, 
give any clue to the place of his residence. He was enlisted iis one of 

2 Among the many references to Cul. Loammi Baldwin in this diary of 
his neighbor are the following containing items nf im[K»rtanco iu his 
family history : May 13, 1776, a daughter died. Sept. 26, 1780, his first 
wife died in a fit; and on Oct. 3, following, she was buried. July 23, 1787, 
he raised his barn. Nov. 5, 1790, Cyrus Baldwin, Esq., fli)parent'y his 
brother, was drowned at Dtinstab e ; on the 7th his corpse was brought 
to Woburn ; and on the ICth was buried. May 13, 1791, his mother, 
Mrs. Ruth Baldwin, died, and on the 14th was buried; June 28th fol- 
lowing, his father, Sir. James Baldwin, died, and on the 3Uth was buried; 
— "about 46 days between." The father was aged 81 years, and the 
mother, 78 yeara. In February, 1799, his second wife was subjected to a 
surgical operation in which an '-incision" w»s made, but unsuccess- 
fully, for the jjreservation of her life. On ,\ug. 8, 1799, she died, and 
was buried on the Sabbath day, the llth. There are allusions to his be- 
ing a representative in 1800,1803, and Federal representative, town- 
meeting, Aug. 25, 1800. Earlier than all these dates are references in 
Matthew Johnson's account-book of the service of writs in his buhalf iu 
1771 and 1772. 



398 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Woburn's quota, and served in the 3d Maesachiisetts regt.jOr Col, Gi'ea- 
ton's U'^t., in ilie Cont. Aiiny, (i inoa and 11 days, aa a fife-niajor. The 
town of Woburu at the close of liia service paid his traveling expenses 
ho me ward. 

The abstract mentioned of the deposition of Benjamio Coolidge, before 
Joha Roorback, dated July 18, 1777, is as follows : 

Coolidge having cliarRe of the continental clothing store at Ticon. 
deroga received, about sunset, on Saturday evening, July j, 1777, a writ- 
ten order to pack, aa the store was wanted as barracks for troops which 
were hourly expetted to arrive. Atabout one o'clock on Sunday morning 
be was informed, while in bed, tlmt the retreat from Ticonderuga and 
Mount Independence ou the piirt of the American army had already 
coiumenced, and the general in conininnd informed him that it was then 
too bite to remove the clothing. Putting up his paptra, clothes and cash, 
he left with the rest and proceeded with the army to SkeeuHborougli by 
water in the row-galley ciilled the 'Trumbull,' but it being the stern- 
most vessel of the fleet, it was overtaken by ihe armed vessels of the 
enemy before it could reach the landing, and was fired upon. This 
caused its abandonment by all the crew and passengers, one man and his 
wife excepted. All who quit the vetsel left their baggage behind, and 
by thus doing 3Ir. Coolidge lost everything in the way of baggage and 
money he had, excepting about twenty dollars he carried in his 
pocket. 1 

Woburn's Military Action in Shays' Rebel- 
lion. — A variety of papers in connection with the 
name of Josiah Richardson, captain of the East com- 
pany of VVobiirn militia, 1784—1787 ; deacon, per 
gravestone, 179), ?et. 48;^ estimable officer of the 
First Church [/?. Mem. pp. 259-60], are preserved re- 
lating to this time. All have now found a phice in 
the Woburn Public Library ( Wyinan MSS. Coll.). The 
warrant for calling a meeting of his company for his 
election as captain, June, 1784, is one of them, and 
at the same meeting Mr. Joseph Brown was elected 
their first lieutenant. The distinction between the 
"train-band" and "alarm list" is kept up (1784- 
1785) in these documents. Joseph Bryant, of Stone- 
ham, was then the colonel of the regiment — the 2d 
regt., Ist brig., Co. Middlesex — and many of these 
papers were from him. In 1786 the Shays' Rebellion 
was in progress, and the troops were instructed to 
hold ihemseives in readiness for immediate service. 
On Sept. 10, 1786, they were ordered to be called out 
and to be marched to Woburn meeting-house in the 
Old Parish, at 8 A.M., on the morrow, to await 
farther orders, — being also fully equipped with arms 
and ammunition, and having three days' provisions. 
Lut at 12 o'clock at night these orders were counter- 
manded. On Oct. 28, following, they received their 
** orders to Cambridge," and as this document con- 
tains many interesting facts, it is here given in full: 

"Sir : The General Court having called upon his Excellency the Gov- 
ernor, to tiike the necessary measures to niainiain the honnr of this 
coniniouwealth, in obedience to the ordei-s, I this instant Received from 
the Major General of this Division, you are hereby ordered immediately 
to call upon your Company and put them in readiness to march, and 
you are hereby ordered to assemble and march your company to Mr. 
Noah Wynian's, innholder in Woburn, sign of 'Black Hoi-se,' at the 
south part of taid Town, so as to be at his house on Monday next, at 
Kight o'clock in the moruing, with arms, ammunition and provisions, 



I For genealogy of Mr. Coolidge, see Bond's Watertoion, 183, and for 
description of his real estate in Woburn, see Bulletin of Woburn Public 
Library, 1884, p, 3*. 

'^ In Woburn Second burying-ground, with a lengthy inscription. 



according to law, and each man will bring a blanket ; and there remain . 

until further orders. | 

"I am, Sir, with respect, your Huml. Servt., ' 

''Joseph Bryant, Col. 

" Stoneham, Oct. 28, 1786. 
** To Capt. Juei'tk RichanUon, I^'oluirn." 

On Oct. 29tb these orders were "suspended" till the Tuesday follow- 
ing, when they were to '* positively march." 

The following paper, addressed to Cupt. Josiah Richardson, contains 
*'alistof the soldiers that maiched, with ijnuisel/,to Cambridge, the 
31st of October, 1786." This waa a demonstration on the part of the 
militia of Middlesex County, under the instructions of the Government, 
to overawe the insurgents. The names were as fallows : 

"Jacob Eames, Sam!. Richardson, Zadoc Richardson, Jun., Nat. Wade, 
Thom, Richardson, Rich. Richardson, Amos Brooks, Gid. Richardson, 
Ben. Richardrfon, Job Miller, Joseph Skinner, Danl, Riehardsun, Jesse 
Wynian, Abel Richardson, Jesse Johnson, Silas Wynian.Stepli. Nehemiah 
Richardson, Lt. Zur. Brooks, Abijah Richardson, Junias Richardson, 
Bartholomew Richardson (.Jd), John Converse, Jesse Converse, Saml, 
Tidd, Jun., LoRiiiy Reed, Jeremi Converse, Eben Tay, Leonard Thomp- 
son, Josiah Richardson, John Buxton." 

"The above namesare those who will draw pay for Marching to Cam- 
bridge, with Capt. Josiah Richardson, ye 31 of October, 178(j. 

" Josr Wright, C7art." 

Early in January, 1787, 800 men from the 3d Division of militia were 
drafted for thirty days' field service on the ItJth inst. ; 2 captains, Isub- 
alterns, 8 sergeants, 6 corporals, 4 drummers and flfers and lUO privates, 
to be detached from the2d Regiment ; 1 sergeant, 1 drummer and 10 pri- 
vates to be from Captain Richardson'scompany, and he was to see them 
marched to Mr. .^ames Fowle's, innholder in Woburn, and returned 
under the commanding officer of said detachment, etc. T!ie colonel 
also appuinted to meet tlie officers on this business at Landlurd William 
Tay's, in Wuburn On Jtinuary 19, 17S7, Captain Eaton's ciuupaiiy 
quartered at C.iptain Josiah Richardson's, at Wuburn, having forage 
for (he team and convenient lodging for the men. 

Oii January 2(j, 17S7, Sergeant Jesse Richardson. Jr.^ was required, 
without a mumt-'Ut's delay, to warn his squad, by order of Josiah liich- 
ardson, captain, being "all the trainband on the southerly side of the road 
from Andrew Evans's, by Sir. Samuel Tidd's out to Bartholomew Rich- 
ardson's, in:iliolder, to appear to-morrow morning at six o'clock at Mr. 
Noah Wyman's, innliuldt-r, in said town," fully armed, e(iuipped, pro- 
visioned and provided with ammuuition. 

Note.— Andrew Evans lived at East Woburn (Montvale Avenue), in a 
house still standing. Samuel Tidd's house was the house latterly Luke 
Tidd's (Salem Street) and Bartholomew Richardson, innholder's place was 
the place latterly D.iniel Richardson's, on Main Street, opposite en- 
trance to New Boston Street. The streets eml>raced by this road were, 
therefore, the way from East Woburn to Daniel Richardson's — principal- 
ly Salem, Beach and New Boston Streets, apparently. Noah Wyman, 
iunhohier, kept the " Black-Hoi-se Tavern " at Winchester. 

On February 5, 1787, orders were again received for Captain Josiah 
Richardson to detach from his company 1 sergeant, 1 fifer and S privates, 
and march them to Mr. Noah Wyman's, innholder in Woburn, on the 
8lh inst., at 9 a.m , the men to rendezvous at Marlborough, the 9th, 
Ensign John Johnson, of Woburn, who died 1792, w'us one of the officers 
to accompany the detachment. The men detach^'d were expected to do 
duty six weeks from the loth inst.— Orders from the colonel at Stone- 
ham, February .*V, 1787, " Monday night 12 o'clock." A second order of 
same date stated thnt Captains Nathan Parker and Josiah Richardson, 
Lieutenants John Goirig [Gowing?] and David Smith, and Ensign John 
Johnson were to command this detachment. Two of these officers only 
Were of Wol)iirn. 

*'0n February 7, 1787, the following orders were issued: Stoneham, 
February 7, 1787— Regimental Orders,— His Excellency the Connnander- 
in-Chifcf, having received information from General Lincoln of the total 
dispersion of the rebels and the flight of (heir leaders out of this com- 
monwealth, has counternu^nded his orders for marching the detachment 
called for in the orders of the 5th instant. Majur-Geueral Bruoks has 
only to add his congratulations to the 3d Division on the compI«te sue" 
cess of the measures of Government, and his warmest thanks for their 
spiiited conduct through the counse of the insurrection. 

"Colonel BryuTit returns his warmest thanks to both officers and mens 
for their spirited conduct through the whole contest. 

'■ I am, with respect and esteem, your hnuible sev't. 

" Evening, 7 o'clock. 

"Capt. Josiah Richardson, Woburn." 



WOBURN. 



3'J<J 



Train-Basd. — The next paper in the series Is *' A list of the Train- 
band." It contftitis the "Names of the Train Imntl," an account of 
their arms and eriuipments in the year 1787, the band being a part — 
tbo active part— of Captain Jobiah Ridiard&on's company, the alarm 
list of sucli a company being the oldest and the youngest men, or those 
the le,i8t effiiient for severe military service. 

Tlie names : Serjeants Jesse Richardson, David Tottinglmm, Jonathan 
Eaton, Jr., John H'dden, Jr. Of these Uichanlson had a musket, a 
bayonet, n cartridge-box, a steel ramrod, a spring, a worm, a priming- 
wire and brush, a scabbard and belt, (i flints, 1 pound of powder, 20 balls 
(or bnHets), a haversack, a blanket and a canteen — a full equipment,^ 
Tottiughara had the same. Eaton was minus the bayonet, cartridge- 
box, priming-wire and brushes, the Hcabbaid and belt, the bullets and 
the canteen. Holden was minus a carl ridge-box, wire and brush, the 
bullets and canteen. 

Drummer, Edward Wyer. 

Fifer, Lilley Eaton. 

(For the otlier members see the original roll in the Woburn Public 
Library). 

Few of the men had a complete equipnipnt. 

On this roll, also, is this inscription; "On Monday ye 30th of April, 
1787, the Company met for a Review, which was as follows (viz.)," the 
roll, we suppose. 

The " pay roll of Capt. Josiah Richardson's Company in Col. Joseph 
Bryant's Regiment, under command of Major-General Brooks " for their 
services during the periud of Shays' Rebellion, is preserved. It is con- 
fined to the services of the officers, Captain Josiah Richardson, Lieuten- 
ant Joseph Brown, Ensijzn Jacob Richardson, and Clark or Clerk Josiah 
Wright. The captain was on duty 5 days, September 5 to 10, 17Stl ; 8 
days, from January ID to 18, 1787; and 'A days, from February b to Feb- 
ruary H, 17S7. His pay was os. 4(/. per day; rations extra. The lieu- 
tenant was on duty 5 days, from September 5 to H). 1780, and his pay 
was 3s. G 2-Ad. per day. The ensign was en duty 2 days, from February 
6 to 8, 1787, at 3». per day. The clerk was on duty 2 diiys, September 
8 to 10, 178G. at \a. 9 2-\d. per day. The roll minutely specifies every 
particular in tabular form and the total amount of wages and rations 
fi^ir the whole was £7 lo». 4 2— Iri. They do not appear to have gone 
from home on this service — in other words, to have left town. The roll | 
is signed Ity the captain, and was sworn before John Avery, Justice of 
the Peace, Suff'ulkss.. Hoston, May l<i, 1787. 

The acceptance of the resignation of Captain Josiah Richardson is 
preserved — a very handsome specimen of handwriting— and reads as fol- 
lows : 

" COSIMOXWEALTH OF MASSACRfSETTS. 

" CovsciL Chamber, Boston, 2d October, 1787. 
"This may certify that his excellency the Governor has accepted of 
the resignation of Josiah Richai'dsun as captain of the 3d company in the 
2d Regiment, in the 2d Brigc.de, and in the ad Division of the Militia of 
this Commonwealth, comprehending the Connty of Middlesex. 

" Attest : JoHX Avery, Jun. Sec'ij.'" 

Note. — Two untlated papers relate to the exciting period of the Shays' 
Rebellion, and to members of lliis company. The first contains the 
statement that Major John Hastings, for Loammi Reed, hired Joseph 
Eaton; 'Squire Tliompson liired John Buxton ; Josiah Pierce, fur Leon- 
ard Richardson, hired John Holden ; Rov. Samuel Sargeaut hired Ed- 
ward Wyer ; Jeduthuu Richardson hired Jeduthun Richardson, Jr. ; 
Sumnel Tidd hired Jtiseph Skinner (.^d) ; Captain Richardson hired Silas 
Wyman ; Ichabod Parker hired James Biiz[zell ?] Johnson ; John Wy- 
man hired William Dickson. These were prominent citizen^ evidently 
hiring men for substitutes or soldiers for the campaign— actual or ex- 
pt-cfed. 

The other paper is a letter in the form of a warning to the militia 
officers and the Selectmen to perform their duty : 

" To the Ofllcfrs in Woburn, Pr, favour of Mr. David Winn: 

"East Sudbury, Jany. 21st [1787]. To the Militia Officers and Select- 
men of both Parishes in Woburn ; 

"Gent. Ton may depend, if your men detached do not join their 

1 " Each soldier was to equip himself with a good fire-arm, having a 
steel or iron ramrod and spring to retain the aime, a worm, a priming- 
wire and brush, bayonet titted to his gun, a scabbard with belt therefor 
. . a cartridge-box . . . six tlints, one ponnil of powder . . . leaden 
balls . . . blanket, canteen, or wooden buttle." The Eiirlij MiliiUt Syntem 
of MassachnteUn, in Proceedings of Worcester Society of Antiqiiity, for 
188i, p. 115. For an explanation of the terms Ttain Band and 
Alarm List, and many other matters, see that article. 



corps within six days that they will absolutely be sent for and brought to 

camp, and dt-alt with as deserters. Wishing that such a disagreeable 
matter might not take place, beg you to send the inen forward. 

"William Blanchard, Orpi." 

The historian McMas'er pays a fine tribute to the Mjissachuselts 
militia of that period in vol. i., p. 310, of his History of the People oj Xhe 
United States in the following words : 

" The troops which the State had assembled, while they passed under 
the name of militia, were very different from the holiday soldiers which 
could now, in a like emergency, be gathered from the same places. They 
were an army of veterans. Scarce an officer among them but had 
gained his rank by meritorious services in the late war. In the ranks 
marched many men who had taken up arms in the early days of the 
Revolution, had joined the Continentals an<l had served with the illus- 
trious chief to the close ; had participated in the disastrous retreat 
along the Hudson, and had been present at the surrender of York- 
town. Even the greenest had seen something tif battles and sieges. 
Some had lined the fences on that memorable day when the British 
were driven out of Lexington town. Some had stood in the trenches 
with Warren, and had seen the red-coats twice come up, and twice in 
confusion go down the slope of Breed's Hill. Others had formed part 
of the army which had laid siege to Boston, and had looked on with 
grim pleasure as the ships bearing the troops of Howe stood out to 
sea." 

Note. — For a critical account of the Shays' RelielHon see Winsor's 
Xurr. and Oit. Hist, of Amer , vol. vii., pp. 227-231. Daniel Shays 
was its leader. At the last *"the militia of the Eastern ]>art of the 
State was put in motion, and the main body proceeded westward, 
under Gen. Benjamin Lincoln, to the scene of the chiefest disorder. 
The supporters of the law presented a front before which the ill- 
organized mob quailed." Under references this authority cites Blinol's 
Historij of the Itisurrectton in Mass. as the principal conteniporaiy 
account, and it is likely the best and most complete, and highly cred- 
itable to the author for its fairness and classic literary style. It was 
published at Boston in 17S8; 2d ed. in 1810. 

Thompson's Dinrij Woburn, also referred to the insurrection. See 
copied diary, pp. 72-78, and notes. The author, aged 55, went to Cam- 
bridge and saw the '* regiments mustered," Nov 1,17.S6, alluded to on a 
previous page ; the weather was fair, and on the same day he r«turned 
home. He was then a member of the General Court. 

Extracts from Samuel Thompson, Esq's., diary, 
relating to local military afiairs after 1780 : 

musters. 
1784, June 23. — Very hot weather. General muster, Col. Brown's 
regiment at Chelmsford. 

1787, Oct. 18. — Cold, but fair. Regiment mustered at Reading. 

1788, Sept. 30. — Cloudy. Regimental musti-r at Woburn. 

1789, Ort. 8.- Good day. Muster at Mfdford. Went to Boston. 

1790, Oct. 7. — Muster at Wilmington, Regimental. 

1791, Oct. 6. — At home. Fair, good day. General muster at Wal- 
tham. 

17i)4, Oct. 8. — Cloudy some, and muster of Regiment in Town. 

17DG, Oct. 3. — Cloudy, little lain. Muster at Reading. 

1797, Sept. 26. — Cloudy, rain. Muster at Concord. Rain prevented 
most of their manoeuvering. 

I7l)8, Oct. 2.— At Probate. No Court. Muster; and [at] Lexington. 

1799, Sept. 5.— Militia muster complaints ; 5 all settled. 

1801', j\ug, 27. — Came from Chelmsford. Muster at Concord. Thunder 
and rain. 

1802, Oct. G. — Fine day. To Cambridge ; to Waltham muster. 

1803, Sept. 29.— Muster in New Bridge (Home of the Diarist. Fair 
weather for the occasion). " Muster," he says, "of five companies, one 
of horse, on my land (the 29th) and Colonel Baldwin's," 

This eods all reference in the indexed diary. Later incidents are 

the following: 

ISUS. — A general muster in Woburn on Benjamin Wyniau's plain. 

1812.— Another genera! muster in Woburn. Diarist ' eighty-one 

years old. 

L^gal. 

1799, Jan. 8.— Militia cavalry, actions. 1799, Sept. 5.— Militia mus- 
ter, complaints. See MusrEES. 

Trainiugi. 

1782, July 1.— Training. [Age of Diarist oO years.] June .3, 1783, 
Ditto. 



400 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



178G, Dec. 2o.— Trainings. Tlio address read. [Having reference to 
Sliays' Eebollion. The diarist beins "in Tuwn" was doubtless 
prcaent. Tliis winter was ttie severest for many years]. 

1788, April 28.— Clouily, rainy. Training. View arms. 

1788, Juno -25. — Rainy, cloudy. Training. West Company. 

17110, Sept. 3il.— Rainy. Training. 

1797, July 4.— Fair, dry ; some air. Training. Independence, etc. 
[Diarist aged 6,t]. 

1709, June 17.— Fair. Train. Parish-meeting. Hot. 

[The diarist was evidently a member of the East Company; his 
house being on the east side of the main road which constituted the 
division Hue, for taxable and military purposes, between the east and 
west sections of the town. The weather for the above recorded train- 
ings was not very favorable]. 

Miscellaneous. 

The Diarist alludes to the anniversaries of Lexington and Concord 
Fight in 17S:i, 1789 (U years), 1791, 179a (18 years), 1794 (PJyears). 

1799, July 22.— Fair, good weather. Brigade officers met at A. 
Thompson's [Abijah Thompson then keeping a public house.i] 

Captain Baldwin's Company, 18(12. — There is extant a printed 
blank containing a return of Captain B. F. Baldwin's company in 
the 2d Regt., 1st Brig., ad Div. of niililia, 1802. We have not sjtace 
for all the details given, but a few will suffice. The officers were a 
captain, a lieutenant and an ensign. There was one sergeant, five 
drummers and lifers, and fifty-three rank and file. The company was 
evidently ununiformed. There is a muster roll extant of the same 
company, under the same captain, also dated 1802. It is on a printed 
blank. The company is one of foot, and reasonably well equipped. 
We would gladly, had we room, give the names of all. The follow- 
ing were the names of the sergeants and musicians ; Sergeants, 1. 
Josiah Richardson (ad) ; 2. Henry Parker; 3. Randolph Wyman ; 4, 
Daniel Johnson. Musicians,— John Edgell and Peter W. Edgell, drum 
mers ; Charles Thompson, Joshua Richardson, Caleb Richardson, Jesse 
Brown and Jamea Locke, filers. 

Cavaley Company. — In 1797 a company of this 
arm, composed of men from Woburn, Reading and 
Wilmington, was formed, Benjamin Wyman being 
the captain. On parade they looked finely, in a uni- 
form composed of a scarlet coat trimmed with yellow, 
buff vests, buckskin pants, high boots, and a bear- 
skin hat with a tall, red plume. The second captain 
was John Symmes, and other captains were Noah 
Smith, Bill Russell, George W. Reed, Josiah Locke, 

Stanley, of Wilmington, Thomas Emerson and 

Isaac Upton, of Reading, Sewall Winn, of Wake- 
field (or South Reading), Jonas Parker and David 
Damon, of Reading, in 1822 and 1824, and the last 
captain, Samuel Leathe, of Woburn, who commanded 
in 1825. A roll of this company is said to exist. In 
1828 it was formally disbanded. Cf. Woburn Budget, 
Nov. 4, 1859. 

Washington Light Infantry. — About 1823 
Woburn had some members in an independent rifle 
company in Reading. Being about eighteen in num- 
ber, they thought Woburn might afford an independ- 
ent company of the same kind. Others joined them, 
and a charter was granted July 5, 1823. It became 
quite popular. The uniform consisted of a blue coat 
with narrow skirts, trimmed with gold lace ; white 
pants, and leather boll-top hat, surmounted with a 
black plume twenty-two inches long. It was attached 

1 This statement is verified by the Thompson Memorial, pp. 61, 52. 
On Fob. 22, 1799, while the Diarist was at General Court, Boston, he 
records the fact that it was *' Gen'l Washington's Birthday," and that 
cannon were fired [at Boston], etc., and that the day was unjilcnsant, 
there being a "frozen rain." 



to the first brigade, third divi.sion. On the 4th of 
July, 1824, the company was presented with a stand- 
ard by the ladies of Woburn. The company was 
present at the reception of Lafayette, in Boston, in 
1824. Its captains were Jeremiah Converse, Jr., 
commissioned Aug. 18, 1824; James Jaques, of Wil- 
mington, afterwards colonel ; Edmund Parker, after- 
wards of Winchester, and Marshall Tidd, the last 
captain of the company. The company was dis- 
banded Oct. 13, 1834, being the last of the old organ- 
izations before the advent of the present Woburn 
Mechanic Phalanx. Cf. Woburn, Budget, Nov. 11, 
1859. ji 

A request from Jeremiah Converse, Jr., captain of I 
the Washington Infantry, to the selectmen, is pre- 
served, asking for powder for muster for the Woburn 
members of that company. The request is dated 
Sept. 25, 1824. The powder comprising the town's 
stock was, at that date, kept in the brick powder- 
house still remaining on Powder-house Hill, near the j 
Common and old burying-ground in Woburn. This 
has been a familiar object in the landscape for many 
years. On Nov. 4, 1811, the town voted to build a 
magazine to keep the town stock of powder in. The 
committee chosen to build it were Col. Benjamin F. 
Baldwin, Major Benjamin Wyman, and Capt. William 
Fox. It was ordered to be built of brick. Its site 
was selected by the committee, and the spot was con- 
venient and was safe in case of an explosion. It ap- 
pears to be finished after March 23, 1812. Bricks 
were brought from Medford for its cor-struction, and 
by Sept. 2, 1812, the bricks and lumber left at the 
magazine after its completion were disposed of, and 
the fences repaired, showing that by that time it was 
completed. About 1820 it was rei^aired. It stands 
on public land, and may soon be removed. It has 
not been in use for many years. For a fuller account _ 
of the expenses of building it, see an article on the ■ 
subject in Woburn Journal for Jan. 26, 1883. 

WoBUEN Mechanic I'halanx. — The history of 
this company is very fully written to 1859, in the 
Woburii Budget articles, commencing Nov. 18, 1859. 
We have space only for a brief compendium of the 
information there obtained. Id was a volunteer corps 
in distinction from the compulsory training of the 
old militia. In its earlier days it was distinguished 
for its proficiency in drill, and bore a good reputation 
in the general volunteer militia of the State. It was 
formed in the year 1835, — the State authoiizing its 
formation on July 6, 1835, as a new company of light 
infantry in the second regiment, first brigade, third 
division, and Sergt. Charles L. Moore was directed to 
assemble the company at the vestry of Rev. Mr. Ben- 
nett's meeting-house, in Woburn, on Thursday, Oct. 
1, 1835, at 3 P. M., lor the purpose of electing a cap- 
tain, lieutenant and ensign for the said company. 
Oct. 1, 1835, is therefore considered the birthday of 
this company. Samuel B. White was the first cap- 
tain. Other captains were William Woodberry, 



WOBURN. 



401 



Charles Carter, Jonathan Bowers Winn, Walter Wy- 
man, Albert Thompson, Timothy Winn, William T. 
Grammer, Charles S. Converse, Abijah F. Thompson, 
Cyrus Tay, Edwin F. Wyer, Luke R. Tidd, Alonzo 
L. Richardson, John W. Ellard, Charles W. Con- 
verse, George M. Buchanan, George A. Simonds, 
Horace N. Conn, and William C. Parker, the present 
commander. For many years its designation has 
been Company G, Fifth Massachusetts Regiment, and 
in the war between the States, 1861-65, it accom- 
panied that regiment on two tours of active service, — 
one of nine months and another of one hundred days. 
The account of the service of the company during 
that period belongs to another part of this sketch. 
In 1812 the ladies of Woburn presented the company 
with a standard. On the 27th of Feb., 1856, the 
company held a grand ball in the Lyceum Hall, on 
the completion of that building. On Oct. 1, 1885, it 
celebrated its fiftieth anniversary by a grand parade 
of its present and past members, and a banipiet. Cf. 
Woburn Journal, Oct. 2, 1885 ; Advertkcr, Oct. 8, 1885. 

The Budget articles describe the early uniforms of 
the company. In 1849 a notable uniform was adopt- 
ed, which was worn by the company for about ten 
years. It was doubtless the most attractive and popu- 
lar uniform the company ever had, but not the most 
useful for active service. It consisted of a tall black 
bearskin hat with a handsome gilt tassel, of a gray 
suit v/ith white facings and white stripes, white cross- 
belts and epaulets, and an abundance of gilt buttons 
and gilded ornaments. Its drill, at this time, was of 
a high degree of excellence. Timothy Winu was its 
ruling spirit and popular commander; B. F. Wyer 
and John Robbins its constant and able field music, 
— Wyer, its drummer and Robbins, its fifer. This 
was the company of the writer's boyhood, which 
fired his military ardor and gave him his ideal of what 
a military organization was. With the opening of 
the war of 1861 a gray uniform with black facings 
and stripes was adopted, minus the great bearskin of 
yore, which was so impressive to the youthful spec- 
tator, and excited his wonder how one could wear so 
apparently heavy and certainly hot article of head- 
gear. The company at this time drilled daily for 
weeks in the public streets, and the four squads could 
be seen constantly passing and repassing. 

Benjamin Edgell. — The interesting details al- 
ready alluded to as referring to him are described at 
length in the index to the Wyman Collection of 
MSS. in the Woburn Public Library, pp. 215-221. 

First anfl principally, there is an account-book containing a journal, 
much bescribbled and tallow stained, of a cruise of Benjamin Edgell 
to the West Indies, in the privateer " Pownall," of Massachusetts, 
fiom Dec. 8, 1757, to June 24, 1758. Be appears to h«ve worked for 
Isaac Stone, of Lexington, from Aug., 1755, to Nov., ]7i>7. In the 
journal are given the names of all the islands visited in the course of 
cruising for French vessels. On one occasion there was a blood red 
eclipse of the raoon (Jan. 24, 1758), the times of its appearing and dis- 
appearing being given. They were forced to keep out of the way of 
two men-of-war vessels, one a sixty and the other a fifty-gun ship. 
On the 10th of February they met with a Spanish sloop, which for 

26 



want of proper papers became their prize. She was loaded with sugar, 
coffee and indigo, and was sent to Boston. Soon afterwards they cap* 
tured two Dutch ships, which they exiimined for contrab.iiid French 
articles, but finding nothing the captain ordered thcin discharged. 
Tlie name of the "Pownall's"' captain was Sample. Tiie Dutcli t-hips 
did not thus easily escape,, for two sloups, cruising, in company with 
the "Pownall," at the moment, took possession of them. Later on, 
in company with a ship of sixteen carriage guns, under Captain 
Semer, ^ of New York, they pursued several sail, March lUth, which, 
being French, tried to evade pursuit After a difficidt chase Captain 
Semer'sship came alongside the hindermost. His ship, being newly 
cleaned, shot ahead about a cannon-shot, and received a broadside 
from the "French ship," which carried twenty-two guns of the same 
kind as Semer's ship, which returned the fire, when the French 
struck their colors; and, thereupon, ilie magazine of the French vessel 
taking fire, blew up their ship; but whether accideutally or on pur- 
pose was not known, it being thought the captain did it to be re- 
venged. The ship's quarter deck, mizzen-masta and sails, main-wiils, 
all to her fore-sails were blown to some distance from her, and im- 
mediately she filled and sunk. Some of the men were swimming and 
some were floating on pieces of the wreck after she sunk. The launch 
of the "Pownall," being sent earlier in the day to watch the motion 
of the sail, returning, rescued ten of these men, the otiiers all being 
lost, there being between seventy and eighty men on board the French 
ship. Several of those taken mto the launch had their skins almost 
burned off. Captain Semer's vessel was damaged some by the broad- 
side, and some by the ship when she blew up, and being somewhat 
disabled, he turned aside in pursuit of a large top-sail schouner that 
put before the wind. The "Pownall " following the remaining sail of 
the enemy, came alongside another ship and engaged it nnar three 
glasses— meaning ho^lr■gl<^8se.%—hef^}ve it struck. The enemy's ship had 
several men killed and wounded, and the greater part of her rigging 
cutaway. The rigging of the *' Pownall" was shattered considerably, 
hut not one of her men was killed or wounded. The enemy's vessel 
had eighteen six-pounders and seventy men. Owing to the abandon- 
ment of tbe chase by Captain Semar, and night coming on, the re- 
maining sail getting close in with the shore, got clear. Other 
adventures of the "Pownall" are described in the journal, which is 
c+tpied in full in the "Wyman Index." After a complete refitting of 
llie " Pownall" at one of the i.-.Iands, on the fii-st day of May, she 
gave chase, while cruising, to a swift-sailing brig, but after a chase 
of several hours she got near enough to fire a shot, and thereupon 
the craft hoisted French colors and returned the fire. After firing 
thirty or forty shots from her stern-chasers at the " Pownall " before 
that vessel came alongside, the French craft struck. She was loaded 
with wine and flour, and proved a valuable prize. On June 2d they 
took a French privateer schooner. On the 7th they set sail fnr Bos- 
ton ; on the 23d they made land in New England, and on the 21th 
day of June, 1758, in the morning, they came to an anchor at Bos- 
ton. 

"Jamaica, March the 10th, 1758," — entered in the journal o&Javioca 
—was therefore a red-letter day in Benjamin Edgell's annals. On 
that day occurred the great battle with the French fleet, already de- 
scribed above. The home of Edgell at this time was apparently 
"Lexington in New England," as he records it. Here he again 
works for Isaac Stone from June, 1758, to April, 1750. He again 
started out on a course of adventure in the French War, arriving 
May IR, 1759, at Albany, to be an assistant to Cutler, the sutler. 
Here he remained till Nov. 20, 1759. From Dec, 1759, to May 20, 
17G0, he is again with Stone at Lexington. From June, I76(i, to 
Nov. 18, 1760, he was at Albany and vicinity. On Dec. 23, 17(i0, he 
was at Woicester, and from March, 1761. to March, 1762, again with 
Stone at Lexington. He thus evinced in early life some enterprising 
characteristics. About 1768 he settled in Woburn. 

"Albany, May 31, 1750," he says, "I went to Cutler, the Sutler.' 
On the 22d inst. previous, he appears to have engaged himself to a 
peraon named Cooper. If this was so, he appears to have made a 
brief stay with him only. The mine of Cutler, the Sutler, was 
Jonjis Cutler. He mentions Fort Miller, Fort Edward, Crown Point 
and other places in bis accounts. Under date of Albany, May 31, 
1759, he states: "Jonas Cutler is debtor to Benjamiu Edgell the sum 
of ten dollars, York money, or £4. On another occasion Robert 
Dunkley, belonging to Captain Bancroft's company, was "Debtor to 
1 Pint Rum, 0:1: 6." The book itself is a rich mine of names and 



1 Peihaps Seymour. 



402 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



accounts. His house at Woburn was the centre of much business 
»uci resort. For instance: "Doct. Blodget came June 2ci, 1700. 
Daviil Fiali came Fell. II, 1771. Doct. Blwlget left on July 20, 1772"— 
npimrentlj' bunrJers. " .Amos Blodget, Jr , began his year with me 
June V.», 1777; Amos Bloilgct engaged in the Army Aug. 18, 1777; 
John Fenton, E,«q., engaged my house Selit. 19, 1775, and came Nov. 
15," — the latter apparently a refugee from Boston, then in a state of 
siege. John Fentoti, Captain and "E8fi."of Boston, is nientioiied in 
Wynnil>'s UluirUtloicn Oaiml. Mid Etlulet, p. 343. His house stood 
on the site of the present house of Dr. Harlow on 31ain Street. 

Before the Baptist Society <if Woburn had erected their first nieelrng- 
house— their first meeting in their new meeting-house being on July 2il, 
1794 — their meetings were held, ns is well known, in Benjamin Edgell's 
house, at Central Square. He has entered in his book of accounts state- 
ments to the effect that "the Society met at my house, 1792, April to 
December, t»o Sabbaths each mruith. From April, 1792, to April 27, 
1791, 3S Sabbaths. In Blay, Juno and July, 1794, two Sabbaths each 
month ; total, 44 Sabliatbs." 

The book also contains a record of the births of his children. 

His wife was a daughter of Peter Wyman, and " Peter Wyman's 
Hill," in the rear of his Central Square house, which was the homestead 
of bis wife's father's family, was recently dug away for railroad pur- 
poses, its soil being used for the road-bed. 

From the fact that Doctor Samuel Blodgett was an inmate of his house 
during bis first stay in AVoburn — for thl»re years and one month (17611- 
1772)— the inference is that Doctor liludgcit was introduced by him to 
AVubiirn, and that Blodgett was originally one of the numerous Blodgett 
family of Le-\ington, where Kdgell may have enjoyed his previous ac- 
quaintance, or may bo relationship. This matter is taken up more fully 
under the notice of Doctor Blodgett, elsewhere. See Puystcians. 

Captain Benjamin Edgell's estate, scheduled in list of 1793, consisted 
Of 1 dwelling-house, ;i7x28, with 18 windows; houseof 2 stories, witli }^ 
acreof land adjoining, the chimney not finished ; 1 farm of 10 acres, north 
on the road, ea.st on Jeremiah Clapp, south on Josiah Converse, west on 
Major Clapp ; 1 barn on said land; 2 lots elsewhere, and 2 acres of salt- 
marsh in Medl'ord. Captain Benjamin Edgell had 19 acres ; value $900 
in 1801. 

His house stood on the estate recently Marcellus Burnham's (1889) at 
Central Square. 

Woburn in the Civil War or 1861-1865.— 
The " war is inevitable ; let it come." These are the 
words at the beginning of an editorial in the Woburn 
Weekly Budget for P'riday, April 19, 1861. The same 
issue of the paper says Woburn was " wide awake," 
a large and enthusiastic meeting being held in the 
Lyceum Hall the evening of the 18th inst., toconsid- 
er the subject of raising a military company. At this 
meeting Capt., afterwards Col., W. T. Grammer, stated 
that it was desirable that Woburn should contribute 
her portion towards the support of the government, 
and pioposed to revive the Phalanx — then in desue- 
tude — and raise a company of eighty men. Enlist- 
ment papers were then opened and eighteen past 
members of the Phalanx signed; forty other names 
were procured the same evening, and $3350 was 
raised by subscription at the same meeting. The war 
feeling was very general, and unbounded enthusiasm 
prevailed. The subscribers to the above amount are 
named in the issue of the paper of the above date. 
There is also an article on the ris3 and progress of the 
war, and items referring to it, principally (he depart- 
ure of the Stoneham military company for the seat 
of hostilities, with the names of its members. The 
iis-je of ihe Budf/el for April 26, following, contains 
a list of still further contributions, and contains two 
printed local sermons on the war and other items 
having reference to the progress of the war. More 



than enough men were found ready to join the Pha- 
lanx, and that company had begun to drill every day 
and evening. The officers were chosen informally at 
first, and Timothy Winn was captain, and W. T. 
Grammer, C. S. Converse, E. F. Wyer and T. Glynn 
lieutenants, and Luke R. Tidd orderly sergeant. The 
uniform adopted wiisa jacket and pants of gray cloth, 
trimmed i\ith black. A small French cap corre- 
sponded with the rest in color. Under " Stoneham 
news," in the same number of the paper, is an ac- 
count of the experience of the Stoneham company in 
their bloody passage through Baltimore on April 19, 
1861.' The tire-engine companies began drilling as 
a home-guard, and tiags were put up by citizens very 
generally as a token of patriotism. 

Some trouble about the Phalanx being summoned 
as a company to join a New York regiment in Brook- 
lyn, N. y., is explained in the issue of the Budget 
for June 7, 1861. The delay in being ordered oiil 
served to break up the company. A portion of it, 
however, volunteered, and left town on June 10 
and 11, 1861, for the scene of service, the first sec- 
tion, under Seigt. John P. Crane, being accompanied 
to their quarters in Boston by an escort. This section 
expected to join a New York regiment. The second, 
and much smaller detachment, expected to join the 
5th Massachusetts regiment in Washington. An ac- 
count of the proceedings at their departure and the 
lists of their names are to be found in the Budget for 
June 14, 1861. As before, those who went to New 
York tojoin a regiment of that State experienced 
great di.ssaiisfaction, while the Washington party ex- 
perienced greater success. 

On Wednesday, June 19, 1861, was a famous 
" training day " in Woburn. What was left of the 
Phalanx turned out for a target shoot, and before 
that parade was ended, late in the afternoon, the 
Stoneham Gray Eagles unexpectedly visited Woburn 
under Capt. J. P. Gould, a regularly educated mili- 
tary officer. This company surprised the Woburn 
people by their excellence in plain and fancy drilling, 
of whicli they gave an exhibition, and their coming 
excited great enthusiasm. Cf. Wuburn Budget, June 
21, 1861. On the 18tb, ten more members of the 
Phalanx had left town for Washington, to recruit the 
Fifth Regiment, after the manner of the eleven who 
went the week before, and who had succeeded in join- 
ing the regiment. 

The troubles of the " Yonkers Squad," or the 
thirty-seven men who went to New Y'ork to join the 
volunteers of that State, are detailed in communica- 
tions in the Wuburn Budget for June 21, 1861. Most 
of these men joined the First and Fifth Massachusetts 

t In the issue of the Budget for May 3, 18G1, is a long letter from the 
lieutenant of the Stoneham company, describing the events of the Ulth of 
.\pril, etc., and in the W'jhuvn Journal for Ajnil 27, l.siil, are other in- 
teresting letters from members of the Stoneham conipan.v on the same 
subject. The papers from this time forward are full of letters from the 
seat of war. 



WOBUKN. 



403 



Regiments. There were twenty -seven of the Phalanx 
in the Fifth Regiment on June 24, 18(31. A listof the 
names of the Woburn soldiers to date is presented in 
the Budget for June 28, 1801. An attempt to revive 
the Phalanx, consisting of forty members only, by the 
departure of members, was made at this period, but 
it was not successful, and on July 6, 1861, it was dis- 
banded by an order from the State. Attempts were 
immediately made to raise another company. This 
company was the Woburn Union Guard. 

In the battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1801, the Fifth 
Regiment took part, and consequently, the Woburn 
men in it. ' But one was hurl and he not seriously — 
Robert Pemberton.' In the Budget for Aug. 2, 1801, 
is an account of the reception of these men and others 
in Woburn, on the close of their term of three months' 
service, a celebration being lield on Wednesday, July 
31st, previous. 

WoBUKX UsiON Guard. — This company was or- 
ganized at Woburn, July 27, 1801, and Samuel I. 
Thompson was chosen captain, and John P. Crane, 
first lieutenant. This company was soon sent into 
camp. Though not large in numbers, it was deter- 
mined to go, if they could be received, and recruit on 
the field. Strong efforts were made to get a position 
in some regiment and they were successful. The 
command was first attached to the Nineteenth Regi- 
ment, then encamped at Lynnfield. The number of 
men was about forty. On Wednesday noon, Aug. 7th, 
the company assembled in the Town Hall, which for 
a week past had been used as a drill hall, and marched 
from there directly to the depot, n'tere they took the 
cars at 1.15. A large concourse of citizens accompa- 
nied them there. This was the first detachment of 
soldiers from Woburn that left town as a company. 
Their names are given in the Woburn Budget for 
Aug. 9, 1801. A description of the camp is given 
in the Budget for Aug. 16, 1801. The company was 
soon afterwards transferred to another regiment, and 
on September 16th was attached to the Twenty-second 
Regiment, Col. Henry Wilson's, and left for the seat 
of war Oct. 8, 1861. The majority of the company 
were Woburn men, and the company had been ren- 
dered efficient by a camp duty of two months at 
Lynnfield before their departure. Before this com- 
pany had left, talk was made of forming a second 
company from Woburn, and on Sept. 27, 1801, the 
report was that twenty-nine names were upon the en- 
listment paper; at that time it was estimated that 
with this proposed company, Woburn would have as 
good as three companies in the field, becau.se, besides 
the two companies not yet gone, there were about 
seventy-five other Woburn men then serving in other 
regiments. 

An account of the departure of the Woburn Union 
Guard to the war is given in the Budget for Oct. 11, 
1861, and also a roll of the men's names. There were 
104 men in the company, of which number Woburn 
sent forty-seven. There were six Woburn men iu 



the Twenty-second Regiment besides those in this 
company, whose regimental designation was Co. F. 
These were E. Hackett, commissary sergeant, J. K. 
Richardson and Alonzo Teel, in Co. D, and Cornelius 
and Thomas Connolly and Patrick Kelly in Co. G. A 
letter from one of the members of the Union Guard, 
giving an accountof their journey, is published in the 
Budget for Oct. 25, 1861. As the career of this com- 
pany is very fully described by one of its members, 
John L. Parker, in his " History of the Twenty-sec- 
ond Regiment," it is not necessary to go any further 
with it here. Mr. Parker joined the company 
at the front, .and began letters in his paper, the 
Woburn Budget, in the issue for Dec. 13, 1801, which 
were continued for some time, giving a very minute 
account of the doings of the company from day to 
day. A full list of all persons in any way connected 
with the army or navy from Woburn was published 
in the same paper for the first time on Jan. 10, 1802. 
The total number of persons engaged in the service 
then had been 209. Among them were one surgeon, 
S. W. Drew, 9th Regt.; one major, E. Burbank, 12th 
Regt.; two captains, J. W. McDonald, 11th Regt , and 
S. I. Thompson, 22d Regt.; two first lieutenants, J. P. 
Crane, 22d Regt., and Cyrus Tay, 1st Battalion ; and 
one assistant surgeon U. S. Navy, S. W. Abbott. To 
the list of commissioned officers thus given were 
added later, G. W. Batchelder, lieutenant 19th Regt.; 
John Wallace, captain or lieutenant of receiving-ship 
" Ohio ; " and E. F. Wyer, first lieutenant 1st Bat- 
talion. In the battles before Richmond at this period 
the casualties to Woburn soldiers were numerous, 
and lists of those injured were given in the Budget 
for July 11-18, 1862. In July, 1802, enlistments re- 
ceived a new impetus from a call for troops by the 
General Government, and an attempt was again made, 
and successfully, to raise a full company from 
Woburn. This company was the Woburn National 
Bangers. 

The brave Captain Samuel I. Thompson having 
received a fatal wound in battle, and experienced 
imprisonment by the enemy and a release and 
transportation to Baltimore, died there in the pres- 
ence of his wife, and his body was brought to Wo- 
burn for interment. A tribute was paid to his 
bravery and ability in the Budget for August 1st, 
and an obituary and arrangement for his funeral 
procession appeared in the Budget for August 8, 
1802. For account of his funeral see Budget for 
August 15, 1862.' 

The first death of a soldier of Woburn birth among 
the Woburn volunteers in the war was that of a mem- 
ber of Captain Thompson's company, viz. : Andrew 
J. Harris, who died of disease March 2, 1802, aged 
nineteen years. In the same battle in which Captain 
Thompson received his fatal wound, was killed his 
son, Corporal F. W.Thompson, aged seventeen years. 

1 Cf. Thompson Manorial^ pp. 172-174. 



404 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



John P. Crane succeeded S. I. Thompson as captain 
of this company in August, 1802. The Union Guard 
was reduced by los-ses to nine members (per Towns- 
man oi' June 2-1, 1S6J). The return of the Twenty- 
second Regiment is the subject of an article in the 
Wvburn Journal for October 15, 1864. But one per- 
son beljiiging to the regiment — Charles Day — arrived 
in Woburn, and the celebration that had been pre- 
pared was all in his honor. 

The Twenty-second Massachusetts Regiment was 
one of the leading infantry regiments, in point of 
numerical loss in the Union armies, during the war. 
Its total in Icilled or died of wounds was 216. It can 
fairly claim the honor of having encountered the 
hardest fighting in the war. Its per cent, of loss was 
15.5, while the highest per cent, stated was 19.7. Its 
loss in killed at Gaines' Mill was 84. Company F's 
loss in killed and died of wounds during its service 
was, — officers,!; men, 20; total, 21. Died of disease, 
accidents, in prison, etc., men, 10. Total enrollment! 
131. Its list of battles is a long one, including 
Gaines' Mill, Malvern Hill, Gettysburg, Wilderne.^s 
and Spottsylvania. It was stationed for a time at 
Hall's Hill, Va., and in March, 1862, commenced ac- 
tive service in the Peninsular army. Bealton, Va., 
was its winter-quarters afterwards. The Thirty- 
second Regiment, in which was a number of Woburn 
men, appropriated its remnants. C/'. Fox, Jiegi- 
menfal Losses, etc. 

During the term of the Twenty-second Regiment 
in service, John P. Crane was made captain and 
William R. Bennett first lieutenant, the latter having 
been second lieutenant. Both of these officers were 
of Woburn. 

In the Thirty-second Regiment Woburn had three 
captains — Cyrus Tay, John E. Tidd and Joseph S. 
Wyman — all of whom had been lieutenants. 

Woburn National Rangers. — This company 
of 101 men was raised in Woburn In the space of fif- 
teen days, and sent to camp. The election of officers 
resulted in the making of John I. Richardson cap- 
tain, Luke R. Tidd first lieutenant and James Mc- 
Feely second lieutenant. On August 5, 1862, the 
company started for camp at Lyniifield. A roll of 
this company was published in the Budget for August 
29, 1862. At this time L. F. Wyman was second 
lieutenant of the company, Mr. McFeely having re- 
signed, and the company had 5 sergeants, 8 corporals, 
2 musicians, 1 wagoner and the regulation number of 
privates. This company was attached to the Thirty- 
ninth Regiment (three years' troops), and left with 
the regiment for Washington on September 6, 1862. 
Its company letter was K. A history of this company 
by one of its members is published in the Budget for 
September 4, 1863.' To this time two members only 
had died. This company buffered much in the bat- 
tles of May, 1864, and a large number of the company 

' Cf. ToWMman, Maich 4, 18C4. 



were made prisoners August 19, 1864. The Journal 
for October 8, 1864, stated that this company ihen 
numbered for duly, 10 i)rivates, 5 corporals and 2 ser- 
geants. A reception at Woburn of Co. K, 391)1 rcgt., 
is mentioned in the Journal on June 3, 1865. On 
June 6 and 7 the members of Co. K, 39th, arrived, 
and on June 8 Co. B, 11th regt., arrived in town. See 
Journal for June 10, 1865, in which a particular roll 
of Co. K, man by man, is publi.-hed, 

A history of Co. K, 39th, was printed in the 
Journal iov June 17,1865. The company and regi- 
ment both sustained unusually heavy losses by deaths 
in Confederate prisons. The deaths in the 39th dur- 
ing the war (279) included 102 in the enemy's prisons, 
the regiment having lost 246 men captured in the bat- 
tle at the Weldon Railroad. — Fox. Its first destina- 
tion was Washington ; 2d, Arlington Heights ; 3d, 
Edward's Ferry, etc. It remained in the vicinity of 
Washington for some time, and afterwards joined the 
Army of the Potomac. Its principal battles were 
Spottsylvania, Va.. May 8-13, 1864, and Weldon 
Railroad, Va., August 19, 1864. According to the local 
paper, June 10, 1865, the company's death losses were 
6 killed ; died of wounds, 6 ; of disease, 5 ; in prison, 13. 

During the term of service of this company Luke 
R. Tidd became captain, Luther F. Wyman Isl lieut., 
Charles K. Conn 1st lieut., William McDeviit 1st 
lieut., George E. Fowle Itt lieut., Oscar Persons 2d 
lieut., George H. Dennett 2d lieut., all of Woburn. 

The Nine Months' Company, or the Woburn 
Mechanic Phalanx. — On August 14, 1862, the 
formation of anoAer volunteer company from Wo- 
burn was begun. This was to be a company of nine 
months' men, and it chose for its commissioned offi- 
cers, W. T. Grammer, capt. ; C. S. Converse, 1st litut. ; 
W. A. Colegate, 2d lieut. It was enrolled also as a 
part of the volunteer militia of the State, and was to 
be known as Co. G, 5th regt. Lists of the names en- 
rolled are given in the Budget for August 29, 1862, 
and September 12, 1862, the company having left for 
camp at Wenham, on the lOih inst., j)receding. A 
roll of honor of Cos. K, 39lh regt., and G, 5th 
regt., was published in the issue of the Budget fur 
October 3, 1862. 

The local war spirit was kept up in a measure at 
this time by such organizations as the Rifle Club 
(Nov. 15, 1861); the Woburn Brass Band (July 
18, 1862); Soldiers' Aid Societies (1863); a juvenile 
military company at the Warren Academy, furnished 
with muskets by the trustees (June 5, 1863), a pre- 
cursor cf the more recent High School battalion ; the 
Woburn State Guard (.\ug. 28, 1863), an organization 
of old men, of which T. J. Pierce was captaiu|;'' and 
war meetings (Dec. 1863, etc.). 

The Phalanx returned irom their term of service 
and were received in Woburn on June 26, 1863. For 

2 A roll of tliis company was piiMifelieil in the Journal for Aug. 13, 
18G4. Tliti captain was T. J. Pierce, and the 1st lieutenant Charles 
Carter, aud the 2il lieutenant E. F, Poole. 



WOBURN. 



405 



an extended account of their reception, see the Il'o- 
bttrn Bitdget for July 3d, foUovviiig. The company 
left .Woburn nine months previou-i, with one hun- 
dred and one men, and even/ one of them returned 
safe home again, without a wound or a loss of a man 
or a life. The nine months' term of the Fifth Regi- 
ment, beginning September, 1862, was expended in 
active service in the Department of North Carolina, at 
Newbern, etc. Co. G wa-s de'ailed on February 21, 

1863, as garrison for Forts Hatteras and Clarlc, at 
Hatteras Inlet, where it remained till the return of 
the r?giment to Massai;hu3etts. 

One Hundred Days' Company, or the Wo- 
BURX Mechanic Phalanx. — On .July 6, 18t)4, on a 
call for 100 days' men, the Phalanx voted to recruit 
the company to its full number. — Townsman, July St 

1864. Fifty-eight men were recruited by July 1.5th' 
and a roll of 100 days' Wnburn men was publis-hed in 
the Townsman for July 22, 1864. Sixty of them had 
already left town for camp the day previous. The 
roll of the company a« an organization was published 
in the is^ue <if the above paper for July 2i)th, the 
company li;iving left for the seat of war July 28, 1864. 
William T. Grammer, who commanded the company 
when it went into camp, was made major of the regi- 
ment. The commissioned officers of the company 
were C. S. Converse, capt. ; E. F. Wyer, 1st lieut. ; 
and C. E. Fuller, 2d lieut. There were fifty-three 
Woburn men in the company, and the company 
went to Baliimore, where the regiment went also, 
and was stationed there, or in that vicinity 
during its term of service. Letters from members to 
the local papers give an idea of the character of that 
service. It was not especially dangerous. The com- 
pany arrived home No^-ember 8, 1864, at 7 a.m., and 
a reception was accorded them by the Woburn citi- 
zens. See Journal for Nov. 12, 1864. Two of the 
company died during its absence, of disease, and an- 
other of the same cause, soon after its return. Edwin 
F. Wyer was made adjutant of the regiment during 
its term, Charles E. Fuller l=t lieut., and Montressor 
S. Seeley, 2d lieut. 

The Harris Guard. — First mentioned in the 
Journal for October 15, 1864, as recruiting at Gal- 
loupe's Island, in Boston Harbor, as a company in 
the 11th regt., hailing mostly from Woburn and An- 
dover. The company was Co. B, and its captain was 
William R. Bennrtt, of Woburn, and 2d lieut., John 
L. Parker, of Woburn, both formerly of Co. F, 22d 
regt. An account of the doings of this company, in 
a letter from one of its members, appeared in the Wo- 
burn Journal for March 25, 1865. It arrived home 
on June 8, 18G5, and a history of it was given in the 
Journal,3\.ine\l , 1865. See also issue for June 10, 1865. 

This company left Galloupc's Island October 31, 
18G4, and readied the front, al Petersburg, November 
4. Immediately its active duties, under iire, com- 
menced. It was in the famous Weldon raid, and fre- 
quently in battle the whole of its stay in the field. 



Among the field oflScera of the 11th regt. was 
James W. McDonald, major, Woburn, promoted from 
captain, having previously been 1st lieut. John L. 
Parker was promoted to 1st lieut. in this regiment, 
and Charles A. McDonald, of Woburn, was a 2J lieut. 
in it. 

In December, 1862, was chronicled the death of 
Major Bnrbank, of the 12th regt. He was wounded 
at the battle of Antietam, and died of his wounds in 
hospital. His remains were brought to Woburn for 
burial. Funeral from the Unitarian Church. Cf. 
Woburn Budget, December 5, 1862, and January 23, 
1863. 

In July. 1863, occurred the draft mentioned in the 
Budget, under date of July 10th ; the Budget extra of 
July 14ih, containing the names of 104 men drafted 
in Woburn — list repeated in issue of July 17. On 
account of the draft riot in Boston, at this time, the 
Phalanx was assembled, to be in readiness for action, 
if needed, and examinations of conscripts are alluded 
to in the 2J»f/i7f< for August 14, and September 4, 1863. 
The funeral of Capt. William M. Buckraan, a soldier 
in the war, occurred about this time, from the Baptist 
Chundi, his body having been brought home. See 
Budget issues for November 13 and 20, 1863. War 
meetings to fill quota were frequent during the winter 
of 1863 and 1864, and the names of those in last quota 
from Woburn were published in the Townsman for 
February 19, 1864, and Journal for January 9, 1864; 
also lists of Woburn soldiers on duty with their regi- 
ments, in Townsman for March 18 and 25, 1S64. In 
the spring of 1864 the 59th regt. had on its rolls some 
30 men from Woburn, including one lieut. and two 
sergts. See Townsman for April 22, 1864, for their 
names, and Townsman for April 29th, following, for 
their departure.' The Townsman notes a training and 
inspection of the Woburn State Guard, 67 guns, in 
the streets of Woburn, under their captain, Thos. J. 
Pierce, in the number for May 6, 1864. But deeper 
anxiety was to rest upon the town from the effects of 
the war than from anything that had yet occurred. 
In an extra of the Townsman for May 17, 1864. in- 
tended to explain the situation of the draft in Wo- 
burn of 31 men, whose names are given, was pro- 
claimed the news that 41 or more Woburn men 
were killed, wounded and missing in the recent bat- 
tles in Virginia, and a list of names was given. This 
was followed by an article on the Woburn men in the 

1 The 59tli Regt. was inaction before Petersburg, Va., June 17-18, 
1864, wlieii its atjgregate in killed, wouuded and missing was 71. Its 
total deallis in tlic service w. 8 184.— Fox. Tlie lieuten .nt in tliis regi- 
ment from Wol.nrn. George J. Mol-se, was killed in buttle May 1'2, 1SG4- 
Woburn furnished tliree majors In the servic< — Graninier, fith ; 3Ic- 
DonalJ, lull; and Burbank, l.;tli. Tlio medical profession was repre- 
sented by three members — Drew, .\bbott (army and navy) and .Jameson, 
— all surgeons, ranking as majors. Among tlie captains, not mentioned 
elsewhere in tliis sketch, may be named T K. Tage, A. W. IVrsons. 0. 
B. narling. and othei-s ; but an attempt at further Bpc<:ilic tiun mit;ht 
lead to erjors and omissions, so the wiiter will be pardoned if he refers 
the reader for further information to Barrett's list, mentioned in a ncte 
at the end of this section. 



406 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



recent battles, in the issue of tlie Townsman for May 
20th. The casualties, though bad enough, were some- 
what overstated. The matter of the losses in battle 
w.is continued in the Townsman for May 27, 1864. 
The draft was further treated in an article on May 20, 
1864, and in an extra of the Townsman for May 21 
the announcement was made that the quota was filled 
by 30 men procured by the town's agents at Washing- 
ton, and their names were given in a following num- 
ber of that paper. During the summer of 1864 many 
of the three years' regiments returned at the expiration 
of their term of service, and their members, many of 
them, did not re-enlist, but continued to remain at 
home. The papers of the time are full of the sub- 
ject. War mee'.ings, however, were renewed, and 
recruiting, after the departure of the Phalanx for 
100 days' service, was vigorously prosecuted in Au- 
gust, 1864, in view of a threatened draft. A corrected 
list of enrolled men in Woburn was published in an 
extra of the Townsman August 31, 1864, and a list of 
volunteers, under the recent call, in the Journal for 
September 10, 1804. Capt. John I. Richardson, who 
commanded Co. K, 39th regt., when it entered the 
war, and who was honorably discharged, for ill-health, 
died at his residence, in Woburn, October 1, 1864, 
and an account of his funeral is given in the Journal 
of October 8th, following. 

Woburn shared in the general rejoicing at the end 
of the war, but military items continued to appear in 
the local papers till long after peace had been accom- 
plished. Soldiers constantly returned from the seat 
of action throughout the summer of 1865, and the 
interest in them did not wholly abate. As a final echo 
of the war spirit, on June 6, 1865, an election of offi- 
cers was held in the town for the " 64th unattached 
company infantry, Mass. volunteer militia." The 
company was duly commissioned, and 98 men had 
signed the roll before June 10, 1865, when an account 
of it was given in the Journal. Its captain was John 
Powers; 1st lieut., James Shehan ; 2d lieut., John 
Murphy, but nothing further was done to perfect it. 

Note. — In the foregoing cursory sketch of Woburn's 
doings during the Civil War of 1861-65, the news- 
papers on which we have mainly relied for facts have 
been the Woburn Budget and Townsman. The Wuburn 
Journal for the same period may also be consulted 
with profit for the same purpose. The annual town 
reports contain also considerable information con- 
cerning military expenses, and the names of men sent 
into the service— e. g^., 1862, pp. 28-34; 1863, pp. 28- 
39; 1864, pp. 39-46 ; 1865, pp. 54, 57, 58, etc.; 1866, 
pp. 38-42. Lists of wounded soldiers and of prisoners 
and missing during 1864 were published in the report 
for 1865, pp. 18-19; and the names and sketches of 
the soldiers who had died from 1861-65 from Wo- 
burn are published in the report for 1865, pp. 20-30; 
also 1866, p. 15. Other subjects connected with the 
war, such as recruiting expenses, etc., are mentioned 
in the report for 1865, pp. 65, 89-93. The expenditures 



of the town incident to the late war are enumerated 
in the report for 1870, p. 19, also the number of men 
raised for the army and navy during that time. . The 
number of the latter was 775. Number killed in bat- 
tle, 21 ; died in Confederate prisons, 17 ; died of 
wounds, 17 ; died of disease, 27 ; total deaths, 82. The 
report of the committee on the soldiers' monument 
was presented in the annual report for 1870, pp. 98- 
125. It contained a history of the enterpri.'-e, a de- 
scription of the monument, the inscriptions, the exer- 
cises at its dedication, Oct. 14, 1809, and the 
addresses. A roster of the soldiers and sailors from 
the town in the war, compiled by Albert P. Barrett, 
was published in the Woburn Journal, beginning 
March 27, 1880. This publication of Mr. Barrett's 
may be consulted with profit by all who desire to in- 
form themselves of the military record of individuals. 

Libraries. — The Woburn Public Library.' — • 
The Woburn public library was founded through the 
liberality of the Hon. Jonathan Bowers AVinn and 
his only son. The father had been a country school- 
master and possessed a genius for finance, which he 
later developed in the prosecution of the leather in- 
dustry, in which business he made for himself and 
others connected with him a fortune of considerable 
magnitude, much of which was bequeathed for be- 
nevolent objects. An only daughter, the wife of the 
Hon. Edward D. Hayden, late a member of Congress, 
died a number of years before her father, and the 
only son, Charles Bowers Winn, unmarried, survived 
the father but a short time, and died, the last member 
of his father's immediate family, at the early age of 
thirty-seven. The family of Winn had been promi- 
nent in the annals of the town from the time of its 
first settlement, and the first-born child recorded in 
Woburn was Increase Winn, born December 5, 1641. 
Many were the offices of a civil and military nature 
which the members of this family held in the town ; 
and when the munificent donations of Jonathan 
Bowers and Charles Bowers Winn are included in the 
estimate, no family can be said to have done so much 
for Woburn as this old and well-known family of 
Winn. 

There had been other libraries of a public nature in 
the town, before the library known as the Woburn 
public library had been thought of A social library, 
founded in 1789, existtd for quite a period. A char- 
itable religious library, founded in 1807, and now but 
little used, is still preserved intact. A young men's 
library, founded about 1835, was in use for a while, 
but has been for the most part incorporated with the 
present public library. This library was remarkable 
in one respect, that it contained no religious works or 
novels. Other libraries of minor importance might 
be mentioned if it were necessary. But all these 
were subscription libraries, and not open free to all 
comers. 

■ From the .Veic England Magazine for Feb., 1880. 



WOBUKN. 



407 



Iq 1853, the Hon. Jonathan Bowers Winn was a 
member of the convention for the revision of the 
constitution of the state of Massachusetts, and at a 
town-meeting in Woburn in November, ISo-t, he, 
having informally introduced the subject of a free 
public library, offered to give for that object the 
money he had received as a member of the state con- 
vention, provided the town itself would appropriate a 
like sura for the same purpose. The project met with 
a favorable reception, the otler was accepted by the 
town in an informal vote, and thanks were presented 
to Mr. Winn for his gift. The offer was formally ac- 
cepted in March, 1855, and the sum of S300 was ap- 
propriated to be added to his donation, to be expended 
for books. Thus a library was started, which was 
opened for the first time on August 20, 1856. 

No other important sum was given to the library 
by the Hon. Jonathan B. Winn till the year 1875, 
v.hen he and his brother, Timothy Winn, devised 
together the sum of $5500. In 1875 the late Charles 
Bowers Winn, son of the Hon. Jonathan B. Winn, 
made his munificent bequest to the people of Woburn 
in behalf of her public library, which was at once 
appreciated as an endowment of the richest and 
most permanent kind. This bequest was accepted by 
the town on February 17, 1876, and its provisions 
were immediately carried into effect by a committee, 
composed of John Johnson, Parker L. Converse and 
Edward D. Hayden, the executors of the will. A 
period of about two years was taken to e-i-ect and fur- 
nish a suitable building, to purchase the number of 
volumes needed to open a library of the grade con- 
templated, and to prepare a catalogue necessary to 
point out the stores of knowledge in all branches that 
it was expected to cover. The amount received as an 
immediate legacy was 4^140,000 ; the value of the pic- 
tures hft by Mr. Winn being added, raised the 
amount to $153,000. As residuary legatee the town 
received still further amounts expended on the li- 
brary, till the sum amounted to §227,000. Of this 
amount about $80,000 was expended for "one of the 
most exquisitely designed and harmoniously arranged 
buildings modern architecture has produced." About 
$15,000 was expended immediately for books, many 
of them of costly character, and about $50,000 more 
was reserved as a permanent fund, the income of 
which was to be applied to needful improvements and 
the purchase of current books. The building was 
opened for use without formal ceremony on May 1, 
1879. The library was originally organized under 
the general law allowing towns to establish and main- 
tain free public libraries, and continued under the 
same law till 1885, when a special act of incorporation 
was secured from the Legislature more especially 
suited to its own peculiar case. 

Before entering upon a description of the building, 
a few facts in relation to Charles Bowers Winn may 
be of interest. He was at one time a student in 
Harvard University with other young meu from Wo- 



burn, but his health, never strong, would not admit 
of his staying there. He then made a voyage to the 
Mediterranean, and afier that time spent most of his 
years in travel, finding a change of scene and climate 
a partial relief from pain. In consequence of his 
prolonged absence, he was personally but little known 
to the citizens of Woburn. In his journeying he 
visited every habitable portion of the globe, and the 
accounts of his wanderings, to those who had the 
pleasure of his intimate acquaintance, are said to 
have been intensely interesting. He seldom visited a 
place twice, avoided companionship, and preferred to 
pursue his solitary way undisturbed by any one's 
caprice but his own. He was, however, a broad man, 
but opposed to parade of any kind. For nearly a 
year before his death he was confined by illness to his 
house. During the American civil war he sent a .-ub- 
stitute, paid liberally for raising men for the town's 
quota, and finally went himself, joining the Eleventh 
Massachusetts light battery, while that command was 
at the front near Petersburg, Virginia, during the 
last year of the war, and serving honorably with the 
battery till the close of its term of service. He 
would accept no commission, even though it was 
offered, but served his term as a private from thb 
beginning to the close of his service. His modesty 
was remarkable. He was loyal to his father's name, 
and his extraordinary gift of a public library to Wo- 
burn was accompanied by a desire that the father 
who accumulated the fortune, rather than the sou 
who bestowed it, should be honored, and the credit 
due to such an extensive expenditure should be the 
father's forever. Thus the inscription prepared by 
the son, and placed in the porch, reads thus : " This 
building was erected in memory of Jonathan Bowers 
Winn, from funds bequeathed by his son, for the use, 
be'nefit, and improvement of the people of Wo- 
burn." 

In accordance with the provisions of the will, the 
best known architects of New York and Boston were 
invited to submit plans for a library building, and 
five plans from as many different architects were sub- 
mitted. That of the firm represented by Henry H. 
Richardson was the one selected. The building as 
it stands, with a frontage on the street of 163J feet, 
set seventy-five feet back from the street, with a lawn 
entirely surrounding it, is one of the finest and most 
imposing in its architectural effect to be seen in New 
England or in the country. Its style is of an original 
composite nature, resembling its architect's former 
work in Trinity Church, Boston, though in some re- 
spects it is more beautiful than Trinity, for the reason 
that the original designs were not in the least inter- 
fered with, the genius of the architect being allowed 
full sway. The contract specified that the material 
to be used in its construction should bo of Mctiregor 
stone from the Longmeadow quarries at Springfield, 
relieved by Ohio cream-colored sandstone trimmings, 
and the roof to be covered with Akron, Ohio, moulded 



408 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



and vitrified tile of a deep red color. The whole waa 
to be completed for the Hum of l?71,625.50. 

The main entrance of the building is crowned by a 
tower which rises to the heiglit of seventy-eight feet. 
At its base is a cloistered porch, in which is placed a 
tablet, above a stone settee, containing the inscrip- 
tion prepared by Charles B. Winn. From the en- 
trance a flight of steps in the tower leads to rooms 
above, while a door opens into the art gallery, in 
which are hung the fifty or more pictures, princi- 
pally oil-paintings, bequeathed as a commencement 
of his collection by Charles Bowers Winn. This room 
is 22 by 28 feet, with floor of black walnut, and wain- 
scoting of the same wood. To the right, through an 
arched pass.ige-way, is the apse used for a museum, 
containing in cases a scientifically arranged and 
valuable collection of fossils, minerals and birds, 
contributed by the uncle of Charles B. Winn — the 
Hon. John Cummings. This room is about thirty 
feet across, and polygonal in shape. In the centre is 
a round table for readers, on which is placed a hand- 
some chandelier or fixture designed for electric light 
and gas. To the left of the art gallery is the reading- 
room proper, 36 by 24 feet, the finish of the wainscot 
and ceiling being butternut, the floor being ash. 
Around this room are drawers and shelves for books 
and statuary. The library is in possession of some 
eight antique busts and other specimens of statuary 
imported from Italy, which are placed in this room. 
From this room leads the wing of the library proper, 
at the entrance to which is the delivery desk. This 
room is 67 by 30 feet, and contains fourteen alcoves, 
seven on each side, in which are now shelved some 
27,000 books, with ample capacity for a l.irge number 
more. The ceiling is of butternut wood, while the 
floor is of southern pine. The centre ceiling is circu- 
larly arched, and the columns of butternut finish, 
supporting the roof and galleries, are surmounted 
with beautiful capitals, representing leaves, fruit, and 
flowers, of familiar varieties, exquisitely carved, no 
two alike, yet all forming a harmoiiious whole. This 
peculiar feature in ornamentation is noticeable 
throughout the building, and especially in the exte- 
rior decoration. 

These are someof theprincipal architectural effects 
of the building itself Of its contents little need be 
added beyond what has been already said, that it 
contains many valuable and useful books, and a num- 
ber, of co=lly ones. This feature it is expected will 
be added to in full proportion as time goes on. The 
policy in this respect has of late been somewhat con- 
servative, the belief being that slow acces-iions after 
careful consideration are the wisest and best. It 
would be very easy with the funds at command to fill 
the shelves rapidly, but this certainly would not be 
prudent, if the value of the works is to be considered. 

The place the library has achieved in the intellec- 
tual life of the town cannot easily be measured ; it is 
an undoubted and a very high beneficial influence, 



the extent of which perhaps could only be adequately 
realized by its sudden withdrawal. Everj thing that 
a reasonable person could ask, in relation to what 
may be termed an intellectual equipment or intel- 
lectual tools, is freely and readily furnished. 

The total value of the gift of Mr. Winn may be 
generally summarized in money as follows (to 1881) : 

Originjil lugucy from executors 8140,000 00 

Twctlbirds uf the resiiiue of estate 42,2«6 16 

From pictures lo,7C8 50 

FroDi interest on invehtment ... 1.3,122 79 

From rents, sale of buildiogs, etc 7,850 70 

Total receipts from all sources (to 1881) 8221,028 15 

Of this amoiiDt there had been expended for construction 
of building, architects, heating apparatus, fixtures, etc. 

(to 1881) SO.^.IOS 24 

Paid for real estate • . . . . 27,li.38 44 

for books 16,281 60 

for pictures 13,500 On 

for catalogue, stjitiouery, etc 6,!l07 20 

Discount on U. S. bonds sold ...*•• 4,l:i8 60 

Making the total costof building and contents (to 1881) $162,770 88 
Leaving au unexpended balance to be invested of $58,257.27. 

There is another feature, uncommon in libraries, 
namely, an antique kitchen fitted up in one of the 
rooms in the basement — "an old farm kitchen, the 
fireplace, corner cabinet of china, wall-mirror, settle 
and chest of drawers, all placed as though in use." 
Tnis collection was opened to visitors about ten years 
ago, for the first time, and has been much visited 
since. It contains, in the words of a recent writer, 
"a loom, swilts, spinning-wheels, distaff for spinning 
flax, the cards for carding wool into rolls, churns 
which are vividly remembered by old men who, when 
boys, were reluctantly harnessed to this domestic 
instrument of torture every week to do the family 
butter-making. Scattered around are rusty old 
swords in time-eaten scabbards; specimens of the 
Queen's Arm with which our ancestors beat back the 
fierce attacks of the foe ; ironware, from the little 
skillet and shallow spider to the big kettle that held 
the family wash; a whole series of pewter platters, 
the pride of matronly hearts; toasting-irons, piggins, 
noggins, chests of drawers, settles (se;tee») of tough 
wood, sets of andirons, shovels, tongs and iron can- 
dlesticks to go with them. There are Dutch ovens, 
bread-shovels, waffle-irons and bellows to set the 
wood ablaze. The wide, open fireplace of the room 
has its ancient crane, pot-hooks and trammels; and 
there are candle-moulds ; stills that the fair dames of 
ye olden times brewed their rose leaves in for attar to 
scent their Sabbath-day handkerchiefs; queer,straight, 
stiff-backed chairs; looking-glasses uncertain as to 
reflection ; the warming-pan, whose glow was so 
gratelul when crawling into a cold bed in midwinter ; 
rare patterns of old crockery-ware ; cradles, tables, 
lightstands, secretaries; the old mortar and pestle 
still fragrant with rich Thanksgiving spices; choice 
single samples of rare wares like the ' Washington 
Plate;' decanters that have graced many a festive 
board; antique brasses, curious smoking pipes, pew- 



WOBURN. 



4(»il 



ter buttons that once ornamented the garments of 
an illustrious ancestry; sconces, saddle-bags, books 
printed in ancient type, and innumerable quaint and 
curious things, relics of bygone days." 

After all, what better description of the uses of a 
library is there than that given in the opening lines 
of the document containing the signatures of the 
subscribers to the old Woburn social library at its 
founding on April 13, 1789: "To advance knowl- 
edge, to enlarge our ideas and extend our capacities." 
This is the service which, in a larger way, the new 
Woburn library is rendering to-day. 

Note. — The Social Library, founded in 1789. 
The preamble to its preliminary statement began 
with the words we have just quoted. It was gathered 
in 1789. It was a proprietary library, the shares 
being held by a number of subscribers, who promised 
to conform to such laws and regulations as the major- 
ity of the subscribers should make for the good gov- 
ernment and mental advantage of the whole. Of the 
original subscribers Loammi Baldwin leads with fuur 
shares, Joseph Bartlett follows with two, Samuel 
Thompson with one, Zebadiah Wyman with three, 
and so on, till a large number of the citizens of the 
town are included, some owning one share, others 
two, and a few three. John Hastings owned three 
shares. The names of the subscribers and a sketch 
of this library, by Nathan Wyman, are published in 
Our Paper, vol. ii., p. 91. Samuel Thompson, in his 
diary, mentions his going to Boston to buy books for 
this library in 1789 and 1S07, also his attending occa- 
sional library meetings. Colonel Leonard Thomp- 
son was probably the last living proprietor. About 
1827 the books, some two or three hundred in num- 
ber, were divided among the proprietors, some being 
given to a library in Lynn. The books were mostly 
of history and travel — works of poetry and fiction 
being very few. Occasional 1%', at the present time, 
some book or relic of this library is seen. 

The Charitable Religious Library, founded 
in 1807. This library is still extant, in the present 
custody of the First Congregational Church. A little 
pamphlet of eight pages, containing its conslitutioa 
and the catalogue of its books, was published at the 
time of its organization, a few copies of which are yet 
preserved.' "This institution," says the pamphlet, 
"originated in the congregational Church in Woburn, 
A.D. 1807, and was carried into effect by a general 
subscription in the town."^ The constitution begins 
with the following words: "The Congregational 
Church in Woburn, sensible of the importance of 
moral and religious instruction to the temporal and 
eternal happiness of themselves, their neighbors and 
posterity,' having taken measures to establish a 

1 Viz. : "Constitution of tbe Cliarit.ible Religions Libraiy in Woburn, 
anri catalogue of books wbicb it contains," S pp.^ KJnio,, [1807.] 

• K list of thi! subscribers to " Woburn Charitable Keligious Library," 
not church members, is preserved in th» Wyman Coll, Jlf.Sa'., Woburn 
I'nbllc Library, 15 : 133. 



charitable religious library, did, on the 7(h of April, 
1S07, unanimously adopt the following articles as its 
constitution." 

The articles referred to are fifteen in number, and 
from them a few facts are selected to illustrate the 
purposes and scope of the organization. The first 
object was to supply the library with the plainest 
and most practical books on moral and religious 
subjects. The librarian was to give out and receive 
books every Monday, p. m., and he could also, when 
convenient, accommodate persons at any other time. 
The library was for the use of all persons regularly 
residing in the town of Woburn, and also inhabitants 
of other towns adjacent to Woburn were allowed to 
use it by the payment of fifty cents annually, and life 
membership could be obtained by the payment of 
two dollars. A book could be kept out two months 
at one time, and all books were to be returned once 
each year. A fine of five cents a week was charged 
for detaining books* beyond the legal time. The 
catalogue appended to these articles contained about 
120 titles, arranged aljihabetically by authors. As 
might be expected, the works were as a rule strictiy 
religious in character, their titles being given in the 
briefest possible space, and with a general suppres- 
sion of capital letters. Of some volumes there were 
a number of copies, in some cases as many as twelve. 
Another catalogue of the books in this library was 
published in 1856, and another in 18CS. 

The Young Men's Library, founded about 1835. 
The constitution and catalogue of this library, be- 
longing to the organization known as the Young 
Men's Society, was published in 1835, and another 
catalogue of their books was published in 1852. The 
Woburn Young Men's Society was founded with a 
patriotic moral purpose, and for mutual instruction 
and the general difiusion of knowledge. The age of 
its members was limited from 14 to 30 years. In the 
first publicaiion is a list of active and honorary mem- 
bers of the society, and the rules and regulations of 
the library. An annual fee of fifty cents was required 
for its use, outsiders paying the sum of one dollar for 
the privilege. Books could be kept out three weeks, 
and fines for overdue books were 12J cents per 
week. 

The library was composed of books of science and 
instruction, and of such works only as treat of facts, 
it being understood that works of fiction and theology 
should be excluded from it. The works were classed 
under history, biography, travels and voyages, and 
scientific and miscellaneous works. The catalogue 
of 1852 is arranged under the same classification, the 
subscription being the same amount per year as 
previously. Miss Ruth Maria Leathe was then the 
librarian. Other librarians were Capt. Marshall 
Tidd and Dr. Benjamin Cutter. In 1865 the volumes 
of this library to the number of 375 were added to the 
Woburn Public Library, and its existence as a aepa-' 
rate library cea.sed. 



410 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



The North Woburn Library, founded in 1840.' 
The North Woburn Library Association vas or- 
ganized in November, 1840. The labor which re- 
sulted in this achievement was very largely performed 
by Benjamin Coolidge, a grandson of Calonel Loam- 
mi Baldwin. Possessing unusual intelligence, his 
tireless and almost boundless energy knew no rest till 
his purpose was accomplished. As a fitting return 
for his perseverance, the Association chose him for 
their first President. In accordance with their vote, 
each male adult member paid one dollar at once, 
with the understanding that this sum should be given 
each year. Each female and each minor paid, on the 
same condition, fifty cents. As there were forty- 
seven of the former and forty-two of the latter class 
of original members, the sum of sixty-eight dol- 
lars was raised in the outset. To this were added 
six dollars in gifcs, making seventy-four dollars as a 
beginning for the purchase of books. A considerable 
number of volumes were also ^iven by individuals 
both in and out of the Association. This nucleus of 
the proposed library, consisting of 102 volumes, was 
opened November 21, 1840, for the delivery of books 
to members.^ By a special gift of twenty-five dollars 
from James F. Baldwin, Esq., a native of North Wo- 
burn, then residing in Boston, the number of volumes 
was soon increased to 132. 

From this time on for many years there were 
essentially the same sources of income and an expen- 
diture sufficient to secure a gradual, though small, 
yearly increase in the number of volumes. Accord- 
ing to a catalogue issued in 1874, there were then 
1016 volumes, besides various miscellaneous public 
documents, reports, etc. 

On March 26, 1877, the 124th birthday of Count 
Rumford, the Rumford Historical Association was 
organized and subsequently incorporated. As a ma- 
jority of the Library Association were also members 
of this, it was thought best that the former should be 
merged in the latter, and that the library should 
thenceforth be called the Rumford Library. The old 
Rumford House having become the property of the 
Association, it was also voted that the library, then 
homeless, should be set up in the very room where 
Benjamin Thompson, the future Scientist and Count, 
was born. In that historic room it has remained 
until the present time. Under this new regime, it 
was decided that it should be a free library, and 
though still retained in North Woburn for the use 



'Sketch by Leander Thompson. 

2The paper for signntures wa« headed as follows : " The undersigned, 
young men of New Bridge, in the town of Woburn, being desirous of 
having a greater coniniand of boolis than eactj one can conveniently 
obtain by l]is own unaided exertions, liave determined to form tliern- 
selvcs into an association for the purpose of securing a library of useful 
works ; inasmuch as the investigation of truth affords equal pleasure 
and much greater beneflt than the perusal of flctiou, it shall be a fun- 
damental principle in the constitution this association may form, to 
exclude novels and ligljt reading generally."— IVoiiirii Journal, Nov. 18, 
ItiSl. 



of the people of the village, and under the immediate 
care and control of the officers of ths Rumford His- 
torical Association, be made, with the consent of the 
Public Library Committee, an adjunct of the Town 
Library. The object of this was to make ic a con- 
venient channel for the delivery, on regular specified 
days, of books from the general library as well as 
from that of the Association. This arrangement, j 
which continued till recenily, gave great satisfaction. 

As no catalogue of the Rumford Library has been 
issued since 1874, and, in the mean time, some vol- 
umes have fallen into disuse, while others, newly re- 
ceived, have not yet been regularly numbered and 
arranged, the writer cannot, with exact accuracy, 
state the number of volumes now in the library. 
From certain data at hand, however, it seems safe to 
say that the whole number is between 1500 and IGOO 
volumes. And there is abundant evidence that it has 
been and still is very useful. 

Note. — In 1852 a printed catalogue of 456 books 
was issued belonging to this library, and another was 
issued in 1874, and perhaps others earlier. The Wo- 
burn Public Library itself has not a complete set of 
its own publications. 

The Warren Academy had a library of 300 or more 
volumes, and an Agricultural Library of 150 volumes 
was united to the Woburn Public Library collection 
in 1865-06. The largest private library in Woburn 
probably is that of the late George R. Baldwin, which 
numbers some 7000 volumes, and contains many 
works of unusual value. These libraries, it is ex- I 
pected, will be deposited in the Woburn Public Li- " 
brary, which possesses ample facilities for their safe 
■keeping. 

Among the Woburn libraries not already mentioned are the follow- 
ing, whose catalogues are to be found in the Woburn Public Library : 
Pippy's Circulating Library. 1857 ; tirosvenor & Co.'s Circulating Li- 
brary, 1S67 ; First Congregational Sabbath -School Library, 1808 (an- 
other, no date) ; First Unitarian Parish, do., 18G9, 1870 ; Baptist, do 
1870 ; Methodist Episcopal do. (no date). 



CHAPTER XXX. 

WOB URN—{ Continued). 

biographical xotices. 

Count Rumford,^ Woburn'.s Most Eminent 
Native. — Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford 
(1753-1814), an eminent man of science, enlightened 
philanthropist, and sagacious public administrator, 
was born at Woburn, in Massachusetts, in 1753, and 
died at Auteuil, near Paris, in 1814. His family had 
been settled in New England since the middle of the 



'*From Enci/clopeiUa Britamiica, 9th ed., vol. xxiii. By Frederick 
£>ru almond. 



WOBURN. 



411 



century preceding his birth, and belonged to the class 
of moderately wealthy farmers. His father died 
while Thompson was very young, and his mother 
speedily married a second time. But he seems to 
have been well cared for, and his educatiou was so 
far from neglected that, according to his own state- 
ment, he was at the age of fourteen sufficiently ad- 
vanced "in algebra, geometry, as: rouomy, and even 
the higher mathematics," to calculate a solar eclipse 
within four seconds of accuracy. In 176<3 he was 
apprenticed to a storekeeper at yalem, in New 
England, and while in that employment occupied 
himself in chemical and mechanical experiments, as 
well as in engraving, in which he attained to some 
proficiency. The outbreak of the American war put 
a stop to the trade of his master, and he thereupon 
left Salem and went to Boston, where he engaged 
himself as assistant in another store. He afterwards 
applied himself to the study, with a view to the prac- 
tice, of medicine, and then (although, as he affirms, 
for only six weeks and three day.") he became a school- 
teacher — it is believed at Bradford, on the Merrimack. 
Thompson was at that period between eighteen and 
nineteea years old ; and at nineteen, he says, " I mar- 
ried, or rather I was married." His wife was the 
widow of a Colonel Rolfe, and the daughter of a Mr. 
Walker, "a highly respectable minister, and one of 
the first settlers at Rumford," now called Concord, in 
New Hampshire. His wife was possessed of consid- 
erable property, and was his senior by fourteen years. 
This marriage was the foundation of Thompson's 
success. Within three years of it, however, he left 
his wife in America to make his way to wealth and 
distinction in Europe, and, although his only child 
by her, a daughter, subsequently joined him, he never 
saw and, so far as anything appears to the contrary, 
never attempted or desired to see her again. 

Soon after his marriage Thompson became ac- 
quainted with Governor Wentworth, of New Hamp- 
shire, who, struck by his appearance and bearing, 
conferred on him the majority of a local regiment of 
militia. He speedily became the object of distrust 
among the friends of the American cause, and it was 
considered prudent that he should seek an early op- 
portunity of leaving (he country. On the evacuation 
of Boston by the royal troops, therefore, in 1776, he 
was selected by Governor Wentworth to carry de- 
spatches to England. On his arrival in London he 
almost immediately attracted the attention of Lord 
George Germaine, secretary of state, who appointed 
him to a clerk.'-hip in his office. Within a few 
months he was advanced to the post of secretary of 
tlie province of Georgia, and in about four years he 
was made under-secretary of state. His official du- 
ties, however, did not materially interfere with the 
prosecution of scientific pursuits, and in 1779 he was 
elected a fellow of the Royal Society. Among the 
subjects to which he especially directed his attention 
were the explosive force of gunpowder, the construc- 



tion of firearms, and the system of signaling at sea. 
In connection with the last, he made a cruise in the 
Channel fleet, on board the "Victory," as a volunteer 
under the command of Admiral Sir Charles Hardy. 
On the resignation of Lord North's administration, 
of which Lord George Germaine was one of the least 
lucky and most unpopular members, Thompson left 
the civil service, and was nominated to a cavalry 
command in the revolted provinces of America. But 
the War of Independence was practically at an end, 
and in 1783 he finally quitted active service, with the 
rank and half-pay of a lieutenant-colonel. He now 
formed the design of joining the Austrian army, for 
the purpose of campaigning against the Turks, and 
so crossed over from Dover to Calais with Gibbon, 
who, writing to his friend Lord Sheffield, calls his 
fellow- passenger "Mr. Secretary-Colonel-Admiral- 
Philosopher Thompson." At Strasburg he was intro- 
duced to Prince Maximilian, afterwards elector of 
Bavaria, and was by him invited to enter the civil 
and military service of that state. Having obtained 
the leave of the British Government to accept the 
prince's offer, he received the honor of knighthood 
from George III., and during eleven years he re- 
mained at Munich as minister of war, minister of 
police, and grand chamberlain to the elector. His 
political and courtly employments, however, did not 
absorb all his time, and he contributed during his 
stay in Bavaria a number of papers to the Philosoph- 
ical Transactions. But that he was sufficiently alert 
as the principal adviser of the elector the re-ults of 
his labors in that capacity amply prove. He reorgan- 
ized the Bavarian army ; he suppressed mendicity 
and found employment for the poor; and he im- 
mensely improved the condition of the industrial 
classes throughout the country by providing them 
with work and instructing them in the practice of 
domestic economy. Of the prompt and the business- 
like manner in which he was wont to carry his plans 
into execution, a single example may serve as an il- 
lustration. The multitude of beggars in Bavaria had 
long been a public nuisance and danger. In one day 
Thompson caused no fewer than 2600 of these out- 
casts and depredators, in Munich and its suburbs 
alone, to be arrested by military patrols and trans- 
ferred by them to an industrial establishment which 
he had prepared for their recepti' n. In this institu- 
tion they were both housed and fed, and they uot 
only supported themselves by their labors but earned 
a surplus for the benefit of the electoral revenues. 
The principle on which their treatment proceeded is 
stated by Thompson in the following memorable 
words : " To make vicious and abandoned people 
happy," he says, "it hiis generally been supposed ne- 
cessary first to make them virtuous. But why not 
reverse this order? Why not muke them first happy, 
and then virtuous?" In 1791 he was created a count 
of the Holy Roman Empire, and chose his title of 
Rumford from the name as it then was of the Ameri- 



412 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



can township to which his wife's family belonged. In 
1795 he visited England, one incident of liis journey 
being the loss of all his private papers, including the 
materials for an autobiography, which were contained 
in a box stolen from off his post-chaise in St. Paul's 
Churchyard. During his rebidence in London he 
ajiplied himself to the discovery of methods for 
curing smoky chimneys and the contrivance of im- 
provements in the construction of fireplaces. But he 
was quickly recalled to Bavaria. Munich being threat- 
ened at once by an Austrian and a French army. The 
elector fled from his capital, and it was entirely owing 
to Rum ford's energy and tact that a hostile occupa- 
tioa of the city was prevented. It was now proposed 
that he should be accredited as Bavarian ambassador 
in London ; but the circumstance that he was a Brit- 
ish subject presented an unsurmountable obstacle. 
He, however, again came to England, and remained 
there in a private station for several years. In 1799 
he, in conjunction with Sir Joseph Banks, projected 
the establishment of the Royal Institution, which 
received its charter of incorporation from George III. 
in 1800. Rumford himself selacted Sir Humphrey 
Davy as the first scientific lecturer there. Uutil 
18)4, when he definitely settled in France, Rumford 
lived at the Royal Institution in Albemarle Street, 
or at a house which he rented at Brompton, where he 
passed his time in the steady pursuit of those re- 
searches relating to heat and light and the economy 
of fuel, on which his scientific fame is principally 
based. He then established himself in Paris, and 
married (his first wife having been dead for many 
years) as his second wife the wealthy widow of Lavoi- 
sier, the celebrated chemist. With this lady he led 
an extremely uncomfortable life, till at last they 
agreed to separate. Rumford took up his residence 
at Auteuil, where he died suddenly in 1814, in the 
sixty-second year of his age. 

He was the founder and the first recipient of the 
Rumford medal of the London Royal Society. He 
was also the founder of the Rumford medal of the 
American Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the 
Rumford professorship in Harvard University. His 
complete works were published by the American 
Academy of Arts and Sciences at Boston in 1872, and 
a full and extremely interesting memoir of the author 
which was issued with them was republished in Lon- 
don by Messrs. Macmiljan in 1876. 

ARTISTS RESIDENT IN WOBURN : BENJAMIN CHAMP- 
NEY AND ALBERT THOMPSON.^ 

Benjamin Champney, painter, born in New 
Ipswich, N. H., Nov. 20, 1817. He was graduated at 
Appleton Academy, in his native town, in 1834. He 
went to Boston in that year, worked in Pendleton's 
lithographic establishrnvnt in 1837-40, studied and 
painted at the Louvre, Paris, in 1841-46, then visited 

1 From ApphtorCs Onchptedia of American Biography, 



Italy with Kensett, and, revisiting Europe in 1847- 
48, painted a panorama of the Rhine. Since 1853 he 
has passed his summers at North Conway, N. H., 
where he has a cottage and a studio, and has painted 
many White mountain views, as well as those of 
Switzerland, which are owned in and around Boston. 
He was president of the Boston Art Club in 1858, and 
in 1865-66 he again visited Europe, spending a sum- 
mer in Brittany. 

Albert Thompson, artist, born in Woburn, Mass., 
Mar. 18, 1853. He became a pupil of William E. 
Norton in 1873, and in 1872 and 1875 traveled in 
Europe. During 1880-81 he studied in Paris under 
Jules J. Lefebvre and Gustave R. C. Boulanger at 
Julien's academy, and also anatomy at the Ecole des 
beaux arts Among his works, mainly landscapes 
and cattle-pieces, are "After the Shower" (1876); 
''Clearing up'' (1877); "More Wind than Rtiin," in 
Woburn Public ].,ibrary (1885) ; and " Changing Past- 
ure" and "An October Afternoon " (1886). He is 
the author of "Principles of Perspective" (Boston, 
1878). 

INVENTORS : SAMUEL BLODGET, A NATIVE, AND 
CHARLES GOODYEAR, A RESIDENT OF WOBURN. 

Samuel Blodget, inventor, born in Woburn, 
Mass., April 1, 1724; died in Haverhill, Mass., 
Sept. 1, 1807. He participated in the French and In- 
dian war, was a member of the expedition against 
Louisbourg in 1745, and afterwards became a judge of 
the Court of Common Pleas for the county of Hills- 
borough, N. H. In 1783, with a machine of his own 
invention, he raised a valuable cargo from a ship 
sunk near Plymouth, M.ass., and then went to Europe 
for the purpose of engaging in similar enterprises. 
He met with discouragement in Spain, and his prop- 
osition in England to raise the "Royal George'' was 
unsuccessful. On his return to the United Slates he 
established a duck factory in 1791, and in 1793 re- 
moved to New Hampshire, where he began the canal 
that bears his name around Amoskeng Falls in the 
Merrimack. He expended a large turn of money on 
this enterprise without being able to complete the 
work, and, becoming financially embarrassed, was for 
a time imprisoned for debt. See "Massachusetts 
Historical Collections" (second series, vol. iv., pp. 
153, 154). (Cf. Woburn Journal, October 25, 1873, for 
an extended sketch.) 

Charles Goodyear, inventor, born in New Haven, 
Conn., D(^cember 29, 1800 ; died in New York City 
July 1, 1860. In 1834 Goodyear first turned his at- 
tention to the substance of India rubber, and from then 
until his death the idea of producing from it a solid 
elastic material occupied his entire mind. His ex- 
periments were conducted in Philadelphia, New 
York and in different towns of Massachusetts, with 
his family always in want, and himself frequently in 
prison for debt. Although he died in debt, he lived 
to see his material applied to nearly 500 uses, and to 
give employment to upward of 60,000 persons. 



WOBUKN. 



413 



"At Woburn, one day in the spring of 1839, after 
five years' previous investigation, he was standing, 
with his brotlier and several other persons, in a store 
near a very hot stove. He lield in his hand a mass 
of his compound of sulphur and gum, upon which he 
was expatiating in his usual vehement manner, the 
company exhibiting the indifterence to which he was 
accustomed. In the crisis of his argument he made 
a violent gesture, which brought the mass in contact 
with the stove, which was hot enough to melt India 
rubber instantly. Upon looking at it a moment 
alter he perceived that his compound had not melted 
in the least degree! It had charred as leather does, 
but no part of the surface had dissolved ; there was 
not a sticky place upon it. To say that he was aston- 
ished at this would but faintly express his ecstasy of 
amazement. The result was absolutely new to all 
experience — India rubber not melting in contact 
with red-hot iron ! Eagerly he showed his charred 
India rubber to his brother and to the other bystand- 
ers, and dwelt upon the novelty and marvelousne.-s 
of his fact. 

" Then we see him resorting to the shops and fac- 
tories in the neighborhood of Woburn, asking the 
privilege of using an oven after working hours, or of 
hanging a piece of India rubber in the man-hole of 
the boiler. If the people of New England were not 
the most ' neighborly ' people in the world, his fam- 
ily must have starved or he must have given up his 
experiments. But with all the generosity of his 
neighbors, his children were o.''ten sick, hungry and 
cold, without medicine, food or fuel. One witness 
testifies, — 

" ' I found (in 1839) that they had not fuel to burn, 
nor food to eat, and did not know where to get a 
morsel of food from one day to another, unless it was 
Kent in to them.' 

" By the time that he had exhausted the patience of 
the foreman of the works near Woburn, he had come 
to the conclusion that an oven was the proper means 
of applying heat to his compound. An oven he 
forthwith determined to build. 

" It was in the winter of 1839-40. One of those 
long and terrible snow-storms, for which New Eng- 
land is noted, had been raging for many hours, and 
he awoke one morning to find his little cottage half- 
buried in snow, the storm still continuing, and in his 
house not an atom of fuel nor a morsel of food. His 
children were very young, and he was himself sick 
. and feeble. The charity of his neighbors was ex- 
hausted, and he had not the courage to face their 
reproaches. As he looked out of the v-findow upon 
the dreary and tumultuous scene, ' tit emblem of his 
condition,' he remarks, he called to mind that a few 
days before an acquaintance, a mere acquaintance, 
who lived some miles off, had given him upon the 
road a more friendly greeting than he was then ac- 
customed to receive. It had cheered his heart as 
he trudged sadly by, and it now returned vividly 



to his mind. To this gentleman he determined to 
apply for relief, if he could reach his house. Terri- 
ble was his struggle with the wind and the deep 
drifts. Often he was ready to faint with fatigue, 
sickness and hunger, and he would be obliged to sit 
down upon a bank of snow to rest. He re^iched the 
house and told his story, not omitting the oft-told 
tale of his new discovery, that mine of wealth if only 
he could procure the means of working it! The eager 
eloquence of the inventor was aeconded by the gaunt 
and yellow face of the man. His generous acquaint- 
ance entertained him cordially, and lent him a sum 
of money, which not only carried his family through 
the worst of the winter, but enabled him to continue 
his experiments on a small scale. O. B. Coolidge, of 
Woburn, was the name of lliis benefactor." 

These selections are from Parton's Fiimous Ameri- 
cans of Eecent Times. 

COLLEGE PRESIDENTS, NATIVES OF WOBUEN : 
SAMUEL LOCKE AND JAMES WALKER. 

Samuel Locke, educator, born in Woburn, Mass., 
23d November, 1732 ; died in Sherborn, Mass., 15th 
January, 1778. He was graduated at Harvard in 
1755 ; ordained a minister at Sherburne, 7th Novem- 
ber, 1759, and retained this pastorate till 17()9, when 
he was appointed president of Harvard, 21st March, 
1769. On 1st December, 1773, he resigned from the 
presidency, and spent the remainder of his life in re- 
tirement. Harvard conferred on him the degree of 
D.D. in 1773. The only production of Dr. Locke's 
in print is his " Convention Sermon " (1772). 

James Walker, president of Harvard, born in 
Burlington or in Woburn, Mass, of which that town 
was then a part, 16th August, 1794; died in Cam- 
bridge, Mass., 23d December, 1874. He was gradu- 
ated at Harvard in 1814, studied theology at Cam- 
bridge, and was pastor of the Unitarian Church in 
Charlestown for twenty-one years. During this period 
he-was active in his parochial duties and in advocat- 
ing the cause of school and college education, lec- 
tured extensively and with success, and was a close 
student of literature and philosophy. In 1831-39 he 
was an editor of the Chrktian Examiner. He re- 
signed his pastorate in July, 1839, and the f dlowing 
September became professor of moral and intellectual 
philosophy in Harvard, was elected its president in 
1853, and held office till his resignation, in 1860. He 
devoted the remainder of his life to scholarly pursuits, 
and left his valuable library and $15,000 to Harvard. 
That college gave him the degree of D.D. in 1835, 
and Yale, that of LL.D. in 1860. He published nu- 
merous sermons, addresses and lectures, including three 
series of lectures on "Natural Religion" and a course 
of Lowell Institute lectureson "The Philosophy of Re- 
ligion;" "Sermons preached in the Chapel of Har- 
vard College" (Boston, IStii); a " Memorial of Daniel 
Apideton White" (1863); and a "Memoir of Jusiah 
Quincy " (1867). After his death a volume of his 



414 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



"Discourses " appeared (1876). He also edited, as 
college text-book-i, Dugald Stewart's "Philosophy of 
the Active aud Moral Powers " (1849), and Dr. 
Thomas Raid's " Essays on the Tiitellettual Powers, 
Abridged, with Notes and Illustrations from Sir Wil- 
liam Hamilton and Others " (1850). See " Memorial" 
(Cambridge, 1875), and "Services at the Dedication 
of a Mural Monument to James Walker in the Har- 
vard Church in Charlestown '' (1884). 

MEMBER OF CONGRESS FROM WOBURN : EDWARD D. 
HAYDEN. 

Mr. Hayden was born in Cambridge, December '21, 
1833. He attended the public schools in that place^ 
and was afterwards sent to Lawrence Academy, in 
Groton, to be fitted for college. In 1850 he entered 
Harvard College, graduating with his class in 1854. 
He studied law at Harvard Law School, and in the 
oflices of the late Chief Justice Chapman, iu Spring- 
field, and Ezra Ripley, in Boston. In February, 
1858, he opened a law-office in Woburn, where he 
continued in practice until 1862, when he received 
the appointment of assistant paymaster in the United 
States Navy. He served in the Mississippi Squadron, 
under Admiral Porter, during the Vicksburg and Red 
River campaigns. In 1866 he returned to Woburn, 
and engaged in business in the firm of J. B. Winn & 
Co., in which he continued until 1875. In 1874 he 
was elected president of the First National Bank of 
Woburn, which office he held until 1890. Mr. Hay- 
den was re-elected to the House for 1881, having been 
a member of the Massachusetts Legislature in 1880. 
He was a member of the 49th and 50th Congresses, 
representing the Fifth Massachusetts Congressional 
District. In Woburn he has held many local offices, 
selectman, library trustee, etc. 



CHAPTER XXXL 

WOB URN—{ Continued). 

ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 
BY REV. L. THOMPSON. 

The Ecclesiastical History of Woburn is, in its 
beginnings, closely connected with that of Charles- 
town, of which Woburn was once a part, and, in its 
progress, with that of several other towns, which were 
once a part of Woburn. The founders of Woburn were 
all, or nearly all, from the early settlers of Charles- 
town. As early as 1640 some of these men, more ad- 
venturous than the rest, began to explore the "un- 
known northernne-is," sometimes called "the wilder- 
ness," though included within the bounds of Charles- 
town, and, till the date of its incorporation, October 
6, 1662, called "Charlestown Village." It then in- 



cluded Wilmington, Burlington and nearly all of 
Winchester. Led on by Edward Converse, a man of 
wonderful energy and ever-restless activity, and the 
builder of the first house, the first bridge and the first 
mill in the unsettled region, many followed, some of 
whom beirfg, as the historian Johnson says, " shallow 
in brains," soon became faint-hearted and returned. 
The number of settlers, however, became, little by 
little, so numerous that they began, more and more* 
earnestly, to entertain the thought of a church organ- 
ization. Meanwhile the mother church at Charles- 
town became so seriously apprehensive that Charles. 
town itself would be depopulated by the departure of 
so many of her members as to raise objections to and 
decidedly discourage the proposals for a new settle- 
ment. And it was not till it was clearly seen that 
the tide setting in that direction could not be resisted, 
and the increase and permanence of the settlement 
were inevitable, that the consent of the First Church 
was gained to the proposed enterprise. Seven men, 
all members of the church in Charlestown, were, at 
length, appointed as a "committee" to eflTect, in the 
usual way, the outward and legal organization of a 
new church. These men were: Edward Johnson, 
Edward Converse, .John Mousall, AVilliam Learned, 
Ezekiel Richardson, Thomas Richardsjn and Samuel 
Richardson — the last three being brothers. There 
were many besides these seven among the first settlers, 
both men and women, equally interested, who doubt- 
less only awaited the accomplishment of this organi- 
zation to become, with the seven organizers, members 
in full communion. 

The organization was effected August 14, 0. S., or 
August 24, N. S., 1642. Beside the Hon. Increase 
Nowell as the representative of the secular authority 
of the Colony, there were present the following mes- 
sengers of the churches: Rev. Me.-srs. Symmes and 
Allen, of Charlestown; Wilson and Cotton, of Bos- 
ton; Shephard and President Dunster, of Cambridge; 
Knowles, of Watertown; Allin, of Dedham ; Eliot, 
of Roxbury ; and Mather, of Dorchester. 

To the seven men appointed by the mother church 
to effect the organization, after making each for him- 
self a confession of his faith and Christian experi- 
ence, and after prayer and preaching by Mr. Symmes, 
the elders and messengers of the churches had oppor- 
tunity to propose such questions as they thought 
proper. All questions being satisfactorily answered, 
they entered into the following 

COVENANT. 

"We that do assemble ourselves this day before God and bis people, 
in an unfeigned desire to be accepted of liim as a Churcli of the Lord 
Jesus Cbiist, according to the Rule of the New Testament, do acknowl- 
edge ourselves to be the most unworthy of all others, that we should 
attain such a high grace, and the most unable of ourselves to the per- 
formance of anything that is good, abhorring ourselves for all our 
former defilements in the worship of God, and other wayes, and resting 
only upon the Lord Jesus Christ,for attonement, and upon the power of 
hisgrafefor the guidance of our whole after course, do here, in the 
name of Christ Jesus, as in the presence of the Lord, from the bottom of 
our hearts, agree together through his grace to give up ourselves, first 



I 



WOBURN. 



415 



nnto the Lord Jesus, as our only King, Priest, and Prophet, wholly to 
be subject unto hiui in all things, and therewith one unto another, as in 
a Church Body, to walk together in all the Ordinances of the Gospel, 
and in all such mutual love aud ofQces thereof, as toward one another in 
tho I^rd ; and all this, both according to the present light that the 
Lord hath given us, aud also according to all further light, which he 
sltall be pleased at any time to reach out unto us out of the Word by tlie 
goodness of his grace: renouncing also, in the same 0-tvenant, all 
errors and schismes, and whatever by-wayes that are contrary to the 
blessed rules revealed in the Gospel, and in particular, the inordinate 
love aud seeking after the things of the world." 

" Kvery Church huth not the same for words : for they are not for a 
form of words." 

After the solemn adoption of this Covenant, the 
little band, now duly organized, received from the 
messengers of the churches the right hand of fellow- 
ship in the name of the churches they represented." 

The loss of the records of this church from its 
organization onward more than one hundred years is 
greatly to be deplored and is doubllcrs irreparable. 
But, frMji other sources, we learn that Rev. Thomas 
Carter was ordained the first pastor, November 22, 
1642, and Edward Converse and John Mousall were 
chosen, probably earlier in the same year, the first 
deacons. The editor of Johnson's " Wonder- Working 
Providence " says, in his introduction, p. 92 : " The 
wives and children who were communicants must have 
been as numerous as the heads of families. The 
early membership, therefore, of the Woburn Church, 
I think, was thirty persons at least." 

The town having been " erected," and the church 
duly organized, the same council, with perhaps the 
exception of one man, accompanied again by the 
Hon. Increase Xowell, as the representative of the 
civil authority, were called on " the 22 of the 9 
moneth following, or December 2d, N. S., 1642, to 
aid in the ordination and installation of Eev. Thomas 
Carter as the first pastor. The exercises appear to 
have been, in the main, similar to exercises on like 
occasions in these days. There was, however, one 
noted exception. Instead of calling upon messengers 
of other churches who were present, to officiate in the 
simple act of ordination by prayer and the imposition 
of hand.s, the church, jealous of their rights as an in- 
dependent body, preferred to delegate two of their 
own members to do it on their behalf. It is perhaps 
not certainly known who the two men were, though 
it has been thought there were reasons for believing 
they were Edward Johnson and Edward Converse. 
After Mr. Carter had preached and prayed, according 
to the custom of the times, these men, in the name of 
the church, laid their hands upon his head and said : 
''We ordain thee, Thomas Carter, to be pastor unto 
this church of Christ." 

Following this simple act of consecration, the ex- 
ercises were continued by prayer from one of the min- 
isters who were present. 

It does not appear that there was any serious oppo- 



t SewalPs "History," p. 21. Johnson's 
dence," book ii., chap. 22, pp. 175-178. 



Wonder-Working Provi- 



sition to this departure from the common usage, on 
the part of the council, though it is quite likely that 
some had doubts of its propriety. But outside their 
number, there was, for some time, considerable dis- 
satisfaction and demurring. Even Governor Win- 
ihrop had some misgivings about it and declared it 
" not so well and orderly as it ought." - Yet, at length, 
all acquiesced, and the peculiarity of the ordination 
never was a bar to the fellowship of the church with 
other churches, though, from that time to this, the 
case has often been relerred to by writers on congre- 
gational polity as being, though not in itself necessa- 
rily a breach of genuine Congregationalism, a nearer 
approach to pure independency than would generally 
be deemed desirable. So far as is known, the church, 
after its organization, was very prosperous. Johnson, 
writing in Hi.51, nine ye.irs later, says, "After this^ 
there were divers added to this church daily," and the 
original members had been increased to " 74 persons 
or thereabouts," the number of families being about 
sixty.' 

The subsequent history of this church furnishes 
material enough for a volume, instead of the sketch 
now proposed. We can only give a brief account of 
its general character and standing, its pastors, its 
houses of worship, and its colonies. 

So far as known to the writer,'the church has never 
swerved from its original foundation. While many 
other churches, organized both before and after the date 
of iis existence, have departed from the old confession 
of faith, this, through all changes and down through 
all the years of its history, has steadfastly adhered to 
the essential faith of the original members. It has 
had some seasons of trial, and one, perhaps two, when 
there was protracted and deplorable lack of unity and 
harmony. But, for many years, it has been one of 
the largest and most prosperous of the churches of 
New England. Its history has been marked by fre- 
quent revivals of religion, some of which were of great 
power and most valuable results. That which began 
in 1826 and continued uninterruptedly through more 
than two years, was by far the most remarkable. In 
its extent, its noiseless power, its duration and its 
wide-spread and far-reaching etfects, it w:ts wholly 
unprecedented in Woburn, and rarely, if ever, 
equaled in the country. During the years 1S27-28 
nearly 300 persons in the town, then having less than 
1900 population, were admitted to membership in the 
church. Nearly all of this large number are now- 
gone, but the very few who yet remain cherish the 
memory of those days with the deepest interest as 
without a parallel in their observation. 

The Pastors of the Church.— iPec. T/iomax 
Carter, the first pastor, was born in England in 1610, 
probably at Hertfordshire, at or near St. Albans. He 
was matriculated at St. John's College, University of 



- Wintbrop's " Hist, of New England,' 
2 " W. W. Providence." 



vol. iii,, p. 110. 



416 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Cambridge, April 1, 1626, and took his degree of 
Bachelor of Arts in January, 1630, and that of Master 
of Arts in 1633. In April, 1635, when still " a young 
man," he embarked with forty others for New Eng- 
land. Soon after his arrival he became a citizen of 
Dedham, taking the freeman's oath, March 9, 1637. 
He removed thence to Watertown, where he became 
an elder in the church.' He had a place assigned 
him by Mather in what is called the "Second Classis" 
of ministers.'^ 

When he was first invited to preach in Woburn, 
Novembers, 16-1:1, he was a member of the church in 
Watertown, as well as an office-bearer, and doubt was 
expressed about the willingness of that church to part 
with him.' By special invitation, he preached for 
the first time, December 4, 1641, his text being the 
22d chapter of Genesis and his subject, " Encourage- 
ment to trust in the Lord for the means.'' This 
sermon seems to have encouraged the people to press 
their suit more urgently than ever, though he then 
and for several months subsequently, declined to ac- 
cept their call. He, however, at length yielded to 
the strong persuasion of the Woburn Church, and ac- 
cepted the position of minister with a salary of £80 
per annum, which, in 1674, was increased by the ad- 
dition of twenty cords of wood delivered annually at 
his door.* 

The circumstances of Mr. Carter's ordination have 
already been narrated and need not be here repeated. 
Of his long ministry of nearly forty-two years, much 
might be written. The highest testimony to its excel- 
lence has been given by various writers. Johnson, 
in his history, describes him as a " reverend, Gadly 
man, apt to teach the sound and wholesome truths of 
Christ," and "much increased with the increasings 
of Christ Jesus." ^ Mr. Chickering, in his Dedica- 
tion Sermon, says of him, " During his ministry there 
appears to have been the greatest harmony betw^een 
him and the Society." " And Mr. Sewall says, 
"There is abundant evidence that Mr. Carter was a 
very pious, exemplary man, an able and sound 
preacher of the Gospel and one whom God honored 
and prospered in his work. Under his ministrations 
the Church was greatly enlarged and built up, and 
the town flourished and was for the most part in 
peace." ' 

Before his settlement in Woburn, Mr. Carter had 
married Mary Dalton, of Watertown, where he owned 
a homestead and a farm. His well-known home in 
Woburn was on Pleasant Street, facing the southern 
portion of the old " Common " or Square. His house, 
built for him and presented to him by the town, 

1 Samuel R Carter's Address at the Carter Reunion, p. 19. 

2 Jliither's " Magnalia," vol. i., p. 21G. 

3 ".\nierieiin Qy. Register, vul. xi., p. 1S7. 
< S. U. Carter's Address, pp. '21), '21. 

5 •' Wonder-Workinj? Providence," pp. 177-181. 
fl Dedication Sermon, p. 16, 
' " History of Woburn," p. 125. 



stood where the old Coolidge house, lately known as 
the Sylvanus Wood house, now stands. It is said 
that the original timbers of hewn oak that were in 
the house built in 1642 still remain in place as when 
first laid. 

Mr. Carter had eight children, of whom Samuel 
and Judith were born in Watertown, and Theophilus, 
Mary, Abigail, Deborah, Timothy and Thomas in 
Woburn. Theophilus and Deborah died young. 
Samuel, the eldest of the eight, born Aug. 8, 1640, 
graduated from Harvard College in 1660, and was set- 
tled, for a short time, as pastor of the church in Gro- 
ton. For some reason, not now fully known, he re- 
tired early from the ministry, and, besides being, a' dif- 
erent seasons, a teacher, he sustained various offices in 
the government of the town. In 1672 he married 
Eunice Brooks and had eight children. He died in 
the autumn of 1693.' 

Of the other children of Rev. Thoma^Carter, 
Judith married, first, Samuel, son of Edward Con- 
verse, and, second, Giles Fifield, and died 1676. Mary 
married first, John Wyman, Jr. about 1671, who, being 
killed by the Indians at the Swamp Fight, December, 
19, 1675, she married, second, Nathaniel Bachelor, of 
Hampton, N. H., in 1676, and died 1678. Abigail 
married John Smith, 1674, and died prior to 1684. 
Timothy married Anna Fisk, of Cambridge, 1680, 
and died 1727. Thomas married Margery Whitmore, 
of Cambridge, 1682, and died 1734.'' 

Rev. Thomas Carter died September 5, 1684. His 
wife, Mary (Dalton) Carter, did not long survive 
him. She died March 28, 1687. 

Hev. Jabez Fox, son of Thomas Fox, of Concord, 
was born in that town in 1647, but, at a very early 
age, removed with the family to Cambridge, his 
father being as early as 1652, and repeatedly after 
that year, on the Cambridge Board of Selectmen. 
Here he lived in the historic house known in later 
years as the " Holmes Place," and here he died 
April 25, 1693. According to a tradition in the 
family, he was a lineal descendant from Rev. John 
Fox, the martyrologi.st. 

Jabez Fox was educated at Cambridge, graduating 
from the college in 1665. On taking his second 
degree there, three years later, his public address con- 
sisted of a few lines of Latin verse. '° Made a free- 
man in 1667, he entered upon the work of the minis- 
try and married. While yet at Cambridge, he was 
invited, in 1678, to serve as an assistant of Mr. 
Carter for one year. This invitation he accepted, 
but, before the year had expired, he received a 
unanimous call to continue his labors with an ulti- 
mate settlement in view. On the 5th of November, 
1679, the parish voted to give him a call " to be 
their minister for his life-time." He was accordingly 

8 S. R. Carter's Address, p. 29. 

5 Seivall'8 "History," p. 127 ; S. R. Carter's Address, p. 30. 

10 Sibley's " Harvard Graduates," vol. ii., pp. 196-198. 



WOBURN. 



417 



ordained soon after this date, probably in the same 
month. The town agreed, November 10th, of the 
same year, to build him ''a dwelling-house, twenty- 
foure feet in length, eaighteene feet wide, and thirteene 
feet stud, a stack of three brick chimneys, a cellar 
under it, and a leantwo at the chimney end, and so 
to finish the said hous and give it him." 

December 8th, ''The Town did agree, upon Mr. 
Fox's desire, to build the said hous fourty feet long. 
Mr. Fox being willing to allow toward the worke 
twenty and five pounds and five pounds more in case 
that it be not sufficient for what is expended for the 
making the said house sixteene feet longer than was 
agreed of by the Towne in the first place." ' 

This house, situated on Pleasant Street, near the 
site of the Public Library, was occupied by Mr. Fox 
and his son and successor about seventy-six years. 

Mr. Fox appears to have had the confidence and 
aflection of the great body of his parishioners through 
life, though they sometimes occasioned him disquie- 
tude by allowing his salary to fall in arrears. At one 
time about seventy pounds were thus due to him, 
some of which was not paid till after his death. 
Doubtless, however, this seeming neglect was due 
to the extraordinary pressure of the times and other 
causes not specifically named. ^ 

Mr. Fox died in Boston, of the small-pox, in the 
forenoon of the Lord's Day, February 2G, 1702-3, but 
was buried in Woburn, where, in the oldest burying- 
ground, his grave-stone bears the following inscrip- 
tion : 

" Memento Fugit 

Mori Hora. 

Here lyes ye Body of 
Y" Reverend M' Jabez Fox, 

Pastour of T" Cburcb of 

Christ in Wobourn 23 years, 

& Aged 60 years, Decesed 

Feb'. Ye 28'l' 1702-3." 

Mr. Fox married Judith, daughter of Rev. John 
Eeyner, of Plymouth, lG3(;-54, and of Dover, N. H., 
1655-60.' After his death she became the wife of 
Colonel Jonathan Tyng, of Boston, who subsequently 
lived in Woburn, where he died January 19, 1724. 
His widow died June 5, 1736. The inscription on 
her monumental stone in the old burying-place on 
Park Street, is as follows : 

" Here lyes Buried y* Body 
of Mrs. Judith Tvng, wife 

to Col. Jonathan Tyng. 
formerly wife to y Rev**. 
Mr. Jabez Fox, who Dy'd 
June ."ith Anno Doni" ITSti, 
in y OOtli year of her Age : 
A woman of Most Exemplary Vertue 
& Piety ; Rich in Grace, Ripe for Glory." 

It is not known that any sermons or other writings 
of Mr. Fox were published, though there are still ex- 
isting skeletons of two or more sermons preached in 



1 Sibley's *' Hiirvard Graduates," vol. ii., pp. 106-198. 
* Sibley's " Harvard Graduates," vol. ii., pp. 196-198. 
3 Lawrence's " N. H. Churches," p. 320. 

27 



Cambridge, which were committed to paper by 
friends, probably at the time of, or immediately 
after, their delivery. One was preached .July 28, 1(578, 
from 2 Timothy 2: 19. Another May 11, 1673, was 
based upon Ephesians 5 : IG.'' 

Rev. Jabez and Judith- (Reyner) Fox had five 
children : 1. John, born at Cambridge, May 10, 1678, 
bis father's successor; 2. Thomas, born at Woburn, 
July 6, 1680, died July 10, 1680 ; 3. Thomas, born at 
Woburn, November 13, 1681; 4. Jabez, born at 
Woburn, December 2, 1684 ; 5. Judith, born at 
Woburn, June 19, 1690, and died the same year. 

liev. John Fax, son and successor of Rev. Jabez 
Fox, was born at Cambridge, May 10, 1678, and 
graduated from Harvard College in 169S. After serv- 
ing as master of the Grammar School in Woburn from 
1700 about two years and a half, until his father's 
death, February 28, 1703, he was invited to become 
the pastor of the church. He had already been, for 
several months, an assistant of Rev. Samuel Whiting, 
of Billerica, who was in enfeebled health.^ Ordained 
as pastor at Woburn, October 4, 1703, he retained his 
oflice and position till his death, December 12, 1756, 
but by his greatly impaired health he was often un- 
able to preach. For fifteen years before his death he 
was totally blind. He, however, preached occasion- 
ally, notwithstanding these obstacles, and often 
" catecised " and instructed the youth who were 
accustomed to meet him at his house. 

Rev. Edward Jackson was his colleague for many 
years, and died in olfice more than two years before 
the death of Mr. Fox. Rev. Josiah Sherman was 
also settled as his colleague nearly one year before 
the decease of the senior pastor. 

Mr. Fox had sore trials beside those of personal 
infirmities. The lack of harmony between his first 
colleague and himself from the beginning of their 
connection, and the consequent unsettled and divided 
condition of the people, resulting at length in the 
organization of a new church, must have greatly 
saddened his last years. Yet there are cot wanting 
decisive indications that his ministry was a useful 
one, and, for many years before the settlement of a 
colleague and the loss of his health and sight, one of 
marked success. 

Mr. Fox married Mary Tyng, daughter of Honora- 
ble Edward Tyng, who died in France. She sur- 
vived her husband several years, dying in February, 
1764. There are still extant two sermons of Mr. 
Fox occasioned by the great earthquake of October 
29, 1727, and founded on 1 Samuel 14 : 15." Another 
sermon is extant on " time and the end of time." 

Rev. John and Mary (Tyng) Fox were the parents 
of seven children, who, according to Sewall, were : — 



< Alden's " .\ni. Epitaphs," vol. i., pp. 225-226 ; Sewall's " History," 
pp. U3-14.'>. 

" Sibley's " Harvard Graduates," vol. i., p. .'iOS. 

« Alden's "Am. Epitaphs, vol. i., pp. 2-2.P-2:U ; Sewall's "Histoid" 
pp. 331-332 ; Am. Qi/. RegMer. vol. xi., p. 188. 



418 



HISTOEY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



1. John, born February 13, 1704, " who, in early 
life, went to Ireland to live with a wealthy relative." 

2. Jabez, born May 25, 1705. Alden, in his epitaphs 
mentioned him as " Hon. Jabez Fox, Esq.," as found 
in his monumental inscription. His first wife, who 
lived but a short time after her marriage, was from 
Boston. He married, second, Ann, widow of Phineas 
Jones, who died June 0, 1768. Mr. Fox graduated 
from Harvard College 1727, studied theology and 
entered upon the work of preaching, but w.<is soon 
obliged by failing health to relinquish the profession. 
He removed to Falmouth (now Portland), Maine, 
where he spent an honorable and useful life, and was 
for several years a member of the Provincial Coun- 
cil of Massachusetts. 

3. Mary, born October 26, 1706, married Rev. He- 
bijah Weld, of Attleborough, October 17, 1728. 

4. Edward, born October 26, 1708, lost at sea on 
his passage to England. 

5. Thomas, born April 7, 1711, a goldsmith at 
Boston. 

6. Judith, born August 10, 1712, married Rev. 
Nathan Stone, of Southborough, October 31, 1734. 

7. Jonathan, born March 26, 1716, married Ruth 
Carter, August 17, 1737; lived and died in Woburn.' 

Jiev. Edward Jackson, was the son of Deacon Ed- 
ward Jackson, of Newton, and a grandson of Edward 
Jackson who came to New England about 1642, was 
made freeman in 1645 and settled in Newton, then a 
part of Cambridge, between 1642 and 1645. - 

The sources of information iu regard to Mr. Jack- 
son are more limited than in the case of most of the 
pastors. Mr. Sewall seems to have exhausted them 
with comparatively small results. Born at Newton, 
April 3, 1700, and a graduate from Harvard College, 
1719, he was ordained in Woburn, as colleague of 
Eev. John Fox, August 1, 1729, but died before the 
decease of the senior pastor, September 24, 1754, 
after a ministry of more than twenty-five years. He 
was never married. 

It is not easy, after the lapse of more than 134 
years, and with somewhat conflicting accounts of 
Mr. Jackson's ministry, to form an estimate of Mr. 
Jackson as a man which is entirely satisfactory, in 
any sense. Mr. Sewall says of him, " he was sound 
in doctrine, correct in morals, and his public labors 
and services were acceptable to his people, though he 
left nothing in print by which the style, matter and 
manner of his preaching can now be estimated." ^ 
That, during a considerable part of his ministry, there 
were strifes and humiliating criminations, cannot be 
questioned. But the exact measure of blame which 
should be attached to the one or the other man or 
party, we may not now be able to determine. We 



1 AUen" "Am. Epitaphs,'' vol. ii., pp. yO-92 ; SewaU'a "History," 
p. 332. 

2 Sewall's " Hist.," p. 325. 

3 " History of Woburn," p. 320. 



can only regret that any hearts and any homes were, 
even for a limited time, overshadowed by a cloud that 
was so ominously threatening. * 

Eev. Josiah Sherman ' (William ^, Joseph ^, Captain 
John*, John^, Henry-, Henry ') was born in Water- 
town, April 29, 1729. His great-grandfather, Cap- 
tain John Sherman, came from Dedham, England, in 
1034, and was an early settler in Watertown during 
that year. Rev. Nathaniel Sherman, of Bedford, 
William Sherman, Esq., of New Milford, Connecti- 
cut, and Hon. Roger Sherman, of New Haven, Con- 
necticut, one of the signers of the Declaration of 
Independence, were his brothers. He graduated 
from Nassau Hall, New Jersey, 1754, and received, 
during the same year, a degree from Yale College, 
and one from Cambridge in 1758. '" 

After studying theology with Rev. Dr. Bellamy, 
of Bethlehem, Connecticut, and Rev. Mr. Graham, 
of Southbury, in the same State, Mr. Sherman was 
ordained at Woburn, January 28, 1756, as colleague 
of Eev. John Fox, whose death occurred in a little 
less than one year afterward, Mr. Sherman thence- 
forward, till his dismission, April 11, 1775, being the 
sole pastor. 

Mr. Sherman was a man of rare ability. He found 
the people in a broken and unhappy condition, occa- 
sioned by the alienations and divisions during the 
ministry of his predecessor as colleague, but his elo- 
quence and wondrous power soon drew :>11 hearts to- 
gether and the recently organized Third Church back 
into the old fold. History and tradition alike repre- 
sent him as a master of eloquence that, in his time 
and neighborhood, had no equal. The house of wor- 
ship, though considerably enlarged after his settle- 
ment, was crowded, and even the aisles and pulpit- 
stairs were thronged from Sabbath to Sabbath.'' 
Whenever he preached in Charlestown, as he occa- 
sionally did, there, too, he was sure to have a crowd 
of hearers so great as to suggest some extraordinary 
occasion. An old tradition, well remembered by 
some still, used to say that, on one occasion, a neigh- 
boring minister, less popular than himself, asked him 
why it was, that wherever and whatever he preached, 
he always so deeply moved the people, while he him- 
self, though preaching the same gospel, could elicit 
next to no interest at all. Mr. Sherman replied by 
making this offer: '' I will preach one of your ser- 
mons to your people and you shall preach one of 
mine to my people." The offer was accepted. And 
the result was that Mr. Sherman's people, ignorant 
of the arrangement, listened to what, as usual, when 
they heard the same preacher, they thought a dull 



< "History of Woburn," pp. 325-326; Am. Qy. Degisler, vol. xi., p. 
188. 

5 Shatluck's" History of Concord," pp. 2G5-206; The Sherman Fam- 
ily in "New Eng. Hist, and Gen. Register," vol. xjciv., p. 158; Letter 
of Bcv. Cliarles S. Sherman, 1880. 

•J Chickeriug's "Dedication Discourse," p. 19. 



WOBURN. 



419 



sermon, while his neighbor's people, also ignorant, 
were charmed with an extraordinary one. 

Such being tlie character of the man and the elo- 
quence of the preacher, it is not strange that the 
people of Woburn parted with him with great re- 
luctance. But finding himself unable to support his 
family without a considerable addition to his salary 
a small increase having been repeatedly inadequate 
he requested a dismission, which request he repeated 
and urged before it was finally granted. And even 
after his dismission, an unsuccessful effort was made 
to induce him to return and be settled again. 

Mr. Sherman, wliile in Woburn, lived in the large 
and still remembered house that stood on the east side 
of Main Street, near the present residence of the widow 
of the late lyewis Shaw. On leaving Woburn he re- 
moved to Milford, Connecticut, where he was for 
some time pastor of the Second Church. He thence 
removed to Goshen, in the same State, where he was 
also a pastor, and finally removed to Woodbridge, 
near New Haven, where he preached during the re- 
mainder of his life and now sleeps in death. ' 

The inscription on the monumental stone at Wood- 
bridge is as follows : 

"In 

Memory of The 

Ket. Josiah Sherman, 

Minister of the Gospel, 

Obt. Not. 24th,. V.D. 17S9. 

.1. 00. 

*'^The learned Scholar, the eloquent 

Orator, the accomplished Gentleman, 

the faithful Pastor, the kind Ilusband 

and Parent, and the humble follower of 

Jesus Christ. Piety adorned liis useful 

life, aud in the moment of his painful 

Death, enabled him to triumph in the 

Hope of Heaven. 

" Much impressed himself, as conscious 

of his awful charge," — " by him the violated 

law spoke out its thunders, and by him in 

strains as sweet as Angels use, the Gospel 

whispered Peace.*' " 

It is not definitely known how many sermons or 
other addresses Mr. Sherman published. Three are 
extant. One was addressed to infidels. Others were 
on " The Redemption by Jesus Christ," and the 
"History of Melchisedec." In 1770, while at Woburn, 
he preached the Artillery Election Sermon from Ps. 
149: 6.' It is not known that this was published. 

Mr. Sherman married, January 26, 1757, Martha, 
daughter of Hon. James and Elizabeth (Merrick) 
Minott, of Concord. They had six children, of whom 
the four oldest were daughters and the two youngest 
sons, all born in Woburn, — 

1. Martha, born December 8, 1758, married, first. Rev. 
Justin Mitchell, ofNew Canaan, Conn., and second, Jo- 
seph Bartlett, of Albany, N. Y. (she was the grand- 

1 Rer. Dr. Atwater's Discoutse at the funeral of Hod. Boger M. Sher- 
man, p. 9. 

- Rev. Charles S. Sherman's letter. 

2 Sewall's " History," pp. 330-357. 



mother of the Hon. Chauncey Mitchell Depew, of New 
York); 2. Elizabeth, born March 26, 1761, married 
John Mitchell, of Woodbury, Conn. ; 3. Mary, born 
February.3,1763, married Joseph Ives, of Conn.: 4. Su- 
sanna, born April 7, 1765, married John Baldwin, of 

Bloomfield, N. J. ; 5. Josiah, born 1770, married 

Hannah Jones, of Hartford, Conn., and settled in Al- 
bany, N. Y., where he was a highly esteemed mer- 
chant and an elder in the Presbyterian Church. He 
was the father of Rev. Charles S. Sherman, who, .after 
graduating from Yale College in 1835, and from Ando- 
ver Theological Seminary in 1838, was ordained as a 
missionary in Woburn, November 30, 1838. He 
was for some time a missionary in Jerusalem, Pales- 
tine, and is now living in Manchester, Conn. Two 
other sons of Josiah Sherman, Henry and Epaphras, 
after leaving Yale College, entered the profession of 
law. The former practiced in Hartford, Conn., in 
New York and in Washington, D. C, where he died 
March 24, 1879. The younger practiced chiefly in 
New York until his death there, January, 1886. 6. 
Roger Minott, born May 22, 1773, married Elizabeth 
Gould, of New Haven, Conn., December 13, 1796. At 
the age of sixteen he entered the Sophomore Class in 
Yale College, six weeks before the death of his father. 
By the aid of his uncle, Hon. Roger Sherman, of New 
Haven, who received him into his family, and by his 
own exertions in teaching, he was enabled to meet 
his college expenses and graduated, in 1792, with a 
high standing as a scholar. He immediately took an 
academy in Windsor and, at the same time, com- 
menced the study of law under the Hon. Oliver Ells- 
worth. Subsequentl}' he took a school in Litchfield, 
where he continued the study of law under the Hon. 
Tapping Reeve. In March, 1795, he was appointed 
a tutor in Yale College. He was admitted to the bar 
in New Haven, May, 1796. After practicing in Nor- 
walk several years, he removed to Fairfield in 1807, 
where he resided nearly forty years, till his death, 
December 30, 1844. As a man, as a Christian, as a 
scholar, as a lawyer and a judge of the Supreme 
Court, he stood pre-eminent in his State, and was 
very highly esteemed wherever known.* 

Bev. Samuel Sargeant. — After the dismission of Mr. 
Sherman the church was, for nearly ten years, with- 
out a pastor. This destitution, together with the still 
remembered popularity of Mr. Sherman, made it ex- 
ceedingly difficult for the people to agree upon a 
successor, and equally difficult for any man to fill 
the vacancy. Among the many who preached as 
candidates, at least four received a call to settle, but, 
in each case the candidate, evidently fearing to incur 
the risk, in the circumstances, of an affirmative an- 
swer, declined acceptance and settled elsewhere. In 
their sadly disheartening condition, the parish finally 
extended a call to Rev. Samuel Sargeant. This call, 



* Dr. Atwater's Funeral Discourse, pp. 9-11 ; Letter of Key. Charles 
S. Sherman. 



420 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



though not unanimous, was voted December 8, 1784, 
and it was not till January 24, 1785, that it was an- 
swered affirmatively. The ordination seems to have 
taken place March 14, 1785. Few pastors, at the out- 
set of their ministry, have ever had a more unpromising 
outlook into the future. The people were divided, 
uneasy, discouraged and dissatisfied. If the minister 
had been the best in the country, he could hardly 
have expected or achieved success. And it was not 
necessarily to the discredit of Mr. Sargeant that he 
failed. So far as appears, he tried to do his duty and 
earnestly desired the welfare of the people. But he 
had scarcely entered upon his work before a series of 
agitations respecting him began which continued till 
its close, nearly fourteen years later. The wonder is 
that he remained so long, though it should not be for- 
gotten that, in his day, there prevailed, in regard to 
the length of pastorates, ideas very different from 
those prevalent to-day. 

Without attempting to go into the numerous details 
of the case, it is sufficient for our present purpose to 
say that the people voted, July 9, 1798, with the con- 
currence of Mr. Sargeant, to call a mutual council to 
consider their condition and give advice. The coun- 
cil convened September 25, 1798. After an address 
from a joint committee of the church and parish to 
the persons composing it, and due deliberation, the 
council gave their result. In view of the very com- 
plicated and threatening circumstances of the parish, 
they unanimously advised Mr. Sargeant to "ask 
for dismission on condition that the Church and peo- 
ple ol his charge shall pay him nine hundred dollars, 
that sum being judged no more than a reasonable 
compensation for his relinquishing his contract." At 
the same time the council bore their testimony to the 
good moral character of Mr. Sargeant as a man, as a 
Christian and as a minister, which they declare to be 
unimpeached, "no charges having been offered of 
any immoral conduct, false doctrine, or criminal de- 
linquency in office." 

The council concluded by addressing wholesome 
and timely admonition and advice to the people, and 
commending them and the pastor to the blessing of 
God. 

This result, especially in its recommendation of 
a compensation of $900 to Mr. Sargeant, was not ac- 
cepted by the people. After nearly a year of addi- 
tional agitation, a compromise was male which put 
an end to the controversy, and Mr. Sargeant was 
accordingly dismissed, May 27, 1799, after a ministry 
of a little more than fourteen years.' 

Rev. Samuel Sargeant was born in Worcester, No- 
vember 6, 1755. By the author of the " Descendants 
of William Sargeant," he is said to have been of the 
Maiden family of Sargeants, but no very definite 
account of him is attempted. He graduated from 
Dartmouth College in 17S3,and studied theology under 

1 Sewall's "history," pp. 433-146. 



Rev. Professor Ripley, of Hanover, N. H. He was or- 
dained at Woburn March 14, 1785, and dismissed 
May 27, 1799.= 

According to a tradition in the Thompson family, 
he boarded, for some time, in the family of the widow 
of Daniel Thompson, the martyr-hero of Lexington 
and Concord, whose well-known house still stands on 
Main Street, corner of Clinton Street, Central Square. 
There is reason to believe that he subsequently lived 
in a house standing on the east side of Main Street, 
near the present residence of Dr. J. M. Harlow, or 
perhaps nearer the spot now occupied by the Episco- 
pal Church. It is not known that he published more 
than one sermon, but a " Right Hand of Fellowship," 
which he gave to Rev. F. Raynolds at his ordination 
in Wilmington, October 29, 1795, was printed, with 
the sermon preached on the same occasion by the Uev. 
Charles Backus, of Somers, Conn., and the charge to 
the pastor by the Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Emmons, of 
Franklin, and is still extant. 

After Mr. Sargeant was dismissed from the church 
in Woburn he removed to Chester, Vt., and without 
being settled over any church, he preached in various 
places and in different States, under the direction of 
the Connecticut and Massachusetts missionary socie- 
ties. For several years he had also charge of the 
church in Chester, whose pulpit he regularly sup- 
plied, though not as a settled pastor. He died in 
Chester, June 2, 1818, at the age of 63.^ 

Rev. Samuel Sargeant married, May 10, 1787, MihS 
Nabby Blaney, of Maiden, and four children were 
born to them in Woburn : 

1. Nabby, born February C, 1788; 2. Jabez, born 
February 1, 1789; 3. Phineas Osgood, born February 
29, 1792; 4. Benjamin Blaney, born August 9, 1793. 

From Sargeant's work on " Descendants of William 
Sargeant," we learn that Rev. Samufel Sargeant had a 
family of five sons, though the record is confessedly 
imperfect. The names given are — 1. Jabez, a lawyer 
in Windsor, Vt. ; 2. Samuel, who went West; 3. Ben- 
jamin; 4. Blaney; 5. Phineas O.-good. 

December 18, 1889. Since the foregoing was writ- 
ten the writer has been informed by a letter from a 
friend in Che.'^ter, Vt., that Benjamin Blaney Sar- 
geant died in that town November 29th, in his ninety- 
seventh year. The writer adds that for many years 
he was a sheriff, and rhat he once took the census of 
Windsor County, traversing the hills on foot. 

Rev. Joseph Chickering. — During the interval be- 
tween the dismission of Mr. Sargeant and the settle- 
ment of his successor nearly five years elapsed. 
Calls were, in the mean time, extended to Mr. Joshua 
Lane in 1801, and to Mr. Humphrey Moore in 1802, 
to assume the pastoral charge, but in each case the 
answer was in the negative. 

At a meeting held December 5, 1803, the church 



- "Desceiidants of William Sargent." 

3 Chester Town Record aDd Cheater Churcti Mfimiftl. 



WOBURN. 



421 



voted a unanimous call to Mr. Joseph Chickering to 
become their pastor. In this call the town, on the 
22d of the same month, unanimously concurred, and 
voted to give him an annual salary of $650.00 and 
fifteen cords of good hard wood. On the 2Gth of 
January, 1804, the town voted that when, by reason 
of old age or other infirmity, Jlr. Joseph Chickering 
shall be unable to perform the work of the go.spel 
ministry, he shall then receive one-half of the afore- 
said annual salary, to be equally apportioned on the 
money and wood during the time he shall stand in the 
connection of a gospel minister in the town of 
Woburn.' 

On the 12th of February following, Mr. Chickering 
signified his acceptance of the invitation, and he was 
accordingly ordained March 28, 1804, by a large coun- 
cil of the pastors and delegates of fifteen churches, 
Rev. Jabez Chickering, of Dedham, father of the 
pastor-elect, preaching the sermon.- 

Jt was during Mr. Chickeriiig's ministry that the 
third meeting-house was destroyed by fire and a new 
house erected on the site now occupied by the Unita- 
rian Church. This house was dedicated June 28, 
1809, the sermon, preached by the pastor, being pub- 
lished and still extant. 

Mr. Chickering's ministry was attended by manifest 
tokens of Divine acceptance. He had warm friends; 
the attendance upon his ministrations was full and 
increasing; new and earnest interest was awakened 
in the work of various benevolent associations, and a 
large number of persons were added to the church, 
there being, during his ministry, 1G4. To human view- 
it seems as if this prosperity might continue indefi- 
nitely. But the last few years of his pastorate became, 
through an unfortunate business transaction between 
him and a prominent member of his society, a source 
of great disquietude to him and of anxiety to his 
people. All eflbrts intended to restore peace failed, 
and, at length, amid the tears and sobs of a large part 
of the congregation the beloved pastor read, January 
28, 1821, his resignation, and he was accordingly dis- 
missed April 11th following. The council bore 
strong testimony to the mofal. Christian and minis- 
terial character of the retiring pastor, and cordially 
recommended him to any Christian community, 
wherever the providence of God might call him. The 
council also commended the church for the Christian 
spirit which had actuated them in the trying circum- 
stances which had led to the severance of the tie that 
had bound them to a pastor whom they loved and. 
in other circumstances, would gladly have retained. 

After leaving Woburn Mr. Chickering was in- 
stalled, July 10, 1822, as pastor of the church in Phil- 
lipston, Mass., where he remained as pastor till July 
16, 1835, when, at his own request, on account of 
enfeebled health, he was dismissed. He died in 
Phillipston, January 27, 1844. 



1 Parish Records. 



! Rev. S. Sewall. 



Rev. Joseph Chickering, son of Rev. Jabez Chick- 
ering, was born April 30, 1780, in that part of Ded- 
ham which is now known as the town of Norwood, 
where his father was pastor of the Congregational 
Church. He graduated from Harvard College, 1799, 
studied theology with Rev. Professor Tappan, of 
Cambridge, and was ordained at Woburn, as before 
stated, March 28, 1804.' 

Mr. Chickering was twice married. He married, 
first, September 1, 1805, Betsey, only daughter of 
Deacon Johu White, of Concord, Mass. They had 
five children: 

1. John White, born March 19, 1808 ; graduated 
from I\Iiddlebuxy College, 1826, and from Andover 
Theological Seminary, 1829 ; for many years a beloved 
pastor in Portland, Me. Married, November 9, 1838, 
Frances Evelina Knowlton, of Phillipston. Of his 
children, John White, Jr., graduated Bowdoin Col- 
lege, 1852; was a pastor at Exeter, N. H., and is now 
professor in the College for the Deaf and Dumb, at 
Washington, D. C. Joseph Knowlton, graduated 
Amherst College, 1869; for some time professor in 
that college, and now (1889) residing in Washington. 
Rev. Johu W. Chickering, D.D., died suddenly at the 
house of a friend in Brooklyn, N. Y., December 9, 
1888, when on his way to his winter home in Washing- 
ton. 2. Joseph, born January 9, 1810; married at Phil- 
lipston, April 3, 1833, Emeline Jones, of Gloucester- 
who died September 25, 1886. Since 1835 he has 
resided at La Harpe and Oquawka, 111. His present 
home is the latter place. 3. Ruth, born 1812 ; died 
October 27, 1815, aged three years and four months. 

4. Henry, born 1814; died November 14, 1815. 

5. Elizabeth, born October, 1815; died October 19, 
1815. Mrs. Betsey (White) Chickering dying Novem- 
ber 3, 1815, Rev. Joseph Chickering married, second. 
Sarah Abbott Holt, daughter of Jacob Holt, of An- 
dover, and had other children: 6. Betsey, born May 
3, 1818; unmarried and residing in Pittsfield, Mass. 
7. Henry, born September 3, 1819; married, first, Mar- 
tha, daughter of Ward Newton, of Phillipston ; second, 
Elvira P. Allen, of Barre. He resided in Athol, 
Barre, North Adams and Pittsfield, where he died 
March 5, 1881. He was a printer by trade ; was for 
many years proprietor of the i;c?-^s/ure Connfij Eagle, 
and for twenty years was postmaster of Pittsfield. 
He was a deacon in the First Congregational Church 
in Pittsfield, where his widow still resides. His only 
surviving son graduated from Amherst College, 1871, 
and is a lawyer in San Francisco, Cal. 8. Abbott, 
born December 6, 1821 ; died at Phillipston June 11, 
1842. 9. Benjamin, born in Phillipston November 
18, 1824; married there. May 21, 1846, Deborah 
Louisa, daughter of Tilly Baldwin. She died in Pitts- 
field September 1, 1863, and he married, second, Oc- 
tober 5, 1865, Mary Safford Smith, daughter of Cyrus 
Smith, of Reading. Their only child, a daughter, 

3 Letter of Miss Betsey Chicliering. 



422 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



died in July, 1874, at eight years of age. Mr. Chick- 
ering resided for many years in Pittsfield, where, for 
a considerable number of years, he was the principal 
of Chitkering's Commercial College/ and where he 
died August 3, 1889. 

Jiev. Joseph Bennett. — On the 19th of November 
following Mr. Chickering's dismission a unanimous 
call to settle, as his successor, was extended by church 
and parish to Mr. Joseph Bennett, then a recent grad- 
uate from the Theological Seminary at Andover. 
Having signified his acceptance December 6th, he 
was ordained by a large council, January 1, 1822. 
Like similar occasions elsewhere at that time, it was 
a memorable day. Assembled on the Common, from 
all quarters, was an immense crowd of people, not one- 
fourth part of whom could find room for them in the 
church, even if they had desired it. The whole as- 
pect of the place was that of a gala day. A proces- 
sion of the council and members of the church and 
parish marched into the meeting-house, preceded by 
instrumental music, the players on instruments also 
performing at intervals select pieces during the pro- 
tracted exercises. 

The ministry of Mr. Bennett, continuing nearly 
twenty-six years, is so recent and so well remembered 
by a large number of the people yet living, that it seems 
unnecessary to go into details in an account of it. 
Mr. Bennett was a man of marvelous energy. Inher- 
iting a perilous amount of nervous force, he was the 
Boanerges of the Woburn pulpit. There were occa- 
sions when he was like a war-horse on the field of 
battle. His commanding figure and his strong voice 
made him the " observed of all observers." On several 
occasions, when, in a crowded and somewhat tumult- 
uous miscellaneous assembly, the moderator failed to 
secure a proper degree of order, he rose, and, with an 
air of majesty and a tone of startling significance, 
commanded silence, and instantly there followed a 
great calm, and business was quietly resumed. 

The revival of religion, which began in the autumn 
of ] 826, and continued through two years or more, 
was one of wondrous power, and resulted in an ad- 
mission, during a single year, of 225 persons, and 
during the next year, 62, or 287 in two years, to the 
church. During his ministry in Woburn there were 
760 additions. A new meeting-house was erected in 
1840, and signs of external and internal prosperity 
were visible on every hand. 

Doubtless it should be distinctly understood that 
no small part of the success attributed to Mr. Ben- 
nett was due, humanly speaking, to his excellent wife. 
She was a woman of rare qualities, always calm, self- 
poised and self-possessed, and, in every respect, just 
the helpmeet for such a man. She was often called, 
and admitted by him to be, his "balance-wheel." 
Having a remarkable control over him, she could, by 
a single quiet word, and often by a look, still bis un- 

1 Letter of Miss Betsey Chickering. 



due excitement and soothe his unsteady nerves as by 
a lullaby. And it was a sad day for him when death 
snatched her away. His work was done. He survived 
her for a short time, and even married again. But 
his excited nerves were never again quieted. His 
inherited and long approaching insanity led him at 
last, Nov. 19, 1847, to take his own life. 

Rev. Joseph Bennett was born in Framingham 
May 13, 1798; graduated from Harvard College in 
1818; studied theology at Andover; was ordained at 
Woburn Jan. 1, 1822 ; and, during the month of Feb- 
ruary following, married Mary Lamson, of Charles- 
town. He lived first in the historic house at North 
Woburn of late known as the Wheeler house, then 
in the historic Clapp house at Central Square. But 
his home, during mf»st of his ministry, was in the 
house on Pleasant Street next to the new railroad 
depot. He had only two children, — • 

1. Joseph Lamson, born Nov. 8, 1823; graduated 
Amherst College, 1845; Andover, 1848; was pastor of 
Churches, at Hannibal, Mo., East Cambridge, Mass., 
Lockport, N. Y., Indianapolis, Ind., Springfield, O., 
Suspension Bridge and Spencerport, N. Y. He 
married Eliza Ann Tilson, of Boston, had four chil- 
dren, and died May 22, 1882. 

2. Mary Lamson, born Sept. 14, 1829; married Kev. 
Thomas Morong, who graduated Amherst College, 
1848; Andover, 1853; has been pastor at Pepperell, 
Mass., Iowa City, Iowa, Ipswich and since 1878 at 
Ashland, Mass. They have two children, one of 
whom, Arthur Bennett, graduated Amherst College, 
1871, and is a physician in Boston.- 

Bev. Jonathan Edumrds. — During the month of 
March, succeeding Mr. Bennett's death, the church 
and society extended a unanimous call to Mr. Jona- 
than Edwards, of Andover, to the pastoral charge. 
On the 26th of May following the call was accepted, 
and Sept. 7, 1848, the pastor-elect was publicly or- 
dained. The sermon was preached by Rev. Dr. E. N. 
Kirk, of Boston ; the charge was delivered by Rev. 
Dr. Justin Edwards, of Andover, and the address to 
the people by Rev. Dr. John W. Chickering, of Port- 
land, Me. 

The ministry of Mr. Edwards w'as characterized by 
a gratifying degree of prosperity. The uniform ur- 
banity and culture as well as fidelity of the pastor 
were met by respect, confidence and kindness on the 
part of the people. The salary was largely increased 
without solicitation, and nothing is known to have 
occured to jar or mar the mutual harmony. 

But, after more than seven years of useful labor, 
Mr. Edwards received an urgent invitation to engage 
in a new enterprise elsewhere, which seemed to him 
to promise, on the whole, a more satisfactory degree 
of usefulness, and the people reluctantly consented, 
at his own request, to release him. He was accord- 
ingly dismissed Jan. 9, 1856. 



3 Woburn Record of Births. - 
Alumni, p. 206, p. 227, p. 470. 



-Biographical Record of the Ajnherst 



WOBURN. 



423 



Rev. Jonathan Edwards, son of Rev. Dr. Justin 
and Lydia (Bigelow) Edwards, was born at Andover 
July 17, 1820 ; graduated from Yale College in 1840; 
studied theology at New Haven and Andover Theo- 
logical Seminaries, graduating from the latter in 
1847. After spending an additional year at Andov- 
er as " Abbot Resident," and, in Ihe mean time, ac- 
cepting a call to settle in Woburn, he was ordained, as 
before mentioned, Sept. 7, 1848. Leaving Woburn 
early in 1856, he became, Feb. 14th of that year, the 
first pastor of the Plymouth Congregational Church 
in Rochester, N. Y. On the 1st day of January, 18G3, 
he was installed pastor of the First Congregational 
Church in Dedham, Mass. Since 1876 he has been 
pastor of the Congregational Church at Wellesley 
Hills, Mass. 

Mr. Edwards married, Aug. 31, 1848, at Augusta, 
Me., Frances Swan Bronson, eldest daughter of Hon. 
David Bronson, of Augusta. Their children, all 
born in Rochester, N. Y., are : 

1. Augusta Bigelow, born Feb. 26, 1857; married 
Frederick VV. Brooks Dec. 13, 1876. 

2. Mary Newton, born Jan. 4, 1859. 

3. Justin, born Nov. 30, 1861.' 

Rev. Daniel March. — Rev. Daniel March, recently 
from Brooklyn, N. Y., was the immediate successor of 
Mr. Edwards. A unanimous call having been ex- 
tended to him August 18, 1856, he accepted it and 
was installed October 1st, following; the sermon 
being preached by Rev. Dr. A. L. Stone, of the Park 
Street Church, Boston. This pastorate, like that of 
his predecessor, was a highly prosperous and happy 
one, and though short — between five and* six years — 
was rich in results. As, however. Dr. March, after a 
ministry of several years in Philadelphia, Pa., re- 
sumed his former charge in Woburn, which he still 
retains, a more extended notice of his connection 
with the church and society is here deferred and will 
be given farther on. It need only be said here that 
it was during liis first pastorate in Woburn, and not, 
as stated in Sewall's History, in Dr. Bodwell's, that 
the present spacious church edifice was erected. 

Rev. .Joseph C. Bodivell. — Dr. March having been 
dismissed February 17, 1862, Rev. Joseph C. Bodwell, 
then of Framingham, accepted a unanimous invita- 
tion, voted October 6th of the same year, to become 
his successor, and was installed November 11th fol- 
lowing. A written statement of his theological views 
and a verbal account of his personal experience were 
highly satisfactory, both to the council and to the 
people. Richly furnished by personal and profes- 
sional training and culture, Mr. Bodwell entered upon 
his work with rare promise of usefulness. During a 
part of his subsequent ministry his happiness was 
somewhat disturbed and his usefulness more or less 
abridged by an untimely, if not wicked, interference 
of a few persons, led on by men who did not accept 

1 Letter of Rev. J. Edwards. 



his theological views and were only transient resi- 
dents in Woburn. But the large majority of his 
people had the fullest confidence in him and, in va- 
rious ways, manifested for him a warm afl'ection. 
That he was a man of unusual culture and ability, 
none could deny, and the council that dismissed him 
August 3, 1806, bore the highest testimony to his 
character, as a genial man, a sound theologian, an 
able preacher, a successful pastor and a wise winner 
of souls to Christ. The council also warmly com- 
mended the church and society for their steadfast 
sympathy with him, their "warmest attachment and 
unwavering confidence." 

But the urgent call from the Board of Trustees of 
Theological Seminary at Hartford, Conn., to a profes- 
sorship in that institution, and considerations con- 
nected with the oflered position, were accepted as 
unmistakable indications that God had for him there 
a more important field of usefulness even than the 
wide field in Woburn. And accordingly, amid the 
great regrets of his flock, he was dismissed and com- 
mended to those who were specially interested in his 
new sphere of lalior. 

Rev. Joseph Conner Bodwell, D.D., was born in 
Sanbornton, N. H., June 11, 1812, and was the son of 
Rev. Abraham Bodwell, pastor for many years of the 
Congregational Church in that place. He fitted for 
college mostly in his native town, where, at a very 
early age, he was a teacher. He graduated from 
Dartmouth College in 1833, and during the following 
year taught the academy at Haverhill, N. H., and 
in 1835-36 the Woodman Academy in Sanbornton. 
Encouraged and advised by Rev. Mr. Gibbs, of Hav- 
erhill, a native of England, he pursued his theological 
studies in 1836-37, at Highbury College, London. 
On the 3d of April, 1839, he was ordained pastor of 
the Independent Church, Weymouth, Dorsetshire, 
from which he was dismissed in 1845. In June, 1847, 
he was installed at Bury St. Edmund's, Suffolk. Dis- 
missed from this charge in 1850, he returned to the 
United States, and June 30, 1852, he was installed 
pastor of the Congregational Church at Framingham, 
Mass. Dismissed November 5, 1862, he was installed 
at Woburn November 11th, following. He was dis- 
missed from his charge in Woburn August 3, 1866, to 
become " Professor of Pulpit- Training and Pastoral 
Care " in the Hartford Theological Seminary, where 
he remained for seven years. He died of carbuncle 
at Southwest Harbor, Mount Desert Island, Jle., 
June 17, 1876, and was buried in Sanbornton, N. H., 
by the side of his parents. 

He received the degree of S.T.D. from his alma 
mater in 1864. 

Dr. Bodwell published " A Pastor's Farewell to his 
Flock," preached in the First Congregational Church 
in Woburn, August 5, 1866; "The Preachers de- 
manded in Our Day, and How to secure them," inau- 
gural discourse as professor at Hartford ; " Historical 
Address" at the centennial celebration of the San- 



424 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



bornton Congregational Church November 13, 1871. 
He was one of the founders of the American Theo- 
logical lievifw, and one of four original proprietors of 
the Boston Congregational Review. 

Dr. Bodwell married. May 16, 1839, Catharine 
Sykes, only daughter of John Sykes, Esq., of High- 
bury Park, London. Their children were : 

1. Joseph Conner, born February 29, 1840, in 
Weymouth, Eng. He graduated from Dartmouth 
College 1863; was admitted to practice in the courts 
of Massachusetts, at Cambridge, 1864; graduated 
from Hartford Theological Seminary 1871; ordained 
at Thompson, Conn., March 13, 1872 ; installed over 
the Congregational Church there in December fol- 
lowing; dismissed September 25, 1874, and installed 
over the church in Stockbridge, Mass., October 6th 
following. He has since labored in Leavenworth City, 
Kansas, two years, and has been, for some time, pas- 
tor of the Congregational Church in Bridgewater, 
Mass. He is no w ( 1889) pastor of the Congregational 
Church in Lyndonville, Vt., where he was installed 
June 23, 1887. He married Lydia Anne, daughter 
of Deacon John R. Kimball, of Woburn, June 15, 
1871; 2. Katharine Sykes, born in Weymouth, Eng., 
August 15, 1841; 3. Charlotte Elizabeth, born in 
Weymouth, Eng., September 3, 1843; 4. John Abra- 
ham, born September 13, 1844, died June 25, 1847 ; 
5. Helena Jane, born in Islington, Eng., October 2, 
1846, died November 27, 1846 ; 6. Herbert James 
Lovell, boVn at Bury St. Edmund's, Eng., June 24, 
1849; 7. Albert Edward, bora in Framingham, 
MasR., June 26, 1853.' 

Rev. Stephen R. Dennen. — After the dismission of 
Dr. Bodwell, August 3, 1866, the church and society 
were without a pastor till June 24, 1868, when Rev. 
Stephen R. Dennen, who had accepted a call to suc- 
ceed him, was duly installed. Rev. Dr. Thatcher 
Thayer, of Newport, R. I., preaching the sermon from 
Matt. 5 : 17. Mr. Dennen, like his predecessor, had 
the advantage of ripe experience in the pastoral 
office, and his power, as an able and impressive 
preacher, was soon felt and acknowledged. During 
the interval of nearly two years which preceded his 
installation, the parish, though without a pastor, had 
enjoyed unusual religious interest and about sixty 
persons, mostly young, had been admitted to mem- 
bership in the church. An encouraging degree of 
this interest continued for some time under the min- 
istry of the new pastor, and those of only recent 
Christian experience at the time, especially needed 
the strong and instructive discourses with which he 
fed them. A good degree of prosperity, in various 
ways, continued to crown the labor of both pastor 
and people from year to year. But with another field 
in view, which he thought, on the whole, promised 
more satisfactory results, the pastor resigned his posi- 
tion and, at his own request, was dismissed December 
27, 1871. 

1 Runnel'B *' History of Sanboruton, N. H.," pp. 42-44. 



Rev. Stephen Rollins Dennen, D.D., was born in 
Poland, Me., November 6, 1826 ; graduated from 
Colby University in 1849 ; from the theological sem- 
inary at Bangor, Me., in 1852, and spent 1853 as resi- 
dent licentiate at Andover. He has been a pastor in 
Providence, R. I., in New Haven, Conn., and in 
Lynn and Waiertown, Mass., and now (1889) resides 
in West Newton. 

Dr. Dennen married, November 2, 1854, at Thom- 
aston, Me., Clara Whitney Ludwig, and their children 
were: 1. Clara Rollins, born at Wattrtown, Decem- 
ber 14, 1856; 2. Lucy Whitney, born at Watertown, 
April 12, 1859; 3. William Ludwig, born at Water- 
town, October 22,1860, died September 21, 1862; 4. 
Jane Whitney, born at Watertown, January 16, 1863; 
5. Stephen Howard, born at Somerville, February 2, 
1865, died at West Newton, November 1, 1888; 6. 
Walter Knight, born at Providence, R. I., April 22, 
1868, died at Woburn, May 15, 1870; 7. Grace Ather- 
ton, born at Woburn, September 28, 1872.^ 

Rev. Henry S. Kelsey was installed pastor March 19, 
1873. Rev. Dr. Webb, of Boston, preached the ser- 
mon ; Rev. Mr. Bissell, of Winchester, gave the right 
hand of fellowship; Rev. Mr. McCollom, of Medlbrd, 
gave the address to ihe people, and Rev. Dr. Wallace, 
of Manchester, N. H., the charge to the pastor. Mr. 
Kelsey also had been previously a pastor. His min- 
istry in Woburn was short, it being only about three 
years and six months. During this time there were 
admitted, by profession and by letter, about 100 per- 
sons to membership in the church. He was dis- 
missed, at his own request, October 8, 1876. Before 
coming to Woburn he had been pastor of churches in 
Granby, Mass., Rockville, Conn., and Holliston,Mass. 
After leaving Woburn he was pastor of the College 
Street Church, New Haven, Conn., and now (1889) 
resides, without charge, in Chicago, III. 

Henry Sylvester Kelsey, son of Sylvester and Polly 
(Gates) Kelsey, was born at LeRoy, N. Y., December 
5, 1830; fitted for college at Williston Seminary, 
Easthampton, Mass. ; graduated from Amherst Col- 
lege 1855, and from East Windsor (now Hartford) 
Theological Seminary in 1857 ; was tutor in mathe- 
matics, Amherst College, 1857-60; professor of math- 
ematics and physics, Belcit College, 1860-63. He 
married, first, Harriet A., daughter of Philip Schuyler, 
of Litchfield, Conn., October 8,1861, who died August 
3, 1865; second, Mrs. Eliza Leavitt Fiske, daughter of 
Rev. Aaron Foster, of East Charlemont, Mass., Octo- 
ber 16, 1869. She was the widow of Samuel Fiske, 
A.M., a tutor in Amherst College.^ 

Rev. Daniel March, D.B.— Soon after Mr. Kelsey's 
dismission in 1876, Rev. Dr. March, after a successful 
pastorate in Philadelphia, yielded to the strong and 
anxious desire of the people of his former charge in 
Woburn, to resume his residence and work among 



2 Letter of Kev. S. B. Dennen, D.D.' 

* "Biographical Eecord of .\mherst Alumni, '* p. 294. 



WOBURN. 



425 



them. Moved by their destitute and, at the time, 
somewhat discouraging circumstances, he consented, 
at first conditionally, and with the mutual under- 
standing that he should not immediately take the 
regular charge, but would ere long do it if it was 
deemed best. To this they gladly consented, provided 
only they might expect him after the proposed del.ay. 
At the expected time he came, and after about two 
years of stated labor as acting pastor, he accepted a 
cordial invitation to be reinstalled, and was accord- 
ingly installed by a large council, Jan. 22, 1879, in 
the same office which he had resigned seventeen years 
before. This position he still, and never more accep- 
tably, (ills in 1889. 

Dr. March has been an extensive traveller; "The 
Land of the Midnight Sun," and the more prominent 
States in Europe, Western Asia, India, China, Egypt, 
and various islands of the sea have been visited by 
him. During a portion of 1887 and nearly all of 1888 
he made the most prolonged and widely extended of 
all his repeated journeys. 

Dr. March has also been a voluminous writer. 
Among his published works the following have been 
well and widely known : " Xighl Scenes in the Bible," 
" Our Father's House, or the Unwritten Word," 
" Home Life in the Bible," " From Dark to Dawn, 
or Second Series of Night Scenes in the Bible," 
" Walks and Homes of Jesus," " Days of the Son of 
Man," " The First Khedive, or Lessons from the Life 
of Joseph." Many sermons in newspaper and pam- 
phlet form he has also published. 

Rev. Daniel March, D.D., son of Samuel March, 
was born in Millbury, Mass., July 21, 1816. After 
spending some time in Amherst College, from 1834 
to 1836, he left that institution and spent a year in 
other pursuits, but at length entered Yale College, 
from which he graduated in 1840. He has been a 
pastor in Cheshire, Conn., in Nashua, N. H., in 
Brooklyn, N. Y., and in Philadelphia, Pa., besides 
being twice settled as pastor in Woburn. 

Dr. March married, first, Jane P. Gilson, of Proc- 
torsville, Vt., Oct. 8, 1841, and she dying Feb. 27, 
1857, he married, second, Anna B. Leconte, of 
Cheshire, Conn., April 29, 1859, who died in Woburn, 
April 8, 1878.' 

Dr. Daniel and Jane P. (Gilson) March had four 
children : 

1. Anna P., born ia Proctorsville, Vt., Oct. 13, 
1842, and died in Philadelphia, Pa., Aug. 26, 1863.^ 
2. Daniel, born in New Haven, Conn., May 25, 
1844, graduated from Amherst College in 1865, mar- 
ried, Oct, 3, 1878, Jean H. Stephenson, of Cambridge, 
N. Y., and is a physician in Winchester, Mass.' 3. 
Frederick William, born in Chfshire, Conn., March 
6, 1847, graduated from Amherst College in 1867, 



1 " Biogrnpliic.-il Record of Non-Graduates of Amherst CoUeg 

- Letter of Rev. Dr. JIarch. 

5 " Biograpliical Record of Amherst Alumni," p. 405. 



'p. 49. 



studied theology in Princeton, N. J., married, Sept. 
13, 1880, Jennie, daughter of Dr. Thomas Hill, of 
Newtou, Mass., and is a missionary of the Presby- 
terian Board in Syria.* 4. Charles Augustus, born 
in Cheshire, Conn., Nov. 26, 1848, was a member of 
Amherst College, 1866-68, graduated from the Uni- 
versity of Pennsylvania, 1870, and is a stenographer 
in the employ of the United States Government, 
Wai-hington, D. C.^ 

Houses of Worship.'' — The First Congregational 
Church and Society now worship in the sixth and 
by far the largest and most imposing structure ever 
occupied by them or their predecessors. 

The first w-as doubtless very rude in appearance 
and small in dimensions. It stood on the southerly 
border of the Common and on the north side of a 
narrow lane which is now expanded into Common 
Street, leading from Pleasant to Main Street, and not 
far from the Armory and Municipal Building. The 
exact date of its erection has not been certainly 
ascertained; but it must have been previous to 1642, 
for the ordination of Mr. Carter in that year was 
doubtless withiu its walls. The house was so frail 
and inadequate to the growing wants of the people 
that in about thirty years it became necessary to 
take measures for the erection of another. In No- 
vember, 1671, a committee was appointed to confer 
with carpenters in relation to it, and on the 20th of 
that month, after hearing their report, the town 
voted to build a new house forty feet square. In the 
autumn of 1672 it was ready for occupation. 

The second house stood on the hill east of the 
Common and a short distance northeast of the '■ Zeb. 
Wyman " house and store, lately the home of Miss 
Ruth Maria Leathe. It was considerably more im- 
posing than the first house, and was surmounted by 
a "turret" or cupola, in which was a bell. On the 
sides of the house within were galleries, which were 
constructed not at first, but from time to time subse- 
quently as needed, and then in part by private par- 
ties. For more than forty years there were only two 
pews on the main floor of the house, and these were 
occupied by the families of the minister and deacons. 
The people generally, under the guidance of the 
"Seating Committee," were seated on benches with 
high backs, the men and women apart, and the boys 
on long benches on the sides of the hou.se, under the 
windows. 

In 1678 the house, proving too limited in capacity 
for the accommodation of increasing numbers, was 
enlarged. And in 1709 it was repaired and again 
enlarged by an addition of twenty feet to the east 
end. This house stood eighty years, and for fifty- 
eight years was the only place of worship for the 

* '* Biographical Record of Amherst Alumni," p. 427. 

5 •* Biographical Record of Non-Graduates of A. C." p. 142. 

6 Tlio material fortius brief sketch is largely from 51 r. Sewall's" His- 
tory of Woburn," severely condensed, and from various old records, pri- 
vate papers, tradition and memory. 



426 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



entire town, then including Wilmington, Burlington 
and Winchester. 

The third meeting-honse, after many delays and 
many changes of the proposed location, was built on 
the easterly side of the Common, not far from the 
building formerly occupied as the post-office, now 
the store of William H. Curtis, and near the flag- 
staff on the west side of the street (now Main Street). 
This house, according to a note found in the Family 
Record of Zebediah Wyman, was erected (or raised) 
in the first week in December, 1748, and its steeple 
was put up in June, 1749. Mr. Sewall says it was 
not fully completed for more than three years, and 
was " probably " finished about March, 1752. It is 
described as "68 feet long, 42 feet wide, with 24 feet 
post." After being used nearly sixty years, it was, 
on the night of June 17, 1808, destroyed by fire. 

The fourth meeting-house is still well remembered 
by many of our oldest citizens. After the destruction 
of the third house, the people were prompt and zeal- 
ous in their measures for erecting another. In one 
year from the loss of one, the other (June 28, 1809) 
was dedicated. Rev. Joseph Chickering, the p.astor, 
preached an appropriate sermon from Acts 7: 48, — 
" The Most High dwelleth not in temples made with 
hands." The house stood on the site of the present 
Unitarian Church. It greatly exceeded either of its 
predecessors in capacity, architectural beauty and 
general appearance. But after it had been occupied 
a little more than thirty years, it was discovered that 
there wag a degree of decay in the timber used in its 
construction that rendered, or was likely very soon 
to render, it unsafe. It was, therefore, taken down, 
and on the same site was erected, in 1840, another 
house. 

The fifth meeting-house, like the fourth, on Pleas- 
ant Street, looking easterly upon the Common, was 
dedicated December 31, 1840, the sermon being 
preached by the pastor, Rev. Joseph Bennett, from 
Haggai 2 ; 9,—" The glory of this latter house shall 
be greater than of the former." 

Such was the growth of the parish and the in- 
creased demand for seats to accommodate new fami- 
lies, that in leas than twenty years it was found ne- 
cessary to dispose of this spacious house and erect a 
much larger one. It became the property of the 
Unitarian Society, and by them has been so remod- 
eled and beautified as to be almost beyond recogni- 
tion by its former occupants. 

The si.xth and latest church edifice was erected 
during the first pastorate of Dr. March, and dedicated 
October .^1, 1860. It is one of the largest in New 
England, and its conveniences are in all respects so 
excellent as hardly to leave anything to desire. Its 
location, on Main Street, corner of Church Avenue, is 
easily accessible. One hundred and fifty feet in 
length, eiglity feet wide, with a steeple one hundred 
and ninety-six feet in height, it has a substantial and 
majestic aspect not often seen outside our large cities. 



During the absence of the pastor (Dr. March, in 
1887-88) this stately edifice was, at large expense, re- ■ 
paired and refurnished, and so was the more appro- I 
priate place in which, after his far-off journeyings, to 
welcome him home. 

Colonies from the First Church. — In an ac- 
count of the churches which, at different times, have 
gone from the old First Church and become distinct or- 
ganizations, there should be special mention of the 
Second, the Third, the South and the North 
Churches. It is proper, however, to note the fact 
that the church in Wilmington was originally almost 
wholly, and the churches in Billerica and Arlington 
largely, composed of members who took letters from 
the First Church in Woburn. 

Wilmington was for nearly a century a part of Wo- 
burn, and the people of that distant portion of the 
town worshiped with all the other inhabitants, near 
and remote, in the one and then only meeting-house 
in what has been called the Centre of the town. 
About three years after the incorporation of this 
northern portion of the town, then called Goshen, 
October 24, 1733, a new church organization was 
eflected by seventeen men, and immediately after this 
act, performed, as was then the custom, by men only, 
the membership was increased by the addition of 
twenty-two other persons, men and women, making 
thirty-nine in all. Nearly all of these are believed 
to have taken letters from the old Woburn Church, 
one of them, James Thompson, having been a deacon M 
of that church, as he was the first deacon chosen by 1 
the Wilmington Church. But as at the date of or- 
ganization the town was a separate municipality, we 
do not propose further to trace the history.' 

It may properly be said here that the Congrega- 
tional Church in Billerica, organized in 1829, em- 
braced originally a considerable number of persons 
who had previously been members of the Woburn 
Church, including one who became the first deacon 
of the new church. 

The church in West Cambridge (now Arlington), 
organized in 1842, also embraced a considerable num- 
ber of members of the Woburn Church, and among 
them Deacon Luke Wyman, one of its oflicers. 

We come now to the colonies whose separate or- 
ganizations were within the boundaries of Woburn. 

The Second Church. — This church was organized 
October 29, 1735, in that part of Woburn which, for 
some time previously and for more than sixty years 
subsequently, was known as Woburn Precinct. A 
meeting-house was erected in 1732, but for some time 
previous to this the people met for worship in the 
house of Simon Thompson, near the centre of the 
present town of Burlington. 

Following the usual custom of the times, the 
church was organized by men only, ten of whom, in- 



1 *• WilmiDgton Church Macual." Rev. D, P. NoyeB' Histoncal Ad- 
dress, 



WOBURN. 



427 



eluding Eev. Supply Clapp, the first minister, signed 
the covenant at the date given above, or November 8, 
1735, N. S. The names were as follows : Supply 
Clapp, George Reed, Ebenezer Johnson, Samuel 
Walker, Janiea Thompson, Joseph Pierce, Edward 
Johnson, William Bruce, Simon Thompson, John 
Spear. 

Two of these ten organizers — Samuel Walker and 
George Reed — had been deacons in the First Church. 
They were soon followed by twenty-three other per- 
sons, thirty-three in all, most of them having been 
dismissed from the First Church for this purpose.' 

The first minister of this church was Rev. Supply 
Clapp. He had preached for the first time as a can- 
didate December 15, 1734, and he received a call to 
settle March 5, 1735, more than six months before the 
church was organized. He accepted the call " upon 
conditions," May 19th, and " in full " August 25th of 
the same year. He was accordingly ordained paster. 
October 29, 1735, the day on which the church was 
organized, and he remained in ofiice twelve years, or 
till his death, December 28, 1747. 

Mr. Clapp, the son of Deacon Samuel and Mary 
(Paul) Clapp, of Dorchester, was born in that town 
June 1, 1711. Graduating from Harvard College in 
1731, he immediately engaged in the work of teach- 
ing in his native town. This work he followed two 
or three years, preparing himself in the mean time 
for the higher work of preaching. In 1734 he occu- 
pied for most of the year a pulpit in Roxbury, going 
thence to Woburn. His first sermon, after his ordin- 
ation, was founded upon Luke 12 : 42, 43, " Who then 
is that faithful and wise steward, etc." 

Mr. Clapp married August 11, 1737, ^Martha Fowle, 
daughter of the wife of Deacon Samuel Walker, by a 
previous marriage. A little more than two years 
after Mr. Clapp's death she married Nathaniel Thwing, 
of Boston, whose son James, seven years later, mar- 
ried her oldest daughter, Martha Clapp. 

Mr. Clapp was a man of very feeble constitution, 
and was often seriously ill. He died when compara- 
tively young, between thirty-six and thirty-seven 
years of age. He was highly esteemed as a good man 
and a faithful minister of Jesus Christ. On his grave- 
stone in the old cemetery in Burlington is the follow- 
ing inscription : — 

" Here lie interred the Remains of the 

Rev-i. Mr, Supply Clnp, kite Paster 

of the 2»'i Church of Chrisi in Woburn, 

Wlio departed this Life 

December the 'iS"', 1747, 

in the 37'*' Year of his age, 

and the 13*'' of his niioistry. 

He was a good Christian, and a faithful 

Pastor, and being dead Yet Speaketh, 

Especially to the People that were 

his charge, Saying, remember how 

Ye have received and heard, etc. 

hold fast."2 

1 Letter of Mr. Samuel Sewall. 

2 "Clapp Memorial," pp. 19-21. 



Rev. Supply and Martha (Fowle) Clapp had three 
children : — 

1. JIartha, born August C, 1738, died in 1807 ; she 
married JamesTh wing, and had children : — Nathaniel, 
Supply, James, Rebecca and Samuel. Of these, Re- 
becca married William Furnessand was the mother of 
Rev. William H. Furness, D.D., of Philadelphia, Pa. 

2. Supply, born January 3, 1742; he lived in Ports- 
mouth, N. H., and was never married. Died March 
24, 1811, aged sixty-nine years. 

3. Samuel, born about June, 1745, lived in Boston, 
where he died in 1809.' 

The compiler of the " Clapp Memorial " says, " The 
children of Rev. Supply Clapp ever retained a grate- 
ful recollection of their native town ; they made fre- 
quent visits to it, lingering about the spot which was 
the scene of their childhood. About 1790 they pre- 
sented the church, over which their father had labor- 
ed, a large folio Bible for the use of the pulpit."' 

Mr. Clapp's immediate successor was Rev. Thomas 
Jones. He was the son of Ebenezer and Waitstill 
Jones, of Dorchester, where he was born 'April 20, 
1721; graduated from Harvard College 1741, and 
during the same year taught the school in his native 
town, at the rate for the first quarter of £85 per 
annum, and for the next three months at the rate of 
£95, probably old tenor money. He also taught in 
1742. He was ordained and installed as pastor of the 
Second Church, January 2, 1751, Rev. Ebenezer Gay, 
of Hingham, preaching the sermon. After a ministry 
of a little more than twenty-three years, he died sud- 
denly March 13, 1774. While engaged in the Sabbath 
morning service he was stricken with apoplexy in 
the pulpit, and was immediately carried to his home, 
where, at sunset, he expired, much lamented by his 
people. His widow survived him many years, and 
died at the great age of ninety years, in consequence 
of a fall in 1814.^ 

Rev. Thomas Jones married Abigail Wiswall, of 
Dorchester, September 5, 1751. They had three 
children : — 1. Lucy, baptized July 8, 1753, married 
Rev. Joseph Lee, of Royalston. 2. Martha, born May 
17, 1758, married Rev. John Marrett, the successor of 
Mr. Jones as pastor of the Second Church. 3. Mary, 
twin of Martha, born May, 17, 1758, married Edward 
Walker, of Burlington. 

Rev. Samuel Sewell, in 1857, says of the house in 
which Mr. Jones and his two immediate successors 
lived : " The house I live in was purchased by Mr. 
Jones soon after his ordination, was his dwelling 
while he lived the abode of his widow till her decease, 
and also of her son and daughter Marrett ; so that it 
has been a ministerial abode above a century. And 
it is a memorable house, as the place of refuge to 



3 " Clapp Jtomorial," p. 21. " The Thwing Family," p. 24. 
* "Clapp Memoriul," p. 21. 

5 "Am. Qy. Register," vol. xi. p. .179 and p. 392, and " Historj- of Dor- 
chester," pp. 524-525, 



428 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Hancock and Samuel Adams on the 19th of April, 
1775.'^' 

Mr. Jones was succeeded by Rev. John Marrett, 
the son of Amos and Mary (Dunster) Marrett, of 
Cambridge, where he was born September 21, 1741. 
He was a direct descendant from one of the first settlers 
of Cambridge and also from Rev. Henry Dunster, the 
first President of Harvard College. Having gradu- 
ated from Harvard College in 1763, he was ordained 
and installed pa.stor of the Second Church December 
21, 1774, and died in office February 18, 1813." 

Mr. Marrett is supposed by his son-in-law, Rev. 
Samuel Sewall, to have studied divinity at Cambridge, 
where he resided several years during the interval 
between his leaving college and his settlement at 
Woburn Precinct. At the time of his ordination he 
had likewise a call to take charge of the church in 
Topsfield. ' 

Mr. Marrett married Martha, a daughter of his 
predecessor, Rev. Thomas Jones, December 16, 1779. 
He had an only son, who died in infancy, and, at his 
death, February 18, 1813, left an only daughter, Mar- 
tha, who became the wife of his successor. Rev. 
Samuel Sewall. Mrs. Marrett died September 11, 
1803. 

It is not the object of this sketch to trace the his- 
tory of the Second Church of Woburn after it became 
the First Church of Burlington, incorporated as a 
separate town in 1799. We can only say here that 
Mr. Marrett was succeeded, in 1S14, by Rev. Samuel 
Sewall, who remained in office, honored and esteemed 
by all who knew him, till 1842, when, ac his own 
request, he was released from service, but continued 
to reside in Burlington till his death, February 18, 
1868. 

It is worthy of mention that the house of worship, 
built in 1732, is still, in 1889, occupied as it has ever 
been from the first. It was, however, remodeled in 
1846, and again in 1888, and is now more attractive 
and convenient than ever, and dearer than ever, as 
the place where the fathers worshiped one hundred 
and fifty-seven years ago. 

The Third Church. — It is not possible to give an 
intelligible account of the Third Church without 
assuming the difficult and unwelcome task involved 
in at least a brief description of the long-continued 
controversy that led to it. Allusion has already 
been made to a serious alienation between Rev. John 
Fox and his colleague. Rev. Edward Jackson. It 
was a source of great trouble for many years, and 
gradually disturbed the peace and prosperity of the 
entire parish. Doubtless the greatly enfeebled health 
of the senior pastor, which often disqualified him for 
any share in the active work of a pastor, and, added 

1 " History of Dorchester," pp. 524-525. 

- "Am. Qy. Register," vol. xi. p. 392, and " Letter of Samuel Sewall, 
Esq." 

3 "Am. Qy. Register," vol. xi. p. 392, anii "Letter of Samuel Sewall, 
Esq." 



to this, his total blindness during the last fifteen 
years of his life, complicated, in some measure, the 
mutual relations of the two men. Even before his 
loss of sight, Mr. Fox, in an important communica- 
tion, described, in terms which long-continued sufler- 
ing made strikingly pathetic, his almost utter help- 
lessness at times and his general disability for labor. 
And after the added privation, involved in his blind- 
ness, came upon him, his case seemed sufficiently 
hopeless to elicit universal sympathy instead of cen- 
sure for failing to do his share of the mutual work. 
This claim for sympathy was the more emphatic, 
when to the reality of his sufferings, as related by 
him, responsible physicians sent their unqualified 
testimony. 

But, besides all this, there seems to have been an 
utter incompatibility between the men — a striking 
lack of congeniality in each for the other. Mr. Fox 
was much the older, more grave, more reverent, and, 
to use a common phrase, "more ministerial," than 
Mr. Jackson. So far as appears, he was also more 
conscientious, more self-respecting and more deeply 
religious. 

Mr. Jackson was comparatively young, lacking in 
moral balance, careless in the use of language, and 
often very severe in his criticisms of Mr. Fux. 

Within the past two years a large collection of 
valuable papers have been deposited in our Public 
Library, which, after being, for several of the later 
generations, unknown to the people of Woburn, have 
proved to be a new revelation touching this old con- 
troversy. They were discovered by Hon. Joseph B. 
Walker, of Concord, N. H., among the papers of Rev. 
Timothy Walker, the first minister of that place and 
a native of Woburn, and they were kindly placed by 
him in their present accessible position.* 

It is not possible nor necessary here to go into 
details in our mention of these papers ; but it is proper 
to say, in general, that the controversy which, to Mr. 
Sewall and others, once seemed, in some respects, 
inexplicable, receive, in the light they shed, an 
explanation which is sufficiently plain to be painful 
in a high degree. It is evident from them that Mr. 
Fox sought repeatedly and earnestly, both by pro- 
posals to Mr. Jackson and by correspondence with 
others whose kind mediation he solicited, to heal 
the open wounds. Rev. Dr. Coleman and other 
miiiisters in Boston also labored in vain to effect a 
reconciliation. But, strangely, Mr. Jackson seems to 
have refused every overture; had no confession to 
make, no apology to offer and no proposal to suggest 



< To these Walker Papers may be added a pamphlet of six pages in 
the form of a letter dated Woburn, September 1.% 1747. It is without 
signature, printed about 1750. and was lately presented to the Library 
by Isaac Itrooks Dodge, of Amherst, N. H. No other copy of it is 
known to exist. It relates wholly to the controversy between Mr. 
Fox and Mr. Jackson, and, so far as it goes, it essentially corroborates the 
statements iound in the Walker Papers and gives reasons for the organi- 
zation of the Third Church. 



WOBURN. 



429 



for an adjustment of existing difficulties in any feas- 
ible way- Meanwhile grave and numerous charges 
were made against him, by one and another of the 
people, of conduct which, if not wholly unchristian, 
was, at least, if the charges were sustained, highly 
impudent and unbecoming his office and profession. 
Mr. Jackson, too, brought charges against Mr. Fo.x, 
particularly of writing to him a scurrilous letter, 
which Jlr. Fox, on the other hand, instantly and 
utterly denied ever writing. 

While this unhappy controversy was going on, a 
considerable number of the people, most dissatisfied 
with Mr. Jackson, after various hindrances and 
delays, separated from the parish and received the 
necessary permission to form another, and organized j 
a new church, which, the church at Woburn Precinct | 
being the Second, should be known as the Third. 
Deferring more particular notice of this new organi- 
zation for the present, it seems proper here to note 
the fact that it did not and, in the nature of the case, 
could not, bring peace to those who remained in the 
old parish. Mr. Fox was still the senior pastor and 
Mr. Jackson was the same as bef<:re. Their relations 
to each other were none the lees unhappy, and the 
sad work of dissension went on. 

About three months after the organization of the 
Third Clinrch, Mr. Jackson, goaded on every side by the 
outspoken or whispered criticisms of the people, called 
an ex-partc council of six ministers and their delegates 
to consider his case and give advice. It seems strange, 
in view of the circumstances, and especially in view 
of the refusal of the church to join in the movement, 
that any council should have been found willing to 
undertake the difficult and dangerous and even thank- 
less work. It is charitable to believe that they but 
faintly understood the nature of the enterprise. They, 
however, assembled. The charges that they took into 
consideration were numerous, and some of them were 
very serious. In reading their Result, which is very 
long and minute, one would, if the subject were not 
80 serious, be tempted to smile at what seems to be a 
special painstaking to preserve a prudent equipoise 
between the two ministers, the two parties, and the 
measure of approval and censure for the man who 
had called them together. Yet after all their nice and 
praiseworthy adjustments of the balance, there seems 
to be a preponderance of censure, either expressed or 
implied, for Mr. Jackson, and a very cautious and ap- 
parently kind reference to Mr. Fox. On the whole, 
one cannot well avoid the conviction that he who 
called the council, after being "weighed," is found 
''wanting." They say they have found Mr. Jackson 
blameworthy to some extent and expect him to con- 
fess it and behave himself thereafter with Christian 
propriety. The church is exhorted to act wisely and 
kindly, bury the past and the new Third Church and 
Society are called upon to consider their course and 
its divisive consequences. 

So far as appears, this elaborate Result had not the 



weight of a feather in the scale of public opinion. 
The unhappy schism remained. There was, perhaps, 
several years later, a slight and transient change in 
Mr. Jackson's favor. From some obscure origin a 
charge of scandalous immorality against him was found 
to be in circulation. Too hastily and very unwisely 
the people of the new society, including their minis- 
ter, accepted it for truth and helped to circulate it as 
such. The result proved their mistake. Mr. Jackson 
was publicly vindicated, and Mr. Cotton, the minister 
of the Third Church, publicly confessed himself to 
have been deceived and in the wrong. This sad affair 
and the vindication of its intended victim, did not 
long precede his death. In the autumn of the same 
year Jlr. Jackson died, and all controversy with him 
ended. Most fortunately, or rather providentially, 
his successor, as Mr. Fox's colleague, was Rev. Josiah 
Sherman, a man of great wisdom, of unblemished rep- 
utation and of unquestionable piety. Being also an 
orator of almost peerless eloquence, he soon drew all 
parlies to himself The aged senior pastor and the 
people were alike moved by his wondrous power, 
and, more strange than all, as already related, the 
recent Third Church organization was abandoned, 
the minister voluntarily retiring from his charge, and 
the people returning to the old church and parish. 

The way is now prepared for a more particular 
notice of the Third Church. 

On the 17ili of September, 1746, a council, called 
for the purpose of organizing, if thought best, this 
church, after hearing and duly considering the state- 
ments bearing upon the case, adopted, with only one 
dissentient vote in relation to one article, the follow- 
ing 

Result. 

"The Rc>snU of a CoiinciJ of seven Churches met here at Wohiiro to 
embodye (he uew Society into a Churcli state and to hear the grounds 
and causes of tlieir separation from the First CLurch in said Woburu, 
Edward Jackson, pastor : — 

"At the d''sire of a number of the inliabitants, several of them mem- 
bers of the Churcli tliere and some of otiier cburche=, disatisfied at the 
conduct of Ilieir minister, the Rev. &Ir. Kdward Jaclisoii, and beinp sett 
off a distinct Society !»y tlie General Court, apiilied to us fur advice and 
assistance in embodying into a Cliurcli State. 

" After many prayers to God for iiis direction and several days unsuc- 
cessful endeavors with Rlr. Jackson and tl»e Church to bring Ihem to 
joyn on reasonable terms with their aggiieved brethren in calling a 
Mutual Council ; and hearing what the dibatisfied had to lay befor tis, 
we came to the following Result, viz. : — 

'' It appears to this Council that Mr. Jackson's conduct, in many arti- 
cles, has been very offensive and the disatisfied have l>een unreasonably 
denied proper means of redress in their grievances and have, therettne, 
just and sufficient c'ause to withdraw from him as their pastor, and that 
it is advisable for them now to embody into a Church State. 

'The Church in this place, not h-tving, when desired, objected any 
particular of disorderly walking against them, we heartily lament ttie 
deplorable circumstances in which we find the people of this Precinct, 
broken into parties, and earnestly e.xhort all concerned to examine 
themselves and be deeply humbled for all that has been amiss iTi their 
temper ami behaviour towards each otiier. Seeking God's pardon and 
grace, exercise mutual Christian forgiveness and endeavor by all mean 
the recovery and preservation of the unity of the Spirit among them iu 
the bonds of peace. Amen. 

"Nath^niei, Eells, Scituate, Moderator. 
" Daniel Lewis, of Pembroke, 
"Jobs Barnark, of Andover, 



430 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



" Ebenezek Gat, of Hingham (except the arti- 
cle of embodying vow in a Cliurch State), 
" SiiEARJASHiB Brown, of Scituate, 
" Stephfn Chase, of Lynn End, 
" Signed also by all their messengers." 

"The solemn Covenant, entered into at the time of Embodying the 
Church, was rend distinctly by the Moderator of the Council and sub" 
scribed by those that were embodied as follows, viz. : — 

" We, whose names are hereunto subscribed, being desirous of embody- 
ing into a particular Church of Christ in order thereunto ; We do, in the 
presence of God, the holy angels and this assembly, solemnly, seriously 
and sincerely, eo far as wo know our hearts, this day avouch the Lord 
Jehovah, the only living and true God, to be our God- We take God the 
Father, to be our Father and Sovereign ; God the Son to be our Sa- 
viour and Redeemer, our Prophet, Priest and King and only Mediator of 
the Covenant of grace, and God the Holy Ghost to be our Sanctifierand 
Comforter. And we give up ourselves one unto another in the Lord, 
solemnly promising by God's gracious assistance to walk with Him and 
one with atuitlier in a Church relation io ways of Holy Communion and 
due observation of, and subjection to, all Christ's commandments and 
ordinances. Amen." 

Thirty-eigbt persons subscribed and assented to tbe 
covenant, of whom twenty-three were females and 
fifteen males, as follows : 

Eoland Cotton, John Lock, Gersbom Flagg, John 
Russell, Samuel Carter, Zachariah Flagg, John Carter, 
members of tbe First Church. 

John Fowle, .Joseph Richardson, Jr., Jacob Wright, 
Philip Alexander, Gershom Flagg, Jr., Peter Wyman, 
Samuel Tidd, James Sawyer, members of other 
churches. 

Mary Fowle, Joanne Alexander, Elizabeth Flagg, 
Mary Sawyer, Sarah Kendall, Sarah Richardson, 
Mary Fowle, Phebe Tidd, j\Iary Richardson, Phebe 
Richardson, Isabel Bruce, Mary Fowle, Sarah 
Ames, Sarah Winn, Abigail Carter, Sarah Sawyer, 
Abigail Richardson, Pegg Grigree, members of the 
First Church. 

Martha Richardson, Betty Flagg, Elizabeth Alex- 
ander, from other churches. 

There are found but meagre data for the brief sub- 
sequent history of this church, its records being long 
since lost. John Leathe was chosen deacon and was 
also parish clerk. Rev. Josiah Cotton, previously a 
pastor of the church in Providence, Rhode Island, 
was installed pastor of the Third Church, July 16, 
17-17. The congregation worshiped in an unfinished 
building nearly opposite the old and still remembered 
Plympton House on Main Street. Not long afterthe 
settlement of Mr. Sherman, who lived in this house, 
Mr. Cotton became aware that his own people were 
increasingly attracted by the preachingof the popular 
successor of Mr. Jackson, and inclined to reunite 
with the First Church and Parish. This measure he 
did not oppose, and wisely resigned his office as pastor. 
He was dismissed June 30, 1756. The re-union of the 
two churches soon happily followed, and Deacon John 
Leathe, of the Third Church, was ere long chosen 
deacon of the rc-united church. 

Rev. Josiah Cotton, the only pastor of the Third 
Church, was a son of Rev. Roland Cotton, of Sand- 
wich. His grandfather, his father and three of his 
brothers were also ministers of the Gospel, and were 



descendants from Rev. John Cotton, minister of the 
First Church, Boston. Rev. Josiah Cotton was born 
in Sandwich, June, 170.3, and graduated from Harvard 
College, 1722.' After leaving Woburn he was in- 
stalled at Sandown, New Hampshire, Noj|ember 28, 
1759, and died there May 27, 1780.' 

The South Congregational Church. — The 
largest colony that has ever gone from the First 
Church was that which, November 19, 1840, organ- 
ized a new church in that part of Woburn which, in 
1850, became a separate municipality bearing the 
name of Winchester. This colony, numbering one 
hundred and two persons, included many of the most 
valuable members and three of the six deacons of the 
mother church. Deacons Nathan B. Johnson, Ben- 
jamin F. Thompson and Marshall Wyman had long 
been pillars in the old church and their names were 
synonyms for consistent Christian character and 
usefulness wherever they were known. It is not 
strange, therefore, that the church parted with such 
men as they and those they represented with reluct- 
ance. But, after much hesitation and some delay, 
they consented and bade the new enterprise a sincere 
God-speed. 

A council was called which was convened No- 
vember 19, 1840. After the customary preliminaries, 
they proceeded to organize and recognize the new 
church. Following an invocation by Rev. Mr. Dennis 
Rev. Jacob Coggin, of Tewksbury, a native of Woburn, 
offered the consecrating prayer, Rev. Reuben Emer-" 
son, of South Reading, gave the charge, and Rev. 
Joseph Bennett, pastor of the mother church, offered 
the concluding prayer. In the celebration of the 
Lord's Supper which followed. Rev. Messrs. Emerson, 
the moderator, Cleaveland and Bennett offi.,'iated. 

A house of worship having been erected in 1840, 
was dedicated December 30t,h of that year to the 
worship of God, Rev. Daniel Crosby, pastor of tbe 
Winthrop Church in Charlestown, preaching the 
sermon. 

The church, after an unsuccessful effort tp obtain 
tbe services of Rev. James Boutwell, as pastor, ex- 
tended, in the spring of 1841, a unanimous call, in 
which the society unanimously concur.-ed, to Mr. 
George P. Smith, of Salem, to assume the duties of 
the pastoral office. He accepted the invitation and 
was ordained June 17th following. 

]lev. T. P. Field, of Danvers, offered the invocation 
and read the Scriptures ; Rev. Reuben Eaaerson, of 
South Reading, offered the introductory prayer ; Rev. 
Dr. Nehemiah Adams, of Boston, preached the ser- 
mon ; Rev. J. Mann, of Salem, offered the ordaining 
prayer ; Rev. J. Towne, of Boston, gave the charge 
to the pastor ; Rev. Abijah R. Baker, of Medford, ex- 
pressed the fellow.ship of the churches ; Rev. Joseph 
Bennett, of the First Church, made the address to 



1 " Sewall's History," pp. 337-338. 

2 Lawrence's " New Hampshire Churches," p. 132. 



WOBIIRN. 



431 



the people ; Rev. W. J. Budington, of Charlestown, 
ollVred the concluding prayer. 

Two original hymns, written for the occasion by 
the wife of the pastor of the First Church, were sung 
as peculiarly appropriate parts of the service. 

At a meeting of the church, held December 31, 
1840, Nathan B. Johnson, Benjamin F. Thompson 
and JIarshall Wyman, who had been office-bearers in 
the First Church, were chosen as the first deacons of 
the South Church. And in January, 1841, when the 
Sabbath-school was organized, Deacon Benjamin F. 
Thompson, who had been also the superintendent of 
the school in the First Church, was chosen to the 
same office in the new organization. 

The ministry of Mr. Smith, though short, was one 
of vigor and great usefulness. A delightful harmony 
and a ''mind to work" pervaded the church, which 
at once took rank among the most active and efficient 
in every Cliristian enterjirise. 

To the groat regret and deep sorrow of all, the 
young pastor, worn with care and heavy bereavement 
in his family, felt under the necessity of resigning 
his position and even of repeating his request for a 
release. He was accordingly dismissed March 11, 
1845. 

Mr. Smith was succeeded in the pastoral office by 
William T. Eustis, Jr., of Boston, who was ordained 
and installed April 8, 1846, Rev. Dr. R. S. Stows 
preaching the ordination discourse. Mr. Eustis re- 
mained in the pastoral office less than two years. He 
was dismissed January 27, 1848, and became pastor 
of a church in New Haven, Conn. 

Mr. Eustis was followed by Rev. John M. Steele, 
who was ordained August 10, 1848, and dismissed 
February 11, 1852. 

As South W'oburn was incorporated in 1850, as a 
separate town, bearing the name of Winchester, the 
South Church of Woburn may more properly, from 
this year onward, be described as the First Church in 
Winchester, and, of course, belongs to the history of 
that town. ' 

Congregational Church at North Wuharn. — In the 
month of September, 1846, a number of persons, then 
residing in North Woburn and accustomed to attend 
church at the Centre village, began to consider the 
propriety and feasibility of establishing separate re- 
ligious worship among themselves. Securing per- 
mission to occupy for this purpose the large upper 
room of the village school-house, and bespeaking the 
services of Rev. Samuel Sewell, of Burlington, there 
was preaching there for the first time, October 11th of 
that year. The service from Sabbath to Sabbath 
being well attended and increasingly hopeful, the ar- 
rangement continued for three years. In the mean 
time a religious society was legally organized, March 
1, 1849, and in June following, the foundations were 

1 Tbe authorities fur the sketcli of the South Church of Wohurn are 
the Woburn Church Records, tlie Winchester Church Manual, and 
various articles in Vole. I. and II. of the Wiuchi^aU}' Record. 



laid for a house of worship, which was dedicated Oc- 
tober 11th of the same year. On the 22d of November 
following, an ecclesiastical council, consisting of Rev. 
Jonathan Edwards of the First Church, Rev. Barna- 
bas JI. Fay of the church in Wilmington, Rev. Har- 
rison G. Park of the church in Burlington, and their 
respective delegates. Deacons Stephen Richardson, 
Benjamin Foster, John Marion and Mr. Sumner Rich- 
ardson, delegate from the church at South Woburn, 
convened for the purpose, if deemed proper, of or- 
ganizing an Evangelical Church of the Congrega- 
tional denomination. Forty persons presented them- 
selves and offered their letters of dismission from 
other churches, for the purpose of uniting with the 
proposed church. Of these forty, whose autograph 
signatures are appended to the request, twelve were 
males and twenty-eight were females. Thirty-three 
W'ere from the First Church of Woburn ; two were 
from the Mt. Vernon Church, Boston ; two were from 
the church in Wilton, Me. ; one from the church in 
Wilton, N. H. ; one from the church in Reading, and 
one from the Union Church, in Groton. 

Rev. Mr. Fay offered the introductory prayer; Rev. 
Mr. Park proptmnded the articles of tbe Confession 
of Faith and the church covenant for the public as- 
sent of the persons who desired to become a church, 
and offered the prayer of consecration ; and Rev. Mr. 
Edwards, in the name and in behalf of the First 
Church, extended to Deacon Charles Thompson, as a 
representative of the new church, the right hand of 
fellowship. Mr. Edwards also, in behalf of individ- 
ual members of the First Chi;rch and Society, pre- 
sented a set of communion and other church furni- 
ture, in an address to Rev. Mr. Sewall, as the stated 
preacher, to which the latter made a suitable response. 
At the same time the newly-organized church voted 
unanimously to concur with the society in an invita- 
tion to Rev. Mr. Sewall to officiate lor another year 
as preacher, and now as pastor. These interesting 
exercises were clo-ed by the administration of the 
Lord's Supper to the new church and invited mem- 
bers of other churches then present, Rev. Messrs 
Sewall and Fay, and Deacons Charles Thompson, 
Richardson, Foster and Marion officiating iu their 
respective spheres. 

Rev. Mr. Sewall continued to supply the pulpit and 
officiate as pastor till January, 1852, when he an- 
nounced his intention, after his engagement should 
cease, of withdrawing from service. 

During the following summer (June, 1852) Rev. 
George T. Dole, who had been pastor of a church in 
Beverly, was engaged to supply, temporarily, the 
vacant pulpit. In August he was invited to assume 
the pastoral office. Having signified his acceptance 
of the invitation, he was installed October 12th, the 
first regular pastor. During tbe three years of his 
official relation to the church, he labored, amid many 
difficulties and discouragements, wisely and usefully. 
He was an unusually pure writer and always an able 



432 



HISTOKY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



preacher. But his frail health seriously crippled 
him, and, at his own request, he was dismissed October 
30, 1855. He was never again settled as a pastor, but 
though struggling with shattered health he supplied, 
for several years, two more pulpits in Berkshire 
County, Mass. He at length retired from the active 
duties of the ministry, and, in 1875, bought a com- 
fortable house in Reading, where he died March 26, 
1884. 

Rev. George Thurlow Dole was born in Byfield, 
Mass., October 30, 1808; graduated from Yale College 
in 1838 ; studied theology at New Haven and An- 
dover, leaving the latter place in 1841, He married 
Jane P. Treat, of New Haven, Conn. They had 
three children, all daughters : 1, Susan Jane ; 2, Alice 
Hooper; 3, Bertha Cordelia. 

During the years intervening between the dismis- 
.sion of Mr. Dole, October 30, 1855, and the installa- 
tion of his successor in the pastoral office, July 26, 
1865, the pulpit was supplied, for seasons of greater 
or less duration, by Messrs. E. S. Fairchild, G. D. 
Pike, A. S. Nickerson and others from the Theologi- 
cal Seminary at Andover, and Henry Kimball, of New 
York, and by Rev. Messrs. Byington and Harding, 
who had bfen pastors of other churches. During 
these years the progress of the church was slow, but, 
notwithstanding some sore trials, especially in 1857, 
there was, on the whole, some advance in strength, 
and more in its well-defined and recognized character 
as an unswerving Evangelical organization. 

Early in .July, 1865, an invitation was extended to 
Rev. Melancthon G. Wheeler, then of West Roxbury, 
to assume the pastoral office. This invitation being 
accepted, he was installed on the 26th of the same 
month, the First Church in Woburn, the South 
and Bethesda Churches, in Reading, the churches in 
Stoneham and West Amesbury, Winchester, South 
Reading, Wilmington and Burlington being repre- 
sented on the council. 

After so many years of destitution of a regular 
pastor, the church took fresh courage, and, with re- 
newed zeal, engaged in their appropriate work. The 
pastor, also, with the advantage of much previous 
experience, was earnest and active in his work. But 
his work was short. Failing health made it more 
and more evident that he could not perform the du- 
ties of his office; and, after a lingering and painful 
illness of several months, he died in office, February 
9, 1870. 

Rev. Melancthon Gilbert Wheeler was born May 
22, 1802, in Charlotte, Vt. ; graduated from Union 
College in 1825; studied theology at Princeton, N. J. 
and at Andover, leaving the latter place in 1829. Be- 
fore coming to Woburn he had been a pastor in Ab- 
ington, Conway, Williamsburg and at South Dart- 
mouth, and, for brief periods, stated supply in other 
places. He was twice married, his first wife leaving at 
her death two sons and a daughter. He married, 
second, Frances C. Parkinson, of New Boston, N. H., 



a graduate of the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, 
and a teacher in various places. They had five chil- 
dren : 1, Elizabeth P., married John R. Carter, of 
Woburn, June 22, 1873, and died July 25, 1888. 2, 
Caroline A., married Charles H. Cooper, professor in 
Carleton College, Northfield, Minn., June 10, 1883. 
3, Cornelia F., married William W. Hill, of Woburn, 
June 21, 1882. 4, .John H., graduated from Harvard 
College in 1871. Distinguished as a scholar and 
teacher. In 1875-6 he was Fellow of the Johns 
Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md. The next three 
years he spent at various universities in Germany and 
Italy, receiving the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 
from the University of Bohn, in 1879. Returning to 
this country in 1880, he was successively tutor at 
Harvard University, Professor of Latin at Bowdoin 
College, Brunswick, Me., and Profe-sor of Greek in 
University of Virginia. This last professorship fail- 
ing health compelled him to resign in the summer of 
1887. Retiring to the former home of his wife, in 
Newbury, Vt., he gradually failed, and died greatly 
lamented, October 10, 1887, at the age of thirty-seven 
years. 5, Edward F., graduated from Bowdoin College 
1883, and now, 1889, a member of the Senior Class in 
the Theological Seminary, at Haitford, Conn. 

For several months before and for more than three 
years after the death of Mr. Wheeler the pulpit was 
supplied by Rev. L. Thompson, a native of the vil- 
lage, and, for thirteen years previously, the pastor of 
the Congregational Church in West Amesbury (now 
Merrimac.) After Mr. Wheeler's death he was in- 
vited to officiate as pastor. This he did till April, 

1873, when he declined a new engagement. Among 
the many men from Andover and elsewhere who, for 
one Sabbath or more, supplied the vacant pulpit, dur- 
ing the subsequent year and five months, Mr. Charles 
Anderson, then a student at Andover, was prominent 
and the preacher for a considerable time. Receiving 
a unanimous call to become pastor, in the summer of 

1874, he accepted it, and was ordained and installed 
September 2d following, with the mutual understand- 
ing that he should also serve as pastor of the neigh- 
boring church in Burlington. 

Ml. Anderson's pastorate of fourteen years is per- 
haps too recent for history. But it is proper to say 
that he was most indefatigable and efficient in his 
work. In season and out of season he was actively 
engaged in efforts to build up and benefit the people. 
Nor did he labor in vain. Several seasons of special 
religious interest resulted in numerous accessions to 
the church, and there was, throughout his ministry, 
a degree of harmony rarely witnessed, for the same 
length of time, in any church. 

In 1881-82 it became so apparent that something 
must be done to secure better accommodations for the 
church work and worship, that, after mature deliber- 
ation and the consideration of various plans, it was 
decided to erect a new house of worship. " The peo- 
ple had a mind to work," and nearly all, men, women 



WOBUKN. 



433 



and children, the pastor leading, pledged their aid in 
such weekly otlering3 as they saw fit. The result, in 
the amount raised then and prospectively, astonished 
every one, and the great enterprise was initiated. 
The last service in the old sanctuary was held May 
28,1882. From this time till August 19, 1883, tlie 
congregation met for worship in the Firemen's Hall. 
After the last date there was no Sabbath service till 
September 23d, when, for the first time, the scattered 
flock met in the new chapel, or lecture-room, which 
was finished before the main audience-room was in 
readiness. 

On the 19;h of February, 1884, the handsome new 
edifice was dedicated. The audience was large, fill- 
ing both the main audience-room and the chapel, 
thrown into one. Or. Daniel March, of the First 
Church, preached an appropriate sermon from Ps. 
11G:7. There was a solemn act of dedication, in 
which the church and society formally joined. And 
the building committee, through their chairman, 
gave the most gratifying informi.tion that, through 
the persistent and selt'-denying efforts of the people, 
aided by the generous gifts of the mother church in 
Woburn, the sister church in Winchester, and various 
friends in other places, the house was dedicated fren 
from debt. To secure this result, the pastor had 
labored most assiduously, and both he and the people 
rejoiced in the auspicious accomplishment of what 
they had hoped for with not a little misgiving. 

Mr. Anderson continued in the pastoral office till 
July 2, 18SS, when, at his own request, and amid the 
regrets of the church and society he had served so 
long and so successfully, he was dismissed, it being, 
his intention to assume the duties of a professorship 
in Robert College, near Constantinople, to which he 
had been called. In this institution he had spent 
several years as tutor before his ordination as pastor 
in Woburn. 

Rev. Charles Anderson, son of Rev. Charles Ander- 
son, of Sennett, N. Y., was born in that place April 4, 
1847 ; graduated from Hamilton College, 1869, and 
studied theology at Auburn, N. Y., and at Andover. 
He married Abbie F. Hamlin, a daughter of Rev. 
Cyrus Hamlin, D.D., for many years a missionary in 
Turkey, and the first president of Robert College. 
Their children are: 1. Elizabeth Clary, born October 
24, 1874, died AugU!-t 21, 1875; 2. Arthur Hamlin, 
born August 7, 1876, died September 27, 1876; 3. 
Robert Harlow, born October 2, 1877; 4. Catharine 
R'jberts, born September 25, 1879 ; 5. Sarah Whit- 
ing, born July 18,1883; 6. Roger Hamlin, born June 
5,188G. 

Mr. Anderson was succeeded by Rev. Charles H. 
Wiishburn, lately pastor of the Congregational Church 
in Berlin, Mass. He has not been formally settled as 
pastor, but entered upon his work as acting pastor, 
November 2, 1888. 

Since the date of the organization of the church, 
28 



November 22, 1849, down to April 1, 1889, there have 
been, including the fortv original members, 2o3 ad- 
missions to membership.' 

TheFirst Baptist Church. — The First Baptist Church 
of Woburn originated in that part of Cambridge for- 
merly known as West Cambridge and now as Arling- 
ton. A meeting of persons interested, to consider, 
and, if deemed advisable, to complete an organization, 
was held as early as June 16, 1781. Having adopted 
a Declaration of Faith and invoked the blessing of 
God, they proceeded to organize a church embracing 
twelve men and twenty-three women, in all thirty- 
five members. A council composed of the First and 
Second Baptist Churches in Boston and the Baptist 
Church in Newton was called, and assembled July 5, 
1781. At their meeting, alter having examined and 
approved the Articles of the Confession of Faith, they 
recognized the new church as regularly constituted. 
Rev. Samuel Stillman, of Boston, preached an appro- 
priate sermon from Isaiah 22 : 24; Rev. Isaac Skil- 
man, of Boston, extended the right hand of 
fellowship on behalf of the churches represented, 
and Rev. Caleb Blood, of Newton, offered the conclu- 
ding prayer. 

The church had no settled pastor until November 
17, 1783, when Rev. Thomas Green was ordained and 
installed in that office. Rev. Thomas Gair preaching 
the sermon. Six years later — November 29, 1789 — 
Thaddeus Davis and Daniel Brooks were publicly set 
apart as the first deacons. Meanwhile, in 17SG, a 
number of persons claiming to be Baptists, but at- 
tendants on the ministry of Rev. Samuel Sargeant in 
the Congregational Church at Woburn, and disaf- 
fected toward him, seceded and began to attend the 
Baptist meetings in West Cambridge. In 1790 the 
number had increased to twenty- two, a m.ajority of 
whom were ere long hopefull)' converted, and, in due 
time, notwithstanding the strong opposition then un- 
happily common in such cases, were baptized by 
Elder Green and welcomed into the fellowship of his 
church. 

The number of persons residing in Woburn, but 
connected with the church in West Cambridge, 
having, in 1791, become so large, it was thought best 
that the pastor should preach in Woburn one Lord's 
Dav in each month. This was at length accomplished 
in 1793, the first meeting in Woburn being at the resi- 
dence of Josiah Converse April 3d of that year. 

Mr. Green, alter a ministry of ten years, was dis- 
missed at his own request in 1793, and removed to 
Danvers. 

On the 29lh of August of this eventful year 
it was voted that "hereafter half of the Church shall 
be in Cambridge and half in Woburn, and that the 



1 The materiiils for the foregoing sketch of the church in \orth Wo- 
burn are from churcll, parish and private records from town records 
of marriages, birtlis and deaths, and from Triennial Catalogues of var- 
ious colleges and seminaries. 



434 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



pastor, whoever he may be, shall divide his labors 
equally between the two places." Doubtless the real 
meaning of this vote was, that in each place half of 
the church services should be held, and not, as the 
words seem to imply, that the church should be liter- 
ally divided into two halves, each place to have one. 
However this may be, this was the turning point for 
the Woburn branch of the church. From this time 
there was a rapid increase in AVoburn and as rapid 
decrease in Cambridge. After a supply of the pulpit 
by Elder Simon Snow for about one year a call was 
extended to Rev. John Peak, of Windsor, Vt., to 
settle. He accepted, and entered upon his work in 
1794. It was stipulated that he should preach alter- 
nately in Woburn and in Newtown, N. H., two 
weeks successively in each town. Notwithstanding 
this arrangement, his ministry was a successful 
one. Through his influence a society was organ- 
ized and a beginning made in the erection of a 
house of worship. A revival of religion resulted in 
an addition of thirty-five persons to the church, there 
being also a branch of the church in Beading which 
shared in the blessing. Meanwhile the people held 
their meetings in a chamber of the house of Benjamin 
Edgell, near Central Square. The whole of the second 
story was one unfinished room, furnished with plain 
benches and reached by a narrow stairway in the rear 
of the house.' Not waiting for the completion and 
furnishing of the meeting-house, the almost impatient 
people first opened it for worship July 20, 1794. This 
well-remembered house stood on the east side of Main 
Street, near where the residences of the late Colonel 
William and Timothy Winn now stand. It was 40 feet 
by 80 feet in dimensions. Five or six years after it was 
first opened for worship it was greatly improved by 
thirty-five square pews, a sounding-board over the 
pulpit, and the usual " deacons' seats " in front and 
below it. This once honored building still exists, and is 
used for secular purposes a few rods north of its original 
location. 

About 1797 the church voted to hold their services 
wholly in Woburn, and assumed the name of the 
"First Baptist Church of Woburn." Elder Peak 
having, in October, 1795, closed his labors in Woburn, 
removed to Newtown, N. H., where he devoted him- 
self exclusively to the church in that place. The va- 
cancy in Woburn was not filled till November, 1798, 
when Elder Elias Smith, a man of great eccentricity 
and, as the sequel proved, given to change, became the 
pastor. He remained only about two years, and 
withdrew both from the position and from the de- 
nomination. 

Mr. Smith was succeeded by Elder Ebenezer 
Nelson, who, though not settled as a pastor, preached 

1 In liisbook of nccoiintB, Capt. Benjamin Edgell says: "The Society 
met at my house, 1792, April to December, two .Sabbaths each month ; 
from April, 1792, to April, 17!)4, two Sabbaths each month, total, 44 Sab- 
baths." 



from 1802 to 1804. After his retirement the Church 
had for a part of one year the services of Elder Isaiah 
Stone. Meanwhile, in 1804, there was an interesting 
revival of religion, largely under the ministrations of 
Rev. Thomas Paul, acting as an evangelist. Though 
belonging to the despised race of colored men, he was 
a man of rare excellence and marked success, and 
subsequently was a highly useful pastor of an African 
church in Boston. Thirty persons, the fruits of the 
work in 1804, were baptized and received to the fel- 
lowship of the church. Some, who subsequently 
united with the Congregational Church, were also the 
fruits of Mr. Paul's faithful labor. 

In August, 1808, an invitation was extended to the 
Rev. Samuel Wydowu, who, at the time, was preach- 
ing in one of the Southern States, to make them a 
visit. Though not able to come immediately, he 
came in the following spring, with recommendations 
from Dr. Rippon, of London, and Rev. Lewis Rich- 
ards, of Virginia. After preaching for a short time 
on probation, he accepted a call to settle, and entered 
upon his work as a pastor, though without the usual 
Ibrmalities of an installation. Mr. Wydown was 
greatly esteemed as a man and a preacher, but during 
his short ministry of about two years there existed 
difficulties in the church which rendered him less 
happy and less useful than he might and doubtless 
would otherwise have been. 

In the spring of 1811 Rev. Thomas Waterman took 
the pastoral charge. Educated in an English college, 
he held a high rank as a man of learning and culture 
among ministers who are often deficient in both. He 
had been the first pastor of the First Baptist Church 
of Charlestown, and came to the church in Woburn 
in the midst of their troubles. But he entered upon 
and prosecuted his work, cheered by the esteem and 
sympathy of his people and respected by all who 
knew him. Had he not, in addition to his pastoral 
work, been worn with the care of a select school for 
young men, there is reason to believe that his ministry 
would have been richer in results. As it was, it was 
useful, and the influence of his work for three years — 
till his sudden and greatly lamented death, March 
23, 1814 — was highly and thoroughly beneficial. He 
was buried in Woburc, and his memory has ever been 
cherished — both in and out of his own society — as pre- 
cious. After Mr. Waterman's death the church was, 
during two years, without a pastor. In May, 1817, 
Rev. Herbert Marshall was ordained as Mr. Water- 
man's successor. His ministry was short, bu; greatly 
blessed, the Spirit being poured out in a wonderful 
manner upon the church and congregation, and sev- 
enty persons being added to the church in one year. 
It is a singular fact that, during this prosperous year, 
November 16, 1817, eleven members were dismissed 
for the purpose of organizing a church in West Cam- 
bridge (Arlington), where the Woburn church itself 
was organized. 



WOBURN. 



4:!5 



Mr. Marshall being dismissed in 1818, Rev. George 
Phippen, from Lyuii, was called to succeed him, and 
was installed September IGth of that year. He was 
dismissed September 5, 1820. But little can be said 
of his ministry. During the year of his dismissal he 
published a sermon delivered at Woburn, May 17, 
1820, before the "Female Missionary and Female 
Charitable Societies." This sermon — from Matt. 10 : 8 
— is still extant. 

From the close of Mr. Phippen's labors, in Septem- 
ber, 1820, to July, 1821, the church depended upon 
transient supplies from Andover and elsewhere. In 
July, 1821, Rev. Adoniram Judson, of Nobleboro', 
Me., — the father of the distinguished missionary of 
the same name, — became the pastor. He was a most 
excellent man and highly esteemed, but, by some un- 
foreseen providence, apparently, his pastorate was very 
short, it being only nine months. 

Mr. Judson was soon followed in 1823 — by Rev. 
James A. Seaman, of Greenfield, N. Y. His ministry, 
too, was short, it being but a little over two years. At 
his own request he was dismissed and became the 
pastor of the Second Baptist Church in Providence, 
R. I. It is not improbable that his departure was 
hastened — if not occasioned — by an unhappy division 
in the church, which continued for some time subse- 
quently. 

Rev. Samuel S. Mallory, from the State of New 
York, was, in March, 1820, called to the vacant pulpit. 
Very soon after his coming the threatening clouds 
began to disperse, peace and harmony were restored, 
and the congregation considerably enlarged. Near 
the close of the year a work of great power began and 
continued through the year following, extending to 
every part of the town. Seventy-one persons were 
added to the church, and among them were some of 
the most valuable members the church ever had, the 
whole number being at this time over two hundred. 
A spirit of entire harmony prevailed during all these 
monihs of joy, and the whole church was pervaded 
by a deep religious interest. This was the more re- 
markable, since the prosperity soon rendered the old 
house of worship so inadequate to the wants of the 
society as to make it necessary to consider — and soon 
to enter upon — the work of erecting a new sanctuary 
in a new and more central locality. This house, 
begun in 1827, was finished early in the following 
year, and dedicated May 21, 1828. Facing the Com- 
mon, at the corner of the present Park Street, it was 
far more commodious and comfortable than its pre- 
decessor, the dimensions being 58 feet by 60 feet, 
with a vestibule six feet in width in front. Mr. Mal- 
lory preached the dedication sermon from Haggai 
2 : 9, "The glory of this latter house shall be greater 
than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts." The 
house, containing eighty-eight pews on the main floor 
and twenty in the galleries, was built at a cost — in- 
cluding SHOO for the lot— of about $8000. Twenty- 
three male members of the church ha'' assumed all 



pecuniary responsibility, resolved to trust God for the 
result, and tbe house was dedicated free from incum- 
brance. 

But the successful pastorate of a man, honored and 
loved as few have been, was, like that of others be- 
fore him, soon, and reluctantly on the part of the 
church, brought to a close. A few restless persons, 
as often occurs, made Mr. Mallory so uncomfortable 
that he insisted on closing his labors, after a ministry 
of three years, March 1, 1829. 

On the 10th of December, of the same year. Rev. 
Benjamin C. Wade became Mr. Mallory's successor, 
remaining in the pastorate four years and two months. 
The religious interest during Mr. Mallory's ministry 
still, in some measure, continued, and with very grat- 
ifying, though, in me end, somewhat qualified results. 
Of one hundred persons admitted to the church, a 
very considerable number were ultimately cut off 
from membership, and another season of trial was 
introduced. After being destitute of a pastor seven 
months, the church, anxious to secure a man of ripe 
experience and unblemished character, extended 
a call to Rev. Thomas B. Ripley, who was settled 
November 5, 1834. Mr. Ripley was a good and faith- 
ful man, and earnestly labored for the highest good 
of the people. But his usefulness seems to have been 
embarrassed by circumstances which he did not fore- 
see and which he could not control. The church 
diminished in numbers, and he was dismissed March 
16, 1836. From this time until August 31, 1837, 
there was again no pastor. At the time just men- 
tioned Mr. Noah Hooper, a student in the Theologi- 
cal Institution at Newton, was ordained and entered 
upon his work. It was a time, as he soon found, of 
great trial. The diicordant elements of the previous, 
two years became more and more discordant. Various 
qeustions of public morals and interest were agitated 
and charges of a departure from the old faith of the 
churches were made, all which resulted at length 
in the dismission of forty-nine members, who, in 1838, 
conssituted themselves the " Independent Baptist 
Church." In these circumstances the failh and pa- 
tience and wisdom of the young pastor were sorely 
tested. But both he and the church passed the crisis 
safely and soon welcomed the dawn of a brighter day. 
Some of those who had left them, dearly beloved 
members of the old church, ultimately, from time to 
time, returned, and were welcomed back to the old 
fellowship. 

The church, again harmonious and prosperous, 
soon enjoyed a season of special religious interest, 
resulting in the admission to their fellowship of forty- 
six persons, thus more than supplying the vacancy 
occasioned by the dismissal of forty-five two years 
previous. 

At his own request, Mr. Hooper, after a pastorate 
of a little more than three years, was dismissed Oc- 
tober 6. 1840. 

Rev. Silas P. Randall was settled May 20, 1841, as 



■I'M) 



HISTORY OF IMIDDLESKX COUNTY, IMASSACHUSETTS. 



Mr. Hooper's successor. His ministry of six years 
and four months was a faithful one and fruitful in 
good results, thirty-five i)ers)ns being baptized by 
liim and received into the church. He, however, 
resigned his ofEce as pastor, and closed his labors 
September 1, 1847. 

The church next invited Rev. John C. Stnctbridge, 
of Waterville, Me., to supply the vacant pulpit, and, 
accepting at length a unanimous call, he was installed 
in January, 1848. During his ministry of four years 
and eight months the church was greatly prospered 
and strengthened, forty-four being added to their 
number. And it was with profound regret and great 
surprise that they were asked to release him from 
service. Pie closed his labors October 3, 1852. 

Rev. Joseph Ricker succeeded Mr. Stockbridge in 
January, 1853. He, too, was a man of great excel- 
ence, and a delightful harmony was enjoyed through- 
out his ministry of more than five years. His suc- 
cess, however, w.as not so apparent in the numbers 
added to the church, as in the development of spirit- 
ual life and the general uplifting of the standard of 
the Christian profession. 

Daring Mr. Ricker'.s ministry, the sanctuary was 
enlarged by the addition of seventeen feet to its 
length and thirty-eight pews to its seating capacity. 

Mr. Ricker was dismissed April 1, 1858, and on 
June 1st of the same year he was succeeded by Rev. 
Benjamin F. Bronson, of Methuen, without any for- 
mal act of installation. During his ministry of 
nearly four years the debt incurred in the enlarge- 
ment of the house of worship was liquidated, and 
fifty-three persons, by baptism and by letter, were 
added to the church, the whole number rising to 289. 
There was also a large increase in contributions to 
various benevolent objects. 

Mr. Bronson, closing his labors with the church, 
April 27, 1862, was followed, on the 5th of October 
of the same year, by Rev. Joseph Spencer Kennard, 
of Washington, D. C, who was publicly recognized 
on the 31st of that month. He was an earnest and 
successful laborer, never sparing his own strength in 
Ills efforts to benefit others. As the result of an inter- 
esting work, he baptized sixty-two persons, raising 
the total membership to 347. In the mean time an 
addition was made to the rear end of the house for 
the purpose of securing room for a new baptistery. 

Mr. Kennard closed his ministry in Woburn De- 
cember 17, 1865, and removed to Albany, New York, 
and June 24, 1866, Rev. Hugh C. Townley, from New 
York, accepted an invitation to succeed him, and was 
accordingly settled in July following. Mr. Townley 
was a very active, energetic, popular and useful man. 
As a member of the School Committee he was useful 
in a sphere outside his domain as a pastor. But he 
was ever alive, as he was able, in his more appropri- 
ate work, and, as a result, sixty-nine persons were by 
him added to the church. He was dismissed after a 
pastorate of five years and nine months, April 23, 1872. 



Rev. William Young, D.D., from Oil City, Penn- 
sylvania, entered upon his work, as Mr. Tuwnley's 
successor, November 17, 1872, and was installed Jan- 
uary 2, 1873. Dr. Young was impulsive, frank, gen- 
erous, and had a high ideal of what every church 
ought to be. For t>vo years he sought to do his duty 
manfully and faithfully. And he did not labor with- 
out some measure of success, though his usefulness 
was largely, it may be, out of the usual line of the 
preacher's work. He closed his labors November 22, 
1874, going hence to Meadville, Pennsylvania, and 
thence to the far West, where, in 1881, he suddenly 
closed his life. 

In March, 1875, Rev. Edward Jlills, from Rutland, 
Vermont, entered upon his work as Dr. Young's suc- 
ces.sor, and continued it till 1881. During the six 
years of his pastorate a debt of $3500 was removed, 
the sanctuary, at a cost of $22,000, was remodeled, 
benevolent contributions averaged S4500 each year, 
and, better than all, there was a degree of spiritual 
prosperity which resulted in the addition to the 
church of more than ninety new members. 

Mr. Mills closed his labors in 1881, and was suc- 
ceeded, in 1882, by Rev. George A. Simonson, who, 
though in enfeebled health, labored iiiithfully and 
was highly respected by all who knew him. Obliged 
by incro.^sing illness, he retired from his work in the 
autumn of 1883 and was dismissed in January, 1884, 
Rev. Daniel D. Winn supplying the vacant pulpit. 
Mr. Simonson removed to New Jersey, where he died 
in 1884. After his death Rev. Daniel D. Winn, a 
native of Woburn, and a son of the church, assumed 
the pastor.al charge, which he still and successfully 
retains in 1889. ' 

Independent Baptist Church. — In the historical no- 
tice of the Fir=t Baptist Church is an allusion to the 
dismission, June 22, 1838, of forty-five members, un- 
der circumstances of sore trial. The dismissed mem- 
bers embraced some of the old and most valued 
brethren and sisters of the church, and, doubtless, 
they were believed to be as sincere in their views at 
the time as were those whom they left behind. It 
was a time of much excitement and much heated 
discussion far and wide. The subject of temperance 
and the question of American .slavery greatly agitated 
the whole community, and, naturally, the excitement 
invaded the churches even more seriously than it did, 
or could, the outside world, which was supposed to 
be less sensitive on moral questions. As the contro- 
versy waxed warmer, there was more or less of dis- 
cussion of, and pointed allusion to, the evils in ques- 
tion in the pulpits. To this the pulpit of the Baptist 
Church was not an exception. And, as usual, the 
members of the congregation ranged themselves on 
the one side or the other of the subjects discussed. 

1 For most of lUe material of the foregoing slietcb, the writer is in- 
debtefl to a private record of his friend, Alfred A. Newhall. formerly 
clerk of the Baptist Chnrch, and to an historical discoiirse preached by 
Itev. Kdward Mills. h. T. 



WOBUKN 



437 



Some thought that such questions could not be brought 
into the pulpit or the church-meeting without a de- 
parture from the simplicity of the gospel, and from a 
paramount adherence to the old and distinctive laith 
of the church. At this distance of time we may 
charitably believe they were honest. And we may, 
with equal, if not even greater, charity, believe that 
it never entered into the thought of the majority of 
the members that they were gui'ty of any departure 
whatever from the Gospel. On the contrary, they 
honestly believed that a due consideration of great 
moral questions necessarily grew out of a genuine fi- 
delity to the Gospel. But, at such seasons of deep 
and excited emotion, it is of but little use to attempt 
argument. And so, trying as it was, the request of 
forty-five members for dismission from the church 
was granted to each petitioner separately, the letter 
including a recommendation to " any church of the 
same faith and order." 

The persons thus dismissed did not think it neces- 
sary to efl'ect a new and separate organization, but, 
by mutual consent, regarded themselves as already 
organized by virtue of their previous relatiotis to the 
old church. By the courtesy of the old church, they 
were allowed, at a merely nominal rent, to worship 
in their former and their abandoned meeting-house, 
at the corner of Main and Church Streets. In July, 
181!), Sarah Winn Converse died and left a will, made 
seven years before, in which she bequeathed certain 
real estate " to the Independent Baptist Church, to be 
holden and enjoyed by them so long as they shall 
maintain their present religious belief and faith and 
shall continue a Church." This bequest led to the 
erection of the chapel or church on Main Street, 
just north of the Central House, where they thence- 
forward worshiped until ISGl, under the ministry 
of men of their own choice. Since 1861 their meet- 
ings have "been only occasional. A recent writer in 
one of our local papers' says that services are held, 
generally, on the first Sabbath in each month, and 
are conducted by Elder Campbell. For the purpose 
of preaching on these occasions to an audience of 
from four to six or eight persons, the elder comes 
on Saturday from another State. 

The property is held by trustees, B, F. Flagg, H. 
Campbell and John B. Horn being a standing com- 
mittee. 

The Unitarian Church."' — The history of liberal re- 
ligion in Woburn in its organized form properly be- 
gins with the formation of the " First Universalist 
Society in Woburn," which took place in the spring 
of the year 1827. Previous to this, meetings, with 
preaching by Universalist clergymen, had been held 
from time to time, the first of these of which we have 
record being in 1S17, held in the hall of a dwelling- 
house at North Woburn, said to have been built by 
Colonel Baldwin in expectation that it would be oc- 



' CUij Pi-em, June 13, 1889. 



2 By H. C. ParUer. 



cupied by Count Rumfoid, should he ever return 
from his long exile abroad. The preacher was Rev. 
Edward Turner, of Portsmouth, N. H., who preached 
by invitation of several citizens, Mr. Samuel Con- 
verse being of the number. 

Some time after this, in what is still spoken of by 
the older citizens as " Parson Bennett's time," there 
was inaugurated in the Congregational Church at 
the Centre an old-fashioned " revival " of a very 
stirring kind, in which preachers reveled and rioted 
in visions of fiery pits and lost souls, frightening the 
timid into confession of sins of which they were not 
guilty. Against the violent measures of this cam- 
paign many of the more calm and thoughtful citizens 
revolted, and to voice their protest they engaged 
Universalist ministers, who came from Sunday to 
Sunday and preached in a school-house. In this 
place appeared some of the greatest preachers the 
Universalist Church has ever had, — Thomas Whitte- 
more, Walter Balfour (author of several works that 
have become standards in Universalist literature), Se- 
bastian Streeter and Hosea Ballon. In one of the 
vigorous sermons which Father Ballon gave to this 
band of Protestants he said to them : " If you want 
to keep the bell a-ringing you must keep the tongue 
a-thumping." And they kept the tongue " a-thump- 
ing" in the school-house till a society was formed, 
and the number who wished to hear " the Word " 
became so great that they were forced to seek more 
ample accommodations, which they found in a meet- 
ing-house that the Baptists had deserted. The forma- 
tion of this society was regarded by the defenders of 
Calvinism as the work of Satan himself, and was ac- 
cordingly duly preached against and condemned. And 
the young society found no slight element of growth 
in the opposition which it received. It fiourished so 
abundantly that in the spring of the year 1829 it took 
measures to have a pastor of its own. The Rev. Otis 
A. Skinner was called, and, by accepting the invita- 
tion, became the first settled Liberal preacher in 
Woburn. On the first Sunday in April, 1829, he 
preached his first sermon as pastor of the society. 
By those still living who remember well the feeling 
that existed against the society at the time, the writer 
has been told that on the following Sunday " Parson 
Bennett " took for his text 1 Peter v : 8 : " Your 
adversary, the de.vil, as a roaring lion walketh about, 
seeking whom he may devour," remarking that this 
Scripture was now being literally fulfilled, for he had 
himself, during the past week, seen the devil upon 
the streets of Woburn, referring to the pastor of the 
Universalist Society. It was a time of fierce conten- 
tion, and the preachers of the new faith, like in- 
spired war-horses, scented the battle afar off, and 
they always had their quivers full of Scripture 
proof texts ready for the fray. Mr. Skinner was a 
young man of much power, and soon became a recog- 
nized leader of thought in his denomination, and 
the society soon found it necessary to have a meat- 



438 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



ing-house of its own. In August of this same year 
the frame of a house was raised, on which occasion a 
public ceremony tooli place, with an address by the 
pastor. A writer in the Universa/ist Tnimptt said : 
" A great concourse of people assembled to witness 
it. The day was fine. The raising was complete 
without ihe occurrence of an accident, and without 
the use of ardent spirits, but with the assistance of 
ardent friends." This house was dedicated Decem- 
ber 23, 1829, In his address to the people on this oc- 
casion, Mr. AVhitteiiiore said : " You have been 
prospered almost beyond a parallel. Many societies 
have to struggle for years before they attain that 
maturity which you have attained in a short time. I 
can hardly believe the testimony of my own senses 
when I see so large a society and so convenient a 
house erected in a town where a few years ago the 
name we bear was scarcely known." In his address 
at Ihe services. Father Streeter charged his hearers if 
they saw folly on the wing to shoot it down, which 
figure of speech, in the mouth of the opposition, was 
interpreted to mean, " If you see an Orthodox any- 
where, shoot him ! " 

On this day Mr. Skinner was publicly installed as 
pastor of the society, and with him as its leader it 
seemed to have a brilliant future before it. But if its 
rise and progress were phenomenal, its decline and 
fall were equally so. Mr. Skinner was called to Balti- 
more in 1831, and with his departure the ardor of the 
young protestants was somewhat abated. He was 
soon followed by the Rev. Daniel D. Smith in a brief 
and uneventful ministry. In 183* the Rev. A. L. 
Balch became pastor of the society. His term of 
service was also short. There are records of a " Dor- 
cas Society" formed in January of this year, contain- 
ing in its list of members many familiar names of 
ladies, living and dead, who were active in works of 
benevolence. 

The next pastor of the society was Rev. John 
Gregory, installed in 1836. During his pastorate a 
wave of temperance agitation swept over the country, 
engulfing many a weak church and putting asunder 
many a strong one. It struck both the Baptist and 
Universalist Societies of Woburn, putting them in 
peril. Mr. Gregory took ground against the teeto- 
talers, maintaining with Paul that it was a good thing 
to take a little something for the stomach's sake. He 
published his views in a little book, which he called 
" The Bramble," in which he contended that it was 
right and just and a matter of duty for men to use 
intoxicating drinks, giving copious Scripture-texts in 
support of his position. He had many strong oppo- 
nents in his own flock, and also in the denomination 
at large. Ministers refused to exchange with him, 
and attacks poured in upon him. He was a born 
controversialist and reveled in these fightings. But 
this kind of controversy was not well calculated to 
strengthen a young and feeble church. Some who 
had been earnest workers were alienated by it, and it 



was deemed necessary that he should retire from the 
pastorate. So distracted was the society by this agita- 
tion that it Voted that the doors of the church be 
closed against all lectures on temperance and aboli- 
tion. 

After Mr. Gregory came a man of very different 
temperament, a mild and lovable spirit, the Rev. J. 
C. Waldo, son-in-law of Father Ballon, and under 
whose ministry a strong Universalist Church had been 
established in Lynn. He came in 1837 and was en- 
gaged with the hope that he might restore peace to 
the troubled water.s. But he remained with the 
church but a brief time, and with the clo.se of his 
pastorate the " First Universalist Society of Woburn " 
became extinct. The property of the society was 
purchased by the town, and the meeting-house con- 
verted into a town hall. It still stands and is near 
the depot of the Boston and liowell Railroad, and is 
now uted as an armory. 

It was expected by many that when the town pur- 
chased this property it would be the end of Univer- 
salism in Woburn. But very soon after this (1841) 
the "Second Universalist Society of Woburn " was 
formed, adopting what is known as the "Winchester 
Confession " as its theological basis. At the very 
outset it voted that it was in no way responsible for 
any act of the first society, especially the act relating 
to temperance and abolition lectures. In April, 1843, 
the Rev. W. B. Randolph was asked to preach for the 
society for such money as could be raised for his 
support. A new church was built and dedicated on 
Nov. 22d of the following year. This house was 
situated on the corner of Main and Walnut Streets; 
it was sold to the Methodists in 1865, and was de- 
stroyed by fire in 1873. It was in this house, and 
while Mr. Randolph was pastor, that Rev. Thomas 
Starr King and Rev. A. D. Mayo preached m Woburn 
their first sermons, one occupying the pulpit in the 
morning and the other in the afternoon. The pastor- 
ate of Mr. Randolph was a short one, and with his 
departure the public services of the Second Univer- 
salist Society came to an end. 

Previous to the coming of Mr. Randolph and the 
building of the Second Universalist Church, certain 
liberal-minded persons interested in the principles of 
the Unitarian faith had held occasional services, the 
Rev. Mr. Stetson being the first to preach this gospel 
in Woburn. Their services were for a while held in 
the Town Hall, alternating with the meetings which 
the Uni^ersalists held there previous to building 
their new church. During the pastorate of Mr. Ran- 
dolph the Unitarians held no meetings, but after his 
retirement they held services regularly in the Town 
Hall until 1846, when they accepted the offer of the 
Uuiversalists to use their church " for such preaching 
as they might wish to obtain." Among the preachers 
of this time were Rev. Dr. Francis, Rev. W. H. Chan- 
ning and the Rev. T. W. Higginson, who preached 
frequently for the society in its inception. On the 



I 



WOBURN. 



4?.!) 



31st of March, 1847, a warrant was issued by A. H. 
Kelson, Esq., upon petition of parties described as 
"members of a Religious Society not incorporated," 
summoning all members of said religious society to 
assemble at the vestry of the Universalist meeting- 
house in Woburn on the 8th day of April following, 
to act upon the usual business involved in the organ- 
ization of a legal society, etc., etc. The meeting was 
lield as directed, with the choice of A. H. Nelson, 
Esq., moderator, and John Johnson, Jr., clerk. The 
regular parish officers were chosen, and it was voted 
that the society be called the First Unitarian Society 
in Woburn. For six months thereafter the pulpit 
was supplied by Rev. John A. Buckingham, who 
devoted himself chiefly to the task of getting the 
society into condition for doing effectual work. It 
was during hia ministry that the Ladies' Charitable 
Society was formed, its first recorded meeting being 
Jan. 6, 1848, at the residence of Mrs. Albert Nelson. 
Twenty-two ladies were present, and the first oflicers 
of the Society were chosen. For many years it has 
been its custom to hold its meetings on the first Thurs- 
day of eadi month, the ladies gathering at 4 o'clock 
P.M., and the gentlemen at 6.30 o'clock for tea. The 
records of this society show that in the year 1862 it 
met 33 times and made 528 articles for the soldiers, 
and in 1863 it met 32 times and made 483 articles for 
the soldiers. From the day of its organization until 
the present time it has been an indispensable agent 
in the social and benevolent life and work of the 
parish. 

The first settled pastor of the society was Rev- 
Henry F. Edes, who was installed July 6, 1818. 
Early in his pastorate he organized a church body 
within the parish, which organization adopted a 
church covenant and certain articles of faith prepared 
by the pastor. In February of the following year a 
parish library was formed, Mr. Edes at the time 
preaching a sermon on books and reading. In 1856 
this was merged into the Public Library of the town. 
Under the lead of J. C. Park, Esq., an attempt was 
made to organize a Sunday-school, but for some 
reason the movement failed. Under the pastorate of 
Mr. Edes the society was not strong, having little of 
the cohesive power necessary to the life of a fresh 
enterprise, and owing to some dissatisfaction the 
pastor was dismissed, June 16, 1843. After his 
retirement the societj' continued to bold meetings 
regularly, although there was very little interest 
manifested, and it become a debatable question 
whether it were wise to continue its existence. In 
October, 1851, an informal meeting was called to con- 
s'.der the question of closing up its arfairs. In March 
of the next year another meeting was called to see if 
the two elements — Unitarians and Universalists could 
not unite and form a strong society, and another 
warrant was issued by John Nelson, Esq., on petition 
of twenty-one gentlemen, for a meeting of parties 
interested in organizing a " Unitarian Religious 



Parish." A new organization, April 10, 1852, was the 
re.sult of this meeting. It was voted that the clerk 
be directed to inscribe on the records of the parish 
the following declaration : " We whose names are 
hereunder written, desire and agree to become mem- 
bers of the First Unitarian Parish in Woburn, and 
that all persons who shall sign said declaration shall 
thereby become members of said Parish." It was 
voted that the annual meeting of the parish be held 
the first Monday in April, and this is the organization 
of the society as it now exists. Nearly a year elapsed 
after this before the settlement of a pastor, and in this 
interval there were three clergymen who preached 
very frequently and very acceptably to the people. 
They were the Revs. T.W. Higginson and O. W. Wight, 
both subsequently distinguished in literary circles; 
and George F. Simmons, a young man of fine culture, 
who was called (January 10, 1853) to the pastorate of 
the society, at a salary of $800 a year, but who did not 
accept the invitation. 

At a parish meeting in March, 1853, it was unani- 
mously voted to invite John M. Masters to become 
pastor of the society at a salary of $1000 a year. At 
the same meeting a subscription paper was circulated 
for the purchase of an organ, resulting in the sum of 
$1000, and a committee was appointed to purchase 
an instrument. Mr. Masters, accepting the call, was 
ordained and installed as pastor of the society April 
28, 1853. In the services of the occasion many well- 
known persons took part. Revs. William R. Alger, 
F. D. Huntington, A. B. Fuller, better known as 
"Chaplain Fuller," and Thomas Starr King. That 
the society was prosperous at this time is evident 
from the fact that it was necessary to add twenty 
pews to the church to accommodate those who wished 
to attend the services (in 1854). 

In 1853, under the lead of Mr. George M. Champ- 
ney, a Sunday-school was organized, with Mr. Champ- 
ney as its first superintendent, a position which he 

1 held for many years. The school soon numbered 
sixty-five scholars and has continued a prosperous 
life down to the present time. Mr. Masters' health 
failing, he was compelled to resign March 25, 1855. 

At a meeting held April 7, 1856, which was described 
as large and spirited, a "unanimous, enthusiastic and 
warm-hearted " call was extended to the Rev. Mr. Pope 
of SomerviUe to become pastor of the society, but 
the call was declined. It was not till April, 
1857, that the Rev. R. P. Stebbins, D.D., formerly 
president of the Meadville Theological School, was 
installed as the successor of Mr. Masters. The pas- 
torate of Dr. Stebbins covered a period of about six 
years, during which time the society steadily increased 

I in numbers and influence. He was much interested 
in the public schools and did much to increase their 
usefulness. He was a preacher of great rhetorical 
power and a zealous defender of the faith he cherished. 
His resignation as pastor of the society came as a 
great surprise, November 28, 1863. 



440 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



The society was not long in finding his successor, 
tlie Rev. Eli Fay, who was installed as pastor April 
14,1864. Very soon after his settlement the Unitarian 
Society of Winchester was organized, which drew 
away members from both the Medford and Woburn 
parishes. 

In ISOG the Unitarian Society at North Woburn 
was formed, Mr. Fay assisting in its organization. 
The chapel which it now owns and in which religious 
services are occasionally held was dedicated on Jan- 
uary 10, 1875. Through its Sewing Circle and its 
Sunday-scliool, which meets every Sunday, and has 
been lor many years in charge of Mr. A. K. Linscott, 
this society has done efl'ectual work for the cause of 
liberal religion. 

For some time before the coming of Mr. Fay the 
meetinghouse belonging to the Second Universalist 
Society had been inadequate to the needs of the 
parish. To accommodate the growing congregation, 
it was finally decided to purchase the house that the 
Congregationalists had vacated, which was done at a 
cost of .$4250, and on the purchasing of this property 
the old meeting-house was turned over to the Method- 
ists. The Unitarians at once proceeded to enlarge 
and remodel their house, and it was dedicated to 
Unitarian purposes April 12, 1865. The cost of the 
]iroperty in its enlarged and improved state was 
about $42,500. That the society was able to raise so 
much money at this time — it all being paid for into 
about $2500 — shows that it had gained very rapidly 
in members and power since its reorganization in 
1853. Mr. Fay was very popular as a lecturer on 
practical themes, and his Sunday evening discourses 
always drew very large congregations. 

In the time of Dr. Stebbins' pastorate a Natural His- 
tory Association had been organized, and under the 
auspices of this society many public lectures on scien- 
tific themes were given in the Unitarian vestry during 
the ministry of Mr. Fay, and lectures of this character 
given from time to time have constituted a part of the 
parish work for many'years. Owing to ill-he.alth, Mr. 
Fay resigned February 20,1867. Thesociety gave him a 
year's absence, supplying the pulpit in the mean time, 
hoping that the rest would restore him to health. 
But finding at the end of the year that he was unable 
to resume his charge, the relation was severed at his 
request, and the society was again forced to look for 
another pastor. He was found in the person of 
William S. Barnes, who was installed January 17,1869, 
and for more than ten years, or until April 1, 1879, 
ministered devotedly to his people. In 1870 a large 
organ of fine tone and mechanism was placed in the 
church at an expense of $9000. In 1874 the parish 
received a generous legacy of $5000 under the pro- 
vision of the will of Mr. Timothy Winn, who had 
long been actively interested in the welfare of the 
society. By vote of the parish this sum was appropria- 
ted in part towards the cancellati4)n of the debt of the 
parish. The remainder, added to the gifts of indi- 



viduals, was used in the purchase of an estate on Main 
Street to be used on a parsonage, the purchase price 
of which was $7000. This estate was deeded to the 
parish without encumbrance other than certain re- 
strictions relating to its use as a parsonage. 

The death of Hon. Jonathan Bowers Winn, which 
occurred December 12, 1873, removed from the parish 
one who had been its strongest support. By his will 
he gave to the society the sum of 15000 which was 
set apart as a prominent fund, the income to be used 
for current parish expenses. To this fund was added, 
in 1876, the munificent legacy to the parish of the 
sum of $1500 by his son, Charles Bowers AVmn, 
lamented fur his early taking ofl'and immortalized in 
the hearts of the inhabitants of Woburn for his gift 
to them of & princely sum in trust for library pur- 
poses. 

lu November, 1879, Rev. George H. Young became 
the minister of the society, and after a faithful service 
of nearly four years resigned October 29, 1883, to 
enter a wider field of work. 

By the will of Hon. Charles Choate, who died Feb- 
uaYy 15, 1883, the church and parish of which he was 
a stanch friend and zealous upholder were not for- 
gotten, and the society received from his executor the 
bum of $5000, which was added to the permanent 
fund of the parish. 

A code of by-laws adopted by the parish May 8, 

1883, recognized the equality of women in the parish, 
and they were given all the privileges of parish mem- 
bership, and since that time have been represented 
on each successive Board of Parish Committee. 

Rev. Henry A. Westall was chosen pastor April 11, 

1884, and his resignation was accepted December 1, 
1886. It was during his pastorate that the Friday 
Night Club was formed, October 30, 1886, its pur- 
pose being to cultivate the literary and social life of 
the young people of the parish. And it has been of 
great help to the society in many ways. Its first 
president was Albert Thompson and its secretary 
Harry A. Brackett, and the club has had, from the 
first, an average membership of over one hundred. 

March 27, 1888, Rev. Henry C. Parker was invited 
to the pastorate, and at this writing holds that posi- 
tion. 

In October of the same year the Unitarian Club 
was organized, with Colonel Grosvenor as its presi- 
dent, and Charles B. Bryant secretary, a club for men 
only, its purpose being to increase the interest of the 
men in the work of the church. Fortnightly meet- 
ings are held, at which papers are read on subjects of 
general interest to the members. The club has al- 
ready proven itself a valuable auxiliary of the parish. 

In January, 1889, a society called the Merry Work- 
ers, composed of children of the Sunday-school, was 
organized. By fairs and entertainments it raises 
money for what is called Country Week. It gives 
each year twelve poor children from the city a visit in 
the country of about two weeks ; and it is expected 



WOBURN. 



441 



that this will be a iiermaueut society within the 
l)arish. 

Since the reorganization of the parish, in 1853, 
there has been no serious break or falling away of 
members, but for the greater part a steady increase of 
interest on the part of all, and the church has be- 
come more and more a power for good in the commu- 
nity. The old bitterness that existed between the 
first Liberal Societies and the churches of a different 
faith has entirely died away. Only the most pleasant 
and friendly, social relations exist between it and 
the other parishes of the city. And with its various 
organizations it can, perhaps, be truly said, that it 
was never in better condition for doing real con- 
structive religious work than at this present time. 

Methodist Episcopal Church} — The Methodist 
Episcopal Church in Woburn was organized by 
Rev. Amos Binney, presiding elder, February 1, 
1851. It embraced ten members. Previous to this 
date there had been, for a greater part of a year, 
occasional preaching in the town house, Revs. 
Horace Vail, Leonard P. Frost and John W. Mer- 
rill, D.D., being the preachers. There had been also 
resident in town a few Methodists — some, if not most, 
of whom were members of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church in Medford. These had, tor some time, been 
organized as a class, whose meetings nearly all punc- 
tually attended. Daring the spring, after the regular 
organization of the church, in 1851, Rev. HoUis 
Kendall was appointed, by the presiding elder, as a 
stated preacher. The town-house, which had been 
rented, August 11, 1850, as the place of assembly, 
was still used for that purpose. And Mr. Kendall, 
who was earnest and laborious in his work, was suc- 
cessful beyond the expectation of any of the people. 
When he left his charge, in 1852, though only a sin- 
gle year had elapsed, the original ten had nearly 
trebled, so that he left to the charge of his successor 
twenty-seven members in full church fellowship and 
twelve probationers. 

Mr. Kendall was succeeded, in April, 1852, by Rev. 
J. B. Holman, who is said to have made the first 
permanent church record. His term of service, like 
that of his predecessor, was short, closing in the 
spring of 1853. 

The first preacher, regularly appointed by the 
Conference, was Rev. Mr. Carj', who entered upon 
his labor in the spring of 1853, but, leaving before the 
expiration of that year, was succeeded by the Rev. 
H. R. Parmenter, from the Biblical Institute at Con- 
cord, N. H., who supplied the pulpit for the re- 
mainder of the Conference year. 

In the spring of 1854 Rev. George Sutherland be- 
came, by appointment, the minister of the church. 
He remained two years and was very successful in 

1 For a large part of the material of this sketch the writer gratefully 
acknowledges his indebtedness to Mr. Thomas Wilson, who, as secretary 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church for many years, both kindly and 
promptly rendered the needed assistance. L. T. 



his work. During his ministry a small chapel, lo- 
cated on Main Street, corner of ilann's Court, was 
filled to overflowing w'ith attentive and earnest 
hearers. 

In 1856 Mr. Sutherland was succeeded by Rev. 
Thomas B. Treadwell, who, after serving one year, 
was succeeded, in 1857, by Rev. J. A. Ames, who re- 
mained through two years of marked prosperity. 

In 1859 Rev. Moses P. Webster was sent by the 
Conference and served one year, when, in the spring 
of 1860, he was succeeded by Rev. Bartholomew 
Othman, who remained two years. In 1862, the 
church having failed to ask for a preacher, the 
bishop and presiding elder sent, as a supply. Rev. 
Kinsman Atkinson, who remained one year. In 
April, 1863, Rev. Miles Barney, a student from Con- 
cord, N. H., succeeded, and remained one year. 

According to the testimony of a subsequent pastor, 
the years 1862 and 1863 were a season of great trial. 
" Many were ready to give up the organization, and, 
but for a few determined spirits, the church must have 
broken up. For a long time the records show no con- 
version!*, no baptisms and no marriages. In fact, the 
church seems to have been crippled socially, finan- 
cially and spiritually." - 

In the spring of 1864, Rev. N. D. George, who was 
sent by the presiding elder, succeeded, with the aid 
of the church, in obtaining money or pledges nearly 
sufDcient to enable them to purchase the Unitarian 
Church on Main Street, which its owners were about 
to abandon. About one-half of the needed $5000 was 
collected, when, in 1865, Mr. George was succeeded by 
Rev. Matthew M. Parkhurst. The building was pur- 
ch.ised in the spring of that year, the balance of the 
subscription, .?2500, being collected and paid. The 
house, after being repaired, furnished with carpet, 
cushions, a new pulpit, altar, chairs and gas-fixtures, 
was re-opened May 17, 1865. In 1867 it was raised 
suiEciently to admit of the construction of vestries be- 
neath the main audience-rooms. 

Rev. Mr. Parkhurst, leaving in the spring of 1868, 
was immediately succeeded by Rev. John A. Lansing, 
who, in 1870, was succeeded by Rev. Cyrus L. East- 
man, and he, in 1872, by Rev. William J. Hamble- 
ton. During the ministry of Mr. Hambleton the 
church edifice, which the society had, at the cost of 
so much labor and sacrifice, happily secured, was, 
with other buildings adjacent, laid in ashes by the 
most disastrous fire ever known in Woburn. March 
6, 1873, the day of this event, will long be remembered 
as a day of sore trial. Yet the people speedily rallied 
and, as soon as possible, proceeded to erect, on nearly 
the same spot, the edifice now occupied by them. On 
Fast Day, April 2, 1874, a little more than one year after 
their loss, they publicly dedicated the new sanctuary. 
Rev. R. R. Meredith, then of Springfield, preaching 
the sermon. Rev. Mr. Hambleton, who had witnessed 



s Bev. M. M. Parkhurst. 



442 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



the loss of the former house, was permitted, before he 
left for another field, to witness and rejoice over the 
consecration of the new and more convenient church- 
home. 

Mr. Hambleton was succeeded, in the spring of 
1874, by Rev. Charles A. MerriU, who, in 1876, was 
succeeded by Rev. Charles H. Hannaford, and he, in 
1878, by Rev. William J. Pomfret, each remaining 
two years. 

In April, 1880, Rev. Volney M. Simons succeeded 
Mr. Pomfret and, in 1883, Rev. Nathaniel B. Fisk 
succeeded Mr. Simons, each supplying; three years. 
From the spring of 188t) to the spring of 1888 the 
pulpit was occupied by Rev. M. Emory Wright, 
and from 1888 to April, 1889, by Rev. Lyman J). 
Bragg. In 1889 Rev. Hugh Montgomery succeeded 
Mr. Bragg, and is now the minister. 

In concluding this sketch of a history covering less 
than forty years, the present writer is happy to say 
that the Methodist Episcopal Church of Woburn has, 
with the exception of brief seasons of trial, been 
blessed with marked prosperity and tokens of useful- 
ness. 

The North Woburn Chapel Association. — From the 
families in North Woburn affiliating with the Unitar- 
ian Society in Woburn there was organized, July 17, 
1860, a society bearing the name of " The Young 
Men's Liberal Christian Association." No regular 
worship was maintained and they had no stated place 
for worship. But the association retained their organ- 
ization and met at some appointed place, on special 
occasions. In 1874 a neat and convenient chapel 
was erected on Minot Street, which was dedicated 
January 10, 1875. Rev. William S. Barnes, then the 
pastor of the Unitarian Church at Woburn Centre, 
preached a sermon on the occasion, from John 1 : 14: 
" And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among 
us." 

In October, 1876, the association was reorganized 
under the name of the " North Woburn Chapel As- 
sociation." This name it still bears. There has, 
however, never been stated religious worship, even 
since the erection of the chapel. But a Sabbath- 
school ha.s there each Sunday its meeting-place, and 
the minister of the Centre Church and clergymen 
from elsewhere occasionally occupy the pulpit as 
preachers. 

JRoman Catholic Church} — Previous to the year 
1843 the few Roman Catholics residing in the 
town of Woburn were obliged, in order to at- 
tend divine worship, to go either as far as Boston 
or, later on, to East Cambridge, where a Roman Ca- 
tholic Church had recently been established. The 
conveniences of travel at that time being, of course, 
but scanty, these journeys were oftentimes made 
on foot, the travelers going and returning the same 
day, a distance of more than twenty miles. 

1 B^ Josette Gertrude Menard. 



In 1843, however. Rev. James Strain, of East Cam- 
bridge, decided to visit Woburn, which was one of the 
outlying towns included in his parish, in order to as- 
certain if the number of its Catholic families was not 
sufficient to warrant his performing the holy sacrifice 
of the Mass for them at intervals in their own town. 

He found this to be the case. A large house, situ- 
ated at the Watering Station, and owned by the Bos- 
ton and Lowell Railroad Company, was selected as a 
temporary place of worship, and here, in the same 
year, the first service was held. It was not long, how- 
ever, before it was found that this accommodation 
was insufficient for the increasing congregation, while 
it also proved inconvenient for those residing in the 
westerly and southerly portions of the town. At 
length the town hall in Woburn Centre was hired, 
and here a monthly service continued to be held by 
Rev. Father Strain until 1&4G, when, to the sincere re- 
gret of his little flock, he was called to the West. He 
was succeeded at East Cambridge and also at Wo- 
burn by Rev. Father Doherty. 

About this time a portion of the people, becom- 
ing dissatisfied with their accommodation, the ques- 
tion of building a small church was agitated, but 
the size and condition of the congregation not seem- 
ing just as yet to authorize the necessary outlay, 
Father Doherty decided, after some consideration, to 
continue celebrating the Mass in the building chosen 
by his predecessor. This custom was continued 
during the following three years. 

In 1849 a change was once more made, and Father 
Doherty's place was filled by Rev. Father Reardon, 
also from East Cambridge. As this latter clergyman 
remained in the town but a short time, no further 
efibrt toward building a church was made. Such had 
been the growth of the congregation, however, during 
the last few years, that it became apparent to all that 
the use of the town hall would very soon have to be 
discontinued, and when, in 1851, Rev. Father Car- 
roll was given charge of the parish, steps towards 
raising funds were at once taken by him. 

His labors in this direction were, after a time, 
crowned with success. A lot of land, situated 
upon Main Street, at the corner of Summer Street, 
was purchased, and in 1853 the first Roman Catholic 
Church, a small wooden structure, was erected. 

Although Father Carroll remained pastor of the 
new. church until 1859, he did not at any time reside 
in Woburn, nor did his successor, Rev. Father Bran- 
igan, who acted as officiating priest for the following 
two years. 

The history of this denomination in Woburn is 
henceforward one of continuous growth and prosper- 
ity. The clergymen of East Cambridge could no 
longer give it the care and attention necessary to its 
spiritual welfare. The monthly service became inad- 
equate, and in 1862 Rev. John McCarthy came to 
Woburn as a resident pastor. 

A house situated upon Pleasant Street, near Ben- 



WOBURN. 



443 



net, formerly the Baptist parsonage, was c||psen as a 
parochial residence, and was occupied by him for a 
period of two year?. It was at the end of this time, 
in January, 1864, that Rev. John Queally, then at 
AVorcester, was appointed pastor at Woburn, a posi- 
tion which he holds at the present date (1890). 

The parish at the time of his coming covered con- 
siderable territory, consisting, as it did, of the towns 
of Woburn, Winchester and Burlington. The wooden 
church became overcrowded, and the demand lor a 
larger edifice became once more urgent. It was de- 
cided to move the building then in use and erect a 
brick church on the same site.' Subscriptions to this 
end were solicited by Father Quealey, and at length, 
in the month of December, 1867, the corner-stone of 
the present church was laid. In September, ISfiO, it 
was dedicated to Saint Charles Borromeo and formally 
consecrated. 

Two years previous to this. Father Quealy landing 
that a residence at such a distance from the church 
was a source of much inconvenience, the estate lo- 
cated upon the corner of Summer and Main Streets, 
and directly opposite the church property, was pur- 
chased, upon which he still resides. 

Not long after the completion of the new building, 
the services of an assistant becoming indispensable, 
Rev. Thomas H. Kenney, was sent as curate to share 
with FalherQuealy in the labors of the parish. Father 
Kenney died in Woburn in March, 1872, and was 
succeeded by Rev. Edward L. McClure. After a 
time, this last curate being called upon to assume the 
duties of pastor elsewhere, the vacancy was tilled by 
Rev. Michael Gleason and Rev. Michael D. Murphy- 
They, in turn, were substituted by Rpv. Matthew F. 
McDonnell and Rev. Lawrence W. Slattery, who aj-e 
now in the parish. 

In 1884 an event of some importance took place in 
the establishing in Woburn of a parochial school. A 
large building, situated upon Main Street, belonging 
to the church property, and formerly dedicated to the 
use of the temperance society, was fitted up as a 
school-house. Twelve of the Sisters of Notre Dame 
were secured to take charge of the children and act 
as teachers, and a convent pleasantly located upon 
SummerStreet, in convenient proximity to the church 
and school, was opened for them. The school, which 
is for girls only, is at present in a prosperous condi- 
tion, having a full attendance of five hundred and 
thirty pupils. 

The Roman Catholic Chapel, located at Montvale, 
or East Woburn, which has a congregation numbering 
about five hundred, is included in the Winchester 
parish, and was erected some ten years ago by the 
clergymen of that place. 

Trinity Church and Antecedents? — The earliest ef- 
forts to establish an Episcopal congregation in Wo- 
burn, recorded by the historian, was a movement 

1 By the Kev. J. Frank Winkkj-. 



made 138 years ago, Aj.D. 1751, when Benjamin 
Simonds, William Smith, Robert Reed, Swithin Reed, 
Ebenezer Reed, George Reed, Jr., Eliphas Reed, 
James Perry, Thomas Skelton, Jr., Caleb Simonds, 
Caleb Simonds, Jr., Seth Johnson and John Cutler, 
thirteen men, "signed off," t. f., declared tliemselves 
Episcopal.- "Benjamin Simonds, of the First Par- 
ish," became "a very important man among them." 
He was the head and front of the movement, being 
at the time twenty-seven years of age. He occupied 
the Simonds homestead at Dry Brook, Cumminsville, 
with his great-uncle, Caleb Simonds, Sr., who was 
the fourth child of the first pair, William and Judith 
Simonds, who settled here A. i>. 1643, and built the 
hou^e which may be seen to-day near Cambridge 
Street, in Woburn, and of special interest to us, as 
tlwt west room was no doubt the first Episcopal 
church in Woburn. 

Let us go a little further back while ia these early 
cays of the town. It was April 2, 1635, that the good 
ship " Planter," Captain Nicholas Trarice, sailed from 
England, having among his forty passengers most, if 
not all, the ancestors of the thirteen men who organ- 
ized in 1751, and Thomas Carter, a graduate of Cam- 
bridge, who is to be the first pastor of the First 
Church of Woburn. 

The old historic house referred to may have been 
forty-six feet long by twenty wide, and fourteen feet 
high to the eaves. The room so long sanctified by 
prayer and praise is fifteen feet by nineteen. A tall 
man must remove his hat and bend as he passes under 
the heavy beams that sustain the floor above. Before 
the cheering flames of a large, old-fashioned fire- 
place, the services were led by a clergyman from 
Boston or from Cambridge at times, but more fre- 
quently by Thomas Skelton, Jr., and the large quarto 
prayer-book used by him on such occasions was, 
until her death, in possession of his grandchild, Mrs. 
A. J. Kendall, of West Swansea, N. H. A grand old 
elm, whose limbs extend forty-five feet from the 
trunk, holds one arm over this consecrated room. 
Out there, in mild weather, the services were con- 
ducted. Who, that understands the aflfection of 
Churchmen for that old, familiar service, is prepared 
to believe that the incense from that domestic aliar 
did not rise like that of Noah from Ararat? 

The services, inaugurated by the thirteen in 1751 
continued with more or less regularity for thirty years. 
Benjamin Simonds had all his children baptized here. 
Caleb Simonds' children — Gideon, Calvin and Jesse — 
here received holy baptism. The little flock held to- 
gether, the last recorded service being December 4, 
17S1, the marriage of Ebenezer Page, of Boston, to 
Susanna, daughter of Benjamin Simonds, in the little 
room by Rev. Samuel Parker, D.D., of Boston. But 
the use of the prayer-book did not end there. Caleb 



-The greater part wore memtwra of the Secood Parish. See Sewatl'B 

"Wobuin,*' p. 500. 



444 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Simoiids lived on Pleasant Street until 1805, when he 
sold his house to the Congregational minister and 
lived in Bedford wiih his son Zebedee, where he died 
January 4, IS 11, aged ninety-one. Zebedee died in 
182G ; Edward, the son of Zebedee, several years col- 
lector of taxes in Woburn, resided with his mother in 
Bedford until 1837, down to which date the prayer- 
book services had been regularly maintained in that 
home, and he believes were continued to his mother's 
death, in 1853. Lacy Simonds no doubt maintained 
this service in the old temple home by Dry Brook to 
the last year of her life, 1842. In a.d. 1846, only four 
years after Lucy Simonds left her prayer-book in the 
old homestead, seven years before the sauitly mother 
of our collector Simonds lay her prayer-book by to go 
to the paradise of God, the Rev. George Packard, 
D.D., began to officiate every third Sunday in the 
town-ball, alternating with Beverly and Lawrence 
until September, when the movement of manufactur- 
ers developing in Lawrence, decided him to establish 
himself in that place, and build a church there. The 
Universalists had made a beginning in Woburn in 
1828, and again in 1841. In 1847 they united with 
the Unitarians in farming the present society, and the 
Roman Catholics began in the same year. The 
Methodists broke ground in 1850, but the Episcopal 
element stood still twenty years. Then Mrs. Eliza 
Wyman visited various church families, and, late in 
1865, met the Rev. Frederick D. Huntington, D.D., 
in "the old Corner Book-Store" in Boston, and on 
Sunday, January 21, 1800, the Rev. George L. Con- 
verse, rector of St. James', Rosbury, inaugurated a 
series of services with a good congregation. He was 
followed on succeeding Sundays by the Rev. Drs. 
Huntington, Randall and Babbitt. On the 20th of May 
Rev. Charles H. Learoyd, of Medford, was appointed 
provisional rector, and on the 20th Rev. E. H- 
Chapin commenced under the Eastern District Asso- 
ciation, concluding his work of four Sundays by organ- 
izing a Sunday-school, St. John's Day, June 24th, 
having a library of 150 volumes, the gift of Boston 
Churchmen. He was followed by Rev. Messrs. Slack, 
Babbitt, Foxcraft, Carter, Bradley, Downing and 
Munroe. An interregnum of three Sundays followed 
August 12th. A petition for organization produced a 
warrant, September 27, 1860, naming October 4th, 
7.30 P.M., at which time Parker L. Converse, justice 
of the peace, was present, and the organization made 
by the election of officers and adopting the name — 
Trinity Church. A delegation of nine clergymen of 
Eastern District Association visited the field October 
20lh, and Rev. E. H. Downing was left in charge, the 
second rector. He worked seven months, and worked 
well. His are the first records extant, since that 
wedding, 1781. George Thompson, W. A. Haslam 
and J. R. Little appeared as committee soliciting 
subscriptions in aid of the building enterprise. A 
Bible, iwo altar pi'ayer-books, presented by the Rev. 
Mr. Slafter, other books by Bishop Eastburn, fifty- 



four pra^r-books by the Margaret Coffin P. B. S., 
altar, chancel chair, little melodeon and communion 
service remain as witnesses of that enterprise. The 
first baptism was March 10, 1807. 

But the effort was futile. Miss Wyman, the Mrs. 
Margaret Farmer, Eleanor T. Long Haslam, Mary 
McCarthy, Josephine W. Rogers and Thomas G. 
Davis worked zealously to get up a fair and rescue 
the falling house, but it was a failure; and on April 
22, 1867, the second organization was effected under 
a warrant of Parker L. Converse, Esq., at which 
Thomas G. Davis was elected clerk ; Joseph Mc- 
Carthy, senior warden ; 0. W. Rogers, junior warden ; 
Richard Barrington, Daniel Chamberlain, Joseph G. 
Frampton, Oliver W. Rogers and Thomas T. Long, 
vestrymen; and at the adoption of a constitution, 
May 5th, the additional name of Charles Trull ap- 
pears with the above signatures. Committee on 
building: Joseph M Carthy, O. W. Rogers and the 
Rector Nicholson. Outside help was asked, and sub- 
scriptions to the amount of $3057.00, were obtained and 
ground was broken September 25, 1807. The corner- 
stone was laid with usual ceremonies by the Rev. F. 
D. Huntington, D.D., on Tuesday, October 27th. 
Rev. H. A. Nicholson resigned March 11, 1808, after 
a rectorship of nine months, and Rev. C. C. Chapin 
succeeded. May 4th building committee report cost 
$0574.55; debt, $2018.49. The debt, January 18, 
1869, was $5000. Rev. J. W. Porter, D.D., succeeded 
C. C. Chapin. He collected $5000 in Boston and paid 
the debt. Rev. Charles A. Rand succeeded Doctor 
Porter, Whit-Sunday, May 28th. Rev. George Pome- 
roy Allen assumed charge December 25, 1872, and 
his last recorded act was a baptism, December 25, 
1873. Rev. Sumner U. Shearman, succeeded, and 
resigned November 3, 1876. Rev. George Denham 
commenced December 10, 1876, and his resignation 
was accepted April 15, 1877. August 6th Rev. J. 
Frank Winkley was called, and entered upon the 
duties of his office, September 8, 1877. His resigna- 
tion took effect May 8, 1885. The Rev. Samuel 
Hazen Hilliard succeeded, and following him the 
Rev. James P. Ware, and the Rev. Dr. Harris fol- 
lowed him, leaving in July, 1887. Between that 
January 21, 1806, and July 31, 1887, are twenty-one 
years and seven months, during which 41 adults and 
258 infants were baptized, 141 confirmed. The largest 
class at confirmation, 24; of the names recorded as 
communicants, 90 are believed to have received com- 
munion within two years preceding May 8, 1885. 

The parish began with the pew system, passed to 
envelopes, then subscriptions and free. The most 
prosperous season for finances was the era of inflation 
after the great war. The gentleman longest in office, 
clerical or lay, was Dr. James Folsom, of Montvale, 
warden between eight and nine years, to Easter, 
1885. The largest amount raised in any one year 
was to April 10, 1870 ; offerings, $348.49 ; pew-rents, 
8619.98; subscriptions, $48.36 =$1038.80; and the 



WOBURN. 



445 



same year received from mission?, S550 ; borrowed, 
$116.49. Of the illustrious dead who assisted in 
starting this parish is George M. Randall, first bishop 
of Colorado, but then rector of the Church of the 
Messiah, Boston, and of the living clergy not men- 
tioned above, Kev. Dr. Wharton, who, in 1867, sub- 
scribed $=")00. In 1873 the quorum at parish meeting 
was reduced to four, and in 1879 raised to ten. Other 
gentlemen acting as senior warden were Robert 
Eaton, 1873 ; Richard Barrington, 1874. From 1879 
the rector's duties called him to Winchester, Wil- 
mington, Lexington and Bedford, three of which 
now have established services and resident clergy- 
men. 

New Jerusalem, Church. — The society bearing this 
name, sometimes also called the Swedenborgian 
Church, tbrmerly worshiped for several years in an 
edifice on Central Street, Jlontvale. Of late its 
members seem to have been, from various causes, so 
weakened in imnibers and ability as to practically 
abandon their enterprise, and their house of worship, 
now called All Saints' Chapel, is used for services 
whicli are not strictly denominational. 

All Saints' Chapel. — Those who now worship in this 
edifice, formerly known as the New Jerusalem Church, 
on Central Street, Moutvale, do not represent any 
one religious denomination. "Union Services " are 
held regularly every Sunday afternoon and con- 
ducted by representatives from various churches. 

The Scandinavian Evangelical Socitti/. — This relig- 
ious organization is one of the most recent of similar 
organizations in Woburn. Previous to 1882 there 
were hardly a dozen persons of Scandinavian origin 
in town. During that year Messrs. Bryant and King 
introduced a considerable number of workmen in 
their manufactory. Of these, but very few had even 
an imperfect acquaintance with the English language, 
while the great majority knew nothing of it; and as 
only a very small number were professing Christians, 
it was, for the few who were, a difficult enterprise to 
introduce and establish in the Scandinavian lan- 
guage a regular ministration of the Gospel. In July 
of the year before mentioned, one of their number, a 
Swede, succeeded in inducing a Swedish evangelist 
from Cambridgeport to come to Woburn and preach 
for a siftgle Sunday. At this first service ever held in 
town in the Scandinavian language about thirty per- 
sons (Swedes, Norwegians and Danes) were present. 
Such an interest was now awakened that, at different 
times and at different places, serviees were subse- 
quently held. Generally these services were held in 
dwelling-houses of Swedish families, and nearly once 
each week with a single family residing at No. 7 
Greenwood Avenue. Toward the close of October of 
that eventful year the Young Men's Christian As- 
sociation opened their rooms, then at 127 Main 
Street, for a regular weekly service in the Scandina- 
vian language. The work was signally blessed, and, 
as ifiore frequent meetings became desirable, permis- 



sion was given in May, 1883, to hold two meetings in 
those rooms each week. Such was the success of the 
enterprise that on the 2d day of June, 1884, the 
"Scandinavian Evangelical Society" was organized. 
It consisted of seven member's, whose names were 
Charles R. Rosenquist, Mrs. Charles R. Rosenquist, 
Claes H. Svenson, Mrs. Claes H. Svenson, Sven Fro- 
berg, Mrs. Sven Froberg and Gustaf J. Olson. At an 
adjourned meeting on the following evening five 
more members were added to the seven of the pre- 
vious meeting— (_)!of Johnson, Mrs. Olof Johnson, 
Magnus Carlson, Swan Ekmark and Jliss Augusta C. 
Johnson. These twelve persons included nearly all 
the Scandinavians who were professing Christians at 
that lime in Woburn. But from the date of the or- 
ganization onward, the church, so feeble in its begin- 
nings, has been wonderfully blessed. A large number 
of persons have been, it is believed, savingly benefited. 
Meanwhile the society has moved steadily forward, 
and in June, 1889, the original seven had increased 
to eighty-three members, the Scandinavian population 
being, at the last-named date, nearly six hundred, 
and on the 27th day of June the church was incorpo- 
rated. But, from this time up to January, 1890, a 
large number, for reasons chiefly connected with the 
uncertainties of business, have left the city and 
settled in the West as farmers. This reduced the 
Scandinavian population during the closing months 
of the year to about four hundred, and of course, has 
seriously affected, financially and otherwise, the 
church. 

But the church, though " faint, is yet pursuing." 
Meetings for worship are now held in Concert Hall, 
Savings Bank Building, Sunday mornings at 10.30, 
Sunday evenings at 7, and Wednesday evenings at 
7.30 o'clock. The present members (January, 1890) 
number fifty-eight. The officers of the church, 1890, 
are : Elder, A. F. Simonson ; Deacons, Sven Froberg, 
Aug. Erlaudson, Alfred L. Olson and N. C.Olson; 
Moderator, Cbas. R. Rosenquist; Secretary, Gustaf 
Anderson; Treasurer, Neils Olson; Standing Com- 
mittee, Swan Ekmark, Sven Froberg, Alfred L. 
Olson and Ludvig Froberg ; Organist, Gustav A. 
Svenson. 

The communion service is on the second Sunday 
afternoon of each month. A Sunday-School and 
Bible Class were organized January 1, 1887, with 
twenty-five members. This number has since ' in- 
creased to seventy. The present officers are A. F. 
Simonson, superintendent; G. A. Svenson, secretary; 
A. L. Olson, treasurer. 

The church has not, as it needs to have, a regular 
pastor. Indeed, it has had but one. Rev. M. Ahlberg, 
who came in 1889, and remained less than a year, the 
departure of so many during the year leaving thos^e 
who remained unable to rneet all the necessary ex- 
penses. 

The church holds meetings every second Thursday 
evening in the Congregational Church at Winchester 



44G 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



with Scandinavians in that place. From one to 
three evenings each week, meetings for prayer and 
Bible study are held in Scandinavian homes in 
Woburn, from ten to thirty-five persons attending. 

Considering the circumstances, the Scandinavian 
Evangelical Church and Society have accomplished 
a great and good work, and, indirectly, have thus 
favorably affected the whole community. They 
greatly need a religious home in a church edifice of 
their own, and, in the judgment of the present writer, 
the large-hearted members of other churches could 
hardly do a wiser or better deed of Christian kindness 
than to help them to secure it. ' 

St. John Baptist Church. — This organization, origi- 
nating with and sustained by the people of color in 
Woburn, is of very recent date. From the local 
papers we learn that the first meeting took place 
November 18, 1886, at the residence of Saunders 
Sims, on Everett Street. On the 5th of July, 1887, 
the organization was effected with seventeen mem- 
bers, and on the 17th of May, 1888, the church was 
formally recognized by delegates from other churches. 
AVilson Fitchett, John White and H. W. Dearborn 
were chosen the first deacons. Rev. J. M. Taylor 
had previously ofticiated as the first pastor. On the 
5th of February, 1888, Rev. George G. Robinson had 
succeeded, but remained only till the following Sep- 
tember, and, in 1889, he was followed by Rev. T. H. 
Thompson. 

The society purchased a lot on Fowle Street for a 
house of worship, but, finding it to lack adaptation to 
their wants, at length abandoned it. During the 
summer of 1889 another and more desirable lot was 
presented to them by Geo. W. Holden, Esq., of 
Somerville, formerly of Woburn. On this lot, on 
Green Street, the corner-stone was accordingly laid 
with the usual ceremonies. Rev. Arthur Crane, of 
Boston read a manuscript history of the church, 
which was placed under the stone. Rev. Mr. Crane 
also preiched a sermon from Luke vi. 43. After 
prayer and singing the audience was dismissed by 
the benediction from the pastor. 

The Salvation Army. — The religious organization 
commonly known as " The Salvation Army " has, for 
some time, had an existence in Woburn. After con- 
siderable, though perhaps less systematic, work for 
several years, a regular " Branch," on the 7th of Jan- 
uarji, 1890, commenced operations, with a more defi- 
nite and permanent aim in view for future work. In 
the words of one of their number : " Our aim is 
to evangelize the non-church-goers. We hold 
meetings nightly. We generally have an out- 
door service ; then a service in oar hall. Our meet- 
ings are carried on in about the sanie line as all 
religious meetings ; opened with singing and prayer, 

1 For the material of the foregoing sketch, the writer is indebted to 
Mr. Cliarlea R. Rosenquist, one of the original members and an active 
supporter of the Scandinavian Evangelical Society. L. T. 



a portion of Scripture being read. We are strictly 
temperate; no user of alcoholic drinks can be a mem- 
ber of our organization. We are a permanent society 
and always endeavor to get the good will of all 
churches. We are a law-abiding people. 

" Our local forces cons'st of about fifteen members 
at present. The meetings are conducted by Army 
officers, the oflicers being generally changed once or 
twice a year. 

" Meetings during the week commence at 8 p.m. 
Meetings, Sunday, at 11 a.m., 3 P.M. and 8 p.m. 

"Captain George J. Henninger and Lieutenant H. 
Spange are the present (1890) oflicers in command." 



BIOGRAPHICAL.' 



LOAMMI BALDWIN. 

Among the most prominent men of Woburn at the 
opening of the Revolutionary War and for more than 
a quarter of a century subsequently, Loammi Baldwin 
was universally acknowledged to be conspicuous. 
The fact that he descended from one of the oldest, 
most wealthy and most influential families of the 
town doubtless gave him, even in early life, advan- 
tages which but few enjoyed. But his native and ac- 
quired ability would have, in any circumstances, 
raised him far above the common level. His emi- 
grant ancestor, Henry Baldwin, from Devonshire, 
England, was one of the subscribers to the " Town 
Orders " in December, 1641, at Charlestown, with the 
new settlement in view which, in 1642, was incorpo- 
rated as Woburn, and he became one of the first set- 
tles of the new town and of that part of it which is 
now known as North Woburn. Here, in 1661, he 
built the palatial house which is still one of the most 
imposing in the town, and which, though with some 
changes and occasional improvements, has been 
owned and occupied by his descendants down through 
six generations. 

Loammi Baldwin*, (James', Henry', Henry'), the 
son of James and Ruth (Richardson) Baldwin, was 
born .January 10, 1745. Evincing even in early life 
an unusual taste for study, he was long a pupil of 
" Master Fowle," who was celebrated as a teacher in 
Woburn for many years. On reaching young man- 

2 By Rev. L. Thompson. • 

•It may be proper to say that, though the ordinary sources of infor- 
mation concerning the life and career of Colonel Baldwin are numerous 
and familiar to the writer of this sketch, he has thought it best, for 
obvious reasons, to draw the material for it almost wholly from the 
comparatively little known diary and numerous letters of Colonel Bald- 
win liimsclf, kindly lent for the purpose by his granddaughter, Mrs 
W. A. Griffith. Many family traditions and historical facts, furnished 
by George R. Baldwin, Esq., before his late decease, have also been 
freely used. In two or three instances, when the writer has gone out- 
side of these sources, he has indicated the authorities for his statements. 

L. T. 



^ 



-vSI 




1/ .y^ oc^^€£c^tr-z^- 



WOBURN. 



447 



hood he eagerly longed for larger opportunities for 
acquiring knowledge, and, having sought and ob- 
tained permission to attend the lectures of Professor 
Winthrop, of Cambridge College, he used, with his 
life-long friend, Benjamin Thompson, afterward 
known aa Count Rumford, a young man of kindred 
tastes and aspirations, to walk to and fro, in order to 
enjoy the luxury of listening. On reaching home 
from time to time, they busied themselves, heedless 
of weariness, in constructing rude instruments for the 
purpose of illustrating the principles in natural phi- 
losophy which they had been taught in the Cam- 
bridge lecture-room. 

There is evidence that Loammi Baldwin, in his 
younger years, had also a taste for military life. As 
early as 1768, when in his twenty-fourth year, a paper 
signed at Cambridge by " David Phips, Col.," certi- 
fies that " Mr. Loammi Baldwin has Jnlisted himself 
with His Escellency's Troop of Horse Guards, under 
my command." He, was not, therefore, like many 
others, wholly destitute of military experience when 
suddenly summoned to join the Army of the Revolu- 
tion. His own diary, though bringing to view no 
facts not otherwise known, has the freshness of a per- 
sonal testimony : 

"1775, April 10, Wednesday. This morning a little 
before break of day, we were alarmed by Mr. Stednian's 
Express from Cambridge. Informed us that the Reg- 
ulars were upon the move for Concord. We mus- 
tered as fast as possible. The Town turned out ex- 
traordinary, and proceeded toward Lexington. I 
rode along a little before the main body, and, when I 
was nigh Jacob Reed's, I heard a great tiring ; pro- 
ceeded on, — soon heard that the Regulars had fired 
upon Lexington people and killed a large number of 
them. We proceeded on as fast as possible and came 
to Lexington and saw about 8 or 10 dead and num- 
bers wounded. . . . We proceeded to Concord 
by way of Lincoln meeting-house, . . . ascend- 
ed the hill and pitched and refreshed ourselves 
a little. . . . The people under my command and 
also some others came running oif the East end of the 
hill while I was at a house — -and we proceeded down 
the road and could see behind us the Regulars fol- 
lowing. We came to Tanner Brook, at Lincoln 
Bridge, and then concluded to scatter and make use 
of trees and walls for to defend us, and attack them. 
We did so and pursued on, flanking them (Mr. Dan- 
iel Thompson was killed, and others), till we came to 
Lexington. I had several good shots. The enemy 
marched very fast and left many dead and wounded 
and a few tired. I proceeded on till coming between 
the meeting-house and Buckman's tavern with a pris- 
oner before me, when the cannon began to play, the 
balls flew near me, I judged not more than 2 yards 
off. I immediately retreated back behind the meet- 
ing-house, and had not been there ten seconds before 
a ball came through the meeting-house near my 



head. I retreated back towards the meadow, north 
of the meeting-house, and lay and heard the balls in 
the air and saw them strike the ground." 

The foregoing extract assumes that the writer was 
already an officer in command. From other sources 
we learn that he bore the rank of major, and that 
Woburn sent to the rescue no less than 180 men. 
Having enlisted in the regiment of foot under the 
command of Col. Samuel Gerrish, he was promoted 
June 16th, to the office of lieutenant-colonel, and, on 
the historic 17th of June, he was designated in the 
general orders as the field officer of the main guard. 
He was for some time stationed at Chelsea, and, 
while there with a small party of Americans, he was 
fired upon by a party of British soldiers, the attack 
being so vigorously and successfully met as to elicit 
marked commendation. To his wife, who had anx- 
iously written to him in regard to his condition, he 
says, March 0, 1776, " I received your kind letter of 
yesterday, filled with expressions of anxiety and con- 
cern for me, during the late cannonade and bombard- 
ment. I have been pretty much fatigued and broken 
of rest. . . . I have had much to do, constantly 
keeping a party on Noddle's Island for spies to dis- 
cover all the movements of the enemy. . . . We 
have been under arms and at a moment's warning 
ever since the cannonade began, some expecting the 
enemy would seek revenge by coming out against us 
and destroying what they could at Chelsea. But, 
through the goodness of God, I am still alive and in 
good health, and, if called to battle, I pray that the 
same Almighty Being will give me courage, and, if 
consistent with His divine will, protection also. 

" Our works on Dorchester Hills are completing as 
fast as possible. The enemy's ships are all drawn up 
in line of battle befcH-e them, but are very quiet at 
present." 

Upon the retirement of Colonel Gerrish from the 
army in August, 1775, Lieutenant Colonel Baldwin 
assumed the command of the regiment as colonel, 
though his commission as colonel of " the lidth Reg- 
iment of Foot in the Army of the United States," 
signed by " John Hancock, President of the Congress 
of the United States," is dated January 1, 1776. His 
regiment, which had been designated as the Thirty- 
eighth, and consistedof eight companies, all stationed 
in the vicinity of Boston, was, near the close of the 
year, enlarged to ten companies and thenceforward 
known as the Twenty-sixih Regiment. 

Having been ordered to follow General Washington 
to New York, Colonel Baldwin writes, April 1, 1776, 
from Grafton, Mass., " I have this moment received 
orders to alter the route and go to Providence, R. I.," 
and, on April 3, he writes from Providence, where 
he arrived the previous night, and, with his regiment, 
is "quartered in the College." On the 6th of April, 
"Saturday, 2 o'clock, p.m.,'' he writes, "I have this 
moment arrived in Norwich, after a march of eight 
days. . . . I have just received orders to continue 



448 



HISTORY. OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



my march to New London, where I expect to embark 
for New York." 

April 10th in a long and interesting letter to his 
wife, Colonel Baldwin announces hi.s arrival in New 
York, and relates some of his observations in and 
around the city, with evident zest. And on the 19th 
he writes : " This is the anniversary of the ever mem- 
orable 19th of April, when the present war com- 
menced. 1 have been in the war during the whole 
time and am in good health. May I, with a grateful 
heart, ascribe all to God Almighty, who is the author 
of all our mercies. . . . This city is grand, the 
buildings lofty and elegant. The streets are not so 
fine as those of Boston, but the buildings, I think, 
exceed." 

" April 28 : I know not when we shall leave New 
York; we go into tents this week. The encampment 
for ray regiment is laid out near the Jews' burying- 
ground, joining the northerly part of the city. The 
army is healthy. ... I have just returned 
from hearing the last of two of the best sermons (I 
think) that I ever heard in my life, preached this day 
to my regiment and .some others, at Dr. Rogers' meet- 
ing-house, the afternoon sermon preached by the 
Doctor himself." 

May 2d, he learns indirectly that his youngest child 
is ill with the " canker-rash," and on the 15th he 
hears directly that the child is very sick and declares 
that nothing short of his duty to his imperiled coun- 
try could keep him from home and induce him to un- 
dergo, at such a distance from his family, the anxiety 
he feels for them. 

May 21st : Still anxious for the sick child. 

June 18th: Receiving a letter, dated June 1st, from 
his wife, announcing the death of the child and her 
own feebleness, he says of the news : " It so shocked 
me, I am unable to contain myself. . . . This is new 
trouble to us, and aggravated by our being at such a 
distance apart. My earnest desire is that we may not 
be separated from God's grace and favor, although 
we are separated so far from each other as not to be 
able to assist and comfort one another." 

Four days later he writes : " We have this morning 
discovered a hellish plot, led by the Tories, to assas- 
sinate His Excellency, General Washington, and the 
principal officers of the army, and to afford all possi- 
ble assistance to the enemy when they should attack 
us, having agreed on the place where they were 
to make their feint, and where their grand attacks, 
to blow up our magazine, etc. They have bribed 
a number of our soldiers in the Continental Army, 
four or five in the general's select guard, one or two 
in my regiment, chiefly old countrymen, and some in 
other regiments to the number of about fifteen, 
already found out, that belong to the army, and near 
fifty Tories. The mayor of the city of New York is 
one of the said infernal crew, and is in the dungeon, 
chief of the prisoners and in irons." 

July oth: "I have but just time to inform you 



that the enemy's fleet arrived at Sandy Hook the 29th 
and 30th of June, and on the 2d, 3d and -Ith of July 
came up through the Narrows and anchored off the 
northeast side of Staten Island, about four miles 
southwest of the city of New York, to the number 
of about 120 sail, all in plain view of our encamp- 
ment. We have expected a battle every day since 
they came up to the island. This island is inhabited 
by none but Tories." 

Jul}- 14th : After giving further details of the sub- 
ject of the last letter, Colonel Baldwin adds: "Gen. 
Heath is this moment come to Camp, he informs me 
that a flag of Truce from Lord How, newly arrived 
from England, brother of General How, with a 
packet or single letter directed to 'George Washing- 
ton, Esq.', was rejected and sent back on account of 
the direction. I suppose the generals insist upon its 
being directed to ' His Excellency, George Washing- 
ton, Commander-in-Chief of the Army of the United 
States.' So we know nothing of the contents of the 
packet.'' 

Thus far, in every letter to his family. Colonel 
Baldwin has described himself as enjoying vigorous 
health. But, on the 5th of August, he writes a few 
lines and employs a friend to write more fully, to in- 
form his family that for a fortnight he has been 
seriously ill with universal pain, sickness and weak- 
ness of the stomach, inability to bear any food, great 
loss of strength and sleeplessness. For the comfort 
of his family, he adds that he has around him faithful 
friends who kindly care for him. As soon as he was 
able he came home for rest and recovery, and while 
here he received from Isaac Sherman, near the close 
of August and again on the 1st of September, de- 
tailed accounts of the progress of events at the seat 
of war. Those accounts were so full of startling in- 
cident that he could remain no longer at home, but 
hurried on his way as fast as he could safely do it, in 
order to rejoin his regiment. At Stratford, Conn., 
when on his journey, he learned that General Wash- 
ington, in accordance with a plan previously arranged, 
had evacuated New York, and that the enemy was in 
possession of the city. September 28th he reports 
himself at Fort Constitution, New Jersey, where he 
arrived on the 25th, after a journey of nine days. " I 
found my regiment encamped," he says, "upon the 
utmost heiarhts of the Highlands, about one mile 
west of Hudson River and nearly opposite Fort 
Washington, about twelve miles from the city of New 
York. It seems impossible to set a foot upon the 
ground for stones, or behold a star for trees ; where 
we can scarcely build a fire-place because of the flat 
stones, or make a fire on account of the plenty of 
wood. You smile, but you would laugh if you were 
to see us here, elevated at least 400 feet above the 
level of mankind, where scarcely earth enough can 
be procured to eat with our victuals, or water to wash 
it down." 

In a previous communication Colonel Baldwin 



WOBURN. 



449 



had, in allusion to a well-known rocky eminence in 
Woburn, described a portion of the region of New 
York as ao rough a couutry that " Rag Rock would 
appear an inconsiderable knoll to some of the rocky 
and woody eminences on the Island and the Jersey 
shore." 

October 1 ; Colonel Baldwin, still at Fort Consti- 
tution, reports himself "comfortable, but not strong 
and hearty," as he used to be, and the expectation of 
a "general engagement very soon." 

October 12: Health quite feeble. Alarms and skir- 
mishes. 

October 20-2.3: "Camp at Mile Square, about five 
miles north of King's Bridge and near General Lee's 
quarters." Health increasingly poor. Account of 
various skirmishes and battle-scenes at White Plains, 
etc. 

October 31 ; In a letter to his wife from the "Camp 
at White Plains," he gives a more detailed account 
of the recent fighting and the general anticipation of 
a more eerious battle, and, in a long letter to his 
friend, Dr. Samuel Blodgett, of Woburn, dated North 
Castle, November ^th, he writes more in detail : 

" The movements of tho enemy made it necessary for tlie regiment to 
remove from New Jersey to Yorlc Island, — from thence to King's 
Bridge, East Chester, Jlile Square, *fcc. About this time ray regiment 
pitclied and decamped nine times in seven days, and sometimes bad to 
remove the whole baggage of the regiment without any assistance by 
wagons, carts or the like, or even of the soldiers, except a few over- 
fllows.t Once, in particular, I had to make a remove under these cir- 
cumstances upward of two miles and in the night, after I had been 
fatigued all day in the skirmish and exercised at the same time with a 
dysentery which has now followed me for near seven weeks. But I 
stood the hardships beyond my expectation, never having been discour- 
aged nor found my spirits fail in the least. I have always endeavored 
to take loJging in a house, barn or some other place, so as to keep my 
body from the damps of the ground. However, I have been obliged 
sometimes to lodge in the common tent ; at other times, on tho bare 
floor or soft side of a board, without blanket or even anything but the 
common clothes to my back, and sometimes, though very seldom, in a 
good feather bed, and all the time to watch the motions, and defend or 
secure ourselves against the attacks of a restless and powerful enemy, 
whoso movements have made it necessary to be under arms a great 
part of the time since our troops left New Jersey. Sometimes we have 
had to remove 1*2 or 14 hundred barrels of pork and flour a mile or two 
by hand to keep it out of the hands of the enemy. . . . Sometimes my 
regiment, tosflther with others, have had to lodge two or three nights 
together upon the bare ground without anv tenis to cover them. I 
have not had my clothes off but three times for about a fortnight, . . 
Tln'9 a soldier livs^ mrnt^fAtncs belter, but Merer tiorse.^* 

The letter from whic-h the foregoing extract is 
given proceeds to give a full and deeply interesting 
account of the scenes that preceded, accompanied 
and followed the battle at White Plains. But it is 
far too extended for insertion here. 

Omitting, from necessity in this sketch, a large 
amount of Colonel Baldwin's narratives of his army 
experience, our limits admit of only the following 
from a letter to his wife dated from "Camp, 5 miles 
west of the Delaware, and 30 miles above Philadel- 
phia," December 19, 1776 : 

I This word, nearly illegible in the manuscript, seems to designate 
those soldiers who did not keep up with the army, — the laggards or 
straggler?. 

29 



" If I were at home, I should think myself sick enough to keep 
house, but here feel myself in good spirits. ... I am determined to exert 
myself to the l.iit, and have no neglect of mine to reflect niton. I trust 
in the skill of my commanders, and have cheerfully executed the 
orders I have from time to time received from them. . . . The enemy 
have penetrated much further into the country than I expected they 
would be able to do this fall. They have made great destruction in 
their route through New Jersey. They now lay at Burlington and 
Trenton, on the east side of the River Delaware, and Gen. Washing- 
ton's Army are on the west over against them, where I expect we shall 
arrive and form a junction to-morrow. 

"On the 3d inst. marched from Peekskill for King's Ferry. Very 
rainy all day. Crossed the river just before night. Pitched our tents 
in New Jersey by the side of the mountains, took my lodging in a com- 
mon tent upon the wet ground ; very cold, there being no house to go 
to. In the night the rain increased, and the flood came down from 
the mountains, and ran in torrents among and through our tents, and 
almost washed them away. I had no bed nor blanket e.\cept a thin 
piece of drugget. . . ." 

All the marching army under Uen. Lee received 
orders at Peekskill not to take anything with them 
but one shirt and one pair hose more than what they 
commonly wore. 

" Dec. 4 : Struck our tents in the morning and 
marched to Haverstraw. Rained by showers all day, 
exceeding bad traveling. Ordered to pitch our 
tents about one o'clock, which we did. Soon after 
came orders to strike and march two miles further, 
which we did, and pitched under the grand mountains 
at the landing at Haverstraw Bay. Lay in my tent." 

Thus the long communication notes the incidents of 
experience from day to day ; the marches and coun- 
termarches, the snow, the rain, the cold weather, with 
no house nor refuge; yet, on his part, excruciating 
suffering. It is not strange that, at the close of his 
letter, he hints an intention to be ere long at home. It 
does not appear from his communication when he re- 
signed his commission, but there is retison to believe 
that it was not long after the battle of Trenton, De- 
cember 20th, as he expresses a hope that he shall be at 
home " some time in the latter part of January, and 
sooner, if possible." It appear.^, in any case, to have 
been early in 1777 when he received an honorable 
discharge from the arm)'. It is proper, in this con- 
nection, to say that he had been on the most friendly 
terms with both ofiicers and men. From Gen. Wash- 
ington he bad received special commendation for his 
fidelity and skill, and in repeated instances notes of 
invitation to dine with him.^ In his resignation, 
therefore, there is no evidence that he was influenced 
by the slightest disatlection, either on his own part or 
on the part of others, but abundant evidence in the 
nature of his physical ailments that he did not retire 
from the army a day too soon. 

Of Col. Baldwin's life and career at home our lim- 
its do not admit of minute detail. He was far from 
being an idle man. In one enterprise and another he 
was incessantly engaged. Honored by the town as an 

2 "General Washington's compliments to Col. Baldwin. Requests tho 
favor of his company at dinner to-day, at three o'clock. Thursday 
morning, .April '25th." 

"General Washington's compliments to Col. B.ildwin. Kequests the 
favor of his company at dinner to-day, at three o'clock. Thursday 
morning, Juue 20, ITTfi." 



450 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



officer in 1781 ; as a member of nearly every commit- 
tee, and generally chairman, for many years; as rep- 
resentative in the General Court in 1778, 1779 and in 
1780, and a^ain in 1800 and tlie four immediately 
succeeding years, he must have felt that his fellow- 
citizens respected and trusted him. 

Nor were Col. Baldwin's offices and honors limited 
to Woburn. In 1780 he was appointed high sheriff 
of the county of Middlesex, the fir.st after the adop- 
tion of the State Constitution to hold that office. He 
was candidate for State Senator, for Lieut. -Governor 
of Massachusetts, and elector of President of the 
United States. " At the election of representative to 
Congress in 1794 he had all the votes cast in Wo- 
burn but one. In August and September, 1796, he 
had all the votes, and in November of that year, at 
the third trial for the choice of the same officer, he 
had 74 out of 76 that were then cast in Woburn." ' 

On January 30, 1782, Col. Baldwin was elected a 
Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sci- 
ences; was member of the Council from 1785 to 
1796, and again from 1797 to 1807, and a member of 
the Committee of Publication from 1784 to 1785. To 
the publications of the Academy he contributed two 
articles, one on "The curious appearance of the ce- 
lestial fluid produced by raising an electrical kite in 
the time of a thunder shower," and another entitled 
" Observations of electricity and an improved mode 
of constructing lightning-rods." Both these papers 
clearly show that he had by no means lost his early 
taste for scientific study and experiment. 

In 1785 Col. Baldwin was made Master of Arts by 
the Corporation of Harvard College, and manifested 
in various ways, ever after, as before, his warm inter- 
est in that venerable institution. 

The name of Loammi Baldwin is widely associated 
with that of Benjamin Thompson, better known now 
and famed afar as Count Rumford. In childhood they 
were near neighbors, playmates and schoolmates. As 
young men they were associated in attending scien- 
tific lectures at Harvard College and in practical ex- 
perimenting. In maturer life, when Thompson was 
under suspicion and hasty accusation, Baldwin stead- 
ily befriended him ; was a member of the court that 
tried and acquitted him,^ and in various ways, not- 
withstanding his own lofty and undisputed patriot- 
ism, he vindicated bis neighbor's loyalty, and in their 
subsequent life the two were, to the last, enthusiastic 
friends and correspondents, though separated by the 



^ Sewall's nistonj of Woburn, p. 387. 

2 Among Col. Baldwin's frequent ftUnsiona to Ihompson in his diary 
and letters is the following : 

"1765, May i9, Monday; Obtained leave of the General to go to 
Wobum. Went. Decided the affair of Major Thompsou and acquitted 
him." 

At a previous date, May 18, 1775, we have the following entry in his 
journal; 

" At a Court of Inquiry into the conduct of Major Thompson, of Con- 
cord, New Hanipsliire, convened at the Meeting-house of the Ist Pariah, 
in Woburn, en Thursday, the 18th of May, 1775, at 2 o'clock p.m., by the 
Committee of Correspondence of said town.*' 



waters of the Atlantic. All this seems the more re- 
markable when it is considered that in his letters to 
his family he repeatedly expresses the most intense 
antipathy and disgust for Tories with whom he came 
in contact while in the army. Though he evidently 
regretted certain unfortunate errors and circumstances 
in Thompson's career, he clearly did not believe that 
he T«as a genuine Tory. 

Colonel Baldwin was widely and favorably known 
as a projector, one of the principal jjroprietors and 
an assistant engineer in surveying the route and in 
the construction of the Middlesex Canal. From first 
to last, while the work was progressing he was most 
assiduous in the responsible business of superintend- 
ing and guiding the numerous workmen. And when, 
in 1803, the work was completed, he arranged for a 
grand jubilee in the spacious house near his home, 
which he had previously bought of his old friend, Dr. 
Samuel Blodgett. This well-known house, owned by 
the Baldwin family for many years, at length passed 
out of it, and at present is known as the '' Wheeler 
house." 

Colonel Baldwin was also extensively known in 
connection with the famous apple which he zealously 
cultivated and introduced to the public and which 
now bears his name. After bearing for many years, 
the names successfully, of Butters, Thompson and 
Pecker, it came at length, long after his death, to be 
known by his name in honor of his interest in it and 
his special efficiency in spreading it abroad. 

From the material at hand, it would be both easy 
and pleasant to extend to far greater length, this 
sketch of the life of this distinguished son of Woburn. 
But our limits do not admit of it. 

In his domestic relations Colonel Baldwin was sig- 
nally favored. He married, first, July 9, 1772, Mary, 
daughter of James Fowle, one of three or four of the 
old Fowle family who, at the same time, bore the same 
name. She was the mother of five children — Cyrus, 
Mary, Benjamin Franklin, Loammi and James Fowle. 
All except Mary, who died in childhood, lived to 
maturity, had families, and were in various ways 
highly distinguished. 

Colonel Baldwin's first wife dying suddenly Septem- 
ber 26, 1786, he married, second, May 26, 1791, her 
cousin Margaret, daughter of Josiah Fowle. She was 
the mother of two children — Clarissa, who married 
Thomas B. Cooledge, and Geoige Rumford. who, as the 
last representative of the old family, bearing the name 
of Baldwin, in Woburn, died in the Baldwin Mansion 
October 12, 1888, leaving one daughter (now Mrs. W. 
A. Griffith). 

Colonel Baldwin's second wife, Margaret, died 
October 8, 1799. He survived her eight years and 
died October 20, 1807. From manuscript notes of 
William R. Cutter, the librarian of Woburn, we are 
permitted to take the following : 

"A marble tablet on a granite obelisk surmounting 
a tomb of probably later construction on the highest 




I 



t ' -'-^^/w/m^: 




'-i>-7-'_ 



WOBURN. 



451 



summit in the Wobura first burying-ground, contains 
the following inscription, put in place, it is supposed 
about 1810, after the town had granted permission 
that such a tomb be built. 

" To the memory of the Honorable Loammi Bald- 
win, who died October 20, 1S07, xt. sixty-three. 
Erected by his children. 

" For a long period this monument was the most 
imposing structure of the kind to be seen in the town. 
It is about ten feet high and is constructed of nine 
courses of granite ashlars, crowned by a pyramidical 
granite cap. The entrance to the tomb beneath the 
obelisk is concealed with earth." 



GEX. ABIJAH THOMP.S0>r.' 

Not many men have lived in Woburn more favor- 
ably known and respected in the world of honorable 
and successful enterprise than the man whose once 
familiar name is at the head of this sketch. De- 
scended from the emigrant, James Thompson, who, 
in ICIO, came in Winthrop's choice company to the 
new world and settled, first in Charlestown, and, in 
1(J42, became one of the first settlers and magistrates 
in the newly incorporated town of Woburn, General 
Abijah Thompson could trace his line of descent back 
through six generations of men, all of whom lived 
and died in that part of the town now known as 
North Woburn. His father. Major Abijah Thompson, 
was the oldest son of Sheriff Ahijali Thompson, in 
whose large house, formerly a public-house, but now 
owned and occupied by the heirs of the late Oliver 
Fisher, the subject of this sketch was born May 20, 
1793. In 1800 Major Abijah Thompson built a house 
a few rods north of the old homestead. In this new 
house, noiv owned and occupied by Henry Thompson, 
he reared his young family and had his home till his 
death, in 1820. Besides his business as a mechanic 
he kept, in a part of his house, a country store. But, 
though highly respectable in character and comfort- 
able in circumstances, he could afford to give his sons 
only the very limited opportunities, common at the 
time, for educational culture. The wide world was 
before them as they grew to manhood, and they had 
to find their way through it. At the early age of 
seventeen, Abijah, the oldest of the children, em- 
barked, without experience and wholly unaided from 
without, upon the tumultuous, and, to him unknown 
sea of business life. In a loose paper, discovered 
after his death, was found, in his own handwriting, 
the following condensed account of what followed 
this first step in his career: "In ISIO I left home at 
the age of seventeen to become an apprentice in the 
business of tanning and currying leather, and served 
four years. At the age of twenty-one I commenced 
business for myself, buying leather in the rough and 
dressing it with my own hands, in Medford. I began 



'By Rev. L. ThompsoQ. 



with two dollars capital, selling in small lots, from 
one to six sides, to shoemakers from adjoining towns, 
for one year. I then left and built a small tannery 
with sixteen vats, in the west part of Woburn, grind- 
ing my bark with a horse and stone, and tanning 
what lew hides I could find among the farmers, — 
from one hundred to one hundred and fifty a year. 

"I had two apprentices. Buying leather from the tan- 
neries in the county, and dressing it, I then took my 
horse and went to Reading, Stoneham, Maiden and 
other adjoining towns, v/here I sold to shoemakers 
from four to five sides each about every other week. At 
the same time I picked up the hides among the farmers 
as they killed their animals in the fall of the year. 
Thus I increased my business, as capital increased 
for about ten years. I then bought a tract of fifteen 
acres of land, with a small water privilege, near the 
centre of the town. It was a very rough place, but I 
commenced clearing it up, built a dam, and erecting 
a building, put down twenty vats, enlarging by de- 
grees my business as I gained in capital, and each 
year putting down more vats. In 183o, finding my 
water-power not sufiicient for the business, I put in 
steam-power and other machinery, and, in ISoO, I took 
in Stephen Dow as a partner." 

This short account involves details which a stran- 
ger to the business would not even suspect. From 
these small beginnings General Thompson's business 
went on increasing in its extent and importance until 
he was one of the largest and most successful manu- 
facturers of leather in the United States ; and by all 
who knew him he was ever regarded as no less honor- 
able than he was successful. And when, in 18(J<), he 
retired from active participation in the business, 
though tanning and finishing leather at the rate of 
fifty thousand sides per annum, and having a large 
leather store in Boston, not one unpleasant word and 
not one suspicious look had ever occasioned a jar be- 
tween him and his partner, or between him and any 
man with whom he was concerned. No suspicion of 
trick, or unworthy resort to any species of sham, ever 
rested upon him for a single day. He well knew 
what "the day of small things" meant; and he had 
his trials, sometimes numerous and severe. But 
whatever else he sacrificed, he never sacrificed a prin- 
ciple nor had a principle for sale. 

In the early days of his enterprise General Thomp- 
son was obliged and not ashamed to practice rigid 
economy. When his young wife, then in very poor 
health, needed a nurse, which he was not able to 
employ, he cheerfully became nurse himself, but re- 
moved his carrying-beam from his shop to the sick- 
room, so that he could perform the double duty of 
shaving leather and caring for the sick one until her 
recovery. 

Immense as his business finally became, and great 
as was the burden of care and responsibility resting 
upon him, no man was ever further removed from 
bluster or noisy pretence than General Thompson. 



452 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



With wonderful equanimity he always seemed calm, 
self-contained and unpretendiiig. His speech never 
betrayed a loss of balance or self-respect. Seeing 
and deploring the evils cf intemperance and low and 
profane talk around him, he, for years, made it a law 
of his establishment that no intoxicating liquors and 
no profane language should be used by men in his 
employ. Those who were addicted to either and un- 
willing to abandon the bad habits, need not apply 
for employment. Yet the law was madeand enforced 
so quietly, so wisely and so kindly that there was 
never any "strike" and never any serious difficulty. 
To some of his workmen the measure was the means 
of permanent reformation and very manifest benefit. 
Though General Thompson was one of those men 
who never sought and apparently never desired office 
— offices from all quarters sought him. He had an 
inherited fondness for military life and early joined 
a company of artillery in Lexington. From the 
office of sergeant, in 1S24, he rose, in 1826, to that of 
captain, in 1828 to that of major and in 1835 to that of 
brigadier-general — the last-mentioned commission 
being given by Governor Armstrong and the two 
former by Governor Lincoln. In the town he served 
several years on the Board of Selectmen. He was 
for many years president of the Woburn Bank, and 
also of the Woburn Five-Cent Savings Bank; one of 
the original directors of Fantuil Hall Bank, of Bos- 
ton, a director of a bank in Charlestown and, for 
many years, one of the active managers of the Mid- 
dlesex Insurance Company in Concord. 

General Thompson was unquestionably one of the 
most public-spirited men ever resident in Woburn. 
No great and important enterprise failed to enlist his 
sympathy and aid. He was among the first, if not 
the first, to move in the effort to secure the Woburn 
Branch Railroad, the Woburn Gas Company and the 
bank, of which be was long the president. In his 
relations to the parish and church of his choice, he 
was also ever ready to help on every good work. 
And always regretting his own early lack of educa- 
tional advantages, he evinced a like interest in the 
schools, and especially the academy of his native 
town, of which he was a trustee and the treasurer, 
and to which he left, in his will, a considerable sum 
of money, as he did also to the First Congregational 
Church, of which, from his early manhood, he bad 
been a member. Of his Vrge fortune, accumulated 
by his own honest industry and enterprise, it is pleas- 
ant to know that a large number of worthy objects 
received a share. 

In his domestic relations General Thompson was 
peculiarly happy. On the 2yth of April, 1814, when 
he was not quite twenty-one years of age, he married 
Celende, daughter of Captain William and Arethusa 
(Munroe) Fox, of Woburn. The mutual experiences 
of joy and sorrow, of adversity and prosperity, con- 
tinued through more than fifty years of married life, 
proved that she was one of the best of wives and mo- 



ther?, and he one of the best of husbands and fathers. 
Of their "golden wedding," observed April 29, 1864, 
the local papers gave a deeply interesting account. 
After various appropriate exercises, including music, 
addresses from Rev. Jonathan Edwards, a former 
pastor of the family, and Rev. Dr. J. C. Bodwell, the 
pastor at the time of the festival — the latter read a 
beautiful poem, suited to the occasion and subse- 
quently published. 

General Thompson survived his wife nearly two 
years, she dying September 11, 1866, and he June 7, 
1868. 

They had four children: 1. Celende, born Febru- 
ary 13, 1816, married Stephen Dow, May 24, 1836, 
and had seven children; 2. Abijah, born June 13, 
1818, died September 11,1826; 3. Julia Ann, born 
September 16, 1827, married J. B. Doyle, June 1, 
1854, and died in 1867 — had two children ; 4. Abijah 
Franklin, born September 17, 1820, married Mary E. 
Wyman, May 15, 1851, and died August 5, 1861, 
leaving one child, Arthur Abijah, now of Brooklyn, 
New York. 

Of the business firm of which General Thompson 
was the founder, it is proper to add to the foregoing 
sketch that, though represented from time to time 
since his death by various other names, it is still in 
existence and still vigorously prosecuting its appro- 
priate enterprise under the names of his grandsons, — ■ 
Messrs. Alfred Abijah and Edward Augustus Dow. 



JONATHAN B. WINU.' 

Jonathan Bowers Winn' to whose liberality and 
property the Woburn Public Library owes its exist- 
ence and its present extensive endowment, belonged 
to a family which had contributed to Woburn, from 
the period of the town's first settlement, many of its 
most prominent and influential citizens. The first- 
born child recorded in Woburn was Increase Winn, 
born December 5, 1641, the son of Edward and 
Joanna Winn, the ancestors of all the Winns of 
Woburn. Edward Winn was of Woburn, 1641 ; made ■ 
freeman 1643, and taxed in Woburn, in the rate i 
for the county, September 8, 1645. His daughter Ann, 
the wife of Moses Cleveland, of Woburn, is the ances- 
tor of Grover Cleveland, ex-President of the United 
States. Edward Winn, the family ancestor, died in 
Woburn, September 5, 1682. From Edward Winn, 
the early settler, the Hon. Jonathan Bowers Winn | 
traced his descent, through Edward's son Joseph, ' 
who was born in England, and who, known as " En- 
sign Joseph Winn," died in Woburn on February 22, 
A.D. 1714-15; and Timothy Winn, sou of Joseph, 
born in Woburn, Febiuary 27, 1686-7, died January | 
5, 1752, aged sixty-five. His gravestone is standing 1 
in the Woburn first burying-ground. His son, Tim- 
othy Winn, born about July, 1712, was a gentleman 



' By W. B. Cutter. 





iyl-^^7^n^ 



WOBURN. 



453 



of note and of much influence in Ills day. He was a 
native of Woburn, and his place of residence falling 
within the bounds of Woburn Precinct, he joined 
the Precinct Church May 4, 1740, and was chosen a 
deiicon of that church December 26, 1752, an office 
■which he held during life, and hence came the reason 
why he was better known and generally recognized 
£s Deacon Timothy Winn. He was a man noted for 
his industry, economy and success in amassing 
wealth. He was chosen one of the selectmen of the 
town'in 1756-57, and again in 1773-74-75. He rep- 
resented Woburn in the General Court 17S7-SS and 
1791 ; and in December, 17S7, he and James Fowle, 
Jr., were chosen delegates for Woburn to the conven- 
tion which met in Boston, January 9, 1788, respecting 
the ratification of the Constitution of the United 
States. In all the early attempts to set off Woburn 
Precinct as a separate town, he was opposed, it is 
said, to the measure; but he favored, it is understood, 
the last attempt, which proved successful. But he 
did not live long to enjoy the success of it. He died 
March 3, 1800", aged eighty-seven years and eight 
months, a few days more than a year after the act of 
Court incorporating the Second Preciuct as a town, 
by the name of Burlington. By his wife, Mary 
(Bowers) Winn, Dea. Winn had two children that 
lived to mature age, viz., Timothy, born at Woburn 
December 20, 1740 ; and Mary, born June 21,1743, 
and married, January 2, 1777, to Col. John Waldron, 
of Dover, N. H. Dea. Winn's son Timothy, distin- 
guished in Woburn records as Timothy Winn, Jr., 
and as Ensign Timothy Winn, was a gentleman 
highly respected and esteemed. He married for his 
second wife Mary Bridge, daughter of Rev. Ebenezer 
Bridge, of Chelmsford. By her he had, among other 
children, the late Col. William Winn, of Burlington 
and Woburn, who was the father of the Hon. Jona- 
than Bowers Winn, of Woburn. Among othef fami- 
lies descended from the first settlers of Woburn, Mr. 
Winn traced his descent to those of Reed and Brooks 
and Walker. 

Hon. Jonathan Bowers Winn was born in Burling- 
ton, August 24, 1811, a son of Col. William and Abi- 
gail (Walker) Winn. As we have shown, he traced 
his lineage through Col. William" (his father), and 
Ensign Timothy', Deacon Timothy*, Timothy^ (died 
1752), and Ensign Joseph^ (died 1715), to Edward' 
Winn (died 1G82), one of the first settlers*of Woburn. 
He was, therefore, in the seventh generation of the 
family in this country. His father died April 13, 
1856, aged seventy-one; his mother. May 11, 1826, 
aged forty. — Family monument. Hon. J. B. Winn, 
in early life, taught school at Wilmington and North 
Woburn, and, after learning the currier's trade, be- 
came a partner of the leather-manufacturing firm of 
John Oummings & Co., and in 1837 started in busi- 
ness for himself, and iu 1841 established the leather- 
manufacturing firm of J. B. Winn & Co. In 1843-44 
he commanded the local military company known as 



the Woburn Mechanic Phalanx. He filled many 
minor offices in the town, and in monetary and other 
institutions. He was elected delegate to the State 
Constitutional Convention in 1853, and, as already 
shown, gave the money he received for his services to 
establish the Woburn town library. During the Civil 
W^ar of 1861-65 he was the most active citizen in 
raising money for furnishing soldiers, and became re- 
sponsible for large sums of money, when the town 
was in doubt about their legal right to pay bounties 
to soldiers enlisted by the town. He was one of the 
founders of the present Woburn N.ational Bank, and 
was elected president of that institution at the de- 
cease of General Abijab Thompson. In 1869 he was 
elected a member of the Governor's Council of Massa- 
chusetts, and was re-elected to that high' executive 
office till the year 1873, when declining health ad- 
monished him to retire from public life. He was a 
liberal supporter of the Unitarian Church in the town 
of Woburn. and appeals for assistance by other 
churches seldom were unheeded. He was a man of 
strong will and unswerving integrity — his word was 
as good as his bond, and his death was deeply felt by 
the citizens of Woburn. He died at his residence, 
on Pleasant Street, in Woburn, at one-and-a-quarter 
o'clock, Friday morning, December 12, 1873, aged 
sixty-two years. 

His funeral was a notable event in Woburn ; 
attended by the Governor and Council, and a large 
company of strangers and citizens. 

The Hon. J. B. Winn married Nancy W. Cura- 
mings, daughter of Deacon John Cummings, of Wo- 
burn, born December 16, 1814. She died at Woburn, 
March 24, 1863. By her he had two children only, 
both born at Woburn, viz. : 

Marcia Ann, born August 25, 1836; married Hon. 
Edward D. Hayden, of Woburn, and died at Woburn 
January 8, 181)2. 

Charles Bowers, born May 15, 1838 ; unmarried ; 
died December 19, 1875. A notice of him is given 
under the title of the Woburn Public Library, of 
which he was the generous benefactor. 



TIMOTHY WINN. ' 

Timothy Winn, a brother of the Hon. Jonathan 
Bowers Winn, was the son of Colonel Willia?n and 
Abigail (Walker) Winn, and was born in Burlington, 
September 25, 1817. He was a partner of the firm of 
J. B. Winn & Co., leather manufacturers, and by his 
ability and strict attention to business contributed 
much to the success of that firm. He commanded 
for many years the military corps known as the Wo- 
burn Mechanic Phalanx, which, during his captaincy 
became one of the best drilled companies in the 
Slate. By a coalition of the Democratic and Free 
Soil parties in 1851, he was elected as a representative 

1 Bv W. R, Cutter. 



454 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



to the Legislature of 1852, and in 1860 he was chosen 
a delegate to the National Republican Convention, 
held at Chicago, which nominated Abraham Lincoln 
for the I'residency. Although not holding any local 
town office, and always declining every attempt to 
put him in nomination for one, he was always active, 
by influence and vote, for all those measures which 
tended to elevate and improve the town. 

He had a more extensive acquaintance with the 
leading military and |)ublic men of the county, and 
was probably better known to them than any other 
person in Woburn. There was a magnetism about 
him that seemed to inspire others with the energy 
and spirit which animated him. In the caucus, at 
the military parade, in the social circle, his presence 
was a power which largely contributed to success. 

He married Abigail Maria, daughter of Ezra and 
Susanna Kendall, April 20, 1843, by whom he had 
two children — Otis Kendall, born June 17, 1844, mar- 
ried Addie B. Norris, June 17, 1866, and died Janu- 
ary 23, 18G8; Susan Maria, born May 1, 1849, mar- 
ried Daniel H. Lane, of Boston, January 11, 1871. 
About eight yearsi before his death he was attacked 
with a disease which the best medical skill was pow- 
erless to cure, and at times his sufferings were intense ; 
yet he bore them all with a brave and manly spirit. 
He died in Woburn, November 28, 1873, aged fifty- 
six, and his funeral services were held in the Unitar- 
ian Church, Tuesday afternoon, December 2d. 

In his charities lie was generous without parade, 
and there were many in the community whose bur- 
dens in life were made lighter by his timely bounty. 
He left a property estimated at a large amount. He 
gave, among other bequests, $3000 to the town 
library, $3000 to the town for the cemetery, and $5000 
to the Unitarian Church. 



COL. MOSES F. WINN. 

Col. Moses F. Winn, son of Moses and Sally 
(Johnson) Winn, was born in North Woburn, March 
5, 1806. He married Abigail, daughter of Stephen 
and Abigail (Tidd) Nichols, August 30, 1830, and 
died August 8, 1875. On his father's side he was a 
descendant of Increase Winn, the first child born in 
Woburn, and on his mother's, from Edward Johnson, 
authorof arare work entitled "The Wonder- Working 
Providence." Mr. Winn was so largely identitied 
with the growth and progress of the town that a men- 
tion of the public places he has tilled will suggest 
the respect and esteem in which he was held by 
his fellow-townsmen. He was one of the select- 
men in 1855 and 1856, for several years an overseer 
of the poor, one of the committee to lay out the 
cemetery in 1844, and the beauty of the " city of the 
dead " is largely due to his good taste. He retained 
his position on the cemetery committee up to the time 
of his death, a period of thirty-two years. He was 
prominent as a member of various committees for 



public buildings and other purposes. He was elected 
one of the directors of the Woburn Bank at the time 
of its incorporation in 1853, director of the Woburn 
Agricultural and Mechanics' Association in 1841, and 
trustee of the Woburn Five Cent Savings Bank in 
1854. All of these positions he held at the time of 
his death. He was also president of the North 
Woburn Street Railroad Company and one of the firm 
of Nichols, Winn & Co., shoe manufacturers, and 
Winn, Eaton & Co., leather manufacturers at North 
Woburn. He was colonel of the Fifth Massachusetts 
Volunteer Militia, and was the predecessor of Colonel 
Green, commanding the regiment at the muster at 
Groton. But he excelled mainly in the sweet and 
unostentatious charity of his neighborhood life. He 
was foremost in everything that tended to develop 
the natural beauty of the town or promote the good 
morals of the community. 

He aided largely in building the Congregational 
meeting-house. 

The poor and suffering found in him a sympathiz- 
ing friend. He felt a tender interest in young men, 
and counseled them to manliness, honesty, sobriety 
and economy, that they might win for themselves the 
respect of their fellows and live lives of real value to 
the world. Colonel Winn was one of Woburn's most 
esteemed citizens, and his many good works are held 
in grateful remembrance. 



JOHN .TOHNSON. 

Mr. John Johnson is the eldest son of John and 
Sarah (Kendall) Johnson, and was born in that part 
of Woburn known as Cummingsville, Feb. 12, 1814. 
He is a lineal descendant, in the eighth generation, 
of Capt. Edward Johnson, the line of descent extend- 
ing through Edward', William-, Edward', Samuel', 
Reuben'', Reuben^ and John'. According to the will 
of George Johnson, who died in Maryland in 1681, 
Capt. Edward Johnson was the son of William John- 
son, who owned property "in Canterbury, Kent 
County, Old England, in a parish called Alfidge, over 
against the Bishop's Palace.'" 

As a boy, the subject of this sketch attended the 
'• Mountain School " in Burlington, and the " West- 
Side School " on Cambridge Street, in Woburn, for 
about three months in winter and six weeks in sum- 
mer. In Oct., 1831, he took charge of his grandfather 
Kendall's farm, receiving for his services seven dol- 
lars a month in winter and twelve dollars a month in 
summer. Being under age, he gave his father one- 
half of these wages, and with the residue, in Dec, 
1832, he paid his tuition at the Warren Academy for 
the winter term of 1832-33. It was his intention and 
ambition to educate himself for the Universalist min- 
istry, but, frustrated in this purpose and dissatisfied 
with farming, he resolved to learn a trade. His 

1 See the Wohuni Journal, Jan. 31, 1890. 



I 

i 




i 







1 



'%^ 



(J hA^^i (n^n^ 



WOBURN. 



455 



friend, John Cummings, urged him to become a cur- 
rier, but the manufacturer of whom he sought 
employment was unwilling to accept him as an 
apprentice unless he would attend either the Baptist 
or Orthodox CLiurch, a condition with which he 
would not comply. In April, 1833, he went to West 
Cambridge (now Arlington) and became apprenticed 
to his uncle, Isaac Hall, a wheelwright, whose wife, 
tu'e Hannah Kendall, was a sister of Mr. Johnson's 
mother. He remained with Jlr. Hall as an appren- 
tice for two years, receiving thirty doilars the first 
year and thirty-five dollars the second year for his 
services. In the spring of 1835, about six weeks after 
he had attained his majority, he left West Cambridge 
and went to work for Thaddeus Parker, whose shop 
stood at the junction of Pond and Cambridge Streets, 
in Woburn. He afterward.s worked at his trade for 
Oliver Parker, and in 1830 he built a shop and exca- 
vated the mill-pond on Burlington Street, in Cum- 
iningsville, and engaged in business on his own 
account. He followed his trade here until 1854, 
doing more or less of a farming business during that 
period on land purchased of his fai her. 

On March 1, 1854, he was elected treasurer of the 
Woburn Agricultural and Mechanic Association at 
an annual salary then of S^300 only. He still retains 
this position. 

In Nov., 1864, he succeeded Bowen Buckman as a 
director of the First National Bank of Woburn, and 
subseijuently became vice-president of that institu- 
tion, a position which he still holds. 

In the administration of municipal affairs he has 
been somewhat prominent. With the exception of 
the year 1854 (when he was one of the selectmen) he 
held the office of town auditor for the twenty-nine 
successive years beginning in 1847 and ending April, 
187(). He W.1S a member of the Board of Selectmen 
in 18.54, an assessor in 1851, 1852 and 18G0, and has 
served on the School Committee seventeen years in 
all, being a member of that board as early as 1848 
and as late as 1880. In April, 1873, he was chosen to 
succeed Nathan Wyman as town clerk, but declined 
to serve. He was an executor named in the will of 
Charles B. Winn, and wasoneof thecommitteewhohad 
in charge the building of the Woburn Public Library. 
In politics Mr. Johnson has been a Whig and a 
Republican, although he voted for Greeley in 1872. 
He was an active member of the First Universalist 
Society of Woburn so long as it retained its separate 
organization, and since its union with the First Uni- 
tarian Parish he has been prominently identified 
with the latter body, and has been one of its deacons 
for many years. 

Mr. Johnson has always evinced an interest in local 
historical and antiquarian matters and by research 
among probate papers and early deeds has established 
the fact that the homestead of his ancestor, Capt. 
Edward Johnson, is identical with that of the pres- 
ent J. K. Kendall farm, situate on Cambridge and 



Russell Streets. Capt. Edward Johnson gave it to 
his grandson Willidm (son of his son John), who sold 
it to Thomas Kendall by deed dated Dec. II, 1688, and 
recorded with Middlesex Registry of Deeds, book 10, 
page 112. The property has ever since remained in 
the Kendall family. 

Mr. Johnson has been twice married. His first 
wife was Rosella Malvina Waldo, daughter of Shubael 
and Rebecca (Crosby) Waldo, of Chesterfield, N. H. 
She died June 8, 1845, leaving one child, Rosella 
Annette (born May 11, 1845, died Feb. 22, 1846). 
His second wife was Julia Ann Bulfinch, daughter 
of Amos and Hannah (Coombs) Bulfinch, of Woburn. 
By her he has had three children, all living — Rosella 
Maria, John Warren and Edward F. Johnson. 



HON. JOHN CUMMINGS.' 

Hon. John Cummings was born in Woburn, Octo- 
ber 19, 1812. He came of a Scotch family found in 
Watertown in the early days of the Massachusetts 
Oolony. His great-grandfather moved from Andover 
to Woburn in 1750, and bought the estate on which 
Mr. Cummings now lives. 

Mr. Cummings was largely self-taught, but had for 
a brief time the advantages of the Warren Academy 
and of the school at South Reading. Entering busi- 
ness, Mr. Cummings engaged in the tanning and cur- 
rying industry, associating with himself, sooner or 
later, John B. Alley, Charles Choate, Leonard B. 
Harrington and Leonard Harrington. In 1868 he 
became president of the Shawmut National Bank of 
Boston, which office he now holds. He has served in 
both Houses of the Massachusetts Legislature; was a 
member of the Centennial Board of Finance, which 
redeemed from failure and conducted to a triumphant 
success the Philadelphia Exhibition of 1876, and was 
also one of the judges of the Exhibition. He has 
served as a director in the Perkins Institution for the 
Blind, and in the Massachusetts Institution for Fee- 
ble-Minded Children. 

Mr. Cummings early developed decided scientific 
tastes, es])ccially in the department of natural history, 
and made acquirements which, considering the occu- 
pation of his time by business cares and duties, are 
remarkable. He has always been an enthusiastic 
agriculturist, with an ardent interest in the appli- 
cation of scientific principles to the cultivation of the 
soil. 

His most intimate public relations, in his later life, 
have been with the Boston Society of Natural His- 
tory, the Agricultural College at Amherst and the 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to all of which 
he has rendered inestimable services. Of the last- 
named institution he was for seventeen years the 
treasurer, as well as a member of the Executive Com- 
mittee of the Corporation from the organization of 

' By Gon. Francis A. Walker. 



456 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



that committee. To his courageous acceptance of 
responsibility and his strong financial support the 
friends of the school largely attribute its rescue from 
pecuniary embarrassment and its subsequent remark- 
able development. By a vote of the corporation in 
1889, when he retired from the office of treasurer, Mr. 
Cummings' name was applied, in perpetuity, to the 
Laboratories of Mining Engineering and Metallurgy, 
in recognition of his services. 

Mr. Cummings' remarkable disinterestedness in 
public life, his severe integrity, combined with great 
kindliness in personal intercourse, his powerful intel- 
lectual grasp and strong Scotch- American sense 
have made him one of the most useful citizens of his 
native Commonwealth. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 
SHIRLEY. 

BY REV. JOSEPH CREHORE. 

Shirley was originally a part of Groton. It was 
set off from the parent town and incorporated as a 
district of the Province of Massachusetts by an act 
of the General Court at its session in January, 1753. 
Six years previously, at the March meeting of the 
town of Groton, the following petition, signed by 
John Whitney and thirty-two others, asking for the 
separation, was presented : 

"To the inhabitants of tlie town of Groton, nssemljled in town- 
meeting on tlie first day of March, 1747 : 

" The petition of ns, tlie subscribei's, being all inhabitants of the town 
of Groton, aforesaid, humbly showeth lliat your petitioners all live in 
the extreme parts of tlie town, and by that means are incapacitated to 
attend i)ublic worship constantly, either ourselves or families ; and be- 
ing sensible of our being set ofl' in order for a precinct will be of great 
service to us, we desire that we may beset off by the l)ounds, viz., begin- 
ning at tlie moutli of the Squannacook river, and so run up said river till 
itcomestoTownseud line, and then by Townsendand Lunenburg lines till 
it Cometh to Groton soutliwest corner, and so by the south line iu said 
town until it coitieth to Lancaster (Nashua) riv?r, and then run down said 
river tili it cometh to Harvard corner, and then about a mile on Har- 
vard north line, and then turn to the north and run to the waste brook 
in Coicors (Caucus or Nonacaucus) farm, where people generally Jiass 
over, and from thence to the mouth of Squannacook river, where we 
first began ; and your petitioners as bound in duty will ever pray, etc. 
John Whitney, John. Williams, David Gould, John Kelsey, Phinehas 
Burt, Joseph Wilson, Thoniaa Laughton, James Patterson, Jonathan 
Gould, Robert Henry, John Williams, Jr., Jacob Williams, William 
Farwell, Jonas Longley, Oliver Farwell, Isaac Holden, Jarathniael 
Powers, Philemon Holden, Stephen Ilohien, Jr., VVilliarii Simonds, Wil- 
liam Preston, William Williams, Henry Farwell, Isaiah Farivell, John 
Russell, .lames Park, Daniel Page, Joseph Dodge, Moses Bennett, Jr., 
Caleb Bartlett, Francis Harris, Caleb Holden, Hezekiah Sawtell." 

The petition was read "at the anniversary meeting 
in Groton, March 1, 1747, and the prayer thereof 
granted, except the land on the easterly side of Lan- 
caster (Nashua) river." A delay of nearly six years 
occurred after this action of Groton consenting to the 
division before an act of incorporation was obtained 
from the General Court. This was passed and ap- 



proved at its session in January, 1753. A small ad- 
dition to the territory embraced in this act was made 
on the southern line by the Legislature of 1765, and 
a few changes have been made since that date, the 
most important of which was in 1871, when all that 
part on the east of the Nashua River was taken for 
the new town of Ayer. As at present constituted, it 
contains an area of about sixteen and a half square 
miles, and is quite irregular in form. From its ex- 
treme north point to its southern line it is seven and 
one-half miles, and its greatest width four miles. The 
Squannacook River bounds it north and east, runs 
southeasterly from the Townsend line on the west to 
near the centre of its eastern line, making the ex- 
treme north an acute angle. Groton joins it on the 
north, Groton, Ayer and Harvard on the east, Lan- 
caster on the south, Lunenburg and Townsend on the 
west. Its distance from Boston is thirty-eight miles. 
The name of Shirley was given it in honor of William 
Shirley, Governor of the Province of Massachusetts 
at the time of its incorporation. 

The first meeting of the district after the act of in- 
corporation was held March 1, 1753. The warrant 
calling this meeting reads as follows: 

"Middlesex, SS. To Nathaniel Harris, in Shirley, in the District of 
Groton, in said County of Middlesex. Greeting: 

"By virtue of the power and authority given to me, the subscriber, 
by an act of the Great and General Court of Massachusetts Bay, in New 
England, for dividing the Town of Groton, and making a District by the 
name of Shirle.v, to call the first meeting of the inhabitants of said dis- 
trict, you are hereby required, in his majesty's name, to warn and 
give notice to all freeholders and other inhabitants qualified by law to 
vote in Town, District and Parish meetings to assemble and meet at Mr. 
John Whitney's in said Shirley on the First day of March next at nine 
of the clock iu the Forenoon. 

" First to choose a moderator to manage said meeting. 

«( 2ij. Xu chuse all such officers for said district as other towns by law 
are enjoyned to chuse at their annual meeting. 

"3ly. To conclude where the ne.xt district meeting shall be held, and 
make due return of your doings herein, to myself, at or before nine of 
the clock of the above said day. Given under m.v hand and seal at .Shir- 
ley this ninth day of February, A.D. 1753, in the ■2f'.th year of his Ma- 
jesty's reign. John Whitney." 

The officers chosen at this meeting were a moder- 
ator, town clerk, selectmen, assei^sors, constable, high- 
way surveyors, tithingmen, sealer of weights and 
measures, sealer of leather, fence-viewers, field-drivers, 
carer for swine, deer-reaves, surveyor of lumber, 
pound-keeper. The number of inhabitants at this 
time is not definitely known, but it 'is thought to 
have been about 400. In 1800 the population was 
713; in 1860 it was 1460. But in 1871 the incorpora- 
tion of the town of Ayer took a part of its territory 
and reduced its population. The present number is 
about 1500. The property valuation rises a little 
above $600,000, and the annual products above $200- 
000. From 1875 to 1885 there was a decrease of its 
manufacturing industries from forty-two to eighteen, 
caused liy the fluctuations and depression in the va- 
rious branches pursued. A gradual recovery from 
this condition is now being witnessed from year to 
year, and the water privileges, yet unused, together 



8HIRLEY. 



457 



with the facilities for transportation and the natural 
attractions of the place, which in beauty of scenery 
and healthiness of location is excelled by few, should 
render the full return of its former activity and pros- 
perity a matter of but a few years. 

The first settlement made within tlie territory in- 
cluded in the district was about 1720, and the first 
farms cleared and occupied were in the northern 
part. 

The soil presents some features quite distinct from 
that of the neighboring towns. Along the rivers 
there are large tracts of intervale land that are excel- 
lent for tillage, and that yield large harvests to reward 
the faithful cultivator ; and upon the higher lands 
there are mauy valuable farms. There is also much 
woodland covered with oak, walnut, chestnut, birch, 
maple and pine. Running through a part of the 
town is an extensive range of coarse slate, which 
begins in Boylston and continues through Lancaster, 
Harvard and Shirley to Pepperell. There is a large 
acreage of light, sandy soil. But the most important 
feature, and one that adds much to the beauty of the 
natural scenery, as well as furnishing valuable power 
for various mechanical industries, is its numerous 
water-courses. The largest of these is the Nashua 
River, which runs through the southern and eastern 
part, while the next in importance is the .Squannacook 
which runs along the northeastern boundary and 
flows into the Nashua near the line between Groton 
and Ayer. The Catacunemaug is formed by the 
junction of two streams, one of which rises in Lunen- 
burg, and the other in Lancaster. It flows through 
the southern part of the town and empties into the 
Nashua on the southeastern boundary. By residents 
along a part of its course it is familiarly known as 
Bow Brook, having received this name from Miss 
Sarah C Edgarton, afterwards Mrs. Mayo, who ''sang 
its praises in a beautiful poem," written in 1838, the 
first two verses of which we here give : 

" Far in a wild and tangled glen, 

Where purple Arethusas weep — 
A bower scarce trod by mortal nieu — 

A haunt where timid drj'ads Bleep — 
A little dancing, prattling thing, 

Sweet Bow Brnok, tutor of my musa ! 
I've seen thy silver currents spring 

From fountains of Caetalian dews. 
" A wilder or more sylvan spot, 

Ne'er wooed a poet's feet to roam ; 
Not e'en Calypso's classic grot 

Would be 80 fit a fairy's home. 
The birchen boughs so interlaced. 

That scarce the vault of heaven is seen, 
With pendant vines are wildly graced — 

.\n arbor of transcendent green." 

Another stream, of much larger importance than 
its name would imply, is known as Mulpus Brook. 
On these several water-courses are many fine privileges, 
the best being upon the Catacunemaug. Some of 
these are improved by valuable manuiacturing inter- 
ests; but there is still a large amount of water-power 
unoccupied. 



Bdrial-Ground. — One of the first needs to receive 
attention after the district was incorporated was a 
place for the burial of the dead. In September, 1753, 
a committee of five was chosen " to find a centre for 
the district, and to find a burying-place." The spot 
selected by the committee seems not to have been 
favorably regarded by the inhabitanti, as another lo- 
cation was secured. The land chosen for the purpose 
belonged to the " Proprietors of Groton," and at a 
meeting held by them March 7, 1755, the following 
vote was passed : " 4'''. Voted to ye District of Shirley 
four acres of land (where their burying-place now is) 
for a burying-place and a training field, in said dis- 
trict, and that ye Proprietors' committee be directed 
to lay out the same, providing it doth not infringe 
upon any former particular grant." 

The committee made the following record of their 
work : 

"Shirley, April 17, 1755. Then we, the subscribers, pursuant to ye 
vote of ye Proprietors of Groton, have laid out n pence of land for a 
burying-place, etc., in ye district of Shirley, and hounds as followeth : 
beginning at the northwest corner, at a chestnut tree ; thence ye line 
runs southerly twenty-eight poles, to a red oak tree; thence easterly 
twenty-four poles, to a red oak ; thence northerly twenty-eight poles to a 
ded white oak tree ; thence westerly twenty-four poles to ye chestnut 
first mentioned ; the same ^eoce of land contains four acres and sixteen 
poles. Jamks Prescott, Prop'" Clerk. 

*' Wil.MAM Lawrence, 

" Thowas Tahiiei-l, 

" Samuel Tarbh.i,, 

" Benj». Parkeu. 



Committee." 



This gift called forth the following action at a meeting 
of the district convened for the purpose : " Voted to 
chuse a committee to return thanks to the Proprietors 
of Groton fur a Piece of land for burying-place and other 
uses. Lieutenent Powers, Mr. Samuel Walker, Mr. 
Richard Herrington, Captain Harris, Ensign Walker 
was chosen this committee." The unstable natu.re of 
the landmarks left the land given somewhat open to 
encroachment in subsequent years, so that land was 
obliged to be purchased for the enlargement of the 
burial-ground in 1861, the larger portion of the gift 
remaining in public possession being then occupied 
as the church lot'and a public common. One and 
one-quarter acres were at this time purchased. In 
the following year, 1865, Thomas E. Whitney made a 
gift of an additional amount, with conditions that 
were accepted and agreed to by the town. In 1849 a 
purchase was made by the town for a new cemetery 
at the South Village. It borders on the Catacune- 
maug, and is partially covered with a young growth of 
wood and finely adapted for the purpose. Artistic 
taste combined with the fine natural scenery will in 
time make it one of the most beautiful of burial- 
places. It is enclosed with a fence composed of stone 
posts and iron rails or bars on three sides. That part 
of the fence which separates the grounds from the 
street was the gift of Mr. N. C. Munsou, and w.as built 
under his supervision at an expense of 85000. It is 
an iron structure resting on a solid granite founda- 
tion, with an elaborate and finely constructed gate- 



458 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



way at the centre ; the columns, arches and entabla- 
tures composed of Nova Hcotia sandstone. 

Town-House. — From the incorporation cf the 
district, in 1753, until the meeting-house was built, in 
1754, meetings for municipal purposes were held in 
private houses. From that time until 1839 the 
meeting-house was the place for the transaction of the 
public business. During the larger part of this pe- 
riod, if not the whole of it, the meeting-house was 
the property of the town. But in the ecclesiastical 
changes which transpired and the separation of the 
chnrch from municipal oversight, "The First Con- 
gregational Society," which was organized in 1822, 
became the legitimate successor of the Town Parish, 
and held the legal claim to the property. Extensive 
alterations and improvements were made in the 
house in 1839, and it vta.-^ then " closed to all secular 
gatherings and objects." This turned attention to 
the matter of building a town-house. But no decisive 
steps were taken to this end till eight years later, in 
1847. In March of this year a communication was 
addressed to the selectmen of the town by the execu- 
tors of the will of James P. Whitney, notifying them 
of the bequest of $500 by Mr. Whitney to be appro- 
priated towards the building of a town-house. The 
terms of the bequest were as follows; "I give and 
bequeath to the inhabitants of the town of Shirley 
the sum of five hundred dollars, to be appropriated 
towards the building of a town-house, with a commo- 
dious hall for holding town-meetings, and suitable 
rooms for the safe keeping of records, books and pa- 
pers belonging to the town, and for the transaction 
by the Selectmen, and all other town officers, of all 
the town business ; provided, however," that said 
town-house shall be located in that part of the town 
now considered the centre thereof, but not placed 
near the south side of the land which belonged to 
my late father, bordering on the Training-Field, so 
called, without the consent of the owner of said land; 
and provided, also, that the same shall be built 
within three years of the time of my decease ; and in 
case of failure on the part; of said inhabitants to 
comply with the provisions aforesaid, I then give 
and bequeath the said sum, with all the interest that 
may have accrued thereon, to my said daughter, 
Henrietta Parker Whitney, or whoever may be my 
heirs-atlaw. 

" I also give and bequeath to the inhabitants of 
said town of Shirley the sum of one hundred dollars, 
the interest of which is to be annually expended in 
ornamenting the burying-ground now belonging to 
the town, by the cultivation of trees and shrubbery, 
and otherwise improving the same; and the principal 
sum may be appropriated towards the building of a 
handsome fence around the same whenever the town 
shall so determine." 

The town voted to accept the legacy and proceeded 
at once with measures tor building the town-house. 
In the mean time Thomas and George A. Whitney, 



brothers of James P., and executors of his will, pro- 
posed to give $500 in aid of the building, and a lot 
of land on which to set the same, upon conditions 
which the town, by vote, accepted and agreed to. A 
building committee was chosen and the work pro- 
ceeded with. Ground was broken on the 17th of 
June, and, on the 5th of July, '"the corner-stone was 
laid with imposing ceremonies." The service was 
combined with the 4th of July celebration, which 
came on that day. The address was given by the 
Hon. Leonard M. Parker, chairman of the building 
committee. 

The building was completed at a cost of $2953.75, 
including the furnishing, and was opened for a meet- 
ing of the town on the lOtii of September, 1848. 
The public recognition and celebration of the com- 
pleted work was delayed till the 4th of July of the 
following year, when services fitting to the occasion 
and to the day were held, with an address by Rev. 
Seth Chandler, pastor of the First Congregation- 
alist Society. 

Post-Office. — Few things in the progress and 
rapidly-changing customs and methods of our civil 
and social life mark the difference of the present 
from a century or even half a century ago more 
strongly than our postal facilities and methods of 
communication and transportation. No\ till fifty- 
eight years after the incorporation of the town was 
there a post-office within its borders. In 1811 one 
was established af the centre of the town, and 
Thomas Whitney was appointed postmaster. He 
remained in office till his death, a term of thirty- 
three years. About twenty years alter the establish- 
ment of this office, the growth and business import- 
ance of the south part of the town required another 
in that section, and one was there located, and Dr. 
Augustus G. Parker appointed postmaster. 

Almshouse. — The custom prevailing throughout 
the New England towns in the early period of its 
history for providing for the poor dependent upon 
them, was adopted in Shirley and continued till 1837, 
a period of eighty-four years. 

"At the annual town-meeting the names of the 
unfortunates were publicly paraded, and they were 
auctioned off, one after another, by the moderator to 
the lowest bidder." The moral sense of the people 
was, in a measure, awakened to the wrong of this 
treatment, and, at a town-meeting in March, 1763, a 
movement was made for providing a home for this 
class, and a committee was chosen "to provide a 
work-house in this district." Rut nothing resulted 
from this effort, and, for seventy-four years more, " the 
gavel of the moderator was heard at each annual 
town-meeting, hammering off the board and lodging 
of the unfortunate pauper to the lowest bidder." 
The following are samples of the notices which 
were accustomed to be posted in the different parts 
of the town : 

" XMce. The Poor of tbe Town of Shirlev will be let out iu lots, for 



SHIRLEY. 



459 



one Vfar from the yrd day of April iipxt, on Siituiihiy, tlie 2ittli duy of 

MurcU, iustaQI, at one o'clock P.M. at the 6tore of Thomas AVbituey & 

Sou. 

*',I.\MES Parker, Jr., for the Overseers." 

■' Toko Notice. At M'hitiicy's store in Shirley, on Monday next, at 
seven o'clock P.M., the wife of William Longley will be set up at auc- 
tion to the lowest bidder, at bo much per week, from then until the first 
of April. Shirley, Feb. 13, l«:il." 

*' Notice. David Atherton and Mary Davis will be let out by the week 
for one year or a shorter time, at Esq. Whitney's store, Monday, 6 
o'clock P.M. May 5, 1828." 

In 1837 this wrong and oppressive custom was 
brought to its end. Land and buildings were pur- 
chased, and a comfortable and pleasant home provided 
where all dependent upon the town could be well 
cared tor. 

The house was that of Mr. John Whitney, where 
the first meeting of the district for the transaction of 
public business, after its incorporation, was held. 
The farm contained a little more than 100 acres. 
The number of paupers entered and cared for at this 
home, the first three years after it was opened, varied 
from fifteen to thirty each year. After this there was 
a gradual diminishing of the number, caused chiefly 
by the effect of the temperance reformation, till "at 
the close of the twelfth year there were hut from three 
to five who claimed a home in the Alms-house." 

This change led to the disposal of the property by 
a vote of the town, in 18.53, as an economic measure. 
Since then those who are dependent upon it for sup- 
port have been provided for iu private families, under 
the direction and care of the overseers of the poor. 

Military. — The " French War," which terminated 
in the surrender of the Canadas to the English Gov- 
ernment, was in progress at the time of the incorpo- 
ration of Shirley. Volunteers from this district were 
in that war. " Joseph Longley, who held the office 
of first .selectman and town clerk, at the organization 
of the district, entered and died in that service." In 
the controversies and contests which resulted subse- 
quently with Great Britain, on account of the griev- 
ances imposed by the King, the district took an active 
and decided part in support of measures for maintain- 
ing the rights and liberties of the Colonies. The first 
public action recorded was in reference to the " Stamp 
Act," passed by the British Parliament. It was at a 
district meeting held October 18, 1765, when the fol- 
lowing instructions to its representative received a 
unanimous vote: "Ordered that Abel Lawrence, 
Esq., Representative, &c., for us and others in the 
Great and General Court, have a copy of our views, 
and is desired to act accordingly. Is it a matter of 
wonder that every thinking person in the Colonies of 
North America is greatly alarmed by the late act 
of Parliament, called the Stamp Act, as it affects 
the state and liberty of every loyal subject of said 
Colonies'? It is therefore thought by your constitu- 
ents that, at this critical season, you would not be 
unwilling to know their minds upon this important 
atfair, We look upon said act as a burden, grievous. 



distressing and insupportable; not only likely to en- 
slave the present, but future generaiions. The great 
and heavy load lying upon us, occasioned by the late 
war, with its increasing interest, and all other inci- 
dental charges at home for the sujiport of government, 
&c., have sunk us so low already that we are wholly 
unable to bear the duties imposed upon us by the 
' Stamp Act,' which, if it take place, must and will 
immediately prove our certain ruin. With regard to 
the power of the British Parliamtnt to lay taxes in 
such a manner, is, you know, a point that has been 
disputed with great warmth on both sides of the 
question. We are fitr from saying or acting any- 
thing whereby we might be charged with disloyalty, 
as subjects to the best of kings, or that we have not a 
proper sense of the British Court, but we do think that 
our charter privileges and natural rights, as the free- 
born sons of Britain, are infringed upon by said 
Stamp Act. Our advice, instruction and direction, 
therefore, to you is, that upon all proper occasions 
you use and exercise your utmost endeavors and 
strongest efforts, in a modest, becoming and respect- 
ful manner, to prevent said act from taking place in 
the government ; and that you with a watchful eye, 
upon every occasion, diligently guard and protect the 
liberties of your country, to the utmost of your power, 
against all encroachments and innovations. Like- 
wise we desire you to frown upon every attempt for 
raising, by way of tax, any sum or sums of money, 
or consent to dispose of any already raised, without 
the consent of the people, upon any pretence whatso- 
ever, except for defraying the necessary expenses of 
government. Also we would signify our dislikeof the 
late act of violence in the town of Boston, and every 
other act of rage committed against any particular 
peison or private property, anywhere within his Maj- 
esty's most loyal and dutiful province of Massachu- 
setts Bay. Finally, your constituents expect that, on 
all occasions, you will view their interest as closely 
connected with your own, and at all times endeavor 
topromote it, and also the interest of the province 
generally. By order of the committee. John Long- 
ley." " ■ 

The repeal of the " Stamp Act," soon after, brought 
a brief period of relief. But new grievances call 
forth further action. A circular was received from a 
Committee of Correspondence ir. Boston, setting forth 
their character, and action thereon was taken as 
follows : N 

"The unanimous! proceedings of the inhabitants of the District of 
Shirley, being legally assserabled upon adjournment, January the 11, 
1773. Having p»ceived from the metropolis of this Province their votes 
and proceedings at the late town-meeting, and having taken the same 
into consideration, we are of the opinion that our rights are properly 
stated by their committee, and that they are infringed in those instances 
mentioned by them ; and we aie fully persuaded if the Judges of the 
Superior Court of this Province have their salaries from the king -from 
whose substitutes their appointment originates, and without whose con- 
sent (let them hold the scales of justice ever so uneven) they cannot be 
removed— that our liberties are greatly infringed thereby, and that we 
sbnll have no better chance for justice, no better securily of life and 



460 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSE-JTS. 



property, than the people have in the most despotic country under 
hea\"en. 

"We, therefore, with due deference to the opinion of our fellow- 
electors, do express to our representative our desire that he use the ut- 
most influence that the judges of the superior couit of this province be 
placed upon a constitutional basis, and their salaries be raised to 
Buch a sum as will support them in a manner suitable to their diKuity. 
And we would tiirther say that it is our fixed determination to join with 
the people through the colonies, and of this Province in particular, 
manfully and constilutioimlly to oppose every stride of despotism and 
tyranny, anil that we will not sit down easy and contented until our 
rights and liberties are restored to us, and we enjoy them as at the be- 
ginniuR. 

*'VoifJ, the above be entered upon the records of the District, and an 
authenticated copy thereof bo sent by the District Clerk to the Commit- 
tee of Cori-espondence of Boston, and another to James Prescott, Esq., 
our representative. Voleil, also, that our grateful acknowledgments are 
due to the iidiabitants of the town of Boston for their vigilance upon 
this and many other occasions of like nature. 

*' John Longlet, Dis. CT'rt." 

During this year the act putting a tax upon the tea 
brought into the country, passed the British Parlia- 
ment. This fiict was communicated to tiie selectmen 
of Shirley by the Committee of Correspondence in 
Boston by a letter dated November 23, 1773. On 
this, action was taken at the town-meeting in March 
following, when it was voted unanimously : 

" 1st. That we will neither buy. nor sell, nordrink (nor suffer it to be 
drunk in any of our families) any tea that is subject to an American 
duty. 2d. That we will stand ready to unite with our brethren through 
the Colonies in every proper measure to retrieve our liberties, and to es- 
tablish them upon such a firm basis that it will be out of the power, at 
least of our present enemies, to wrest them out of our hands. 3d. That 
the thanks of the District be, and hereby are, given to the town of Bos- 
ton and to the towns in that vicinity for every rational and proper 
measure they have pursued in order to prevent our inestimable rights 
and privileges being torn from us by the artifice and cunning of our en- 
emies, who are endeavoring to rob us of the fruits of our honest indus- 
try, that they nuty riot in idlenes^s and luxury themselves. 4tb. That 
the District enter the above votes on the district book of records, and 
transmit an attested copy of the above votes to the Committee of Corre- 
spondence in Bosttm. A true record of the votes of the District of Shir- 
ley or the inhabitants thereof. 

"Attest, On.\DlAH S.vwtell, District Cleric.^'' 

AVhen the time for something more than expres- 
sions of sympathy and promises came, there was an 
equal readiness for active duty. A town-meeting was 
called January 18, 1775, immediately after the pas- 
sage of the "Boston Port Bill," at which it was 
voted, "That we make some provision for the suffer- 
ing poor in Boston and Charlestown, on account of the 
Boston Port Bill, so-called, and that the same be done 
by subscription. Francis Harris, John Ivory and 
Obediah Sawtell were chosen a committee to receive 
the donations of said district for said poor, and 
ordered to forward said donations to Boston or 
Charlestown as soon as may be." A still more de- 
cisive and important step toward severing the 
allegiance to the mother country was taken at this 
meeting, in the vote to withhold the " Province Tax" 
and to stand firmly with the " association of the Grand 
American Congress," held in Philadelphia, in October 
of the previous year. The following is the record : 
" We, the subscribers, having seen the association 
drawn up by the Grand American Continental Con- 
gress, respecting the non-importation, non consump- 



tion and non-exportation of goods, etc., signed by the 
delegates of this and the delegates of other colonies 
of this continent, and having attentively considered 
the same, do hereby approve thereof, and of every 
part of it; and in order to make the same association 
our personal act, do, by these presents, under the 
sacred ties of virtue, honor and the love of our 
country, firmly agree and associate, fully and com- 
pletely, to observe and keep all and every article and 
clause in said association contained, in respect to ex- 
portation, importation and non-consumption, accord- 
ing to the true intent, meaning and letter of our said 
delegates, and will duly inform and give notice of 
every exception and contravention of said agreement 
as far as we are able; and that we will, so far as we 
can, encourage and promote a general union herein ; 
as witness our hands, this 18th day of January, A. 
D., 1775." 

Nor was this all. Measures having a somewhat 
compulsory appearance were taken to bring all the 
inhabitants into this agreement. This is the record 
additional : 

"At a legal meeting of the inhabitants of the District of Shirley, held 
on thelSlh of January A. ». 1775, Resolved and voted, that the above 
draught of an association is approved of. and that the same be entered in 
the District book of records, and that the same be signed by the several 
inhabitants of said district, and that tlie committee of rorrespolidence 
see that the same is done, or inform the district at their next meeting of 
every person who shall delay or refuse to sign the same, so that the dis- 
trict may take such further order thereon as they may think proper. 
"Attest, Obadiah Sawtell, District Clerk.^' 

Only two months and one day from this date came 
the alarm from Lexington ringing through the 
country. Shirley, in common with other towns, 
was stirred intensely by this hostile advance, and its 
patriotism aroused. Every man old enough to bear 
arms, but seven, "volunteered his services and 
marched to Cambridge." And these seven were pre- 
vented, not by any reluctance on their part, but by 
the necessities of their families, or their age and phy- 
sical condition. One of them, William Longley, famil- 
iarly known as " old Will the miller," bent with age 
and supporting himself with two staves, wanted to 
join the company. In response to an allusion to his 
infirmity, "True," he said, " I cannot handle a mus- 
ket, but I can fight the red-coats with my two canes," 
brandishing these vigorously. Eighty names are on 
the roll of the Shirley minute-men, who, on the alarm of 
that day, April 19th, marched to Cambridge. Immedi- 
ately after this came the enlistment of eight months 
men. Thirty -eight from Shirley responded to this call. 
From this time to the opening of the memorable cam- 
paign of 1777 many volunteers went for indefinite 
periods. Then came the enlistment for three years, 
when thirteen entered the service for that term. 
And when the Legislature of the State decided that 
one-seventh of all the male inhabitants over sixteen 
years of age, capable of bearing arms should be en- 
listed, the district promptly made its number twenty- 
two. And as an encouragement to the service, it 



SHIRLEY. 



461 



" voted, to give each man twenty pounds as an ad- 
ditional bounty." Besides the call fur men, there 
was a call for muskets, military coats, provisions of 
food, etc., "all of which were readily contributed." 
In the schedule of apportionment among the towns 
of the State, of the thirteen thousand coats required 
by the Provincial Congress for the patriot army en- 
gaged in the siege of Boston in the summer of '75, 
twenty-five were asked of Shirley. The response to 
this request was conveyed to the Committee of Sup- 
plies in the following letter: 

"Totbe Gen'nipn Coinmitee of Siiplies appoynted by Congress, etc., 
To see to tlie Providing Clothing for tlie army. Gentmen : These .\re to 
Infurui ymi tliat the l>is«. of Sliirley liiive agreed to provide the Parte 
of Coats, Shirts, Stoekiiis and Britches to tliem Assigned and thirty Pare 
uf Shoes for the Benefit of the Continentle army, etc. 
*■ By order of the Selectmen, 

" Ohadiah Sawtkll, Diet. Clerk. 
" Shirley, August y lO", a.d. 177.')." 

The most of the three years' men enlisted in the 
early part of '77 served in the Fifteenth Continental 
Regiment, which was recruited from Worcester and 
Middlesex Counties, under command of Colonel Tim- 
othy Bigelow. It was a regiment distinguished for 
its discipline and valor, and was in many of the hard- 
est-fought battles of the war. It had part in the 
capture of Burgoyne at Saratoga, in the trials and 
sutferings of Valley Forge at the battle of Mon- 
mouth, and in the crowning glories of Yorktown. 
A call was made for additional men for the service 
for a given time in 1780, and the district " voted to 
give each soldier one, one hundred silver dollars, 
including the forty shillings per month, allowed 
by the state. It was also voted to give them, 
each forty pounds additional in hard money, for 
three months' additional service." The next year, 
1781, at the March meeting an appropriation was 
made for paying the three-years' soldiers, whose term 
had expired, the amount due them from the the dis- 
trict. It was " voted to raise twelve hundred silver 
dollars, or the value thereof in other money, to be 
immediately assessed on the inhabitants of the dis- 
trict and others owning property therein, as soon as 
may be." This is the last record of tlie action of the 
district in relation to the Revolutionary War with 
which we have met. There is mention of a commit- 
tee appointed by the district, to see that the families 
of the absent soldiers were provided for, and we have 
reason to believe that this mtitter received faithful at- 
tention. The muster-roll of Captain Henry Has- 
kell's company of "minute-men " in Colonel James 
Prescott's regiment, which marched from Shirley, 
April 19, 1775, contained the following names : 

Ilecry Harahall, captain jSylvanus Smith, tirst lieutanant ; Ebenezer 
Gowing, second lieutenant; .John Wason, sergeant; John Davis, ser- 
fieaiit ; Ephraim Smith, sergeant; Thomas Bennett, sergeant ; Joseph 
Dotlge, coriJoral ; John Kelsy, corporal : Aaron Bennett, corporal; Jo- 
seph Longtey, corporal; Thonuis Burkmar, drummer; William 
Bolton, drummer; William Bartlett, Eleazar Bartlett Timothy Bolton, 
Abel Chase, Titus Colburn, Jonathan Coliant, Daniel Chatman, Amos 
Dole, Silas Davis, Jonathan Davis, James Dickerson. John Dwiglit, John 
Edgerton, John Gordon, Asa Holden, Anros Holden, Amos Holden, Jr., 



Sawtell Holden, Stephen Holden, Zachariah Holden, Lemtie) Holden, 
Simeon Holden, Asa Harris, Simeon Harrington, John Haskell, Benja- 
min ilaskell, I'aul Hale, Seth Harrington, Sanniel tlazen, John Ivory, 
John Jupp, Closes .lenisen, Daniel Iveazar, Joshua Longley. John Lt)ng- 
ley, Jr., Edmund Lougley, John Longtey, Junns Loiigley, Jonas Long- 
ley, Jr., William Little, Wnllis Little, David Pratt, Abel Parker, Abel 
Parker, Jr., Phinehas Page, Daniel Page, Thomas Peahody, Simeon 
Page, Jr., Jonas Page, I*eter Parker, Jam. a Parker, Obudiali Sawtell, 
Jr., Ezra Smith, William Sampson, David Sloan, David Wilson, Kphratin 
Warren, William Williams, Ivory Wilds, Aaron Woodbury, S.imnel 
Walker, Jonas Parker, Jr., Oliver Liverniore, Oliver Fletcher, Joseph 
Brown, Xlromas Xiebols, Francis Mitchell. 

Shays' Insurrection. — The great indebtedness 
incurred by the War of the Revolution left a heavy 
burden upon the State and upon all the towns. Taxes 
became onerous, and yet were hardly sufBcent 
to meet the current expenses of the government 
and pay the interest of the public debts. Many 
were impatient and restive under the difficulties and 
embarrassments with which they were encumbered. 
Out of this condition, which was but an eflect from 
the war, sprang the insurrectionary movement, which 
obtained no little notoriety under the leadership or 
command of Daniel Shays, a captain in the war. 
Men from Shirley joined the insurgents. But of the 
number there is no record. While there was an al- 
most unanimous feeling in favor of some movement 
to ameliorate the existing condition of things, it is a 
matter of grave doubt if this resort to forcible meas- 
ures received the countenance of any considerable 
proportion of the people. Among those who took an 
active part in it, were two brothers, Sylvanus and 
Nathan Smith, both of whom had been officers in the 
late war. In company with others from the district 
and parties from other towns, they gathered at Con- 
cord to the number of about one hundred. Their 
object was to suppress the court and stay the flood of 
executions that were wasting their property and 
making desolate their homes, until some action 
should be taken for their relief. It was Nathan 
Smith who made the somewhat famous address to 
the people, as related by the historian of Concord, 
"declaring that any person who did not follow his 
drum and join his standard, should be drove out at 
the point of the bayonet, let them be court, town 
committee, or what else. 'I am going' — he said — to 
give the court four hours to agree to our terms, and 
if they do not, I and my party will compel them to 
it. I will lay down my life to suppress the govern- 
ment from all li/raimiaal oppression, and you who are 
willing to join us in this ere affair may fall into our 
ranks." Smith was a good soldier in the war, and 
without doubt thought he was doing his duty in this 
affair, and defending the freedom that had been se- 
cured against unwise and oppressive measures. He 
died in Shirley in 1S.34, at the age of ninety-six 
years. A company from Shirley went with the insur- 
gents in .Tanuary, 1787, in a movement for the suppres- 
sion of a court in Springfield. The town records give 
the best indication of the prevailing sentiment among 
the people at this time. In a town warrant dated 



462 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



" Januaiy ye 29, 1787," there were two articles which 
read jis follows : " 1st. To see what the town will do 
in regard to sending provision to those men that are 
gone, or about to go (as they saj ) in defence of their 
rights and privileges. 2d. To see if the town will 
take into consideration the present depressing cir- 
cumstances of our public affairs, and consult upon 
means for a settlement of those disturbances that are 
subsisting in this Commonwealth." 

Upon these articles it was voted: "1st. Not to send 
provisions to the men gone from this town uuder 
arms. 2d. Voted to choose a committee, agreeably 
to the second article." This committee was chosen, 
and reported, recommending a petition to the Gen- 
eral Court, '"praying that all disturbances subsisting 
in this commonwealth may be settled." The report 
was adopted and petition sent. 

Shirley furnished its required quota for service in 
the War of 1812, raising it by draft. No note of any 
action or incident worthy of mention appears in the 
records or can be gathered from tradition. There 
was only one enlistment from the town in the Mex- 
ican War — Nathan King (2d). He was in two bat- 
tles, in one of which he was wounded. 

The Civil War or War of the Rebelliox.— 
The startling intelligence flashed over the country, 
OQ Monday, April 15, 1861, of the attack on Fort 
Sumter, aroused the people of Shirley, as it did the 
whole North. Informal meetings were held, projects 
discussed and services tendered by persons of all ages. 
Immediately a town-meeting was convened. Ac this 
meeting, crowded with those of every age and grade 
of life, the following resolutions were presented and 
unanimously adopted : 

" /feso/reiZ, That the town of Shirley pav to all volunteers who have 
enlisted, or who niayenlist hereafter for the present war (the same being 
resiilents of said town at the date of their enlistment), the sum of twelve 
dollars per mouth, in addition to the compensation now made by gov- 
ernment ; said sum to be paid to the families of any suih volunteers, in 
their absence, at the discretion of the committee hereafter named. 
And should they fall in battle, the same sum to be paid to their families 
during the term of enlistment. And, if any such volunteers are single 
men, the said sum to be paid to them at the expiration of their respec- 
tive enlistments, or to their legal representatives. Also to furnish 
them with all suitable and necessary outfits, not furnished by the 
State or Gener-.l Government, at the discretion of sjiid committee. 

** /fcso/i'('(£. That the town raise the sum of five hundred dollaiB for 
the purpose above mentioned, and that the same be assessed the present 
year ; and that the town treasurer be and is hereby authorized to bor- 
row any sum or sums of money for the purposes specitied, not to exceed 
ten thousand dollars." 

Measures were taken at this meeting for raising a 
company for the Fifty-third Massachusetts Regiment. 
This company, when organized, took the name of 
"Munson Guards," in honor of N. C. Munson, from 
whom it received the generous gift of five hundred 
dollars. At a meeting held April 28, 1862, further 
action was taken in behalf of the families of those in 
the service. It was voted "to raise and assess one 
thousand dollars for the relief of the families of vol- 
unteers in the federal army, and that the same, or 
such part thereof as may be necessary, be paid out 



by the selectmen to families where they are certain 
the same will be refunded by the State." 

In July of this year, in response to the call of the 
President for more soldiers, the quota of the town 
was sixteen. This was soon filled, the town vot- 
ing, at a meeting held on the 23d of the month, a 
bounty of one hundred dollars to each soldier, and 
authorizing the treasurer to secure a loan of sixteen 
hundred dollars for this purpose. When, a year later, 
another call came from the President for still more 
men, to fill the ranks that were being depleted by 
lo.-ses and expirations of terms of service, voluraeer 
enlistments had reached their limit, and it became 
necessary to draft the number required. To meet its 
duty to these, the town voted, at a meeting held July 
27, 1863, to " pay one hundred dollars to each of its 
quota of drafted men, or their substitutes, who go 
into the service under the late call of the President 
of the United States, and also to furnish State aid to 
their families according to law." Other action, of 
record, for maintaining its part, by the town, in this 
crisis of the nation's life, was on July 5, 1864, when 
it was voted " to raise two thousand dollars, to pay 
volunteers that have been enlisted for this town, or 
may hereafter be obtained to fill the quota next called 
for by the President." Also, "that the selectmen, 
after expending the two thousand dollars raised for 
the purpose of recruiting, be further authorized to 
pay one hundred and tweuty-five dollars to each and 
every recruit they may obtain, in order that our full 
quota be kept up." And then, a month later, it was 
voted, "that the town pay one hundred and twenty- 
five dollars in gold to each and every volunteer who 
will enlist, or to any enrolled man who will furnish 
a substitute, to fill this town's quota under the call of 
the President for five hundred thousand men." A 
few months later a rumor was prevalent of an ex- 
pected call for additional recruits, and on November 
8th it was voted "that the selectmen be constituted 
a committee, and authorized immediately to borrow 
a sum not to exceed two thousand dollars, and pro- 
cure recruits to fill an anticipated call for three hun- 
dred thousand men." One more item completes the 
record of municipal appropriation and activity for 
this important and trying period. January 24, 1865, 
but a little more than two months before the note ot 
final victory rang exultingly through the land, a 
meeting was convened, at which the selectmen were 
" authorized to procure and put into the service of 
the United States, fifteen men, in addition to those 
already in." Also, "to borrow a sum of money suffi- 
cient to pay the sum of one hundreil and tweuty-five 
dollars to each of the men who have been put in or 
may be put in before the 18th of March, 1865 — who 
have not been paid according to a previous vote of 
the town." 

The whole number of men mustered into the ser- 
vice from the town, and credited to it on the rolls, 
was one hundred and thirty-eight — about one-tenth 



SHIRLEY. 



463 



of tbe full number of its population during these 
jears. Two of these served iu tbe navy. The loss 
by death on the field, or from wounds, and disense 
caused by the hardships and exposures of army life, 
was twenly-one. • ^ 

During all these intensely anxious years, those who 
remained at home were, iu common with all the 
towns, constantly engaged in procuring and furnish- 
ing supplies for the needs and comforts of the sick 
and wounded in camp and hospital. The full appro- 
priation and expenditure of the town for the men it 
put into the service by enlistment and draft amounted 
ti) about eight thousand dollars. The complete list 
of the names of these men is here given : 

Army. — .lohn H. Alger, Jliclinel T. Ames, James Armstrong, Octave 
Anedette, George W. Biiker, Oliver Balcolln, Horace .\. Balcotm, Frank 
Balcolm, Tliomas Baley, George V. Barrett, George II- Beard, Frank M. 
Boylitou, .\n(lrew Blood, Chiistoff Brockennao, Cliarles 11. Brown, 
Joseph Brookcr, Norman H. Bruce, Henrj- Bunnell, Henry S. Butler, 
Sledard Bourcard, Edward E. Carr, Norton E. Chanitperlaiu, Cliarles P. 
Chandler, Andrew J. Clough, Philip Conuers, Charles H. Cowdrey, 
Moses Cram, John R. Cram, Thomas Daley, Michael Dalilon, Granville 
C. W. Davis, Chas. B. Davis, Henry A. Dixon, Edward Donahue, Percy 
H Dunkins, Joseph Duprey, Estes Elliott, Henry Elmore, Owen Elmore, 
Geo. A. Farmer, W. H. Farmer, Joseph A. Farnworth, John W. Farren, 
Simon Fields, Jeremiah Flynn, George F. Fuller, Pall ick Gately. John 
Gately, Rock St. Goah, John Goodhi:e, John Goes, William Greenaigh, 
Benjamin Grovner, James Haley, William L. Harris, .\lbert L. Hart- 
well, James Ilawksvvorth, George Haynes, Alvin Henry, George C. 
Hill, William Hodgnian, Charles Hoffman, Robertus F Holden, Stephen 
Howard, Henry Johnson, Josephus Jones, Albert Kilburn, Charle.. E. 
Kitburn, Clesson Kenney, Daniel L. King, Peter King, Thomas Kit- 
tredge. Thomas Kelley, Carle Lamerlain, Samuel Lane, Geo. .\. Lancey, 
John B. Lapine, Joseph Easier, Peter Lavily, George F. Lawrence, James 
H. Litlle, John H. Linehan, Stephen W. Longley, Harrimau Longley, 
Frank Lovely, \Vm. JIcGill, Phelix McGovern, Isaac A. BIcDaniels. John 
McCarty, James McGill, Daniel Mahouey, George H. Mason, William 
McLelland, Walter Mitchell, David Murrell, William M. Moses, George 
Munyun, Emery Munyoo, Thom.as McGovern, Joel C. Neat, Harrison 
Nelson, Alexander Nelson, Abel Nickless, Daniel O'Hern, Michael 
O'Neal, George F. Parker, Marcus M. Parmenter, Sidney Parris, John 
Peterson, Charles W. Richards, John Roach, Charles F. Rubbins. Har- 
rington W. Sanders, Otis Sartell, Charles P. Sarlell, James Sawtcll, E. 
M. Smith, Marcus M. Spaulding, Lorenzo Sjtaulding, Henry B. Story, 
Henry Taylor, Walter Tayh>r, Granville P. Travis, James Taylor, Wal- 
ter rnderwood, William W. Underwood, William F. Warren, Henry 
A. Waters, Stephen Wheeler, John Wheeler. John G. White. Henry K. 
White, Wellingtons. White, Walker Wright, Frederick Wilson, John 
Zinmiermau. 

yavy. — Charles Love, Charles E. Richards. 

Mills, Mancfacttjrers and Manufactories. — 
Like all newly settled communities, Groton, of which 
the present Shirley then formed a part, in the early 
part other settlement lacked the means of supplying 
the wants and needs of her early settlers. 

While the newly cultivated land yielded rich 
harvests of golden grain to the worker, he was unable 
to convert this grain into meal without the aid of a 
mill, and there was none in Groton, nor, in fact, did 
such a mill exist for a period of seventeen years from 
its first settlement ; hence we are led to suppose that 
the colonists were obliged to use hand-mills or samp- 
mortars to grind their corn, but no record of their use 
exists, either written or traditional. 

Mr. Butler says, in his " History of Groton," that 
the first corn-mill erected within the territory of 



Groton was by John Prescott, in company with his 
son, Jonas Prescott, whoafterwards distinguished him- 
self as an inhabitant of Groton. This mill stood on a 
small stream of water in what was then the southern 
boundary of the territory, but in what isnowthenorih- 
erly section of Harvard ; and there it stands yet and 
is devoted to its original purpose. 

A few years after this mill was erected the Indians 
destroyed the greater part of Harvard, but, fortunately 
for tbe people, this projierty was overlooked, and con- 
tinues to do its work after a lapse of over two centuries, 
it having been erected in 1673. 

For eight years this mill was the only one the in- 
habitants of this section had to carry their grain to, 
and in consequence was constantly engaged — in fact, 
such was the press of work that the inhabitants of the 
town enacted a law requiring the proprietor of the mill 
to set apart the second and sixth days of each week for 
the purpose of grinding the grain of the people of 
Groton on those days. 

In 1681 James Prescott, who was active in the es- 
tablishing of the mill above mentioned, erected another 
millontheeasterly boundary of the teiritory, on what is 
now known as Stony Brook, near its issue from Forge 
Pond (so-called), being within the limits of the present 
town of Westlbrd. 

As nearly as can be ascertained, the territory of tbe 
present Shirley was first settled in 1720, and the 
northerly part was soon taken up for farms; but all 
grain had to be carried to the old mill, now in Har- 
vard, or to the Forge Pond mill, now in Westfcrd, to 
be ground. 

We of the present day cannot understand the hard- 
ship this was to tbe early settler to carry grain for a 
distance of from four to ten miles over rough roads, 
often mere bridle-paths cut through the woods — no 
such roads or highways as we of the present genera- 
tion are used to. Few of oar forefathers were the for- 
tunate possessors of horses, for they were luxuries in 
those days, and as for light carriages, they did not exist ; 
so that the early settlers were compelled to use ox- 
teams and even wheelbarrows to transport the grain, 
and, indeed, many were the loads borne on the strong 
shoulders of the hardy settlers, at all seasons of the 
year. Through rain and shine, snow and hail, they bore 
their burdens over the weary miles, often compelled to 
make two trips ere they could bring back the meal 
they required for their sustenance, for the mills were 
small and unable to fulfill all the demands made upon 
them with facility. 

The first mill in the limits of what is now known 
as Shirley was built by William Longley, an early 
settler, and Samuel Hazen, who settled here in 1749. 
This was a grist-mill to which was added later a saw- 
mill. 

This mill was a small one of but a single run of 
stones, and was not furnished with the means for bolt- 
ing flour. 

But such were the needs of the people that the un- 



464 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



dertaking, small though it was, was considered as a 
harbinger of better times. 

This mill stood on the site of the " Shirley Cotton- 
Mill," better known perhaps as the " Red Mill," which 
was destroyed by fire in 1807. 

The above partnership lusted but a few years, Mr. 
Hazen selling out his interest to Mr. Longley, who 
continued to serve his patrons as " miller " until old 
age compelled him to retire, when he was succeeded 
by his son. 

As the years rolled on these mills, went to decay 
and others were built upon the same privilege, but 
upon the opposite side of the stream, by one Henry 
Haskell. These mills afterwards were owned by 
Israel Longley, Esq., who sold them to Thomas Hazen, 
who, in turn, sold them to Israel Longley, a great- 
grandson of the first owner. In 1872 the mills were 
purchased by Mr. N. C. Munson and the grist-mill 
was used for other purposes. 

George Davis, Esq., next became the owner of the 
saw-mill and for some years carried on an extensive 
business in lumber, furnishing in quantities large or 
small to suit the requirements of purchasers. In 1886 
he ceased to carry on business at the mills, and they 
remained idle until the following year, when the pro- 
perty was purchased by Mr. Gilbfrt M. Ballou, of 
Shirley. He at once repaired the buildings and erected 
in connection with the mill a large carpenter's shop, 
and fitted it up with a full line of wood-working ma- 
chines necessary to carry on his trade. 

Mr. Ballou has done quite an extensive business in 
sawing lumber since he started, the first year sawing 
out about 150,000 feet, and he has since turned out 
from 250,000 to 300,000 feet annually. It might well 
be supposed that the supply of trees of a size suitable 
for lumber would have been exhausted long ago, but 
each season bVings its full supply of logs, and the 
space in front of his mill is filled to overflowing with 
great piles of pine and chestnut logs waiting to be 
turned into boards. 

The second grist-mill was built on Mulpus Brook, 
in that part of the town known as Wood's Village. 
This, too, like the one on the Catacunemaug, con- 
tained but one run of stones and was wanting many 
of those conveniences now considered necessary. 

But it filled a long-felt want, for, being situated at 
the opposite border of the town from the other mil!, 
it greatly shortened the distance, thereby proving a 
great accommodation to the dwellers in its vicinity. 

Franci.s Harris was the first owner of this mill, and 
James Dickson erected a saw-mill in connection with 
it, botli of which were afterwards owned and operated 
by the same person. 

These mills passed through many hands, until in 
1822 Jonathan Kilburn became the owner, and they 
were operated by him until his death, in 1881. 

Mr. Kilburn was an energetic business man, sparing 
neither time nor expense in fitting up his mill to meet 
the needs and demands of the public. This mill. 



afier its renovation, was better fitted for the work of 
milling than its predecessor, it consisting of two luns 
of stones and an apparatus for sifting the wheat as it 
entered the hopper, and for bolting it after it was 
ground. The mill wa* also furnished with a second 
bolt that was used in sifting flour from the meal of 
the coaiser grains. Mr. Kilburn did a large lumber 
business in connection with his grist-mill. 

The third mill for grinding was erected on the Cat- 
acunemaug, a little above that of Messrs. Longley & 
Hazen, and on the same side of the stream, by 
Joseph Edgarton. This was abandoned after a few 
years, the owner deeming it of no avail to compete 
with his long-established neighbors below him. 

The fourth grist-mill, with saw-mill connected, was 
built by Jonas Longley, Esq., in 1790, on the Nashua 
River, on that part now belonging to the town of 
Ayer. This mill was operated by Mr. Longley until his 
death. Various persons were owners and operators 
cf these mills, among them Eli Page & Sons, who were 
the last owners while the property remained within 
the boundaries of Shirley. This firm renewed the 
business formerly carried on, — the mills under a former 
owner having been used for other purpo>e«, — and 
added a shingle-mill and also increased the water 
privilege. 

The next saw-mill of whiuh we have record was 
built by Samuel Hazen in 1829, on the northern 
branch of the Catacunemaug. The mill was run until 
the summer of 1856, when it was swept away by the 
breaking of the reservoir above it. The building of 
this mill opened the way for the settlement of a small 
village known as the ''North Bend." 

In 1836 Peter Page built a saw-mill on Mulpus 
Brook, a short distance above its junction with the 
Nashua River. Mr. Page died shortly after, and the 
mill properly parsed into the hands of Messrs. R: P. 
& M. W. Wood. 

In 1856 Alvin White and Edwin L. White came to 
Shirley and purchased the mill and privilege known 
as " Peter Page's Mill," of Robert P. and Moses W. 
Wood, connecting therewith a basket manufactory. 
On the 8th of March, 1857, this mill was destroyed 
by fire. It was immediately rebuilt, with enlarge- 
ments and improvements. The Messrs. Whire did a 
large and lucrative business in the manufacture of 
baskets, sawing lumber, etc., until 1861, when Alvin 
White disposed of his share to Edwin L. and pur- 
chased an estate higher up the river, which he en- 
larged, and, in company with his son, continued the 
manufacture of baskets — making some ten thousand 
per annum. 

Edwin L. continued to carry on business at the old 
stand, and the average number of splint baskets 
manufactured by him in the earlier years of the bus- 
iness was from fifteen to twenty thousand. His yearly 
production now is upwards of ten thousand baskets 
of all sizes and grades, from the smail one holding 
four quarts to the mammoth one holding forty bushels. 



J 



I 



SHIRLEY. 



465 



The baskets are used by manufacturers, inarketmeu 
and farmers. 

Special power machinery is used to get out the 
greater quantity of the basket stock, the lumber 
being sawed into plauk?, then steamed and put 
into the slicing-machine. A portion of the stock is, 
however, split and shaved in the old way. In addi- 
tion to the manufacture of baskets, Mr. White has 
done a large business in sawing lumber, some years 
sawing 500,000 feet. He also prepares staves and 
shingles, turning out about 500,000 annually. 

As will be seen, the wants of the early settlers, so 
far as food and shelter are concerned, were provided 
for by the several mills established upon the banks of 
the various streams for the purpose of grinding the 
grain and sawing the huge logs into boards. Yet 
there remained other wants and needs to be provided 
for. While the men toiled in the fields, clearing the 
land for planting and sowing and harvesting the 
grain, and then, when harvested, carrying it to the 
mill to be converted into meal, it must not be sup- 
posed the mothers, wives and sisters were idle; far 
from it, for, in addition to the regular work of the 
house, they, by their own hands, made all the cloth- 
ing worn by them and their families. 

It is true that their homes were not as large and 
elaborate as those of our day, nor were they furnished 
with as many ornaments and rare pieces of bric-a- 
brac ; few were the rooms they had to keep clean and 
tidy, for their houses were mostly rude, unfinished 
dwellings — log cabins in many instances — and the 
household utensils were of the commonest and coarsest 
kinds. 

But their chief labor lay in the preparing of the 
flax and wool, as it came from the field and flock, 
into garments of warmth and comfort for the wear of 
the families, and so, thus was supplied in the early 
times another of the wants of the settlers. 

But as iime wore on these colors grew monotonous 
to the people, and they began to make u.se of art in 
the manufacture of a material that was of a lighter, 
smoother and finer texture than that which they had so 
long been used to, and, hence, the dyeing, fulling, shear- 
ing and pressing processes were adopted, to bring about 
this desired change. These dilTerent processes were 
carried on in an establishment, and were called cloth- 
ing-mills. Clothing-mills were introduced into the 
Colonies in the latter part of the seventeenth or the 
early part of the eighteenth century, and soon the pro- 
cess of breaking and rolling wool was added, which was 
a great benefit to the female sex, as it lightened the 
labors of making cloth. 

These mills were early introduced into Shirley, and 
thus another, the third, industry was commenced. 
They little thought when the first mill, small though 
it was, was built, that it would be the forerunner of 
an industry that would prove to be Shirley's greatest 
manufacturing interest, but such it was ; the " cloth- 
ier's mill," with its crude and imperfect machinery, 
30 



was closely followed by the cotton-mill, with its deli- 
cate and intricate mechanism, furnishing employment 
to the many and substantially improving the finan- 
cial interest of the town. 

All through the early years of the settlement and 
until within a comparatively few years the settlers of 
the northern part of our country have been in the 
habit of keeping a few sheep to furnish the wool 
from which might be madethe every-day clothes of the 
family. The woolen blankets for winter use were 
obtained from the same source. The farmers also 
raised a little flax, that the needs of the family 
through the summer might be met. 

The work of manufacturing this cloth devolved 
upon the female portion of the family ; they took 
the flax as it was brought from the field, and the 
wool as it was shorn from off the backs of the 
sheep, and by a slow and laborious process, called 
hand-carding, converted it into rolls ; these rolls were 
spun into yarn, and the yarn was, in turn, woven into 
cloth by the use of hand- power machinery. As there 
existed in those early times no establishment for the 
dyeing and dressing of cloth, and not even in the 
homes of the settlers was the use of the dye-pot 
known, it became necessary to adopt some other 
means whereby a change of color could be obtained. 
Therefore, the colonists bred slieep of two colors- 
white and black — the mixture of whose wool gave 
that sober gray tint to the cloth that our forefathers 
so highly prized. 

Later on these hand labors were lightened by the 
introduction and use of machinery operated by water- 
power, and the various streams running through the 
town were utilized to furnish the power. 

The first clothier's mill was built on the Squanna- 
cook River, near the village of that name, in the year 
1739, by Elisha Rockwood, who came from Wrentham. 

Mr. Rockwood continued in business until old age 
compelled him to relinqui-sh it to his son, Samuel 
Rockwood, who, in turn, dyed and dressed cloth until 
within a short time of his death, which occurred in 
1804. Samuel Rockwood and Sewali Rockwood, sons 
of Samuel Rockwood, succeeded to the business, and 
run the mill until the business was superseded by the 
more modern methods of manufacture. In 1812 
William Flint and Thomas Sweetser added a carding- 
mill to the dyeing and dressing departments; this 
they continued until about the year 183lj, when they 
were obliged to relinquish the business, owing to a 
lack of employment. 

The second clothier's mill was situated upon the 
Mulpus Brook, and connected with the corn-mill pre- 
viously erected by Francis Harris, Esq., who also 
built the clothier's mill. Mr. Harris was a man of 
influence in the town, both as a public official and a 
private citizen. 

Joseph Edgarton was the builder of the third cloth- 
ier's mill, which was situated on the Catacunemaug ; 
this mill was never very prosperous, as the Rockwood 



466 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



mill had established such a reputation for good work, 
that competition was unavailing, and the establish- 
ment was devoted to some other occupation that 
would yield better income. 

The fourth and last clothing-mill was erected by 
one James Wilson, an Irish immigrant, and the first 
and only one who obtained naturalization in Shirley 
for nearly three-quarters of the first century of its 
incorporation. This also was situated on the Mulpus 
Brook. Levi Wheeler rented and occupied the mill 
for a few years, but soon he, too, as well as tiie others 
of his craft, was obliged to give way to the inroads of 
fashion, which adopted the use of foreign fabrics in 
preference to those of home-made character. Mr. 
Wilson had a carding manufactory in immediate con- 
nection with this mill. He carried on the business 
of carding till old age and infirmities compelled him 
to stop. 

As has been noticed, the "clothier's mills" were 
soon followed by the establishment of factories for 
the manufacture of cotton yarn and cotton cloth, 
which proved to be the greatest and most important 
of Shirley's varied industries. The enterprise of her 
citizens was manifested by the many factories erected 
along the banks of the various streams, where water 
privileges existed within the boundaries of the town. 
For many years the hum and noise of the busy loom 
and spindle were heard on all sides, and the streets of 
the village were filled with young people eager for 
recreation after a hard day's work at the mill. The 
stores were doing a prosperous business supplying 
the wants and needs of the people. This continued 
for years until, for various reasons, — fire, flood and 
financial depression, — the mills one by one ceased 
operations until in 1884 the closing of the Phoenix 
and Fredonia Mills brought the career of the town as 
an active cotton manufacturing village to a close. 
These last-named mills are now running again under 
new management, as will be noted later on in this 
chapter. 

The first of these mills was erected as early as 
1812, and was situated on the Catacunemaug, very 
nearly on the site occupied by the present mill known 
iis Munson's Yarn-Mill, or the New Mill. The mill 
was built by a company from Harvard, consisting of 
Simon Willard, Joel Willard and Zaccheus Gates. 
Before it was completed it was purchased by Joseph 
Edgarton, who sold it to Merrick Eice, of Lancaster. 
Moses Carltofl, also of Lancaster, became a partner 
of Merrick Eice, and later on became the sole pro- 
prietor. This, a.s we are credibly informed, was the 
third cotton factory built in this country ; the first 
being the Slater factory at Webster, Worcester County, 
and the second the factory at Waltham. In 1818 the 
property was transferred to Joseph Edgarton & Co., 
and they carried on the manufacture of cotton cloth 
until 1834, doing a successful and profitable business. 
But the death of one of the company, Adolphus 
Whitcomb, and the great depression of business 



throughout New England that year, together with 
large investments in land, brought them to failure, 
and the business was discontinued. The machinery 
was removed from the building, and the building was 
not occupied, excepting the basement, which was used 
for various trades, as will be noted later on. 

The second cotton mill, known as the Fort Fond 
Mill, was built by Joseph Edgarton and Lemuel Wil- 
lard, and was located on the southern branch of the 
Catecunemaug, on the western privilege of thatstream. 

Hiram Longley purchased this property about the 
year 1840 and greatly enlarged and improved it. He 
disposed of it to Israel Longley and it was by him 
connected with the Shirley Cotton-Mill and used as 
the weaving department. It was at this time supplied 
with filty-six looms. 

In 1868 this mill was destroyed by fire, but was 
soon replaced by a new structure built of wood, with 
a brick basement. In 1S77 this mill, together with 
the dwelling-houses and other buildings connected 
therewith, was purchased by Mr. Nathaniel W. Cow- 
drey, who commenced the manufacture of " leather 
board," an industry as yet new to the village, although 
paper-making had been carried on to some extent. 
He manufactured about five tons of the "leather 
board " per week for several years. 

In 1881 Mr. Cowdrey added a mill for sawing lum- 
ber and stave material, and in 1881-82 sawed out some 
700,000 feet lumber and some 600,000 staves. Con- 
nected with this saw-mill was a coopering establish- 
ment, conducted by Granville Fairbanks, who turned 
out 12,000 casks of different dimensions per month. 
Later on Seth F. Dawson became the owner. There 
were one or two other lines of business carried on in 
some of the buildings connected with this mill. Dec. 
14, 1884, the mill, together with the contents, was de- 
stroyed by fire, supposed to be of incendiary origin, 
causing a total loss of $23,000, which was partially 
covered by insurance. The privilege is at present un- 
used. It is one of the best privileges in the town, and 
should be utilized by some manufacturing industry. 

The third cotton-mill was built in 1823 and 1824, 
on the site of the first corn-mill, on the banks of the 
Catacunemaug. This mill, known as the " Shirley 
Cotton-Mill," was built by Israel Longley, Esq., but 
on his death, which occurred before the building was 
completed, Thomas Hazen became the owner. 

This mill was for many years rented and occupied 
by John Smith. Israel Longley, son of the original 
owner, afterwards operated this mill for many years. 
It had 2400 spindles, and, in connection with Fort 
Pond Mill, manufactured nearly 700,000 yards of 
brown sheeting annually. This mill was destroyed 
by fire May 26, 1867. 

The next cotton-mill, or the fourth, was what is 
known as the Fredonia Mill, and is situated on the 
Catacunemaug, a short distance below the bridge. It 
was built iu 1832, by a company of the same name 
incorporated February 16, 1832. 



SHIRLEY. 



407 



The building is one hundred and fifteen feet long, 
thirty-six feet broad and three stories high. When 
first built the mill was run by waier-jjower, buc in 
later years a boiler-house and stack were added, so 
that now the mill is equipped with both steam and 
water. 

From 1832 until 1863 Messrs. Israel Longley aud 
Willard Worcester were the proprietors. Upon the 
death of one of the partners they were succeeded by 
Levi Holbrook, E. W. Holbrook and Charles W. 
Smith, under the firm-name of Levi Holbrook & Co. 
This firm continued until the year 18(38, when the 
interest of the Messrs. Holbrook was purcliased by 
Mr. J. E. Smith, the firm then becoming C. W. & J. 
E. Smith. These gentlemen were sons of John Smith, 
who for a time rented the Shirley Cotton-Mill. Mr. 
Levi Holbrook was the superintendent of the mill, 
under the new firm, for some time. This mill, at this 
time, ran 3280 spindles and sixty-eight looms, and 
employed about sixty operatives. The yearly pro- 
duct was 1,189,000 yards of light-brown sheetings. 
Mr. Warren X. Orswell, who is well known as a mill 
man, was the agent of this mill, as well as of the Phoe- 
nix, for several years. This mill was shut down in 
the summer of 1884. 

Connected with this mill are twenty-five tenements 
for such of the help as are married, and in addition 
there is a large boarding-house. A beautiful avenue 
leads from this mid to the main road. 

In 1880 Mr. J. E. Smith became the sole owner of 
this property, and in September of the following year 
Alfred Page, of Ayer, purchased it, and in December 
of that year deeded it to E. A. Richardson, who has 
since carried it on, in connection with Mr. Page. 
This new company employs about forty operatives. 

Several improvements have been made in the prop- 
erty, and new machinery of various sorts added, so 
that now the mill runs seventy-four looms and 2880 
spindles, and turns out annually about 1,000,000 
yards of light sheetings, of a value of 835,000. The 
yearl}- pay-roll amounts to about §11,000. 

The fifth cotton-mill was built in 1840 by Mr. Sam- 
uel Hazen, near the saw-mill erected by him in 1829, 
at the part of the town called North Bend. He also 
built several tenement-houses for the use of the 
operatives. 

This was called the Lake Mill, and was first occu- 
pied by Mr. Oliver Barrett. It was afterwards en- 
larged and operated by the Fredonia Mill proprietors. 
Afterwards a company from Boston operated it until 
it was destroyed by fire, September 17, 1860. This 
mill was fitted with two thousand spindles and fifty- 
two looms, manufacturing about 024,000 yards of 
brown sheetings yearly. 

A short distance below the Fredonia Mill, on the 
same stream, aud a short distance above its juncture 
with the Nashua River, stands the largest mill, known 
as the "Phienix Mill," the sixth cotton-mill built in 
town. This was buiit by the Shaker Community in 



the year 1849, and they gave it the name it now bears. 
The structure is of brick, one hundred and forty feet 
long, fifty feet broad and three stories high, exclusive 
of the attic. It is surmounted by a tower which con- 
tains a bell. The whole structure was built very 
thoroughly in every detail. There are three blocks of 
brick dwelling-houses, two stories high, each block con- 
taining tour houses. These are designed for such of 
the help as are married and wish to be housekeepers. 
There is also a large three-story brick boarding-house, 
sufliciently large to accommodate all those who prefer 
boarding. Between the houses and the mill-pond is 
a beautiful grove of pine trees that furnish an agree- 
able shade fiom the summer sun. 

There was also a large and commodious agent's 
house, furnished by the proprietors, connected with 
the establishment; but it is not now used in connection 
with the mill. 

The dedication of this mill by the Shaker frater- 
nity, on May 17, 1851, was an occurrence of such 
marked interest and peculiarity that the following 
extract from the account published by the New Bed- 
ford Daily Evening Standard is here inserted : 

"The United Believers, who assembled on the oc- 
casion, consisted of the principal of the Shirley Shak- 
ers, with a large number who were invited from 
the society in Harvard, numbering from one hundred 
and fifty to two hundred persons of high respectabil- 
ity, distinguished for their neatness, benevolence and 
industry, as well as for their peculiar manner of wor- 
ship. The services were opened by one of the leading 
elders, William H. Wetherbee, who delivered an ad- 
dress. This address was followed by an original hymn, 
sung by the congregation. Lorenzo Dow Grosvenor, an 
elder from Harvard, then addressed the assembly. He 
earnestly recommended his hearers to cultivate the dis- 
position of brotherly love in all partie.s, to worship with 
frequency of spirit, and obey the dictations of those 
heavenly messengers by whom he felt they were sur- 
rounded. In conclusion, he recommended prayer, in 
which they all united, kneelirg in silence. After a 
few minutes they arose and sang a hymn. They then 
proceeded in their usual manner to march by quick 
songs. Some thirty or more, who seemed to be sing- 
ers, fijrmed an oval, facing each otber, and the rest 
marched round them, two deep, making one circle 
within another; after awhile the inside circle faced 
around and marched in the opposite direction from 
the outside column. At the close of this exercise 
they took thcT seats in nearly the same form they 
at first stood in ranks, when Elder Grosvenor briefly 
explained the views and beliefs of the society. He 
was followed by Elder William Leonard, who more 
fully entered into the subject. 

"After singing an original poem the meeting ad- 
journed. At one o'clock the people reassembled and 
seated themselves in the order of their religious usage 
and opened their meeting with singing a hymn. The 
short address preceding the active worship '.hen fol- 



4GS 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



lowed, and the brethren and sisters arranged them- 
selves in order for a march or dance, which they 
entered upon with renewed spirit. Several brief ad- 
dresses were then made by persons of both sexes. 
Among the fema!e.s was Mrs, A. D. Cook, who was 
distinguished for her gift in public speaking. 

'' The meeting closed at four o'clock p.m. The ser- 
vices were conducted by W. H. Wethcrbee, as elder, 
and Jonas Nutting, as deacon, who discharged their 
duties in a manner highly creditable to themselves and 
to the great satisfaction of the spectators. During the 
exercises several .songs were sung, accompanied by 
solemn marches, in their peculiar manner, which ad- 
ded much to the interest of the occasion." 

The first tenant of this mill was a company from 
New Bedford, Mass., called the " Steam Mill Com- 
pany," which they soon afterwards changed to the 
more fitting name of the " Phanis Company." This 
company iurnished the mill with shaiting and ma- 
chinery, and started business in 1852. They em- 
ployed about one hundred persons, the mill running 
6688 spindles, 3168 mule spindles and 2520 ring and 
traveler spindles, and 130 looms. Brown and bleached 
cottons were the fabrics manufactured, and the annual 
product was 1,050,000 yards. 

This company later on purchased the property, 
and, in 1881, disposed of it to Messrs. C. W. & J. E. 
Smith, the proprietors of the Fredonia Mill, who 
continued to manufacture goods of the same grade as 
their predecessors. 

Mr. Warren N. Orswell, who at one time carried 
on the manufacture of cotton at the Munson's Mill, 
was agent of this mill for some years. Mr. C. W. 
Smith died in the spring of 1883, and the following 
summer both this and the Fredonia Mill were shut 
down and remained idle for some years. In the 
month of July, 1888, the Phrenix mill property was 
purchased by the Sampson Cordage Works, a cor- 
poration having a capital of $80,000, and organized ' 
under the laws of the Commonwealth of Jlassachu- 
setts, to extend the business already established and 
previously carried on in Boston under the firm-name 
of J. P. Tolman & Co. 

The business of this company is the manufacture 
of braided cotton cord and lines, of which they make 
a very large assortment, to be used for various pur- 
poses, such as bell-cord on steam and horse-railways, 
window-cord, fancy awning-cord, etc. 

They immediately commenced at Shirley the manu- 
facture of their yarns, and, in February, 1889, 
moved their braiding-machines from Boston. The 
company employ one hundred operators, two-thirds 
of whom are women and girls. They handle a ton 
of cotton every day, and have a weekly pay-roll of 
about IGOO. The ofiicers of the company are J. P. 
Tolman, president; Herbert G. Pratt, treasurer; 
Frank D. Aldrich, secretary. Mr. J. Edwin Smith, 
a former owner of the property, is a director in the 
company. The business headquarters of the com- 



pany are at its Boston office, No. 164 High Street. 
The operation of this mill, which had so long lain 
idle, and the filling the tenements and boarding- 
houses with busy operatives, has done much to im- 
prove the business interests of the town. 

To ensure this, as well as the other mills farther 
up the stream, a supply of water at all times, a res- 
ervoir was built upon the northern branch of the 
Catacunemaug. This branch of the river was fed by 
two large ponds, one of sixty and the other of oue 
hundred and twenty acres area. In order to enlarge 
these, a dam was thrown across the river in 1852, at 
a point a little above the present paper-mill of B. S. 
Binney, and a pond covering some seven or eight 
hundred acres was secured. Another pond, on the 
southern branch. Fort Pond, in Lancaster, covering 
about one hundred and fifty acres, was utilized later 
on for the same purpose. 

In the summer of 185(5 this dam gave way, doing 
great damage. The following extract Irom the " His- 
tory of Shirley," by Kev. S. Chandler, will show the 
extent of this damage : 

" On the 2d day of July, 1856, the reservoir dam 
gave way, and the mass of water which it had held 
in reserve poured down the valley, overflowing its 
banks, and inundating fields and meadows with its 
turbid waves. Four road bridges, five mill-dams, 
two blacksmith-shops, one saw-mill, and some smaller 
buildings, with one railroad bridge, were swept away, 
and other structures were partially undermined and 
injured. This was a sad day for the town in general, 
and tor its manufacturing interests in particular. The 
estimated loss occasioned by this disaster, public and 
private, was about $50,000. The cause of this calam- 
ity has not been fully determined. The dam had 
braved all the force of the spring freshets, and at the 
time of its failure the water was two and a half feet 
below high-water mark. Undaunted by disajipoint- 
ment and loss, the Reservoir Company immediately 
commenced to reconstruct their dam, and in prosecu- 
ting their work they aimed to place their structure in 
a position of such security as to bear any pressure 
of water to which it could be subjected. The roll is 
of stone, bedded on a solid foundation and jointed 
with great care. This foundation is protected by 
plank spiles, driven five feet into the solid earth. 
These spiles are continued the whole length of the 
dam, and its massive embankments are sustained by a 
central wall of strong brick masonry, and the whole 
is declared finished in a substautial and workmanlike 
manner." 

The seventh cotton manufactory in town was 
founded in 1805 by Mr. N. C. Munson, a widely-known 
contractor. It is situated on the privilege of the first 
cotton-mill, and is known as the "Munson Mill or 
Now Mill." It is a large structure, one hundred and 
fourteen feet in length, three stories in height and 
furnished with steam heat. 

It was fitted with 3400 spindles, eighty looms, and 



SHIRLEY. 



469 



employed at one time fifty operatives, turning out 
aliout fourteen tliousand yards of brown sheetings 
per weelv. 

Later on tliis mill was occupied by C. A. Edgarton 
& Co., who manufactured tape and webb for suspenders. 

Warren N. Oswell, at one time agent for Pha'uix and 
Fredonia Jlills, carried on the manufacture of cotton 
here for some years ; he was succeeded by Messrs. 
Nickless & Holt, who manufactured cotton yarns 
during the years 1887-88. This concern run 3500 
sjiindlcs, producing 3500 pounds of yarns per week, 
and employing thirty operatives. 

The mill now stands idle, and is in the market for 
a purchaser, ofTering a rare opportunity for a manu- 
facturing interest. 

This completes the list of cotton manufactories. 
Closely following comes that of paper-making, which 
has been carried on in the town for nearly one hun- 
dred years. In the latter years of the eighteenth 
century Jonas Parker and Thomas Parker, his brother, 
went to Waltham for the purpose of acquiring the act 
of paper-making. After a year's residence in that 
place they returned to Shirley, and in connection 
with Joseph Edgarton, Esq., built the first paper- 
mill. This was located on the Catacunemaug. on the 
spot afterward occupied by Messrs. Pope & Co. as a 
fork-shop. >, This was a small mill, with but one en- 
gine, and there was no means of drying then known 
but by sun and air. But the advent of a new indus- 
try into the town was hailed with delight by the 
townspeople. It was the forerunner of a large in- 
dustry. 

The Parker Bros, carried on the business for some 
' years, finally selling out to Lemuel Willard & Brother, 
who, in turn, disposed of the property to Joseph Ed- 
garton & Co. This firm made paper here for some 
years, but finally suspended the work in this place, 
and the building was used for a batting-mill, continu- 
ing to that use until 1837, when it was destroyed by fire. 

The second paper-mill was built by the Edgarton 
Company, who had become interested in this industry 
and decided to enter into the manufacture on an en- 
larged scale. They accordingly, in 1828, built a larger 
mill upon the Nashua River, near the corn-mill 
erected by Joshua Longley. This mill was two stories 
in height, the upper part being entirely devoted to 
drying purposes. Mr. H. P. Howe was the superin- 
tendent of this mill. "Mr. Howe was a skillful ma- 
chinist," s.ays Rev. Seth Chandler, in his " History of 
Shirley," and he devised various artificial methods to 
remedy the long process of air-drying. He finally 
hit upon the plan — which he subsequently patented — 
of the ' fire-dryer.' This wonderful machine, after 
many trials, alterations and amendments, was at length 
completed, and put in operation with satisfactory 
results. It is hardly possible to describe the aston- 
ishment which the new enterprise created. The dull 
way of grrnding the material, pressing it into sheets 
and then passing it through a long season of air-dry- 



ing, was a tedious inethod of producing one of the 
most important articles of domestic and business use; 
and such was the imperfection of the material thus pro- 
duced that it would hardly be regarded worthy the 
meanest service to which paper is devoted at the 
present time. By the iuveution of Mr. Howe the 
pulp was received at one extreme end of the machine, 
and after passing through a complicated process of 
change and preparation, was discharged at the other 
end finished paper, ready for immediate use." 

The invention of the "fire-dryer" having estab- 
lished the reputation of Mr. Howe, he, in 1833, set up 
a machine-shop near the mill and for some years car- 
ried on the business of making them. 

The Edgarton MiKs wereenlargedby extending the 
building and the addition of new machinery. These 
mills were run until destroyed by fire, June 15, 1837. 
In 1842 Mr. Eli Page purchased the privilege and 
erected another paper-mill, renting it to one Moses 
Carlton as first tenant, but it was soon after rented to 
John L. Hollingsworth, who greatly enlarged and 
improved it. He manufactured yearly 50,000 reams 
of paper. Mr. Hollingsworth was succeeded in 1852 
by Stephen Roberts, an old and experienced paper- 
maker, who made manilla paper out of old ropes — the 
cast-ofl" cordage of vessels — and dyed it with ochre, 
turning out about one ton per day. 

When Mr. Roberts reliuquished the business the 
old mill was removed and a new mill built. This was 
occupied by John Roberts, a son of Stephen. This 
also was destroyed by fire, having been occupied but 
a short time. 

The next manufactory of paper was situated in the 
basement of the mill formerly occupied by Joseph 
Edgarton & Co. as a cotton manufactory, and known 
as the "Old Red Mill," which has been the subject 
of a poem by Mrs. Sarah C. Edgarton Mayo : 

" Bright in the foreground of wood and hill. 
Close by tbe banks of my native rill, 
Rumbling early ere dawn of light, 
RiimbliDglate through the winter's night, 
Wlien all the airaud the earth is still, 
Toileth and groaneth the old red uiill." 

This was owned by William W. Edgarton. It was 
furnished with a steam-dryer and turned out about 
four hundred reams of coarse wrapping-paper per 
week. 

The fourth paper-mill was commenced in 1837, in 
the building erected by the Messrs. Rockwood as a 
clothier's mill, on the Squannacook River. Thebusi- 
ness was carried on by several different parties until 
1853, when Oliver Howe purchased the property ; he 
let it to Harrison Hartwell for a few years. In 1857 
Mr. B. F. Bartlett, of Pepperell, became the owner, 
and he in turn disposed of it to George W. Mitchell. 
In December, 18()5, Mr. E. H. Samp.son became the 
owner. He carried on the manufacture of " leather 
board " until April 3, 1879, when the mil! was burned. 
The tall chimney, which was left standing, was in 



4711 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



1885 torn down, thus destroying the last vestige of the 
paper-making industry in that part of the town. 

This mill was one of the first to manufacture 
"leather board" in this country. Its product was 
one ton of " leather board " per week. 

The fifth paper-mill was built in 1868 by Samuel 
Hazen. It was located near the site of the Lake 
Mills, destroyed by fire in 1866. 

Andrew and Granville Williams were the first oc- 
cupants; they were succeded by Stephen Shepley, 
who was largely interested in paper-making. 

Mr. Shepley sold the property to B. S. Binney, who 
began the manufacture of paper for paper bags. These 
bags were made by machinery, and about 120,000 
were made per day. 

In 1886 extensive improvements were made in the 
property ; about one-half of the old mill was rebuilt 
with heavy Southern pine and the floor raised, there- 
by gaining a roomy basement for the intricate lines 
of shafting, water-puUics, sieam and water-pipes nec- 
essary to carry on the paper-making ; at thesametime 
all the old mixing and beating machinery was taken 
out and new and larger machines put in, thus greatly 
increasing the capacity of the works. In 1885 Mr. 
Binney commenced the manufacture of "Asbestos 
paper." This paper is perfectly fire-proof in any tem- 
perature. It is used for covering boilers and steam- 
pipes, covering the inside of boiler-rooms and any 
and everywhere that money and life can be saved 
from the great destroyer, fire. To show the wonderful 
growth of the business, the following yearly produc- 
tionsare given :— 1885, 75,000 Ib^. ; 1886, 106,0b0 lbs. ; 
1887, 262,000 lbs.; 1888, 43.5,000 lbs.; 1889, 473,900 lbs. 

In 1887 Mr. Binney added another specialty, which 
is patented, namely, a heavy deading felt which, 
though made from very combustible material, is ren- 
dered chemically fire-proof, so that if a piece one-six- 
teenth of an inch in thickness be placed over a gas-jet 
and blow-pipe for twenty-four hours, apiece of cotton 
wool placed on the felt will not be scorched even. 

The rapid development of the business necessitated 
increased room and machinery, so that in 1888 an ell 
25 X 50 was added to the east side of the mill and 
filled with new and costly machinery. The following 
year it was found necessary to again enlarge, and 
another ell 25 x 60 was added, together with an office. 
At this same time the old part of the mill was rebuilt 
in a substantial manner, and this and the ell filled 
with new machinery. 

The present production of the mill is 8000 lbs. of 
" leather boards " daily, or 6000 lbs. asbestos and 6000 
lbs. carpet-lining or building felt. 

A large number of operators are employed in this 
industry, which is one of the mo.st important in the 
town. 

The iron industry also has been carried on in the 
town, although never in any considerable way. The 
first record of the working of iron that exists, was 
that of the establishment of a "forge," as it was then 



known, in the closing years of the last century by 
Ebenezer Pratt. This stood on the Mulpus Brook, 
very near the location upon which the Wilson carding- 
mill was built. Here Mr. Pratt, with the help of his 
three sons, made scythes, but, finding the profits small 
for the amount of labor expended, the business was 
soon relinquished. 

The Catacunemaug was the location upon which 
was built the second " forge." The builders, Messrs. 
John and Benjamin Edgarton, continued the business 
for about ten years, when they too abandoned it. 

Messrs. Pope & Parsons were the proprietors of 
the next factory for the manufacture of farming im- 
plements. In 1850 this firm established a mill on the 
Catacunemaug for the manufacture of hay and 
manure-forks, and continued to do a successful busi- 
ness for some years, employing some eight or ten men. 
They turned out about five hundred dozens of forks — ' 
of superior quality— per annum. 

This completes the list of manufacturers of farming 
implementp, but not of the iron industry, for the 
manufacture of nails has been followed to some ex- 
tent by the people of Shirley. William Mcintosh 
was the first to commence the manufacture of cut 
nails, in or about the year 1810, a business which he 
followed for several years. 

William W. Edgarton and brothers, in* 1855, were 
the proprietors of the second nail factory; this was 
situated in the basement of the cotton-mill formerly 
occupied by J. Edgarton & Co., and known as the 
" Old Red Mill." They manufactured horse nails, of 
which they made about one hundred and fifty pounds 
per day. The business was abandoned in 1865. 
The " Old Red Mill " was burned in September, 1855, 
and the business was continued^ in a new building 
erected for the purpose. 

The manufacture of carriages has also been carried 
on. One Thomas Hunt established the industry in a 
small way iu the early part of the present century. 
His shop was located in what was known as the South 
Village. Later on — in 1716 — Joseph Hoar built a 
wheelwright shop on the Mulpus, where he carried 
on business for three years, employing three or four 
men. In 1819 he sold the business to Jeseph Ester- 
brook, who, for sixteen years, carried on a successful 
business. The building was destroyed by fire in 1821, 
but was quickly rebuilt. In 1835 Andrew Shattuck 
became the proprietor. The business was again sold 
in 1840 to Harvey Woods & Bro. Under this firm 
the buildings were greatly enlarged and facilities for 
carrying on the business very much improved. They, 
in turn, were succeeded by Moses Wood, a brother, 
and he by Henry Brown and Oliver Wing. 

Carriages of all sorts and descriptions, and in 
almost all their parts, were manufactured by these 
several firms, and they added the manufacture of har- 
ness and certain kinds of upholstery. During the 
Mexican War and during the War of the Rebellion 
they manufactured many military baggage-wagoni" 



SHIRLEY. 



471 



and ambulances, and six hundred railroad carts were 
annually turned out for many years. In 1S71 the 
whole establishment, together with a largei board- 
ing-hoase, was totally destroyed by fire. They em- 
ployed some thirty workmen. Woodsville received 
its name from the Messrs. Woods. 

Emery Williams opened a wheelwright-shop in the 
.Si)uth Village in J85.3. This shop was connected with 
the Ha/.en Mills, and on the same water privilege. He 
employed six men in the manutacture of farm-wagons. 
Mr. Williams is the inventor of a washing-macbine. 
Soon afler.llr. William Sawtel commenced the manu- 
facture of window-blinds and sashes in the same 
neighborhood, carrying on the same for several years. 

In 1850 a planing and shingle mill was started in 
the basement of the " Old Red Mill " before referred 
to, which was operated about five years, when it was 
succeeded by the horse-nail industry. 

Leather has been manufactured to some e.'wtent in 
the town. In 1793 Nathan Adams established a tan- 
nery on Mulpus Brook. Here he carried on business 
until 1801, when he sold out to Stephen Barrett, of 
Concord. Mr. Birrett continued the tanning and 
currying of leather until his death, in 1856, when the 
leather industry ceased to be a part of Shirley's busi- 
ness occupation. 

Hoop-skirt-making has also been carried on in the 
town. In 18G1 George Sanderson commenced to 
manufacture hoop-skirts, employing some fifteen ope- 
ratives, who turned out weekly about seventy dozens 
of skirts. 

The Shakers in this town have always been an in- 
dustrious people, and have manufactured many differ- 
ent articles, and such is the quality of the work done, 
that they have established a reputation for e.^ccellence 
to be desired by all manufacturers. Among the 
many different articles that they have manufactured 
may be mentioned agricultural implements, wooden- 
ware, hair sieves, brooms, grass bonnets, husk mats, 
feather fans, and fancy articles of various kinds. 
They also cure herbs, make a kind of apple-sauce, 
called "Shaker Apple-Sauce," make tomato preserve, 
and various articles of a similar nature, all of which 
find a ready sale. 

There is another industry deserving of mention, 
that was for some years carried on by the female por- 
tion of the town, and that is the braiding of palm- 
leaf hats. For years, nearly every family had one or 
more of its members engaged in this industry, and, 
in fact, so profitable was this occupation at one time, 
that whole families were enabled to earn comfortable 
livelihoods. In 1837 something over seventy thousand 
of the hats were manufactured, and were valued at 
about $12,500. 

For some years a condensed milk factory was car- 
ried on in one of the buildings connected with the 
Dawson Mill property. From time to time other in- 
dustries have been started, but after a brief existence 
have been discontinued. 



One of the most important industries in the town 
is the manufacture of suspenders, suspender-webbing 
and elastic goods, by Charles A. Edgarton & Son. 
This firm commenced business some time in the year 
1870, under the firm-name of Charles A. Edgarton & 
Co. They first devoted their attention to the manu- 
facture of tape, bindings, bed-lace, etc., using the in- 
genious machinery then recently patented. They 
occupied the mill knowti as the Dawson Mill, which 
was located on the site of the Fort Pond Cotton Man- 
ufactory. After remaining here for some time they 
removed the business, in 1873, to the mill lower down 
on the Catacunemaug, known as the Munson Mill. 
The manufacture of suspender-webbing and elastic 
goods was then added to the regular line of business, 
and such was the success of the new undertaking that 
eventually it became the principal lice manufactured. 
In 1878, the company, seeing the desirability of mak- 
ing a better line of goods, put in new and improved 
machinery, thereby enabling them not only to manu- 
facture a greatly Superior quality of goods, but to so 
enlarge the business that it soon became evident that 
enlarged quarters, as well as new machinery, were re- 
quired. Accordingly, in 1881, the company, now 
changed to C. A. Edgarton & Son, by the admission 
of Charles Frederick Edgarton, built a new factory 
just below the Munson Mill, on the banks of the same 
stream. This structure was of wood, twenty-eight 
feet wide by eighty feet long, and two stories in height, 
independent of the basement. This they fitted up 
with new and improved machinery, using steam as 
the motive-power for the same. Since occupying 
their new factory the firm have manufactured sus- 
penders exclusively, beginning with the material, 
cotton, silk and rubber, in a raw state, and making 
therefrom the elastic webs which they use in the 
manufacture of a full line of men and boys' suspend- 
ers of all grades and qualities, from the cheapest to 
the finest hand-embroidered holiday goods. Ttie fac- 
tory runs Hit looms and 275 shuttles, and turns out 
about 2500 dozens of finished suspenders of the va- 
rious grades per week. To manufacture these goods 
they employ 100 operatives, both male and female, 
who are mostly residents of the town. The firm has 
two offices, one at the factory and the other in New 
York. The products of this company, which stands 
second in the amount produced in the country, among 
the manufacturers who are exclusive makers of sus- 
penders, are well known throughout the country, 
being sold in nearly every State of the Union ; and 
such has been the demand for their goods in the last 
few years that they require additional room, and 
arrangements are being made for a large addition to 
their present factory, whereby their facilities will be 
greatly increased and they be able to meet more 
amplv the requirements of their growing trade. 

Schools. — While Shirley was a part of Grotou 
township there were no schools within its bounds. 
The financial condition of the town was such that 



472 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



it would not allow of the establishment of schools in 
the remote section, or angles as they were called in 
those days, and therefore the children were either 
obliged to travel many weary miles to the centre of 
the town or go without learning. 

But home instruction was not neglected by our 
forefathers, and though for years the early settlers 
were without schools, yet there were few who could 
not read, write, and cast up common accounts. For 
the first four years of its existence as a distinct cor- 
poration the town was without schools. 

The first record of a school being held in town was 
in May, 1757, the town voting " to have a school for 
three months, and to have it commence in August or 
September." This school was held in a private 
house, a single room in the dwelling-house of Jonas 
Longley being used. This house was located in the 
Centre, on the estate now known as the Augustus 
Holden farm. 

Schools continued to be held from time to time in 
various places until the Revolutionary period, 
when they were suspended owing to the embarrassed 
condition of the finances of the town. The sessions 
were renewed soon after the peace was declared, add 
were entered into with a renewed interest, the facili- 
ties of learning were increased and once more all 
were given an opportunity to acquire learning. 

The first school building was erected at the " Cen- 
tre" on the land of and near the residence of the late 
Rev. Seth Chandler. It was, like all school-houses 
of that time, a small and unpretentious edifice of 
one story, " about twenty feet square," single boarded 
with rough boards, without inside ceiling, but was 
furnished with a cellar, to which access was gained 
by a trap-door in the centre of the room. In one 
corner of the apartment stood a huge fire-place, 
built of rough stones, and surmounted by a chimney 
of the same material. The room was furnished with 
a few seats made of rough planks, and with writing 
benches made of boards over which a plane never 
passed. To facilitate the means of supporting a 
school for a few weeks each year, it was customary to 
rent the building to the pedagogue or school-marm 
as a tenement, in part payment for his or her service 
in " teaching the young ideas how to shoot." 

This school was taught by one Dame Nutting. Of 
her, Rev. Seth Chandler, in his " History of Shirley," 
writes : " Such was the obesity of this female official, 
that she might have stood beside Falstaff himself 
without losing aught by the comparison. To supply, 
therefore, the defect of an unwieldy person she kept 
herself provided with a stick — some five or six feet 
long — with which she reduced her urchin crew to a 
state of subjection while seated in her chair-throne, 
from which she seldom moved." 

Handbells and gongs had not then been invented 
and this worthy dame summoned her pupils from re- 
cess by a vigorous beating of the outside of the build- 
ing with the stick. She used to keep order in the 



school, and the summons was usually obeyed, for the 
present ideas in regard to corporal punishment had 
not then been entertained. 

For a few years this building was large enough to 
accommodate al! the scholars desiring to attend 
school ; but soon it was found necessary to provide 
additional facilities, and accordingly the town was 
divided into three districts, — the North, the Centre 
and the South. The Centre occupied the school- 
house already built and the other districts were 
obliged to hold their schools in private houses. The 
school in the North District was held in the liouse 
known as the Reuben Hanwell place, near the pres- 
ent North School-house, while the Southern District 
held theirs in different houses, as circumstances al- 
lowed. School buildings were erected in each of these 
districts before the close of the century, the building 
being of a character such as the times would permit. 

The present North School occupies the site of the 
first building erected in that district. The building 
was subjected to alterations two or three times, and 
in 1844 was removed and the present building 
erected. The old building was afterwards used as a 
blacksmith shop. 

The Centre School-house was located on the Com- 
mon, quite near the present location of the First Par- 
ish Church. The school-house in the South District 
was located upon the opposite side of the road from J 
John Park's house. Later on it was converted into a 1 
dwelling-house. Later on the town was re-divided, 
it being thought necessary to have six districts, and 
these were named as follows: Middle, South-Middie, 
South, North, East and Southeast. 

Buildings for school purposes were erected by each 
of these districts and they were located on or very 
near the sites of the present structures. 

There was also a Seventh District, or the Shaker 
School ; this was located among the Shakers, who fur- j 
nished the room, which was fitted up with their ac- I 
customed neatness. 

Up to the year 1843 it had been the custom of 
the several districts to furnish at their own ex- 
pense the school buildings for the use of the schol- 
ars within the limits ; but as many of the districts I 
were small and the number of children few, the build- 
ings erected were of a cheap character and not suit- 
able for the purpose intended, so that in the year 
mentioned the town voted to "assume the buildings 
at a fair appraisement," and later they were all re- 
built and in some instances the buildings were for 
the times quite expensive structures. 

At the time the town became the owner of the 
school buildings, they were all numbered to comply 
with a law of the Commonwealth, and some of them 
continue to be so designated at this time. 

In 1846 District No. 3 was divided, thus forming 
what is now known as No. 8. The present school 
buildings, with the exception of those in Districts 
No. 4, No. 6 and No. 8, have been built since 1855. 



SHIRLEY. 



473 



The new buildings were all constructed on a new 
and improved iilaii, and furnished with patent desks, 
and were well adapted to meet the requirements of 
the schools; but while they are large enough to ac- 
commodate all the pupils of the present day, they 
yet lack many of the appliances needful for the more 
modern system of teaching. All these buildings, 
with one exception, are single-story structures akid 
built of brick. The grammar-school, which is situ- 
ated in Shirley Village, is a two-story structure also 
of brick, and contains two rooms, one of which — the 
upper— is occupied by the grammar-school, and the 
other by the primary. This school-house has been 
lately much improved by the addition of a furnace 
for heating purposes and various other repairs. 

This town, although a small one, has, within the 
last quarter of a century, expended nearly twenty- 
five thousand dollars on its school-houses, and greatly 
increased the appropriations for the support of the 
schools, while the number attending the schools has 
not materially increased. The annual cost of the 
schools at the present time is about three thousand 
dollars. 

For several years the schools were in session for a 
period of twenty-four weeks during each year, and 
later on this was increased to thirty weeks, divided 
into three terms of ten weeks each. The terms of 
the schools have, from time to time, been lengthened 
by private subscription, and for a few years a select 
school was held for three months in the fall of the 
year in the basement of the town-hall, which was 
well adapted for the purpose, being large and well 
ventilated. In 1853 this school was provided with 
an apparatus for illustrating physical science, fur- 
nished by the subscriptions of several of the liberal 
citizens. ' 

At the present time the school year is divided into 
three terms of three months each. 

Under the present administration of the schools 
there are but five of the school buildings in use for 
school purposes, — the Centre or No. 1, the Grammar 
or No. 3, the East or No. 5, the North or No. 6, and 
the Intermediate or No. 7. The average number at- 
tending school is from 250 to 270, of all ages from 
five to sixteen. 

As in all country towns, these pupils are scattered 
over a wide range of territory, and in years past it 
has not been possible to grade most of the schools as 
well and carefully as was desired. The village 
schools, three in number, — the grammar, interme- 
diate and primary, — situated as they are in that part 
of the town the most thickly settled, are for this rea- 
son more carefully graded than the other schools of 
the town. These schools, for the last two years, have 
been under the charge of teachers who are graduates 
of the Normal Schools. 

Normal graduates are employed in the other schools 
in the town with one exception. The advancement 
in the several schools by reason of this change has 



been very satisfactory, and the work accomplished 
by the introduction and working out by these normal 
graduates of new methods and advanced ideas has 
been all that could be reasonably expected, showing 
conclusively the wisdom of the change and the desi- 
rability of obtaining for the schools the best possible 
aids to education. 

Under this present system of teaching, music has 
been introduced into the schools in a small way, and 
it is the intention of the School Committee to more 
thoroughly introduce it in the near future. 

In the fall of 1889 the Shaker School, so called, 
was discontinued. The committee, after carefully 
considering the question, decided that insomuch as 
the Shaker fraternity were unwilling to either send 
their children to the village schools for instruction 
or to admit of any number of pupils from outside 
their families attending — the commi ttee, owing to the 
crowded condition of some of the other schools, desi- 
ring to send a number of scholars there — they could 
not rightfully continue the school. It was held by 
many that the school was sectarian, and therefore, 
under the existing law of the Commonwealth, could 
not be supported by the town. 

The town has been the recipient of two bequests 
for the benefit of the schools, the first of which was 
from the Hon. Leonard M. Parker, a native of the 
town and a man prominent in the affairs of the 
State. 

In 1856, at a town-meeting convened August 4th, the 
town voted to accept his bequest, which the following 
extract from his will will explain: " I give and be- 
queath to the inhabitants of the town of Shirley, afore- 
said, the sum of four thousand dollars, to constitute a 
fund for the endowment and support of a high school 
for the benefit of all the youth of the town," the same 
to be placed under the superintendence and direction 
of a board of six trustees named in the will, this 
board to consist of five, when reduced to that number 
by death or otherwise ; arrangement wa? also made 
whereby the vacancies occurring on this board from 
time to time should be filled. 

This fund was, according to the implied request of 
the donor, placed in the hands of Dr. James O. Parker, 
as treasurer, by the trustees of the fund. Dr. Parker 
entered upon the discharge of his duties July 12, 1856, 
and continued in the office until 1872, when his name 
was dropped on account of the aroused suspicions on 
the part of the town and the trustees of the fund, and 
Kev. Seth Chandler was appointed in his place. 

The fund atthis time amounted to S8151.52. Of this 
sum Dr. Parker paid over to his successor, in the office 
of treasurer, at the beginning of the fiscal year, June 
30, 1873, the sum of $3654.67, leaving in his hands a 
balance of $4496.85, which sum he repeatedly prom- 
ised to pay, but his promises were never fulfilled. 
Frequent demands were made by the treasurer of the 
fund upon him, but to no purpose, and at length the 
town appointed a committee to collect from the ex- 



474 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTo. 



tl-easurer the sum due the fund, then amounting to 
over $7500, — after a tedious litigation it was decided 
that, owing to the poverty of the defaulting treasurer, 
the amount could not be recovered. 

The fund remaining in the hands of the trustees 
after paying the costs of litigation was found to be so 
small that little could be done towards carrying out 
the plans of the donor; accordingly a compromise was 
proposed between the town and the residuary legatees 
of the estate of Hon. L. M. Parker, "by which the re- 
mainder of the funds might be used for any legitimate 
town purposes," but by reason of the disagreement of 
counsel the case is still before the court in an unset- 
tled condition. The amount of the fund at the pres- 
ent time, 1890, is about $6000. 

The second of these legacies was that of Mrs. Sarah 
P. Longley, who died in 1889. Both Mrs. Longley 
and her husband, the late Israel Longley, were greatly 
interested in the public schools in the village, and the 
fund created by her will be a fitting monument of her 
generosity, and the names of Mr. and Mr.--.. Longley 
will long be kindly cherished by the grateful scholars 
of the village school. 

Thn following is an extract of her will : " I give 
and bequeath to the town of Shirley the sum of six 
thousand dollars in trust to keep the same invested in 
safe securities, and I order, will and direct that the 
said town shall pay the income or interest of four 
thousand dollars towards the support of the union or 
high school, and the income or interest of two thou- 
sand dollars towards the support of the primary and 
intermediate schools, all of which schools are now 
situated in Shirley village. The principal, six thou- 
sand ($0000), to be invested by itself and called the 
'Israel Longley School Fund.'" 

Thus the town has two funds aggregating some 
twelve thousand dollars, the income of which shall be 
a last benefit to the schools, and the funds will stand 
as lasting monuments of the generosity and public 
spiritedness of the donors. 

In 1842 live out of the seven school districts availed 
themselves of the State appropriation offered in that 
year — on condition that as much more should be 
added by a town tax or private subscriptiou, and pro- 
cured the "School Library," published under the di- 
rection and superintendence of the j\Iassachu=etts 
Board of Education. 

These libraries are now a thing of the past, they 
having been so much neglected by the people that 
their existence, if in fact they do now exist, is no 
doubt forgotten. 

The number of persons from this town who have 
received a college education is small, owing, doubtless, 
to the limited population, the pecuniary inability of 
parenta to give their sons a public education, and the 
general inclination of the young men to engage in 
mechanical pursuits. Among the number may be men- 
tioned General Daniel Parker, a graduate of Dart- 
mouth, class of 1801. He was a classmate of Daniel 



Webster. He for years was judge advocate of the 
Third Division of Massachusett smililia — afterwards 
he was appointed by President Madison adjutant and 
inspector-general of the army with the rank of biiga- 
dier-general. He died in 1816. 

Leonard M. Parker, a brother of Daniel, was also a 
graduate of Dartmouth in the class of 1808. In 1812 
he was appointed army judge advocate. In 1816 he 
was elected to the House of Representatives from 
Charlestown, where, on his admission to the bar in 
1811, he began the practice of his profession. Soon 
after he was chosen to the Senate, and continued to be 
elected to either the Senate or House until 1830, when 
he was appointed naval officer for the port of Boston 
and Charlestown. After the expiration of his term he 
removed back to Shirley and he was immediately re- 
turned to the House, and until 1850 was actively en- 
gaged in both branches of the State government. 

Mr. Parker was active in town affairs, serving both 
on the Board of Selectmen and School Committee. 

He was active, too, in church work, being a member 
of the First Parish Society. 

While in the State Senate in 1826-27, he was a 
leader in the struggle which resulted in making 
Warren Bridge a free bridge and opening " a free 
passage from Boston to the country," — a most import- 
ant and warmly contested movement. And when in 
the early history of the anti slavery agitation, in 
1837, the national House of Representatives adopted 
the resolution overthrowing the right of petition upon 
the subject of slavery, in the battle against which 
John Quincy Adams, then a member of that House, 
bore so prominent and noble a part, Mr. Parker, as 
chairman of the committee to which a memorial upon 
the matter was referred in the State Legislature, 
prepared and reported a series of resolutions, of which 
the following are a part : 

" Resolved, That Congress does possess the constitutional power to 
abolish slavery witliin the District of Columhia, 

" lifsolv'jd. Thai the foundation principles of our political institutions, 
the honor of oi'r country, and the peace of all, demand the solemn con- 
sideration by Congress of the wisdom and effects of exercising the power 
aforesaid. 

^^ Resotned, That the right of petition, and free discussion in regard to 
all matters within the constitutional powers of Congress, ought to be 
held sacred ; and any attempt to impair or abridge it should be met with 
devoted firmness." 

This, so far as we have been able to learn, was the 
first report of resolutions in any form to the Legisla«- 
ture, or to any Legislature in the country, "asserting 
the right of Congress to abolish slavery in the Dis- 
trict of Columbia, and making upon that body a 
solemn demand to consider the wisdom and the 
effects of the exercise of that power." 

One other name is worthy of mention here, though 
not a college graduate — Oliver Holden. He was born 
in Shirley, September 18, 1765. Trained to the trade 
of a carpenter, his musical gifts led him in time from 
that employment to that of a teacher and composer of 
music. He was the author and compiler of several 
musical works which had large sale and became widely 



SHIRLEY. 



475 



popular. But "what most distinguif-lied him, and that 
for which he will be the longer^t known and remem- 
bered is the composition of that divine tune ' Corona- 
tion.'" 

Pl-BLir Library. — The first library of a public 
character of which we have record was known as the 
" Social Library." It was established about 1790 by 
the associated eftbrt of a few prominent families, 
under the lead of the first minister of the town, Kev. 
Phinebas Whitney. It numbered somewhat over one 
hundred volumes at the beginning, and was increased 
from year to year by such additions as circum.stances 
would permit. We are told that " not a work of fic- 
tion was on its shelves, — nothing of an ephemeral 
character, — but standard history, geography and 
natural science." It was esteemed a valuable collec- 
tion at the time, but passed from service with the 
generation with which it started. 

In 1839 another movement for a library was made 
by a few ladies of the First Congregational Society. 
An association was formed for its maintenance, and 
it was supported by a membership fee, initiatory and 
annual. It numbers about seven hundred volumes. 

Daring the pastorate of Rev. Mr. Norcross, of the 
Orthodox Church, at his suggestion and by his aid, a 
reading circle was formed. Books for reading were 
purchased as members desired, and passed from one 
to another on a system of mutual ownership and ex- 
change. Somewhat more than one hundred volumes 
were gathered in this way, and in 1884 they were 
offered to the town on certain specified conditions, to 
be made the basis or beginning of a Public Libr.-iry. 
The town consented to the conditions and accepted 
the offer, and elected a board of trustees. It also 
made an appropriation for the purchase of new books, 
and continues this practice annually. The appropri- 
ation for the present year is three hundred dollars. 
The trustees perform the duties of librarian, and 
render all service i'rve. The library now contains 
about eleven hundred volumes, and arrangements are 
in progress for the opening of a I'eading-roora in con- 
nection with it. 

Ecclesiastical History. — At the time the dis- 
trict was organized, the nearest place of public wor 
ship was in the parent town, Groton, a distance of 
from three to nine miles. The roads were but rough 
pathways through the woods, and the only passage 
across the river was by a narrow foot-bridge, or by 
fording. The travel was on foot or horse-back, and 
yet, with this distance and its difficulties, those who 
were in health and able to make the journey were 
seldom absent from church. The need of religious 
privileges at a nearer and more convenient point was 
deeply felt, and was one of the reasons for the sep- 
aration and incorporation of the district, and an 
early movement was made to secure the .same. At a 
legal meeting held six months after its organization, 
the second article in the warrant was: " To see if 
the town will hire any preaching this spring." 



" Passed in the negative " is the record of the action 
at this time. But soon another effort was made, and 
with better success. "At a legal meeting begun and 
held at the house of Mr. Jonathan Gould, in sd dis- 
trict of Shirley, it was voted to raise Ten Pound, 
lawful money, to hire preaching." This was in the 
first year of the district's incorporation. In the 
same year steps were taken toward building a house 
of worship. A meeting was held October 24th at the 
house of Robert Henry, and adjourned thence to the 
spot which had been selected for the meeting-house. 
A slight change was determined in the location and 
recorded as follows: "Voted to move the meeting- 
house place from where the committee stated it, about 
thirty poles west to a white oak tree and heap of 
stones." " Voted that William Simonds, Jerahmeel 
Powers and Samuel Walker be a committee to move 
the meeting-house." By which was meant, make the 
change in location and move such material as had 
been brought to the i>lace. The people were invited 
to labor on the house and grounds, and were to be al- 
lowed " four shillings a day for a man, and one shil- 
ling a day for a pair of oxen." In November the 
site was prepared and the frame erected. "It stood 
nearly opposite the location of the present Centre 
School-house." The covering, laying the floors and 
finishing proceeded slowly. On December 26th the 
district voted " to raise £1(5, to provide building ma- 
terials." The house was completed late in the follow- 
ing spring, or in the early summer, and was a rough 
structure, ceiled on the outside and without pews or 
seats. These, however, were furnished within a few 
years, the first being built by the town at Ihe right of 
ihe pulpit for the minister's family, and the custom 
adopted of seating the house according to the dignity 
of the people, the largest tax-payer being considered 
first, the men sitting at the right of the broad aisle, 
and their wives having the same position on the left. 
At a meeting held a few weeks before its comple- 
tion, it was "voted to hire three months' preaching." 
And, on November 29th, it was " voted to have six 
weeks' preaching this winter." The expense of 
maintaining religious services appears to have borne 
heavily, and during the following year, 17S5, we have 
no account of any being held. But at the meeting 
of the Colonial Legislature in September, a petition 
was presented, which reads as follows : 

" Province of Ihe Ula^sachnsettg Vntf. 

"To His Honour Spencer Pliips, Esq., Lieiiteiiivnt-fJovernor and 
Comnianiler-in cliief of said Province; to the Honorable, His Mtyesty'a 
Council and HoUHo of Representatives, in General Court assembled at 
Boston, September 24th. ITSS. 

"The petition of.fohn Whitney, James Patterson and ./onas Loiigley, 
a committee duly appointed by tlie District of Shirley, humbly sheweth, 
that the said District is small, and many of them poor ; but the great 
distances tlrey lived from the Public Meeting-House in Groton, obliged 
them to get off from said town, in order to receive juivileges armuig 
themselves ; altho' we have been set off more than three years, we have 
not been able to settle a njinister, tho' we have built a small House for 
the publick worship of God, and have hired preachiiiE part of the time 
since we were set off ; and so it is. that there is now about one-third of 
our Ratable Polls are inlisted in his Majesty's Service ; but we being 



476 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



desirous to settle a Minister among ourgelvcs (but think ourselves imt 

able without some further assistiincpthau to raise our Estates, and uhiit 

Pulls wehiiVL'), and tliere l»fing st-venil Hundred Acres of uuinipruved 

Lauds lyinK wiiliin our Dislrict. which is made much in vahie for 

our improveuieiits ; so tliat we hunihly pray your Honour and Honours, 

to enable tho said District of Shirley to assess all the unimproved Lands 

lying within said Disttiut, for three years next coming, at two Pence 

ptr Acre, to enable us in settling of a Minister, and other necessary 

charges in said District ; and to a^ese and collect the same in such way 

and manner as your Honours shall see meet; as in duty bound shall 

ever pray. 

*' James Patterson, 

" John Whitney." 

Upon this petition the following order was issued : 

*' In the Housi of Representatives, Se^tt. 26, 1755. 
'* Itead and ordered, that the Petitioners serve the Non-resident and 
other Projjrietors of the unimproved Lands in the District of Shirley 
with this Pelilion, by inserting the substance thereof in one of the 
publick Prints three weeks successively, that they show cause (if any 
they have), on the second Friday of the next setting of this Court, why 
the prayer sliould not be granted. 
" Sent up for cuncurreuce. 

" T. Hubbard, Sjieakei: 

"In Council, Sept. 26, 1755. Read and concur'd. 

"Thomas Clarke, Dep. Sec''y. 
" Copy examined. Per Thomas Clarke, Dcp. Sec'y/^ 

This was printed in the Boston Gazette or Country 
Journal October 6, 1755. 

Soon after the completion of the meeting-house it 
was decided to have a settled ministry, and a com- 
mittee was appointed to attend to the matter and to 
seek advice of neighboring ministers in the discharge 
of this duty. A day of fasting and prayer was ap- 
pointed and observed — June 18, 1755 — "that they 
might have divine guidance in a matter of such great 
moment.'* 

In February of the following year an invitation was 
extended to Mr. Goodhue, from HoUis, N. H., who 
had been supplying the pulpit for some six or seven 
months. He accepted, on condition " that a mile of 
territory from the town of Lunenburg could be an- 
nexed to Shirley." This territory would give a more 
regular form to the town and assist its interests, and was, 
therefore, desired by it. A petition for it was sent to the 
"Great and General Court," at Boston, but was not 
granted, and Mr. Goodhue was not settled. Another 
invitation was given to him two years later, but de- 
clined. 

After several disappointments, a unanimous invi- 
tation was given to Kev. Phinehas Whitney, of Wes- 
ton, February 25, 1762, and accepted. It was "voted 
to give Mr. Whitney £1.';{3 6s. Sd. as a settlement, and 
that one-half be paid in three months, and the resi- 
due within tue year. And voted to give £53 135. 4rf. 
as a salary, to be raised to £60 when the district shall 
have seventy-five families, and to £Q() 13s. 4c?. when 
there shall be eighty-five families, with the addition 
of twenty cords of wood annually to be carried to his 
door." Land owned by the district was deeded to Mr. 
Whitney in part payment of the sum voted to him as a 
settlement, and on this he built his home. His letter 
of acceptance bears date April, 1762, and his ordina- 
tion took place in June. The church was organized 
by the council previous to the ordination, and a cov- 



enant adopted and subscribed by the pastor-elect and 
twelve brethren. No names of women appear. 
The covenant reads as follows : 

'* We whose names are hereunto subscribed, being inhabitants of the 
District of Shirley, New England, knowing that wo are very prone to of- 
fend and provoke tho Most High God, both in heart and life, tin ough the 
prevalence of sin thatdwelleth witliiu us, and manifold temptations Ironi 
without us, for which we have great reason to be unfeigned y huniblo 
before him from day to day ; — do in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ , 
with d-pendence upon the gracious assistance of His Holy Spirit, sol- 
emnly enter into covenant with God and with one another according to 
God, as follows: 

*^ Imprimis. That, having chosen and taken the Lord Jehovah to be 
our God, we will fear liim, cleave to him in love, and serve him in truth, 
with all our hearts, giving up ourselves to him to be hia people ; in all 
things to be at his direction and sovereign disposal ; that we may have 
and hold comnumion with him as menibeis of Christ's mystical body, ac- 
cording to his revealed will, unto our lives' ends. 

"2. We also bind oui'selves to bring up our children and servants in 
the knowledge and fear of God, by holy instru'-tions, according to our 
best abilities ; and in special by the use of Orthodox catechism, that the 
true religion may be maintained in our families wliile we live ; yea, and 
among such as shall live when we are dead and gone. 

"3. And we further promise to beep close to the truth of Christ, and 
drawing with lively affection toward it in our hearts, to defend it against 
all opposers thereof, as God shall call us at any time thereunto ; which 
that we may do we resolve to use the holy scriptnresasour platform, 
whereby we may discern tlie mind of Christ, and not the new found in- 
ventions of men. 

"4. We also engage ourselves to have a careful inspection over our 
own hearts, viz., so as to endeavor, by the virtue of tlie death of Cbrist, 
the mortitication of all our sinful passions, worldly fiames and disor- 
derly affections, whereby we may be witlidrawn from the living God. 

"5. We moreover oblige ourselves (in the faithful improvement of 
our ability and opportunity) to worship God according to all the partic- 
ular institutions of Christ for his church, under Gospel administrations, 
as to give reverent attention unto tho word of God, to pray unto him, 
to sing his praises, and to hold communion each with others, in the use 
of both of the seals of the covenant, namely Baptism and the Lord^s 
Supper. 

" 6. We likewise promise that we will peaceably submit to the holy dis- 
cipline appointed by Christ in liis church, for offenders; obeying (accord- 
ing to the will of God) those that have the rule over us in the Lord. 

"7. We also bind ourselves to walk in love, one towards another, en- 
deavoring our mutual edification, visiting, exhorting, comforting, as 
occasion serveth, and warning any brother or sister which offendeth, not 
divulging private oiTenses, irregularly, but heedfully following the sev- 
eral precepts for church dealing (Matthew xviii. 16 and 17), willingly 
forgiving all that do manifest, unto the judgment of charity, that they 
truly repent of their miscarriages. 

"8. Moreover we further agree and covenant that we will have ruling 
elders and deacons, and when any differences may arise between any 
members of the church, then they shall be tried and admonished by tlie 
pastor, ruling elders and deacons; if either party be dissatisfied with 
their determination, then there may be an appeal to the church at 
large ; and if either party be dissatisfied with the determination of the 
church, then there may be an appeal to an ecclesiastical council, ac 
cording to the custom of Congregatiunalism. 

"Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord 
Jesus Christ, that Great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of tho 
everlasting covenant, make us perfect in every good work to do his will, 
working in ns that which was well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus 
Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. 

'* Pliineas Whitney, his 

John'Longley, John x Patterson, 

Charles Richards, mark, 

Kichard Harrington, Jonathan Moore, 
Jonas Longley, Jonas Stearns, 

Stephen Holden, Francis Harris, 

Samuel Walker, Hezekiah Sawtell.'' 

his 
Daniel x Pago, 
mark. 

Children whose parents were not church members 



SHIRLEY. 



477 



were permitted to receive the seal of baptism by the 
pareuts owning the following 

" Covenant. 
"You do now, in the presence of God and his people, own the cove- 
nant into which you were entered and given up to God in baptism, and 
take upon yourself tiie obligation your b:lpti:ini laid you under. You do 
now humbly beg of God remission of all your sins, both actual aud 
oiiginal, and \\ilh all your heart you desire to accept of Jesus Christ as 
your only E^avio^, as he is offered to poor sinners in the Gospel ; aud 
you do now suleuinly pn niise, to the best of your power and as God 
shall enable you, that you w ill foreake the vanities of the world, and in 
all respects live as those with Ihe great God and iiis peojile ; and you do 
now particularly promise, as God shall enable you, to make it your 
prayer aud endeavor that jou may be piepared aright to attend to the 
ordinances and institutions of Christ, aud meet him where his death is 
showed forth ; and you likewise promise to submit youi^elf to the watch 
and discipline of the Church of Christ, and strive that your behavior be 
approved by God aud man." 

The Confession of Faith adopted was the following; 

" 1. Y'ou believe in one God, in three persons (or characters). Father, 
Sou and Holy Ghost. 

'* 2. You believe the sacred Scriptures^are the word of God and a perfect 
rule of faith and practice. 

"3. You believe that man is a fallen creature, and cannot bejustified 
by the deeds of the law. 

*' 4. You believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and Saviorof men 
and that God will bestow salvation on ail those who will repent aud be- 
lieve in his name, and live according to the precepts of his Gospel. 

"5. You believe in a resurrection of the body and a future state of 
rewards and punishments. 

" 0. You believe that baptism is an institution of Christ's, and the 
Lord's supper is a Sacrament by which his church should commemorate 
his dying love; to which church you believe it your duty to join 
yourself." 

In the same year with the settlement of ]\Ir. Whit- 
ney and the organization of the church, repairs were 
made on the meeting-house. At a meeting of the 
district a committee was chosen, and it was " voted to 
leave it to the committee to repair the meeting-house 
as they shall think proper; that they shall put a new- 
window in the ministerial pew, and that as much lii/ht 
be given to the pti/pit as possible." On Oct. 24, 1703, 
it was "Voted that each seat in the meeting-house 
shall go out on the Sabbath days according to their 
dignity." As was the common practice of the time, 
the meeting-house was used for town and military 
meetings, as well as public worship. 

With the increase of population this house became 
in a few years too small for their accommodation. A 
new house was accordingly determined upon, and to 
encourage the work the pastor gave "£10 lawful 
money for the carrying on of the meeting-house." 
Land adjoining the four acres given by the proprietors 
of Groton for a burying-place and training-field was 
bought for the purpose. At a district meeting. May 
21, 1771, "Voted that the new meeting-house be 
fifty feet in length, and forty feet iu breadth, and that 
it be raised as soon as June of next year." The 
house was completed in the autumn of 1773 and was 
opened for use for the first time on the annual 
Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 2.5lh. The shingles on the 
north roof of this house were in service eighty-three 
years, and when removed showed but little decay. 
The house was enlarged by adding three porches and 
a tower iu 1804, and a bell was given the town by 



Wallis Little, Esq., to be hung in the tower. The 
same custom was observed iu seating the people as in 
the former house. While the house was building, a 
gift of an elegant folio Bible (London edition) for the 
use of the pulpit was made by Madam Hancock, the 
wife of the first Governor under the State Constitu- 
tion, John Hancock. This Bible is still in use in the 
pulpit of the First Parish. .\ letter of acknowledg- 
ment was sent the donor by order of the district. It 
reads as follows : 

" Madam : — The inhabitants of Shirley, being this day assembled at 
the public meeting house, take this lirat opportunity to return their sin- 
cere thanks to you for your late generosity iu giving them a very hand- 
some folio Bible, to be read in public every Lord's day. They are sen- 
sible that the reading of the Scriptures in public is very commendable, 
aud hope it will be really serviceable to tliein ; and at the same time 
assure you that they have a grateful sense of your generosity and piety 
in promoting such a laudable practice. They sincerely wish yovi (may) 
live aud continue to diffuse your kindness to the needy — that you may 
enjoy happiness here, and iu the future world be received to reap the 
reward of your e-vtensive charity, in the kingdom of heaven. 

" Jons Lo.NGLEV, DUt. Clerk. 
"Shirley, December 28, 1772." 

An interesting episode in the ministry of Mr. Whit- 
ney occurred during the Revolutionary War. The 
people found great difficulty in paying his salary 
when due. Mr. Whitney found it equally difficult to 
provide the necessaries of life with the greatly dimin- 
ished purchasing power of his salary. This obliged 
him to ask for a measure of relief, or dismission. 
Uawilling to grant him a dismission, they decided to 
raise a special appropriation of £138 6s. 4d. But 
such was the depreciation of paper money that the 
purchasing power of this was only £86 12s. 4d., an 
amount entirely inadequate, of which he informed 
them. A committee was then appointed to consider 
and adjust the matter. This committee reported June 
21, 1779, "That we find Mr. Whitney is desirous of 
tloing no business for his support that in any measure 
interferes with his ministerial work. This committee 
are of opinion that his present salary is entirely in- 
sufficient for his support ; they are therefore of opin- 
ion that the district from the 23d day of this instant 
June, during the present war with Great Britain, pay 
his salary of £66 13s. 4rf. annually, according to the 
price of Indian corn and Rie, reckoning Indian corn 
at £0 2s. 8(/. per bushel, and Rie £0 4s. per bushel, 
said salary to rise and fall as the price of said grain 
rises and falls ; also that the price of said grain be 
estimated by the assessors annually, when the assess- 
ment is made for the payment of salary ; the salary 
being paid in the foregoing manner, upon the follow- 
ing conditions, to which Mr. Whitney freely consents, 
viz : that there be a deduction made by the assessors, 
during the war, from his salary thus paid, of his full 
proportion of taxes assessed upon the district accord- 
ing to his estate, real and personal." 

This report was unanimously accepted and the 
thanks of the district voted "to the Rev. Mr. Whit- 
ney for his generous and truly patriotic spirit and 
disposition in being willing to bear his equal proper- 



478 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



tion of the very extraordinary heavy taxes his people 
are laboring under at this distressing time." 

Tlie singing in public worship was congregational, 
the senior deacon reading the psalm or hymn a line 
at a time, and the congregation following. In 1786 it 
was decided to give this part of the service to the 
charge of a select choir, and the back seats in the 
front gallery were appropriated to their use. This 
caused trouble and it was bronght before the town at 
a regular meeting by an article in the warrant, "To 
see if the town will vote the two hind seats in the 
front gallery, to be fitted for the use of the singers, 
instead of the two hind seats on the lower floor." A 
committee was chosen to confer with the singers and 
arrange the matter. They reported " April y' 13, 
1786," " that having held a conference with them, we 
have agreed that the two hind seats in the front 
gallery be made into a proper pew, with a table suit- 
able for them, or convenient for books, and that they 
take the said pew for their seats so long as they serve 
in singing." 

A committee was appointed April 24, 1787, to pur- 
chase a bass-viol, " for the use of the meeting-house," 
and " a chest was made — at the expense of the pas- 
tor—for the safe-keeping of the viol when not in use." 
This instrument was in use till 1842, and forty years 
of this time was played by the same person — David 
Livermore. 

Mr. Whitney continued in active service for some- 
what more than forty years, when he was stricken with 
paralysis. Incapacitated for the performance of his 
public duties, he generously offered to relinquish one- 
half of his salary to aid toward the settlement of a 
colleague. In a letter to the town dated Nov. 12, 
1812, he says : " Considering my age and infirmities, I 
sincerely wish to have you set tie another minister in this 
town as soon as you can. And I now renew the offer 
that I made by your committee last year, that if the 
town will settle another minister with me that is not 
yet fifty years old, and one whom the neighboring 
churches shall approve, I will from the day of his ordi- 
nation, relinquish one-half of my salary forever there- 
after. I would further observe, such is my solicitude for 
the wel fare and order ofthe town, that I should willingly 
relinquish the whole salary if they would settle an- 
other regular minister,— if I could do it and do jus- 
tice to myself, my family and my creditors. Wishing 
you divine direction, I subscribe myself your affec- 
tion.ate pastor, Phinehas Whitney." 

By the terms of his settlement he could claim his 
full salary during his life. 

The setilement of a colleague was not effected till 
the autumn of 1815, when Mr. Samuel H. Tolman, of 
AVinchendon, acc'epted.the invitation ofthe town and 
of the church, and w.as ordained to the office Oct. 25th. 
He discharged its duties till Feb. 17, 1819, when at 
his request, on account of growing dissensions, a 
council was called and he was dismissed. The death 
of Mr. Whitney occurred Dec. 17th, of the same year. 



His first wife, to whom he was married April 28, 1762, 
— the month in which he accepted the invitation of 
the town to become its minister, — -was Miss Miriam 
Willard, of Harvard, who, when a young girl, was 
taken from her home by the Indians. " She lived with 
a married sister, Mrs. James Johnson, atCharlestown, 
No. 4, when the Indians made a raid upon that town 
and carried her, with the Johnson family, Mr. and 
Mrs. Johnson and three children, the eldest of whom 
was but six years old, with two of their neighbors, to 
Canada. Forced to journey through a pathless wil- 
derness, she was required to lie upon the ground at 
night, with an Indian upon either side of her, with 
cords passed over her body and under theirs so that 
the least stir on her part would arouse them. They 
were sold by the Indians to the French at Montreal. 
Miss Willard was soon redeemed, but remained two 
years in the family of the Lieut.-Governor, where she 
was treated with uniform kindness, and supported 
herself with her needle till the release of her sister 
and children, when they sailed for England and from 
thence to New York, and then returned to her former 
home. She died in 1769 at the age of twenty-nine 
years. With the death of Mr. Whitney the adminis- 
tration of ecclesiastical affairs by the town ceased, and 
their conduct passed into the hands of religious soci- 
eties, entirely separate from civil authority and main- 
tained by voluntary individual sujiport, in accordance 
with what is now the universal practice throughout 
the country. 

The Shaker Community or Society of United Brtth- 
ren. — The ecclesiastical unity of the town was first 
broken in 1781, when a community of Shakers was 
started. This community began with two families 
Elijah and Ivory Wild, who were brothers and farm- 
ers, living in the southern part of the town. They 
were joined by two other families in the immediate 
neighborhood, but within the town of Lancaster. 
Mother Ann Lee, the founder and spiritual head of 
this religious order in this country, was at that time 
temporarily residing and holding meetings in the ad- 
joining town of Harvard, where a society of Shakers 
had been formed. She visited and conducted the Sha- 
ker worship in the homes of the Wilds. Meetings 
for worship were held frequently, and were an object 
of great interest to all the country round. Mr. Chand- 
ler, in his " History of Shirley," to which we are 
largely indebted, tells us that " on one occasion two 
women walked from Mason— twenty miles — on a 
rainy Sunday, and were even obliged to stop and 
wring the water from their stockings while on the 
road ; then proceeded forward unharmed by the ele- 
ments, being protected by their faith." The move- 
ments and exercises of their worship were so strange 
and accompanied by so much that was exciting as 
well as novel, that public attention was soon called to 
the matter. 

At a town-meeting held September 12, 1782, it was 
"Voted, that the town disapprove of the conduct of 



SHIRLEY. 



479 



that people called Shaking Quakers, and of their 
meetiiifi; in this town. Then, voted to choose a com- 
niittte of five to wait on and consult said people at 
Elijah Wild's, and discourse with them respecting 
their conduct. Then voted to leave the matter dis- 
cretionary with the committee, and that they make a 
report to the town al the next town-meeting in said 
town." Xo record of any report from this committee 
appears, and it is probable that none was made. At 
the present time ihe "labor," as it is termed in the 
i^luiker worshi|), which consists of marches and 
dances, is attended by much less of the violent and 
nervous agitation and excitement than formerly, and 
is, therefore, more graceful and pleasant to witness, as 
well as to those engaged in it. The society received 
many additions and became in time quite large and 
prosperous, numbering at one time about one hun- 
dred. It wa.s divided into three families, the North, 
the South and Church family, the South family being 
located just over the Shirley line, and within the town 
of Lancaster. Its real estate embraces about twenty- 
five hundred acres, much of which is valuable wood- 
land. It has a large amount under cultivation and 
devoted to various crops. The raising of garden seeds 
for the general market has, in past years, been a large 
and valuable industry, but is at present continued 
only to the extent of what is needed for home use. A 
large orchard, well cared for and in fine condition, 
yields a good variety of fruit, sometimes amounting 
to a thousand barrels fur the season. In recent years 
the society has declined in membership, having at 
the present lime only one-third as many as when in 
its most prosperous condition. Its buildings are plain, 
substantial structures, some of them of brick, commo- 
dious and well arranged for their several uses, and for 
health, convenience and economy in management. 
Although the attempt to bring its tirst members under 
the censure of the town failed, that did not entirely 
end the hostility that existed towards them. On 
Sunday evening, June 1, 1783, Ann Lee had come 
over from Harvard with her elders, James Whittaker 
and William Lee, to hold a religious meeting at the 
house of Elijah Wild. Enemies from Harvard fol- 
lowed them, and a mob supjiosed to number nearly a 
hundred men gathered and surrounded the house. Wild 
says, in his narrative of the affair : " The malicious 
crew came to my house on Sabbath evening, about 
eight o'clock, and surrounded the house. Some of the 
leaders of the mob were, or had been, captains in the 
militia, and still bore that title. They were fol- 
lowed by a large number of men, for the evident 
purpose of abusing Mother and the elders." Fearing 
V iolence, and k nowing that the object of the assault was 
Mother Ann, and that she would suffer at their hands 
if they should gain an entrance, she was concealed in 
a small dark closet and the door hidden from view, 
by "placing before it a high chest of drawers." All 
means of communicating their perilous position and 
seeking help was cut off, as no one was permitted to 



pass out. But finally a woman who lived in the 
neighborhood, and had left a nursing infant at home, 
was given the privilege of going to her home. She 
immediately took measures to get information to the 
authorities of the town. Meanwhile the mob con- 
tinued noisy and threatening through the night, cry- 
ing out, " That woman or your house shall come to the 
ground." Late in the morning the dilatory police 
came and ordered them to disperse. L berty was 
given them to enter the house, and at the request of 
Mother Ann and the elders food was put upon the 
table and the leaders sat down and ate. Food was 
passed also to those in the door-yard. They promised 
the elders if they would return with them to Harvard 
no injury should be done to them. The elders con- 
sented, though with little confidence in their promises. 
Nor hardly had they arrived in Harvard when they 
violated their word. They dragged them aside to a 
convenient place and then proceeded with their as- 
sault upon them. They first took James Whittaker 
and tied him to the limb of a tree, and then " scourged 
him with a whip till the skin was almost flayed from 
his back." Next they took Lee and were about to 
proceed in the same manner with him, but refusing to 
be tied, " he knelt down and told them to lay on their 
stripes, which he would receive as a good soldier of 
the Cross." At that moment a sister, breaking in 
among them, threw herself between the uplifted lash 
and the elder, that she might receive the blow, rather 
than it should fall upon him. Striking her on the 
temple, it opened a serious wound, from which the 
blood flowed freely. Alarmed, they released the el- 
ders, and hastened from.the scene of their desperate 
work. Elder Whittaker's back was found to be 
"beaten black and blue from his shoulders to his 
waistbands, and in many places bruised to a jelly, as 
though he had been beaten with a club. 'I have been 
abused,' he said, ' but not for any wrong I have 
done them ; it is for your sakes. I feel nothing 
against them for what they have done to me, for they 
were ignorant and knew not what they did, nor what 
manner of spirit they were of.' Mother and the elders, 
with al! the brethren and sisters, kneeled down and 
prayed to God to forgive their blood-thirsty persecu- 
tors. Elder James cried heartily and said, ' Father, 
forgive them, for they know not what they do.' " The 
house in which Ann Lee and her elders were holding 
their meeting, and which the mob surrounded and at- 
tacked, is still standing and in good condition, and is 
an object of interest to visitors. Persons have some- 
times become members of the society, and donned the 
garb and habit of the Shaker, who after a time, from 
one cause or another, have found the mode of life un- 
congenial to them, and left the community. Children 
who have been taken and brought up in the familii>s, 
have often, on reaching the age in which tliey could 
choose for themselves, declined to remain, i)refcrring 
the broader life of the world. Clandestine and run- 
away matches have sometimes occurred. Sometimes 



480 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



the seceders have become enemies. An instance of this 
kind occurred in which the enmity turned into an of- 
fensive attack upon thecommunity and destruction of 
its property. Tliis was on the night of March 3, 1802. 
A number of those who had been of the Shaker faith 
and contributed td the buikling of the meeting-houae, 
but had withdrawn from the community, laid claim 
to the house on this ground, and sought to enforce 
their claim by taking possession. Supplying them- 
selves with a quantity of liquor, in which they freely 
indulged, and provisions, they entered the building 
on the night mentioned and held possession four days, 
barring the doors and shutting out entrance from 
others. The rooms and furniture were much muti- 
lated and damaged. On the fifth day the officers suc- 
ceeded in forcing an entrance through a window in 
the upper or attic part and arresting the parties. They 
were taken before the justice and bound over for trial 
to the Criminal Court at Concord. But through some 
failure of duty on the jmrt of the county attorney, as 
was generally supposed, or other mismanagement of 
the case, the grand jury did not find a bill against 
them and they were acquitted. 

This appears to have been the last assault or ofiense 
of a serious nature made upon the community. 
From the first they have been a peaceable, industrious 
and self-respecting people, and they have the confi- 
dence and the respect of their neighbors an.d fellow- 
citizens. To the stranger they are always kind and 
hospitable. Tliey are strict in the rules and regula- 
tions which they impose upon themselves and pleas- 
ant and orderly in all their affairs. The following 
" Rules for Visitors " are in keeping with their 
orderly ways and kind spirit : 

** First. "We wish it to be understood tliat we do not keep a public 
house, and wish to have our rules attended to as any would the rules of 
their own private dwelling. Second, Those who call to see their friends 
and relatives are to visit tlieni at the office, and not to go elsewhere ex- 
cept by permission of those in care at the office. Third, Those who live 
near, and can call at their own convenience, are not expected to stay 
more than a few hours, but such as live at a great distance, or cannot 
come often, and have near relatives here, can stay from one to four days, 
according to circumstances. This we consider a sufficient time as a gen- 
era! rule. Fourth, Ali visitors are reipiested to arise and take breakfast 
at half-past six ill summer and half-past seven in winter. Fijth. At 
table we wish all to be as free as at home ; but we dislike the wasteful 
habit of leaving food on the plate. No vice with us is less ridiculous for 
being in fashion. Sixth. Married persons tarrying with us overnight 
are respectfully notified that each 8e,x occupy separate sleeping apart- 
ments while they remain. This rule will not be departed from under 
any circumstances. St'veulh. Strangers calling for meats or lodging are 
expected to pay if accommodated." 

Worship. — As the mode of worship is peculiar to 
the Shakers and widely different from others, the fol- 
lowing concerning it may be of interest. Their 
meeting-house or place of assembling is a large open 
room or ball, furnished with movable seats. "The 
sexes enter by different doors, and arrange themselves 
in lines — the elders being in front — where they listen 
to a short ojiening address by one of their elders, 
after which they unite 'in a dance, regular, solemn 
and uniformly in time with the harmony of some 



half-dozen selected singers. After this they fall into 
files of two abreast and march, keeping step with the 
music of some selected hymn, which is sung with 
much fervency and spirit. They then bring up their 
benches and seat themselves, while one of their num- 
ber interests them with a religious exhortation. This 
concluded, they rise and close their service with a song 
of praise. Everything is performed with decorum 
and solemnity. All classes, from the gray-haired of 
fourscore down to the child of five years, seem atten- 
tive and interested, whether they nuirch or dance 
or sing or exhort. They uniformly wave their hands 
in concert with their music, and listen with marked 
attention to the words of their spiritual leaders." 

Order and neatness pervade every department. 
The government is religious in character, the minis- 
ters, of whom there is usually one of each sex, being 
the chief officers, and under them the elders and 
trustees, the elders having in charge the spiritual 
affairs of the society and the trustees the temporal. 
The offices of elder and trustee in the Shirley Society 
are held by John Whitely, who is very devoted and 
faithful to its interests. He is also trustee of the 
Harvard Society and minister of the district. 

Unircrsalist Socielij, — The first meeting for the 
organization of the Universalist Society was held at 
the house of Joseph Edgarton, Sept. 21, 1812. A 
committee consisting of Merrick Rice, John Edgar- 
ton and Lemuel Willard was chosen to prepare a 
constitution. This committee reported at an adjourned 
meeting, the constitution was adopted and officers 
chosen. The names of John Edgarton, Joseph 
Edgarton, John Davis, Samuel Hazen, Merrick Rice, 
Lemuel Willard, Elnathan Polly, William Mcintosh, 
and Thomas Ritter and many others are prominent 
in the early records. Among its members were fam- 
ilies from Harvard, Lancaster and Lunenburg that 
were regular attendants upon its worship. When, 
some years after, societies were established in their 
own towns, they connected themselves with those 
societies. For some time previous to the organization 
there had been occasional preaching in the town by 
ministers of this denomination, the first of whom was 
Rev. Isaiah Parker, a convert from the Baptist faith, 
and physician as well as minister. After him were 
Revs. Joshua Flagg and Jacob Wood. The first 
house of worship was built in 181G, and dedicated 
Jan. 9, 1817. 

It was a plain building covered with a hip roof, and 
had but one door of entrance. This opened into a nar- 
row porch, and thence into the church. It was furnished 
with high box pews, and a gallery for the singers 
along the west wall that was entered by stairs within 
the audience-rooqi. Rev. Jacob Wood was installed 
pastor in 1818. He remained five years and then an 
interim of six years followed, in which the pulpit was 
supplied by transient preachers. In 1829 Rev. Rus- 
sell Streeter lemoved from Watertown and became 
the resident pastor, continuing his ministry till 1834, 



SHIRLEY. 



481 



when he removed to Woodstock, Vt. The following 
year the )iul|jit was supplied by Rev. Stillman Bur- 
den. In 18:51) Rev. Lutius R. Paige, who was then 
settled in Hardwick, supplied a part of the time. 
Mr. Paige in later years was the author of "Paige's 
Commentaries " and other important works. In 1837 
and 1838 Rev. Rufus Pope was the preacher, but re- 
sided in Sterling, where he preached a part of the 
time. He was succeeded by Rev. John Pierce, wliose 
pastorate continued till April 1840, when failing 
health obliged him to retire. Then Rev. Walter 
Harriman, pastor of the church in Harvard, was en- 
gaged, preaching one-half the time. This arrange- 
ment continued till 1845. Mr. Harriman was 
afterwards widely known in public and political life, 
serving in the army during the Civil War, commis- 
sioned as colonel of a regiment from his native State, 
New Hampshire, and promoted to the ofBce of 
general. For several terms after the war he was 
Governor of New Hampshire. 

During 1845 and 1846 the church was remodeled 
at an expense of 621t!S. A hall was finished in the 
upper part and devoted to the use of tiie " Fredonia 
Lodge" of Odd Fellows. In April, 1846, Rev. 
Josiah Coolidge became the pastor, and performed 
the duties of the office two years. An interim of one 
year now occurred in which the pulpit was supplied 
by neighboring ministers. Rev. Benton Smiih was 
then invited, and began his pastorate in April, 1849. 
During Mr. Smith's pastorate, on March 19, 1850, a 
bell was placed upon the church, the first church-bell 
in the village. He discharged the duties of the office 
five years, and was succeeded by Rev. Orren Perkins, 
who remained but one year. Rev. E. W. Coffin was 
the next pastor, beginning his work in May, 1855, 
and closing it March 8, 1857. The 7th of the follow- 
ing June, Rev. George F. Jenks entered upon his 
duties as pastor and remained three years arid nine 
months. The next pastor was Rev. Cyrus B. Lom- 
bard, his pastorate beginning March 10, 1861, and 
covering a period of five years. After an interim of 
a few months with a transient supply of the pulpit, 
Rev. Ezekiel Fitzgerald was engaged, but remained 
less than a year and a half. From the close of Mr. 
Fitzgerald's labors to the last Sunday in October, 1869, 
preaching was continued regularly, but no pastor was 
settled. At that date the last service was held in the 
old church. It was sold to Mr. Norman C. Munson, 
who removed and fitted it for a public hall. It is the 
present Village Hall, and is finely adapted for all 
social and public uses. The building of the new 
church was immediately begun, and was completed, 
and the service of dedication held November 23, 1870. 
It is a fine structure of the early English Gothic 
style of architecture, with open-timbered roof and 
ceiling, painted and frescoed in rich and subdued 
colors. The entire expense of the church was $25,000. 
It is furnished with a fine organ which cost §2200. 
Towards this large expense, Mr. N. C. Munson, a 
31 



member of the society and a leading spirit in the 
work, was a large and generous contributor. Imme- 
diately on the completion of the church, ^ev. H. A. 
Philbrook was called to the pastorate, in which he 
continued two years. The next few years the pulpit 
was supplied by transient preachers, and during a 
part of 1875 services were suspended altogether, on 
account of the general depression in business. In 
May, 1876, Rev. J. W. Keyes was called to the pasto- 
rate and served the society three years. Then fol- 
lowed another interim of a little more than one and a 
half years filled by the transient supply, and in De- 
cember, 1880, the settlement of Rev. James Vincent 
as pastor. In June, 1884, he accepted an invitation 
from the church in Calais, Jlaine, and was succeeded 
by Rev. William Gaskin, who entered upon his work 
in August. His term of service was a little less than 
two years. In January, 1887, Rev. James Rawlins 
was settled and remained one year. In April, 1888, 
Rev. Joseph Crehore accepted the invitation of the 
society and entered upon his work in May. During 
the pastorate of Rev. John Pierce, in April, 1839, a 
Sunday-school was organized, with Miss Sarah C. 
Edgarton in charge and Miss Susan Mcintosh as as- 
sistant. Miss Edgarton was well and favorably 
known as a writer and a poet of fine promise, and as- 
sociate editor of the Ladies' Ilepositonj , a monthly mag- 
azine published in Boston. Jerome Gardner was 
chosen superintendent of the school in 1845 and held 
the office, with the exception of one year, till his 
death in November, 1889, a period of forty-three 
years. He was clerk of the society thirty-eight years. 
A church organization was formed in 1820, but for 
many years subsequently was dormant; it was reor- 
ganized in 1846. Its present membership is forty-two. 
The parish and Sunday-school library numbers nearly 
one thousand volumes. A bequest of $1000 to the so- 
ciety was made by the will of Sylvanus Holden, who 
died March 17, 1882. Jerome Gardner included in a 
will drawn March 24, 1885, a gift to the society of the 
income of twenty-five shares of Lancaster Bank Stock. 
The subsequent ruin of the bank, by the fraudulent 
dealings of its president, swept away this gift. In his 
last sickness Mr. Gardner sought to replace this in 
part by a codicil in which he gave to the society ten 
shares of the Fitthburg Railroad stock, but there 
being some legal inadequacy in the witnessing of the 
codicil, it was disallowed by the Judge of Probate. 

First Congregational Society. — In March, 1822, a 
little more than three years after the death of Rev. 
Mr. Whitney, the pastor of the First, or Town Parish 
and Church, a meeting was called and held for the 
purpose of organizing the parish as an independent 
society, disconnected from the municipal or town 
oversight and charge. This organization was effected 
under the name of the First Congregational Society. 
For the tw^elve years following its organization it had 
no stated ministry, and there was preaching but a 
portion of the time. But its annual meetings for the 



482 



HISTOKY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



choice of officers and the transaction of business were 
regularly held. In June, 1834, Rev. Seth Chandler, 
of Ox ford, 'preached two Sundays. Eeceiving an in- 
vitation to settle with the society, he accepted it and 
entered at ouce upon his duties. The ministry of Mr. 
Chandler continued till June, 1879— forty-five years ; 
though from that date till his death, in October, 1889, 
he peri'ormed more or less of pastoral duty, and occa- 
sionally preached. Thus from the date of the first or- 
ganization as a town parish in 17G2 to 1879, one hun- 
dred and seventeen years, there were but two pastor- 
ales, and one brief colleague pastorate of three years. 
There was an interim of nearly fifteen years between 
the death of Mr. Whitney and the settlement of Mr. 
Chandler, but the united ministries of the two covered 
a period of one hundred and one years. Until the 
present century the heating of churches was hardly 
known in any part of New England. Congregations 
endured the cold and the long sermons with equal 
fortitude. The winter following the settlement of Mr. 
Chandler an innovation was made upon this custom. 
Two large stoves were put into the church. It was 
the first provision made in town for warming the 
house of worship. The next year, 1835, a new bell 
was placed in the church tower. 

The old bell, a gift to the town in 1808, by Wallis 
Little, had been cracked for several years and ren- 
dered useless. The new bell was a gift from 
Leonard M. Parker and Thomas Whitney, and their 
intention was communicated in the following letter, 
which was read at the town-meeting. 

"As a tolten of respect for our native town, and a sincere regard for 
its clmructer and tlie well-being of ita inhabitants, we, the undersigned, 
propose to i)reseut to the town a bell. It is our wish and intention that 
the same should be kept on the meeting-house of the First Parish ; that it 
should boused for all the necessary and proper purposes of the town ; 
that the religious societies should also have the privilege of its use ; and 
tiulessthe town shall provide for the ringing of the same, at the usual 
time and in the usual manner, for the religious services in the forenoon 
and afternoon of the Sabbath day, the First Parish may have the privi- 
lege of causing it to be so rung for such services. And in case the First 
Parish sliall fall to cause it to be so rung on the Sal)bath, any other 
parish the^ having regular services, and not being supplied with a bell 
may have the same privilege. Should the proposal be acceptable to the 
own, it would be agreeable to us that the selectmen, or a committee, 
should be authorized to confer with us as to the size of the bell, and to 
take other proper measures in regard to the subject. We have the honor 
to subscribe ourselves your respectful fellow-citizens. 

"Leonard M. Paukeu, 
Shirley, May 27, 1885." " TaoMiS Whit.nev. 

Previous to the engagement of Mr. Chandler a 
Sunday-school was organized by the devoted women 
of the parish, also " a charitable society." This so- 
ciety has purchased books for the library, to the 
amount of nearly one thousand volumes ; furnished 
the Sunday-school room and the church, contributed 
to the incidental expenses, clothed and otherwise 
aided indigent children, and accumulated a fund of 
about $1500, the income of which is used for contin- 
gent expenses. 

In March, 1839, a movement was started for remod- 
eling the church. Committees were chosen, contracts 
for the work made, and the work begun in July. The 



expense of the alterations and furnishings was $2307.- 
61. It was completed, and the house reopened for 
public worship on the 27th of October. An effort 
was made at the titne this work was undertaken to 
have the meeting-house removed a few rods east from 
where it was then located, but the majority of the 
society did not favor it. This effort was renewed in 
1851, and the following action taken at a town-meet- 
ing held July 14th : 

" Voted that the Town give their cons cut that the First Parish may re- 
move their meeting-house to and upon the ground called the 'training 
field,' the sjinie to be carried and placed so far east that the west end of 
the meeting-house shall be on a line w ilh the east side of the tow u-house 
and the south side of said meeting house to be as near the present 
traveled road as conveniently may be. The said parish to have tlierijiht, 
if need be, to rebuild upou the same ground. And this consent is hereby J 

given on the following conditions, to wit ; 1. That the owner of the 
land adjoining the northerly and easterly lines of said * training-field' 
give his consent thereto in writing, under seal and acknowledgment. 
2. That the said parish shall agree to lay open all their grounds, wheie 
the meeting-house now stands, and around the same as a public com- 
mon ; and so to continue unencumbered, so long as the said meeting- 
house, or any new one which may be built in place of the l>reseut. shall 
remain upon the said 'training field.' And for the security of both uf 
the said parties, thisfurlher condition or stipulation is also made— that 
either party, for good cause, shall have the light to cause the said meet- 
ing-house, or any one built iu its place, to be removed to the spot where 
it now stands, or to such other near thereto, as the parish may fi.^ upon. 
The sutficiency of the cause and the terms of removal to be mutually 
agreed upon by the said parties; and in case they cannot agree the same 
shall be submitted to the judgment of three disinterested and judicious 
men to be mutually agreed ou, whose decision shall be final, both in 
regard to the sutficiency of the cause and the terms of removal. And 
the agreement of the said parish to the foregoing conditions and stijm- 
ulations, at a meeting duly called for the purpose, is hereby required ; — 
a copy whereof, duly certified by the clerk of said parish, shall be filed 
with the town clerk before the removal of said meeting-house." 

These conditions were accepted by the parish, and 
the meeting-house was removed the following year. 
The original windows, as built with the house in 1773, 
were retained through all the changes till 1857, when 
Mr. John K. Going, a member of the parish, gener- 
ously assumed the expense and care of the entire re- 
glazing. The third and last considerable alteration 
and improvement of the church was made in 1807. 
At the annual parish meeting, Henry B. Going pro- 
posed important changes, and generously offered to 
have them made at his own expense, " provided his 
proposal should be agreeable to members of the 
parish." Mrs. Harriet B. Going, his mother, was as- 
sociated with him in carrying forward this work, as 
appears from the record of the parish meeting held '■ 
after it was completed. The record is as follows : 

"Whereas during the past year our old church edifice has been ma- 
terially altered, repaired and improved, chiefiy at the expense and 
by the liberality of Mrs. Harriot B. Going and her son, Henry B. 
Going,— therefore, we, the members of the First Parish in Shirley, de- 
sirous of expressing our appreciation of their generosity, do hereby 
tender to Mrs- Going and her son our sincere thanks, with the hope 
that their lives may be long spared for usefulness and enjoyment. And 
should it be their pleasure to again reside in town, and weekly meet 
with lis around the same old altar where they were wont to come in early 
life, wo assure them they will receive a cordial welcome." 

Bequests. — The society has received several be- 
quests which are matters of interest. The first was 
from Thomas Whitney, son of the first minister of 



SHIKLEY. 



483 



the parish, and a devoted member through his life, 
bearing always a leading and active part in its aft'airs, 
as also in the affairs of the town. He died January 
14, 1844, and in a codicil to his will gave to the par- 
ish as follows : " I give and bequeath unto the First 
Parish, in said town of Shirley, of which I have been 
a member from my youth, the sum of five hundred 
dollars; and it is my intention that the same shall be 
safely and permanently invested, on interest, and the 
income thereon be annually appropriated toward the 
payment of the salary of a good and faithful Unita- 
rian minister of the gospel in said parish. And it is 
my earnest wish and hope that the parish may, at all 
times, be supplied with the services of such a minis- 
ter; and, in making the bequest, I take satisfaction 
in the indulgence of a hope that it may have a last- 
ing influence in securing to the parish an object so 
essential to the happiness and well-being of society. 
And I indulge the further hope that the sum herely 
bequeathed may lay the foundation of a fund which, 
at no distant period, by the munificence of others, 
will become of such magnitude that the income 
thereof will annually pay the salary of a minister, in 
.said parish, of the character and denomination above 
mentioned. And it is my further will and intention, 
that in case the said parish shall fail during the 
period of twenty years after my decease, and for the 
space of six months in succession, to be supplied with 
a minister of the character and denomination afore- 
mentioned, who shall be regularly settled as their 
pastor, or be engaged by the year, then the said sum 
of five hundred dollars, bequeathed as aforesaid, shall 
revert and descend to my heirs-at-law. 

" And I further give and bequeath to the said par- 
ish the sum of twenty dollars, annually, for the term 
of five years after my decease, to be appropriated 
toward the payment of the salary of a minister iu 
said parish, of the character and denomination afore- 
mentioned; but one-half of said annual sum, may be 
applied to the support of the singing in said parish, 
if the parish shall so decide. But if the parish shall 
fail, during the said term of five years, to be regularly 
with a minister of the character and denomination 
aforesaid, then the said annual bequest of twenty 
dollars shall cease." 

Three years after the death of Thomas Whitney 
occurred the death of his son, James P. Whitney. 
In his will he bequeathed to the parish fund, upon 
the same terms and conditions specified by his father, 
two hundred and fifty dollars. 

In 18G4 an additional bequest came to the parish, 
on the death of Mrs. Henrietta Whitney, widow 
of Thomas Whitney. The will giving the same reads 
as follows : " I give and bequeath to the First Parish 
in Shirley the sum of five hundred dollars, which is 
to be appropriated in the same manner and held on 
the same terms and conditions as are specified by my 
late husband, Thomas Whitney, Esq., in bequeathing 
a like sum to said parish, all of which will fully ap- 



pear by the codicil of his last will and testament; 
and it is my intention that the period of twenty years, 
mentioned in said codicil, during which a forfeiture 
may be incurred by said parish, shall terminate at 
the same time in reference to my bequest that it will 
in reference to the bequest of my late husband."' 

Five years later, in 1809, Mrs. Clarissa Isaacs, a 
sister of Thomas Whitney, and daughter of Rev. 
Phinehas Whitney, the first minister, died. Her last 
will and testament contained the following: "I give 
to the First Parish in Shirley, over which my re- 
8pecte4 father was settled for a series of years, the 
sum of two hundred dollars, for the same purpose, 
and on the same terms and conditions as specified in 
the will of my late brother, Thomas Whitney, re- 
specting a similar bequest made by him." 

In addition to these several bequests, amounting to 
fourteen hundred and fifty dollars, from the imme- 
diate family of the first minister, Rev. Phinehas Whit- 
ney, the parish received still another generous ex- 
pression of the family interest in its affairs in the 
gift of an organ of "rare excellence" from Mrs. Hen- 
rietta Whitney, which she had built expressly for it 
by Mr. George Stevens, of East Cambridge, but a 
short time before her decease, at a cost of thirteen 
hundred dollars. 

Other bequests to the parish fund were : five hun- 
dred dollars from John K. Going, in 1864; three 
hundred dollars from Miss Rebecca Day, in 1869; 
fifty dollars from Martin Turner, in 1869. This fund, 
amounting to twenty-three hundred dollars, was in- 
trusted with the treasurer of the parish, Thomas E. 
Whitney, without special security. By some incom- 
petency of management it was wasted, and would 
have been wholly lost to the parish but for the gen- 
osity of Mrs. Mary D. Whitney, of Boston, an aunt 
of the treasurer, then deceased. She was a heavy 
loser by his failure, yet she generously made over to 
the parish an amount of real estate of equal value to 
the sum owed by him, thereby restoring the fund. 
Mrs. Whitney, whose death occurred January 26, 
1886, also made an additional gift by her will, of 
which this parish was evidently intended to be the 
final recipient or beneficiary, but the singular word- 
ing of the article of the will imposed a difficulty 
upon the executors in determining the party legally 
entitled to receive it. Hence it was taken to the 
Court for decision, where it still awaita the final ver- 
dict. As a matter of historic interest in which there 
was the evident intent to be so exact and strict in 
terms that the gift could not be diverted, or fail to be 
applied to the purpose of the giver, we here append a 
copy of the article : "Secondly, I give and bequeath 
to my friend, Rev'd Seth Chandler, of Shirley, the 
sum of Five thousand dollars, which, after his death, 
shall revert to the town afore-named, strictly on this 
condition, namely, that said town shall support fairly 
and permanently a Unitarian clergyman, in which 
case all interest accruing on the above sum shall be 



484 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



used to aid in the payment of his salary, failing of 
which it shall revert to my heirs-at-law." 

Folluwiiig the attestations of the witnesses is this 
added clause : 

" In regard to article second, T would add, that in case Kev'd SetU 
Clinmllersliould nol outlive nie, I wish the sum therein named to go 
direct to tlio town of Shirley for the pui-pose and on the conditions 
therein stated. Maey D. Whitnev." 

Since the termination of Mr. Chandler's active ser- 
vice as pastor, in June, 1879, the society has had a 
resident pastor but one and half years, from April, 
1886, to October, 1887, when Rev. L. B. Maodonald 
was with it in that capacity. The remainder of the 
time when services have been held, clergymen from 
out-of-town have sup])lied the pulpit. 

Orthodox Society. — On February 3, 1828, a meeting 
in the interests of Trinitarian Congregationalism was 
held at the house of Miss Jennie Little. When the 
First Congregational Parish was organized, as the 
successor of the town parish in 1822, a minority did 
not fully sympathize with the doctrinal opinions of 
the m.njority, yet for six years they continued to wor- 
ship together. But the agitation of these doctrinal 
differences, which was then widely prevailing through- 
out New England, had its effect here as elsewhere, 
and led to the feeling that they could not conscien- 
tiously continue together, but must have a separate 
organization and worship. At the meeting called to 
consider this matter, Kev. J. Todd, pastor of " Union 
Church of Christ," in Groton, was present to assistand 
advise. At this meeting it was voted "Thatitbeex- 
pedient to form a church in this place, of evangelical 
principles." Also " that a committee of three be ap- 
pointed to make the necessary arrangements." 

Samuel S. Walker, Imlay Wright and Deacon Jo- 
seph Brown were constituted this committee, and 
Thursday, February 14th, was appointed to beobserved 
as a day of fasting and prayer. An ecclesiastical 
council composed of pastors and lay delegates from 
churches in the vicinity was invited and held at the 
house of Samuel S. Walker, March 12th, in the fore- 
noon. Articles of faith and form of covenant were 
considered and adopted, and sixteen candidates pre- 
sented themselves for examination. These candidates 
were Joseph Brown, Esther Brown, Ehoda Brown, 
Harriet Walker, Samuel S. Walker, Esther E. Jefts, 
Jenny Little, Nancy Holden, Imlay Wright, Sarah 
Meriam, Amelia Shipley, Lucy Porter, Jacob Har- 
rington, Sarah B. Harriugton, Elizabeth Harlow, A. 
Livermore. The candidates were examined and ac- 
cepted, and it was " voted to proceed to organize said 
persons into a church of Christ, to be denominated 

The (Jrtliodox Congregational Church in Shirley." — 
The public services of the occasion were held in the 
afternoon, in the Universalist meeting-house, at the 
South Village. There was no society organized as a 
legal body until 1846, when it was iucorpor.ated under 
the name of the "Orthodox Congregational Society 
in Shirley." The summer following the organization 



of the church, land was given by Miss Jenny Little 
for the building of a church edifice. This was built 
during the next year, 1829, and dedicated in Decem- 
ber. It was constructed of brick, was of humble pre- 
tensions and pleasantly located. It served its purpose 
as a house of worship for about twenty years, when 
the matter of removal to the South Village began to 
be agitated. It was thought by those who favored 
this change of location, it would be placing it in a 
flourishing village, where the manufacturing interest 
was increasing, and all the conditions were such as to 
insure greater prosperity and growth, while very few 
accessions to the church could be ex-pected if it re- 
mained where it was, and its support would become a 
matter of great difhculty. The movement was finally 
carried, though not without earnest and vigorous pro- 
test from those who lived in the northerly section of 
the town, and a serious defection and division. Ser- 
vices were held in a school-house until the new church 
edifice was built. This was completed and dedicated 
in the spring of 1851. It was located on the table- 
land north of the Catacunemaug Valley, and was a 
plain, neat structure, surmounted by a tower and sup- 
plied with a bell. Its cost was $3300. 

After twenty years of use, repairs were needed, 
and in 1872 a thorough renovation of the interior was 
made at an expense of $2500. 

The first pastor was Rev. Hope Brown, who was or- 
dained to the office June 22, 1830. He continued with 
the church nearly fourteen years, devoting himself to 
its interests with great fidelity. After the retirement 
of Mr. Brown, Mr. John P. Humphrey, a licentiate 
from Andover, was the pulpit supply till July, 1847, 
when Mr. Joseph M. R. Eaton, having accepted an 
invitation to settle with the church, was ordained to 
thepastorship. His term of service was a little less 
than three years. He was followed by Rev. G. W. 
Adams, who supplied the pulpit between two and 
three years, but did not settle. In May, 1853, Rev. 
B. B. Beardsley became the pastor and performed the 
dutes of the office until 1858. A period of transient 
supply then followed till April, 1860. Rev. Daniel 
H. Babcock was then engaged to supply for an indef- 
inite period, and continued for nearly three years. 
An invitation was given to Mr. A. J. Dutton, Novem- 
ber 1, 1863, by the society, and endorsed by the church 
on the 9th, and on the 10th he was ordained and in- 
stalled. His ministry continued six years. He was 
succeeded by Rev. A. H. Lounsbury, who was installed 
April 20, 1870, and was with the society five years. 
Kev. Mr. Shurtlefl'was next engaged, and began his 
labors the 1st of July, 1875, but early in the second 
year of his work a growing disaffection induced him to 
withdraw. Rev. E. J. Moore then came, but remained 
only a few months over one year. In June, 1881, Mr. 
Albert F. Norcross, a graduate of Andover, was given 
an invitation, and accepting it, was ordained August 
31st. His pastorate closed December 29, 1884. From 
this date to January, 1890, there was no settled pas- 



I 




S.a &j^ 



^-^-'T^ 



SHIRLEY. 



485 



tor, and the pulpit was supplied by transient preach- 
ers. In January of this year Rev. Albert G. Todd ac- 
cepted the invitation of the society, and entered upon 
the duties of pastor. 

By the will of Mrs. Sarah P. Longley, who died 
September 8, 1889, the society received a bequest of 
$'2000, the income of which is to be appropriated to 
the salary of the pastor. 

Baptist Church. — The movement for a Bapti>t or- 
a;anization and worship began in April, 1852, and a 
sermou was preached by Rev. Mr. Seaver, of Salem. 
Services were held occasionally during the year, and 
in February, 1853, a church was formed, and publicly 
recognized the 6ih of the following April. ■ Its 
chapel was built the same year and dedicated the last 
day of the year. Rev. G. W. Butler served as pastor 
one year. After him, Rev. Ezekiel Robbins, a resi- 
dent of the town, was the preacher for a few months. 
Then Rev. George Carlton preached two years, but 
did not reside in town. In 1859 a call was extended 
to John Randolph, a young licentiate from the State 
of Illinois. He was ordained March 24th, but re- 
mained only one year. Public services were then 
suspended for several years and the chapel given to 
various secular uses, the income from which was ap- 
propriated to the removal of the church debt. In 
lSi'>(), through the eftbrts of Rev. Mr. Skinner, then 
temporarily supplying the Baptist pulpit at South 
Groton, means were procured for extinguishing the 
debt and repairing the chapel, and it was reopened 
for public worship. 

Rev. Sumner Latham became the pastor at this 
time, and remained not quite two years. A period of 
transient supply now followed until November, 1870, 
wlieii Rev. Thomas Atwood was engaged, and was 
pastor fourteen months. From October, 1872, till 
March, 1874, Rev. E, H. Watrous performed the du- 
ties of the office. From this date to the present. 
May, 1890, it was without a pastor, but has continued 
its services, its pulpit being supplied chiefly by un- 
dergraduates from the Newton Theological Seminary. 
At this date Mr. Walter V. Gray entered upon the 
duties of the office. A renovation and renewal of the 
interior of the chapel was made in 1873, at a cost of 
$800, of which $500 was contributed by Mrs. Munson, 
mother of the late N. C. Munson, and a new organ, 
supplied mainly at the expense of Mr. Munson. 
About $400 was expended in a similar work in the 
autumn of 1889. A bequest of real estate valued at 
$1000 was made to the church by the will of Miss 
Maria Hartwell, who died Dec. 9, 1876. 



BIOGllAPHICAL. 



CIIAKI-ES AUSTIN^ EDGARTOS. 

The Edgarton family has, for many years, filled an 
important place in the history of Shirley. The first 
of the name appearing on the records of the town 



was John Edgarton, who came from East Bridgewater 
about 1771. He was a prosperous farmer, proprietor 
of the fixrm now owned by William P. Wilbur, and 
erected the house now the residence of Mr. Wilbur — 
a large, brick dwelling, "the first building of brick 
set up within the limits of the town." He entered 
actively into public affairs, was one of the "minute- 
men" at the breaking out of the Revolutionary War, 
and a volunteer to Cambridge on the 19th of April, 
1775. For twenty-one years he was one of the select- 
men of the town, served as justice of the peace sev- 
eral years, represented the town two terms in the 
State Legislature, and was often sought for duty on 
committees and iu other places of trust. His second 
son, John, Jr., in company with Jonas and Thomas 
Parker, built and operated the first paper-mill in 
town, near the close of the last century, and, in com- 
pany with Benjamin Edgarton, built and carried on 
a forge for the manufacture of scythes. The name of 
Joseph Edgarton comes next into prominence. He 
was the third son of John, and inherited the energy, 
enterprise and public spirit of his father, but without 
the taste or inclination for office, except in military 
affairs, in which he took af great interest, being 
familiarly known as Major Edgarton. He engaged 
largely in manufacturing industries, and was a lead- 
ing proprietor in the fir-t and second cotton factories, 
in two of the paper-mills, and the batting-mill, and 
in an extensive trade in general merchandise. Chan- 
dler, in his history, styles him "the veteran manufac- 
turer of Shirley, whose name is more largely con- 
nected than any other with the manufacturing 
enterprise of the town." Among these varied indus- 
tries and activities his sons received that early 
training which gave them a practical knowledge of 
machinery and developed more or less of mechanical 
ability. William W. succeeded his father in the 
manufacture of paper, and afterwards engaged in the 
manufacture of nails. Charles Austin, whose por- 
trait accompanies this sketch, had his first experience 
as a workman in the paper-mill of his father. He 
bad charge of a machine at the age of sixteen. Ou 
leaving the paper-mill, he, in connection with his 
brothers William and Henry, ran a saw and planing- 
niill, turning out a large amount of lumber annually. 
He was then, for a few years, with his brother Wil- 
liam in the nail factory. From 18(55 to 1873 he was, 
in company with N. C. Munson, in the Jlunson Cot- 
ton-Mill. At the latter date he entered upon the 
manufacture of tape; adding to this, in time, the 
manufacture of suspender webbing and elastic goods. 
From this he passed to the manufacture of suspend- 
ers exclusively, in which business, in connection with 
his son Charles Frederick, whom he associated with 
him in 1881, he has built up a large and growing 
trade. Always giving close attention to his business, 
of good judgment and large, practical experience, he 
ranks well among the business men of the day. He 
will be .sixty-four years of age October 13, 1890. He 



486 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



was married, June 17, 1852, to Miss Jane A. Long'.ey. 
A son and two daughters — Charles Frederick, Hittie 
Whitcomb and Sarah Miranda — complete the family, 
whose home life is one of rare parental and filial de- 
votion. 

Mrs. Sarah C. Edgarton Mayo, of whom mention 
is made in this history, a gifted poet and literary 
writer, widely and favorably known, was an older 
sister. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 



WESTON. 



BY COL. D. S. LAMSON. 



At the second Court of Assistants held at Charles- 
town, September 7, 10.30, it was ordered "That Tre- 
mout be called Boston, Blatapan should be called Dor- 
chester and the town upon Charles River, Watertown." 
The exact period when what is now called Weston 
began to be settled is not known ; it was probably at 
an early period of the Watertown settlement, for there 
are still standing houses or parts of houses and foun- 
dations which go back to a very early period, of which 
we now have no reliable dates. The territory of 
Watertown was very extensive, and its several parts 
were known by distinct and peculiar names. The 
lands next west of Beaver Brook were called " the 
lots of the Further Plain," or the (}reat Plain, now 
Waltham. The remote or West Pine Meadows were 
in the southerly part of what is now Weston. The 
township lots, or lots beyond the Further Plain, were 
west of Stony Brook. TheFarms or Farm Landscom- 
prised what is now Weston, and were bounded by 
Sudbury and Dedham. In town-meeting, held Octo- 
ber, 1638, "it was ordered that Daniel Pattrick, 
Abram Browne, John Stowers, Edward Lewis and 
Simon Eire shall lay out the Farms as they are or- 
dered." A list of these allotments in 1642 gives the 
names of those persons to whom ninety -two farms,con- 
taining 7674 acres were allotted. It would appear by the 
Watertown Records that the committee to whom the 
matter of allotments was given in charge, allotted to 
themselves the first choice, and they, with Jeremiah 
Norcross, Thomas Mayhew and John Whitney, were 
the first land-owners in Weston. 

These allotments of the meadow-lands gave great 
dissatisfaction, and they are referred to in old deeds 
as the " Land of Contention." In 1G63 these lands 
were re-surveyed and laid out for a new allotment by 
John Sherman. This survey contained 1102 acres, 
and was bounded on the south by Dedham, on the 
west by Sudbury, and on all other sides by the 
Farm Lands. These farms were styled the Farmers' 
Precinct, and also the Third Military Precinct. In 
1692 these parts of Watertown, which subsequently 
became the towns of Watertown, Waltham and Wes- 



ton, were designated as the Precinct of Captain Bond's 
Company of Horse, and of Captain Garfield's Com- 
pany and Lieutenant Jones' Company. In the allot- 
ment of these farms it was stipulated that they shall 
be for a Common for cattle, to the use of the farmers 
of the town and their heirs forever, and not to be 
alienated without the consent of every freeman and 
their heirs forever. This is the first instance upon 
record where the term "Farm Lands" is applied to Wes- 
ton. The earliest proprietors in 1642 are Bryan Pen- 
dleton, Daniel Pattrick, Simon Eire, John Stcwers, 
Abraham Browne, John Whitney, Edward How, 
Jeremiah Norcross and Thomas Mayhew. In ecclesi- 
astical affairs, what is now Weston was connected 
with Watertown about sixty-eight years, and in civil 
affairs about eighty-three years. The inhabitants of 
the Farm District, and those in the remote westerly 
part of Watertown, went to worship at the easterly 
part of Watertown, at a house situated in the vicinity 
of the old burying-ground. The Watertown church 
is the sixth in organization in Mas.sachusetts, the first 
being at Salem, the second at Cbarlestown (including 
Boston), the third at Dorchester, the fourth at Rox- 
bury, and the fifth at Lynn. In July, 1630, at Water- 
town, forty of the inhabitants subscribed to a church 
covenant, and the church of this place dates from 
that period. It would seem from Governor Winthrop's 
journal that the Watertown church has a prior exist- 
ence to the one at Charlestown, and was second only 
to that at Salem. In 1692 commenced the contention 
in this church growing out of the location of the new 
meeting-house. There was great opposition to a 
change in the place of worship, and it became so serious 
that the selectmen agreed to refer the matter to the 
Governor, Sir William Phipps, and his Council. This 
mode of bringing the disputes of a town to an issue 
by referring them to the chief magistrate, would be 
deemed singular at the present day, but at this early 
period was not uncommon. The Governor appointed 
a committee of five members to report, and they made 
their report in May, 1693. Judge Samuel Sewell was 
president of this committee. The report was unsatis- 
factory to the people, and the contention continued 
down to 1695, when a protest was placed on record, 
signed by 100 inhabitants, of which thirty-three were 
inhabitants of the Farmers' District. The contention 
growing out of this matter of the location of the new 
church led up to the final separation of the in- 
habitants of the Plain, or Waltham, they being al- 
lowed to have a meeting-house .at " Beaver Brook, 
upon the road leading to Sudbury, to the end that 
there may be peace and settlement amongst us." As 
early as 1694 the Farmer's District — now Weston — 
would seem to have had separate interests from the 
church in Watertown. In 1694 the inhabitants of 
the Farms, to the number of 118, petitioned to be set 
off into a separate precinct, alleging the great distance 
to the place of public worship, and protesting against 
being obliged to go so far from home. The prayer of 



WESTON. 



487 



the petitioners was not acceded to at once, and the 
contention growing out of the proposed separation ex- 
tended over a period of five years. Judge Sewell pre- 
sided over the conferences, and in his diary alludes to 
the contention between the parties, and adds, "tliat 
he had to pray hard to keep them from coming to 
blo\v:i;" but in January, 1697, the farmers were ex- 
empt from ministerial rates in Watertown, though 
not in legal form until a year later. It would seem 
that the farmers were determined to be separated 
from Watertown, and feared that the delay in grant- 
ing their petition to this end would end iV;i'efusal. 
Jloney was contributed by sundry persons for the 
purpose of preferring a petition for their separation 
to the Great and General Court. The farmers again 
displayed their determination for a separation from 
Watertown, and did not wait patiently for a decision 
on their petition, for, in January, 169.5, the}' agreed to 
build a meeting-house thirty feet square on land of 
Nathaniel Coolidge, Sr. This little church was never 
completed, but services were held in it in 1700. It 
was styled the Farmers' Meeting-House. It was 
begun by subscriptions, and afterwards carried on at 
the expense of the precinct. A history of Weston 
from the date of its separation from Watertown, in 
1638, as a distinct precinct, must necessarily com- 
mence with a history of its church. There are no 
records extant of the precinct other than those of the 
church ; all town and precinct records have been lost 
most unaccountably, the former for a period of fifty- 
two years, and the latter for a period of forty-two years. 
There is extant a precinct record beginning at the 
time of the separation of Lincoln from Weston, ia 
1746, and extending down to the year 175-1, v^hen 
they cease, and are merged in the town records, no 
explanation of any reason, therefore, being given on 
the books of that period. In the early settlements 
of New England towns the church was the nucleus 
of organization — the bond which held together the 
scattered population of rural districts — around which 
the people gathered and formed that essentially 
New England form of government which we call 
the town-meeting. 

In 1699 thp bounds of the Farmers' Precinct, by 
order of the General Court, was declared to be as fol- 
lows, viz.: "The bounds of said Precinct shall extend 
from Charles River to Stony Brook bridge, and from 
said bridge up the brook Northerly to Robert Har- 
rington's farm, the brook to be the boundary, inclu- 
ding the said farm, and comprehending all the farms 
and farm lands to the line of Cambridge and Con- 
cord, and from thence all Watertown lands to their 
utmost Soul h ward and Westward bounds." The 
same bound's, in the same words, are defined in the 
Act of Incorporation of the town in 1712. In 1700 
money was granted to support preaching, which 
grants for that purpose continued from time to time 
by the inhabitants in town-meeting. 

In 1701 Mr. Joseph Jlors or Morse, who was a 



graduate of Harvard College in 1695, was invited to 
preach, with a view to a settlement, and in 1702 they 
gave him a call by a vote of thirty to twelve, agreeing 
to build him a house forty by twenty feet. In Janu- 
ary, 170a, he nccepted the call, and it was voted in 
town-meeting to begin the promised house. The 
house and land were conveyed to him by deed. In 
1704 difficulties arose respecting Jlr. Mors' settle- 
ment ; but there is no record extant of what was the 
nature of these difficulties. There appears, however, 
to have been considerable irritation, whatever may 
have been the grounds. Justice Sewell, in his 
" Memories," Vol. II., pp. 156, under date of 1706, 
speaks of a council held at the house of Mr. Willard, 
and they advise that after a month Mr. Mors should 
cease to preach in Watertown Farms. Mr. Mors was 
afterwards settled in Stoughton (now Canton). After 
some difficulty the precinct purchased his house and 
land for the use of the ministry; but it was not until 
17it7 that he conveyed the premises. (Lib. 14, fol. 
646.) The Committee of the Precinct at this time 
consisted of Thomas Wilson, Captain Josiah Jones, 
Captain Francis FuUam and Lieutenant John Brewer. 
In 1706 the precinct was presented at the Court of 
Sessions for not having a settled minister, and a 
committee was appointed to make answer to the pre- 
sentment. The precinct was again presented for the 
same reason in 1707 at Concord Court, and the an- 
swer made by the precinct was to "pray that the 
Court would not place Mr. Mors over the precinct, 
and not by their own election." In July they called 
Mr. Thomas Tufts; but he declined in September, 
and in January, 1708, the precinct appointed a day 
of fasting and prayer. In February, 1708, they gave Mr. 
William Williams a call, and he accepted in August, 
1709, or eleven years after the Farmers' district had 
become a distinct precinct. It would appear by the 
parish records that the church in Weston had no 
regular organization until the settlement of Mr. Wil- 
liams in 1710, when the covenant was signed; two 
deacons were chosen, the membership numbering 
eighteen males, nine from other churches, and nine 
who were not communicants. The following are the 
names of those who gathered with the church at this 
time : Nathaniel Coolidge, Thomas Flagg, Joseph 
Lorvell, John Parkhurst, John Livermore, Francis 
Fullam, Abel Allen, El)enezer Allen, Francis Peirce; 
the others were Joseph Jones, Thomas Wright, Jo- 
seph Allen, Josiah Jones, Jr., Joseph Woolson, Jo- 
seph Livermore, Joseph Allen, Jr., Josiah Livermore, 
Samuel Seaverns and George Robinson. 

In March, 1710, money was granted to finish the 
meetinghouse, by which we learn that the small 
meeting-house, thirty feet square, begun in 1695, was 
not completed in fifteen years. In 1718 a motion was 
brought forward to build a new meeting-house, but 
the matter was deferred. In 1721 the town voted to 
build, and to appropriate their proportion of the bills 
of credit issued by the General Court to this purpo.se. 



488 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



The new location of this second church is north of 
the old location given by Nathaniel C'oolidge, upon 
what is now called the Common. At a town-meeting 
Novembers, 1721, it was voted that Benjamin Brown, 
Benoni Garlield, Ebenezer Allen, Joseph Allen and 
James Jones be a committee to manage the covering 
and closing of the new meetinghouse. It was also 
voted "to grant the Reverend William Williams the 
sum of seventy-and-four pounds for his salary for his 
labor in the Gospel Ministry the present year, begin- 
ning the 10th of September, 1722, and six pounds for 
cutting and carting his fire-wood for the year." In 
what year this church was completed is not recorded. 
In 1800 it underwent thorough repairs — a steeple and 
two porches were added, and a new bell purchased of 
Paul Revere, for which the sum of $44.5.12 was paid 
by public subscription. Mr. Williams continued in 
the ministry until October, 1750, covering a period of 
forty-one years, and was dismissed by a mutual coun- 
cil. The reasons for this action are not recorded. 
He remained in the town and, for a time, acted as 
schoolmaster, and otherwise assisted the successor 
chosen in his place. He died in W^eston, and is 
buried in the town buryiug-ground. The Rev. Sam- 
uel Woodward succeeded Mr. Williams in 1751. He 
died October 5, 1782, at the age of fifty-six years, and 
the thirty-first of his ministry. Mr. Woodward was 
greatly beloved by his people and brethren of the 
clergy. He was succeeded by the Rev. Samuel Ken- 
dall, who was ordained November 5, 1783. He died 
ill 1814, after thirty-one years of faithful service in 
the ministry. The Rev. Joseph Field succeeded Mr. 
Kendall in 1815, having graduated from Cambridge 
Cijllege in 1814. He died November 5, 18G9, having 
been pastor of the Weston parish for fifty years. In 
the War of 1812 he served as chaplain to the Third 
Middlesex Regiment, and was a pensiouer of the Gov- 
ernment. The Rev. Dr. Edmund H. Sears succeeded 
Mr. Field. He died in 1876. He was followed by 
two or three ministers, whose stay was of short dura- 
tion, until the ministry of Mr. C. F. Russell, in 1882, 
who is si ill pastor of the church. From the settle- 
ment of Mr. Williams, in 1709, to the death of Mr. 
Sears, a period of one hundred and sixty-seven years, 
there have been only five ministers settled over this 
ancient church, all of whom died here, and are buried 
in our graveyards, within a stone's-throw of each other. 
To the centennial sermon of the Rev. Dr. Kendall, 
delivered on the completion of the century of the in- 
corporation of the town, in 1812, we are indebted for 
much of the ancient history of the town, that oth- 
erwise, in consequence of the loss of all town records 
covering the early period, we should to-day be ignor- 
ant of that interesting period of the town's history. 
Mr. Kendall states that at this time the population 
of the town was a little more than a thousand. In 
1888 it was 1430. He gives the mortality for thirty 
years, from 1783 to 1813; before that dale there was 
no means of computing such valuable data. During 



this thirty years there were 396 deaths, making the 
annual average 13.5. Of the 396 who died, ninety ar- 
rived at the age of seventy and upwards — more than 
■iX per cent, arrived at what is called the common age 
of mail. Out of the ninety that lived to this age, 
fifty-two attained the age of eighty. Of the fifty-two 
that arrived at this age, twenty-seven lived to be 
eighty-seven and upwards, or one in 145 that attained 
this advanced age; twelve lived to be ninety and up- 
wards, making one in thirty-three. Three lived to be 
ninety-five and upwards, giving one in 132. One 
lived to be 102 years old. 

The estimate which Dr. Kendall gives of the people 
of the town, is that they are mostly industrious farm- 
ers — a class of men which merits the high considera- 
tion and esteem of every other class. The character 
of its inhabitants would not sutler by a comparison 
with those of any other town in the Commonwealth. 

In 1711 a committee, consisting of Captain Fullam, 
Lieutenant Josiah Jones and Daniel Estabrook, were 
appointed by the Farmers' District to present a peti- 
tion to the toivn-meeting in Watertown, held in May, 
1711, and the following December the town "did by 
a free vote manifest their willingness that the said 
farmers should be a township by themselves, accord- 
ing to their former bounds," with the proviso and 
conditions, " 1st, that the farmers continue to pay a 
due share of the expense of maintaining the Great 
Bridge over Charles River; 2d, that they pay 
their full share of the debts now due by the town ; 
3d, that they do not in any way infringe the right 
of proprietors having land, but not residing among 
the farmers." The petition was at once presented to 
the General Court, and the act incorporating the 
town of Weston was passed January 1, 1812. It is to 
be regretted that those who took part in organizing the 
new town, its officers, etc., are lost, little or nothing 
remaining to-day from that date to 1754, when the 
second volume of "Town Reports" commences. 
There were no Indian settlements within the limits 
of Weston; they had their hunting-ground higher up, 
on the banks of the Charles River. When the In- 
dians planned the destruction of Watertown and the 
outlying settlements in 1676, they entered the north- 
westerly part of the town and burnt a barn, but it 
does not appear that any other damage was done. In 
Captain Hur;h Mason's return of his company iu 1075 
appear the names of seven men who were of the Wes- 
ton Precinct — Johu Park hurst, Michael Flagg, Johu 
Whitney, Jr., George Harrington, Jacob Ballard, 
Nathaniel Hely, Johu Bigelow. 

Jacob Fullam, of Weston, son of "Squire Francis 
Fullam, joined the expedition, commanded by Cap- 
tain Lovewell, against the '" Pequanket " tribe of In- 
dians in 1725. Fullam held the rank of sergeant. 
This tribe of Indians, with Pungus, their chief, had 
its home in the White Mountains, on the Saco River, 
in New Hampshire. They were very troublesome, 
and this expedition was undertaken to capture and 



WESTON. 



489 



destroy them, as well as to gain the large bounty of- 
fered by the Province of £100 for every Indian scalp. 
The expedition consisted of about forty men. They 
were led into an ambush by the savages, and the 
greater part were killed, including Captain Lovewell 
and Sergeant FuUam. Fullani is reported to have 
disliiiguislied "himself in the fight. He killed one 
savage in a hand-to-hand encounter, and when a sec- 
ond savage came to the rescue of his friend, FuUam 
and the second savage fell at the same time, killed by 
each other's shots. There was an old song about this 
fight, one verse of which runs as follows: 

*' Youn^ Fullain, too, I'll mention. 
Because he funglit so well. 
Trying to save another man, 
A sacrifice he fell." 

The first step taken toward a military organization 
was in September, 16.30, induced, probably, by the 
danger which was threatening the charter of the 
Province, which King Charles was said to be about 
to withdraw, which act on the part of the King would 
in all probability have brought matters to an early 
crisis. In IGoti, at the time of the Pequot war, a 
more general organization of the militia took place. 
In this year all able-bodied men in the Colony were 
ranked into three regiments, the Middlesex regi- 
ment being under the command of John Haines. 
This Middlesex regiment continued to exist down to 
the early years of this century, as one of the historic 
features of the county, and in its day having been 
commanded by such distinguished men as Brooks, 
Varuum, Barrett and others. lu 1(J37 lieutenants and 
ensigns were appointed for the train-bands in the 
towns. All persons above the age of sixteen were re- 
quired to take the oath of fidelity, and that was prbb- 
ably the age when they became subject to military 
duty. In 1043 the danger from the Indians and the 
scattered position of townships led to the league of 
the four Colonies of Massachusetts, Plymouth, Con- 
necticut and New Haven, under the title of the 
" United Colonies of New England." These four Col- 
onies contained thirty-nine townships, with a popu- 
lation of about 24,000 inhabitants. Of the 24,000 peo- 
ple in the Confederacy, 15,000 belonged to Massachu- 
sstts, while the other three Colonies had only a pop- 
ulation of about 3000 each. In lt)43 the thirty towns 
of Massachusetts were divided into four counties — 
Middlesex, E-sex, Norfolk and Suffolk. The train- 
bands organized at this time in every part of the Col- 
ony; one-third of the band was set apart, under the 
title of "Alarm men," who were to be ready at a mo- 
ment's notice to repel any Indian invasion of the 
towns or settlemenis. They were tlie home-guard, 
and never took part on expeditions calling the train- 
band from home. The Alarm men took their arms 
to meeting on Sundays, and stacked them in the 
church during divine service. After meeting they 
formed in front of the church, and were inspected by 
the captain of the train-band, or, in his absence, by 



one of the deacons of the church. Each man had to 
be provided with a certain amount of powder and 
ball, which ammunition was provided the men by the 
precinct. As the danger from Indian incur-'ions 
had passed away, the "Alarm list " still continued 
down to the time of the Eevolution. During the 
French and Indian wars, from 173-5 to 1760, it became 
necessary to keep open direct ways of communication 
between Eastern Massachusetts and the frontiers of 
Canada. Massachusetts, from 1740, claimed all the 
territory that now constitutes the State of Maine, 
New Hampshire and Vermont. She manned and 
supported the forts on the Connecticut River at West- 
moreland, Keene and Charlestown, Fort Urummond 
at Vassalboro', Vermont, etc. The Indian trails which 
from the early period had been the principal roads of 
travel, were inadequate for the transportation of can- 
non and ammunition of war; Massachusetts con- 
structed roads through New Hampshire to Crown Point 
and Lake Champlain. Several of these roads ran 
through Middlesex County, and were the foundation of 
the principal thoroughfares we have in use to-day. The 
Main Road, Concord Road and Framingham Turnpike 
were largely in use in early times to reach distant 
points in the interior. These roads run through 
Weston to-day. The soldiers who had served 
in the Narragansett or King Philip's War were, for a 
number of years, clamoring for the lands which had 
been promised them by the Province for their service, 
in this war. A large percentage of these old sol- 
diers had gone to their graves unrewarded, but there 
still remained some 840 claimants. 

After a long delay it was finally decided to grant a 
township six miles square to every one hundred and 
twenty soldiers; seven townships were granted. The 
committee appointed to lay out these several town- 
ships reported in February, 1734. These Narraganset 
towoships were distinguished by numbers from No. 1 
to No. 7. No 2, at Wachuselt, was ordered "to assign 
to His Excellency Jonathan Belcher, five hundred 
acres of land in said town, for his father's right." In 
this township there were seventeen grantees from 
Cambridge, thirty-three from Charlestown, twenty-six 
from Watertown, five from Weston, eleven from Sud- 
bury, seven from Newton, three from Medford, six 
from Maiden and ten from Reading. John Sawin 
drew his father's rights in No. 2 in 1737; John 
Thomas and Manning .Sawin owned the Livermore 
farm in Weston, afterwards sold to John Train. Mr. 
Abijah Uphara, of Weston, was collector of ths 
grantors of Weston. Benjamin Brown, of Weston, 
would .seem to have been the principal manager of 
the Townshij) Nd. 2. An interesting letter is addressed 
to him in 1737 by the clergyman of No. 2, who it, ap- 
pears, had received no salary for a number of years. 
It was not, however, till 1744 that any attention ap- 
pears to have been paid to the demands of the Rev. 
Elisha Marsh. In 1738 the bill for buildhig the 
meeting-house appears among Mr. Brown's papers ; 



490 



HISTOllY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



the sum of its cost i^ stated as £366 10». Od., with 
vouchers attached. Mr. Brown continues in general 
management of the township, now Westminster, from 
1736 to 1750, when he transfers his accounts to Mr. 
Coolc, treasurer of the proprietors. Beginning with 
the year 1731, the inhaoitants of the northerly part 
of Weston complained of the distance which sepa- 
rated them from the place of public worship, and the 
condition of the roads leading to the meeting-house. 
Repeated presentments to the General Court were 
made concerning the condition of these roads. These 
complaints carry us bacii to the separation of Weston 
from Watertown, and resulted in 1746, in the formation 
of the town ofLincoln,andthe loss to Weston of a large 
tract of land granted to Lincoln which had formerly 
formed a part of that town. The custom prevailed before 
the Revolution, and for some years later, for the inhab- 
itants, in town-meeting, to draw up instructions for 
their representative to the General Court to follow, 
and regulating their actions and votes on particular 
subjects of general interest, and not infrequently the 
representative was called upon in open town-meeting 
to explain his votes, while the extreme leaders of 
rebellion against Great Britain were fulminating their 
action in Boston, sending letters and broadsides into 
every town. The Stamp Act, the Tea Party and the 
Boston Massacre do n ot seem to have created a very 
marked ruffle in the town-meetings of Weston ; in 
fact, they are not mentioned on the town records. It 
required the march of the British regulars on Lexing- 
ton and Concord to arouse the sleeping lion, who, 
when once thoroughly aroused, as became the case on 
the ever memorable 19th of April, 1775, never again 
drewin his claws until every vestigeofBritishand royal 
dominion had been torn from the soil. A few days 
previous to the battle of Concord, Sergeant How, of 
the British Army, in Boston, was sent asaspy through 
the western part of Middlesex to discover the best 
means for a force to reach Worcester, there to destroy 
the provisions and ammunition which were stored at 
that place. This spy, whose journal is still in existence, 
met with his first mishap in Weston, when he was 
spotted as a spy, and his movements reported by the 
Liberty men of the town throughout his journey. 
The Weston men so thoroughly aroused the towns 
through which How traveled to Worcester and Con- 
cord, that it caused him to make a report to General 
Gage that to go to Worcester and back, not a man he 
would send there would come back alive. It was 
this report of How, that caused. General Gage to 
make the attack on Concord instead of Worcester. 
On the morning of the 19th of April, 1775, on the 
alarm that the " British were coming," the inhab- 
itants of Weston gathered to the number of one 
hundred at ihe house of Captain Samuel Lamson ; 
among them the Rev. Samuel Woodward, who 
after offering a prayer, took a musketand fell into the 
ranks with the company. The list of these men who 
marched from Weston for the defence of the Colony 



against the ministerial forces, will be found in Lex- 
ington Alarm, vol. xii. p. 170. 

Captain, Siimtiel Lamson ; Lieuteiiante, John Fiske, M'lttliew Hnhlis ; 
Serg"anti*, Jusuili Stfuilnian, Josiah Severfi, .lohn Wright, Atiiuhani 
Hews ; Corporals, Abijah Steadman, Simon Smith ; Drummer, S .niuel 
Nuttiug ; Privates, Natlian Hager, Jonathan .Stratton, Isaac Billiard, 
John Allen, Jr., .tolin Warren, Jr., Jonathan Warren, William Ilobert, 
Micah Warren, .lohn Frost, Abijah Warren, Isa.ac I^lagg, Isaac Walker, 
Isaac Cory, .lames Jones, Amos Jones, David Sandeison, Abraham 
Harrington, John Walker, Jr., Samuel Underwood, Eben Krackett, 
Oliver Curtis, Josiah Corey, Reuben HoTibs, Thomas Rand, Thomas 
Rand, Jr., Benjamin Dudley, William Lawrence, .Njithl. Parkhurst, 
Samuel Fiske, Elias Bigelow, Wm. Whitney, Abraham Sanderson, Ben- 
jamin Hand, Benjamin Pierce, David Fuller, Saml. Child, David Liver- 
more, Jonas Harrington (;id), Jacob Parmenter, Thomas Corey, Roger 
Bigelow, Elijali Kingsbury, Jonas Underwood, Converse Bigelow, Wil- 
liam Pierce, John Stimpson, Thomas Williams, Increase Leadbetter, 
Elislia Stratton, Isaac Hobbs, Benjamin Bancroft, Dauiel Twitcliel, 
William Bond, .Ir., John Flint, Joliu Norcross, William Carey, John 
Bemis, Dauiel 'Lawrence, Jedh. Bemis, Lemuel Stimpson, Samuel 
Train, Jr., Josiah Allen, Jr., Daniel Benjamin, Joseph Whitney, Josh. 
Steadman, Jonas Pierce, Nathl. Boynton, Eben Phillil>s, Jedh. Wheeler* 
Benjamin Pierce, Jr., John Pierce, William Jones, John Gould, John 
Lamson, Soln. Jones, Phineas Hager, Paul Coolidge, Samuel Taylor, 
Josh. Lovewell, Peter Gary, Thadus. Fuller, Joseph Pierce, Saml. Wood- 
ward, Elijah Allen, H^zekh. Wyman, Ebenr. Steadman, AVilliam Bond, 
Joel Smith, .Joseph Jenuison, Moses Pierce, Daniel Bends, Daniel Strat- 
ton, Amos ParkhurBt. 

The Weston company did not reach Concord ; they 
struck the retreating British at Lincoln and Ibllowed 
them to Charlestown, and were on this duty for three 
days. 

The Weston artillery company also marched to 
Concord on that day under command of Captain 
Israel Whitemore, — 

Captain, Israel Wliitemore ; Lieutenants, Josiah Bigelow, John 
George; Privates John Whitehead, John Pownell, Nathan Weston, 
Joseph Russell, Nathan Smith, .lohn Flagg Jonathan I^awrence, James 
Smith, Jr., Thaddeus Garfield, Alpheus Bigelow, Tlunias Russell. 

This company received for their services £5 17s. 
2d: 3/. 

At a town-meeting held on the 25th of May, 1775, 
Colonel Braddyll Smith was chosen to represent the 
town at a Provincial Congress, to be held in Water- 
town on May 31st, to deliberate, consult and resolve 
upon such further measures as under God shall be 
effectual to save this people from ruin. The whole 
warlike stores in Massachusetts on April 14, 1775, 
were a little over half a pound of powder to a man, — 

Fire-arms, 21, .540 ; pounds of powder, 17,441 ; pounds of ball, 22,191 ; 
number of tlints, 144,690; number of bayonets, 10,U)8 ; number of , 
pouches, 11,D79. 

In town meeting held June 18, 177(), it was voted 
to intrust their Representative to use his influence for 
the independence of Great Britain, if the honorable 
Congress thinks it best for the interestsof the Colony, 
and also that their Representative should not be paid 
out of the public chest, which is still in the hands of 
the Royal Governor, and that he be allowed four 
shillings a day for 137 days' services out of the town 
rates. General Washington, having decided to fortify 
Dorchester Heights, the Third Middlesex Regiment 
was ordered, on March 4th, to occupy the Heights. 
This old regiment was at that time commanded by 
Eleazer Brooks, of Lincoln ; Nathan Barrett, of 



WESTON. 



•491 



Concord, was lieutenant-colonel and Samuel Lam- 
Hon, of" Weston, was major. The names of the Wes- 
ton company were as follows (State Records, vol. xix. 
p. 88): 

Captain, Jonath»n Fisfee; Sergeants, Snmnel Fiske, .To.siah Seaveriia ; 
Corpomls, Abijah Steadnmn, Simon Smith; Fifer, Abijah Soaverns; 
I'livatc'S, Isaac Ourj, William Dond, Benjamin Dutlley, Isaac \Valkpr, 
Triali Gregory, Sulumon Junes, Kdward Pierce, Nathan Hagor. Jona- 
than Stratton, Jr., Isaac Flagg, Ebenezer Steadman, Natlmniel Howard, 
Josluia Pierce, Thaddeiis Fuller, Abraham Harrington, James Cogswell, 
Juehua Cogswell, Joshua Jennison, John Allen, Jr., James Hastingm, 
Joseph Steadman, John Warren, Jr.. ]\Iichael Warren, Jomitliaii War- 
ren, Tliumas Rus.sell, Jr., Benjamin Stimpson, David Steadman. Benja- 
min Pierce, Jr., Reuben Hobbs, Silas Livermore, Samuel Woodward, 
Benjaiuiu Band, John Wright, John Stimpeon, Lemuel Stimpson, John 
Pierce, Thomas Williaias, Abel Flint, John Hager, William Hobbs, 
Thomas Rand, Jr., Jonas Underwood, Joseph Russell. 

The company traveled twenty-eight miles, and 
served five days. It is to be regretted that the town 
records do not give the organizations, companies and 
regiments to which the Weston men who fought in 
the Kevolution were assigned. We have the pay- 
ments made to all who served in the war, and men- 
tion is made of some of the campaigns in which they 
took part, but nothing very definite. 

At a town-meeting July 1, 1776, it was voted to give 
£(y Us, Sd. to each man, in addition to the bounty 
granted by the General Court to those men that are 
to go to Canada. The Weston men who went to 
Canada at this time are as follows : 

Converse Bigelow, John Warren, Jr., Samuel Train, Matthew Hobbs, 
John Hager, Leniuel Stimpson, James C-ogswell, Benjamin Rand, 
Samuel Danforth, William Helms, P. Coolidge, John Baldwin, Benja- 
min Bancroft, Daniel Sanderson, Reuben Hobbs, Elias Bigelow, Thomas 
Russell, Jr , John Stimpson. 

Nearly all the above were members of the W^es- 
ton company. The Weston men who were in Cap- 
tain Asabet Wheeler's company, Colonel John Rob- 
inson's regiment, in 1776, at the siege of Boston, and 

stationed at Cambridge, were : 

Josiah Cary, Roger Bigelow, Paul Coolidge, Converse Bigelow, Na- 
thaniel Parkhnrst, Oliver Curtis, Phineas Hager, Lemuel Jones, Na- 
thaniel Bemie, Elias Bigelow, Daniel Benjamin, Daniel Livermoie, 
Thomas Bigelow, A. Faulkner.j 

The three months' men at Cambridge received 
£346 lis. 2J,— 

Edward Cabot, Joseph Colnirn, Isaac Gregorj', Isaac Peirce, Artimus 
Cox, Daniel Bemis, John Bemis, Joseph Mastick, Peter Gary, Simeon 
Pike, Keene Robinson, Daniel Rand, Thomas Harrington. 

The five months' men at Cambridge were paid 
£200 ISs. Oil— 

Philemon Warren, Joseph Stone, John Hager, George Farrer, Nathan 
Hager, Jedediah Warren, Nathan Fieke, Henry Bond, Josiah Jennison. 

The Weston men who guarded the beacon on San- 
derson's Hill, in Weston, were as follows; they were 
paid £127 8s. Ot/.— 

Jonas Sanderson, Nathaniel Fetch, Joel Harrington, Nathaniel Tar- 
menter, Thiiddens Pierce, Daniel Rand. 

This beacon is spoken of in General Sullivan's 
" Memoirs " as the connecting link of signals between 
the army at Cambridge and Sullivan's command in 
Rhode Island. The nine months' men from Weston 



were paid £900 as bounty-money ; their names are as 
follows ; 

Keen Kohinson, Jednthen Bemis, Joseph Blastick, Jan)es Bemis, 
Samuel Bailey, Daniel Davis, Peter Cary. 

There were eight Weston men in Captain Jesse 
Wyman's company, Colonel Josiah Whiting's regi- 
ment, serving in Rhode Island. They were discharged 
at Point Judith, — 

Oliver Curtis, .Joseph Mastick, Buckley Adams, Joseph Stone, Georgo 
Farrer, Amos Hosmer, Josiah Parks, Eleazer Parks. 

A draft was ordered by Colonel Brooks, of the Third 
Middlesex Regiment, of one-sixth of Captain Fiske's 
company, under date of August 18, 1777, as follows 
(S. R. vol. liii. p. 192) : 

William Hohbs. Samuel NnttinR, Silas Livermore, .Mpheus Bigelow, 
Nathan Warren, Daniel Benjamin, Joel Harrinirton. Isaac Jones, Jr., 
Phineas Hager, Phinens Upham, Isaac Flagg. Thomas Hill, William 
Bond, .\mos Harrington, Isaac Harrington, Jr., John Allen, Jr., Jedu- 
then Bemis, Daniel Weston. 

At the defeat of Washington at Brooklyn, New 
York, his army came near being broken up in conse- 
quence of short-term enlistments, and he appealed to 
Congress to organize an efficient army. As an in- 
ducement to enlist for the term of the war, Congress 
offered a bounty of £20 at the time of muster, and 
the following grants of land: To a colonel, 500 
acres ; to a major, 400 acres : to a captain, 300 acres ; 
to a lieutenant, 200 acres, and 100 acres to private?. 
Massachusetts passed a resolve requiring each town 
to furnish every seventh man of sixteen years of age, 
excepting Quakers. Under this order Weston quota 
was eighteen men. The town borrowed money of the 
town people to pay these men to the amount of 
£0-19 5s. 6d. ; the full amount borrowed for the use of 
the town from 1778 to 1779 was £4281 5s. Od. 

The town debt at this time was £.39(55 9s. lid. The 
army of General Burgoyne, which surrendered at Sar- 
atoga in October, was marched to Winter Hill, Som- 
erville, in two divisions. One wing, under General 
Brickett, was marched over the Framingham Turn- 
pike through Newton ; the other wing, under General 
Glover, passed over the main road of Weston to the 
same destination. Drafts were frequently made on 
the Weston Company to guard these prisoners at 
Winter Hill, being relieved from time to time. 

October 3, 1778, Colonel Brooks, of the Third Mid- 
dlesex Regiment, was made brigadier-general and 
was succeeded in command of the regiment by 
Nathan Barrett, of Concord. At a town-meeting in 
May, 1779, it was voted that £3000 be devoted to the 
supporr, of the war. 

Voted to choose a committee to put in force the 
subject of domestic trade which had been considered at 
the convention in Concord: the scarcity of money, 
the high rates the town was obliged to pay for 
money to support the war, and the unreasonable 
prices charged for all produce of daily consumption. 
The convention fixed a scale of prices for goods and 
merchandise, for farm produce and wages. Weston 



492 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



put in immediate force this regulation, and it was 
ordered that the names of those persons who did not 
comply with the rules be published. The currency 
of that date in depreciated money was about 
twenty shillings paper to one shilling in silver. 
This brought the price of tea to $1.33 per pound, and 
wages in summer at fifty-eight cents. West India 
rum at £0 lis. per gallon. New England rum £4 16s. 
per gallon ; collee, eighteen shillings per pound; mo- 
lasses £4 15s. ])er gallon ; brown sugar, ten to fourteen 
shillings per pound; salt, £10 8s. per pound ; beef, 
five shillinsjs per pound; butter, twelve shillings per 
pound ; cheese, six shillings per pound ; men's shoes^ 
£6 per pair ; women's the same. Flip per mug, fif- 
teen shillings ; toddy in proportion. Extra good din- 
ner, £1 ; common, twelve shilling-i. Best supper and 
breakfast, fifteen shillings; common, twelve shillings. 
Horse-keeping twenty-four hours on hay, fifteen shil- 
lings; on grass, ten shillings. The greater part of 
the men hired after this date to serve in the Conti- 
nental Army were hired by the town, strangers to the 
town. The new Constitution was voted yeas fifty- 
four, nays twenty, with the proviso that it should be 
revised within ten years. 

In 1780 the Weston Company of the Third Middle- 
sex Regiment enlisted for three years or the war, and 
were commanded by Captain Matthew Hobbs, the 
two Livermore brothers being the lieutenants. This 
company took part in the campaigns along the wes- 
tern and northern borders of New York, and were 
discharged at Newburgh on the Hudson in 1783. 
Captain Hobbs died in 1817. 

At a town-meeting on December 27, 1780, it was 
voted to grant money to purchase Weston's quota of 
beef for Washington's army — 7930 cwt. It was also 
voted to raise £50,000 for the support of the war. 
It had now become difficult to find men willing to 
enlist and equally difficult to hire men. The cur- 
rency had so far depreciated as to have become almost 
worthless, and loans of money on any terms ex- 
tremely difficult. The times were hard and the 
necessaries of life exhausted. The year closed in 
gloom. It is to be regretted that we have no record 
of the men from Weston who were killed or who 
died in the Army of the Eevolution. The Rev. Mr. 
Woodward gives the names of only two, Daniel and 
Elisha Whitehead. In 1781 took place the sale of 
the estates in Weston of conspirators and Tory ab- 
sentees. Seven lots were sold in the town. The bill 
relating to the sale of all such estate.^ throughout 
Missachusetts was proposed and passed in the Legis- 
lature in 1780 by the action of the Representative 
from Weston. At the time of the Shays' Rebellion 
the State debt was enormous, and the people were 
saddled with taxes beyond endurance — farmers espe- 
cially felt the burden, and many were sold out of 
their farms on account of not being able to pay their 
taxes and persinal debts; discontent was universal. 
' Massachusetts' proportion of the Federal debt was 



aboijt £1,500,000, private debts were computed at 
£l,-300,000 and £2.50,000 was due to the old soldiers. 
Dr. Samuel A. Green estimates from 1784 to 1786 
every fourth if not every third man in the State was 
subjected to one or more executions for debt. In 
1784 there were 2000 actions pending at the Worces- I 
ter Court, and in 1785 over 1700 more. Executions I 
could be satisfied by cattle and other means besides I 
money, thus (ilacing the creditors at the mercy of the 
debtors. The militia of the State had become of very 
little account since the peace, and what there was of 
it could not be depended upon at the Shays' crisis, 
and Governor Bowdoin enlisted 4400 troops and two 
companies of artillery for thirty days ; £0000 was 
raised in Boston by subscription and General Lincoln 
placed in command. Weston refused to oiler any 
bounty to the men who enlisted. It was at this period 
that independent companies were organized ; among 
these was the Westin Company of Light Infantry, 
its formation encouraged by Colonel Samuel Lamson 
who was at the time colonel of the Third Middlesex 
Regiment. TLis company received its arms from the 
Harvard College Company, which organization dates ■ 
back to the year 1770. The Weston Light Infantry ' 
continued to hold its charter until the 13th of May, 
1831, when it was disbanded for insubordination at 
the muster at Watertown. The names of its several 
commanders were as follows: 

Abraham Bigelow, 17S7 ; Altenias Ward, Jr., ITSO; ^Vl]lianl Ilobbs, 
1793 ; .\lphcns Bigelow. 1797 ; Nathan Fiske, 1800 i .losiah Hastiogra, 
1802; Isaac Ilobbs, 1804; Thomas Bigelow, 18 18 ; Nathan Upham, 
1809;Isa;ic Childs, 1811; Isaac Train, 1819; Charles Stratton, ISU ; 
Henry Hobbs, 1817 ; Luther Harrington, 1818 ; Mai-shall Jones, 1821 ; 
Sewell FisUe, 1822 ; Elmore Russell, 1S2S. 

A detail from this light infantry company w.is or- 
dered in the War of 1812 to guard the powder-house 
at Cambridge, — 

Sewell Fiske, Nathan Warren, Nehemiah Warren, Jesse Viles, Charles 
Beliiis. William Bigelow, Henry Stralton, Jacob Sanileraon, David Viles, 
Morse. 

Major Daniel S. Lamson, Charles Daggett, William 
Harrington, Deacon Isaac Jones and Corporal Gar- 
field, of the Weston company of the Third Middlesex 
Regiment, took part in the War of 1812. Major Lam- 
son was made lieutenant-colonel of the Third Regi- 
ment in 1818, and died as such in 1824. Corporal 
Garfield lived to be over one hundred years old and 
died in 1875, having spent the last thirty-six years of 
his life in the Weston poor-house. 

In 1788 the town of Weston voted for the new Con- 
stitution adopted by the convention held in Philadel- 
phia on the 28th of April, the vote standinsr sixty- 
three nut of seventy-four. In 1789 General Washing- 
ton, President of the United States, undertook a 
journey to the New England States, which he had 
not visited since the evacuation of Boston by the 
British troops. He traveled in his own carriage, ac- 
companied by Jlr. Lear and Major .Tackson, his sec- 
retaries, and six servants on horseback. Washington 
passed the night of October 23d at Fhigg's tavern, in 



WESTON. 



493 



Weston, and his letter to Governor Hancock accept- 
ing an invitation to dinner is dated from Weston. 
On the morning of October 24lh he received the in- 
habitants of the town, and Colonel Marshall made an 
address of welcome. On his way through the town 
he called on Mrs. Lamson, whose husband had been 
an officer of his army. General Washington was es- 
corted to Cambridge by the Watertown Cavalry Com- 
pany. 

The eighteenth century closed in great prosperity; 
the need of hard money alone prevented large commer- 
cial ventures. In 1790 the whole capitalof the United 
States was only $2,000,000, and the Federal debt in 
1799 was .•?78,40S,GG9.77. The first Baptists in Weston 
began to gather together about 177(5, meeting at each 
other's houses under the lead of Deaco nOliver Hast- 
ings. In 17S4a meeting-house thirty-one feet square, 
which building was first occupied in 1784, and fin- 
ished in 1788, was erected on the Nicholas Boyl- 
stcin estate on the Framingham turnpike. In 1789 a 
church of si.Kteen members was organized and recog- 
nized by the ecclesiastical council. They had no set- 
tled minister until 1811, when they united with the 
church in Framingham, and the Rev. Charles Train 
was ordained as pastor over the united churches. 
They separated in 182G, Mr. Train remaining in 
Framingham. At this date the Weston church num- 
bered about fifty members. The new church in the 
centre of the town was erected in 1828, Mrs. Bryant 
giving $1000, and Mr. Hews giving the land. The 
material of the old church was used in erecting the 
parsonage in 1833. The first settled pastor was the 
liev. Timothy P. Ropes, a graduate of Waterville Col- 
lege. The successors of Mr. Ropes in the ministry of 
tbis church are as follows : Rev. Joseph Hodges, Jr., 
in 1835 ; Rev. Origen Cram, in 1840 ; Rev. Calvin 
H. Toplifl", in 18.54 ; Rev. Luther G. Barrett, 4n 18(J7 ; 
Rev. Alonzo F. Benson, in 1870 ; Rev. Amos Harris, 
in 1875, who is still the presiding elder. The Meth- 
odists of Weston began to gather about 1794, and a 
small chapel was erected in the rear of the present 
church. It was a very modest building, without 
paint or plastering, having neither pulpit or pews. 
This chapel was in the old Needham Circuit, which 
consisted of Needham, Marlboro', Framingham and 
Hopkinton, the whole under the charge of one 
preacher; later increased to three. The original so- 
ciety consisted of twelve members, and the first trus- 
tees were Abraham Bemis, Habbakuck Stearns, Jonas 
Bemis, John Viles and Daniel Stratton. Of the twelve 
members of this church, eight were women. The 
present church was erected in 1828, and in 1833 it 
became a regular station with a regularly appointed 
preacher. In 1839 Waltham was detached from it, 
which reduced the membership from one hundred 
and forty-one to eighty-three, and it ha.s not mater- 
ially increased since that date. Since 1794 to the 
present time this parish has had one hundred and 
seven preachers. 



The schools of Weston have from the earliest 
period of the settlement received the care and money 
grants consistent with the means of the inhaljitaiits. 
The earliest mention of the pay of a schoolmaster 
was on January, 1G50, when £30 was voted to Mr. 
Richard Norcross, and this continued to be the salary 
for about seventy-five years. In 1683 it was agreed 
that those inhabitants who dwell on the west side of 
Stony Brook be freed from the school tax, that they 
may be the better able to teach among themselves. 
Mr. Norcross was employed in 1G85-86. Those who 
sent children to school were to pay three pence a week 
for each, and all short of £20 thetowu would make up 
to Mr. Norcross. In 1690 the town allowed £15 for 
the schoolmaster's maintenance or board. The rate 
established for tuition was three pence a week for 
English, four pence for writing and six pence for 
Latin. The rates were established upon the follow- 
ing basis : Rye, five shillings ; Indian corn, three 
shillings; oat, two shillings. Two shillings in money 
to be taken as three shillings in grain. In 1G97 oak 
wood was seven shillings, walnut, eight shillings. In 
1G93 Richard Norcross was chosen schoolmaster 
again ; he was also to catechize the children and all 
others sent to him. In 169G the town was fined at 
General Sessions for not having a school. In 1700 
Mr. Norcross was again the schoolmaster at £10 and 
the usual rates from owners of children, they agree- 
ing to provide one-quarter cord of wood in winter. 
At this time Mr. Norcross had been a teacher forty- 
nine years and he was seventy years old. In 1706 
Mr. Mors, having ceased to be the minister in 
Weston, was invited to keep school, and be helpful 
to the minister, for £40 and four pence a week from 
parents. In 1714 the town was presented at General 
Sessions for not having a writing school, and Mr. 
Joseph Woolson was appointed. In 1737 the town 
was again presented from not having a grammar 
school. The records of the town being lost, it is im- 
possible to give any account of the schools down to 
1754. In 17G0 the town votes £100 for schools, but 
from 1761 the school appropriations and the incidental 
charges of the town are under one grant, rendering it 
impossible to state what was paid for schooling. 
This custom continued down to a very late date. 
During the Revolution the school-houses seem to have 
been little in use, and at the close of that period 
were in a bad state of decay. Whatever schools there 
were at that time were in private houses and were 
conducted by women. Rev. Mr. AVoodward and Dr. 
Kendall both kept school and were paid by the town. 
Dr. Kendall received at his house the boys from 
Harvard College who were " rusticated " by the 
faculty for offences against discipline, and he kept 
them up in their recitations and classes. Several 
men, who in after-life became distinguished, passed 
periods of rustication in Weston. In 1803 $G00 is 
appropriated for schools, and $25 for each woman's 
school. In 1805 this had increased to $900. In 1807 a 



494 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



census was taken of school children, and the whole 
number was 374. In 1810 a music-teacher was en- 
gaged, la 1813 the town had six school districts, 
each provided with a good school-house. 

In 1817 $().00 was appropriated for schools and wood, 
and $200 for women's schools, and this grant con- 
tinues each year down to 1837, with slight variations. 
In 1834 the census taken by order of the Common- 
wealth gave a population of 1051 souls. The wages 
of female teachers in 1836 was $2.75 per week. The 
master $26 per month if he board himself, or $18 if 
he be boarded by the town. In 1840 the school 
grants were $1200, and in 1846 $1450. In 1854 a 
grant of $150 was made for a High School. In 1860 
the school appropriation was $1600, and in 1870 
$2900, and in 1889 $4000. The above town appro- 
priations for schools do not include the funds received 
for State aid for schools. In 1878 a large and im- 
posing High School building was erected at a cost of 
about $15,000, a very liberal sum for a town of the 
limited population of Weston. 

In 1857 the town voted to establish a public library 
to be called the " Weston Town Library," and chose 
Isaac Fiske, Doctor Otis E. Hunt and the Rev. C. H. 
Topliff a committee to prepare rules and regulations 
for the government of the library ; $570 was raised 
in the several school districts for the purposes of the 
library. In 1859 Mr. Charles Merriam, of Boston, 
donated $1000 as a perpetual fund, the interest of 
which was to be used for the purchase of books. 
This library is now in a very flourishing condition, 
and but few towns in the Commonwealth will surpass 
the Weston Library, either as regards the choice of 
books or the liberal support it receives from the 
town and private individuals. It is now the purpose 
of the town to secure an elegable site for a library 
building. 

In 1865 Mr. Charles Merriam, who had passed his 
early days in Weston, sent to the selectmen of the 
town a United States treasury note for one thousand 
dollars, and his letter to the selectmen is worthy of 
insertion here, both as regards the noble object for 
which the donation was to be employed, but more 
particularly as an incentive to others, both here and 
elsewhere, to follow his charitable purpose: 

" March 28, 1865. 
"Gentlemen: Eucloaed I hand United States seven aud three-tentha 
Treasury note for one Thousand dollars. My object is to commence the 
establishment of a fund for the benettt of what I shall call the ' Silent 
Poor of the Town." And I desire that the interest and income shall be 
paid over, not to town paupers, but to that class ot honest, temperate men 
and women who work hard or htb prudent and economical, and yet find 
it difficult to make both ends meet. To such, a load of wood, occaaioD- 
ally a few groceries or a little Hour or meal, will always be of service. 
The judicious distribution, from year to year, of this income I leave 
entirely to the town, suggesting only that three or more persons, se- 
lected from the different parts of the town, would be able to represent 
his or her location, and thus in conference all cases would be made 
known. I urn very respectfully, 

"(Sd.) CUAELES MeHRIAM." 

The trustees first elected under this donation were 



six in number, but in 1867 they were reduced to three, 
and they were chosen for three years. The distribu- 
tion of the income of this fund is entirely private. 

The early business and Industrie.^ of Weston were 
extensive for so limited a population ; almost every 
trade was to be found here, dating back from 1740 to 
the date of the opening of railroads. Weston, being 
the great thoroughfare leading to Boston from Ver- 
mont, New Hampshire and Connecticut, gave to the 
place an importance it otherwise would not have en- 
joyed. All of the activity of those early days seems 
strange to-day, when, to within a few years, the town 
was reduced down to a grocery store, a blacksmith 
shop and a grist-mill. Most every house was a tav- 
ern at some period; the many lines of stage-coaches, 
the enormous amount of teaming from back sections, 
all together made a business harvest little understood 
by the present generation. Many of the storekeepers, 
after the Eevolution, became prominent and wealthy 
merchants in Boston. The earliest store of which 
there is any record is that of Lieutenant Jones ; the 
account-books still preserved are dated from 1745, 
but there should be books of an earlier date. Weston 
in those early days was a central and important place, 
and these books of the Jones family embrace ac- 
counts of all the neighboring towns, and include Ver- 
mont and New Hampshire. He was al.so a banker, 
judging from his loans to the neighbors and the notes 
of hand detailed in the ledger. It was at this store 
Colonel Ephraim Williams purchased his outfit for the 
campaign on Lake George in 1755, in which expedi- 
tion he was killed. Mr. Jones also contracted for 
supplies of beef and clothing for Washington's army 
on the Hudson, and provided lumber for the first 
bridges erected over Charles River in Watertown and 
Charlestown. The present house, erected in 1751, 
was the famous Golden Ball tavern before and after 
the Revolution. Here General Gage and the British 
officers came frequently to supper-parties. Mr. Jones 
was a great Tory, and in constant correspondence 
with the British authorities in Boston down to the 
battle of Concord. Mr. Jones and his tavern figures 
in the story of How, the British spy. 

In 1782 Isaac Lamson kept a store in the centre of 
the town. He died in 1806, and was followed by 
Daniel S. Lamson, who, for many years, kept one of 
the moat noted dry-goods stores in Middlesex County. 
Mr. Lamson died in 1824, and was followed in the 
business by Charles Merriam, who entered Mr. Lam- 
son's employ in 1821. In 1836 Mr. Merriam formed 
a partnership with Mr. Henry Sales, of Boston, which 
latter house is well known as that of Sales, Merriam 
& Brewer. Mr. Merriam was followed in the Weston 
business by Henry W. Wellington, now of Chauncy 
Street, Boston. With the departure of Mr. Welling- 
ton, in 1838, came the end of this store and all im- 
portant business — the days of railroads had commenced. 

In 1765 Abraham Hews established a pottery, 
probably the first industry of its kind in New Eng- 



WESTON. 



495 



land. The business was continued in Weston, from 
father to son, down to 1871, covering a period of one 
hundred and six years. In 1S71 it was found necessary 
to remove, in consequence 'of the rapid increase in 
the business, and a large factory was erected in North 
Cambridge, at which time the name of the firm was 
changed to that of A. H. Hews & Co. The pay-roll 
of 1871 contained 15 names; that of 1889, from 85 to 
100. In 1871, 800,000 pieces were required by the 
trade; in 1889, 7,000,000 were in demand. 

It has been found difficult to fix the exact date of 
the establishment of the noted tannery in Weston by 
the Hobbs family. Josiah Hobbs came to Weston 
from Boston in 1780. This tannery was known 
throughout the county, aud it was a custom in early 
days to locate houses and people in Weston by the 
distance from the tannery. As late as 1795 ve^sels 
from Maine loaded with bark for these works came 
up to Watertown to unload. One of the most impor- 
tant industries 9f Weston was that of Stony Brook 
Mills. This water-power was rendered eflective by 
one Richard Child, in 1679; he erected a grist-mill 
and later a saw-mill. The grist-mill was standing 
down to 1840. Coolidge efe Sibley bought the prop- 
erty in 1831, and erected a machine-shop, and also a 
mill for the manufacture of cotton yarns. The spe- 
cialty for many years was the manufacture of cotton 
machinery, looms, etc. They supplied the factories 
of Lowell, Lawrence, Lancaster and Clinton, besides 
which they built extensively for New York. Here 
was made the first machinery for the cotton-mills of 
Alabama and Tennessee. They also made door locks, 
extension bits and other articles of steel and iron 
hardware. In 1859 was begun the manufacture of 
wood-planing machines, the Sibley dove-tails, the 
Sibley pencil sharpeners, for schools, now in use from 
Maine to Alaska. All the available portion of this 
valuable plant has been completely destroyed by the 
Cambridge water works, who have seized the plant 
and rendered its future usefulness as a factory impos- 
sible, besides destroying a large taxable property 
within the town of Weston, which privilege never 
should have been granted by the Legislature to a pri- 
vate corporation having no natural claim to the run 
of the springs and water-fiow of the town. The organ 
factory in the north part of Weston, now called Ken- 
dall Green, on the line of the Fitcbburg Railroad, 
was established by Mr. F. H. Hastings, in 1888, moving 
from the old Roxbury factory, on Tremont Street, 
which had been occupied for forty years. In the 
year 1827 Mr. Elias Hook began the building of or- 
gans in Salem, with his brother George. They re- 
moved to Boston as E. & G. G. Hook. In 1855, when 
nineteen years old, Mr. Hastings became engaged 
with them, and in 1805 was admitted a partuer. 
Later the name of the firm w;is changed to E. & G. 
G. Hook & Hastings, and, in 1880, after the death 
of Mr. G. G. Hook, it was again changed to Hook & 
Hastings. In 1881 Mr. Elias Hook died, since which 



time the business has been conducted by Mr. Has- 
tings, the business dating back over sixty years. Mr. 
Hastings has devoted himself to the building of 
church organs for thirty-five years. His relations 
with eminent European builders, the employment of 
experts trained in foreign factories, the ingenuity 
and skill of our American workmen have enabled 
him to obtain and hold the highest place m his art. 
The work of this house is found in every part of the 
country, and has a world-wide reputatiou. Its supe- 
riority is universally recognized. The large factory 
at Keudall Green, Weston, is claimed to be the largest 
and best equipped of its kind in America, if not 
in the world. It has a special side-track leading from 
the Fitchburg Railroad ; organs are loaded directly 
into cirs in the yard, and are sent to all parts of the 
country without re-handling or change. Trains stop 
at the factory for the accommodation of workmen 
and visitors. The large finishing hall is eighty by 
forty, and thirty-five feet high. Mr. Hastings has 
built his factory on land which formed a part of the 
old Hastings homestead, and which has been in the 
family for four generations. He has built cottages 
for his workmen, and a large hall and club-house with 
reading-rooms all attached, for public use. The 
Ralph Kenney chair factory is situated near the cen- 
tre of the town, where large quantities of furniture 
for the furnishing of schools throughout the country 
are made, desks of the most ajiproved styles, and 
seats aud chairs for school purposes. The industries 
of the town to-day, with the above exceptions, are 
confined to the needs of the inhabitants. The most 
prominent commercial house at the present time, in 
the centre of the town, is the grocery of George W. 
Cutting & Son, which is located upon the Lamson 
estate. This spot has been occupied as a place of 
business for one hundred and fifty years. In 1852 
Mr. John Lamson, who was born in Weston in 1791, 
inherited this property at the death of his mother, 
who died at the age of ninety-five years. Mr. Lam- 
son took down the old store and house adjoining, 
which had become useless from age, and erected on 
the site a large modern building, which was leased to 
Mr. Charles Johnson, the postmaster of Weston, who, 
with his son, B. B. Johnson, the first mayor of the 
city of Waltham, also kept a store. Upon the expi- 
ration of his lease the store was taken by George W. 
Cutting & Son, and in 1875 the widow of Mr. Lam- 
son sold the store and laud upon which it stands to 
the Cuttings. Since the death of Mr. Cutting, Sr., 
the business has been conducted by his son. 

In the fall of 18U0, when the clouds were thicken- 
ing over the country and its Constitution, and before 
any overt act had been committed by the Slave States, 
a home guard was organized by Captain D. S. Lam- 
son, for the purpose of drill and general preparations 
for future contingencies. About fifty young men re- 
sponded and were regularly drilled iu the manual of 
arms and street marching. They purchased their own 



49G 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY", MASSACHUSETTS. 



arras, which were deposited in the Town Hall. The 
greatest interest was taken in this organization by the 
inhabitants as well as by those who became members 
of the company. This company did not enter a regi- 
ment as a whole, but all its members enlisted in regi- 
ments as they were formed from time to time, the 
greater number going into the Thirty-fifth Regiment, 
Colonel Edward A. Wild. At a town-meeting, July 
19, 1S62, it was voted to pay a bounty of one hundred 
dollars to every man who shall enlist in the United 
States service for the purpose of crushing the Rebellion, 
till the quota of seventeen required of the town shall 
be furnished. In August this bounty was increased 
to two hundred dollars to all who enlist within ten 
days, and to give each accepted volunteer, now or 
liereafter to enlist, ten dollars for each man who may 
be induced to join the military service as a pait of the 
town quota of eighteen men. Twenty-six young men 
enlisted, and the town voted to pay the bounty above 
mentioned, although the quota of the town had been 
exceeded by nine in excess of the number required. 

Captain D. S. Lamson, of Weston, was the first of 
that town to tender his services to the Governor. In 
March, 1861, when Governor Andrew was preparing 
the militia of the State for active duty, and was much 
hampered for clerk and other duties for which there 
was no appropriation of funds at that time, several 
gentlemen of Boston, among them Colonel Henry Lee, 
John H. Read, Franklin H. Story, Mr. Higginsou 
and Mr. Lamson, tendered their services gratuitously 
to the Governor, which services he gladly accepted. 
Mr. Lamson was sent by the Governor on missions to 
Washington, Fortress Monroe and New York, all of 
which service was gladly executed at his own ex- 
pense and to the acceptance of the Governor. 

Men who enlisted from Weston for three years' 
service: 

D. S. Lamson, iniijor 16th Uegt. M. Y.; John E. Powers, Co. H, 16th 
Regt. M. v.; Wiirren Stickiiey, (to. H, 16th Kegt. M. V.; William G. 
Clark, Co. H, 10th Kegt. H. V.; Henry H. Bichardson, Co. H, ICth Kegt. 
SI. v.; 'I'lioiiuis Palmer, (Jo. H, 16th Regt. M. V.; Caleb W. Lincoln, Co. 
H, r.th Kegt. M. v.; John Robinson, Co. H, 24th Kegt. SI. V.; Thomas 
Kahc.v, Co. H, ath Regt. M. V.; Frank W. Bigelow, Co. H, 13th Kegt. M. 
v.; Edward Banyan, Co. H, 5th Regt. M. V.; Andonirani J. Smith, Co. 
H, 22d Regt. M. V.; Charles L. Field, lieutenant 99th New York Regt.; 
Wm. Henry Carter, Co. H, 26tU Regt. M. V.; Philip J. Mayer, Jr., Co. 
H, Nini's Battery ; Lewis Jones, Co H, 1st Regt. Cavalry M. V.; Eben 
Tucker, Co. H, Ist Regt. Cavalry M. V.; John W. Drew, Co. H, .36th 
Eegt. Cavalry, M. V.; John L. Ayer, Co. I, 36th Regt. Cavalry M. V.; 
Lemuel Smith, Co. I, 35th Kegt. Cavalry M. V.; Charles Roberts, Co. I, 
35th Kegt. Cav. JI. V.; Samuel Patch, Jr., Co. I, 35th Regt., tjromoted 
lieut. Sept. C, 1864; Henry A. Tucker, Co. 1, 35th Regt. ; George T. Tucker 
Co. I, i'lth Uegt., killed .Inly 4, 1S64 ; Andrew Floyd, Co. I, 35th Kegt.; 
William C. Stimpsou, Jr., Co. I, 35th Regt., killed Sept. 20, 1804 ; Fred- 
erick A. Hews, Co. I, 35th Regt., died Jan. 5, 1863 ; Joseph Smith, Co. I, 
35th Regt.; George G. Cheney, Co I, 35th Regt.; William Henzy, Co. I, 
35th Regt., killed Nov. 20, 1803 ; Charles G. Fisher, Co. I, 35th Regt.; 
Ealph A. Jones, Co. I, 35th Regt. kill/id Sept. 17, 1862; Andrew C. 
Badgei-, Co. I, 35th Regt.; Jahez R. Smith, Co. I, 3.5th Regt.; Daniel 
H. Adams, Co. I, 35th Regt.; D. E. Cook, Co. I, 35th Regt., company 
sappers and miners; James M. Fairfield, Co. I, 3Sth Uegt., killed June 
1, 1803 ; Sefroy Britton, Co. I, 3d Rhode Island Battery ; Daniel Keyes, 
Co. I, 41st Regt. 

The nine months' men from Weston are as follows : 



Edmund L. Cutter, Co. I. 4tth Regt., died April 31, 1803 ; C. E. Cutter, 
Co. I, 441h Regt.; H. B. Richardson, Co. I, 44th Regt.; Albert Wash- 
burn, Co. I, 44th Regt.; George E. Rand, Co. I, 41lh Regt.; Marshall L. 
Hews, Co. I, 41th Regt.; Edwin P. Upham, Co I, 44th Regt.; James A. 
Cooper, Co. I, 44th Regt ; Francis H. Poole, Co. I, 44tli Regt.; Samuel 
II. Corliss, Co. I, 44th Regt.; George W. Rand, Co. I, 44th Kegt.; George 
E. Floyd, Co. I, 44tli Regt.; Isaac II. Cary, Co. I, 44th Regt.; William C. 
Roberts, Co. I, 44th Regt.; John Coughlin, Co. I, 44th Kegt.; Beiijamiu 
A . Drake, Co. I, 44th Regt. ; James M . Pal mer, Co. I, 44lh Regt. ; George 
E Hobbs, Co. I, 44th Regt.; Henry L Brown, Co. I, 44th Kegt.; Georgs 
J. Morse, Co. C, 44th Regt.; Henry W. Doy, Co. H, 44th Kegt.; Abner 
J. Teelo, Co. H, 43d Regt.; Samuel W. Johnson, Co. H, 43cl Kegt.; Fuller 
Morton, Co. E, 43d Regt., died Jan. 6, 1803; Henry A. Whiltemore, Co. 
E, 43cl Regt.; Henry Illingsworth, Co. E, 43a Kegt.; W, W. Roberts, Co. 
A, 43d Uegt. 

At a town-meeting September 27, 1862, voted to 
pass the following resolve : " That whereas, we have 
learned that Ralph A. Jones, one of the Volunteers, 
has fallen in battle, and that others are known to 
have been wounded, therefore, Hesolved, That the 
Rev. C. N. Toplilf proceed to Maryland, and recover, 
if possible, the body of said Jones, or any others who 
have since died, and attend to i\e wants of the 
wounded men sufiering in any of the hospitals. Also 
voted, that in ctise of the death of any Volunteers of 
the Town, whose families are entitled to State aid, the 
same shall be continued to them by town." In Octo- 
ber Mr. Toplift" made a report of the incidents of his 
journey and the arrangements he had made for bring- 
ing home the body of Ralph A. Jones. A committee 
of three was chosen, consisting of Mr. ToplifT, Dr. E. 
O. Hunt and A. S Fiske, to make arrangements for 
the funeral of said Jones. In the November town- 
meeting Rev. C. H. Toplitr was chosen a committee 
of one to bring home the bodies of our soldiers who 
have or may fall in battle, and render assistance to 
our sick and wounded soldiers. Of the thirty-three 
men from Weston, drafted at Concord in July, 1863, 
twenty-eight were exempted, one was commuted, two 
found substitutes and two entered the service ; one of 
whom, Lucius A. Hill, was killed May 10, 1864. 

In 1863 the wliole vote of the town was cast for 
John A. Andrew for Governor. Sixteen men enlisted 
and constituted the quota of Weston under the call 
of the President of October 17, 1863. All these men 
were hired by the town. Under the additional call 
for 200,000 men, made the same year, were the fol- 
lowing: 

James J. O'Connell, 4th Cav. ; Charles H. Benton, Snih Regt. ; John 
Lund, 59th Regt. ; James Welch, 50th Regt. ; Arthur Martin, 3d Cav. ; Jft 

Wm. Barrey, 4th Ci^v. ; Daniel Robinson, 50th Regt ; Charles A. Fitch, ^ 
5th Cav. ; Wm. C. Roberts, 55th Regt. ; J.«eph Faybran, 59th Cav. ; ^ 

John Uobinson, re-enlisted, 24th Regt. (killed May 14, 1.S64 ; Wm. 
Henry Carter, re.enlisted, 20th Regt. (killed Sept. 19, 1864); Eben 
Tucker, re-enlisted. Independent Bat. Cav. ; William Games, U. S. Navy 
(died in prison, June 13, 1804). 

In town-meeting, November 14, 1863, voted that a 
committee of six be appointed, one for each district, 
to assist the recruiting officer in filling the town 
quota of soldiers, and placed $3200 in their hands 
for that purpose. In May, 1864, the town voted $125 
for each man, to aid in filling any call that the Gen- 
eral Government has made or shall make upon this 



WESTON. 



497 



town Tot soldiers for the year 1865. In June and 
July twelve men enlisted to fill the quota of Weston 
under the call of the President, July IS, 1864. 

The amount the town paid for bounties during the 
war was S9025, to which amount the town's people, 
by private subscription, raised S.5104.95. The ex- 
penses attending the drafts of 1863 and 1864 were 
83524.90, making a total of §12,528.90. To this must 
be added the amount of State aid paid to the families 
of the soldiers in Weston, from 1862 to 1866,83824.16. 
The town also paid 8416.03 for the recovery of the 
bodies of George and William H. Carter and John 
Robinson, killed in battle. The number of men be- 
longing to Weston who went to the War of 1861 was 
126. Of these, eight were killed, three died of 
wounds, and one died in Andersonville prison. A 
memorial tablet tas been erected in the town library 
to the memory of the dead soldiers of the town. 

The Massachusetts Central Railroad, in its concep- 
tion purely a speculative enterprise, has now come to 
maturity, on a solid basis, after twenty years of incu- 
bation. Not one of the original officers had per- 
sonally any practical experience either in building or 
operating railroads; they went to work blindly, and 
began their road "nowhere" and had ended in about 
the same place, as regards being within the reach of 
business. In 1868 au act passed the Legislature in- 
corporating the Wayland & Sudbury Railroad, which 
was to run from Mill Village, in Sudbury, to Stony 
Brook, on the Fitchburg Railroad. This was the 
origin of the Massachusetts Central. In 1869 the 
bill incorporating the Massachusetts Central passed 
the Legislature, superseding the previous act of the 
year before. The capital stock was fixed at 86,000,000, 
" but the company voted to issue only 83,000,000. As 
the two years in which to file a location was about to 
expire, a special act was passed extending the time to 
1874. N. C. Munson, the contractor, failed, and all 
the sub-contractors failed with him. For several 
years the road was in a comatose condition. The cost 
of construction, in the fall of 1878, amounted to 
82,782,932.78 ; there was a funded debt of 8995,000 
and an unfunded debt of .837,428.76. Work was re- 
sumed on the eastern end of the road, and in October, 
1881, was opened from Boston to Hudson, twenty- 
eight miles ; in June, 1882, to Oakdale, forty-one 
miles, and to Jefferson, forty-eight miles. Crovernor 
Boutwell became president in 1880, remaining such 
until 1882, when he was succeeded by the Hon. S. X. 
Aldrich, of Marlboro'. Upon the failure of Charles 
A. Sweet & Co. w'ork on the road was again suspended. 

In 1883 the road was sold under foreclosure to a 
committee of the bondholders, S. N. Aldrich, Thomas 
H. Perkins and Henry Woods, and in 1885 they 
made a contract with the Boston and Low-ell Rail- 
road to operate the Central. It was in operation 
under this contract for one year. In 1886 the Lowell 
road leased the property for ninety-nine years, the 
company issuing bonds to the amount of $2,000,000. 
32 



The road has to earn 8500,000 to meet the interest on 
the bonded indebtedness, and there is prospect of its 
doing better than that. The credit for rescuing the 
Central road from a total wreck is due to the presi- 
dent, Hon. S. N. Aldrich, the assistant treasurer of 
the United States. This road, running through Cen- 
tral Massachusetts and Middlesex County, has a great 
and prosperous future before it. If the directors will 
follow in the footsteps of the Boston and Albany it 
can, in a few years, create a suburban population 
along its route, equal to that which now secures the 
yearly dividend of the Boston and Springfield Branch 
of the Albany road. Weston, through which the 
Central runs, can, by generous accommodation, be 
made the centre of a large population. The present 
size of Weston is 10,967 acres by actual survey, and 
has 155 acres in ponds. It is in general an uneven, 
and in some parts a broken tract of land; high cliffs, 
or ledges of rock are found within its limits. The 
town is elevated above the common level of the sur- 
rounding country and affords an extensive view of 
other parts. The soil is of a deep, strong loam, favor- 
able to the growth of trees, for the beauty of which this 
section is noted ; the hills are springy and aufl'er little 
from frost or drought ; brooks and rivulets abound on 
every side, and for the greater part rise within the 
limits of the town. The character of its inhabitants 
would not sutler by a comparison with those of any 
other towns in the Commonwealth. Few towns within 
a radius of twenty miles of Boston have preserved the 
old-time characteristics, both as regards population 
and customs, as Weston. The names of the descend- 
ants of the men of Concord and Lexington are to-day 
on the voting-list of the town ; property and estates 
have changed owners but little within the past cen- 
tury. The present population of the town is 1430. 
There were fourteen deaths in 1888, of which number 
six had reached the age of 70 and upwards, the oldest 
being 84 years. The property valuation in 1876 was 
81,629,083 ; in 1888 it was 82,076,600. The town debt 
is 85695.93, and the rate of taxation 86.00, — among the 
lowest rates in the Commonwealth. The school ap- 
propriation was 84000. The finances of the town are 
managed with great care, while its roads and public 
buildings and improvements are liberally provided 
for in the yearly appropriations. 

It is among the probabilities that more interesting 
details concerning the past history of Weston could 
have been introduced in this article were the records 
and documents belonging to it in a proper shape and 
order, and made accessible to the historian. In this 
respect Weston is sadly in need of immediate and in- 
telligent action. The records which should be in 
safes are now scattered over the town in careless in- 
difference to its good name, and those documents in 
the hands of the town clerk have never been properly 
filed or examined in the memory of the present gene- 
ration, and access to those in his hands are surrounded 
bv such unwarrantable restrictions as to render them 



498 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



of liiUe use to the historian. It is to be hoped the 
State Commissioner will give this subject his earliest 
attention. 

NORUMBEGA, THE ALLEGED FkENCH FORT ON THE 

Charles River.— That it should have been the 
original intention cf the founders, as far back as 1630, 
to have established the city of Boston in the southeast 
corner of Weston, seems to us, at this date, curious 
reading, to say the least of it. Winthrop's journal and 
Dudley's letter to the Countess of Lincoln leaves us 
in no doubt but that the point in Weston selected for 
a stockade fort or palisade was really established in 
Weston in 1631, as a French trading post command- 
ing the Indian trading resort near by. Mr. Justin 
Winsor calls this post the abandoned Boston. Pro- 
fessor Horsford in his untiring researches sought a 
spot at the confluence of Stony Brook with Charles 
Elver, in the town of Weston, and found there a ditch 
and embankment, which apparently had escaped the 
attention of all the local antiquaries of Watertown, 
Waltham and Weston. This ditch, which is not far 
from sixteen hundred feet in length, runs parallel to 
the water-line of the river and brook within the angle 
caused by their confluence, and follows the contour 
line of fifty-one feet above tide- water. About midway 
it bends into a loop, which nearly fills the apex of the 
angle. Across the base of this loop is another exca- 
vation of a like kind, which seems to have completed 
the circuit of the knoll lying within the loop. The 
earth of the ditch is thrown towards the river ; it is 
just such a ditch as would be dug in which to plant a 
stockade, returning the earth about the base. The 
work was evidently left unfinished, the stockade not 
being planted in the portions already excavated. We 
know that a few days after the arrival of Winthrop 
at Salem he set out on the 17th of June, 1630, for the 
purpose of exploring to find a convenient spot to 
found their town, and that they discovered such a 
place as " liked" or suited them "three leagues up 
Charles River." 

At a later date, learning of the intention of the 
French to attack them, and finding their company 
so weakened by sickness that they were " unable to 
carry their ordnance and baggage so far " as the 
three leagues up the Charles, they changed their 
mind ; the news of the French led them to take more 
hasty measures ; they scattered about the mouth of 
the river, and it was probably at this time that work 
on the fort ceased, leaving their work incomplete. 
Mr. Winsor states that it is not impossible that these 
works at Stony Brook may be found to be this prema- 
ture and abandoned Boston. It was just such an 
extensive circumvallation as it may have been in- 
tended some months later to establish at Cambridge. 
In commenting upon Dudley's "three leagues up the 
Charles," Dr. Palfrey says that the spot must have 
been somewhere in Waltham or Weston, and "most 
likely near the mouth of Stony Creek," hitting pre- 
cisely the spot of Professor Horsford's discovery. 



The grist-mill at Stony Creek, to which Professor 
Horsford alludes as having been freed from rates for 
twenty years from 1679, and to which was added a 
saw-mill, was in running order down to about 1850. 
The Brewer mill, spoken of by Drake, was not at 
Stony Brook, but is to-day in active operation as both 
a saw and grist-mill, on the farm of Harrington, for- 
merly within the limits of Weston, but now of Lin- 
coln. Professor Horsford has purchased a portion of 
the land embracing the Norumbega fort, and has 
erected upon it a stone tower which was dedicated in 
1889 at Watertown ; but why the ceremony should 
have been held at Watertown, and not within the 
town upon the land of which the tower has been 
erected, has not been satisfactorily explained, and is 
considered by the inhabitants as aslight to their time- 
honored town. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 



WESTON— (Continued). 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



Isaac Allen, born in Weston, Oct. 31, 1771. After 
spending some years in learning a trade, he was encour- 
aged by his minister, the Rev. Dr. Kendall, to enter the 
ministry. Although much opposed by his parents, he 
commenced to prepare for college, and was fitted by Dr. 
Kendall for Harvard College at the age of twenty-three, 
graduating with the class of 1798. His class-mates 
were Judge Story, the Rev. Drs. Tuckerman and 
Chauniag. After pursuing a preparatory course with • 
Dr. Kendall he began to preach, and received a call 
from the town of Bolton. He was ordained March 14, 
1804, Dr. Kendall preaching his ordination sermon. 
He remained pastor of the church in Bolton for the 
remainder of his life— a period of forty years. During 
this long period he was never prevented by indisposi- 
tion from preaching but one Sunday. At the com- 
pletion of his seventieth year, in 1843, he applied for 
a colleague, and the Rev. R. S. Eads was installed as 
junior pastor. Mr. Allen died March 18, 1844, at the 
age of seventy-four years. He never married, and 
at his death left all his property to his church in 
Bolton. 

Ebenezer Ai.len in 1710 married Elizabeth Eddy. 
She died, and in 1712 he married Sarah Waight. He 
had eleven children. Ebenezer Allen, the tenth child, 
married Tabitha, daughter of Francis Full?m, Esq., 
in 1742. He was town clerk of Weston in 1721, 1735 
and 1738. 

Captain Alpheus Bigelow, sixth child of Josiah 
Bigelow, of Waltham, afterwards of Weston, was 
baptized in 1757, and married Eunice Mixer, of 
Waltham, in 1783. He went to the battle of Con- 
cord in Captain Whittemore's company of artillery, 




r 







3 



^-t^l^^^^c^ 



WESTON. 



499 



of Weston ; he served through the War of the Rev- 
olution and was on picket guard at the surrender 
of General Burgoyne at Saratoga. Alpheus was the 
fourth captain of the Weston Light Infantry Com- 
pany in 1797, organized in 1787. 

Alpheus Bigelow, eldest son of Captain Alpheus 
Bigelow, born in 17Si ; graduated at Harvard Col- 
lege in 1810. tie married Mary A. Hubbard Town- 
send, of Weston, and had seven children. He studied 
law in the office of Isaac Fiske and Tyler Bigeiow, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1815. He repre- 
sented the town of Weston in the Legislature' in 
1827-28. 

Fkank Winthrop Bigelow, son of Alpheus, 
born in 1833; graduated at Harvard in 1854, and 
studied law in the office of Senator Hoar. He en- 
tered the array in 1861 in the Thirteenth Regiment. 
He resides on the Bigelow homestead. 

Francis Blake was born December 25, 1860, at 
Needham, Mass. His birth-place was a short dis- 
tance from the Weston line, and a few rods only 
from the line separating Needham from Newton 
Lower Falls, with which village are associated the 
recollections of his early childhood. 

Mr. Blake is of the eighth generation descended 
from William and Agnes Blake, who came to 
America from Somersetshire, England, in 1G30, and 
settled at Dorchester, in that part of the town now I 
Called Milton. This ancestor was a distinguished 
leader in colonial affair?, and his descendants have 
kept his name in honorable prominence to the pres- 
ent time. 

Mr. Blake is a grandson of the Honorable Fran- 
cis Blake, of Worcester, State Senator and for many 
years one of the most prominent members of the 
Worcester County bar, and son of Francis Blake, 
who engaged in business pursuits in early life, and 
from 1802 to 1874 .served as United States ap- 
praiser at Boston. Mr. Blake's mother was Caro- 
line Burling, daughter of George Augustus Trum- 
bull, of Worcester, a kin.sman of General Jonathan 
Trumbull, the original " Brother Jonathan," who 
was private secretary to George Washington. 

Mr. Blake was educated at public schools until 
the year 18GG, when his uncle, Commodore George 
Smith Blake, U.S.N.. secured his appointment 
from the Brookline High School to the United States 
Coast Survey, in which service he acquired the scien- 
tific education which has led to his later successes in 
civil life. 

Mr. Blake's twelve years of service in the Coast 
Survey have connected his name with many of the 
most important scientific achievements of the corps. 

His first field work was in December, 1866, when he 
served as aid in a party organized for a hydrographic 
survey of the Susquehanna River, near Havre de 
Grace, Md., and his subsequent career in the service 
is outlined in the following synopsis of instructions 
received from the superintendent : 



January 8, 1867, ordered to hydrographic duty on 
the west coast of Florida and the north coast of 
Cuba. 

April 1, 1867, raised one grade in the rank of aid. 

June 20, 1867, ordered to astronomical duty at Har- 
vard College Observatory. 

November 29, 1867, ordered to astronomical duty in 
Louisiana and Texas. 

August 24, 1867, raised one grade in the rank of 
aid. 

October 31, 1868, ordered to astronomical duty at 
Harvard College Observatory in connection with the 
trans-continental longitude determinations between 
the Observatory and San Francisco. On this occa- 
sion, for the purpose of determining the velocity of 
telegraphic time signals, a metallic circuit of 7000 
miles with thirteen repeaters was used ; and it was 
found that a signal sent from Cambridge to San Fran- 
cisco was received back, after traveling 7000 miles, in 
eight-tenths of a second. 

April 29, 1869, ordered to the coast of New Jersey 
for astronomical and geodetic work. 

May 1, 1869, raised three gr.ades in rank of aid. 

July 8, 1869, ordered to Shelbyville, Ky., to ob- 
serve the total solar eclipse of August 7, 1869. 

October 7, 1869, ordered to determine the astronom- 
mical latitude and longitude of Cedar Falls, la., and 
St. Louis, Mo. It was understood that the successful 
accomplishment of this work would be deemed ground 
for promotion, and on November 11, 1869, Mr. Blake 
was promoted to the rank of sub-assistant. 

October 15, 18G9, ordered to Europe for the deter- 
mination of the astronomical difference of longitude 
betweet Brest, France, and Harvard College Observa- 
tory, by means of time-signals sent through the French 
Atlantic cable. 

June 27, 1870, raised a grade in the rank of sub- 
assistant. 

September 1 2, 1870, ordered to Harper's Ferry, Md., 
for astronomical duty at station " Maryland Heights." 

November 22, 1870, detached from Coast Survey 
and appointed astronomer to the Darien Exploring 
Expedition, under the command of Commander Self- 
ridge, U.S.N. This expedition was for the examin- 
ation of the Atrato and Tuyra River routes for a ship 
canal across the Isthmus of Darien. Mr. Blake's 
work included the determination of astronomical lati- 
tudes and longitudes of several points on the Gulf 
and Pacific coasts, and in the interior, as well as a 
determination of the difference of longitude between 
Aspinwall and Panama. In a letter dated March 9, 
1871, Commander Selfridge wrote to the superinten- 
dent as follows : 

"Upon the close of Mr. Blake's connection with 
the expedition, it gives me great pleasure to bear wit- 
ness to the zeal, ability and ingenuity with which he 
has labored, and to recommend him to your favorable 
consideration." 

July 1, 1871, raised a grade in rank of sub-assist- 



500 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



ant, the letter from the superintendent to the secre- 
tary, recommending his advancement, stating that — 
"His observations have invariably borne the severest 
tests in regard to accuracy." 

July 3, 1871, ordered to the Shenandoah Valley, 
Va., for astronomical duty at stations " Clark's Moun- 
tain" and "Bull Run Mountaiu." 

Assistant Charles O. Boutelle, at the close of the 
work, wrote, under date of October 30, 1871 : 

" The symmetrical precision of the latitude observa- 
tions made by you at Maryland Heights, Clark and 
Bull Run stations has never been excelled in the 
Coast Survey. The results do you great credit, and I 
shall take very great pleasure in reporting upon them 
to the superintendent." 

January 1, 1872, raised a grade in the rank of sub- 
assistant. 

March 21, 1872, ordered to Europe for astronomical 
duty in connection with the third and final determi- 
nation of the difference of longitude between Green- 
wich, Paris and Cambridge. Mr. Blake was engaged 
for more than a year in this great work, which was 
carried on under the general directian of Professor 
J. E. Hilgard, then assistant in charge of the Coast 
Survey Office, and later superintendent of the Coast 
Survey. Mr. Blake made all the European observa- 
tions, being stationed successively at Brest, France ; 
the Imperial Observatory, Paris; and the Royal Ob- 
servatory, Greenwich. Returning to the United 
States, he was stationed at Cambridge and Washing- 
ton for the determination of differences of personal 
equation. 

April 1, 1873, promoted from the rank of sub- 
assistant to the rank of assistant. 

June 9, 1873, ordered to astronomical duty at 
Madison and LaCrosse, Wis., and Minneapolis, 
Minn. 

June 17, 1873, offered charge of Transit of Venus 
Expedition to the Southern Hemisphere, which was 
reluctantly declined on account of domestic ties. 

November 21, 1873, ordered to astronomical duty 
at Savannah, Ga. 

May 18, 1874, ordered to duty in the preparation 
for publication of the results of transatlantic lon- 
gitude work. This work involved a re-discussion of 
the result of the transatlantic longitude determi- 
nations in 18(5G and 1870, as wfll as an original dis- 
cussion of the final determination of 1872. Mr. Blake 
was so engaged for more than two years, and the 
results of his labors are embodied in Appendix No. 
18, "United States Coast Survey Report, 1874." 

The finally accepted values for the difference of 
longitude between Harvard College Observatory and 
Greenwich, derived from three independent determi- 
nations, are; 



I860 . 
1870. 
1872 . 

Mean 



HOUGS. 
. 4 



MiN. 

41 



Sec. 
30,99 
3(1.98 
30.98 



30.98 



The precision of the work will perhaps be more 
evident to the general reader when it is said that the 
above results justify the statement that the distance 
between London and Boston has been thrice meas- 
ured, with a resulting diflerence in the measurements 
of a little more than ten feet. 

Mr. Blake's' observations of 1872 gave a new result 
for the diflerence of longitude between the Royal 
Observatory at Greenwich and the Imperial Observa- 
tory at Paris, — 9 min., 20.97 sec. The previously ac- 
cepted value was 9 min., 20.63 sec., which left a dif- 
ference of 0.34 sec, or 111 feet, to be accounted for. 

Subsequent observations by European astronomers 
have confirmed Mr. Blake's results, and the finally . 
accepted value is 9 min., 20.95 sec. 

It was found that the transmission time of a signal 
from France to America through 3000 miles of cable 
was a little more than one-third of a second. 

June 16, 1877, ordered to represent the Coast Sur- 
vey at a conference of the Commission appointed to 
fix the boundary line between New York and Penn- 
sylvania. 

September 11, 1877, ordered to geodetic duty in 
connection with a re-survey of Boston Harbor under 
the direction of the Massachusetts Board of Harbor 
Commissioners. 

This was the last field work performed by Mr. 
Blake, whose active career in the Coast Survey closed 
with the following correspondence; 

*' Weston, Massachusetts, 5 April, 1878. 
'^Sir: Private aflairs not permitting nie at present to discharge my 
official duties, I respectfully tender my resignation as an Assistant in 
tlie United States Coast Survey. 

" It is impossible for me to express in official language the regret 
with which I thus close the twelfth year of my service. 
" Very respectfully yours, 

" Fkancis Blake, AssUlaiil U. S. C. S. 
"To the Honorable C. P. Patterson, 

"Superintendent U. S. Coast Survey, Washington, D. C." 

" U. S. Coast Svrvev OrricE, Washington, April 9, 1878. 

"Sir: I regret very greatly to have to acknowledge the receipt of 
your letter of April 5th, tendering your resignation as an Assistant in 
the United Slates Coast Survey. 

*' I accept it with the greatest reluctfince, and beg to express thus 
ofRcially my sense of your liigh abilities and character, — abilities trained 
to aspire to the highest honors of scientific position, and character to 
inspire confidence and esteem. 

"So loath am I to sever entirely your official connection with the 
Survey, that I must r. quest you to allow me to retain your name upon 
the list of the Survey as an ' extra observer,' under which title Prof. b. 
Pierce, Prof. Levering, Dr, Gould, Prof. Winluck and others had their 
names classed for many years. This will, of course, be merely honorary ; 
but it gives nie a ' quasi ' authority to communicate witii yuu in a 
semi-official way as exceptional occasion may suggest. 

"Your resignation is accepted to date from April l.^th. 
"Yours respectfully, 

"C. P. Pattehson, Siijif. Coasl Siiri-q/. 

"F. Blake, Assistant Coast Survey." 

During the last two years of his service in the 
Coast Survey Mr. Blake had much of the time been 
engaged in oflice-work at his home in Weston. 

In his leisure moments he had devoted himself to 
experimental physics, and in so doing had become 
an enthusiastic amateur mechanic ; so that at the 




"KEEWAYDIN." 

RESIDENCE OF MR. FRANCIS BLAKE, 
WESTON, MASSACHUSETTS. 



WESTON. 



501 



timeof his resignation he found himself in possession 
of a well-equipped mechanical laboratory and a self- 
acquired ability to perform a variety of mechanical 
operations. It was natural, under these conditions, 
that what had been a pastime should become a seri- 
ous pursuit in life; and in fact within barely a month 
of the date of his resignation Mr. Blake had begun a 
series of experiments, which brought forth the 
"Blake Tran.smitter," as presented to the world 
through the Bell Telephone Company in November, 
1878. 

Mr. Blake's invention was of peculiar value at that 
time, as the Bell Telephone Company was just begin- 
ning litigation with a rival company, which, beside 
being (inancially strong, had entered the business 
lield with a transmitting telephone superior to the 
original form of Bell instrument. 

The Blake Transmitter, being in turn far superior 
to the infringing instrument, enabled the Bell Tele- 
phone Company to hold its own in the sharp business 
competition which continued until, by a judicial de- 
cision, the company was assured a monopoly of the 
telephone business during the life of the Bell pat- 
ents. 

That the experimental work connected with the 
invention of the Blake Transmitter was most thor- 
ough and exhaustive is shown by the fiict that twelve 
years of commercial use have not led to any substan- 
tial changes in the design or construction of the in- 
strument. There are to-day more than 215,000 Blake 
Transmitters in use in the United States, and proba- 
bly a larger number in all foreign countries. 

Since his first invention Mr. Blake has kept up his 
interest in electrical research, and the records of the 
Patent Office show that twenty patents have been 
granted to him during the last twelve years. 

He has been a director of the American Bell Tele- 
phone Company since November, 1878. 

Mr. Blake's life in Weston began June 24, 187.3, 
on which day he was married to Elizabeth L., daugh- 
ter of Charles T. Hubbard, of whom a biographical 
sketch is to be found in this volume. 

In the year of his marriage there was the beginning 
of " Keewaydin," the beautiful estate in the south- 
eastern part of the town which has .since been his 
home and the birtli-placeof his two children, — Agnes, 
born January 2, 1876; Benjamin Sewall, born Feb- 
uary 14, 1877. 

About six acres in land, part of the " Woodlands " 
estate were given his wife by her father, and on this a 
beautiful house, the gift of her grandfather, Benjamin 
Sewall, was erected by the distinguished architect 
Charles Follen McKini. Since that time the estate 
ha.s been by purchase increased in area to about 130 
acres; the house much enlarged; a magnificent brick 
stable built; and the grounds surrounding the home 
buildings made to reflect the highest art of the land- 
scape architect and gardener. 

The stable buildings are grouped around an interior 



court-yard, and, in addition to ordinary stable accom- 
modations, comprise a cottage, mechanical laboratory, 
experimental and photograph room, bowling allej's 
and a theatre seating about one hundred persons. 
Also a boiler-room from which the house, as well as 
the stable, is heated by underground pipes. 

The estate is furnished with a complete system of 
water works, including a reservoir holding a quarter 
of a million gallons, with a head of 110 feet at a foun- 
tain which rises from the pond at the base of the 
northwestern slope of the eminence on which the 
house stands. 

The southeastern slope, between the house and 
the Boston and Albany Railway, is divided by massive 
stone walls, more than twenty feet in height, into a 
series of terraces designed for fruit culture and green- 
houses, the whole being enclosed by a high stone 
wall. 

To the northeast, and adjacent to the house, is a 
sunken garden similar to the one at Hampton Court, 
England. 

From the upper terrace on which the house stands 
are magnificent views in every direction, including 
the valley of Charles River in the foreground and 
Blue Hill, Milton, eleven miles and a half distant. 

With these charming surroundings, Mr. Blake and 
his household enjoy the healthful luxury of quiet 
country life. 

Mr. Blake was elected : — Fellow of the American 
Association for the Advancement of Science, 1874. 
Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and 
Sciences, 1881. Member of the National Conference 
of Electricians, 18S4. Member of the American In- 
stitute of Electrical Engineers, 1889. Member of the 
Corporation of the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- 
nology, 1889. 

He is a Fellow of the American Creographical So- 
ciety ; member of the Bostonian Society ; member of 
the Boston Society of the Arclueological Institute of 
America; and has for many years been appointed by 
the Board of Overseers of Harvard College a member 
of the committee to visit the Jeflerson Physical 
Laboratory. 

He is a member of the most prominent social clubs 
of Boston ; and his active interest in photography has 
led to his election for many years as vice-president 
of the Boston Camera Club. 

Mr. Blake has always taken a lively interest in the 
welfare of the town of Weston and on March 24, 
1890, was elected one of its three selectmen. 

Fredeeick T. Bush, born in Taunton, Mass., 
April 24, 1815 ; married Elizabeth Deblois November 
10, 1841. Mr. Bush was appointed United States 
consul at Hong Kong, China, by President Polk in 
1845, which office he held for seven years, returning 
to America in 1852. In 1855 he established the 
East India house of Bush & Comstock, which con- 
tinued until 18G5. Mr. Bush purchased the Starr 
liirui in Weston of Doctor Henry T. Bowditch, 



502 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



where he continued to reside until hi^ death, iu 
1887. 

Doctor Amos Bancroft, born in Pepperell in 
17(57; graduated at Harvard College in 1791. He 
was widely known throughout Middlesex County. 
He came to Weston about 1795, and remained the 
resident pliysician until 1811, when he removed to 
Groton. He took a leading part in town affairs. Dr. 
Bantrolt married Sally Bass, of Boston, in 1796. He 
had an extensive practice and at various times a num- 
ber of students under his charge, among these. Doc- 
tor George C. Shattuck, who, in 1811, married Eliza 
Cheerer Davis, the daughter of Mrs. John Derby, of 
Weston. During the winter, when the roads were 
blocked up with snow. Dr. Bincroft traveled on snow- 
shoes and would be absent from home several days at 
a time. In 1848, while walking down State Street in 
Boston, he was knocked down and injured so severely 
by a passing team that he died a few hours after. He 
was attended at his last moments by his former stu- 
dent, Doctor George C. Shattuck. He was seventy- 
seven years old at the time of his death. 

Thomas Bigelow Baxchoft, son of Doctor Amos, 
graduated at Harvard in 1831, and studied medicine 
with Doctor Shattuck. 

Doctor Benjamin James followed Doctor Ban- 
croft as the physician of Weston in 1812, and remain- 
ed the very popular and highly esteemed practitioner 
of the town for over thirty-six years. In 1847 he re- 
moved to New Jersey, where he died at an advanced 
age. Doctor James was, for many years, town clerk, 
and filled, at one time and and another, all the chief 
offices of the town. In 1814 Doctor James published 
a book on Dentistry, which was highly spoken of in 
its day. 

Doctor Edgar Parker, of Framiugham, came to 
Weston in 1865. He was assistant surgeon in the 
Thirteenth Massachusetts Regiment in the war of 
1861. 

Nathaniel, Coolidge, of Watertown, married 
Lydia Jones in 1687, and settled in Weston. His 
name is first on the list of the original members of 
the Weston Church. He was a tailor by trade, but 
also a large land-owner and farmer. His will desig- 
nates three farms, mills and wears. He gave one- 
half acre of land where the first church in Weston 
was built, boardering on the road which then ran 
through what is styled the Parkhurst meadow, about 
in the rear of Doctor Jackson's house. He died in 
1711, but gave no deed of this land to the parish dur- 
ing his lifetime. He had thirteen children. 

In 1715, Jonathan Coolidge, of Newton, his 
tenth child, born in 1672, conjointly with his wife, 
Mary, executes a deed to the church, "being moved 
thereto by divers good causes and considerations, but 
more especially that of my honored father, Nathaniel 
Coolidge, etc." This deed is interesting as being 
witnessed by Colonel Ephraim Williams, of Newton, 
killed at Lake George in 1755, and the founder of 



Williams College in Berkshire County. Jonathan 
Coolidge was killed by the fall of a tree in 1730. 

Ephraim Cutting, bom in East Sudbury in 1774; 
married Theodora Pratt, of Weymouth, in 1802. He 
had seven children and died in 1866, aged ninety-two 
years. By trade Mr. Cutting was a carpenter and 
housewrigbt. 

George Warren Cutting, born in Roxbury, 
March 24, 1805, was the second child of Ephraim. 
He removed to Weston in 1822 and bought out Jona- 
than P. Stearns' grocery business in 1830. In 1860 
he was appointed postmaster of Weston, which office 
he held at the time of his death, a period of twenty- 
five years. He conducted the only grocery in Weston 
from 1828 to 1885, a period of fifty -seven years. He 
was a man highly esteemed by the community, of 
strict integrity and great amiability. He filled 
many ofiices of the town with universal acceptance. 
In 1830 he married Elizabeth Lord, of Ipswich. He 
had eight children and died May 13, 1885, at the age 
of eighty years. 

George W. Cutting, Jr., third child of George 
W., born in Weston, November 18, 1834, succeeded 
his father in the business, with whom he had been in 
partnership for some years previous to his father's 
death. In 1875 George W. Cutting & Son purcliased 
the store property in the centre of Weston of the wid- 
ow of John Lamson, which property bad been in the 
Lamson family for over one hundred and filty years. 

Mr. Cutting married Josephine M. Brown in 1865 
and had six children. In 1S62, upon the death of 
Nathan Hager, he was chosen town clerk, which 
office he still fills in the year 1890. Mr. Cutting has 
filled and is still filling many offices of truit in the 
town. 

Alfred Leslie Cutting, his second child, born 
January 27, 1868, has opened a grocery store on the 
Concord Road in Weston. 

John Derby, of Salem, purchased a large tract of 
land iu Weston in 1796 and 1805, and made Weston 
his suinnior residence. At his death Genera! Samuel 
G. Derby became possessed of this estate. In early 
life Mr. Derby followed the sea, and at one period 
commanded the Sea Fencibles. The title of General 
he obtained in the War of 1812. He died in Weston 
and was buried in Salem. Eliza Cheerer Davis, the 
adopted daughter of John Derby, married Doctor 
George C. Shattuck, of Boston, in 1811. 

There are few men identified with Mas-sachusetls 
who have left a more brilliant record as an inventor 
than Ira Draper. Be was a native of Dedham, 
Mass., and was born December 29, 1764. Mr. Draper 
became a resident of Weston in 1809, having pur- 
chased the Goldwaite farm, which, during the Revo- 
lution, was owned by Dr. Wheaton, who is men- 
tioned in the story of the British spy. This farm is 
now that of Mr. Ripley, in the northwesterly part of 
Weston. At the period of his residence in Weston he 
was devoting his time in improving the "Power 



WESTON. 



503 



Loom," and succeeded in a permanent invention 
wiiich he styled tlie "Revolving Temple," iu use at 
tlie present time. Mr. Draper's inventive genius 
covers many patents whicli are extremely numerous, 
of great value and still in universal use. 

Among tlie most important of liis inventions are 
tiie following: 1st, a threshing machine for horse- 
power ; 2d, an endless track horse-power ; .3d, the hay 
and straw cutter ; 4th, the road scrapper of the V 
shape; 5th, a rock-lifting machine; Gth, the potato 
planter; 7th, horse rackets for soit meadows; 8th, a 
liorse-power ditching macliine to cut and clear drain 
ditches, which was made to cut fifteen inches deep, 
three inches wide at top and six inches at bottom ; 
9th, false felloes for wheels to traverse meadow lands, 
etc. Mr. Draper married twice, liis second wife be- 
ing sister of his first. He had five children, all born 
in Weston. 

Ebexezee Daggett Draper, bom June 13, 1813. 
He died at West Roxbury October 20, 1887, at the 
age of seventy-four years. 

Lydia Draper, born in 1815: died at Saugus in 
1847. 

George Draper, born in 1817 ; died at Hopedale 
in 1887. He was the father of General William F. 
Draper, of Hopdale. Lemuel Richards Draper, born 
in 1823, is still living. Ira Draper removed from 
Weston in 1823, and died January 22, 1848. Eb- 
enezer D. Draper inherited his father's inventive 
genius. He purchased the patent rights of the '' Re- 
volving Temple," and, with his brother George, pur- 
chased other patents pertaining to the manufacture of 
fabrics, and started successful machine-shops in 
Hopedale, Ma.ss. This establishment has become 
well known throughout the country. 

George Draper was the inventor of several import- 
ant improvements in spinning frames and looms. 
His son, AVilliam F. Draper, now carries on the busi- 
ness with increasing facilities in Hopedale under the 
style of George Draper & Sons. The admirable por- 
trait of Mr. Ira Draper, now in possession of his 
grandson, James Sumner Draper, of Wayland, repre- 
sents him holding in his left hand the "Revolving 
Temple." Mr. Draper died at the age of eighty- 
three years. 

Daniel Eastabrook fifth child of Daniel Easta- 
brook, of Watertown, who married the daughter of 
Captain Hugh Mason, of Watertown, and grandson of 
the Rev. Joseph Eastabrook, was born 1676, and set- 
tled in Weston in 1704, in the soutu part of the town. 
He was one of the petitioners for the incorporation of 
Weston in 1711. 

Francis Fuli.am, born in Fulham, a suburb of 
London, England, in 1669. He was sent to America 
when fourteen years of age. He took an active part 
in the separation of the farmers from Watertown in 
169.5. In 1711 he was one of the petitioners for the 
incorporation of Weston. He commanded the Weston 
military company, and was guardian of the Natick 



Indians. He consorted with them in their differ- 
ences aud sales of land. He mirried Sarah, daughter 
of Lieutenant John Livermire, by whom he had one 
son, Jacob, killed with Livewell in 1725. Ho died in 
1757, at tlie age of eighty-eight years. 

Lieutenant Nathan Fiske settled in Weston 
in 1673, and bought 220 acres of land of Thomas Un- 
derwood for ten pounds. He died in 1694, leaving 
nine children. 

Nathan, the fourth child of Lieutenant Nathan, 
born in 1672, died in 1741, is the ancestor of that 
family in Weston. 

Nathan, the eldest, born in 1760, was captain of 
the Weston company. Thaddeus, the second son, 
born in 1762, was a minister and Doctor of Divinity in 
1S21. 

Abigail, the fifth child, married Isaac Lamson in 
1788. Isaac Fiske, the ninth child, born in 177S, 
graduated at Harvard College iu 1798, and studied 
law with Artemas Ward, Jr., of Weston. 

Sewell Fiske was captain of the Weston com- 
pany. 

Nathan Welby Fiske, born 1798, graduated at 
Dartmouth in 1817, and was tutor from 1818-20, and 
in 1823-24 was a missionar}' in Georgia; was a Pro- 
fessor of Greek and Literature at Amherst College 
from 1824 to 1836. He died in Jerusalem in 1847, 
while on a journey to the Holy Land, and was buried 
near the tomb of the Psalmist David. 

Isaac Fiske, the ninth child of Nathan above, 
born in 1778, and graduated at Harvard College in 
1798, was for many years the leading lawyer of the 
Middlesex Circuit ; for twenty-four years he was the 
town clerk of Weston, and filled many other oflices in 
the town. He was prominent in church aftairs, and 
it is due to him that the Rev. Dr. Field was settled 
over the church in Weston. He was appointed reg- 
ister of deeds for Middlesex County by Governor 
Brooks, which office he held for thirty years. He was 
removed by Governor Boutwell in 1857 for political 
reasons. He was a delegate from Weston to the con- 
vention for amending the Constitution of the State in 
1820, and secretary of the convention in Concord in 
1812 which opposed the war with England. In 1802 
he married Susan Hobbs, and at her death married 
her sister. He had seven children. 

ArGUSTtis Henry Fiske, second son of Isaac, born 
in 1805, was a prominent lawyer in Boston, and for 
many years a partner of Benjamin Rand. In 1830 
he married Miss Hannah Bradford, of Concord, and 
had seven children. 

Sarah Fiske, his fourth child, married the Rev. 
Chandler Robbins. 

Charles Henry Fiske, son of Augustus, gradu- 
ated at Harvard College in 1860 ; he married a daugh- 
ter of the Rev. Chandler Robbins. He is a promi- 
nent lawyer in Boston, but still retains his residence 
in Weston, and is prominent in town affairs. 

A.n'DREW Fi.ske, son of Augustus, born in 1854; 



504 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



graduated at Harvard in 1875 and at the Law School 
in 1878; he married, in 1878, Gertrude, daughter of 
Professor E. N. Horsford ; he studied law in the 
office of Judge Hoar. 

George Fiske, brother of Andrew and Charles 
Fiske, born in 1850; graduated from Harvard in 
1872; lives in Concord. 

Thomas Flagg, born in England in 1615; married 
in Watertown, and had uiue sons and three daughters. 

John Flagg, born in 1700; married Hannah 
Bemis in 1724. 

John Flagg, his fourth child, born in 1731, mar- 
ried Patience Whittemore in 1754. It waa this John 
Flagg who kept the tavern, now residence of C. 
Emerson, at which General Washington passed tbe 
night in 1789. He also kept the tavern on the edge 
of Wayland. John, his second son, born 1762, mar- 
ried Lucy Curtis in 1786 ; they had six children ; this 
John followed his father in the tavern ; Patience 
Flagg, his third child, born in 1791, married Colonel 
Daniel S. Lamson in 1822. The sixth children were 
twins — Jolin,oneof the twins, married, in 1831, Abigail 
Hobbs. His son, John Lamson Flagg, born in 1835, 
died in 1874; he graduated from Harvard in 1857; 
he was mayor of Troy, New York, In 1866-67 ; repre- 
sentative in the Assembly from 1868 to 1871. A 
memoir of him was published at the time of his 
death. In 1889 there have been nine John Flaggs 
in direct descent. 

John Mack Godrgas came of a noble family 
of Huguenot descent, who settled in Geneva, Switzer- 
land, soon after the repeal of the " Edict of Nantes.'' 
John M. was born March 9, 1766. In 1783 he entered 
the counting-room of a German gentleman in Lon- 
don. When living in Curaberwell, a suburb of Lon- 
don, he formed the acquaintance of Dr. John Lett- 
some, through whom he became interested in inocu- 
lation for small-pox, a system then in its infancy. 
Mr. Gourgas came to America about 1808, and settled 
in Milton. While there he called together a town- 
meeting andintroducedthesubject of inoculation. In 
1809, 337 persons were inoculated by order of the town 
authorities. It was through the efforts of Mr. Gourgas 
that the Legislature passed the laws of 1828. In 1822 
Mr. Gourgas purchased the Hon. .James Loyd estate 
in Weston, where he died in 18415. Francis Gourgas, 
the third son, entered Harvard in 1826. He edited 
for some years the Concord Frei'.man and was one of 
Governor Boutwell's Council. His brother John was 
a distinguished lawyer in Quincy. 

Abraham Hews, of Weston, established the first 
pottery in New England in 1765 ; he had six children. 

Abraham, his eldest son, had twelve children. 

George Hews, the seventh child, liorn in 1806; 
married Caroline Pelletier, of Boston, in 1852 ; he was 
a member of the Handel and Haydn Society for 
forty-three years, and vice-president of the society for 
nine years. He was organist of the Rev. Dr. Loth- 
rop'a church for twenty years ; he composed many 



sacred hymns and other music, and was by occupation 
a piano-maker. He died in 1873, very highly es- 
teemed for his many virtues. The pottery business 
was tran.smitted from father to son in Weston, from 
1765 to 1871, a period of one hundred and six years. 
In 1871 the works were removed to North Cambridge, 
and a large factory was erected under the firm of A. 
H. Hews & Co. 

Horace Hews, the eleventh son of Abraham, 
born in 1815, has been treasurer of ihe town ibr a 
quarter of a century, and resigned in 1889 in conse- 
quence of failing health. 

Abraham Hews, father of the above children, 
w!is made the third postmaster of Weston, by ap- 
pointment of James Madison in 1812, which office 
he filled for forty-two years, until his death in 1854. 
At the time of his death he was the oldest postmaster 
in the service, and had held the office for a longer 
period of time. In 1850 the Department at Wash- 
ington, recognizing his long and faithful service, ad- 
dressed him a letter of thanks and congratulations. 

Josiah Hobb.s, born in 1684, eldest son of Josiah 
Hobbs, born in England in 1649. In 1730 purchased 
the Cheney farm in Weston, and removed there with 
his family of three sons and four daughters. 

Nathan Hobbs, the youngest, born in Weston in 
1730, had nine children. He died in 1779, aged 
ninety-four years, his wife at the age of 'eighty-eight 
years. 

Ebenezer Hobbs, born in Boston in 1709, married 
Eunice Garfield in 1734. He was the eldest son of 
Josiah, and he is the ancestor of the Hobbs family in 
Weston. He had nine children. The greater jiart of 
the Weston estate remains in the family to this day. 
Isaac Hobbs, eldest son of Ebenezer, born in 1735, 
died in 1813. He was deacon of the Weston church 
and town clerk for forty years. 

Matthew Hobbs, his sixth son, born in 1745, was 
at the battle of Concord in Captain Lamson's com- 
pany; he joined the Weston company in ]77(), which 
company formed part of the Third Middlesex liegi- 
ment — Colonel Eleazer Brooks — Samuel Lamson, of 
Weston, being the major. In 1780 he enlisted for 
three years or the war, and was made captain of the 
Weston company. 

Samuei, Hobbs, the eighth child, born in 1751, was 
a tanner and currier. In 1773 he was a journeyman 
in the employ of Simeon Pratt, ofRoxbury, and joined 
the famous Tea Party. 

Ebenezer Hobbs, second child of Isaac Hobbs, 
born in 1762, had eight children. Susan, the eldest, 
and Sophronia, the third child, married Isaac Fiske, 
of Weston. 

Ebenezer Hobbs, the sixth child of Isaac, bom in 
1794, studied medicine, but later became the agent of 
the Waltham Mills, and in 181 9 married Mary, daugh- 
ter of General Samuel G. Derby. 

Until the year 1867 little had been done towards 
developing the southeastern portion of Weston be- 



WESTON. 



505 



yond the condition of the outlying districts of ordinary 
farming towns. 

In 18G7, attracted by the beautiful topographical 
features of itself and its surroundings, Mr. Charles 
Towusend Hubbard, of Boston, purchased the "Slack 
farm " for a summer residence. The estate comprises 
about 250 acres of land bordering on the Charles 
River, and is broken up in an attractive manner into 
meadow, upland and woodland. Mr. Hubbard 
named his estate " Woodlande," and devoted more 
than twenty years to improving and beautffying the 
property. Here his children reached maturity, and 
in due time married and established themselves in 
homes on his estate or in the near neighborhood. 

Mr. Hubbard was born in Boston in 1817, and there 
gained distinction as a successful manufacturer and 
merchant. He died at Weston in 1887, leaving a 
widow and live children, — Louisa Sewell Hubbard 
married John Cotton Jackson ; Elizabeth L. Hubbard 
married Francis Blake; Charlotte W. Hubbard mar- 
ried Benjamin Loring Young; Charles Wells Hub- 
bard married Anne L. Swann ; Ann Hubbard married 
Bancroft Chandler Davis. To Mr. Hubbard, in the 
south, to Mr. Francis H. Hastings, in the north, and 
to Mr. James B. Care, in the centre of the town of 
Weston are due, in no slight degree, the impetus 
given in the development and progress of the town, 
which in the near future is destined to become a 
favored s|)ot among the suburbs of Boston. 

Isaac Hobbs, third child of Isaac, born in 170"); 
his third child, Samuel, born in 1795, married Abi- 
gail, daughter of the Rev. Dr. Kendall, of Weston. He 
was captain of the Weston company. 

Abigail Hobbs, sixth child of Isaac, born in 1801, 
married John Flagg; they had one .son, John Lamsou 
Flagg. 

Mary Ann Hobbs, the eighth child of Isaac, born 
in 1805, married Nathan Hager in 1832. 

Captain Josiah Jones, admitted a freeman April 
18, 1(390, was one of .the original members and one of 
the first deacons of the church in Weston. He died in 
1714. The Farmers' Company was called by the name 
of Lieutenant Jones' company. 

Josiah Jones, his son, was a captain of the com- 
pauy ; he was elected a deacon in 1714, but refused to 
accept the office. 

Abigail Jones, the only daughter of Josiah, Jr., 
married Colonel Williams, of Newton, father of Colo- 
nel Ephraim Williams, the founder of Williams Col- 
lege, killed at Fort William and Henry in 1755. 
Father and son removed to Weston on the father's 
marriage, and remained in Weston until their removal 
to Stockbridge. 

Abigail Williams, daughter of Abigail, married 
General Joseph Dwight, of Great Barrington, by 
whom she had two children. 

Mary Dwight, daughter of Abigail, married the 
Hon. Theodore Sedgwick, and was the mother of 
Theodore, Henry and Charles Sedgwick, distin- 



guished lawyers of New York ; Jane and Catharine 
Sedgwick, eminent authoresses. 

Is.vac Jones, son of Captain Josiah, born in 1728, 
kept a large store in Weston, and in 1752 built the 
tavern of the "Golden Ball " noted before and during 
the Revolution ; he was a stanch loyalist or Tory, 
and brought down upon himself the denunciation of 
the convention of Worcester County in 1775. Jones 
and his tavern are mentioned in How's journal. Mr. 
Jones died in 1813. 

Lewis Jones, of Watertown, married Anna Stone, 
who came from England in the ship "Increase," in 
1635. She was born in 1624. Mr. Jones died in 1(384, 
leaving four children. 

Josiah Jones, his eldest son, born in ICAO, is the 
ancestor of that branch of the Jones family in Wes- 
ton ; he was captain of the Weston company, and 
one of the original members of the church. Deacon 
in 1709-10; he died in 1743; ten children. James, 
his oldest child, married Sarah Moore, of Sudbury, 
and had eleven children. 

James, eldest son of James, married Abigail Gar- 
field, in 1728 ; they had seven children. 

Lemuel Jones, eldest son of James, Jr., born in 
1729, married Anna Stimson in 1754. They had ten 
children. 

Amos Jones, son of Lemuel, born in 1755, married 
Azubah Russell in 1779; he had nine children. 

Marshall Jones, the fifth child, born in 1791, 
died in 1864. He was captain of the Weston com- 
pany, town treasurer for many years and a prominent 
man in town affairs. 

John Jones, seventh child of Amos, born in 1795, 
died in 1864. He was, perhaps, in his day the most 
popular man in the town. He was captain of the 
Weston company, and succeeded Col. D. S. Lamson as 
lieutenant-colonel of the Third Middlesex Regiment. 
Mr. Jones was an auctioneer and executor of estates 
in Weston, a man in whom the community had the 
greatest confidence. He was killed by an iron bar 
while lifting a stone on his property. 

Charles Johnson, of Weston, born in 1805, mar- 
ried Maria Wilson in 1833. He had five children. 
He is a direct descendant of Captain Edward .lolin- 
son, who came from England in 1632, and was one of 
the seven who first settled at Woburn, and was sur- 
veyor-general of the Colony and held other offices. 

Byron B. Johnson, the third child of Charles, 
born in Weston, was the first mayor of the city of 
Waltham. Mr. Johnson purchased the Colonel 
Marshall estate of the Mackey heirs in 1838. He sold 
it to Philip Moyer, the Boston confectioner, in 1849. 
Mr. Johnson was postmaster of Weston from 1856 to 
1860. This family are now all residents of the city of 
Waltham. 

Reverend Samuel Kendall, D.D., born at 
Slierburn in 1753. He graduated at Harvard College 
in 1782, and was ordained pastor over the church in 
Weston in 1783. He was made Doctor of Divinity by 



506 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Yale College in 1806. He married Abigail, the third 
child of the Rev. Samuel Woodward, in 1786. They 
had four children. He died in 1814, and .she died in 
1793. He married, in 1794, his first wife's sister 
Miranda, born in 1762. There were four children by 
this second marriage. Abigail, the fourth child, born 
in 1793, married Captain Samuel Hobbs in 1834 at 
the age of ninety years. Dr. Kendall's pastorate ex- 
tended over thirty-one years. To Dr. Kendall do we 
owe an interesting historical address extending from 
the date of the incorporation of Weston, in 1712, to 
the centennial year 1812, in which address we are 
made acquainted with town aflairs without which we 
should be ignorant, in consequence of the loss of the 
town records. 

Samuel Lamsox, or Lambson, as it is spelled in 
England and also in Reading, and once in Weston, 
was changed in later records to a " p." The family 
came from Durham County, England, and arrived at 
Ipswich, moving to Charlestovvn and then to Reading. 
The earliest date so far obtained is that of Samuel, of 
Charlestown, in 1060; the homestead is in Reading, 
which he gives to his son Samuel. 

John Lamson, probably the son of Samuel, moved 
from Reading to Weston in 1709 and purchased a 
large tract of land in the centre of the town. He 
died in 1757. John was born in 1686. He died at 
the age of seventy-one years. He had six children 
and married twice. 

John Lamson, born in 1724, married Elizabeth 
Wesson in 1759. 

Samuel Lamson, born in 1736, married Elizabeth 
Ball in 1759, and for his second wife Elizabeth San- 
derson, of Waltham, in 1788. He commanded the 
We.ston company at Concord in 1775, and was major 
of the Third Middlesex Regiment in 1776, lieutenant- 
colonel in 1783, and colonel in 1786. He was town 
treasurer and selectman of Weston for many years, 
and took an active part in all town affairs. He had 
seven children by his first wife and three by the 
second. 

Isaac Lamson, his third child, married Abigail, 
daughter of Nathan Fiske, in 1788. He kept store in 
Weston from 1786 to 1806. 

John Lam.son, the ninth child of Samuel, born in 
1791, married Elizabeth Turner Kendall, of Boston, 
in 1814. He established the mercantile house of 
Lane, Lamson & Co., which was the first French im- 
porting house in the United States, with houses in 
Boston, New York, Paris and Lyons. Mr. Lamson 
retired from business in 1853, and took up his resi- 
dence on the old homestead in Weston, where his de- 
scendants still reside. He died in 1855. 

Daniel S. Lamson, born in 1793, the tenth child 
of Samuel Lamson, married Patience, daughter of 
John Flagg, in 1822. He kept the dry-goods store in 
Weston for many years, one of the most noted in 
Middlesex County. He was captain of the Weston 
company, and when he died, in 1824, was lieutenant- 



colonel of the Third Middlesex Regiment, of which 
his father had been colonel. 

Daniel S. Lamson, grandson of Samuel and son 
of John, was born in 1828, was educated in France, 
passed one year at the Harvard Law School iu 1852, 
and two years in the otHce of Sohier & Welch. He 
was admitted to the bar in 1854. Before the break- 
ing out of the war he tendered his services to Gover- 
nor Andrew to assist him at the State-House, there 
being no appropriation for extra clerk hire. He was 
sent by the Governor to New York, Washington and 
Fortress Monroe on public business. He organized 
the Home Guard of Weston before the war, and or- 
ganized and drilled the Maiden company and other 
companies. He was appointed major of the Sixteenth 
Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers, early in June, 
1861, without having made any application for the 
office. The Sixteenth Regiment was virtually the 
old Third Middlesex Regiment, being made of nearly 
the same towns as in former days. The Third Regi- 
ment had only eight companies; the Sixteenth had 
ten companies. Major Lamson was made lieutenant- 
colonel in 1863, and commanded the regiment after 
the death of Colonel P. T. Wyman, who was killed in 
the battle of Charles City Cross-roads, or Glendale. 
Colonel Lamson was discharged for disability in the 
fall of 1864. He has since resided on his property— 
the old Lamson homestead. John Lamson, son of 
John, was born in 1760. 

John A. Lamson, born in 1791, son of John Lamson 
and Hannah Ayers, wasa merchant in BosLon, deacon 
of the church, and filled many town offices— he was 
a man very highly esteemed. 

JosiAH QuiNCY LoEiNG, born in Boston in 1810, 
graduated at Cambridge College in 1829. He spent 
one year at the Law School. He settled upon a farm 
in Weston, where he died in 1862. Mr. Loring was 
the son of Josiah Loring, one of Boston's old-time 
merchants. He married Christiana W., daughter of 
Dr. Peter Renton, of Boston. Mr. Loring was a 
thorough Latin and Greek scholar, and retained his 
love of classic literature throughout his life. He be- 
queathed valuable books to Harvard College, and as- 
sisted in the founding of the public library in 
Weston. 

Alvan Lamson was born at Weston, Massachu- 
setts, November 18, 1792. He was a descendant of 
Wiliiam Lamson (or Lambson), who came from 
County Durham, England, and settled at Ipswich, 
Massachusetts, before 16^8. John Lamson, the 
grandfather, and John Lamson, the father of Alvan, 
were born in Weston, the former in 1724, and the 
latter in 1760. 

John Lamson, the father of Alvan Lamson, was a 
farmer, and Alvan worked on the farm for someyears 
during his boyhood. He early showed a love of read- 
ing and desire of learning, studying, it is said, not 
only in the evening, but also during his work on the 
farm, in the day. After availing himself of such 




o/Uce^^i-^i,'^ 



I 



WESTON. 



507 



means of education as were Ibuud at Weston, attend- 
ing the district scliool and being under the tuition ol' 
Dr. Kendall, the clergyman there, he passed through 
the usual course at Phillips Academy, Andover, and 
entered Harvard College in 1810, graduating in 1814. 
He held a high rank in his class, being regarded as 
one of its best writers, and attending diligently and 
carefully to all the prescribed studies. In college, as 
at the academy, he depended largely on his own ex- 
ertions for his support. 

After graduatirig at Harvard, he was two years a 
tutor at Bowdoin College. He studied at the Divin- 
ity School, at Cambridge, being a member of the class 
of 1817 in the school. 

In 1818 he was invited to become pastor of the 
First Church and Parish in Dedham. Massachusetts, 
and, after some hesitation, accepted the invitation. 
This church and parish were among the oldest in the 
State, the church having been gathered in 1638. 
They were not free from the disagreements and con 
troversies by which many churches and parishes in 
Massachusetts were troubled near the beginning ol 
the present century, which were caused by gradual 
changes of opinion on the part of many members ol 
the various societies. In the Dedham church and 
parish a serious conflict arose, which was finally set- 
tled by a resort to the legal tribunals of the Common- 
wealth, and led to a division of the church and par- 
ish. The invitation to Mr. Lanison, who represented 
the opinions generally known as Unitarian, was giveii 
by the parish, a majority of the more active members 
of the church not approving it at the time, though 
a majority of the whole number of members finally 
approved, or acquiesced in the action of the parish 
The decision of the Supreme Court sustained this 
action, holding that the parish and the members ol 
the church who remained with it continued to be the 
First Church and Parish. This decision was followed 
by the withdrawal of a number who were not satisfied 
with it, and the formation of another church and 
society, po]>ularIy known as the " Orthodox." 

The pastorate thus begun, continued forty-two 
years, being terminated by the resignation of Dr. 
Lamaon, October 29, 1860. During this time he at- 
tended faithfully to the performance of his parish 
duties, winning the warm respect and regard of his 
parishioners and fellow-citizens, and becoming known 
as a preacher of a high order. He also gave much 
time to literary pursuits and historical and theological 
investigations, and took an active part in the care of 
the public schools, and in such work as always falls 
to the share of one who has the confidence of the 
community, and is willing to do his part to promote 
its interests. 

He was one of the overseers of Harvard College 
from 1833 to 18.52, and received the degree of D.D. 
from the college in 1837. 

This life of conscientious devotion to duty and of 
study was laborious, and Dr. Lamson frequently found 



that it taxed his strength severely. He never had 
robust health or the spontaneous energy which springs 
from it, yet he was not often compelled by illness to 
give up his usual occupations, though his want of 
strength made them more diflicult to him. In 1840 he 
spent some time at the Hot Sulphur Springs in Vir- 
ginia, to obtain relief from a troublesome afiection, 
which, before his return, was discovered to have been 
caused by the use of water drawn through lead pipes. 
In 1853 he travelled a few months in Europe. Pro- 
bably these were the longest periods of absence from 
his home which occurred during his ministry. 

Dr. Lamaon was well versed in general literature, 
being familiar with the standard English and Amer- 
ican authors, and a good classical scholar, and was 
; recognized as a skilful and able writer and critic. He 
was for a number of years a member of the examining 
I committee in Khetoric in Harvard College during the 
j professorship of Edward T. Channing. He was a 
' frequent contributor to periodicals, and was one of the 
editors of the Unitarian Ai/roeate in 1830, 1831, (vols. 

1, 2, 3, 4, new series), of the Boston Observer in 1835, 
I and of the Christian Examiner from January, 1844, to 

May, 1849. He published a volume of sermons in 
1857, and various occasional discourses at different 
times. These occasional discourses were often valu- 
able for the historical information they contained. 
The three delivered November 29th, and December 

2, 1838, on occasion of the completion, November 18, 
1838, of the second century from the gathering of the 
First Church in Dedham, deserve particular mention, 
as containing an excellent history of the church and 

i parish to the time of his settlement over them. 

He was much interested in historical and antiqua- 
rian investigations, was careful and accurate in his 
researches and his statement of their results, and his 
conclusions were accepted as of high authority. He 
was a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society, 
and one of the first members of the Dedham Histori- 
cal Society, and was president of the latter from its 
organization in 1859 until his decease. 

He gave particular attention to early church his- 
tory and the early Christian writers, and in 1860 pub- 
lished a volume on these subjects. After the publica- 
tion of this book he continued his researches, revising 
the work, preparing additional matter and making 
such alterations as further examination and consider- 
ation suggested. A second and enlarged edition of the 
work, including the changes adopted by him, was 
published in 1865, after his decease, under the super- 
vision of Ezra Abbot, who was afterward Bussey Pro- 
fessor of New Testament Criticism and Interpretation 
in Harvard College.' 



> Entitled : " The Church of the First Three Centuries ; or Notices of 
the LiveB and Opinions of the Early Fathers, with special reference to 
the Doctrine of the Trinity ; illustruting its late Origin and gradual 
Formation." Hvo. pp., xiv. 410. Ad edition of this work, with additional 
notes by Henry lerson, was published by the British and Foreign Uuita- 
hau .\fl6ociati0D, in 1S75. 



508 



ITTRTORY OP MTDDLKSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Dr. Lamson was a firm believer in the doctrines of 
Uaitariaiiism, as they were held in his time, and one 
of their moat constant and earnest advocates. He 
was amo'ij^ the most plominent clergymen of the 
Unitarian (lenoniiiiation, standing high as a scholar 
and theologian. Ho wrote the article on " Unitarian 
Congregationalists" in Rnpp's "History of all the 
Religious Denominations in the United States," and 
was the author of several of the earlier tracts pub- 
lished by ihe American Unitarian Association. 

He had iiiiich taste for country life, taking great 
interest in agriculture and pomology, and enjoying 
the cultivation of his garden, and of trees and orna- 
mental shrubs. 

He was a member of the Norfolk County Agricul- 
tural Society, and delivered the annual address before 
it in 1X57. 

He was a man of strong principle and high personal 
character, exact in the performance of duty and con- 
scientious to an extent which to many would seem to 
be extreme ; always ready to give to others all that 
belonged to them, and more willing to sacrifice his own 
rights than to encroach on those of another. But 
though strict in his views of right, he did not con- 
demn the ordinary relaxations of life or despise the 
usages of society, and had nothing of asceticism in 
his disposition. He enjoyed social intercourse, though 
somewliat reserved in manner and appearance. 

He married Frances Fidelia Ward, one of the 
daughters of Artumas Ward, who was long Chief Jus- 
tice of the Court of Common Fleas, July 11, 1825. He 
died, after a short illness, July 18, 1864. 

David Weston L.^ne, born in Weston, August 20, 
1846, son of David Lane and Caroline Elizabeth 
Lamson; married Fannie Bush, daughter of Frederick 
T. Bush, of Weston, December 5, 1878. He was of 
the firm of Lane, Lamson & Co. ; has four children, 
and lives on the Bush estate in Weston. 

Hon. James Lloyd, sm of Doctor James Lloyd, 
of Boston, who was a physician in that city in 1752, 
was born in Boston in 17()9, and graduated at Har- 
vard College iu 1787. Mr. Lloyd purchased an es- 
tate in Weston early in 1800 and built a large colo- 
nial house, where he resided iu summer for many 
years. In 1822 he sold the property to John M. 
Gourgas. 

M.\R.sHAl.L Family. — We find iu the history of 
the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of 
Biston, under date of 1640, page 114, the following 
interesting account of the ancestors of the American 
branch of the Marshall family living in Boston and 
Weston. 

Captain Thomas Marshall lived in Lynn in 
1635. He was made a freeman in 1641 ; represented 
Lynn in the General Court in the years 1659-60, '63- 
'64 and 1()68. He acquired the title of captain from 
Oliver Cromwell, in whose wars he was a soldier. In 
1658 he was authorized by the court to " perform the 
ceremony of marriage, and to take testimony in civil 



causes." He died December 23, 1689, leaving .several 
children. 

Captain Christopher Marshall, son of Captain 
Thomas, was a captain in the expedition to Cape Bre- 
ton in 1745. 

Colonel Thomas Marsh.\ll, son of Captain 
Christopher, born in 1717 ; baptized in the old South 
Church in 1719; was major of the Boston Regiment 
in 1765; lieutenant-colonel in 1767 to 1771 ; captain 
of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company 
in 1762 and 1767. He commanded the Tenth Massa- 
chusetts Regiment in the War of the Revolution. He 
was a selectman of the town of Boston when it wa« 
occupied by the British troops, and was considered 
too dangerous a person to be allowed to leave the 
town and had a guard placed over him. It is related, 
that in a dispute with a British officer, the latter drew 
his sword on Marshall, who, seizing a hoe near at 
hand, leveled the officer with it. He commanded 
Castle William, now Fort Independence, when the 
Continental troops were being recruited for the war. 
In 1776 he was made colonel of a new regiment by 
order of the Assembly at Watertown, and Moses Gill 
directed him to proceed at once to Watertown to re- 
ceive his commission. 

Colonel Thomas Mt.rshall moved to Weston after 
the war and purchased the confiscated Jones estate in 
1782. He married for his third wife the widow of the 
Rev. Samuel Woodward, December 6, 1795. 

Colonel Marshall made the addre.ss of v.-elcome when 
President Washington was in Weston in October, 
1789, and he presented the inhabitants of the town to 
the President. He died iu Weston in 1800, aged 
eighty-three years. The Columbian Centinel of that 
year mentions his death " as a man long known and 
highly respected, as the sincere friend of his country, 
the zealous asserter and defender of its rights, liberty 
and laws, the upright man and the sober Christian." 

Captain Christopher Marshall, brother of 
Colonel Thomas, bom March 20,1743; commanded 
a company in his brother's regiment. He was 
a minute-man at the battle of Bunker Hill. His 
sister, who had died from the effects of the excite- 
ment of that period, was to be buried the day before 
the battle, and Captain Marshall applied to his su- 
perior officer for leave to attend the funeral ; this was 
refused him, with the remark, "that if his own father 
was to be buried, he would not leave his post to attend 
his funeral." Captain Marshall was present at the 
execution of Major Andre, and said that there was 
net a dry eye in the throng of brave men who gath- 
ered around the fatal tree. He was also present at 
the surrender cf General Burgoyne and Lord Corn- 
wallis. Although never wounded in the many battles 
which he was engaged in, his coat and hat bore marks 
of bullets. 

When Captain Marshall joined the army, in which 
he served seven years, he removed his family to Con- 
necticut. After the war he returned to the city of 




%. 



ly^/^-m a^ <-^''^-^>-^ 



-^^^ 



WKSTON. 



509 



Boston, and resided on State Street. Tliroiigli his 
term of service he would send to his wife large sums 
of money ; the depreciation of the currency was such 
that i^lOO would barely suffice for a single day's food. 
Mrs. Marshall at one time paid forty dollars for a 
quarter of lamb, through which she could see day- 
light, t'aptain Marshall married Rachel Harris in 
September, 17ii6. 

Thomas Marshall, son of Christopher and Rachel 
Marshall ; born January IS, 17S1 ; married So|)hia, 
daughter of the Rev. Samuel Kendall (born in 1788), 
on September 14, 1818; he died in 1803, aged eighty- 
three year§. She died in Weston September 17, 1882, 
aged ninety-tive years. Mr. Marshall was connected 
with the Bunker Hill Bank over thirty years and first 
president of the Warren Institution, holding that office 
for twelve years. He was highly respected by all during 
the many years he lived in Charlestown. It was truly 
said of him, "His was a beautiful life, so upright and 
noble, in many trials and sorrows so pleasant always." 
He was buried on the fiftieth anniversary of his wed- 
ding day. 

Jame.s F. Baldwin Marshall, fourth child of 
Thomas and Rachel Harris; born August 8, 1818; 
baptized in Brattle Street Church by the Rev. John G. 
Palfrey. He was paymaster-general of Massachusetts 
in the War of 1861, and, with General Armstrong, es- 
tablished the Hampton School at Hampton, Va., until 
1884. 

Charles Mereiam, born in Concord in 1803; 
became a resident of Weston in his youth. In 
1821 he entered the dry-goods store of Colonel D. S. 
Laroaon, and succeeded Mr. Lamson in the business 
in 1824. In 1828 he married Caroline Ware, of 
Newton. In 1833 Mr. Merriam formed the co-part- 
nership of Sales & Merriam in Bo.-ton, the house 
later of the firm of Sales, Merriam & Brewer. In 
1859 Mr. Merriam donated $1000 to the Library 
Fund of Weston, the interest of which was for the 
purchase of books. In 1865 he established one of 
the most laudable charities ever established in a town : 
he gave $1000 for the "Silent Poor of Weston." He 
had seven children : Charles Merriam, the second 
child (born in Weston October 6, 1832), is now a 
prominent merchant in Boston ; Waldo Merriam, the 
fourth child, upon graduating from Harvard, became 
adjutant of the Sixteenth Massachusetts Regiment in 
1861, and was killed at Spottsylvania May, 1864; at 
the time of his death he was lieutenant-colonel com- 
manding. 

Herbert Merriam, the fifth child, born in 1841, 
purchased the Roberts farm, in Weston, in 1873, and 
is still a resident. Mr. Merriam died in Boston in 
1865, aged sixty-two years. 

Benjamin Rand, born in 1785, graduated at Har- 
vard in 1808 in the class with Richard H. Dana ; he 
was a distinguished member of the Sutfolk bar, gen- 
erally considered the best-read lawyer in Masschu- 
setts, but was not considered an advocate. Charles 



Sumner studied law in his office in 1834. Mr. Au- 
gustus H. Fiske became his partner and succeeded to 
the large and lucrative practice upon the death of 
Mr. Rand in 1S52. He can be classed as one of 
Weston's greatest sons. 

Samuel Phillips Savage was the son of Arthur 
Savage, who married Faith Phillips, in 1710, daughter 
of Samuel Phillips, a distinguished bookseller in Bos- 
ton. The grandfather of Samuel Phillips Savage, 
born in 1640, was the second child of Sanuiel Savage, 
who emigrated to America from England, and mar- 
ried the daughter of the famous Ann Hutchin.son. 
She had two children, and died in Weston, June 6, 
1775, aged eighty-four years. The brother of Faith 
Phillips, who married Arthur Savage Henry Phillips, 
was killed in a duel on Boston Common in 1728, and 
lies buried in the cemetery on Boston Common. 
Samuel Phillips Savage was born in Weston, and was 
a leading man of the town for many years ; he repre- 
sented the town in the Provincial Congress held at 
Concord in 1774. He was made judge of the Court 
of Common Pleas of Middlesex County in 1775, 
president of the Massachuset's Board of War, mod- 
erator of the meetings held in the Old South Church 
previous to and on the night the tea was steeped in 
the salt water of Boston Harbor. Judge Savage's 
first wife was a Russell, and, second, Mary Meserve, 
of Weston, in 1794. He died in Weston in 1797, and 
lies buried in the old cemetery. The portrait of 
Judge Savage, by Copley, is now in pos.session of Mr. 
John R. Savage, of Philadelphia. 

Rev. Edmund Hamilton Sears, D.D., was born 
at Sandisfield, a town in the mountainous country of 
Western Massachusetts, on the 6th of April, 1810. 
He was the youngest son of Joseph and Lucy (Smith) 
Sears, and, with his two brothers, passed his youth in 
hard work upon his father's farm. As a boy he was 
serious minded, fond of study and given to writing 
poetry and .sermons. He found it difficult to gratify 
his desire for a student's life, although his parents 
did all in their power to help his plans, but finally 
when he was twenty-one years of age he entered the 
sophomore class at Union College, Schenectady, 
N. Y., where he showed marked ability, both as a 
writer and as a student, and w^s graduated in 1834. 
He was drawn to Cambridge, Mass., by the writings of 
Channing and the Wares, and there he entered the 
Harvard Divinity School. His class was that of 
1837, which numbered also the Reverend Henry W. 
Bellows, D.D., and the Reverend Bufu.i P. Stebbins, 
D.D. For nearly a year Mr. Sears preached as a 
missionary at Toledo, O. In 1839 he was ordained as 
minister of the First Church in Wayland, Mass., and 
it was in the same year that he married Ellen, daugh- 
ter of the Hon. Ebeuezer Bacon, of Barnstable, Mass. 
In 1840 he accepted a call to the Lhiitariaii Church 
at Lancaster, Mass., where his health gave way after 
a moat happy but laborious mini.stry of seven years. 
He returned to Wayland and gradually regained his 



510 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



powers of usefulness, but it had become apparent to 
him that his strength was not equal to the care 
of a large parisli, and though he received numerous 
calls from large societies he was never able to acce|)t 
them. He was settled at Wayland in 1848, and 
here, as at Lancaster, he wa.s happy and successful in 
his work ; but it was here, too, that he met with the 
deepest grief of his life, a grief from which he never 
wholly recovered. In 185.S his only daughter, Kath- 
arine, died of scarlet fever at the age of ten. She was 
a thoughtful, serious, yet merry and most affectionate 
child, aud so deeply did he feel her loss that it was 
months before he could bring himself to record the 
story of her sutt'ering and death. That story, pre- 
served among his manuscripts, is one of rare and 
deeply-moving pathos. He had three younger child- 
ren, all of them sons, — Francis Bacon, born in 1849 ; 
Edmund Hamilton, born :n 1852, and Horace Scud- 
der, born in 18.5.5. His married life was exceptionally 
complete and happy. 

Mr. Sears' ministry at Wayland continued for sev- 
enteen years. In 1865 he was installed as colleague 
of Rev. Dr. Joseph Field, pastor of the Unitarian 
Church in the adjoining town of Weston, and upon 
the death of Dr. Field, in 1869, he became the sole 
minister of the church. The ten years he spent at 
Weston were exceedingly pleasant and happy ones, 
and were enriched by one of the most delightful ex- 
periences of his life — a tour to Europe in the summer 
of 1873. He died at his residence in Weston on Jan- 
uary 16, ^76, after a long and painful illness. 

Mr. Sears is well known as a writer upon religious 
themes, and, besides many sermons and discourses, he 
published the following volumes: "Pictures of the 
Olden Time," 1853; "Regeneration," 1853; "Ath- 
anasia, or Foregleams of Immortality," 1858 ; " The 
Fourth Gospel the Heart of Christ." 1872 ; " Fore- 
gUams and Foreshadows of Immortality " (revised 
from " Athanasia "), 1873; "Sermons and Songs of 
the Christian Life," 1875; "Christ in the Life," 
1877. Some of his lyrical pieces are well known, and 
are to be found in many hymnals, especially the two 
Christmas lyrics: "Calm on the Listening Ear of 
Night," and " It Came Upon the Midnight Clear." 

In anti-slavery and war times he composed several 
stirring songs which were then often quoted, particu- 
larly the one written upon the death of John Brown. 
Mr. Sears was also senior editor of the Moiilhly Reli- 
gious Magazine for many years, and contributed 
to that |)eriodical numerous articles upon a great 
variety of topics. His volume " Pictures of the Olden 
Time " is an historical romance founded upon some 
old tamily traditions, and contained as an appendix 
a genealogy of the Sears family. His other works 
were, as their titles indicate, of a religious nature. The 
catholicity of his spirit is revealed in the wide circu- 
lation which his writings obtained. " More than any 
other man of bis day," said the Nexo Yorh Evening 
Post, " he held convictions and made statements 



which commanded theassentof considerable numbers 
of thoughtful and cultivated persons outside of the 
religious body to which he belonged." 

He received the degree of D.D. from Union Col- 
lege in 1870. 

. Such is the brief and meagre record of a remarkable 
life and a remarkable man. For Mr. Sears was re- 
markable, not because his gifts were great, but be- 
cause they were unique. In the elevation of his 
Christian character, in his piety and his unswerving 
loyalty to the truth as he saw it, in bis courage, his 
honesty in the smallest things, his thrift, his shrewd- 
ness and his firm grasp upon the practical side of life, 
he did not differ materially from manj' eminent di- 
vines who have adorned the history of New England 
from the earliest Puritan times; but in the depth 
of his poetic and spiritual insight, he stands as 
a marked and unique figure among them. His 
gift of poetic utterance, though unusual, was yet 
very limited, and his best poems are remarkable for 
melody, feeling and lyrical fire rather than for rich- 
ness of poetic phrase ; but his insight as a poet was 
exceptionally profound. In was first developed in his 
boyhood amid the Berkshire hills he loved ; it was 
cherished and fed at Lancaster by the elms and the 
clear-flowing Nashua ; at Wayland by the fair river 
landscape that reveals itself from the high hills of the 
town ; it was quickened by the lake scenery of Eng- 
land and the rugged mountains of Scotland ; and 
finally it received its fullest and highest inspirations 
when applied to divine and spiritual things. Mr. 
Sears was like an Oriental in his readiness to apply 
it to such things, and was always a little impatient 
with the practical and prosy bent of the European 
mind, which he termed " our freezing Occidentalism," 
He was ready to see spiritual things through natural 
things, and grasped eagerly at the great fact revealed 
by Saint John, by Swedenborg, and by Wordsworth, 
that the outward universe is but a veil that dimly 
hides the Divine and Eternal ;\[ind. And so quite 
naturally he loved Wordsworth more than any other 
poet, and found in him unfailing delight. 

Yet Mr. Sears was not a visionary. His mind was 
severely logical. His insight divined truth, both na- 
tural and spiritual, with wonderful quickness, but he 
never trusted what he thus apprehended until his 
reason had confirmed it. Hence his religious works 
have a unique and peculiar character, especially the 
one on the Fourth Gospel. The style is fervid and 
poetic ; the religious feeling is strong and even in- 
tense ; and yet no conclusions are reached that are 
not logically defended and maintained. 

This poetic nature that was so marked in Mr. Sears 
afl'ected his character profoundly, giving to it great 
fineness and some limitations also. It made him sensi- 
tive, gentle, winning, so that he was beloved by the 
various peoples to whom he preached as a minister is 
seldom loved. But his sensitiveness was extreme, and 
though he was unusually firm, fearless and decided. 





^ 



IjHl l illL JLjec^KJ 




WESTON. 



511 



and possessed, too, uncommon force, it prevented his 
character from having that robustness and complete- 
ness that belongs to men of a different mould. 

Mr. Sears was in sympathy with the earlier leaders 
of the Unitarian movement, yet it could hardly be 
said that he followed them, for he reached his most 
cherished convictions by his own independent think- 
ing. To him the one central idea of Christian the- 
ology was the " Logos doctrine," that " the Word was 
made Hesh and dwelt among" us, and hence that 
there was in Christ the Divine nature in its fullness 
as well as the human. In maintaining this view he 
found himself out of sympathy with the newer, hu- 
manitarian school of Unitarians; but in the preface 
to "Sermons and Songs," the last of his works pub- 
lished during his life, he affirmed his loyalty to the 
Unitarian body and his gratitude to it for the freedom 
it had always allowed him. 

As a citizen he was prominent and active, taking a 
keen interest in town affairs as weil as those of the 
State and the Nation. Especially did he labor in be- 
half of education, and not only did he raise the stand- 
ards of the schools, but he gave to the more intelligent 
young people of his different pastorates most valuable 
mental stimulus and help. He did not often intro- 
duce secular topics into his sermons, but in great 
crises, as at the passing of the Fugitive Slave Law, he 
did not hesitate to declare from the pulpit that when 
the human and the Divine law were in conflict it was 
the duty of all to obey the latter. After the assault 
upon Charles Sumner he preached a sermon entitled 
" Revolution or Reform," which so commended itself 
to the anti-.slavery leaders that they had a large 
edition [irinted and many thousand copies were cir- 
culated throughout the North. 

For thirty years, including the greater part of his 
active life, Mr. Sears was a citizen of Middlesex 
County, where his influence upon the intellectual and 
spiritual life of his time was deeply felt. 

Braddyll Smith, son of William Smith, born in 
1715, married in 1736 Mary Hager. He was captain 
of the Weston Company of minute-men and made 
colonel of mililia in 1776-77. He represented Weston 
in the General Court in 1775, and in 1776-77 wa-s a 
delegate to the Continental Congress at Concord and 
Watertown ; he held all the important offices in the 
town and church ; he had eight children and died in 
1779. 

Samuel Seaverns, baptized in Watertown in 1086, 
married Rebecca Stratton in 1699 ; his son Samuel, 
born in 1706, when a boy, before going for the cows, 
would climb a tree and look out for Indians before 
venturing away from his father's house — a part of the 
Starr house, now of Bush heirs, was probably built by 
Samuel Seaverns. Dr. Starr was born in this house 
and married Abigail Upham in 1762. The house 
was repaired in 1856, and a copper coin of George II. 
found in the walls. 

Samuel Seaverns, bom in 1779, was so much op- 



posed to the Boston and Worcester Railroad pasiug 
through bis land, that during his life he could not be 
induced to enter the cars, and would turn his back on 
the trains as they passed along in sight. The compen- 
sation he received from the road was not considered 
by him as any equivalent for the intrusion upon his 
property. 

Ebexezer Starr, M.D., born in 1768 ; graduated 
at Harvard College in 1789. He was made M.D. in 
1825. He died in 1830. He was a member of the 
Legislature in 1815, 1817, and justice of the peace. 

Ephraim Woolson, son of Thomas Woolson, of 
Weston, born in 1740 ; graduated at Harvard College 
in 1760. He settled in New Hampshire. 

Samuel Woodward, son of the Rev. Samuel 
Woodward, born 1756; graduated at Harvard College 
in 1776. He was a surgeon in the Continental Army, 
and settled in Newburgh, New York. He died in 
1785, leaving one son. His brother, Cyrus Wood- 
ward, born in 1764, died in 1782, while in the Sopho- 
more class at Harvard. 

Samuel Woodward, fourth child of Ebenezer and 
Mindwell Stone Woodward, was born in Newton in 
1726 ; graduated at Harvard College in 1748 ; or- 
dained pastor of the Weston church in 1751 by a 
unanimous vote of the town. In 1753 he married 
Abigail, daughter of the Rev. Warebam Williams, of 
VVaUham, and had twelve children. xVbigail, the 
third child, born in 1759, married the Rev. Samuel 
Kendall in 1786. Miranda, the fifth child, married 
Mr. Kendall for his second wife, in 1794. Mr. Wood- 
ward was a strong Liberty man throughout the Rev- 
olution, and he joined Cai>tain Laiu.son's company as 
a private on the march to C!oncord, in 1775. He 
died October 5, 1782, having been pastor over the 
Weston church for thirty-one years. His death was 
greatly lamented. His widow married Col. Thomas 
Marshall in 1795. 

Rev. William Williams was born in 1688, the 
son of the Rev. William Williams, of Hatfield. He 
graduated at Harvard College in 1705 and was or- 
dained p.astor over the church in Weston November 
9, 1709 ; he married, in 1710, Hannah, daughter of the 
Rev. Solomon Stoddard, of Northampton. She died 
in 1741, leaving eight children ; Lucy, his fifth child, 
born in 1721, married, in 1743, the Rev. Joseph Buck- 
minster. Mr. Williams organized the church in 
Weston. Mr. Williams died in 1760, aged seventy- 
two years. 

Phineas Whitney, bom in 1740; graduated at 
Harvard College in 1759; ordained in 1762 the first 
settled minister in Shirley, where he remained over 
fifty years — his salary was £00 13s. 4rf. He was 
trustee of Groton Academy from its foundation till 
his death, in 1819, in his eightieth year. 

Charles Train, son of Samuel Train, of Weston, 
born in 1783; graduated at Harvard College in 1805; 
ordained a Bapti.st minister in Framingham in 1811, 
over the united churches of Weston and Framing- 



512 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



ham. They separated in 1826, Mr. Train remain- 
ing in Framingham, which position as pastor he 
held until 1839. He was preceptor of Framingham 
Academy in 1808 and afterwards a trustee. He rep- 
resented the town in 1822 for six years at the General 
Court and was afterwards a State Senator. He was 
active at that early date in the cause of temperance, 
and it was by his active initiation that we owe our 
State Library. In 1833 he met with an accident which 
incapacitated him from active life until his death, 
which occurred September 17, 1849. His son, Charles 
R. Train, graduated from Brown University in 1837 ; 
he was a prominent lawyer, at one time district attor- 
ney and State Senator. 

Arthur Train, son of Samuel and brother of 
Charles, born in 1772, married Betsey, daughter of 
Joseph Train, of Weston, November 30, 1797. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 



NATICK. 



BY REV. JOHN F. NORTON, A.M. 



NATURAL FEATURES AND PRODUCTIONS. 

This town is situated in the southern part of Mid- 
dlesex County, seventeen miles west of Boston and 
twenty-three miles east of Worcester. Its boundaries, 
which have been repeatedly changed since 1650, when 
it became an Indian plantation, are somewhat irregu- 
lar. On the north lies Wayland, on the northeast 
Weston, on the ea.st Wellesley, on the south Sher- 
born, on the southeast Dover, and on the west Fram- 
ingham. In shape the town forms an irregular tri- 
angle. 

The name Natick is doubtless of Indian origin and 
signified, in the language of the aborigines, as is gen- 
erally supposed, " The Hilly Place." If so, it was ap- 
propriately given to this locality, where the hills are 
so numerous and so prominent a feature of the land- 
scape. These hills are by no means as long and steep 
as are found in the mountainous portions of our Com- 
monwealth ; still not a few of them are notable for 
their size and height, and, interspersed as they are 
between the lakes, the plains, the valleys and water- 
courses of the town, greatly diversify and beautify 
its scenery in almost every direction. Of these, 
Peagan Hill is the best known and the highest. This 
lies in the southern part of the town and commands 
a magnificent view of the valley of Charles River 
and extensive regions beyond, while from no other 
height in this vicinity is the general prospect so 
grand and imposing. 



Walnut Hill, upon the southern slope of which a 
considerable part of the large central village of 
Natick is built, gives from its summit the best view 
of the thickly-settled portion of the town, as well as 
of picturesque Lake Cochituate, and of the regions 
at the north, including Mount Wachusett and " Grand 
Monadnock," the great isolated mountain of Southern 
New Hampshire. 

Other hills of less note are found in almost every 
section of the town, and the drives to the summits of 
and among these are remarkably pleasant. 

There are three plains in the town, originally 
named Eliot Plain, upon the banks of Charles River, 
in South Natick ; Peagan Plain, where the central vil- 
lage is chiefly located, and Boden Plain, in the north- 
west part of the town, so named to perpetuate the 
memory of William Boden, Esq. 

The soil of Natick is fairly good, and, fifty years 
ago, nearly all the people were frugal and thriving 
farmers. Some of the most productive farms of that 
period are now covered by the populous central vil- 
lage, particularly those of Rev. Martin Moore, Dr. 
John Angler, Ruel Morse, Abel Perry and Capt. 
David Bacon.' At the present time the manufactur- 
ing interests of Natick render farming a matter of 
secondary importance in the public estimation, but 
its farms are not neglected and cannot be without af- 
fecting adversely the town's prosperity. The land pro- 
duces large crops of grass, of the cereal grains and 
of potatoes, all of which find here a remunerative 
market. 

Much attention has been given of late years to the 
cultivation of fruit. The apple orchards are gener- 
ally prolific, while the soil and climate seem espe- 
cially adapted to the growth and perfection of pears 
and grapes. All kinds of pear trees grow luxuriantly 
and nearly every y,ear bear heavily. Nearly all the 
newer varieties of grapes are found in the yards and 
gardens, and climbing the sides of the houses and 
barns of Natick, while the older varieties, like the 
Concord, are still valued highly and largely culti- 
vated. The small fruits, like the strawberry and rasp- 
berry, abound here in great perfection. 

The rocks and ledges of this town aflbrd material 
for roughly constructed walls, but nothing sufficiently 
fine for ornamental and monumental purposes. The 
quarries of Milford and Holliston are chiefly de- 
pended upon to furnish underpinning stones for the 
public buildings, the business blocks and all the bet- 
ter class of dwelling-houses, while those of the Con- 
necticut Valley and of Southern New Hampshire 
afford the finer material for the numerous and large 
brick structures that have been erected during the 
last fifteen years. 

Originally Natick was covered with a heavy growth 
of forest trees, among which the oak, the walnut, 
the chestnut, the elm and the maple were conspicu- 



^ Bacon's " History,"' page H9. 



NATICK. 



513 



ous. Sonie trees are now standing in this town th;it 
have acquired not a little notoriety, thechief of which 
is " the Eliot Oak," that stands a few rods east of the 
Unitarian Church in South Natick. This is a while 
oak and of great antiquity. A century ago there 
were three large oaks in the centre of tliat village 
forming a triangle. Under one of these Eliot gathered 
the Indians together and preached to them in 1650 
as we shall presently see. One of these three trees, 
wliich was a red oak, was removed, probah'y near the 
opening of the present century. The second of lliese 
trees, which grew near the site of the drinking foun- 
tain in that village, was a very large tree and con- 
siderably decayed fifty years ago. This was a red oak 
and w;i,s cut down May 25, 1842. 

Whether the last-mentioned tree was the real Eliot 
Oak, or this name properly belongs to the iuimense 
and venerable tree now standing, is a question that 
h.aa been much discussed, but apparently decided in 
favor of the latter tree, for die following reasons: 
The red oak is well known to be a tree of rapid 
growth, and it has been computed that it comes to iis 
growth in about one hundred years, and that in one 
hundred additional years it may be expected to fall 
from decay. On the contrary, the white oak grows 
very slowly, and does not reach its full size in less 
than three huudred years, and will remain in this 
condition of apparently perfect or nearly perfect 
health for three hundred years longer, and may be 
expected to live nine hundred years. 

The tree now standing is doubtless the real Eliot 
Oak, for its competitor for this honor, the second of 
the red oaks, could hardly have been more than a sap- 
ling two hundred years before it was removed.' 

The Charles River is the only river of Natick. This 
flows through the southern part of the town, and has 
been computed to cover in its course through Natick 
about one hundred acres of territory. At the rapids 
in South Natick it has long furnished valuable water 
privileges. Much of the water is taken from this river 
below Natick, before it reaches the ocean — as much, 
it is thought, as it receives from the brooks flowing 
into it in that part of its course. Broad's Hill divides 
the waters emptying into Charles River from those 
that reach Lake Cochituate, and these meet in the 
Atlantic through the channels of the Charles and 
Merrimac. 

None of the brooks of Natick are large, but some 
of them, like Sawin's and Bacon's, have long fur- 
nished sites for mill purposes. 

The Sawin saw-mill •(the location of which was 
once changed because its dam injured the great mea- 
d#vs in Medfleld) was built by John Sawin about 
1720. This was a great boon to the Indians, especially 
after there was added to it a corn-mill. Peagau 
Brook, which coming from the east, and, flowing 

^ See the pamphlet itiiiued by the Historical, Natural History and Li- 
brary Society of South Natick, 1S8I, p. 5G. 

8:i 



through the central village nearly parallel with the 
track of the Boston and Albany Railroad, empties 
into Lake Cochituate near its south-eastern corner, 
has acquired not a little notoriety by the recent litiga- 
tion between the city of Boston and citizens of Natick 
touching the alleged pollution of the waters of the lake 
through the discharge of sewers into this stream. 

Lake Cochituate, a large part of .which lies in 
Natick, and from which the city of Boston receives 
much of its water supply, covers about tix hundred 
acres of territory, and, with its windings, is nearly 
seven milts in lengih. Its opposite shores, in some 
places, approach wiihia a few rods of one another, and 
while certain parts of it are comparatively shallow, in 
other places the water is nearly or quite seventy leet 
deep. The water from this lake is conveyed through 
the north part of Natick in its course towards Boston, 
while through the south part of the town and by means 
of another aqueduct the supply from the Sudbury 
River reaches the i-ame city. In the latter structure 
is a very long tunnel under the high hill northwest 
of South Natick village. Lake Cochituate is a very 
attractive sheet of water. 

Sjuth of Cochituate lies Dug Pond, so named, 
doubtless, because of its abrupt and regular shores, 
giving it the appearance of having been excavated by 
numan processes. In extent it covers not far from 
fifty acres. From this pond, which is deep and clear, 
the water supply of Natick is taken, the steam pump- 
ing machinery on its northern shore raising the water 
and driving it through the village into a spacious 
reservoir upon a high hill east of the same. The water 
in Dug Pond is the product of springs in it, and not 
of streams emptying into it from the adjoining terri- 
tory. The pond is separated from Lake Cochituate 
by a very narrow neck of land, but the water in the 
fyrmer is some feet higher than thut of the latter. 
Less public interest attaches to the other ponds in 
Natick, of which there are a number. 

The waters of Natick formerly supplied the in- 
habitants of the region with various kinds of fish, 
which were taken in great numbers. When Rev. Mr. 
Eliot established the Indian Plantation at South 
Natick he found that the fishing interest of the abo- 
rigines around the rapids of the Charles River had 
become a business of considerable and acknowledged 
importance. Before dams were built across the Con- 
cord River, and the city of Lowell grew up around 
the rapids of the Merrimac, the shad and some other 
kinds of fish that live a part of each year in the ocean, 
found their way into Lake Cochituate, and were taken 
from it in large quantities. Animals were fed with 
them, as well as men, we are assured, and the ancient, 
records of Natick show that olhcers were annually 
chosen to superintend the fisheries of the parish, a part 
of whose duty it was to prevent strangers and all un- 
authorized persons from taking fish from the lake. 

Among the destructive wild animals that were 
found in this region two hundred and fifty years ago 



514 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



the bear and the. wolf were the most common, but, as 
theae bad no Rtroiigbolds in the sides of precipitous 
mountains, to which they could flee when pursued by 
hunters, they were easily and quickly exterminated. 

Among other animals which the region pro- 
duced when white families began to settle in this 
place, the deer, the moose, the fox, the otter and the 
beaver may be mentioned, and the hunting and trap- 
ping of the fur-clad portion of these had furnished for 
a number of years before a somewhat lucrative em- 
ployment for the Indians of the Natick Plantation. 
Waban, the chief, who removed, with a large part of 
his followers, from Nonantum to Natick in 1650-51 
(as we shall presently see), was an Indian trader — in 
other words, a dealer in furs and skins — and in the first 
public building erected on this ground, a portion of 
the second story was used for the storage of Waban's 
merchandise. And later, when a new meeting-house 
was erected for the Indians, in 1721, we learn that 
the workmen were " pay* every Saturday," and for 
their labor " rec'' 213 Beavers." Sometimes the skins 
api)ear to have been counted in the process of trade, 
and sometimes sold by weight; and, certainly, the 
animals that furnished such quantities as we read of 
must have been numerous. 



CHAPTEK XXXVI. 

NA TICK—( Continued). 
INDIAN SETTLEMENT, 1650-1700.' 

Natick is a historic town, and its early history, 
for the space of nearly one hundred years, is aln;ost 
wholly unlike that of any other town in the Common- 
wealth. 

In the charter of the Massachusetts Colony that 
came to New England in the year 1630, we are told 
that one of the objects which it was expected would 
be accomplished by this movement was the physical, 
mental and moral elevation of the ignorant and bar- 
barous Indians who inhabited the region. Other 
matters occupied the attention of the Colony for .a 
number of years, but in 1646 an act was passed by the 

1 TlieauUiorities couttultediri preparing this portion. of tlie " History of 
Natick" uro as follows ; " Life of Jolm Eliot," by Professor C. Fruu- 
cis ; " The Wliito Oak and its Neigiibors," by Sarah S. Jacobs — bettor 
known Ity the title, " Nonuiituni and Natick" — ''Temple's History of 
Kraniiugliaui," very full and reliable upon the Indian history of this 
region ; the Histories of Natick, by William Billow, Oliver N. Bacon, 
Uev. Martin Moore anil Itev. S. I). Hosriier ; " Manual of the First ('on" 
gregatioiial (Miiircli of Natick," by Uev. Daniel Wight, a work carefully 
prepared, full and reliable ; Drake's " Old Iiidiau Chronicles ; " and tlw 
collections of the Maasjichusett^ Historical Society. These autliors 
agree substantially in all their statements of facts, and these facts will 
bo given in this sketch wichont the usual references to particidar au- 
thorities. Due credit will accompany all direct quotations. The Indian 
apostle, Eliot, was a voluminous writer, and the same nmy be said of 
bis ministerial contemporaries in Huston ami its vicinity. 



General Court of Massachusetts, which was designed 
to promote the evangelization of the aborigines of the 
Commonwealth. This matter was commended par- 
ticularly to the pastors and leading men in the 
churches that had been organized. 

The man before all others to take the lead in this 
movement was Rev. John Eliot, the minister in Rox- 
bury. Born of religious parents at Nasing, Essex 
County, England, in 1603, he had been educated at 
the University of Cambridge, where he was matricu- 
lated in 1619, with the reputation of being an excel- 
lent grammarian and fond of philological studies in 
general. His purpose at that time was to enter the 
Christian ministry as soon as might be, but he was a 
non-conformist, and non-conformity in those days sub- 
jected a man who would be a religious teacher to the 
most severe disabilities. Rev. Mr. Hoi>ker, who, at a 
later period, was the eminent first pastor at Hartford, 
Ct., had recently been silenced for non-conformity. 
Mr. Eliot was taken into Mr. Hooker's family, and 
made an usher in a grammar school which the latter, 
had established; but, according to the historian Neal, 
Eliot was " not allowed to teach school in his native 
country." 

Under these circumstances it was only natural that 
he should seek a refuge and home in the new world. 
November 3, 1631, he landed in Boston from the ship 
" Lyon," that brought over with him the wife and 
children of Governor Winthrop. Rev. John Wilson, 
pastor of the First Church in Boston, was at this time 
in England attending to the settlement of business 
affairs in which he was concerned, and Governor 
Winthrop, with two other laymen, was conducting 
the services of the church in the absence of the i)a8- 
tor. Mr. Eliot was at once invited to preach there, 
and so accei)table were his labors, that the people 
were very unwilling to give him up when, to fulfill his 
promise made to friends in England who were antici- 
pating a removal to the Massachusetts Colony, ho 
settled in Roxbury, these friends having arrived from 
the mother country and being ready to abide by iheir 
part of the engagement. 

November 5, 1632, Mr. Eliot became the minister 
at Roxbury, and continued such till the time of his 
death, May 20, 1690. His colleagues at different 
times were Messrs. Welde, Danforth and Walter. 
Mr. Eliot was now twenty-eight years of age, and re- 
markably well fitted to take the lead in the great en- 
terprise of civilizing and christianizing the Indians. 
It was a formidable undertaking, so low were they in 
ignorance and barbarism. 

Anticipating his mission, as early as 1641 Mr. Eliot 
entered on the difficult task of learning the Indiiui 
language, particularly the ]\Iohegan dialect, which 
was spoken generally by the Indians in Eastern Rltis- 
sachusetts, securing for aid the assistance of an In- 
dian who could speak English, and whom he took 
into his family. In a few months he could converse 
somewhat in the Indian tongue, but some years 



NATICK. 



515 



elapsed before he could trust himself to preach a ser- 
mon to the natives. His tirst Indian discourse was 
given at Nonantum, October 28, 1(346. 

Nonantum was an Indian village in the northeast 
part of what is now the city of Newton, bordering on 
Watertown. Waban {the wind), with his wife and a 
company of his followers, had come to this village 
not long before from what is now Concord, and at the 
time of which we are speaking he was the chief of 
the Nonantum settlement. This Waban is described 
as " the chief minister of justice among them," and 
was regarded as well disposed toward the project of 
giving instruction in morals and religion to the In- 
dians. His son, at Waban's suggestion, was at this 
time attending an English school in Dedham, but 
came over to Nonantum to be present at the meeting 
above mentioned. ' Notice having been previously 
given of this gathering for a religious service, Mr_ 
Eliot and his companions were met not far from the 
wigwams by Waban and other Indians, who respect- 
fully saluted them and conducted them to the dwell- 
ing of their chief, where a considerable audience had 
assembled. 

Mr. Eliot took his text from Ezekiel, chap, xxxvii. 
9, 10, " Prophesy unto the wind," etc., and when it is 
remembered that "Waban" signified "wind," we 
may well suppose that the chief made a personal ap- 
plication of the entire discourse, which occupied one 
hour and a quarter. In the course of the sermon 
the ten commandments had been recited and ex- 
plained, and the whole matter made as practical as 
possible. Then followed a series of questions and an- 
swers from both parties, and after three hours had 
been spent at this first religious meeting of the Mas- 
sachusetts Indians the services closed. At the re- 
quest of Waban and his company, the service was re- 
peated two weeks later in the chief's wigwam, and 
this was followed by a third and fourth meeting, all 
of which seemed to leave good impressions ou the 
minds of the Indians. 

Meanwhile, under Mr. Eliot's direction, the tem- 
poral att'airs of this people began to show a marked 
improvement. Fences were made, ditches were dug, 
and something like a system of good husbandry intro- 
duced. The squaws learned to spin ; the markets of 
the English began to be supplied with brooms, bas- 
kets, berries, fowls and fish, brought in by the Indians. 

About the same time, or soon after, Mr. Eliot com- 
menced holding religious services with the Indians at 
Neponset, but these were attended with less to en- 
courage him than the meetings and visible improve- 
ment in temporal matters at Nonantum afforded. He 
uls 1 visited the natives at Concord, and later ou an 
Indian lown was constituted and named Nashobah, 
where one of Eliot's followers, an Indian teacher, con- 
ducted religious worship for a time. 

It may here be stated that at this stage of his mis- 

1 S!e Francis" " Life of Eliot," p. 48. 



sionary labors, and during some years after, Mr. Eliot 
preached to the Indians in so many places in the 
eastern part of Massachusetts, and such results fol- 
lowed his labors, that as many as fourteen settlements 
of Praying Indians are named in the histories of those 
times. Besides those already mentioned, Punkapoag 
(nowStoughton), Hassanamesit(now Grafton), Okom- 
makamesit (now Marlborough), Magunkaquog (now 
partly in Ashland), and Wamesit (now Lowell) are 
enumerated among the Christian towns or settle- 
ments. When we speak of these Indian towns we 
are not to picture to ourselves anything resembling 
one of our modern villages, with spacious and well- 
kept streets, lined with neat and attractive dwelliugs, 
but rather ten or twenty huts on the banks of a pond 
or stream, with a single room each, and this often 
partly under ground for the sake of securing warmth 
in win'er, the whole so constructed that all valuable 
in or about it could be taken down and removed at a 
few hours' notice. All that has now been stated re- 
specting the mission of Mr. Eliot seems necessary for 
a full understanding of the reasons that led to the In- 
dian settlement in Natick. 

Three or four years' labor in conducting his<exper- 
iment at Nonantum were sufficient to convince this 
thoughtful and devoted man that he was laboring un- 
der serious disadvantages in endeavoring to civilize 
and christianize the natives in such close proximity 
to the English colonists. The white population was 
taking possession of the entire region within ten miles 
of Boston, and it was easily apparent that as society 
was then constituted, they and the Indians could not 
live and prosper in the same neighborhood. To say 
nothing of social habits and customs, which would 
prevent the two races from enjoying friendly inter- 
course, their different views of right and wrong made 
friction almost inevitable. The fences that the In- 
dians put around their small gardens and corn-fields 
afforded but littly protection against the cattle of the 
English, and after loss had been sustained, adequate 
redress was out of the question, while, notwithstand- 
ing the strictness of their laws, it must be confessed 
that the evil example of some of the colonists was de- 
moralizing. According to the old historians, the In- 
dians of New England knew nothing of drunkenness 
till the English began to settle in the region. The 
most reliable authorities state that they had nothing 
that could intoxicate before the coming of the white 
man ; but when the taste for strong liquors had been 
once acquired, they became passionately fond of them, 
and would obtain them, if possible, at any cost. 

As early as l(il8 Mr. Eliot sent a petition to the 
General Court, asking that the sale of intoxicating 
drinks to the Indians should in Boston be confined to 
a single individual, and the order of the court was as 
follows: "On petition of Mr. Eliot, none in Boston to 
sell wine to the Indians except William Phillips, on 
fine of twenty shillings." 

These exposures and troubles at Nonantum and 



516 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



elsewhere led Mr. Eliot to seek a more favorable lo- 
cation for the founding of an Indian town which 
should be a model settlement for the Praying Indians, 
and the headquarters of more general and belter- 
directed efforts for their education and moral im- 
provement. With this object in view, he seems to 
have explored, on foot or on horseback, the region of 
country west and southwestof Boston for the distance 
of twenty or twenty-five miles before a suitable jdace 
was discovered. To his great joy such a place was at 
length found upon the banks of the Charles River, 
about .seventeen miles west of Boston. 

This locality he deemed very favorable for many 
reasons. It was at a sufficient distance from the 
English settlements to remove the Indians, certainly 
for a time, from the inconveniences and exposures to 
which they had been subject at Nonantum, and yet 
was so near Roxbury that Mr. Eliot could go back 
and forth without great fiitigue, or making serious in- 
roads upon his valuable time. Besides, there was a 
large tract of fertile meadow-land upon the banks of 
the Charles River, at the place selected, already 
cleared — either by the beavers or by the annual burn- 
ing of the grass and bushes by the Indians — so that 
the important business of husbandry could be com- 
menced at once. 

The selection of the place for the new settlement 
was made in 1650, and Mr. Eliot seems to have in- 
vited the Praying Indians in all the region, and all 
others who were disposed to join them, to remove to 
the new locality. During the summer of that year 
he sent men to c>it and cure the heavy grass on the 
meadows, that there might be an abundance of hay 
for his horse during the autumn and when the spring 
of 1651 should open. A considerable number of In- 
dians from Nonantum and other places removed at 
once to the new settlement named "Natick" (the 
hilly place) for reasons already given. 

Measures were immediately taken to secure for the 
Indians a legal title to the land they had been in- 
vited to occupy. As early as 1636 (as it appears from 
the "Mass. Col. Records") the General Court had 
granted a tract of land five miles square, on the north- 
erly side of Charles River, to the town of Dedhara, 
and this tract embraced most, if not all, the territory 
now covered by the towns of Natick and Wellesley, 
and a part of Sherborn. Mr. Eliot asked of Dedham 
2000 acres of this land, which was given, and by the 
General Court set apart as "The Indian Plantation at 
Natick." 

But this did not satisfy Mr. Eliot's ideas of strict 
justice, for a considerable part of this territory was 
allready occupied by others whose claims he would 
not disregard. This part was "the inheritance of 
John Speene and his brethren and kindred," and 
these Indians were in possession. There is, in the 
office of the town clerk at Natick, a paper supposed 
to be in Eliot'shandwriting,under dateof 1650, which 
sets forth tlie mode in which this matter was satisfac- 



torily settled : ' " Because all those Lands, or a great 
part, at least, which belong to Natick, were the inher- 
itance of John Speene and his brethren and kindred ; 
therefore, we thought it right that he and all his kin- 
dred should solemnly give up their right therein be- 
fore the Lord, and give the same unto the publick 
interest, right and possession of the Towne of Naticke. 
They were all very willing so to do, and therefore, on 
a lecture-d.ny, publickly and solemnly, before the 
Lord and all the people, John Speen and all bis kin- 
dred, friends and posterity, gave away all their Right 
and interest, which they formerly had in the Land in 
and about Natick, unto the public interest of the 
towne of Naticke, that so the praying Indians might 
then make a towne ; and they received nothing to 
themselves, saving interest in their wyers, which they 
had before put ; for Lands they would only take up 
lots, as others did, by the publick order and agree- 
ment of the towne, and at the same time they re- 
ceived a gratuity unto their good Contentment.''". 
Following the above, and on the same page, is another 
similar document from another family, which the his- 
torian (Biglow) declared sixty years ago was scarcely 
legible. The agreements were signed by John Eliot, 
Waban and sixteen other Indians as witnesses. 
Though there is some conflict of authorities respect- 
ing the exact dates of these conveyances, there is 
none respecting the facts as stated above. 

It having been determined that the settlement 
should occupy both banks of the river, a foot-bridge 
became necessary, since during a part of each year 
the stream was too deep for wading. In the autumn 
of 1650 this bridge was built in a substantial man- 
ner by the Indians, who, up to this time, had never 
accustomed themselves to such severe and protracted 
labor. The structure was eighty feet long and nine 
feet high in the middle, and built in the form of an 
arch. When it was completed, Mr. Eliot is said to 
have called the workmen together for a religious ser- 
vice and to praise them for their industry, zeal and 
success. He offered to pay them if any desired 
wages for their work, but all declined the offer, being 
fully satisfied with the part they had performed in 
promoting the public convenience and safety. 

In the spring of 1651 the work of building was 
resumed, and an Indian village of considerable size 
appeared upon both banks of the river. Seed was 
sown or planted, fruit trees were set out, and soon 
the Indians were engaged in putting up a house in 
the English style for their school during the week 
and for religious services on the Sabbath. This house 
is described by Mr. Eliot and others as fifty feet long, 
twenty-five feet wide and twelve feet high between 
the joists, and two stories high. A white carpenter 

1 This is probably tlie most ancient of the Tndian records which the 
town of Niitick bag in its keeping. Some of it is deciphered with diffi- 
culty ; but the must important part was copied into a substantial record- 
book some years since by Austin IJucon, and this the town will preserve. 

illiglow, p. 2:i. 



NATICK. 



517 



was employed for a very short time to direct about 
the fnmiiDg and raiaiug, but otherwise,^ the entire 
work was done by the Indians. They felled the trees 
and hewed the timber for the frame, carrying it on 
their shoulders to the foundation already prepared, 
and finished the structure, not in elegant style in- 
deed, but in such substantial work as called forth the 
commendations of visitors. The lower story was fit- 
ted up for the school and for religious gatherings, 
while above was a spacious room for the deposit of 
Indian valuables and especially for the skins, etc., 
belonging to Waban, who was in his way a trader. 
Another part of the second story furnished a com- 
fortable study for Mr. Eliot when, as was often the 
case, he came over from Roxbury and passed a num- 
ber of days at the Plantation. 

Whether this entire building was surrounded by 
tall trees stripped of their branches and set close to- 
gether in the ground, after the manner of the early 
forts in New England, it seems difficult to determine; 
but either around it, or in close proximity to it, such 
a fort was constructed and made capable of defence 
from hostile attack. It is supposed that for a consid- 
erable period, when the weather was favorable, their 
religious meetings were held in the open air, for we 
read that the Indians constructed canopies of mats 
attached to poles — one for the preacher and his at- 
tendants, others for the men and women respectively, 
the sexes being separated according to the custom of 
the times in English assemblies. The building de- 
scribed above was the first church edifice in Natick. 
A few of the Indian homes resembled somewhat 
small and cheaply constructed English houses, but 
because of the expense attending their erection and 
the difficulty of warming them easily and sufficiently 
in the winter, most preferred wigwams like those in 
which they were born. These were located on the 
banks of the river on three streets, two on the north 
side of the stream, and one on the south side. House 
lots were measured off, one being assigned to each 
wigwam, and soon fifty or more Indian families were 
established in homes which at least were deemed 
comfortable, and which were really a great improve- 
ment on the filthy and crowded huts of their child- 
hood. 

The Indians were encouraged in every possible 
way to adopt the customs of civilized life; while 
their intellectual and moral training received from Mr. 
Eliot the most constant and careful attention. With 
their new and spacious room for educational pur- 
poses a new era opened, and soon a large number 
were engaged in study and making, according to all 
reports, commendable progress. An Indian by the 
name of Monequassen, who had been for some years 
under training, was engaged as teacher. Governor 
Endicot and Rev. John Wilson, of Boston, testified 
at the time respecting the good qualifications of this 
man fur his work. He could read, spell and write 
English as well at least as most of the English teach- 



ers of that day — while all his instruction was given 
under the general superintendence of Mr. Eliot. As 
to the Sabbath services, we learn from Gookin '.hat 
" upon the Lord's days, fast days and lecture days, 
the people assemble at the sound of a drum (for bells 
they yet have not) twice each day."' 

This school at Natick, Mr. Eliot plainly designed 
as a seminary for the higher education of the bright- 
est and moat promising among the Indian young men 
of his acquaintance, that such might be fitted for 
instructors in less favored localities; and in this re- 
spect his hopes were at least partially realized. It 
was early discovered by this sharp-sighted, as well as 
devotedly pious man, that the exhortations of the 
Indians in their own tongue had a remarkable eflect, 
especially upon strangers who might be present at 
their religious meetings (and the presence of such 
was not uncommon), and so he established the cus- 
tom of selecting two of the scholars for each Sabbath 
" to exercise," as it was termed ; that is, to repeat 
portions of the Scriptures as he read them, to offer 
prayer and to give, in their own language, the sub- 
stance of his discourses. Mr. Eliot himself cate- 
chised the adults when he was present on the Sab- 
bath, as he often was, for many years, while the 
children were catechised by Monequassen. 

The material, intellectual and religious concerns of 
the Plantation having been provided for by these 
arrangements, Mr. Eliot now directed his attention to 
the mode of civil government which it would be best 
for the IndiaiM to adopt. Though, in a sense, they 
were not ab.solulely independent, but were subject to 
the laws of the English colony, it seems to have been 
expected on all sides that they would adopt what we 
may call municipal regulations of their own, and the 
form and scope of these became, at a very early day, 
a serious matter. 

Under his supreme regard for the authority of the 
Bible, Mr. Eliot's ideas respecting the best form of 
civil government differed from those entertained by 
most of the Puritan leaders. In one of his letters to 
friends in England, he exclaimed, " O the blessed 
day in England when the Word of God shall be their 
Magna Charter and chief law-book, and when all 
lawyers must be divines to study the Scriptures." 

Entertaining such views, it is not surprising that 
Mr. Eliot proposed to the Indians that for the funda- 
mental law of the Natick Plantation they should adopt 
the Mosaic code so far as it relates to civil officers. 
"England," he assured them, "did flourish happily 
under that kind of governmeot," alluding, as Profes- 
sor Francis supposes, to King Alfred's institutions, 
after he had expelled the Danes from Great Britain. 

There appears to have been no objection on the 
part of the Indians to this proposal of Mr. Eliot. 
August 6, 1651, a general meeting of the Praying In- 
dians was hold in Natick, but how far those who 

iMass. Uist. Cull. 



518 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



came from the other Christian settlements partici- 
pated in this election of civil lulera we are not in- 
formed. The most we know is that a ruler of a hun- 
dred, two rulers of iifties and rulers of tens were 
chosen after Mr. Eliot had prayed and expounded to 
them the eighteenth chapter of Exodus. For the 
ruler of one hundred, Totherswamp was selected, 
who was a man in the prime of life, distinguished for 
uncommon ability and moral worth. Waban, to 
whom the reader has been already introduced, was 
chosen one of the captains of fifties. Ten captains of 
tens were also elected, and these Mr. Eliot denomi- 
nated tithingmen, after, as he informs us, the custom 
of the mother country, when, for a little time, a simi- 
lar form of government prevailed there. Then each 
man was requested to name his leader among the 
tithingmen, and, this being done, the organization 
of the civil government was complete. A day was 
name'd for entering into a solemn covenant with God, 
which was also a day for fasting and prayer. When 
first the rulers and then the people had taken upon 
themselves the solemn vow to live according to the 
commands of the Most High, Mr. Eliot's heart was 
full of praise and thanksgiving. 

To show how these rulers demeaned themselves in 
office, the following incident may be related : Tother- 
swamp, or Toteswamp, as he was sometimes called, 
the ruler of the hundred, had sent his son, a boy of 
eleven years, to one of the settlements nearer Boston 
to purchase some supplies. The lad found in that 
place three of the most vicious from the Praying In- 
dians, who were making themselves drunk upon sev- 
eral quarts of strong liquor which they had obtained 
from the English. One of these men gave the 
boy a little rum in a spoon, and another forced him 
to drink from a bottle till he was thoroughly intoxi- 
cated; then they cried out, "We will now see whether 
your father will punish us for drunkenness, since you 
are drunk as well as we.'' Then a fight commenced 
among the intoxicated Indians, acd the boy did not 
return home till the next day. The news of their 
shameful proceeding reached Mr. Eliot just as he was 
leaving his Koxbury home to pass the Sabbath in 
Natick, and he was almost overwhelmed with grief, 
particularly as one of the oftenders had been em- 
ployed by him as an interpreter, and was depended 
upon to aid in translating the Bible into the Indian 
language. The rulers were wisely left to try the case. 
The position of Toteswamp was especially trying, but 
in the final decision the just magistrate, rather than 
the father, prevailed. His boy, he said, had often 
been warned against being found in the company of 
the wicked, so that, though grievously sinned against, 
he was far from being guiltless, and deserved punish- 
ment. After mature deliberation the verdict ren- 
dered was as follows : The three chief offenders 
should sit in the stocks a long time, and then receive 
thirty lashes each at the wliijipingpost, while the 
boy should sit in the stocks a little while, and then 



be whipped by his father in the school-room, iu the 
presence of the other Indian children — and this ver- 
dict, we are assured, was f.tithfully carried out. 

In 1658, the tract of 2000 acres constituting the 
Natick Plantation being deemed too small, Mr. Eliot 
petitioned the General Court i'or an enlargement and 
readjustment of its boundaries. His petition led to 
the appointment of a committee " to lay out conve- 
nient bounds to Natick, out of the common lands ad- 
joining, and also to treat with Dedham, and compound 
with them for such lands as lye adjoining to y" said 
place, and seemed to be necessary for the Indians." 
This committee laid out and assigned to the Indian 
settlement a large tract of land lying north and west 
of the 2000 acres which had been donated by Dedham 
in 1650. But about 4000 acres of this tract were 
claimed by Dedham, and this town appealed to the 
General Court for redress. A committee was ap- 
pointed in May, 1662, " to make final issue of the 
controversy between the town of Dedham and the 
Indians at Natick." About a year later this commit- 
tee reported, when the General Court "judgeth it 
meete to grant Dedham 8000 acres of land in any 
convenient place or places, where it can be found 
free from former grants ; provided Dedham accept 
this ofier." Dedham appears to have been satisfied 
with the arrangement, for two years later these 8000 
acres were laid out for Dedham, at Deerfield, iu the 
valley of the Connecticut Kiver. 

The settlement appears to have prospered until 
1675, and it was estimated a little before this date 
that the whole number of Praying Indians, chiefly 
in the Province of Massachusetts, amounted to 3600, 
of whom 300 at least belonged to the Natick com- 
munity. 

We come now to the sad part of this Indian his- 
tory. King Philip was the son of Massasoit, with 
whom the Pilgrims at Plymouth made a treaty that 
was carefully observed for more than fifty years. 
Philip was ambitious, crafty and unscrupulous to the 
last degree. Deeming himself grievously insulted 
and wronged by the whites, he attempted to unite all 
the Indian tribes in Southern New England in an 
effort to exterminate the colonists; and in this at- 
tempt nearly succeeded. So general w.as this alliance 
that all the Indians in this part of the country fell 
under suspicion and were carefully watched. A few 
from the Natick Plantation were induced to join 
Philip, but the great body of the Praying Indians 
turned a deaf ear to his appeals and remained loyal 
to the whites. But nothing could appease the jeal- 
ousy and calm the feais of the English. 

Orders were soon issued for the arrest and removal 
of the Praying Indians of this vicinity. Captain 
Tom, who was among the early residents of the Na- 
tick Plantation, and one of the most respected of 
the converts, was seized at Grafton and taken to 
Boston, tried and condemned to be hung before 
Mr. Eliot was aware of his peril. " I went to 



NATICK. 



519 



the prison to comfort him," wrote Mr. Eliot. " I 
de.alt faithfully with him to confess if it were true 
whereof he is accepted, and for which he is con- 
demned. I believe he saith truth." Mr. Eliot was 
with him at his execution: "On the ladder he 
lifted up his hands and said: 'I never did lift up 
hand against the English.' " No doubt Captain Tom 
was innocent. 

A Captain Mosely commanded the troops that were 
sent to seize the Praying Indians at Marlborough. 
Arriving in the night, the soldiers surrounded the 
fort, seized the Indians, tied their hands behind 
them, connected them together after the manner of 
the slave-drivers of a generation ago, and hurried 
them off toward Boston. In Oct., 1G75, Captain Pren- 
tiss, with a company of horsemen, seized the Indians 
on the Natick Plantation. No resistance was offered 
by the two hundred men, women and children who 
were then living peaceably in Natick, but they col- 
lected together a part of their goods, deposited them 
in the carts which the military had brought, and 
marched under the leadership of their captors to the 
I)lace now occupied by the United States Arsenal at 
Watertown. At that point Mr. Eliot met them and 
did all in his power to comfort and cheer them in 
their great sorrow. The tide serving, at midnight 
they were taken on board some barges and removed 
as rapidly as possible to Deer Island, in Boston 
Harbor. 

The Court had directed the county treasurer " to 
take care for the provision of these Indians," so as " to 
prevent their perishing by any extremity ;" but the 
winter following was terribly severe, the snow was 
deep, their clothing was insufficient, and from all ac- 
counts their provisions barely served to prevent 
starvation. When visited by Mr. Eliot and Mr. 
Gookin, during the month of December, 1675, they 
were found patient under their trials, but suffering 
greatly. 

This whole proceeding on the part of the officials 
at Boston was cowardly and cruel in the extreme. 
Their plea that their action was taken as well for the 
safety of the Indians as for their own, was a subter- 
fuge unworthy of reasonable men, and cannot be con- 
demned too severely. 

As to the Natick Indians, eight in number, who 
were found with Philip's warriors and taken prison- 
ers by the English, all were condemned to die, after 
several trials. 

" Meantime," says the old Indian chronicle, " Mr. 
Edot and Captain Guggins (Gookin) pleaded so very 
hard for the IndiaM that the whole Council knew not 
what to do about them. They hearkened to Mr. Eliot 
for his Cxravily, Age and Wisdom, and also for that 
he liath been the chief Instrument that the Lord hath 
made use of in Propagating the Gospel among the 
Heathen ; and was their Teacher till the time that 
some Indians were brought up in the University to 
supply his place. But for Captain Guggins, why such 



a wise Council as they should be so overbourne by 
him cannot be judged otherwise than because of his 
daily troubling them with his Impertinencies and 
multitudinous Speeches, insomuch that it was told 
him on the Bench by a very worthy Person (Captain 
Oliver) then present, that he ought rather to be con- 
fined among his Indians than to sit on the Bench. 

■' But so it was that by one and two at a time most 
of these eight Indicms (and four were sent afterwards 
on the same account) w'ere let loose by Night." 

Plainly the writer of the above was influenced by 
strong prejudices, for Mr. Gookin, as superintendent 
of the Indians that acknowledged fealty to the Gen- 
eral Court, was not only benevolent, but wise and 
discreet. 

The Natick Indians imprisoned on Deer Island ap- 
pear to have been divided into four companies in 
11570, and placed under the care of Englishmen in 
dift'erent towns of the Province. The first company 
were sent to Medford to James Rammeny Marsh — 
twenty-five men and tweuty-five women and children, 
The second company, we are told, " live near Natick 
adjoining to garison-house" of Andrew Devvin and 
his sons — ten men and forty women and children. 
The third company, " with Waban," seem to have 
been placed under the care of Joseph Miller and Cap- 
tain Prentiss, " neare the Falls of Charles River " — 
twelve men and fifty women and children. The 
fourth company were " at Nonantum," on land belong- 
ing to John Cooms, and were employed by him and 
others on their farms — fifteen men and sixty women 
and children. Total, two hundred and thirty-seven- 
Besides these, about thirty were "put out to service 
to the English," " three were executed," " above 
twenty ran away.'" 

The death of King Philip, who w.as shot by a 
treacherous Indian in August, 1C76, brought to an 
end this most cruel and destructive war which he 
inaugurated, and some of the Natick Indians soon 
began to return to their homes ; but sickness and 
death had greatly reduced their numbers. Mr. Eliot 
bore the most ample testimony to their patience, for- 
giving spirit and adherence to Christian principle 
under their sore trials. But they came back poor and 
disheartened. To repair the wastes occasioned by 
their enforced absence for a year or more was not a 
pleasant undertaking. 

Their school and religious services were resumed, 
for their old friend and guide was yet among them 
when the feebleness and infirmities of old age would 
permit ; but while they were in a measure prosperous 
during the last twenty years of the seventeenth cen- 
turv, they never recovered from the shock expe- 
rienced through the unjust and cruel treatment re- 
ceived at the hands of the officials of the Province. 



'Quoted from Shattuck's Manuscript by Diglow, tut greatly con- 
deuseJ as given above. 



520 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 

NA TICK.—i Continued). 
1700-1800. 

Aiinmalous CotuUtionof the Ttjionship — Cltnuge in the Itidian Cnrcrnmcnt — 
TIteir Jiecords—Popultilion — Ads os Proprietors— AUotment of LantU — 
StiIeoftheSame—KaticicasaParijih — Acts o/ General Court Itelatiit'j to 
it — Ptirish Meetings — Wnniinn Out of Town — In the lievi'lutionar;/ War 
— Parish Declaration Eegarding Inileijentlence — Natick Soldiers — Oath of 
AUcijiaiice — Town Incorjjorattd. 

During the early part of the period indicated 
above, the condition of Natick was anomalous. At 
the opening of the eighteenth century it was simply 
an Indian settlement, as it had been for fifty years. 
The land was owned by the Indians, and so far as it 
was cleared and cultivated this was done by the Indi- 
ans. They claimed the fish in the lakes, ponds and 
streams, and, .'o far as municipal government was 
Jinaintained, the laws were made and executed by the 
Indians. Their school had an Indian teacher and 
their Sabbath services were conducted by one of their 
own nationality. And yet it is plain that their 
contact wiih the whites wasgradually modifying their 
characters and nearly ail their habits and customs. 
After the trial of the Mosaic Code, to a greater or less 
extent, for nearly half a century, they were ready to 
substitute other officers for their cajjtains of hundreds, 
fifties and tens. 

Many of them had learned to write and one, at 
least, had become a skillful penman, as the stray 
leaves of their records now in the office of the town 
clerk of Natick attest, though the items contained 
in these are generally without date and largely in the 
Indian language. Before 1719 they were transacting 
their public business like any of the neighboring 
towns and recording their proceedings in the most 
methodical and legible manner. 

How many there were of the Indians who regarded 
the Natick Plantation as their home, from 1700 to 
1725, it is impossible to determine. In 1078 there 
were 212 " Praying Indians " in Natick, and about 
ninety years later there were only thirty-seven. The 
historian Bacon records a tradition that about the 
year 1700 three hundred Indians paraded at an Indi- 
an training in this place. It must not be understood 
that all of these belonged in Natick, for in the most 
prosperous days of the plantation, just before King 
Phili])'s war, it is doubtful whether the entire adult 
population of the place equaled this number. 

If this parade ever took place, the three hundred 
Indian soldiers must have come largely from other 
Indian settlements in the region. 

The Indians kept records of all their business as a 
l)lantati<)n certainly after the year 1700, but a large 
part of these have perislicd. 

Under the date of 1702 an account has been pre- 
served of "a meeting of selectmen and principal! In- 
dians of the Town of Natick," to run certain boun- 



dary lines. In 1708 a " Tything man " and constables 
were chosen, at which time Thomas Waban, son of j 
the old Indian chief of Nonantum and Natick in I 
1G50, was " Town Clerk," making his entries in the 
records in the best style of English town officers. In 
1716 the town oflficers " were sworn in " as well as 
chosen, and this was, doubtless, a common proceed- 
ing. Later we have a "list of the haires of the 
plantation or proprietary of Natick," and in this list 
thirty-three name< are given. From 1728, in a sei)a- 
rate record-book fiom the one about to be described, 
we have regular proprietors' records, which are made 
up largely of the acts of Indian committees in laying 
out lands, the whole being approved of and assented 
to by Francis Fullam, Esq. Mr. FuUam was, at that 
time, superintendent of such of the Indians as 
acknowledged fealty to the English government of 
the Province of Massachusetti Bay, having been ap- 
pointed by the General Court. He resided in Wes- 
ton, and for many years appears to have been present 
at most of the business meetings of the Indians, by 
whom he was highly esteemed. 

The Indian committees for laying out lands often 
signed the surveys with their marks. 

In 1733 Thomas Peagan, Jr., was chosen "Saxton," 
and by a vote of the meeting swine were'permitted to 
go at large in the plantation. 

William Robinson, of Sudbury, and Elizabeth Tom, 
of Natick, had their intention of marriage published 
June 7, 1735. 

Going back a few years in the order of time, there 
is inserted here an Indian document of great import- 
ance. It is taken from their second book of records, 
and the whole entry is made in extremely beautiful 
handwriting, but by whom does not appear. 

"At a General Town Meeting of ye Propriators, Freeholders and In- 
habitants of }e Town of Natick, Orderly Warned and Met together On 
Monday the lUh Day of May 171i). 

" 1st. In Order to ye better Stateing, DistingnJshing, Knowing and 
Settling the PruprielotH and Pruprietee of ye Lands in Nutitk and rents 
of ye money of the Maguncogo Lands, and also uf the freeholders Pis- 
triet from the other Inhabitants of Natlcli, also to order How ye Yearly 
Payments of yo s'^ Keuts Shall be Itec^ for ye fntnre of the lion''!'' 
Tmstees and paid to the Indian Propriety of Natick lands. 

" 2dly. To take Etfeetual care to prevent Stripp ami Waate of Wood and 
Timber, Standing, Lying or Growing on ye Comon and Undivided 
Lands in Natick or the Unnecessary Selling of ye Timber, Poles or Trees 
from .Said Comons. 

"3rdly. To Take Eflectnal Care that ICaeh Person's allottnient of ye 
Laud in Natick, now Laid out and to be Laid ont by Mr. Junes, Surveyor, 
be very Exactly .t Truly Recorded, and that ye Surveyor be paid for 
Lajing ont of tlie Same. 

Francis Fullam, Esqr., Present at S"" Mlttino. 
"Voted unanimously at the above Said Meeting That Abraham Specti, 
.lames Speeu, Muses Speen, Josiah Speon, Isaac Speeu, John Speen, 
Isaac i^luniqtuisin, John Wansumngs heirs of, Capt. Thomas Wahan, 
Thomas Peagan, Simund Ephraini, Henjamin Tray, Samuel Uownniu, 
Sanill Wills Uiglit, Sant" Ompatauin, ilaunah Talmnsug, Sulumon 
TlionuiS in Mafpiahos Right, Israel Pnmhanion alias Uumiiiniarsh, Sam- 
uel Abraham and also Juhn Neesnumin if lie Live and Dye in ye Worko 
of ye Gospel Rlinistry in Natick, Shall be henceforward Allowed, Ilehi, 
Reputed and Distinguished to bo yo Only and true proprietors uf Natick, 
to whom the itonts and tlio Money of the Magnncuge Lands slnill from 
Time to Tyme llereafler bo paid by such I'elsoii or Persons as .shall, in 



NATICK. 



521 



behalf of the Indians, receive the Same of j-e Trnstoes, & also the whole 
property or Right to all the Coiiion aiij 1'inlivitieil Lanils in the houuiU 
of the Town of Natick to he p** to s"! Proprietors an<l their heii^ for 
ETcr, ye saiil Neesninniti to have eqnal Share in S'' Rent Money During 
]iis continuance in ye MiniRtry in Natick. Each Proprietor's propor- 
tion in tlie tii-st Division of Lands to he as followeth." 

Then follows the allotment of sixty acres of land to 
each of these proprietors, with the number of the page 
of the record-book upon which the surveys are re- 
corded. 

At the same meeting certain persons, to the num- 
ber of twenty-seven, are designated to "be Known 
and Distinguished For Ever Hereafter," " by the 
name of freeholders," the same to have no right to 
any "Rent Money " or to any later division of land 
in said Natick. 

To eleven of these were assigned severally sixty 
acres of land, to one fifty acres, and to each of the re- 
maining fifteen, thirty acres; butupon what principle 
this distribution was made, we know not. 

This action disposed of 2300 acres of the common 
land. 

At the same meeting Francis Fullam, Esq., was 
constituted the agent of the Indians to receive and 
pay out their rent money, and to see that the above- 
mentioned allotments of land should " be very exacily 
recorded in the New town book." 

To understHud this matter of rent money, it should 
here be stated that the Magunkook lands lay orig- 
inally beyond the western boundary of Natick, but 
by an exchange of territory with Kherborn, a part of 
them came into the possession of the Natick Indians. 
On the petition of Rev. Mr. Eliot, 1000 acres had been 
granted, soon after 1660, to this plantation, and he 
there established a school. Mr, Gookin speaks of 
" Magunkaijuog as the seventh of the Old Praying 
Towns," and ofthere being "eleven families and about 
55 souls" in the place. In 1715 the trustees of " The 
Hopkins Donation " asked of the General Cuurt the 
])rivilege of purchasing of the Indian inhabitants of 
Natick "a tract of waste-land, commonly known 
by the name of Magunkaquog," and this petition 
was granted. 

The territory thus acquired, with lands lying west 
of it, was incorporated in 1724 into a township called 
Hopkinton. An arrangement was made with the In- 
dians that they should receive an annual rental for 
the lauds which they parted with, and this was paid 
to their agent, and distributed by him among the 
Natick Indians for thirty-five years or more after 
the sale of the lands. Tne territory conveyed consti- 
tutes at this time portions of Hopkinton and Ashland.' 

The town officers appear to have been all Indians 
until the March meeting in 1733, when Thomas Ellis 
was chosen one of the lithingmen and John iSawin 
one of the constables. A year la'er (in the presence 
of Francis Fullam, Esq.) Thomas Pcagan was 
chosen moderator, and David Morse town clerk, with 

. . } See Tumplo'a " History,*' pp. Gl-71. 



three Indians as selectmen. The other officers were 
divided about equally between the whites and the In- 
dians. 

The last clerk of the proprietors made his last entry 
in their records in 1787, and this informs us that, at 
that date, there were in Natick several small pieces 
of undivided land of no great value, which they de- 
sired of the General Court power to sell and liberty to 
divide the net proceeds among themselves. In 1764 
there are said to have been in the township sixty-five 
white families, and it is stated that, at that time, the 
whites greatly outnumbered the Indians. 

January 3, 1745, Natick was constituted a pre- 
cinct, or parish, by the action of the General Court. 
By this change the responsibility for the regulation of 
the civil alFairs of the township passed from the Indi- 
ans to (he whites, and the former lost what they may 
have deemed their citizenship. From this time on- 
ward no Indian held a town office, but consider- 
ably later, it is said, not a few of the white members 
of the church voted for an Indian as deacon. 

1745. At this date the history of Natick as a 
township, as this term is generally uudjrstood, be- 
gin^. 

The action of the General Court by which this 
change was effected was as follows: 

" In the House of Represent'^", .Id .Jan., 1745, voted that the Planta- 
tion known hy the name of Natick, and lying in the County of Sliddle- 
Bex, be and hereby is erected into a Precinct or Parish : and the Inhabi- 
tants of Said Plantation are hereby emlowed with all the Privileges, and 
subjected to all the Duties which the Inhabitants of other Precincts or 
Parishes, as such, are, hy the laws of the Province, endowed with or 
subjected to ; and whereas the said Plantation is not anne.xed to any 
township within this province, and cannot hy law raise monies for lay- 
ing out and maintaining their highways, for the support of their poor, 
and for maintaining .a school ; It is further voted that the Parish Asses- 
sors in s^ Plantation, the Parish Constables, or Collectors, to collect all 
such sums as at a Parish meeting regularly warned for that purpose, 
shall be voted to be raised for the uses and services aforesjiid, and the 
Parish Committee shall have the same Power in Said Precinct or Parish, 
with respect to the Privileges aforesaid, as the Selectmen of any towu 
have by law in Such Town." 

In this manner Natick became, for nearly all im- 
portant purposes, a town under the name of a parish, 
and such it continued to be for the space of thirty-six 
years. 

April 23, 1746 another act appears to have been 
passed, as follows : 

" Whereas great part of the inhiibitants of Natick are Indians and the 
minister there isin a great measure supported hy charitable donations or 
funds fur pvo|)agating the ilospel among the Indians and it is reasonable 
that the House for Public Worship should alwayshe pbiced convenient 
for theni, it is further oidered that no vote or acta of the S** Parish of 
Natick for altering the place of Publi • Wot ship shall be deemed valid or 
have any eflecl until they are ajiproved hy this Court." 

This explains the reason why there was so much 
difficulty, for many years, in building a meeting- 
house and establishing public worship in the centre 
of the township, eveu after this part of the parish had 
become populous. 

The General Court having provided for the first 
parish meeting, it was legally warned and opened by 



522 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



David Morse May 12, 1746, with Ebenezer Felch as 
moderator. 

The Parish Committee chosen consisted of Ebenezer 
Felch, Edward Ward, C.iptain John Goodenow, 
Lieutenant Timothy Bacon and John Coolidge. 
Ebenezer Felch was elected parish clerk, and, with 
Captain John Goodenow and Lieutenant Timothy 
Bacon, constituted the first Board of Assessors; John 
Bacon and Jonathan Carver were chosen constables, 
and the other offices belonging to the organization of 
a township were filled, including the choice of Thomas 
Sawin and Daniel Bacon as " deer reves." 

The parish meetings, for years, were chiefly held in 
the meeting-house at South Natick. May 22, 1749, 
the building of a new meeting-house at South Natick 
having been previously determined upon, the parish 
voted " to give the Indians an equal privilege with 
them (selves) in a new meeting-house if they will meet 
with them," and the same year " two thousand pound, 
old Tenor," were raised " ia order to the carrying on 
the work " of building. During nearly all of the 
time that Natick was a parish, movements were made 
to induce J.he Indian preacliers at South Natick, 
Messrs. Pe.obody and Badger, to consent to the build- 
ing of a church edifice in the centre of the town and 
the establishment of Christian ordinances here. Under 
the head " Ecclesiastical " of this historical sketch, 
those matters will be fully considered. 

Under the date of February 15, 1749-50, we find 
the first of a long series of notifications regarding per- 
sons who came from time to time to Natick to reside : 

*' To Mr. Sumner Moree, confltable of the Parish of Natick. We the 
comDiitteeuf theS'' (Pari8li)of Naticlt being informed that Ebenezer Wil- 
Bon and Jane Penneman, widow, are come to reside or dwell in Ibis Par- 
ish, and not having been bore eleven months, you are therefore hereby re- 
quired in his Majesty's name forthwith to warn the above named per- 
sons forthwith to depart out of this Parish and stay no longer therein, 
and make return of this warrant with your doings thereon to myself as 
speedily as may be, By order of the Parish Committee. 

'* Ebenezer Felch, Parish Clerk." 

This warrant was immediately executed. 

The parish records show that from 1750 to 1772 
two hundred and twenty-si-x persons (beside " their 
children " in a number of instances), who had come 
to the parish to reside, received similar warnings to 
leave. In the later cases of this description the 
words " not permitted " are inserted in the warning, 
and in one instance the person named wiis " a Molatto 
Girl." From all this it would appear that in its early 
years the Natick parish did as some of the towns in 
New Hampshire, settled about the same time, were 
accustomed to do, viz.; they warned out every family 
that should come in to reside, no matter how high its 
standing might have been in the place from whence it 
came. 

This proceeding, which seems to us do objection- 
able, was merely to comply with the law regarding 
strangers obtaining a residence in any particular lo- 
cality, thus preventing the accumulation of pau2)ers 
in any town or parish. 



But whatever its purpose may have been, the whole 
matter must have had a disagreeable aspect, and the 
custom (except in special cases) seems to have bten 
wisely discontinued after 1772. 

For more than twenty years the records of the Na- 
tick parish furnish us but little more than a full and 
intelligible account of all that was done in the way 
of laying out roads, building bridges, establishing 
boundaries, raising and paying out money for public 
improvements and other matters of a similar nature. 

The following from the parish records is of inter- 
est 

*' To the Sclei'tmen oj Natick : 

** Genlh:me}t: These are to give Notice that I havo taken in to 
Dwell with me Abruliam Parkhust, his wife, Hannah, and five chil- 
dren. viz., Abraham, William, John, Ilannab and Uuth, last from 
Waltham — under low circumstances, came to mo the 13 day of lustaut 
Sep'. 



' Natick, Sept. 28, 1763." 



"Jamrs Beal. 



This notice, recorded as it is, doubtless saved the 
family named from being warned out of the Parish, 
as Mr. Beal thus became responsible for its mainten- 
ance. 

In 1774, when the oppressive acts of the British 
Government were awakening indignation and the 
spirit of resistance all over the land, this parish chose 
a Committee of Inspection and Correspondence " to 
carry into execution the agreement and association 
of the late respectable Continental Congress," and 
this important committee was composed of Captain 
John Coolidge, Mr. Peletiah Morse, Lieutenant Wil- 
liam Boden, Captain Joseph Morse and Lieutenant 
Abel Perry. Of the doings of this committee we 
have no particular information, but, like similar com- 
mittees all over the land, it had, in the course of a 
few months, all it could do in watching and reporting 
the movements of the Tories, and carrying into exe- 
cution the plans and purposes of the Continental and 
Provincial Conventions. 

May 12, 1775, the parish was called upon " to see 
if the inhabitants will provide Guns and Blankets 
for Soldiers that are going into the Service, that are 
destitute." In this case the action seems to have 
been in the affirmative. At the same meeting it was 
voted to relieve " Capt. Joseph Morse, Lieut. Wil- 
liam Boden and Lieut. Abel Perry from being Se- 
lectmen " (or rather Parish Committee), because they 
were " going into the Massachusetts service," and to 
appoint " Lieut. Timothy Smith, Elijah Goodenow 
and William Bacon in their room." 

Of the part borne by the people of Natick in the 
memorable conflict with the British, at Concord and 
Lexington, April 19, 1775, our knowledge is very lim- 
ited. All that we know comes to us through the 
statements of the historian, William Biglow (1830), 
but as he had the facts which he gives us from eye- 
witnesses of, and participants in, the fight, they may 
be deemed reliable. 

Earlier in the month intimations seem to have 



NATICK. 



523 



reached Natick that a body of British troops were 
about to march upon Concord, and so the Naiick sol- 
diers were not wholly unprepared to leave at a mo- 
ment's warning, and " every man," as one of the 
survivors expressed it, "was on that morning a min- 
ute-man." " The alarm was given early, and all 
marched, full of spirit and energy to meet the Brit- 
ish. But few had an opportunity to attack them," 
because when the men arrived from this region, their 
enemies were in full retreat. "Ceasar Ferret and his 
son John (from Natick), arrived at a house near 
Lexington Meetiug-house, but a short time before 
the British soldiers reached that place on their re- 
treat from Concord. The two discharged their mus- 
kets upon the regulars from the entry and secreted 
themselves under the cellar-stairs till the enemy had 
passed by."' These men escaped safely, but in the 
encounters of that day Captain David Bacon, of Na- 
tick, was killed. 

All warrants for the parish meetings before May 
20, 1776, had been issued in the name of His Majesty, 
the King of Great Britain, but from the date just 
given onward, the freemen met under the authority 
of the Government of Massachusetts Bay. 

How many soldiers from this place participated 
in the battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775, it is 
impossible to ascertain. The circumstances under 
which the place had been settled were such that the 
whife population of the township at that time was 
small. So far as known, but one military company 
from Natick, and organized with Natick olBcers, was 
present at the Buuker Hill battle, but not a few sol- 
diers from this place were connected with companies 
and regiments raised chiefly in the neighboring towns. 
Captain Baldwin, of Natick, fell at Bunker Hill, but 
how many others from this place met with a similar 
fate on that memorable day cannot be determined. 

At a large parish-meeting June 20, 1776, of which 
Captain James Mann was moderator, the following 
action was taken : 

" lu Consequence of a Resolve of the late House of Representatives 
being laid before the town, setting forth their sense of the obligations 
which lie upon every town in this Colony, solemnly to engage to support 
with their lives and fortunes the Honorable Continental Congress, 
should said Congress, for the safety of the American Colonies, come into 
the measure of declaring themselves independent of the Kingdom of 
tJreat Britain; it was unanimously voted, that, in consideration of the 
many acts of the British Parliament, passed in diverse sessions of the 
same, within about thirteen years past, relating to said Colonies espe- 
cially those within the two or three last years, by which every idea of 
inodemtion. justice, humanity and Christianity is entirely laid aside, 
and those principles .and measures adopted and pursued which would 
disgrace the most unenlightened and uncivilized tribe of aboriginal 
natives, in the most interior part of this extensive continent ; and also 
in consideration of the glaring impropriety, incapacity and fatal tend- 
ency of any State whatever, at the dwtance of three thousand miles, to 
legislate for these Colonies, which at the same time are so numerous, so 
knowing and so capable of legislating, or to have a negative upon 
tliose laws which they in their respective Assemblies and by their united 
representation in General Court shall from time to time enact and es- 
tablish for themselves ; and for diverse other considerations which for 

* Biglow, page 44. 



brevity's sake we omit to mention— We, the 'i inhabitants of Natick, in 
towu-meeting assembled, do hereby declare, agreeably to tlio tenor of 
the before-mentioned Resolve, that should the Honorable Continental 
Congress declare these American ('olonies independent of the Kingdom 
of Great Britain, we will, with our lives and fortunes, join with the 
other inhabitants of this Colony and witii those of the other Colonies, in 
supporting them in said measure, which we look upon to be both im- 
portant and necessary ; and which, if wo may be permitted to express an 
oj)inion, the sooner it is entered into the fewer dilficulties shall we have 
to conilict with, and the grand objects of peace, liberty ami safety will 
lie more likely speedily to bo restored and established in our once happy 
land. 

"D.1NIF.I. Mouse, Toim CU-rk." 

Rev. Stephen Badger was the chairman of the com- 
mittee that drafted this declaration, and it will be 
noticed how Unsparing it is in its arraignment of 
the blind and infatuated Government that, with an 
iron hand, was ruling the American Colonies. Noth- 
ing can better show how loyal to humanity, right and 
justice the people of Natick were in 1776. 

The day before the Declaration of Independence 
was adopted by Congress in Philadelphia, viz.: July 
3, 1776, a parish-meeting was held, of which Samuel 
Wells was moderator, when it was voted to give 
" Seven pounds as an additional sum to the bounty 
of seven pounds that the Colony gives to those that 
Inlist into the Canada Expedition." 

Then followed the Declaration of Independence 
July 4, 1776, a printed copy of which the Council of 
State ordered to be sent to all ministers of the Gospel 
within the bounds of Massachusetts, with the direc- 
tion to read the same to their respective congregations 
" as soon as divine service is ended in the afternoon 
on the first Lord's Day after they shall have received 
it ; after such publication thereof, to deliver the said 
Declaration to the Clerks of their several towns or 
districts, who are hereby required to record the same 
in their respective Town or District Books, therein to 
remain as a perpetual Memorial thereof." 

This admirable arrangement was carried out, and 
so we have upon the ancient parish records, in plain 
but beautiful writing, a copy of the great declaration, 
page 147 and onward. 

Then for the space of nearly seven years the action 
of the parish in its frecjuent meetings had respect 
chiefly to the raising of men and money to support 
the war for independence. 

The following sets forth the spirit of the people of 
Natick during those years of trial : 

At a parish meeting May 15, 1777, it was " Voted 
that the town grant money to pay the Charges of the 
Present war from the 19th day of April, 1775 (the date 
of the fight at Lexington), encluding the men that 
are or must be raised to Compleat the Continental 
Array, and be assessed forthwith for the same." 

To prepare clothing for its soldiers in the field 
called for the repeated action of the parish. Jlay 22, 
1780, the parish voted to pay to three individuals on 
the clothing account the sum of £235 lOs. 

The enlisting or hiring soldiers for the Continental 
Army continued till the close of the war, the treaty of 
peace being signed January 20, 1783. How many 



524 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



soldiers Natick furnished to achieve our independence 
it is impossible to determine, and will be till the 
Revolutionary rolls, now in the possession of theState, 
shall have been arranged. No record is found of the 
deaths among the Natick soldiers during the Revolu- 
tionary War, but a considerable number must have 
fallen. The historian of Natick, O. N. Bacon (185C), 
gives us the names of a company from this place 
under the command of Captain James Mann, in Col- 
onel Samuel Bollard's regiment, that marched on the 
alarm just before the battle of Bunker's Hill. These 
soldiers were paid for two days' services and allowed 
one penny per mile for travel, the whole bill amount- 
ing to £11. 8«. 9d. The other officers beside Captain 
Mann were Timothy Smith, lieutenant; Daniel 
Morse, ensign; and Oliver Bacon, Henry Loker, 
Elijah Esty and Hezekiah Broad, sergeants. The 
privates numbered thirty-four. Whether these men 
were actually in the fight June 17, 1775, is doubtful, 
for only a small part of the forces assembled fi'om 
nearly every part of New England, were really en- 
gaged in the contest. The brief period of their ser- 
vice leads us to conclude that, as a company, they 
were not in the ranks when Washington assumed com- 
mand of the army in and around Boston. 

Though the document that follows is without date 
in the records, it probably belongs to that period of 
the history of Natick which we are now considering. 
It is entitled 

"Oath of Allegiance. 

" We, the siibacribere, do truly aud sincerely acknowledge, profess, tes- 
tify and declare, that the Coinniouwealth of Massachusetts is. and of 
rijlit ougiit to be, a free, sovereign and independent State ; and we do 
swear that we will bear true faith and allegiance to the said Common- 
wealth, an 1 that we will defend the same against conspiracies and all 
hostile attempts whatsoever. And that wo do renonn<;e and abjure all 
allegiance, subjection and obedience to the King, Queen or Governor of 
Great Britain fas the case may be), and e^ery other foreign power what- 
soever. And that no foreign prince, person, prelate, state or potentate, 
liath or ought to have any jurisdiction, superiority, pre-eminence, au- 
thority, dispensing or other power, in any matter, civil, ecclesiastiral 
or spiritual, within this Commonwealth, e.vcept the authority or power 
which is or may be vested by their constituents in the Congress of the 
United States. 

" And wo do further testify and declare, that no man or body of men 
hath or can have any right to absolve or discharge us from the obliga- 
tions of this oath, declaration or affirmation. 

" And that we malte this acknowledgment, profession, testimony, dec- 
laration, denial, renunciation and abjuration, heartily and truly, ac- 
cording to the comnio;i meaning and acceptation of the foregoing 
words, witliout any eiiuivocation, mental evasion or secret reservation 
whatsvover. So help ns God. He/.. Broad, Thomas Broad, Joshua 
t'isk, Samuel Morse, Wra. Bigclow, Moses Sawiu, Oliver Bacon, Sarunel 
Morse, Jr., Thomas .Sawin, Jr., William Goodenow, Aaron Smith, 
Eleazer Goulding ; David Morse, Town Clerk ; David Morse, Town 
Treasurer; Hezekiah Broad, Oliver Bacon, Thomas Broad, Joshua 
Fisk, Selectmen ; Samuel Morse, Jr., Thomas Sawin, Jr., Timothy 
Smith, Asseiisors ; Joseph Morse, Adam Morse, Constables." 

Here are seventeen different names, and they rep- 
resent most, if not all, the leading men in the town- 
ship near the close of the Revolutionary War. The 
signatures attached to this oath upon the records are 
plainly all in the handwriting of the signers, and in 
four instances, at least, the signatures are re|)cated, 
without counling tho.se which were given officially. 



As mentioned above, no date is attached to this re- 
markable document. In the records it is preceded 
by the recorded action of the town (for it was now a 
town), at the annual meeting March r>, 1787, and it is 
followed upon the next page by the warrant calling a 
town-meeting for April 2, 1787. But when it was 
prepared, or for what purpose, we are left to conjec- 
ture, lu 1778 the town had voted not to accept the 
new Constitution for the Commonwealth, but we 
know of no emergency that had arisen calling for 
such a solemn declaration. Possibly the fact that the 
township had rejected the new Constitution had 
awakened elsewhere the suspicion that Natick was 
not heartily loyal to the government of the Common- 
wealth, and the purpose of this oath was to remove 
all doubts in the community respecting this matter. 
The reader will notice the singular accumulation of 
specificatitms in this document, as if the subscribers 
would bind themselves, by their oath, beyond the pos- 
sibility of the least misunderstanding of their purpose 
by others, as well as, on their part, of the least evasion. 

May 24, 1779, the parish " Voted to send a Petition 
to the General Court to be incorporated into a town"; 
and, on the same article, it was voted for the General 
Court " to give the town a new name," and then ap- 
pointed the selectmen, Messrs. James Mann, Elijah 
Bicon, Lieut. Abel Perry, Samuel Perry and Elijah 
Esty, as a committee to present these matters to the 
General Court. With respect to the matter of the 
incorporation of the township, this committee was 
successful, but nothing appears to have been accom- 
plished regarding the change of the name of the town. 
And why any considerable portion of the people 
should have desired such a change we cannot conjec- 
ture, unless, the fact that, for ninety-five years, this liad 
been an Indian plantation, and nothing more, had 
created a prejudice against the name in <he com- 
munity generally, which, it was feared, might hinder 
the town's prosperity. That this part of the effort 
failed, aud the ancient name was retained, was well; 
for few names of towns in New England are more 
suggestive of varied scenery, more euphonious, or less 
liable to be so written as to mislead. 

February 19, 1781, the town of Natick was incor- 
porated, but no special changes in the officers or busi- 
ness of the township followed this event. 

1786. "This was the season of Shays' rebellion, 
when not only every full-grown male citizen, but every 
school-boy, was 'a Governmeni-man.' Then it was 
the fate of every barn-door fowl that was clothed in 
white to become a sacrifice to law and good order; 
for the feathers rose to the hat-crown, in the shape of 
a cockade, and the carcass was stowed in the knap- 
sack of the soldier, as part of his rations. One lieu- 
tenant, one sergeant, a drum-and-fife-major, and eight 
or ten rank and file joined Lincoln's army and 
assisted in restoring peace and order." ' 



' See Biglow's " History," i)ages 45-4G. 



NATICK. 



525 



" Friday, Nov. 23, 1787, made choice of Major 
Hezekiah Broad Delegate to represent the town of 
Natick in Convention, agreeable to a Resolve of the 
General Court." 

"This," says Biglow, "was the convention which 
adopted the Federal Constitution. The good Major 
voted (ir)iiinst it, but imiucdialtly acquiesced in the 
doings of the majority, and promised to do all in his 
power to defend this ))alladium of our liberty, safety 
and prosperity." 

November 7, 179C, the town having been duly 
warned, cast votes for one elector of President and 
Vice-President of the United .States, and one Rep- 
resentative in Congress, as follows: For elector. 
His E.xcellency, Samuel Adams, twenty-one votes; 
for Representative, H. G. Otis, twenty-seven votes. 

Voting for Governor, Lieutenant-Governor and 
Senators, April 3, 1797, the votes cast were: For Gov- 
ernor — Moses Gill, twenty-Sve ; Increase Sumuer, 
thirteen. For Lieut. -Governor — Moses Gill, eleven ; 
Increase Sumner, nineteen. The leading candidates 
for Senators were Eleazor Brooks, thirty-four ; Ebtn- 
ezer Bridge, thirty-six; Airon Hill, thirty-seven. 

Pursuant of an act of the General Court, the se- 
lectmen of the towns of Needham and Natick met, 
Oct. 23, 1797, and so changed the boundary lines of 
these towns, that 1G56 acres of land were set off from 
Needham to Natick, and -lO-li acres from Natick to 
Needham, exclusive of a pond.' 

At the close of the eighteenth century Natick was 
a farming-town and generally prosperous, though the 
volume of its business would now be pronounced ex- 
ceedingly small. 



CHAPTER XXXVIIL 
NA TICK—{ Continued). 

1800-1890. 

Progjterit of tin* Toirn more Ettcouraijiiig — General Progress — Town Aclioti 
napecling the Paslors of the Church— Town IJall Ereeteil—The Toien 
in Snfprexeing the Great Itehellton — Losses in the Same — Financial Con' 
tliiion — Tlie Ceiitenniol Celebrati<m — Town Officers and Representatives 
in the GcHcrat G^itrt. 

When the nineteenth century opened Natick could 
hardly have been classed among the important towns 
of the Commonwealth, for its population numbered 
only six hundred and ninety-four and none of its 
great manufacturing establishments of the present 
day had been founded. The people generally were 
hard-working, frugal farmers, but the expense of 
marketing the surplus products of their farms pre- 
vented anything like a rapid aud large accumulation 
of property. Still they were not poor. Their taxes 
were comparatively light, their farms were productive 

* See *' Blglow," page 46. 



and they were beginning to look forward to more 
prosperous days. The unhappy controversy which 
had so long prevailed respecting the location of their 
meeting- house, and the support of a Gospel minister 
had, in a great measure, sub-idcd. The town had 
erected, what was deemed in those day*, a re.sijpctable 
house of worship, in the centre, where the brick 
church now stands, at an expense of about $1500, and 
had provided for the renting of the pews, while the 
selectmen had been authorized to hire the preaching, 
for church and State were still practically one in sup- 
porting religious institutions during morethau twenty 
years after this century opened. This arrangement, 
which prevailed in the mother country, was adopted 
by both Pilgrims and Puritans as they .settled New 
England, and few seem lo have ijuestioned its expe- 
diency and justice for the space of one hundred 
years. 

The town owned the Natick meeting-house, and 
the cost of maintaining preaching in it was met by 
drafts upon the town treasury, so that all of the prop- 
erty of the town was in this manner pledged for the 
payment of the pastor's salary, except in the case of 
individual-i who "signed off" or connected themselves 
with some other religious society. This was fre- 
quently done as time went on, and so the town rec- 
ords contain many certificates like the following: 

"Agreealile to tbe law of tlie Commonwealtli of MaSHachusetts, bear- 
ing date June 10, 1811, the subscril'ers bt-ing a special Committee 
cboseii for the purpose, hereby certify to the Town Clerk of Natick that 
Mary Esty and Caroline Bacon, inhabitants of Natick and Brookliue, 
are Menibei> 'if tbe Keligious Society in Newton called Baptist. 
•' Dated this :ll.th day of May, 1S12. 

"STKl-nEN Dana, 
" Natha.n Pkttee, 
" Elijah Corey, 

" Conimitl£e.^^ 

The words " and contributes to their support " were 
often inserted in the body of these certificates. 

In 1797 four families had, in this manner, "signed 
off" to Dover, twelve to Sherborn aud seventeen to 
Needham — thirty-three families in all. 

These facts wiil serve to explain the action of the 
town at its adjourned meeting, on the 16th day of 
May, 1803, which was as follows: 

" Voted to offer to those who have annexed themselves to other par- 
ishes fur parochial duties, by virtue of an act passed .June 22, 17it7, to 
give tbeni their choice either to accept of the new uieeting-house where 
it now stands, tree from any further expense, or to move tin- cdd meeting- 
house (standing at South Natick) to school-house Uill, (tn the tost of tbe 
town, and tliere erect it for a house of I'ublick Worship, with such 
additiotis and alterations as shall be tbougb(t) neces-^ary. If the last 
shall take effect, tlie new Meeting-IIouse to be appropriated to Bonie 
other pnblick use as the town shall think proper. 

" Further voted, if either should take effect, to petition the General 
C^urt to i>naa the same into a law. Voted that tbe town clerk serve 
those who it may concern, with copies of this vote, one copy to Capt. 
.lobn Atkins, <mo Do to Lieut. Elijah Perry, one Ditto Ensign Thomas 
Saw'in, reincsting Ibeui to make answer to the town clerk by the first 
day of June next in writing, of their objection;*, if any they have. 
Otherwise this town will take their silence for concent." 

But to which of the propositions made, as set forth 
above, the silence of the persons named was to give 



526 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



"concent" we are not informed. Probably it was 
well understood, when the propositions were made, 
that these individuals would do nothing about ihe 
matter, for the .serious thought of disposing of iheir 
new meeting-house in this or any other manner for 
common purposes, the town must have been very un- 
willing to entertain. November 28, 1803, "the town 
voted to lett the pews to the first Monday in April 
next." Very wisely March 1, 1802, the town had 
" voted to keep the Parish matters separate from the 
town (matters) in the future." 

April 2, 1804, the town " voted to provide biers for 
each burying-ground, and that committee appointed 
for fencing the burying-yard provide the same." 

Also under the article in the warrant " to see if the 
town will provide cartridges for the soldiers," the 
vote was in the affirmative, and '' further voted that 
the commanding officers of the company be a com- 
mittee to make the cartridges to be put into a tight 
box and deposited in the powder-house, and to be re- 
vewcd annually by the Commanding Officers of the 
C impany." 

November 5, 180i, the town cast thirteen votes for 
each of nineteen Presidential Electors, fuur of whom 
resided in the district, now the State of Maine, viz. : 
in Portland, Wiscasset, Hallowell and Berwick. 

Also the town cast, at the same time, fifty-one votes 
for each of seventeen candidates for Representatives 
in the Congress of the United States, four of whom 
belonged in the distiict of Maine. 

At this period the town cast from 90 to 100 votes 
for State officers, the stronger party casting from fifty ,, 
to fifty-five and the weaker from thirty to forty, with 
many and great variations, however. 

September 12, 1805, the town "voted unanimously 
to join with the church in the choice of Mr. Freeman 
Sears for their Gospel Minister," and October 24th 
following, the action of the town regarding Mr. Sears' 
support is accompanied in the records with an 
" N. B." to the efl'ect that " if Mr. Sears should be oc- 
cationally absent three or four Sabbaths in a year the 
town to take no advantage," which is the first provi- 
sion on record for a Natick pastor's annual vacation. 
Jyater the town made provision for the entertainment 
of the council that should assemble for the ordina- 
tion of Mr. Sears, and, in addition, chose Benjamin 
Marshall, Captain William Stone and Jonathan Ba- 
con "a committee to vvate on said Council." 

Other facts regarding Mr. Sears' ministry, and that 
of his successors, will be found under the head " Ec- 
clesiastical," in this historical sketch. 

During all the earlier years of the period now under 
review the town was annually called together to elect 
a Representative to thefieneral Court, but invariably 
voted, and often unanimously, not to be represented. 
Recording this fact the historian (Bacon) remarks : 
"The fine for not sending was $100, but it was never 
prosecuted ; and, having its own Representative to 
pay, the town chose to incur the risk, and in dollars 



and cents was so much the gainer." Eighty years 
later this whole matter is managed difierently, and 
the town does not fail of representation, for economic 
reasons. And it never failed for lack of good mate- 
rial from which to make a selection. Such men as 
Eben Felch, William Goodenow, Samuel Perry, 
Samuel Morse, David and Jonathan Bacon, William 
Stone and many others that might be named, would 
have honored the town in any responsible position. 

The town appropriations in those days were not 
very large. In 1806 they were as follows : Forschools, 
1500 ; for necessary town charges, $130 ; for the pas- 
tor's salary, $425 ; for repair of highways, $600. 
"To pay ministerial charges," which in this case 
included expenses " for trimming the pulpit," " paint- 
ing the meeting-house," and " for the expence of or- 
dination and other ministerial charges that has 
arisen, $250 ; " but does not include anything for the 
support of the poor — total, $1905. The last-mentioned 
appropriation of $250 was eiceptional. Ordinarily, 
at that time, the annual appropriations did not ex- 
ceed $1700 or $1800. This sum does not seem large 
when we compare it with the grants snd appropria-* 
tions for the year 1889, which amounted to $88,340. 

It may be of some interest to know that, beginning 
as early as 1790, a very large proportion of the war- 
rants issued by the selectmen of Natick for town- 
meetings contained a full notice of the qualifications 
requisite to be a voter, as "being twenty-one years of 
age and resident in said town for the space of one 
year next preceding, having a freehold estate in said 
town of the annual income of three pounds, or any 
estate to the value of sixty pounds." The custom of 
including these matters in the warrants prevailed in 
Natick as late as 1821. 

In the year 1807 the deacons of the church and a 
committee of the town leased to their pastor, Rev. 
Freeman Sears, land for a building lot on the corner 
of what is now West Central Street and Main Street, 
where the Edmund Walcott business block now 
stands, and a record of this transaction fills three 
pages of the town records. The whole statement is 
exceedingly, almost curiously, minute and formal, 
and is signed by Abel Perry, Jr., and William Good- 
enow, deacons of the church in Natick, Daniel Travis 
and Jonathan Bacon, committee of the town, and 
Freeman Sear.<, minister of tiie Gospel. It is plain 
that in the early part of this century the business of 
the town received the most careful attention. 

November 7, 1808, the town chose a committee to 
lay out the ground for some sheds or stables near the 
meeting-house, " and report in twenty minutes." 
This was done, and the location which the town ac- 
cepted was defined thus: 

" The south part of the ground be sixty feet north 
of the Meeting-house on a perpendicular line with 
the back side of said meeting-house, to extend to Mr. . 
Moses wall as far west as the westerly line of the 
burying-ground, and northerly the width of the 



NATICK. 



527 



stables." This we can perhaps understand if we sub- 
stitute the the word "horizontal" for perpendicular. 
These stables must have covered some part of the 
ground now occupied by the brick block of Mr. P. F, 
Woodbury, while north of them, where the blocks of 
Messrs. Rice, Morse and Winch now stand, lay the 
burying-grouad. 

The question whether " the Rev. Freeman Sears is 
settled here during life or only during the pleasure of 
him and them jointly," having been previously before 
the town, was finally disposed of October 16, 1809, by 
the uuauimous adoption by the town of five resolu- 
tions, of the following import: 

1. "If Mr. Sears will agree to spend Ilia days here," the town will 
consider alt contracts, as to salary, with him void, and make new jiro- 
posals .as follows : 

2. The town will give him the use of the ministerial lot. 

3. They will give him the use of the first pew in the meeting-house. 

4. The town will pay him tu the month of January each year the 
sum of SlUO, or give hint a note upon ititerest for that amount. 

5. The town wiUaireeto fulfil the preceding contract so long as 
Mr. Sears sustains the relation of a gospel minister to this church and 
society. 

Mr. Sears' salary was provided for in 1810 and 
1811, but on the 30ih day of June of the latter year 
he died, deeply lamented, at the age of thirty-three 
years. 

The town chose a committee " to see what expense 
has arisen at the funeral of Rev. Freeman Sears," 
but its action upon the report of that committee was 
not recorded. January 27, 1812, it was voted to con- 
cur with the church in the choice of Mr. Joel Wright 
as pastor, and in offering him an annual salary of 
$425, the town agreed that " in case of sickness or 
old age he is unable to perform the above duties, the 
society to pay him SOO annually so long as he remains 
our minister, if his circumstances are such that he 
needs it, or any part as he shall need." Mr. Wright 
did net accept the call. 

War having been declared against Great Britain in 
June, 1812, the town voted November 2d of that 
year, " to make up the pay of the detached soldiers 
to $12 per month, after they march into actual ser- 
vice." In 1813 the town chose as its representa- 
tive in the General Court, Samuel Morse, '" by a major- 
ity of three." 

December 6, 1813, the town having concurred with 
the church in the choice of Mr. Martin Moore as its 
minister, offered him "a salary of $500 and the use 
of the first pew in the church, so long as he remains 
our minister and supplies the desk." Mr. Moore ac- 
cepted the call and was the pastor about nineteen 
years. He appears to have purchased the house 
erected by his predecessor, Mr. Sears, upon the spot 
where the Edward Walcott business block now 
stands. The house fronted the east and its door-yard 
occupied a considerable part of the ground now cov- 
ered by that block. Later, when West Central Street 
was opened, the house was moved to the west and 
turned go as to front the north, and is the house now 
standing on West Central Street, next west of the 



Edward Walcott block. Mr. Moore was quite a 
farmer as well as a laborious minister, and his horse 
and cow pasture was west and northwest of his house, 
upon both sides of what is now West Central Street, 
and including the laud now used for that pleasant 
thoroughfare. 

The pews in the meeting-house were appraised 
December 13, 1813, at from $55 for No. 2, on the 
lower floor to $5 for No. 22, in the galleries. 
This, it must be understood, was for actual sale and 
not for annual rent, and according to it the pews 
were worth at that time $1230. This was probably 
about the e.sti mated value of the meeting-house, inde- 
[lendent of the lot upon which it stood. 

During these years the care and support of the 
paupers of the town were awarded to the lowest bid- 
der, as was generally the custom in the country towns 
of New England. Sometimes a considerable sum was 
paid for the support of a pauper, if we may trust the 
entries made upon a loose paper found in the book of 
records, which are as follows : 

"Pauper to Mrs. Walker 820G. 

" " John Gray 25.75 

John Morse at 81. 5U per week, for one year 75.3U 

Total t307.03." 

Probably the first of these was an e.Kceptional case. 

At the choice of Presidential electors, November 1, 
1824, fifty-six votes were cast, which seem to have 
been divided politically into fifty-three and three, 
except in a single instance, when all were cast for the 
favorite candidate. The town voted four times for a 
Representative in Congress at that election before the 
district gave a majority vote. 

Sixty years ago there remained in Natick some 
common or undivided land which belonged to the In- 
dians, and this land the town took special pains to 
have disposed of and the proceeds devoted to some 
good object, as there were then no Indian claimants. 

Only twenty-five votes were cast at the meeting for 
the choice of Presidental electors in 1828, and these 
were all given to one of the lists of candidates. 

Nov. 1, 1830, the town chose a committee of three, 
viz.. Rev. Martin Moore, Rev. James W. Thompson 
and William Farris, "to petition the Legislature in 
behalf of the inhabitant;, of said town for an altera- 
tion of its name," and instruQted the committee to 
ask that the new name should be Eliot. Later, it 
would appear that this name was actually given to 
the post office in South Natick, for in the published 
" Review of the First Fourteen Years of the His- 
torical, Natural History and Library Society of South 
Natick" this statement is made: " The name of the 
Post Otfice and Village having been changed to 
'Eliot,' the name of the Society was, at the .\pril 
Quarterly Meeting, changed correspondingly." 

"This meeting appears to have been held in April, 
1872. William Farris, Esq., represented the town in 
the General Court in 1831. 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



From this date onward til! March, 1853, Chester 
Adams served the town as town clerk, and all the 
entries in the records were made in the most con- 
venient manner possible and in plain and beautiful 
handwriting. And the same may be said of all the 
town clerks who have succeeded hira. Mr. Adams 
was also town treasurer lor the same period, and when 
he declined longer service he received the thanks 
of the town for the faithful manner in which he had 
discharged his duties. 

Feb. 28, 1838, a large committee of the town re- 
ported in favor of purchasing a farm as soon as pos- 
sible for the home of the town paupers, and about 
one morith later the town ajjpointed Elijah Perry, Jr., 
(_)ren Coolidge and Samuel Fisk a committee to pur- 
chase a poor farm. In that year Edward Everett 
received 130 votes for Governor and Marcus Morton 
52 votes, which probably indicated the relative 
strength of the two great political parties in Natick 
Ht that period. Nathaniel Clark was at the same 
time chosen Natick's Representative in the Gene- 
ral Court. In 1839 the town voted to pay the 
sum of $25 to each parish having a church bell, 
provided such parish would cause it to be rung from 
April till October each week-day at noon, and during 
the remainder of the year at nine o'clock in the evening. 

In 1841 the matter of building a Town-House was 
agitated, when it was proposed to use a part of the 
surplus revenue received from the United States to 
build the same. But this proposition was defeated at 
first (the voters repairing to the Common to be count- 
ed) by a majority of four votes. Later this matter 
came before the town in various forms and with 
changing results, but the Town Hall was finally built. 
It stood near the nor.heast corner of what is now 
the Common, not far from the dwelling-house of Mr. 
John Kimball, whose home was near the centre of the 
present Common. 

It was but a single story in height, and when the 
buildings were removed and the ground laid out for 
the Common, the Town Hall was moved to the east 
and became the Old High School house, fronting 
north on East Central Street. After the New High 
School house was erected and furnished, the old 
building was sold to Mr. M. W. Hayward and remov- 
ed by him to Washington Street. There it was raised 
and made two stories high, the lower part being a 
blacksmith's and carriage-maker's shop and the upper 
fitted up for tenements. 

In 1841 Natick had 205 enrolled soldiers ; in 1843, 
294; in 1844,383; in 1845, 103; in 1846, 310, the 
members of the fire companies being exempt. In 
1841 the matter of providing fire-engines for the town 
was agitated, but nothing elfectual was done till 1844, 
when the town appropriated $1700 to purchase two 
engines, which were built by William C. Hunneman 
& Co., of Boston, and brought to Natick, without 
charge, by the Boston and Worcester Railroad. 

These gave general satisfaction. In 1845 Henry 



Wilson was elected to represent the town in the (Jen- 
eral Court, receiving 177 votes, being a m:ijority of 
38 votes over 19 other candidates. 

The tax on dogs, which had been SI. 25, was re- 
duced in 1846 to one cent. 

The same year (1846) the town voted " that fifteen 
dollars be allowed to the Methodist Episcopal Society 
out of the funds belonging to the estate of Timothy 
Sinith, late of Natick, a town pauper, deceased, and 
that the Selectman take pusstssion of the ell'ects of 
said deceased and dispose of the same according 
to law, and that the town erect suitable grave-stones 
to the memory of said deceased." ' 

In 1847, the article before the town being "to see 
if the town will grant leave to Henry Wilson and 
others to enclose a portion of the common land in 
Sjuth Natick and erect thereon a monument to the 
memory of John Eliot," tlie liberty asked for was 
granted " without apparent opposition." 

lu 1849 the town voted " that .lonathan Walcott, 
Asher Parlin and Nathan Rice be a committee to pur- 
chase the farm of John W. Perry and Alfred Bacon and 
wife for a pauper farm." In the same year the matter 
of a new cemetery was agitated, when the town voted 
" that as soon as land can be purchased for a new 
cemetery the old one shall be closed." The lot for the 
Dell Park Cemetery having been secured, it was con- 
secrated July 12, 1849, by suitable religious ceremo- 
nies, performed, at the request of the committee, by 
Rev. Messrs. Hunt and Walton, of the Central Village, 
and Rev. Mr. Watson, of South Natick. Rules were 
established by the town respecting cutting the trees 
on it, laying out the grounds, selling the lots, etc. 

In 1850 the enrolled militia of the town numbered 
501; in 1851, 552; in 1852,690. In that year Na- 
thaniel Clark was elected Repreientative to the Gen- 
eral Court by 233 votes. In 1851 the town appointed 
a committee of seventeen, with Edward Walcott as 
chairman, to make arrangements to celebrate the 
two hundredth anniversary of the settlement of 
Natick, but nothing later is found upon the records 
concerning this matter. In 1852 the selectmen were 
directed "to prosecute all violations of the License 
laws." In 1853 B. F. Ham was chosen town clerk 
and treasurer. In 1855 William A. Leigh ton was 
appointed agent for the sale of spirituous and intoxi- 
cating li(iui)rs in Natick, such liquors to be owned by 
the town and " sold for use in the arts or for medicinal 
or for chemical or mechanical purposes only, at the 
market of N. & G. D. Chamberlain, on Summer 
Street." In 1856 the town required the keepers of all 



1 TliiB Mr. Smith waa quite a cbaracter in liiB day. He was a liachelor 
and waa often in prison, bying arldicted to intemperanco. Having 
frozen his feet, tlie.v were amputated, but still bo inauaged to go from 
place to place when not intoxicated. Late in life he thoroughly re- 
formed, and was distinguished for his simple piety and devotion to tem- 
perance principles as he had been for hi.« wickedness and vicious luibits 
in general. After bis reformation be earned in various ways his 8ui)port 
and left some money at his death ; but he bad been a pauiier, a^d so the 
tow u disposed of his estate. 



NATICK. 



529 



dogs to put collars upon their necks, with owners' 
names plainly engraved thert-on, and to pay license 
fees of two dollars each for males and five dollars for 
females. In the same year an appropriation of $1000 
was made for providing "reservoirs for water," in 
order to have a supply in case of fire''. 

Nathaniel Clark was again chosen to represent the 
town in the General Court, (he votes standing — for 
Nathaniel Clark, 475; for Aaron Davis 2d, 110; 
for J. B. Walcott, 244; and for B. F. Ham, 2. In 
1857 the town voted to purchase additional hose for 
the fire engines, and a supply of hooks, ladders, axes, 
etc., with suitable carriages for the same. Also an 
appropriation was made for a new fire-engine and new 
hose, the whole amounting to .?4107. 

The owners of the Citizens' Library having offered 
to the town the books of their library, upon certain con- 
ditions (see under the head — Educational), the town 
voted to accept the same, granted $300 for the Town 
Library, and committed the care of it to the Superin- 
tending School Committee. Later the town voted to 
adopt the rules for the regulation of the library- 
reported by the Scliool Committee. The question re- 
specting the ownership of the lot used for many years 
as a cemetery, where the brick blocks of Leonard 
Winch, the heirs of Leonard Morse and Martin Rice 
now stand, when the remains of the dead buried there 
should have been removed, was submitted in 1858 to 
the decision of Hon. E. R. Hoar, of Concord, by the 
committees of the town, of the Congregational Parish, 
of the trustees of the Ministerial Fund of said 
parish, and by John W. Bacon, as guardian of the 
Natick Indians. The decision of Mr. Hoar was, that 
the land in question belonged to the town, for various 
reasons, but chiefly because the town had held the 
ey.ciusive and undisputed possession of the same for 
thirty-seven years. In 1859 the town accepted and 
adopted the report of its committee, to confer with 
the city of Boston relative to taking water from Lake 
Cochituate, according to which Natick was to receive 
from Boston for the privilege the sum of §53000. 

During the same year there was so much dissatis- 
faction with the proceedings of the town's liquor 
agent, that the committee appointed for the purpose 
of investigation recommended that he be dismissed 
forthwith and that the agency be plao.'id in the hands 
of some party who would conduct the businec^s ac- 
cording to law. This recommendation was adopted l)y 
the town. The " crookedness " complained of was 
discovered by finding upon the books of the agency, 
as purchasers, the names of parties very regularly 
buying " who were noted as habitual drinkers." Mr. 
Horace N. Stockbridge was appointed the next agent, 
with very strict injunctions regarding the persons to 
whom he might sell and the records of the sales 
which he might make. 

April 23, 1859, the town authorized the town 
treasurer, with the approbation of the selectmen, to 
fund the sum of $15,000 of the town's debt, the notes 



to be payable as follows: $5000 in twenty years, the 
same amount in twenty-five years and the remaining 
$5000 in thirty years, with interest at the rate of five 
and a half per cen;., payable semi-annually. 

The militia enrollment at that date contained 1431 
names. At the State election in November, 1859, 
714 ballots were cast. 

Beginning of the Great Rebellion Move- 
ment.— April 3, 1854, the town had adopted the fol- 
lowing resolutions, reported by its committee, John 
W. Bacon, chairman: 

" Whereas, tlie bill now before Congress for tho organization of the 
TeiTitories of Kansiis and Nebmaka proposes to repeal bo mncb of tbe 
Act of March G, 182U, as forever prohibiting slavery north of 30° 30' in 
the Louisiana purchase — Be it therefore 

" lieitolred, That the inhabitants of Natick in town-meeting assembled 
do solemnly protest against tiie passage of said bill becanso 

"1st. It will violate the plighted faith of the nation. 

"2d. Because it will allow African .Slavery to enter into 480,000 square 
miles of territory, from which it lias been excluded for thirty years. 

"3d. Because it will tend to keep out of these territories the farmers, 
mechanics and workingmen of the free States aud the poor men of the 
slave States now oppressed and degraded by African Slavery who would 
rear in these territories free institutions for all. 

"4th. Because it v\ ill tend to increase the influence of Slaveiy over 
the policy of the national government." 

Thus early did this town commit itself to the cause 
of human liberty against the encroachments of slav- 
ery, in the fearful conte.>-t which the wisest and most 
patriotic all over the North and West foresaw was 
impending. 

April 29, 18G1, the town appropriated $5000 to be 
expended under the direction of the .selectmen, for 
the benefit of the fiimilies of such citizens of the town 
as may serve in the impending war. 

The selectmen at that time were Willard Drury, 
William Edwards and C. B. Travis. 

Leonard Winch, Deacon John Travis and John 
Cleland. Jr., were chosen a committee to consider 
"the wants of those citizens who may volunteer their 
services for the impending war." May 7, 1861, the 
town authorized the selectmen to pay for the uni- 
forms of the Jlechanic Rifle Company, of Natick, to 
the amount of $1000. It was also voted that each 
volunteer soldier should be furnished w-ith one rub- 
ber camp blanket, and one pair of woolen stockings 
and each commissioned officer and musician with a 
revolver. Also the town appropriated $500 to fur- 
nish arms, equipments and clothing to volunteers, if 
called into actual service. July 17, ISGl, the town 
voted to raise the sum of $10,000, in aid of the fam- 
ilies of volunteers, and at the same time appropri- 
ated $1400 to meet expenses already incurred and to 
carry out contracts already made with volunteers. 

In 1802 the enrolled militia numbered 592. July 
25, 1862, provision was made to pay $100 bounty to 
each person who should enlist in the service of the 
United States and be mustered into the same as a 
part of the quota required of Natick under the call 
of the President for 300,000 volunteers for the war. 
A'so voted that the town will pay to each person who 
shall volunteer and be mustered into the service an 



530 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



additional sum of fifty dollars, making the amount 
of bounty offered $150. A committee of fifteen was 
chosen to assist the recruiting officers in procuring 
the quota of volunteers. The bounty was promised 
within five days after the soldiers should be mustered 
into the United States service. 

August 13, 1862, the treasurer was authorized to 
borrow $16,000 for five years at six per cent, or less 
interest, and to pay to each volunteer who should be 
mustered into the service the sum of $150, to the num- 
ber of 103, this being the quota at that time required 
of Natick. The same bounty was offered a little later 
to volunteers to till the quota for this town uader a 
new call for 300,000 nine months' men. 

November 4, 18()2, the town instructed the select- 
men "to pay to the families of those volunteers, resi- 
dents of the town, who have been or maybe killed 
during the present Rebellion, the same State aid which 
they were previously receiving, until the end of the 
war." 

" July 15, 1863, one hundred and fifteen police of- 
ficers were appointed for Natick," with the powers 
possessed by constables of this Commonwealth, except 
that of serving and executing civil process. Moat of 
these took the oath of office. 

April 21, 1864, the town voted to pay " a bounty of 
$125 to each person who enlists for the town of Na- 
tick and counts upon her quota." And May 23, 1864, 
the town voted unanimously to " pay to each person who 
had been drafted into the service of the United States, 
or who may be drafted previous to April, 1865, the 
sum of $125, v/hen he shall satisfy the Treasurer that 
he has been accepted by the District Board of Euroll- 
ment." 

Also it was voted " that we p_.ay every re-enlisted 
man who has counted on Natick'a quota, and has not 
received full government bounty, the sum of $175, on 
his furnishing evidence that he has not received full 
government bounty." 

Such was the action of the town of Natick when the 
greatslave-holders' rebellion began. This took form be- 
fore the world by the assault upon Fort Sumter, April 
12, 1861, assumed the most fearful proportions when 
it appropriated the last dollar, and brought into the 
field the last man it could control, but was finally 
crushed by the overwhelming forces of the friends of 
coustitutional government and of human freedom 
when General Grant captured Richmond, April 2, 
1865. All that the town did in the way of voting 
money and giving such a firm and determined moral 
support to the Federal Government was honorable 
and absolutely necessary ; but the self-denial and suf- 
fering chiefiy fell to those who actually fought the 
battle of freedom ; and to them the reader's attention 
will now be directed. 

In 1863, while the war was in progress, the General 
Court of Massachusetts took measures to secure in 
each town and city of the Commonwealth a full record 
of all the soldiers and seamen that it had furnished. 



or might furnish for the suppression of the Rebellion, 
and so we have in the town clerk's office a volume in 
manuscript, entitled "Rebellion Record.'' This book 
contains the name of every soldier that counted upon 
the several quotas furnished by Natick, with his po- 
sition in the army, time of service, bounty received, 
previous occupation, age and experience, while in 
the service of the country. 

The number of men in the army from Natick was 
534, so that it is impracticable to give in this histor- 
ical sketch even the names of them all. 

From the adjutant-general's report in 1865, it ap- 
pears that Natick furnished thirty commissioned of- 
ficers for the army. The record of these officers, from 
the sergeants upward, Ibllows, abbreviated us much as 
po-sible, in the least important p.irticulars : 

Tliomiia T. Niison, scrgejiiit ; ;i years; disclmrged by reason of sitk- 
iiees, January 2it, 1863 ; served 2 years. 

George H. Willis, sergeant; killed at Cedar Mountain, August y, 
lS*i2 ; served 2 years, 3 luontlis. 

Perry D. Clianiberlain, first lieutenant ; resigned and discharged ; 
sttrved T niontlis. 

Krancis Z. Jenks, second lieutenant, June 21, 1804; firet lieutenant 
October 7, 1SG4 ; was in service tlirougli tlie war. 

Willimu II. Uroun, sergeant, second aucl first lieutenant; served 
nearly 3 years. 

I. B S. KaiHlall, sergeant ; served nearly 1 year, 
Oscar V Morse, sergeant, second and Urbt lieutenant, and captain ; 
served 3 yeals. 

Josiali S. Bacon, sergeant ; wounded in lungs at treeond Bull Kun; 
served 2 years, 7 months. 

Henry W^ilsou, colonel, United States Senator ; lield his connnission 
.'3 Jays. 

Thomas Duggan, sergeant; enlisted October 1, 1801; "Deserted and 
came back." 

William W. Pray, sergeant, second and first lieutenant, in 18G3 ; re- 
enlisted and served through the war. 

Albert H. Bryant, assistant surgeon 30th Eegt., enlisted as private 
1801 ; discharged May, lh62, to bo contract surgeon ; August '2'J, 1802, 
cum. asst. surgeon ; served till close of the war. 

Ephraim H. Brigham, captain, recrMited a company in Natick, 1862 ; 
com. August 21, 1802, and marched with liinety-nine men August 13, 
1802. 

Simon Mulligan, firat lieutenant under Capt. Brigham, aid marched 
at same time; Capt. Brigham served two years and was discharged for 
disability ; Mr. Mulligan served one year and two month.-, and was dis- 
charged for disability. 

Benning Hall, Jr., sergeant ; discharged for disability and died of 
disease contracted in service soon after his dincbarge. 

William D. Parliu, sergeant; discharged and promoted to capt. of 
Co. E, 1st U. S. C. T. 

Henry F. Felcb, sergeant, second and first lieut. and capt. Jun^, 180r) ; 
served three years. 

Charles P. Currier, sergeant ; wouu (led May 8, 18C4, at .Spottsylvania 
Court-IIouse and taken prisoner ; leg amputated and paroled at Kich- 
mond, Va. ; later, was in husj)ital at Anniii)olis ; bad a lurlonghgr«nt*-d 
Oct. 10, 1864, then reported at Keadville, DIaes., and was discharged. 

Nathan Ueed, sergeant ; served during the war and was discharged 
Juno 15, 1805, for disability. 

Alexander Blauey, capt. ; discharged after nine mouths* service ; was 
in 2sth Regt., Co. O. 
Ira Bussell, surgeon lllh Regt. ; enlisted Angnst 27, 1801. 
Harr.son llarwood, Jr., first sergeant 42d Ifegt., Co. K ; enlisted for 
three months ; served his time and mustered out Nov., 1804. 

Florence F Buckley, second and first lieut. ; wounded Juno 10, 1802, 
and promoted to first lieut. on the field for gallantry ; wounded again at 
battle of Bull Hun Aug. 3«, 1X02 ; taken piisoner and Jiaroled ; joined 
regiment again Dec. 4, ISCi ; iiromoletl capt. Jan. 10, 1803 ; discharged 
for disability ; re-enlisteil and was again capt. of Co. C, 2Uth Itegt. ; 
served nearly the entire period of the war. 

Augustus K. Dyer, surgeon at Poitsmouth Grove Hospital and died in 



NATICK. 



531 



Honice Bosmore, serc:eant ; was reduced to priviite Aug, 1861, and 
killed during Gan. Banks' retreat from Wincbestcr, Va., May, 186'.'. 

Alfred S. Ilartwell, first lieiit. ; com. capt. in 54th R«gt. ; lie>it.-col. 
in the />5th and col. of the same Nov., 1803 ; wounded at Honey Hill, 
isr.4, and promoted brig. -gen. Dec. 1st of that year. 

Charles A. Hartwell, first lient. U. S. Infantry; wounded in the 
thij^h at Gainea' Mills ; taken prisoner at Savage Station ; confined six 
muuths at Richmond, Va. ; com. col. of 5th Inlnntry (colored) ; brev. 
capt. U.S.A.; major, lieut.-col. and brig. -gen. of U. S. Volunteers, 
(breveted), and was such 18GG. 

Leonard B. Perry, second lieut. ; then acting adjt. ; later, first lieut. ; 
and later f^till, acting a-^at. adjt. -gen. of the post of Folly Island; an- 
nexed to the staff of Brig.-Gen. John J. Hatch, and served under him 
tit) the war ended. 

Josiah A. Bean, second and first lieut. of 55th Regt., Co. D ; discharged 
August 1, 1S05. 

George Graney, 9th Regiment, Co. B; promoted to sergeant July 1, 
IS62. 

Henry Hamilton Wilson, first lieut, then lieut.-col. U. S. C. T. ; then 
first lieut. in regular army; died in service Dec. 24, 1866, at Austin, 
Texas. 

William Nutt, enlisted as private, then second lient. in 54th Regt. ; 
later, first lieut. fiotli R«gt. ; then capt., nmjur and lieut.-col., and 
promotwi col. by brevet ; served through the war, and is now (lyS9) 
Judge of the District Court. 

Otis M. Humphrey i3 credited to Natick as asst. surgeon in the Cth 
Regt., upon the Adjt.-Gen.'H Report, 1S03, but his name is not found 
upon the record book of Natick. The reports of this olficer in 1863, 
were, of necessity, very imperfect. 

Upon the Soldiers' Monument appear the uames of 
eighty-nine Natick soldiers who died in the war, and 
since it was erected, in 1868, many more have yielded 
lo diseases contracted in the service. From year to 
year numhers will die from the same cause. 

Thirty-eight of the Natick soldiers, at least, were 
taken prisoners, quite a number of whom died from 
cruel treatment during their confinement. The num- 
ber of the wounded was very large, and many of 
their wounds have proved fatal since the end of the 
Rebellion. 

The certificate that follows is found in the reportof 
the adjutant-general for 18G5 in Public Document, 
No. 7: 

" No crime baa been committed by any returned soldier resident of 
Natick. Being pereunaily acquainted with a large majority of those re- 
siding IQ this town, I am ple;i8ed to say that there is not one exception 
wherein the moral and social condition of the soldier of to day is not 
fully equal to his position as citizen before entering the service. There 
are many cases of marked improvement. I do not hesitate to say that 
the general condition of the soldiers and of those dependent upon them 
is much better than before the war. 

" C. B. TnAVis, Chairman of the Sdiclmeu,^' 

And now, after the lapse of twenty-five years, the 
appearance of the surviving members of the General 
Wadsworth Post G3, Grand Army of the Republic, is 
that of temperate, law-abiding, higli-minded, indus- 
trious, useful citizens, who are honored by all the 
present generation, whose country they helped to save 
by their valor. 

That such heavy drafts upon the working force and 
treasury of Natick, as the suppression of the great 
Rebellion made necessary, did not paralyze the in- 
dustries and exhaust the means of the town, appears 
from its increasing prosperity during those years of 
trial. 

The printed annual report of the selectmen for the 
year ending March, ISjO, shows that the amount of 



appropriations made for 1840 was 15094, with floating 
accounts unsettled amounting to $798.50. The ex- 
penditures for the year amounted to $6454.56. In the 
year 1861, when the Rebellion broke out, the grants 
and appropriations amounted to $16,255, and the lia- 
bilities of the town at the same time amounted to 
$25,923.53. In 18G2 the appropriations and liabilities 
were nearly the same. Up to January 1, 18()2, the 
town had paid to the families of volunteers the sum 
of $3524,33, but it was expected that nearly all of 
this sum would be refunded by the State. During that 
year the interest account paid by the town amounted 
to $1767.83. 

In 1867, two years after the war had ended, the 
grants and appropriations amounted to $36,554.36, 
while the liabilities of the town, after deducting the 
sums due the treasurer, amounted to $24,351.85. The 
orders drawn by the selectmen for the year ending 
February 20, 1868, amounted to $77,485.40, while the 
receipts of the town had been $80,526.12. This indi- 
cates for Natick a sound financial condition, as the 
town was recovering from the heavy expenses and 
losses occasioned by the war. The town ofiicers re- 
ceived for services during the year 1867-68 the sum of 
11149. 

The amounts for the year following do not vary 
materially from those set forth above. In 1870 the 
receipts of the town amounted to $63,969.07, while 
the amount of orders drawn by the selectmen was 
$61,067.85. 

The births in the town the same year were 195, 
the marriages 03, and the deaths 105. In 1884 the 
births were 204, the marriages SO, and the deaths 
155. The receipts of the town for 1884 were $124,- 
803.27, and the expenditures, $125,307.22, leaving a 
balance against the town of $503.95. The Water- 
Works account, at the same time, showed receipts 
($85,000 of which came from water bonds) of $128,- 
292.10, while the expenditures amounted to $110,- 
096.50, leaving a balance for the sinking fund of $18,- 
195.60. The interest paid in 1884 amounted to $18,- 
193.38, $8790 of which were upon water bonds. The 
net indebtedness of the town, exclusive of water 
bonds, March 1, 1885, amounted to $114,.551.50, while, 
at the same time, there was due to the town the sum 
of $37,551.55. 

The town having voted to grant licenses for the 
sale of intoxicating liquors for 1884-85, the selectmen 
granted forty-nine licenses. The receipts for these 
amounted to $4600, of which the State received one- 
quarter, leaving a balance for the town of $3450. 
The town having directed that a part of the money 
received for licenses should be expended in putting 
in curbstones for the sidewalks, $1982.13 were paid 
out for this purpose. Arrangements were made 
during the year 1884-85 for the town to have the use 
of Concert Hall and of the selectmen's room for $600 
annually from July 1, 1885. The town debt, which 
had been increasing during some of the preceding 



532 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



, years, was diminished in 1884 and 1885 to the amount 
of $13,305.19. 

For the year ending March 1, 1888. the births were 
233, the marriages 100, and the deaths 145. Ko 
licenses for ihe sale of intoxicating liquors were 
allowed. The grants and appropriations amounted to 
S81,400, while the liabilities of the town were $126,- 
000, which is to be reduced by amounts due the town 
to $93,851.52, exclusive of the water bonds. The 
water notes and bonds at that time amounted to 
$118,400. The amount collected for water, 1887, was 
$15,520.27. 

For the year ending March 1, 1889, the births were 
219, the niarriagts 77, the deaths 102. A liquor 
license was granted to Washburn & Reed, druggists. 
The appropriations for the year amounted to $88,340. 

The 827 orders given by the selectmen amounted to 
$71,385.07. The interest paid on the town debt 
amounted to $11,289.18, while $3000 were expended 
to reduce (he debt. The town's liabilities, March 1, 
1889, amounted to $123,000, and it owed at that date 
$4023.10 accrued interest on notes and bonds, making 
the sum total of indebtedness, $127,023.10. At the 
same date, $38,405.14 were due to the town, so that its 
net indebtedness amounted to $88,567.90, exclusive of 
water bonds, being a reduction of about .$5,294, from 
the net indebtedness of the preceding year. 

The valuation of the town May 1,* 1888, was as fol- 
lows : Personal estate, $1,000,405.00 ; real estate, $4,- 
198,150.00; total, $5,204,555.00. The number of polls 
assessed was : Males, 2627 ; females, 502. The tax 
rate was $17.20 per $1000, and the total amount for 
collection was $99,302.47. 

It is proposed here to resume the general history of 
this town, which was interrupted to present connect- 
edly some account of Natick's sacrifices for the sup- 
pression of the Rebellion, — a matter concerning which 
but few of the present generation are as familiar as 
every patriot ought to be. 

The project of erecting a soldiers' monument being 
before the town, a monument committee, consisting 
of E. H. Brijham, G. P. Fay, N. Reed, Simon Mul- 
ligan and Willard Mann, was raised to attend to this 
matter, who reported, April 1, 1867, that they had put 
in the foundations and prepared the ground for a 
monument, on the Common, at the expense of $372.97, 
and had contracted with Messrs. Russell, Clough & 
Co., of Lowell, to prepare and erect the monument. 
The same committee was directed to go forward and 
complete the same. The town's grant for the erec- 
tion of such a monument was made April, 1866, and 
amounted to $3500. 

Nov. (i, 186(), the town instructed the selectmen to 
petition the Legislature to grant the town of Natick 
the privilege of (qualizing the bounties among those 
who served in the war of the Rebellion. 

The Library Committee reported, April 1, 1867, 
that the number of volumes in the library was 2563, 
and that thirty dollars were due for unpaid fines. 



Dee. 16, 1867, the matter of building a Town-House 
upon the old burying-ground lot, where the brick 
block of Leonard Winch and the Masonic Block now 
stand, was agitated, and the matter was deemed so far 
settled, that a large building committee was appointed 
to conduct the work, but no actual progress was 
made. This project was again before the town in 
1808, but was defeated. At the annual meeting in 
March, 1868, the subject of securing a better supply 
of water, and of purchasing a steam fire-engine, was 
brought before the town by the engineers of the Fire 
Department, and a committee was raised to consider 
the matter. 

Newton Morse was chosen Representative, in 1808, 
by 564 votes. 

At a town-meeting, April 3, 1869, a communication 
was received from Mrs. Sally Spaulding, dated Oct. 3, 
1868, in which she offered to the town of Natick the 
sum of five hundred dollars, the interest of which 
should be annually expended at .or near the time of 
the annual Thanksgiving, to furnish to the female 
inmates of the almshouse such warm and comfortable 
clothing as the town would not feel called upon 
otherwise to supply, such as warm woolen dresses, 
woolen hose, small shawls, etc. The donation was 
accepted unanimously by the town, and a vote of 
thanks for the same was passed. At this meeting 
"the blocking-up of the line of Washington Street 
by the Boston tSj Albany Railroad corporation" w.is 
condemned by an emphatic vote. A railroad station- 
house had been built directly across the street above 
mentioned, and the agitation commenced at this time 
did not cease until, by an act of the General Court, 
the corporation was compelled to remove the depot 
about one hundred feet to the east. 

As early as 1871 the money received by the town 
for the license of dogs began to be appropriated to 
the support and increase of the town library. 

In 1872 the town, upon the recommendation of its 
committee, voted in favor of obtaining a charter 
which should give the liberty to take water from Dug 
Pond, for extinguishing fires and for household pur- 
poses. Also, the town voted to purchase a steam 
fire-engine for South Natick. 

Upon the article in the warrant for the meeting, 
"Shall any person be allowed to manufacture, sell or 
keep for sale, ale, porter, strong beer or lager, in this 
town," 382 voted yes, and 355 voted no. 

At the Presidential election in 1872 the party votes 
stood 083 to 449 on electors-at-l.arge. 

March 25, 1873, the town unanimously accepted 
the act of the Legislature entitled "An Act to Supply 
the Town of Natick with Pure Water." 

Jan. 13, 1874, the great fire occurred, which de- 
stroyed all the buildings on both sides of Main Street, 
except the Leach (now the Eagle) block, and all on 
the west side of Washington Street, south of the 
railroad, except the dwelling of Miss Susan Morse. 
West of Main Street, for a considerable distance, the 



NATICK. 



533 



destruction was complete. Among the valuable 
buildings consumed were Clark's new and beautiful 
brick block, contaitiing rooms for the National anTi 
Savings Banks, and the spacious Concert Hall, and 
the Congregational Church edifice, nearly new, and 
just enlarged and improved at an expense of about 
$13,000. upon which was good insurance amounting 
to S!3 1,500. Two large factories of foot-wear were 
also consumed ; all the dry-goods stores, and all 
the public halls in the village, including the one in 
the Winch Block in which the Methodist Episcopal 
Society was worshiping while they were erecting a 
new church. The loss to the town was very great, 
being estimated at the time at about one-fifth of the 
entire taxable property of Natick. But the amount 
of insurance, in most cases, was large, and the com- 
panies were able to meet their lo.*ses. 

In 1874 the name of Railroad Avenue was changed 
to South Avenue. April 9, 1874, a Water Board was 
chosen, consisting of E. B. Saunders, James W. Morse 
and P. F. Woodbury for one year; Roy.al E. Farwell 
and F. C. Tucker for two years, and Calvin H. Perry 
and Herman Crosley for three years. And the Board 
was directed "to introduce water into the town as 
soon as convenient." The treasurer was authorized 
to issue water scrip, not exceeding 880,000. Also the 
selectmen aud the Water Board were authorized to 
expend §14,500 in erecting such buildings as were 
necessary for an engine-house, station-house, lockup 
and stables. In 1874 additional water scrip was au- 
thorized to the amount of S30,000, which was in- 
creased in 1875 by §40,000. In 1876 the town voted 
salaries for town ( fBcers, as follows : The chairman 
of the selectmen, $200 ; the other selectmen, $175 each; 
eich assessor, $150 ; each member of the School Com- 
mittee, $125 ; town clerk, $50 ; town treasurer, $200. 

April 6, 1868, the town chose Calvin H. Perry, Ho- 
ratio Alger and Elijah Perry a committee to prepare 
a code of by-laws for the town, and in May of the 
same year this committee reported such a code in 
eight articles. This report having been accepted, the 
same committee, with the addition of the town clerk, 
George L. Sleeper, Esq., was requested to present a 
copy of the proposed by-laws to the Superior Court 
or a justice thereof for approval. This was done ; 
and June 23, 1886, the code was apjjroved by the 
Court sitting at Cambridge. In 1877 the town voted to 
issue water bonds, bearing interest at five per cent., 
sufficient in amount to carry water to South Natick 
and to the north part of the town, and ordered $20,- 
000 worth of the old bonds, bearing six per cent, in- 
terest, to be canceled, and the new bonds to take their 
place. 

March 5, 1877, the town appropriated $50i) to pay 
for Cobb's painting of the late Vice-President, Henry 
Wilson, the same that now hangs in the town hall. 
Messrs. J. B. Fairbank.s, George L. Sleeper aud Alex- 
ander Blaney were made a committee to procure 
plans and estimates for a new high-school house. 



New and additional by-laws for the town, prepared 
by Messrs. George L. Sleeper, J. B. Fairbanks and 
William Nutt, having been previously accepted by 
the town, were presented to, and approved by, the 
Superior Court at Lowell, April 20, 1877. May 3, 
1877, the town voted to build a new high-school 
house, and appointed a building committee consisting 
of John B. Fairbanks, George L. Sleeper, Alexander 
Blaney, Josiah L. Bean and Calvin H. Perry; and in 
March, 1878, a final grant of $7000 was made to fin- 
ish and furnish the high-school house and to grade 
and fence the lot. November 8, 1880, the committee 
appointed on celebrating the first centennial of the 
incorporation of Natick, presented their rei^ort and it 
was accepted. From this rei)ort it appeared that the 
committee hsd organized by the choice of Hon. John 
W. Bacon as president, and Rev. Daniel Wight as 
secretary, and had recommended that the celebration 
should take place on the first Wednesday of June, 
1881, and that the town apply to the Legislature for 
liberty to raise money to meet the necessary expenses 
of the celebration. The town thereupon voted that 
an executive committee of fifty-five be chosen, which 
shall constitute the committee of arrangements, and 
made provision to apply for the needed legislative 
act. At the annual town-meeting, 1881, the town 
granted $500 for celebrating the 100th anniversary of 
incorporation, to be expended under the direction 
of the town's committee ou celebration heretofore 
elected, and that this appropriation shall not be ex- 
ceeded. 

The town having voted, November 8, 1880, to cele- 
brate the centennial of the incorporation of Natick 
on the 1st day of June, 1881, the committee of fifty- 
five in charge made all the preparations necessary for 
this important event. A brighter and more beautiful 
day than June 1st could not have been desired. 

At sunrise all the church, school and engine-house 
bells were rung for half an hour, and a salute of thir- 
ty-nine guns was fired. This was repeated at noon 
and sunset. By eight o'clock the people from the 
outlying districts and the surrounding towns Inul 
assembled in great numbers. At 9.30 the pro- 
cession was ready to move, and this presented an 
imposing spectacle. It moved in five divisions, with 
the platoon of police in front under the charge of 
Chief A. C. Pease. Wm. H. Wright was chief mar- 
shal, and I. K. Felch chief of staff. In the first di- 
vision were the cornet band, General Wadsworth 
Post 63, G. A. R., and the Fire Department in full. 

The second division contained the various benevo- 
lent and other societies of the town. 

The third division, with the Hibernia Brass Band, 
was made up of the town otficers, Governor Long and 
staft'and other officers of the State. 

The fourth division contained the youth aud chil- 
dren of all the schools, many of them in costume 
and in barges, followed by representatives of the 
various trades and business of the town generally and 



534 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



citizens in carriages and on foot. Young ladies from 
tlie High Scliool, representing each of the States, and 
all with corresponding badges, and conveyed in a 
barge drawn by four horses, presented one of the 
most attractive features of the procession. When all 
had passed, the youth and children were drawn up in 
line in front of the Common, when J. B. Fairbanks, 
president of the day, introduced to them the Gov- 
ernor of the Commonwealth, John D. Long, who ad- 
dressed them briefly, but appropriately. All repaired 
now to the tent which covered the northeastern sec- 
tion of the Common, and was furnished with seats for 
the large assembly. The president of the day made 
an appropriate address at the opening of the exer- 
cises, and then introduced the chaplain of the day, 
Rev. D.aniel Wight, a native and resident of the town, 
who offered prayer. A hymn, composed for the oc- 
casion by Mr. Isaac Gale, was then sung, after which 
the act of the incorporation of the town was read 
by Hon. Henry B. Pierce, Secretary of State. The 
centennial address, by Hon. John W. Bacon, followed, 
which was full of the most deep'y interesting facts 
appertaining to the history of Natick, and couched in 
the plain and easily-comprehended language for 
which Judge Bacon was remarkable. 

A centennial song, by Mrs. Mary L. Turner, was 
next in order, and this was followed by the centen- 
nial poem, written and delivered by John B. Mann, 
Esq., a resident of Washington, D. C, but a native of 
Natick. This poem was entitled "The Si)irit of 
Freedom as illustrated in a Town's History." 

At the close of the exercises in the tent about 650 
of the audience dined together in Concert Hall, after 
the divine blessing had been invoked by the chaplain ; 
Mr. Alexander Blaney was toast-master, and Gov- 
ernor Long responded happily to the sentiment, " The 
Old Bay State." Hon. John W. Candler, member of 
Congress then (and now Congressman-elect) from this 
district, responded to the sentiment "The Congress of 
the United States;" Hon. Robert R. Bishop, president 
of the Senate of the Commonwealth, spoke for " The 
State Legislature;" Colonel William Nutt, chairman 
of the selectmen, and R. E. Farwell, Esq., chairman 
of the Board of Assessors, spoke for the "Town of 
Natick," while James McManus, Esq., responded to 
the toast, "Our Adopted Fellow-Citizens; " Charles 
t^. Tirrell, Esq., made an address for " The Ladies of 
Natick," in which he gave some personal history ; 
Rev. Daniel Wight responded to the toast, " Our Free 
Public Libraries." 

Natick was gay on this occasion with banners, 
streamers, flags and beautifully-arranged decorations. 
These last extended to all the public buildings, the 
most important business blocks and stores and many 
private residences, conspicuous among which was 
"The Home of Wilson," on West Central Street. 

Among the relics and curiosities exhibited in 
Clark's North Hall were a rare copy of the old Indian 
Bible, translated by Rev. John Eliot, the apostle to 



the Indians, printed in Cambridge in 1685, the silver 
service presented to the Hon. Henry Wilson by the 
citizens of Natick, and the original challenge sent to 
Mr. Wilson by Brooks, of South Carolina, to fight a 
duel. 

In 1883 Captain Willard Drury gave to the town, 
in trust, the sum of $500, on condition that the town 
shall apply the net annual income from the same to 
the care and preservation of his lot in Dell Park 
Cemetery, and the town accepted the trust. 

In 1883 the appropriations of the town (including 
county and State taxes) amounted to $79,240.38. 

In 1884 the grants, including the same, were $82,- 
367.20. The town voted to grant licenses for the sale 
of intoxicating drinks, the votes standing 780 to 631. 
July 28th Stephen A. Sweetland was appointed one 
of the Board of Registrars, to fill the vacancy caused 
by the resignation of Willard W. Wight. In the 
Presidential election, 1884, the votes for Presidential 
electors were divided as follows : 638 for Republican 
candidates, and 460 for Democratic candidates. Fran- 
cis Bigelow had 933 for Senator in Fourth Middlesex 
District. For Governor George D. Robinson had 689 
votes, and Julius H. Seeley, 534. 

1885. The town voted to grant licenses to sell in- 
toxicating liquors by 690 to 678 votes. At the State 
election Frederick O. Prince received 671 votes, and 
George D. Robinson, 681. For Senator, Francis Big- 
elow received 805 votes, and Alexander Blaney, 528. 
For Representative, Justin Perry received 699, and 
Alben Mead 640 vote?. 

1886. The town voted not to grant licenses, by a 
vote of 853 to 687. August 20, 1886, George L. 
Sleeper, Esq., who had long been town clerk, having 
been appointed postmaster, resigned his oflice, and 
James McManus was chosen in his place, to act till 
the date of the annual meeting in 1887. 

1887. The town voted not to license by a vote of 
938 to 827. The vote for town clerk stood 911 for 
James McManus and 882 for Irving G. Glidden. 
David H. Clark was chosen Representative by a 
vote of 905, over David J. Murphy, who received 
716 votes. 

1888. The vote on the license question stood 921 
to 844 ag.ainst granting licenses. 

Under the article " To see if the town will intrust 
the money granted for necessary aid to soldiers, sailors 
and families of the slain, to the Post of the Grand 
Army of the Republic located in this town to be dis- 
bursed under the direction of said Post, to such per- 
sons residing in this town as are to receive it, accord- 
ing to Chapter 189, of Acts of Legislature of 185J>," 
the town voted in the affirmative. 

At a special town-meeting April 26, 1888, the town 
was divided into two precincts, 1 and 2, for the 
conducting of State and National business and elec- 
tions, the legal votes in Precinct No. 1 being at the 
time 1820, and in Precinct No. 2, 287. 

The registrars of voters for 1888 and 1889 were 



NATICK. 



535 



Oeoigc L. Bartlett, S. A. Sweetland and Patrick 
Mahaii, with James McManus, town clerk, memberex- 
ofiicio. Francis Bigelow and Bernard F. Moran were 
wardens for Precinct No. 1, with Irving C. Glidden 
clerk, while in Precinct No. 2, Michael D. Sheenan 
and Giistavus Smith were appointed wardens, with 
Frank J. McCuUough, clerk. Henry A. Gray and 
Charles Stevens were appointed supervisors of elec- 
tion for Precinct No. 2, by Governor Ames upon pe- 
tition. 

At the Presidential and State election November 6, 
1888, the Democratic candidates received in Natick 
908, and the Republican 859 ; the Prohibition ticket 
received 72 votes, — total 1899. 

For a Representative in Congress for theNinth Dis- 
trict, Edward Burnett, 1008 votes ; John W. Candler 
(who was elected), 831 ; and John C. Park, 54. For 
Governor, William E. Rus-sell had 982 votes ; Oliver 
Ames (who was elected), 838 ; and William H. Earle, 
54. William L. Davenport was elected Senator in 
the Fourth Middlesex District. Colonel Edgar S. 
Dodge had 162 plurality in Natick. For Representa- 
tive in the General Court, Albert Mead was elected 
over Patrick F. Hallinan by 27 votes, after the re- 
counting of the votes in Precinct No. 1. 

1889. The warrant for the annual meeting con- 
tained fifty-one articles. The vote on license stood 
905 to 645 against granting licenses, being a majority 
of 260. James McMinus was re-elected town clerk 
by 707 votes, and Edward Clark, treasurer, by 1746 
votes. For water commissioner for three years 
Francis Bigelow was elected, while the Board of Health 
was composed of Dr. W. H. Sylvester, Dr. W^illiam 
Richards and Isaac R. S. Randall. Among the ap- 
propriations were " Far enforcing the Liquor Laws 
$1000, lighting streets $3500, sidewalks and crossings 
of concrete $1500, the abuttors to pay one-half of the 
expense for the concrete sidewalks," while f300 were 
appropriated to publish a pamphlet setting forth the 
advantages of Natick as a place of residence and for 
conducting a remunerative business. Thegrantsand 
apj)ropriations amounted to $88,270. The selectmen 
appointed Lyman A. Spooner superintendent of 
streets with a salary of $1000. John J. Oakes was 
appointed one of the registrars of voters. 

On the proposed amendment of the Constitution, to 
prohibit the manufacture and sale of intoxicating 
liquors to be used as a beverage, the vote of the town, 
which was cast April 22, 1889, stood for the amend- 
ment, 619 ; against the same, 786. Precinct No. 1 
gave for it 592 votes to 595 against it, and Precinct 
No. 2 gave 27 for it and 191 against it. . 

May 1, 1889, the valuation of the town was 



$5,314,900, viz. : Personal estate, $1,090,750; real es- 
tate, $4,317,550 — a gain within the year of about 
$125,000. Number of jiolls, 2027; tax, $77,940 ; rate 
per thousand, $16.80. 

Representatives in the General Court. — 
As already noticed, the voters of Natick, for a long 
course of years, declined to be represented in the 
Legislature. 

Before 1856 Samuel Morse, Moses Fisk, Abel 
Perry, William Farris, Chester Adams, Steadman 
Hartwell, Aaron Sanford, Nathaniel Clark, Henry 
Wil.son, John Travis, John Kimball and Nathaniel 
Smith appear to have served the town as Represen- 
tatives. Of these, Nathaniel Clark (who is now liv- 
ing) was repeatedly called to fill this oflice. Since 
1870 the Representatives have been: 1876, Warren A. 
Bird ; 1877, Noah L. Hardy ; 1878 and 1879, Francis 
Bigelow; 1880, Edward McManus; 1881, Daniel 
Dorchester, D.D. ; 1882, Warren A. Bird ; 1883 and 
1884, Alexander Blaney; 1885 and 1886, Justin 
Perry ; 1887, David H. Clark; 1888, Albert Mead. 

The dates here given refer to the time of election ; 
the service in each case was one year later. 

Selectmen itEoiNNiNt; with 1879. 
1879, Calvin H. Perry, Josiah X. Bean, Alexaniler Blauoy; 1880, the 
same board wa8 elected ; 1881, Daniel A. Mtibony, .lames W. Valen- 
tine, William Nutt : 188*3, Daniel A, Jlaliony, James \V. Valentine, 
Aaron Wheeler ; 1883, Warren A. Bird, .Vlexander Blaney, Josiina A. 
Beau; 1884, the same board was elected ; 1885, Warren A. Bird, Al- 
bert Mead, Reuben Hunting ; ls,-i6, GustavusSmitli, Daniel A. Maliony, 
Albert Mead ; 1887, Daniel A. Mahony, Albert Mead, Edgar S. Doilgo ; 
1888, Samuel W. Manu, Edgar S. Dodge, Patriclt F. Hallinan ; ISS'J, 
Samuel \V. Mann, Arthur F. Atwood, Frank B. Tilton. 

The assessors of the town since 1S79 have been as 
follows: 

1870, Reuben Hunting, Edward McManns and Royal E. FarwoU ; 
ISSn, Royal E. Farwell, Edward SIcManus, Reuben Uunting ; 18S1, 
Royal E. Farwell, Reuben Hunting, Patrick Petteo ; 1882, tho same 
board was elected ; 1883, Reuben Hunting, WiUani W. Wight, Patrick 
Pettee; 18S4, Patrick Petteo, James W. Valentine, William J. 
Cronin; 1885, Patrick Pettee, James W. Valentine, Amos P. Cheney; 
1S86, James W. Valentine, Willard W. Wight, David Firm, Jr. ; 1887 
and 1888, the same ; 1889, Davin Finn, Willard W. Wight, Daniel Cole- 
man. 

Senatobs, Fourth Middlesex Distuict. 

Charles Q. Tirrell in 1880 and 1881 ; Walter N. Mason, in 1882 and 
1883; Francis Bigelow, in 1884 and 1885. 

In 1888 Charles Q. Tirrell was chosen one of the Presideutial electors, 
and cast his votes for Benjamin Harrison as President, and Levi P. 
Morton as Vice-l*resident, of the L'nited States. 

In examining the entire records of the town, leaf by 
leaf, including the Indian, for the jnirpose of discov- 
ering the historical information given above, the work 
of the compiler has been greatly facilitated by the 
convenient arrangement in makingentrics adopted by 
all the town clerks of later years. 



536 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

NA TICK—{ Continued) . 

ECCLESIASTICAL. 

OTQanknIioH o/ the Imlifin Cliurch—Eliot't Tramlalion of Uic BiUe—The 
I'lifilimj aud liMribiiliun of Ike Same— Mr. Eliot'l Death—Memorial Win- 
ihicB to VerptUmte his Memory- Pimtor Tahm'aiiibait — life. Messrs. /V(i- 
hoily (iftd liad'jer Missionaries to the Natiek Indians — Organizali'm oj the 
Conijreijational Church in the Centre of the Totm— Skelehes of its Pasturs 
— The Haplist Chiireh—The MellmKst Episcopal Church— St. Paul's 
Episcopal Church- Tlie lioman Catholic Churclies — The Ihiitarian or 
Eliot Church— The John Eliot Church— The l^iiccrsalist Church. 

The first minister of the Gospel wlio preaclied in 
Natick was Kev. John Eliot, who, we are assured, 
often prayed for divine direction, as he rode through 
the forests of this region in search of the best location 
for a new Indian settlement; and whoever stands on 
one of the hills that overlook the part of the valley 
of the Charles liiver where is now the pleasant vil- 
lage of South Natick, must be convinced that the 
prayers of the anxious man were answered. For in 
all this region, where excellent sites for villages 
abound, hardly another place comljining so many 
advantages for ihe successful prosecution of his ex- 
periment, and at the same time so attractive aud beau- 
tiful, could have been discovered. 

The earliest gathering in Natick for religious pur- 
poses was doubtless in 1G50, for during that year the 
site for the plantation was selected, the Indian title 
to the land secured, and the work of laying the founda- 
tions for the new settlement begun. But few, if any, 
of the Indian families that a little later built their 
wigwams and constituted the Indian community here, 
came to the place before 1051, but during the preced- 
ing year Indian men, in considerable numbers, were 
felling the trees and doing otlier preparatory work upon 
the Plantaliou. To these men, gathered together 
under the shade of the famous " Eliot Oak," Mr. 
Eliot doubtless preached the first Gospel sermon that 
was ever listened to in Natick. His hearers were 
not only respectful, but thoughtful, for, coming at the 
preacher's invitation from the Indian settlements, 
where he had occasionally held religious services, and 
especially from Nonantum, they were the most enligbt- 
tened and religiously inclined of all the Indian popula- 
tion of the region, and for four years some of them 
had been under Ina instruction. That his preaching 
and other religious services had not been in vain 
Mr. Eliot was thoroughly convinced months before 
the Natick Plantation was founded, for many of his 
hearers at Nonantum abandoned their wicked habits 
and heathenish customs and became thoughtful, sober- 
minded and conscientious. Among these the chief 
Waban, and his son, Waban, Jr., were conspicuous. 

After the removal of the Indians to Natick and the 
establishment of regular religious services here, the 
fruits of Mr. Eliot's labor for the spiritual welfare of 
the Indians became more and more apparent. In a 
considerable number of instances the reformation 



seemed real as tested by time, and thoroughly pro- 
nounced ; but though for many months Mr. Eliot 
had regarded a number of the Indians as true converts 
to Christianity, with characteristic prudence he had 
postponed the organization of a Christian Church. 

But in 1652 he believed that the time had arrived 
to take at least the preliminary steps ibr such an or- , 
ganization. October 13th of that year a large company ■ 
met in this place for the purpose of listening to the 
statements and confessions of such of the Indians as 
might be deemed candidates for church membership. 
Among the visitors were a number of the i)astors and 
lay messengers from the churches in Boston and vicin- 
ity and some of the best educated and promising from 
other settlements of the Praying Indians. 

The early morning was spent in prayer and listen- 
ing to discourses by Mr. Eliot and two of the Indian 
exhorters. Quite a number were ready to relate their 
Christian experience, but as they were slow of speech 
and Mr. Eliot wished to make a full record of their 
statements, the work of examination could not pro- 
ceed rapidly. Night approached before the fifth of 
the candidates — the schoolmaster — could finish his 
confession, and it was deemed best to adjourn the 
meeting. The statements made on this occasion by 
the Indians were soon published in London, aud pro- 
duced a profound impression upon many of the lead- 
ing i)hilanthropists aud Christians of England. 

The adjourned meeting for the examination of can- 
didates for church membership did not take jilace till 
1054. This was held in Roxbury, and, it is supposed, 
in Mr. Eliot's meeting-house, July 13, 1054, and was, 
in most respects, similar to the former gathering in 
Natick. But while the examinations seemed satis- 
factory, Mr. Eliot advised farther delay, and so great J 
was his prudence that it was not till 1000, or eight ' 
years after the first meeting for examining candidates, 
that the Indian church was organized at Natick. No 
records are known to exist respecting the exact date 
of this proceeding or of the number received at that 
time into church fellowship. Indeed, the entire rec- 
ords of the Indian church of 1000 have doubtless per- 
ished. We have every reason to suppose that all the 
transactions just named were recorded, as well as the 
important matters appertaining to the growth and 
condition of the church during the life of Mr. Eliot, 
at the least ; but his books of records were kept in 
Roxbury, and some years elapsed before any one else 
served as clerk of the church in Natick. All the pre- 
served records of Ihe Plantation during the seven- 
teenth century are upon a few loose pieces of paper, 
and tipon these a considerable part of the entries were 
made in the Indian language. 

We come now to the great work in the life of the 
Indian apostle and first minister of the Gospel in Na- 
tick. Reference is here made to his translation of 
the entire Bible into the Indian language, and the 
printing and distribution of the same among the 
Indians. 



NATICK. 



537 



From bis preaching and other religious instruction 
Mr. Eliot hoped tor good results, but for a number of 
years the conviction had been growinij upon him that 
the Indians must have the written Word as well as 
the spoken, if permaaent results were to be expected. 
In his preaching services only fragments of the Bible 
could be read or recited, while the children in the 
school and al! the families in their wigwams needed 
the entire word of God before their eyes from diiy to 
day before the Gosjjel could be expejted to control 
the hearts and lives of any considerable number of 
the population. In other words, his views upon this 
matter coincided exactly with those of the most in- 
telligent of the Christian missionaries to the heathen 
at the present day. It was a formidable undertak- 
ing which he proposed, sufficiently so to require in- 
domitable courage, for the diificulties to be encoun- 
tered were such as probably no mortal before him 
had been called to meet. 

The Indians had absolutely no literature, not 
even a scrap of a printed book or paper of any 
sort. The philologists of the present day, even when 
studying languages that have not been spoken for ages, 
have well-stored libraries at their command, but 
Mr. Eliot had nothing to begin with but the indis- 
tinctly spoken and very common words of the In- 
dians in their ordinary conversation. And those 
words were of a formidable character, some of them 
containing between forty and fifty letters, and ail 
bearing no conceivable analogy to the words of any 
other known language. 

Moreover, the Indians knew nothing of the nice 
shades of meaning that are to be found so often in 
the Hebrew Bible, and in many of the modern 
translations thereof. 

That Mr. Eliot appreciated the difficulties he 
would encounter when he entered upon his prepa- 
ration for this work is hardly probable. But as 
early as 1049, a year before lie selected Natick for 
his Indian planta-ion, he expressed in letters his ar- 
dent desire to translate some part of the Bible into 
the Indian tongue; and, two years later, he referred in 
a letter to his Indian a.ssistant in the work of transla- 
tion as making some progress in the undertaking, 
which he had uo hope, he said, to see completed in 
his day. 

With his other labors he early found that he must 
have assistance, if any considerable progress should 
be made in the translation ; but this he could not ob- 
tain through lack of funds, as he had a family of live 
sons and one daughter to sup()ort. To what extent 
the English Society for Propagating the Gospel 
among the American Indians aided him in this emer- 
gency we know not, but certain it is that the funds for 
printing the New Testament in the Indian language 
came from that quarter. This printing was accom- 
plished in September, 1661, and twenty copies of this 
part of the Bible were soon sent to England, one of 
which was destined for the King, Charles II., whose 



" royal favor and assistance" were craved for carry- 
ing the Old Testament through the press. This last 
was an undertaking that required two additional 
years, but in 1663 it was accomplished, and, as it 
would appear, without any aid from the royal purse. 
The two Testaments were then bound together, and 
to the whole Bible thus completed were added a cate- 
chism and the Psalms of David in Indian verse. 

This was the first Bible that was printed in New 
England. 

What the edition cost cannot be ascertained. When 
it was about half done there had been paid out as one 
item " two hundred and thirty-seven pounds and five 
shillings," and it was estimated that two hundred 
pounds more would be needed. The prtssand types, 
with all the other necessary materials for the work, 
were sent over from England, and the printing was 
done by Samuel Green and Marmaduke Johnson. 
How large this edition was is uncertain, but it prob- 
ably consisted of fifteen hundred copies. When the 
New Testament bad been completed, the Indians were 
at once supplied with two hundred copies strongly 
bound in leather. 

About twenty years later Mr. Eliot had the satis- 
faction of seeing a second edition of his great work, 
the New Testament portion of which was printed at 
Cambridge in 1680, and the Old Testament at the 
same place in 1685, by Samuel Green. Whether al- 
terations and improvements had been made for this 
second edition we know not, but the supposition that 
this was the case is not improbable. To this edition 
belongs the Indian Bible which is kept in the safe of 
the town of Natick, in the town clerk's office. The 
rare book belongs to this town. It is, perhaps, about 
eight inches long, five inches wide and two or a little 
more inches in thickne-ss. This Bible is a treasure, 
but it is supposed that no living man is able' to read 
it. This great work of his eventful life having been 
accomplished, the first Gospel minister of Natick 
died at Iloxbury, May 20, 16U0, at the age of eighty- 
six years. He was buried in the ministers' tomb in 
that place, where a monument was erected to his 
memory. In October, 1847, a few of the citizens of 
Natick erected a monument to commemorate Mr. 
Eliot's life and work, at South Natick. It is a neat 
sandstone shaft, costing between two and three hun- 
dred dollars. 

The Eliot Church and Society of Newton (the an- 
cient Nonantura) have just erected and dedicated 
one of the most convenient and elegant church edi- 
fices in New England. This church has perpetuated 
in its name the memory of the apostle to the Indians 
as well as that of one of his sons, John Eliot, Jr., who, 
after assisting his father greatly in his missionary 
work for a considerable period, became pastor at 
Newton (then called Cambridge Village), more than 
two hundred years ago. There have been placed in 
the new cliurch edifice at Newton ten memorial 
windows, among which one in the nave is very con- 



538 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



spicuous. It represents, with singular apjiropriate- 
ness, Rev. John Eliot preaching to the Indians. 
John Eliot, Jr., is said to have been an excellent pa.s- 
tor and preacher, but died when comparatively young, 
in 1668. 

Among the memorial windows just placed in Me- 
morial Hall, Harvard University, are two (the gift of 
the class of 1878), in which appear, in full size and 
side by side, the figures of Warren and Eliot, the one 
in the act of presenting a musket and the other offer- 
ing a Bible. Under the figure of Warren is a small 
panel representing him as a statesman, while under 
that of Eliot we see the man of God offering the Gos- 
pel to the savages. 

The Natick historian, Oliver N. Bacon, has pre- 
served for us the following extract from the speech of 
Hon. Edward Everett, delivered at Bloody Brook : 
" Since the death of Paul a nobler, truer and warmer 
spirit than John Eliot never lived. And taking the 
slate of the country, the narrowness of tlie means, 
the rudeness of the age, into consideration, the his- 
tory of the Christian Church does not contain an ex- 
ample of resolute, untiring, successful labor, superior 
to that of translating the entire Scriptures into the 
language of the native tribes of Massachusetts — a 
labor performed, not in the flush of youth, nor amid 
the luxurious abodes of academic lore, but under the 
constant burden of his labors as a minister and 
preacher, and at a time of life when the spirits begin 
to flag. " 

When he was eighty three years of age Mr. Eliot 
preached to his Indian friends as often as once in two 
months, and as long as he was able to give them this 
amount of service they were adverse to any movement 
respecting the choice and ordination of his successor. 
But the matter assumed a new aspect when the aged 
man found the journey from and to Roxbury weari- 
some 

When the election of a new pastor at length took 
place, the choi<;e fell upon Daniel Takawambpait, 
who, without doubt, was also the first choice of Mr. 
Eliot. He was an Indian. His name is variously 
spelled in the records of that time, and sometimes 
certainly he, himself, omitted the "b" in giving his 
signature, while, perhaps oftener than otherwise, he 
called himself simply Daniel, the name by which he 
was most generally known. 

Takawambpait appears to have been one of the 
earliest converts to Christianity and to have enjoyed 
the confidence of Mr. Eliot and all the better class of 
the Indians, while his scholarship was so good that 
for years he taught the Indian School at Natick. 
Two of the pastors of neighboring churches, after 
having made the tour of the Indian settlement in 
1698, reported thus: "At Natick we find a small 
church consisting of seven men and three women. 
Their pastor (ordained by that reverend and holy 
man of God, Mr. John Eliot, deceased) is Daniel 
Takawambpait, and is a person of good kn(jwledge. 



Here are fifty-seven men, fifty-one women and 
seventy children under 16 years of age. We find no 
schoolmaster here and but one child that can read." ' 
I'his report indicates a waning interest in the religious 
concerns of the Natick Indians after the death of Mr. 
Eliot, and this impression is confirmed by a state- 
ment in Mather's " Magnalia," under date of 1693 : 
"The Indian Church in Natick (which was the first 
Indian church in America) is, since blessed Eliot's 
death, much diminished and dwindled away. But 
Mr. Daniel Gookin has bestowed his pious care upon 
it." Mr. Gookin was a son of the Indian superin- 
tendent, Daniel Gookin, of Cambridge, and pastor at 
Sherborn. This was during the pastorate of Taka- 
wambpait, and from this reference to Mr. Gookin's 
preaching to the Natick Indians and from the interest 
they took in his services as indicated by a vote they 
passed, respecting his labors about the same time, it is 
plain that what he did for their spiritual good was 
done during some temporary illness or absence of 
their pastor. 

This Indian minister, Takawambpait, died Septem- 
ber 17, 1716, and his tomb-stone stands in the inner 
line of the sidewalk, nearly in front of the Unitarian 
Church in South Natick. 

It should be stated in this place that the house 
erected by the Indians for school and religious 
purposes, under the superintendence of Mr. Eliot, 
had become very poor and unfit for use by or before 
the year 1698. So May 21, 16'J9, the Indians sent to 
the Governor and General Court of the Province a 
petition for the privilege of selling " unto John Coller, 
Jr., carpenter, a small nook of our Plantation," to re- 
munerate him for building for them a new meeting- 
house. In this petitioii they speak of thirty families on 
the plantation, and "that we are now greatly dimin- 
ished and impoveriahed," that "our meeting-house 
where we were wont con.stantly to meet Sabbath days 
and lecture days to worship God is fallen down and we 
are not able to build us another." And later, 1702, June 
3d, the General Court received a .statement from this 
John Coller, in which he says, "I, John Coller, have 
built and erected a Meeting-house for the Public 
worship of God amongst ye Indians of Natic, accord- 
ing to agreement with ye town of said Natic and also 
the advice and direction of the Hon'ble Lt.-Governor 
and ye hon'ble Mr. Danforth." The land was granted, 
not exceeding 200 acres, to Mr. Coller June 5, 1702. 
This house stood upon the site of the one erected in 
1651; Daniel Takawambpait preached in this, the 
.second meeting-house, probably twelve or thirteen 
years. 

That another Indian, John Neesmumin, next 
preached to the Indian congregation at Natick we 
infer from the fact that at a general meeting of all 
the freeholders and voters of the plantation May 11, 
1719, at which a list was adopted of the real pro- 

5 Bigluw's " History." 



NATICK. 



539 



prietors of Natick, the name of this Iiulian appears 
as tlie last on the list and against it is written, " If be 
shall live and die in the work of the Gospel ministry 
in Natick." Of his qualifications for and success as 
a preacher we know nothing. He may have died 
soon, for the next year this record appears, "The 
town of Natick had agreed with Josiah Shonks to 
imply him of preaching at Natick for six months 
and begin said work lyth of December, 1720, for five 
pounds." 

The ministry of this Indian must liave been short, 
for during the following year other and more definite 
arrangements were made for the religious instruction 
of the Indians. 

About this time, 1721, another meeting-house was 
erected for the Indians, on the spot where the school 
and meeting-house was built in 1051. A part of the 
funds required for this purpose may liave come from 
England. 

The Board of Commissioners for Propagating the 
Gospel among the Indians of America took measures 
in the year 1721 for supplying the Natick Plautatiou 
with a better and more permanent ministry. • 

Oliver Peabody, who graduated at Harvard College 
in 1721, was requested by the Board above-named to 
go at once to Natick, as a missionary to tlie Indians. 
Probably without any extensive theological educa- 
tion, but with a good mind and a warm and devoted 
Christian heart, Mr. Peabody obeyed this summons, 
and is said to have preached his first sermon in 
Natick, August 6, 1721. He found, we are told, but 
two white fi\milies in the place, and, later, committed 
to writing this statement : " After my most diligent 
inquiry and search, I can find no records of anything 
referring to the former church in Natick, nor who 
were members of it or baptized, till my coming to 
town." Mr. Peabody seems to have labored faith- 
fully in this field before he was ordained or a new 
church organized, for the space of eight years. 
"June 24, 1728, Voted that Kev. Mr. Peabody, dur- 
ing his continuance in the work of the ministry in 
Natick, have the sole use and improvement of the 
Ministerial Lot," of which more hereafter. And 
Nov. 25, 1728, " Voted that there be a contribution for 
y' Kev. Mr. Peabody the last Sabbath of every 
month, and Lieut. Wamsquam to hold the box." Of 
course this was an Indian provision for the support of 
their ministers. And the Indian Proprietors' Ilecords 
show that grants of land were made to their minister 
by the Indians in 1729, 1730, 1732, 1733 and 1734. 
The lots given to him were often of considerable size, 
making in the aggregate two hundred and eleven 
acres, but probably not very valuable, as much of the 
common and undivided land conveyed by the Indians 
in those years covered the poorer portions of Natick. 
But certainly his parishioners showed their good will 
by these gifts to their pastor. A considerable portion 
of Rev. Mr. Peabody's salary doubtless came from the 
English friends of this enterprise, just as they had 



furnished the funds for printing Rev. Mr. Eliot's In- 
dian Bible. 

A committee of the Board of Commissioners visited 
Natick October 21, 1729, to consider particularly the 
religious concerns of the plantation, and by their 
advice a new church was organized, consisting of 
three Indian and five wliite male members. This 
organization took place December 3, 1729, Rev. Mr. 
Baxter, of Medfield, preaching the sermon. On the 
17th of the same month Mr. Peabody was ordained at 
Cambridge, and he was permitted to report to a con- 
vention of ministers in Boston July 7, 1743, that 
" there have been added to our church of such as I 
hope shall be saved — about fifty persons of ditl'erent 
nations — during the past two years, who>e lives wit- 
ness in general to the sincerity of their profession." 

Meanwhile the white population of Natick was in- 
creasing with considerable rapidity, and in 1749 it 
appears to have outnumbered the one hundred and 
sisty-six Indians. The English had, at that date, 
fifty dwellings and the Indians forty. 

Comparatively few of the white families had settled 
in the immediate vicinity of the Indian meeting- 
house, for Peagan Plain (where the central village of 
the town is located) was fast becoming a favorite 
place of residence. Besides, it is perfectly plain that 
the "color question" (which, in many minds, is now 
so difficult of solution) was beginning to aflect public 
opinion in Natick one hundred and forty years ago. 
The Indians appear to have been respectable, and 
they certainly transacted their public business in an 
orderly and becoming manner, but the prejudices 
awakened by the matter of nationality were nearly 
inveterate. These statements will aid in understand- 
ing the animus of the votes that follow, which are 
copied from the parish records, for Natick had not 
as yet arrived at the dignity of a town, but was only 
a parish or precinct : 

"January 25, 1749-50, voted to accept the Rev. 
Oliver Peabody as the parish minister, upon condi- 
tion he will come to the centre of the parish to preach 
and so long as he preaches there." 

The same conditions were annexed to the following : 
" Voted to grant Mr. Peabody £300 salary, old tenor, 
yearly." At a later period, when the article in the 
call of the parish meeting was — " To see whether they 
agreed to take Rev. Mr. Peabody, the Indian pastor, to 
be the Parish Minister, the vote stood twenty-four to six 
against the proposition." So this excellent man lived 
and died the pastor of the Indians, who loved him as 
a father. His death took place February 2, 1752, 
after a ministry of thirty-one years, during which 
time he baptized one hundred and ninety-one Indians 
and four hundred and tnenty-two whites, and ad- 
mitted to the church one hundred of the latter and 
thirty-five of the former. Two hundred and fifty-six 
Indians died during the same period. 

From the above it is evident that, in the face of the 
votes of the parish, a large part of the white popula- 



5i0 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



tion of Natick regarded Mr. Peabody as their religious 
tea'iher. 

Mr. Peabody's successor in the iiiiuistry at Naticlc 
was Rev. Stephen Badger. In a letter to the cor- 
responding secretary of tjie Massachusetts Historical 
Society, written five or six years before the close of 
his long pastorate, Mr. Badger said: "Immediately 
previous to my settling in this place a church was 
gathered which consisted partly of English and partly 
of Indians, and though some additions were soon 
after made of Indian professors, yet, from the causts 
already mentioned, a decrease gradually took place 
and has continued to the present time." 

From this statement it has been generally sup- 
posed, and that not without reason, that the Natick 
Cliurch which was gathered by Eev. Mr. Peabody 
was disbanded at or soon after his death, in 1752. If 
so, it was a very unusual proceeding for which no 
adequate reason can be imagined. 

Mr. Badger was born in Charlcstown in 172.5, of 
humble parentage, as the Historian Biglow de- 
clares, because his name stood last of his class in the 
Harvard College catalogue, at a time when the 
names of the students of that college were arranged 
upon its lists " according to the real or supposed dig- 
nity of their parents." 

Be this as it may, Mr. Badger graduated in 1747, 
and in March, 1753, he was ordained by the Commis- 
sioners for Propagating the Gospel in New England, as 
a missionary over the Indians in Natick.' From the 
beginning to the end of hii long pastorate of about 
forty-six years Mr. Badger enjoyed but little peace, 
for the local divisions among the people of the town, 
es7)ecially in regard to the location of the meeting- 
house, which so annoyed and hindered the usefulness 
of his predecessor, continued and bore fruit during 
this entire period. The third meeting-house, which 
had been built chiefly for the accommodation of the 
Indians upon the site of their first rude building for 
scliool and religious purposes, had become unsuitable 
for public worship before the death of Rev. Mr. Pea- 
body, and soon after Mr. Badger had commenced his 
ministry here the fourth house had been raised and 
partially finished upon the same locality. At an 
early day such ))rogres3 had been made in this work 
that the building could be used for the Sabbath ser- 
vices, but it was not finished for thirteen years, or till 
1767. This delay was due to the prevailing conten- 
tions. The minister appears to have given good sat- 
isfaction to the Indians, but the white iuhabitanta 
were very unwilling to acknowledge the "Indian 
Missionary " as their Pastor, and for a considerable 
period did but little for his support. Biglow asserts, 
in his "History," that "a large part of the white people 
of his (Mr. Badger's) day had adopted as many of the 
Indian manners and habits as the Indians had of 
theirs, so that a considerable number of both nations 

IBigluw'B "IliatOry," p. CO. 



were but half civilized, and their pastor received such 
treatment as must naturally be expected from such 
a flock." Obviously this was aharshjudgment of the 
case, for Mr. Badger came to Natick and continued 
here as " the Indian Missionary," and the white peo- 
ple had taken no part in his settlement. 

The action of the church with regard to obtaining 
another minister we only know from inference, but 
the pnrish, July 6, 175(5, "voted to concur with the 
church in their unanimous choice of the Rev. Solo- 
mon Reed to be their minister;" and to grant Rev, 
Mr. Reed £66 13«. 4rf. as encouragement for him to 
settle with them, fi.xing his annual salary at f 53 6s. 
M. in case he should accept the call. The former of 
these amounts, it will be understood, was intended as 
a gift according to the custom of the times when a 
pastor was called. Mr. Reed, who had been pastor 
of a second church in Framinghain for a short time 
and was highly esteemed in the region, as a matter of 
course, declined the invitation, as the church had al- 
ready its missionary pastor. 

In 1762 the parish took action relative to the sup- 
port of Mr. Badger that had the appearance at least 
of peaceful intentions, and voted £19 6s. 8rf. annu- 
ally for four years for " his salary." A committee 
chosen by the parish, consisting of Mr. William Bald- 
win, of Sudbury, Captain Josiah Stone, of Framing- 
ham, and Samuel Bnllard, of Sherborn, appears to have 
labored here to settle " disputes and controversies," 
but with what success is uncertain, but in 1773 the 
town voted " to repair the meeting-house and that 
the selectmen see it done." 

In 1778 the town voted refusing Mr. Badger as its 
minister and forbidding his preaching any more at 
the cost of the town, but very soon was found voting 
the money for his salary, including a considerable 
sum that had been withheld, with interest on the 
same. Later, propositions were made by both parties 
for the settlement of the difficulties, but all without 
favorable resul t.s, till July 23, 17'J8, the town " chose 
a committee to treat with Mr. Badger, and request of 
him in writing what objection he has to the town to 
have preaching in said town ; if none, to manifest the 
same in writing ; if otherwise, to join him in calling 
a council, and if he refuse, to call a council without 
him." This action seems to have brought matters to 
a crisis, for he closed his services in Natick in 1799, 
and died about four years later, viz., August 28, 1803, 
at the age of seventy-eight. Mr. Badger was buried at 
South Natick. Mr. Biglow says of him, " Like many 
of his distinguished contemporaries in the ministry, 
he was a Unitarian ; but like the rest, with the ex- 
ception of Dr. Miiyhew, of Boston, and Dr. Howard, 
his successor, he thought that, though it was lawful 
for them to avow this sentiment, it was not expe- 
dient." This testimony plainly should be taken with 
considerable allowance. During the later years of 
Mr. Badger's ministry many Natick families connec- 
ted themselves with the congregations in neighboring 



NATICK. 



541 



towns, — thirty-three in 1797, — and at his death the 
church became extinct. Sixty-nine were admitted 
to the ehurcli during the ministry of Mr. Badger, and 
lie is the '' Parson Lothrop " who figures hirgely in 
Mrs. Stowe's "Old Town Folks." No date is given, 
but the Indian proprietors laid out, in their own 
right, land "to satisfy a purchase for the Rev. Mr. 
Bagger." 

The fourth meeting-house seems to have become 
unfit for use before the close of the eighteenth cen- 
tury. 

Anticipating what was to come, September 18, 
1798, the town voted to build a new meeting-house 
and fixed the site of it on the ministerial lot at "the 
crossroads, where the Old Pound formerly stood." 
The brick church of the Congregational Society 
now stands upon this spot. This fifth church was to 
have a "suitable porch in front." The edifice, for 
the building and finishing of which fifteen hundred 
dollars were raised, was commenced in June, 1799, 
and was foity by forty-five feet in size and two stories 
high. The town voted "to paint thereof of the 
meeting-house red and the rest white," to rent the 
pews, that the selectmen should hire the preaching 
anil that "the blacks sit in the hind seats in the north 
part of the galleries." 

In February, 1802, a new church was organized 
with ten male and thirteen female members, and a 
month later William Goodnow and Abel Perry were 
chosen its first deacons. April 22, 1802, a call was 
given by the church to Mr. Samuel Brown to become 
pastor, and the town concurring voted to give Mr. 
Brown a salary of $300 per year, twelve cords of wood 
and the use of the ministerial lot, besides building a 
decent two-story house and barn within two years, 
and providing house-room for him until all this 
was done. But before he could answer the call, his 
sickness and death intervened. Three years pass-ed 
and Rev. Freeman Seats was called to the pastorate, 
with similar proposals regarding support, "so long as 
he serves the town as a faithful gospel minister and 
supplies the desk." But such changes were subse- 
quently made in the conditions of settlement that 
Mr. Sears built a house for himself on leased land, 
which is now the first house fronting north on West 
Central Street, later the home of Rev. Martin Moore.' 

Mr. Sears was a graduate of Williams College in 
1804, became a licensed preacher iu 1805, and was 
ordained pastor of this new church January 1, 1806. 
He is represented as a man of good intellectual at- 
tainments, of pleasing address and of consistent and 
unartected piety. Once each month he heard the 
children of the congregation recite the Assembly's 
Catechism and in every good work was laborious and 
faithful. But pulmonary disease forced him to spend 
the winter of 1810-11 in Georgia, and he reached 
home very feeble June 10, 1811. On the 30lh of 



* Church MiiDual. 



that month he died at the age of thirty-three years. 
He wa.s buried in the cemetery just north of his 
church, where the brick blocks of Messrs. Rice, Morse 
and Winch now stand. In 1857 his remains were re- 
moved to a central place in Dell Park Cemetery, and 
in 1873 a granite monument was erected over them at 
the expense of the friends of true piety and getiuiiie 
worth ill Natick. 

Nearly four years now elapsed before another pas- 
tor was settled, and in the interval a number of cler- 
gymen preached as candidate--. November 18, 1813, a 
call to the pastorate was extended to Rev. Martin 
Moore, in which the town concurred, offering an 
annual salary of 1500 and the u?e of the first pew. 
Mr. Moore was a native of Sterling, and a graduate 
of Brown University in the class of 1810. His theo- 
logical studies were pursued under Rev. Elisha Fiske, 
of Wrentham. He was ordained at Natick February 
16, 1814, when he was twenty-four years old, and the 
ordaining council "voted that the Bishops who may be 
in the pulpit at the time of the consecratiug prayer be 
requested to lay on the hands of the Presbytery." 
His wife was Miss Sarah Fiske, of Natick. Under 
the ministry of this pastor, missionary concerts were 
established, the first Sabbath-school in Natick was 
organized, with Deacon Oliver Bacon as its superin- 
tendent, the first Standing Committee of the church 
was appointed, the South Middlesex Conference of 
churches came into existence, the first Temperance 
Society with a Total Abstinence Pledge began its 
work, and many other forms of Christian usefulness 
were introduced. One hutidred and eighty-three 
members were admitted to the church during his pas- 
torate. Dismissed in 1833, Mr. Moore was a pastor 
at Cohasset for eight years, when he removed to Bos- 
ton 10 become one of the editors and proprietors of 
the Boston Recorder. In this last-mentioned service 
he spent nearly twenty years, and died March 11, 
1866, aged seventy-five years. 

Rev. Erasmus D. Moore was the next pastor of the 
Congregational Church. ■ Born in Winsted, Conn., 
educated at Amherst and Yale Colleges and Yale 
Theological Seminary, he was ordained here Novem- 
ber 6, 1833. His salary was $'600 per annum. The 
year following thesettlement of Mr. Moore, the Boston 
& Worcester Railroad was opened, and with a large 
increase of business in the town, the meeting-house 
became too small, and a new one was erected upon 
the same site. This was done in 1835, at a cost of about 
§8000. Thirty-three were admitted to the church 
during the short pastorate of Mr. Moore, who was dis- 
missed in 1838. Later he was settled in Kingston and 
I'.arre, and then became one of the editors of the 
Button Recorder. Later still, viz., in 1847, he pub- 
lished the Boston Reporter, which, after two years 
was enlarged and became The CongregationalUt. For 
six years Mr. Moore was employed in preparing the 
Old Colony and Bay State records for publication. 

Rev. Samuel Hunt succeeded -Mr. Moore as pastor. 



542 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Graduating at Amherst College in 1S32, and studying 
theology at Princeton, N. J., he was ordained in Na- 
tick July 17, 1839, on a yearly salary of $(550. He 
was an active and useful pastor here for about eleven 
years, when he was installed in Franklin, where he 
labored for fourteen years. Later he became the su- 
perintendent of education among the freedmen, and 
finally the private secretary of Hon. Henry Wilson, 
his former parishioner and friend. "The History of 
the Rise and Fall of the Slave Power in America," 
which Mr. Wilson left unfinished at the time of his 
death, Mr. Hunt completed and carried through the 
press. In 1858 he prepared " The Puritan Hymn and 
Tune Book." 

The next pastor of the church was Bev. Elias 
Nason, who was ordained May 5, 1852. His salary 
for the space of three years was $900, and then raised 
to $1000. Mr. Nason graduated at Brown University 
in 1835 and studied theology with Rev. Theodore M. 
Dwight in Georgia. The congregation having again 
outgrown the meeting-house, this was sold to a Uni- 
versalist Society, which later, becoming extinct, sold 
the house to the Roman Catholic denomination. 
This, enlarged, is the Catholic Church of the present 
day in the centre of Natick. The Congregational 
Society then erected a third meeting-house upon the 
site of the one removed, during the years 1853-54, 
which was dedicated Nov. 15lh of the latter year. 
Including the bell and organ, that edifice coat $28,- 
103.65. Mr. Nason remained pastor about six years 
and admitted to the church one hundred and twenty 
members. In 1858 he was dismissed and became 
pastor of the Mystic Church in Medlord. Later he 
was settled in Exeter, N. H., and then removed to 
North Billerica, Mass. He was a voluminous writer 
and lectured more than one thousand times before 
literary and scientific associations. Mr. Nason died 
of Bright's disease June 17, 1887, aged seventy-six 
years, leaving five children, one of whom is Rev. 
Charles P. H. Nason, of Germantown, Pa. 

Rev. Charles M. Tyler, D.D., was the next pastor. 
He graduated at Yale College in 1855, and studied 
theology at the Union Theological Seminary, New 
York. His first settlement was at Galesburg, 111., and 
he was installed at Natick May 19, 1859, upon a salary 
of lfl20(l, which was raised to $1(500 in 18(56. Mr. 
Tyler represented this town in the Legislature of 1862, 
and was the chaplain of the Twenty-second Massachu- 
setts Regiment during "the Wilderness Campaign." 
His Natick pastorate continued about nine years, or 
until December 31, 1867, when he accepted a call to 
the South Congregational Church in Chicago. The 
changes that followed the great fire in th.at city in 
1872 introduced him to the pastorate of the First 
Congregational Church in Ithaca, New York, where 
he is most highly respected and increasingly useful. 
One hundred and ninety-three were added to the Na- 
tick church under Mr. Tyler's ministry. 

Rev. Jesse H. Jones succeeded Mr. Tyler, July 21, 



1869, the salary offered being $2000. He was born in 
Belleville, Canada, graduated at Harvard University 
in 1856, and at Andover Theological Seminary in 
1861. During the war for the suppression of the Re- 
bellion he was the capt.iin of a New York company 
for nearly two and one-half years. During the two 
years of his Natick pastorate he admitted to the 
church twenty-eight members. Since leaving Natick 
Mr. Jones has preached in East and North Abington, 
and was a member of the Legislature in 1876. His 
publications have been very numerous, mostly bear- 
ing upon the great questionsof human rights and pro- 
gress. He now ref-ides in North Abington. 

Rev. Francis N. Peloubet, D.D., who succee<led Mr. 
Jones, was born in New Y'ork City, was graduated at 
Williams College in 1853, and at the Theological 
Seminary at Bangor in 1857. Before coming to Natick 
he had been a pastor at Lanesville, Oakham and At- 
tleborough. His installation here took place Jan- 
uary 17, 1872, and the salary given him was $2500. 
Two years alter his settlement, viz., January 13, 1874, 
nearly all the business portion of Natick was laid in 
ashes, including every hall in the place and the Con- 
gregational Church, just enlarged and improved at 
the cost of about $13,000. This loss of the sanctuary 
rendered necessary the building of a temporary taber- 
nacle, which, in a rough way, was made ready for re- 
ligious and other purposts as soon as possible, at the 
cost of about $1700. Additional land was purchased 
upon the east side of the old church lot, and the erec- 
tion of the present beautiful brick church edifice 
commenced, and so far completed that the vestries 
could be used for public worship April 30, 1876. The 
bell was the gift of Mr. Leonard Morse, and Mr. Na- 
thaniel Clark gave the valuable clock for the church 
tower. At the date last given the families connected 
with the congregation numbered 325, the church, 386, 
and the average attendance in the Sabbath-school 
was 326. 

In 1875 Dr. Peloubet commenced the publication 
of his "Select Notes upon the International Sabbath- 
school Lessons," and each year since has given to the 
public a similar though now greatly improved volume. 
These "Notes" may now be found in nearly every 
part of the Christian and even heathen world. And 
to these he has added a series of Sabbath-school 
Question Books, which are used in large numbers. 
These publications demanding more time and thought 
than any pastor of a large church and congregation 
can give to such work, led Dr. Peloubet to ask a dis- 
mission from his pastoral charge in 1883. 

The additions to the church under his ministry 
were large, as many as 142 having been received 
during the first five years of his pastorate, and later 
many more, bringing the whole number received up 
to 296. 

In 1884 Dr. Peloubet published "Select Songs for 
the Sunday-school," a compilation of the best hymns 
and tunes for such service in the English langu.ngc. 



NATIUK. 



543 



In the same year he edited a new edition of Smith's 
Bible Dictionary. In 18S9 he attended, as a dele- 
gate from the United States, "The World's Sabbath- 
school Convention,' in London, and took an active 
part in its proceedings. Mrs. Peloubet was Miss 
Mary Abbey Thaxter, of Bangor, Me., and they have 
four daughters, viz., Mary Alice, wife of Prof. L. M. 
Norton, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technol- 
ogy, Boston, residing in Auburndale ; Grace Thaxter, 
wife of Mr. D. W. Farquhar, a Boston merchant, re- 
siding in Newton; Ernestine May, the wife of 
George A. Swallow, of Allston, and Harriet Louise. 

Dr. Peloubet's honorary degree was conferred by 
the University of Easiern Tennessee, at Knoxville, 
in 1884. 

After Dr. Peloubet's retirement from the Natick 
pastorate several clergymen were heard as candidates 
for settlement, without giving entire satisfaction, until 
public attention was directed to Rev. F. E. Sturgis, 
D.D., pastor of a Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, 
Tenn., who had supplied the pulpit — but not as a 
candidate — for two Sabbaths in 1883. With great 
unanimity a call was extended to Dr. Sturgis, which 
he accepted. The salary offered was $2500, and addi- 
tional provision was made for the removal of his 
family. He commenced his labors as pastor in March, 
1884, and was installed 14th of May of the same year. 
Dr. Sturgis was born October 1, 1841, at Riverside, 
Kennebec Co., Maine, and fitted for college at Augusta 
High School ; graduated at Amherst College in 1864, 
and from Bangor Theological Seminary in 1868. In 
October of the same year he was ordained at Skow- 
hegan, Maine. Later he visited Europe and Western 
Asia, and after his return became pastor of a Presby- 
terian Church in Knoxville, Tenn., continuing such 
from 1876 till he removed to Xatick in 1884. He mar- 
ried at Knoxville Miss Charlotte C. Abbott, and they 
have five children. His honorary degree was given 
by the University of East Tennessee, at Knoxville. 
The church and congregation are increasing con- 
stantly under the pa.storate of Dr. Sturgis. January 
1, 188i), the church membership amounted to 580, of 
whom 40 had been added in 1888. Since the opening 
of the year 1889, 37 have been added, and the mem- 
bership is 617 now. Amount raised for benevolent 
purposes in the year 1888, ^8668.57. Recently $1 1 ,050 
were subscribed, during one day, for the extinguish- 
ment of the debt upon the church edifice. Practically 
the parish is free from debt. 

The superintendent of the Sabbath-school is Mr. 
George A. Swallow, and Messrs. Charles H. Jones and 
Melvin Brock are his assistants. Mrs. William P. 
Bigelow has charge of the intermediate department 
and Mrs, W. L. Coolidge of the primary. The school 
is very large, the weekly enumeration repeatedly 
showing Irom 600 to 660 present. 

Among the deacons in Natick have been Joseph 
Ephraim, an Indian, who bore this title as early as 
1734 and as late as 1754. He was an intelligent and 



trusted man. Ebenezer Felch must have been the 
associate of Deacon Ephraim for a number of years, 
and was a man of large ability and great worth. 
Micah Whitney was a deacon as early as 1761 and as 
late as 1770. Nathaniel Mann and Nathaniel Chick- 
ering were among the early deacons, and so was .lohn 
Jones, who died in 1802. William Bigelow, born in 
1749, was not only a deacon, but the "good Deacon 
Badger " of Mrs. Stowe's " Old Town Folks." The 
deacons of the Congregational Church, since it was 
established in the centre of the town, have been the 
following: Abel Perry and William Goodenow, who 
were elected at the first meeting after its organization, 
viz., March 13, 1802. They always sat — according to 
the custom of the times — in front of the audience, 
close to the pulpit, on communion occasions. Oliver 
Bacon, 1822, but died after one year's service; Samuel 
Fiske, 1828, served till 1844, when he united with the 
church at Saxoaville; John Travis, 1831, served till 
his death in 1869; Willard A. Wight, chosen in 1852, 
and his name is still borne upon the lisi of the deacons 
of this church. The same is true of John O. Wilson, 
chosen in 1852. John R. Adams, chosen in 1869, is 
still one of the deacons; William L. Coolidge, elected 
in 1869, served till 1878; George L. Bartlett was 
chosen January 3, 1878, and is still in office, and is 
treasurer of the pari^h ; E. H. Walcott was chosen 
January 1, 1880; Maik B. Babb was chosen January 
9, 1884 ; Gilbert W. Howe was chosen January 14, 
1886; Messrs. Bartlett, Babb, Howe and R. H. Ran- 
dall are regularly officiating deacons at the piesent 
time ; Frank M. Forbush is the parish clerk ; Deacon 
George L. Bartlett is the clerk of the churcli. 

The First Baptist Church.— By advice of friends 
of the Baptist cause, a Baptist meeting washeld in South 
Natick, in "Eliot Hall," February 13, 1848, and this 
wasthe beginning of the large and influential Baptist 
organization of the present day in Natick. In Octo- 
ber, 1848, Rev. W. H. Watson commenced serving as 
stated supply, and February 20, 1849, the Baptist 
Church was recognized, with a menibeship of twenty- 
five — eight jnales and seventeen females. Rev. Mr. 
Watson was now called to the pastorate. A legally- 
organized parish was formed March 19, 1849, named, 
at the time, " The South Natick Baptist Society," but 
subsequently changed to "The First Baptist Society 
of Natick." In 1875 this society was dissolved, the 
church having assumed all its work and having a 
legal corporate existence. In 1851, a change of locality 
having been deemed advisable, a lot was secured on 
the west side of South Main Street, in the Central 
Village, an 1 a church edifice built thereon, costing 
about $5000. This church was moved across the 
street in 1866 and placed where it now stands. In 
1874 a considerable addition was made to it, to ac- 
commodate an organ presented to the church by Mr. 
W. D. Parlin. And now (July, 1889), the congrega- 
tion having outgrown the church edifice, a large ad- 
dition is being made to its seating capacity, $10,00;) 



544 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



having been not only subscribed, bat .ictually raised 
for this purpose. 

Rev. W. H. Watson served the church four and 
one-half year-i, Rev. A. S. Lyon was pastor four years, 
Rev. W. H. Walker about two years, Rev. G. M. P. 
King about nine months, Rev. Addison Parker about 
three years, Rev. A. E. Reynolds from 1869 to 1883 ; 
Rev. F. P. Southerland was pastor from 1884 to De- 
cember, 188G, and he was succeeded by the present 
incumbent. Rev. .lonathan Bastow. 

Mr. Bastow was born in Bradford, Yoikshire, Eng., 
in 1835, and began life as a collier-boy. At the age 
of thirteen he learned to read in a Sabbath-school. 
His support having been secured by an acquaintance 
whom he met in England, he came to this country 
and fitted for college in the academy at Hamilton, 
New York. In 1861 he graduated from Madison 
University at Hamilton, studied theology one year, 
preached in England one year, and then entered the 
Theological Department of his alma mater, from 
which he graduated in 1864. Mr. Bastow was pastor 
or acting pastor at Brockville, Ont., Faribault, Minn., 
at Port Chester, N. ¥., and Mansfield, Ohio. Then, 
for twelve years, he supplied, from three to nine 
months each, the Baptist Churches at Washington 
Avenue, (Brooklyn, N. Y.), Jamaica Plains, Arlington, 
Brookline, Warren Avenue, (Boston), Sixteenth St., 
(New York), Williamsburg, N. Y., Hamilton, N. Y., 
and Indianapolis, la., receiving many commendations 
and large compensation. Then, after being pastor 
three and one-half years at Ogdensburg, N. Y., he 
became pastor at Natick, January, 1887, where he 
has been very successful — church membership, 331. 
The Baptist Sabbath-school began in 1848 with 21 
members. It numbers now 366. The largest num- 
ber ever present, June 30, 1889, was 848. Mr. Jamo 
M. Forbush is superintendent; Sumner P. Annis, 
assistant superintendent ; Mrs. F. C. Noyes, superin- 
tendent of primary department ; Mrs. E. B. Bastow, 
superintendent of Berean class ; Mrs. A. E. DeWitt 
secretary and treasurer. 

The deacons of this church have been John J. 
Perry and Isaac B. Clark, chosen in 1849 ; Jonathan 
Colburn and Elijah Edwards, chosen in 1863 ; Dex- 
ter B. Wingate and P. F. Woodbury, cliosen in 1878. 
The clerks have been John J. Perry, Jewett T. Wood- 
bury, Pliny F. Woodbury and D. B. Wingate. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church. — The first 
church of this denomination in this region appears to 
have been organized in Needham, near the bounda- 
ries of Natick and Weston, in 1792, and there a small 
meeting-house was erected in 1799. 

Some of the members of this church having re- 
moved to the central part of Natick, a nieeting-hou.se 
was erected liere in 1834. It stood upon the ground 
now occupied by the brick engine-house, and was 
dedicated July 4, 1834. In 1868 the town purchased 
the building, and the Methodist Society worshiped 
in Wituh's Hall f(jr about si.x years, or until the great 



fire in 1874. Meanwhile, their present church edifice 
had been so far completed that, in about six months 
after the fire, its vestries could be used as a place of 
worship. The spacious audience-room remained un- 
finished for some years. The edifice was dedicated 
after a spirited and successful effort had been made 
to remove the entire amount of debt which the build- 
ing and furnishing of the same had created. 

This church has been very fortunate in its minis- 
ters, especially during the last ten years. Drs. Dor- 
chester, Knowles and Gracey are all able men ; and 
so are Messrs. Davis and Toulmin. Dr. Gracey, the 
present pastor, was born in Philadelphia, 1835; Stud- 
ied theology in what is now Boston University; 
went into the army as a private; was made chaplain, 
and served three years. An active Temperance Re- 
publican, he represented for two years the Four- 
teenth Essex District in the General Court, and 
served with distinction. The church and congrega- 
tion are increasing. 

St. Paul's Episcopal Church. — The first reli- 
gious services in connection with the pariah of this 
church were held in Centre Hall, Natick, July 16, 
1871, and were conducted by Rev. J. B. Clarke, under 
the auspices of the Eastern District Missionary Asso- 
ciation. Fifteen persons were present. Later Messrs. 
A. T. Smith, George H. Gunning, George Williams, 
J. P. Dean and some others were particularly active 
in the movements which resulted in the organization 
of the church and society. In 1872-73 the house of 
worship was erected on Wilson Street, but services 
were not held in it till 187.5, and it was not conse- 
crated till December 13, 1877. Rev. S. F. Fisher was 
the first rector, and he was succeeded in August, 1878, 
by Rev. B. R. Giflbrd, who remained till 1881. Mr. 
Bigelow then became rector, but liis health failing he 
left after a few months' service. Rev. Frank S. Har- j 
raden succeeded Mr. Bigelow, and his ministry con- 
tinued for the space of seven years and four months, 
when he removed to Hanover, Mass. During most 
or all of this period he had charge of the Episcopal 
Church in Framingham, and was very laborious in 
his service. Rev. Mr. Baily is now the Rector. 
The communicants humberabout eighty, the Sabbath- 
scliool seventy-five, while forty-five families are con- 
nected with the parish. Charles Q. Tirrell, Esq., is 
the superintendent of the S ibbath-school. The war- 
dens and vestrymen are Messrs. Frank E. Cummings, 
Charles Q. Tirrell, Dr. George J. Townsend, John M. 
Fiske, Walter E. Rawson, James H. Gilligan, Edward 
Williams and Edward S. Ramsdell. 

The Roman Catholic Churches. — The house of 
worship which was sold by the Congregational Parish 
to the Universalist Society was, upon the disband- 
ment of the latter, in 1800, purchased by the Roman 
Catholic denomination, and by them greatly enlarged 
and improved. As it now is, the edifice has a very large 
seating capacity, but none too large for the numerous 
congregation with which it is very often crowded. 



NATICK. 



545- 



The history of this enterprise is here l>riefly given. 
The first services of whicli any definite date is pre- 
served were lield in South Naticlc during the spring 
of 1844. These were conducted by the late lamented 
George Foxeroft Haslcins, the founder of the Home 
of tlie "Angel Guardian," Vernon Street, Boston. 
He was a convert to Catholicity in 1843, and was, 
for many years, resident chaplain of the old Hou^ie of 
Eeformation in South Boston. In his ministrations 
to the few Catholics of Xatick he was succeeded by 
the Reverend Frs. Fitton, of East Boston, Gibson, 
Riordan, Doherty, Hamilton and Walsh, of Saxon- 
ville, the latterof whom has just completed his thirty- 
fourth year of service as Catholic rector of Xaticfe. 

Father Walsh studied his classics as well as divin- 
ity in St. John's Seminary, AVaterford, Ireland, but 
was ordained in Worcester, Mass., in 1853. 

Thirty-four years ago he had as his missionary 
field, Marlborough, Hudson, Hopkinton, Ashland, 
Assabet, Framingham, Milford, Xatick and South 
Natiek. Upon this field in 1S89 sixteen Catliolic 
clergymen are employed. 

In Xatick Mr. Walsh is aided in his ministerial 
work by Revs. John Aloysius Donnelly and Patrick 
Bowen Murphy, both of whom are graduates of the 
University of Leval, Quebec. Fr. Donnelly was born 
in Hingham, and graduated from the grammar-school 
in that place before entering Leval. Fr. Murphy 
passed his childhood and youth in Boston, and grad- 
uated from the Lincoln School, South Boston, under 
Master Clarke, and from the old English High-School, 
Bedford Street, Boston, under the late lamented 
Master Cumston. 

At South Xatick a spacious Catholic church edifice 
has been recently erected, and the large congregation 
there, it is understood, is served by the ministerial 
brethren residing in the centre of the town. 

The Unitarian Church, or Eliot Church. — 
This church is in South Xatick, and stands very 
nearly or exactly upon the spot where the first build- 
ing for school and religious purposes was erected by 
the Indians, under the superintendence of Rev. John 
Eliot, in 1651. The location is very pleasant, and 
this is undoubtedly the fifth meeting-house that has 
stood upon the same spot. The four of ancient date 
appear to have been erected severally in 1651, 1700, 
1721 and 1749, but the last-mentioned was not finished 
till 1767, and was standing (but for a number of years 
unused) as late as 1812. The reason for the brief ex- 
istence of the second and third of these meeting- 
houses may be found in the cheap and poor manner 
of their construction. 

The second house was built by John CoUer, Jr., 
and as he agreed to take his pay in " a nook of land,'' 
which was not granted to him till 1702, he possibly 
could not have afforded to build a more durable 
house. The third house was built, or partially built, 
by one .lebis, who was styled '' a regular cheat." 
" What Jebis promist to do in four months is not fin- 
35 



isht in four years." "He has plac'titjust as the ground 
was, instead of digging to the firme earth, as he ought 
to have done." So run the complaints and the peti- 
tions for help. 

The South Congregational Parish (now the First Uni- 
tarian) of N'atick was incorporated 5Iarch 1, 1828, with 
thirty corporators, only one of whom — Lindall Perry 
— was known to have been living fifty years later. 
The house of worship was erected in 1828, and ded- 
icated Xovember 20th of that year. Mr. James W. 
Thompson was ordained as pastor February 17, 
1830. and March 11th of the same year a church was 
gathered. The Lord's Supper was first administered 
to twenty -two communicants March 28, 1830. Mr. 
Thompson was pastor for two years, and was suc- 
ceeded by Rev. Edward Palmer, whose term of ser- 
vice was only ten months. February 25, 1835, Rev. 
Ira Henry Thomas Blanchard was installed pastor 
tor the term of five years, at the close of which 
period his precarious health prevented his re-en- 
gagement, and he died April 9, 1845. Early in 
1843 Rev. Thomas Brattle Gannett became pastor, 
and remained such till April 1, 1850. • From 1850 
to 1852 Rev. James Thurston was pastor. The 
ministry of Rev. X. O. Chaffee for one year and of 
Rev. Edward Stowe for two years followed, as did 
that of Rev. William G. Babcock for three years. 

Rev. Horatio Alger commenced his long pastorate 
in May, 1860, and was pastor until April, 1874, a 
period of fourteen years. Mr. Alger was closely iden- 
tified with all the educational interests of Xatick, 
faithfully serving the town as a member of the school 
committee and as one of the trustees of Jlorse Insti- 
tute for fifteen years. He was also the president of 
the Historical, X'^atural History and Library Society 
of South X'atick from the time of its organization, in 
1873, till his death, November 6, 1881. At the semi- 
centennial of the Unitarian Church of South Xatick, 
November 20, 1878, Mr. Alger delivered one of the 
two leading addresses, which was full of historical 
information of great value. 

Rev. Joseph P. Sheafe, Jr., was Mr. Alger's succes- 
sor in the ministry of this church, and was ordained 
September 30, 1874. Mr. Sheafe became the corre- 
sponding secretary of the Historical, Xatural History 
and Library Society in 1877, and prepared important 
papers for the " Field Days '' of that society in 1881- 
83. Mr. Sheafe was dismissed December, 1885, and 
was succeeded by Rev. George H. Badger, who was 
ordained December 22, 1886. Mr. Badger is a native 
of Charlestown, was born in 1859 ; a graduate of Wil- 
liams College, 1883, and studied theology in Andover 
and Cambridge. The church numbers about seventy ; 
the Sunday-school from seventy to one hundred, of 
which Mr. Eliot Perry is superintendent. The church 
edifice was renovated in 1887 and 1888. 

John Eliot Church, South Natick. — This 
church was organized in 1859, and Rev. E. E. Strong 
was its first pastor. He remained pastor until 1865. 



546 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Rev. George W. Sargent was installed pastor Sep- 
tember 27, 1865, and remained such for two years, 
when he removed to Racine, Wisconsin. Rev. B. F. 
Clarke now supplied for a few months, Rev. S. C. 
Strong for three years and Rev. Gorham D. Ab- 
bott for nine months. In 1873 Rev. Samuel D. Hos- 
mer became pastor and remained such for five years. 
Rev. Pearse Pinch succeeded, remaining three years. 
Rev. George AUchin, commissioned a missionary to 
Japan, then preached eight months. Rev. W. A. 
Lamb followed for two years. March, 1884, Rev. W. 
D. P. Bliss was ordained pastor, but was dismissed 
during the year following. Rev. John Colby, the 
present pastor, commenced his labors in December, 
1885. Mr. Colby was born in York, Maine ; fitting 
for college in Gilmanton Academy, New Hampshire, 
he graduated at Dartmouth College in 1852, and from 
Andover Theological Seminary in 1855. Mr. Colby 
was pastor in Hampton, New Hampshire, at South- 
borough, INIassachusetts, and for thirteen years at 
Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, before 'coming to South 
Natick. While pastor at Fitzwilliam he was elected a 
member of the New Hampshire Legislature and took 
a prominent part in its proceedings during its session 
in 1885. Mr. Colby has a wife and two daughters, 
viz.: Annie Lavinia, a graduate of Wellesley College 
in 1880, and Helen King. Deacon M. V. B. Bartlett 
is the superintendent of the Sabbath-school. This 
school numbers about one hundred. 

The Uxiversalist Church. — The First L'niver- 
salist Parish of Natick was organized September 20, 
1879. The pulpit was supplied by Rev. W. A. Start 
until March, 1880, when Rev. Albert Hammatt was 
settled, who continued as pastor till March, 1883, 
when Rev. W. N. Haywood was pastor for three 
years, or until April, 1880. Rev. Darius Cobb then 
supplied for a few months. Rev. W. H. Gould 
preached from November, 1887, until June, 1888, 
when he was settled as pastor and is such at the pres- 
ent time. 

The church was organized in 1882 with twenty- 
three members. The church edifice was erected 
in 1887 and first occupied December 18th of that 
year. The cost of the land and building was $8000. 



CHAPTER XL. 
NA TlCK—( Continued). 

EDUCATIONAL. 

Schi^oU—Lihrnriet — Morsp Institute — College and University Honors. 

The custom which prevailed in the settlement of 
most of the towns in New England of planting the 
school-house by the side of the meeting-house was 
not strictly adhered to in the case of Natick, for here 



the first school-house was the first meeting-house. 
This building, as already noticed, was erected by the 
Indians of the Natick Plantation, under the general 
superintendence of their guide and religious teacher, 
Rev. John Eliot, in the year 1651, and stood nearly 
or exactly upon the spot where now stands the Uni- 
tarian Church edifice in South Natick. This school- 
house, which was used for religious gatherings as 
well, was roughly built, but of suitable size, and in it 
assembled the first school ever taught in Natick. 
The pupils were all Indians and by no means all 
children, for not a few adult Indians of both sexes 
were glad to enjoy the advantages it aflbrded. The 
teacher was a young Indian by the name of Mone- 
quasan, who had been for some years under the in- 
struction of Mr. Eliot and perhaps of some others, in 
anticipation of the work to which he was now called. 
He was a bright and intelligent young man, but after 
a comparatively short service sickened and died. 

We have no positive information respecting the 
branches of study pursued in this Indian school, but 
only the rudiments of education were taught, as 
reading, spelling, writing, etc. It seems nearly cer- 
tain that the instruction given was largely in the In- 
dian language, for this was employed for many years 
in the religious services of the Sabbath and Mr. 
Eliot's translation of the Scriptures into it, at a later 
period, was for the common use of the Indians. 
Gradually, however, they acquired some knowledge of 
the English language and a few of them could write 
and compose in it, as well as, if not better than, the 
majority of the whites of their neighborhood. This 
school was suspended during King Philip's War 
for a considerable period, from 1675 onward ; and the 
progress of the Indians in the matter of education 
greatly hindered, so much so that in 1698, while there 
were 110 adult Indians belonging to the Plantation 
and 70 children under sixteen years of age, no school- 
master was employed, and but one child was found 
that could read. 

In 1679 the inhabitants of Sherborn exchanged 
with the Natick Indians four thousand acres of land, 
more or less, " giving 200 bushels of Indian graine to 
boot. There was also to be a lott of fifty acres sett 
out where the Commissioners of ye Colonies, Major 
Gookin and Mr. Eliot and Indian Rulers shall choose 
within that tract of land which Sherborn was to have 
of Natick, to be appropriated forever to the use of a 
free school for teaching the English and Indian chil- 
dren the English language and other sciences." This 
agreement was signed by Daniel Gookin and six 
other white men, and by Waban and four other In- 
dians, the latter making their marks.' 

No records have been found respecting the outcome 
of this arrangement, but, upon the face of it, it cer- 
tainly ]ias promising features. 



1 Quoted by the Historian Biglow, and credited by hini to tbe Sherborn 
Records. 



NATICK. 



547 



At what time this Indian school was discontinued 
it is impossible to ascertain. 

In 1731-32 Ebenezer Felch was paid six pounds 
"for keeping school in Natick," and in 1733 "four 
pounds" for a similar service. Where this school 
was kept we know not. There is a tradition that 5Ir. 
Felch instructed Indian children, but it is more prob- 
able that his ))upils were chietly, if not wholly, from 
the white families that were now settling in the town. 
Ebenezer (or Eben) Felch was among the ablest men 
of the early settlers. He seems to have been a dea- 
con of the church, a selectmau, a surveyor, and pro- 
prietors' clerk, as well as teacher, and lived, cer- 
tainly during the later years of his life, in the north 
part of the town, upon the spot where the dwelling of 
Mr. Oliver H. Felch now stands. 

Oct. 1, 1746, the year after Xatick "was erected 
into a Precinct or Parish," a vote was passed "not to 
have a school this year," but the next year the parish 
"Granted forty pounds, old tenor, to be laid out in a 
reading and writing school." In 1760, 1704 and 
1767 the parish granted £13 6s. 8rf. for the support 
of a school, but in 1762 refused to make a grant for 
this purpose, possibly because an earlier grant had 
not been expended. The grant in 1769 was "thirteen 
pounds lawful money"; in 1770, twenty pounds; in 
1771 and 1773, ten pounds. In 1780 £500 were 
granted ; but this was when the currency had depre- 
ciated greatly, so that in some parts of New England 
ninety pounds of it were worth only one pound in 
silver. In 1793 fifty pounds were granted, and in 
1799 $300. In 1798 the town chose " Eliakim Morrill, 
Capt. Abel Perry, Timothy Morse, Ethel Jennings 
and Moses Fisk School Committee, each to act in his 
own district." From 1800 to 1819 the yearly appro- 
priation was usually S600, but in 1846 it was raised 
to 8900. In 1804, under the 'article "To see if the 
town will choose a Committee to examine their School- 
Masters and Mistresses," and inspect the schools, the 
town voted in the affirmative, and chose the select- 
men a committee to examine and inspect accordingly. 
In those days, as well as later, the selectmen were 
often called upon to do what no others were willing 
to undertake gratuitously. In 1804 the town refused 
to uuike an appropriation "to purchase a library," 
but granted §200 to build a school-house in the North 
District, fourteen by eighteen feet in size. It was 
also voted "to set up a Singing-School," and a com- 
mittee of three was chosen to decide " as to the place 
or places of the said singing-school." 

In 180.5 there appears to have been five " squar- 
dians," or school districts, laid out or suggested, viz., 
the South, the Centre, the West, the North and the 
North-Brick. This old name for school districts — 
squadrons, squardrions, squardeons or squarn — we 
frequently find in the ancient records of many of the 
towns of New England. It was variously spelled in 
the same town, and doubtless as variously pro- 
nounced. 



March 16, 1807. the town "voted to choose a com- 
mittee to join with Mr. Sears (the minister) in exam- 
ining the School Masters and School Mistresses and 
inspecting the Schools." This committee consisted 
of Lieut. David Morse, Jonathan Bacon, Capt. David 
Bacon, Capt. William Stone and Ed. Hammon. 
This was the first instance of the town's recognizing 
its minister's duty to take the lead in superintending 
the schools. In 1812, there being no pastor of the 
church, the town chose for the School Committee 
Ezek'el Sawin for No. 1, William Perry, Jr., for No. 
2, David Perry for No. 3, Abel Drury for No. 4 and 
Levi Felch for No. 5, and " John Bacon, Jr., John At- 
kins, Esq., and Thomas Sawin a committee to exam- 
ine the Schools and their Instructors." 

In 1814 the town appointed a committee of three 
in each district to examine teachers and set up and 
visit their respective schools, and made Rev. Martin 
Moore chairman of each of the five committees. 

For a number of years later one person in each 
district was chosen annually as School Committee, 
but his duties were not defined by the town. Doubt- 
less these persons gave to the schools nearly all the 
supervision they had, but in 1822, in addition to the 
choice of what was later called the Prudential Com- 
mittee for each district, the town chose Calvin Shep- 
herd, Calvin Leland, William Stone and John Bacon 
a committee " to visit schools," while in 1830 Rev. 
Martin Moore, Rev. James W. Thompson, John 
Travis, Deacon John Angler and Joel Pierce were 
appointed " to superintend schools." 

In 1831 the town defined the duties of Prudential 
Committees thus : 1. To have their school-houses 
furnished with good locks and keys and to be care- 
fully closed during vacations. 2. To search out all 
authors of any damages to the school-houses and to 
report the same to the selectmen. And then the 
teachers were enjoined "carefully to note breaks, 
cuts, scratches or damages whatever," discover, if 
possible, the author or authors of the same and re- 
port to the Prudential Committees. 

And the selectmen were authorized to oiler a re- 
ward of fifty dollars for evidence to convict such cul- 
prits when brought to trial — moreover, the teachers 
were required to read these regulations at the com- 
mencement of their respective schools and on the 
first Monday of each month afterwards. 

In 1832 the several school districts, five in number, 
were established " by bounds and monuments," the 
town having previously appraised the school-houses 
and voted to support the same. The Sixth District was 
established before 1838. At that date Rev. Erasmus 
D. Moore, Rev. J. H. S. Blanchard and Nathan Rice 
constituted the Superintending School Committee. 
April 1, 1839, the School Committee made a detailed 
report to the town, the first of the kind found upon 
the records, and in that year they were paid for their 
services $35.50. The appropriation for schoo'.s was, in 
1846, increased to §900, and in 1849, to $1500. April 



548 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



5, 1852, the committee made their reiJOit printed in 
pamphlet form, and the town authorized the commit- 
tee to establish a High School according to law, and 
appropriated $1000 for its support. This appears to 
have been opened without any considerable delay, 
under the charge of Abner Rice, A.M., the pupils 
having previously passed a satisfactory examination 
in reading, writing, spelling, geography, arithmetic 
through fractions, and in the elements of English 
grammar. Before this time High Schools had been 
maintained in town, on personal responsibility, by 
John Angler, Othniel Dinsmore, Charles Forbush, 
Daniel Wight, Samuel Damon, Charles Dickson and 
John W. Bacon. ' 

The appropriations for schools increased so that in 
1855 they amounted in all to $4000, and in 1857 to 
$4500, $1500 being for the High School. 

In 1858 the town voted to divide the school money 
one-half by the number of the schools and the other 
half by the number of scholars. In 18.j9 one mem- 
ber of the School Committee was chosen for three 
years and one for one year. June 11, 1804, the town 
adopted stringent regulations regarding truant chil- 
dren and absentees from school, and the same were 
approved by the Supreme Court, at Cambridge, De- 
cember 12, 1865. Later school appropriations were 
as follows: In 1865, $1500 for High School, 
$4500 for district schools ; in 1868, $1600 for High 
School, 16000 for district schools ; in 1870, $1900 for 
High School, $7000 for district schools; in 1872. 
$12,000 in all; in 1876, $14,000; in 1881, $17,000; 
in 1882, $20,000; in 1888, $25,000. In 1876 Mrs. 
Laura S. Fay was chosen as a member of the School 
Committee and Mrs. Mary C. Reynolds was chosen 
in 1881. In 1889 the school appropriations amounted 
to $26,000, and at the same time the committee was 
increased by the addition of three members, accord- 
ing to the decision of the town in 1888. Misses Mary 
A. Jennings and Isabel G. Weston were chosen for 
three years, Mrs. Martha JI. Bigelow for two years 
and James McMauus for one year, Messrs. G. D. 
Tower and H. C. Jlulligan holding over. The com- 
mittee is therefore now composed of three lawyers, 
two of whom are graduates of Harvard University; 
Mrs. Bigelow, who has trained children in school and 
in her family ; Miss Weston who is a regularly edu- 
cated physician, and Miss Jennings, whose ability is 
well vouched for in this responsible position. Mr. 
Tower, a graduate of Union College and of Boston 
University Law School, has been for years chairman 
of the Superintending Committee. 

The last report of the School Committee contains 
matter of great importance. An evening school was 
opened in the High School house under the direct 
charge of Mr. Holt, the master of the High School, 
and was continued for twenty-eight evenings. Begin- 
ning with about one hundred pupils, it soon had two 

1 See Bjicon'a " History," page 129. 



hundred and fifty. The youngest pui)il was thirteen 
years of age and the oldest forty years. The com- 
mittee speak in verv high terms of Miss Sara A. Saw- 
yer, who had been re-appointed teacher of music for 
all the schools in the town. The High School, under 
the charge of Mr. Ira W. Holt, was reported as in a 
very satisfactory condition. The graduating class in 

1888 numbered twenty-seven, and in 1889 it numbered 
fifteen. At the graduating exercises of the class of 

1889 John F. Kenealy gave the Salutatory Address, 
Miss Jennie B. Jones was the Historian of the Class, 
Harold W. Loker recited the Class Poem, JIary E. 
Quinlan gave the Class Prophecies, while the Valedic- 
tory fell to the lot of Warren D. Valentine. The 
public has been informed that nearly all the teachers 
appointed in 1888 will be retained during the year 
succeeding. Mr. Holt and his assistants it is expected 
will still carry on the work in the High School, Mr. 
Nelson Freeman will remain master in the Centre 
School, with a general supervision of the ten other 
schools in the same building, while George A. Tyzzer 
will be the master at South Natick, as heretofore, 
with the supervision of the six other schools in that 
school-house. In Natick there are 39 schools, em- 
ploying 44 regular teachers and two special assistants. 
The teachers' wages, as reported March 1, 1889, 
amounted to $19,887.62, while all other expenses in- 
volved in conducting the schools (including the cost 
of a new school-house .'?4997.86) bring the sum total 
to .'B32,295.25 for the school years 1888-89, leaving, of 
appropriations unexpended, the sum of 68 cents. 

Masters of the High School and Assistant 
Instructors. — The list from the beginning in 1852 
is as follows : 

1852-60.— Abner Bice. Assistant, Harriet N. Tolman. 

1861-03.— J. M. Merrick, Jr. .\ssistant, Miss Tolman. 

1864. — Mr. Merricl(, witliout au assistant . 

1865. — No names are found in the school reports. 

1866-67.— Honier Rogers. Assistant, Jliss 1. L. Wight. 

1868-72.— Gideon D. Tower. Assistant, 1868, Miss C. C. Godding or 
Miss Mary C. C. Goddard, or both ; 180U-72, Miss Hattie C. Fairbanks, 
assistant. 

1873. — James F. Colby. Miss Fairbanks, assistant. 

1874-76. — George 51. Smith. .Assistant, Miss Fairbanks. 

1S77-81. — Frederic 0. Baston. Miss Fairbanks, assistant ; also after 
1878, Miss Elizabeth P. Bigelow, assistant; 18bl, .Miss Katharine Bates 
also assistant ; Mr. Baston was the first master in the new High School 
house, which was dedicated March, 187s. 

1882-85.— E . D. Russell. Assistants, Lilla O. Davidson, Jlarj- C. Eno ; 
1883, Miss Nellie F. Wilson, also assistant ; 1884, the assistants were 
Nellie F. Wilson, Lula A. Piukham, Nora L. Baldwin ; 1885, assistants, 
.^da G. Gardner, Lucy S. Pierce, Hattie E. Baldwin. 

1886-87.— Elmer A. Wentworth. .\ssistants, Hattie E. Boardman, 
Lucy S. Pierce, Fanny P. Owens. 

1888-8'J.— Ira \V. Holt. Assistants, Hattie E. Boardman, Mabel S. 
Clark, Julia A. Ellis. 

Of the above-mentioned High School masters, Mr. 
Tower has long been identified with the interests of 
Natick, as a lawyer with oflices in Boston and Natick, 
as the chairman of the School Committee for many 
years, and as an efficient member of the Board of 
Trustees of the Jlorse Institute. 

Mr. Baston became assistant cashier of the Natick 



NATICK. 



549 



National Bank some seven years sincu, l)ut is now the 
trusted treasurer of tlie Xaticlc Savings Hank. 

Mr. Holt, who i.s able and popular, remains master, 
with two of his valuable assistants. 

The masters of the Grammar Schools, Messrs. 
Freeman and Tyzzer, are teachers of experience and 
ability in their several important depiutments. 

"The Home School," of Natick, is an institution of 
more than ordinary importance. ]\Irs. Adelaide P. 
Potter is its proprietor, while Miss Nellie M. Wright, 
Miss Searle and Miss Gertrude Howe are teachers. 
The special design of the school is to fit young ladies 
for Wellesley College. Connected with it is a Pri- 
mary Department. Music, art and elocution are 
taught by teachers from Boston. The students num- 
ber about thirty. Special courses of study are pro- 
vided for. 

Libraries. — These must always be an important 
factor in the educational institutions of aiiy place, and 
in this respect few of the towns in the Commonwealth 
are more highly favored than Natick. Rarely has 
any town, or city even, two ably conducted and well 
appointed Free Public Libraries. 

Earlier Libraries. — A public circulating library was 
established in 1808, which appears to have contained, 
at the first, about 100 volumes. By means of a dona- 
tion by George Homer, of Boston, a library of stand- 
ard religious works was established in 1817, but what 
finally became of it is not known.' 

The Citizens' Library was established February 10, 
1847, starting with about 500 volumes. This was 
given to the town in 1857 and accepted by the same 
on these conditions : 

1. The town was to expend during the first year 
$300 fur its enlargement, and $100 each succeeding 
year, and 

2. Provide a room for it and pay the .salary of its 
librarian. It is said to have contained, at that time, 
432 volumes. A room was secured for it in the High 
School house for a time, when it was removed to 
Clark's Hall. W. F. Flagg was chosen librarian and 
his salary was ^Vlo per annum. In 18ii4 Mr. J. B. 
Fairbanks was librarian and received as compensation 
$100 per year. 

It appears that the town made an annual appropria- 
tion to increase its library, and in ISiKJ this was .^299. 
As time went on less probably was done for its en- 
largement because of the prospect that the Morse 
Institute would soon be established. 

Tlie Morse Instilide. — Miss Mary Ann Morse was the 
only daughter of Mr. Reuel Morse and Mary (Parker), 
his wife, and was born June K!, 1825. She had two 
brother?, who died before her, and their birth-place 
was on East Central Street, where the Institute build- 
ing now stands. The brick house which was her 
home and constituted a part of her estate was re- 
moved and set on Clarendon Street, and is now occu- 



1 See Bacon's " History," page 103. 



pied by Dr. Sylvester. Miss Morse died June 30, 
1802, having passed some of the later years of her 
life in the family of Dr. Ira Russell, then residing in 
Winchendon, but formerly a physician in Natick. 
Miss Morse left her entire estate to found a library in 
Natick for the use of all its inhabitants. Five trustees 
were to be appointed by the town, if the bequest 
should be accepted, to serve for five years, and this 
Board of Trust were to execute the will. When the 
proposal came before the town at the meeting in 
March, 1863, a committee was appointed, composed 
of John W. Bacon, Elijah Perry and John O. Wilson, 
to take legal advice and recommend to the town a 
suitable course of action regarding the whole matter. 
This committee reported April (>, 1863, that the will 
was in a legal form substantially, that the bequest 
was valuable and that it should be accepted by the 
town. 

This was done and the Board of Trust was provided 
for by the apiiointment of Messrs. Willard Drury, 
John W. Bacon, Horatio Alger, John O. Wilson and 
Elisha P. Hollis. March 7, 1864, the trustees re- 
ported to the town that they had organized and had 
requested one of their number, Mr. Willard Drury, to 
settle the estate as administrator under the will, and 
further that the condition of the estate was such that 
it could not at once be applied to the founding of a 
public library. Four weeks later, viz., April 4, 1864, 
the town voted not to accept of the bequest of Mary 
Ann Morse, and appointed, to take such action as 
might relieve the town of all responsibility in the 
matter, a committee composed of Messrs. John W. 
Bacon, Nathaniel Clark and George L. Sawin. The 
vote upon declining to receive the bequest stood 253 
to 152. The records do not state the reasons for this 
action, but from later reports and proceedings it 
would appear that many doubted the validity of the 
will, especially as a suit had been brought against the 
trustees by George W. Pierce, the guardian of Charles 
R. Morse, a minor. Later the town voted, 117 to 30, 
to request the trustees to resign their trust. But in- 
stead of doing this they appear to have taken legal 
measures for ascertaining their rights and the rights 
of the town in the matter, for March 5, 186G, they re- 
ported to the town that the equity suit brought by 
them for the establishment of the trust in their hands 
as a public charity had been decided in their favor 
by the Supreme Judicial Court of the Commonwealth, 
and that all the suits against the estate of Mary Ann 
Morse had been settled and abandoned — that of George 
W. Pierce, guanlian, because the note on which it 
was brought was plainly a forgery. This report was 
accepted, and the trustees had now full liberty to go 
forward in the execution of their trust. This is said 
to have been the first decision of the highest court of 
the State, sustaining the validity of a bequest for es- 
tablishing a library for all the people of a town as a 
public charity, that could not be allowed to become 
null because of any neglect on the part of those 



550 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



charged with the trust. At that time the estate was 
ajipraised at not far from S<17,000, with considerable 
debt incumbrance. In 1872 the trustees had about 
$45,000 at their disposal, besides the valuable lot of 
land upon whicli a library building ^ould be erected. 

At the annual meeting March 4, 1867, the trustees 
of the Morse Institute reported that the administrator, 
with the will (of Mary Ann Morse) annexed, had made 
a final settlement of his accounts and turned over the 
estate into the hands of the trustees; that they were 
holding the same and applying the rents, etc., to the 
payment of existing debts, which, on the 1st day of April 
next, they expected to so far liquidate that only an 
incumbrance of about $750 would remain ; that there 
were two notes, one for one hundred dollars payable 
to John Kimball, and another for about $200, payable 
to Mr. Eaton, of Boston, with some interest, which 
they (the trustees) believed to be justly due, but not 
legally so because the holders did not commence suits 
for recovery within the specified time ; and they 
asked the town to authorize them to pay these notes, 
upon receiving proper indemnity from personal lia- 
bility. The town voted to accept this report and to 
authorize the payment of these notes, under the con- 
ditions named above. 

March 2, 1868, the Morse Institute trustees reported 
that they had paid all the claims upon the estate, ex- 
cept the two notes mentioned above, and the claim of 
Stephen Hayes for $20, and that, excluding the lot of 
land, the estate was then worth $25,000. 

March 7, 1870, the trustees reported that the estate 
of Miss Mary Ann Morse in their hands was worth 
$36,000, exclusive of the lot for building, and that 
they expected to remove the brick house and make 
contracts for the erection of the library building be- 
fore the close of the year. A year later the trustees 
reported that they had removed the brick house and 
were procuring plans, etc., for the library building, 
that the estate w:»s now worth $38,000, and that as the 
will of Miss Morse provided that two-thirds of the 
same might be used in the erection of the building, 
they should have funds sufficient to provide an ele- 
gant and well-furnished structure. Also to have the 
property relieved from taxation that they had applied 
to the Legislature for an act of incorporation. 

In 1872 the trustees reported that the securities in 
their possession were worth 840,000, and that they 
should proceed to erect the Morse Institute building 
at once. 

In 1873 they reported that the Institute building 
would doubtless be completed by June 1st. They were 
re-elected as trustees the second time. 

At the annual meeting of the town, 1874, the trus- 
tees re))orted tiiat the Institute building had been 
completed in July, 1873, and that the town library, 
by a vote of the town, had been transferred to it 
(3154 volumes), and that they had purchased with the 
funds of the Institute 2283 volumes. These, with the 
donations that had been received from Vice-President 



Henry Wilson, made the whole number of volumes 
7311. They reported moreover, that on Christmas 
day, 1873, the building was dedicated, and thrown 
open to public inspection, and that on January 1, 
1874, it was opened for public use. Also that they 
had expended upon the building ($27,000), and had 
in their hands about $11,000, $9000 of which would 
be devoted to the purchase of books, and $2000 would 
constitute a reserve fund. 

The town accepted the report, with the exception 
of one recommendation of minor importance, and ap- 
propriated for the support of the Institute $300, and 
what might arise from the taxation of dogs. From 
time to time the town appropriation has been in- 
creased until it has reached the sum of $800, with 
the annual addition of the amount raised by the tax- 
ation of dogs, which, though variable, is always nearly 
or quite as large as the regular appropriation. 

The Morse Institute building, standing on a spacious 
lot at the corner of East Central and Washington 
Streets, is a very convenient and imposing structure, 
being built of pressed brick with trimmings of fine 
New Hampshire granite. It is two stories high, with 
a French roof, crowned with turrets. In the base- 
ment is the usual steam heating apparatus. On the 
lower floor there are a large packing-room, the jani- 
tor's room and reading-rooms furnished with files of 
newspapers and periodicals. Upon the second floor 
the library proper is found, with the reference library 
in a separate but adjoining room. Connected with 
these is a large and very pleasant room, upon the 
tables of which the more valuable monthly and quar- 
terly periodicals of the day constantly attract readers. 
The library is now open to the public every day of 
the week except Sunday, from 10 to 12 a.m., from 2 to 
5 P.M., and on Monday, Wednesday and Friday even- 
ings, from seven to nine o'clock. 

On the same floor is the spacious and very conven- 
ient room for delivery. The library is constantly 
growing through gifts and annual purchases. During 
the year 1888-89 it increased by 413 bound volumes, 
and contained at the date of the last report March, 
1889, 11,735 volumes in the circulating department 
and 659 volumes in the reference department. The 
total number of bound volumes enumerated in the 
accession catalogue is 12,394. Total number of bound 
public documents is 2778, making a grand total of 
15,172 bound volumes. The total circulation of books 
for 1888-89 was 26,094, an increase over the same of 
the preceding year of 5080 volumes. 

The trustees, with Deacon John O. Wilson as 
chairman (who has been a trustee from the begin- 
ning), watch constantly over every interest of the 
Institute. The janitor is Mr. R. T. Nash. The list 
of the librarians and their assistants is as follows : 

1874. — Librarian, Miss K. V. Lovejoy ; assisaut, Minnie M. Mann. 

1875-83. — Librarian, Rev. Daniel Wight ; assistant at firi^t, Miss Min- 
nie M. Maun ; later assistants, Miss Katharine K. W'ood, Miss Mira R. 
Partridge, Miss Carrie L. Morse, Miss Nellie L. Fox. 



NATICK. 



551 



1884-85.— Amos P. Cheuey, with Misses Wood and Partridge as as- 
Eiatauts. 

1SS0-S8.— Miss Katharine K. Wood, with Misses Fox and Partridge, 
assistants, 

1888-S9.— Miss Nellie L. Eox, librarian, and Miss Mira K. Partridge, 
assistant. 

The library is conducted efficiently. 
Bacon Free Library, South Xatick. — Oliver Bacon, 
Esq., of Xatick, died April 3, ISt!.?, at the age of 
eighty-one and a half years. By his will, after giv- 
ing certain legacies to his family connections, he 
committed to five persons, in trust, " all the rest and 
residue " of his estate, both real and personal, for the 
founding of a library. These trustees were directed 
to erect in South Xatick, upon a lot of land given for 
the purpose, a fire-proof building, costing not more 
than §15,000, to be called The Bacon Free Library. 
The building was to be constructed in such a manner 
as to accommodate a large library and to furnish 
suitable rooms for the use of the " Historical, Xatural 
History and Library Society of South Xatick," while 
provision was made for the purchase, increase, main- 
tenance and care of the library. But the will of Mr. 
Bacon having been made seven years before his 
death, two only of the trustees named in it were liv- 
ing in 1878; and one of these, being in Europe, de- 
clined the trust, so that a full board of trustees could 
not be organized till 1879. During the eighteen 
months following the building was erected. The 
ground plan is in the form of a Greek cross, and it is 
built of brick and stone, the latter elaborately and 
tastefully laid, so that the whole structure is highly 
ornamental. The library proper is entered directly 
from the main street of the village, while the rooms 
designed for the collections of the society named 
above are under and above the library, though all 
above ground, the building standing upon land slop- 
ing backward to the east. The collections alluded to 
are arranged in glazed hard-wood cabinets. The 
library contained, in 1879, 925 volumes, with some 
very ancient and valuable pamphlets. In 1884, when 
the library had been open nearly four years, it had 
increased to 3738 volumes, 939 of which belonged to 
the Historical, Xatural History and Library Society 
named above. During the year 1884 426 volumes 
were added. A reading-table connected with the 
library has been generously supplied with newspa- 
pers and the most valuable of the periodicals of 
the day. In 1884 the librarian was H. L. Morse. 

This library is constantly receiving accessions. 
Mrs. Adelaide Williams is librarian, and the libra- 
ry is open Mondays and Thursdays from 2 to 5.30 
o'clock P.M. Wednesdays and Saturdays, 2 to 
6.30, and from 7 to 8.30 o'clock p.m. Everything 
about it indicates care and general prosperity. 

The Historical Xatural History and Library Society 
of South yatic/:. — It was both natural and proper that 
an active interest in historical matters, so far as Xat- 
ick is concerned, should early be developed and take 
form in South Xatick, for this part of the township 



is pre-eminently historic ground. Here Rev. .John 
Eliot did what no other man of his age accomplished, 
in civilizing and Christianizing the Massachusetts 
Indians; and here are nearly all the localities that 
Mrs. Stowe has immortalized in her "Oldtown 
Folks.'' In 1870, January 2i;th, a few gentlemen met 
at the house of Rev. Horatio Alger for consultation, 
among whom were Messrs. Oliver Bacon, Elijah Per- 
ry, Josiah F. Leach, Austin Bacon, William Ed- 
wards, Joseph Dowe and Amos P. Cheney. Other 
meetings followed, and the result was the organiza- 
tion of the " Historical and Xatural History Society of 
South Xatick and Vicinity," with Rev. Horatio Al- 
ger as president ; Rev. Gorham Abbot, LL.D., as 
vice-president, Joseph Dowe, recording secretary ; 
Rev. Stephen C. Strong, secretary, and Mr. William 
Edwards as treasurer, with all other necessary offi- 
cers. The last-mentioned, Mr. Edwards, was made 
Xatural History Curator. 

Collections of relics and specimens illustrative of 
natural history were now made and placed in the 
chambers over the store of the curator, and a course 
of nine lectures was given by eminent men upon his- 
torical and philosophical subjects. Among the relics 
collected by the society were the sounding-board of 
the old church, under which Rev. Oliver Peabody 
preached for many years to the Indians, the bridal 
robe and slippers worn by the bride of Rev, Mr. Bad- 
ger, Mr. Peabody's successor, and some of the pottery 
work of the Xatick Indians. But all these, with val- 
uable collections of birds and insects, representing 
foreign lands as well as our own, were reduced to 
ashes in a disastrous fire on the morning of March 2, 
1872, when the old tavern, "the Eliot House," and 
nearly the entire business portion of the village be- 
came a total loss. But, nothing daunted, the society 
kept on its course, made new collections as rapidly 
as possible, listened to other lectures, and, adopting a 
new name in part, was incorporated, April 26, 1873, 
as the " Historical, Xatural History and Library So- 
ciety of South Xatick." An appropriate seal was 
soon procured, which represents Mr. Eliot presenting 
the Bible to a group of Indians beneath the branches 
of the ancient Eliot Oak. In the years following 
the society prospered and increased its collections 
greatly, while its library became more and more valu- 
able. The society occupied its new rooms in the Bacon 
Free Library building early in December, 1880, 
and the work of transferring and arranging its col- 
lections occupied the time of the curator for several 
weeks. 

A very interesting and important part of the work 
of this society has been accomplished through the 
observance of 

Annual Field Days. — 1881, May 2d, was such a day, 
when about fifty persons assembled near the grave of 
the Indian preacher, Daniel Takawambait, and vis- 
ited in turn the site of Deacon Badger's (Deacon Wil- 
liam Bigelow's) bourse, and other well known local- 



552 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



ities. Mr. Elijah Perry prepared a very interesting 
account of a number of the farms of the region vis- 
ited on this occasion. May 1, 1882, was another 
field day. The ancient Indian burying-ground which 
was first visited was minutely defined by Rev. J. F. 
Sheafe, Jr. (See " burying-grounds" in this histori- 
cal sketch.) The same gentleman described "The 
Old Meeting-houses." A history of " The Old Elia- 
kim Morrill Tavern " was given by S. B. Noyes, of 
Canton. " Merchants' Block " was described by Mr. 
William Edwards. Mr. Amos P. Cheney gave a his- 
tory of " The Ebenezer Newel House." Samuel Law- 
ton's home (the Sam Lawson of "Old Town Folks"), 
was described by Mr. Elijah Perry, as was " The Car- 
ver House and Family," by Mrs. Mary P. Richards. 
Other individuals described other places of note, 
among whom was Mr. Horace Mann, of Natick, who 
has made a study of the ancient history of this town 
for years, and doubtless is more familiar with it than 
any other person. 

The third field day, Jlay 1, 1883, was, if possible, 
the most interesting of all. Dr. G. J. Townsend, the 
president of the society after the death of the vener- 
able Mr. Alger, presided, and a large delegation from 
the various historical societies of New England was 
present. Rev. C. A. Staples, of Lexington, and Rev. 
George E. Ellis, D.D., made elaborate addresses. 
Seth Davis, Esq., of Newton, ninety-six years old, 
also made appropriate remarks. Places of great his- 
toric interest were visited, and papers were read by 
Edwin C. Morse, Esq., Mr. Horace Mann, Rev. J. P. 
Sheafe, Jr., Rev. Samuel D. Hosraer, Mr. Herbert L. 
Morse, 3Ir. Amos P. Cheney and Mr. Samuel B. 
Noyes. 

" Wellesley, the Country Seat of H H. Hunnewell, 
Esq.," is the title of a very interesting paper prepared 
by the president of the society. Dr. G. J. Townsend. 
But there is no space for an outline even of these care- 
fully prepared and instructive papers. 

In its bearing upon the culture of any people the 
value of a day spent in this manner can hardly be 
overestimated. 

The museum of this society is constantly receiving 
valuable accessions, one of the most recent being a 
set of table-knives and forks in a case, once the prop- 
erty of Thomas Hutchinson, Governor of Massachu- 
setts in 1769, presented by Mrs. \V. P. Green, of Sher- 
born. One of the most active and efficient members 
of this society is Mr. Amory L. Babcock, of Sherborn, 
who was appointed curator in 1874. The preparation 
and arrangement of the numerous articles in the 
museum are due to the patient and long-continufed 
work of ilr. William Edwards and Jlr. A. L. Babcock. 
The library of this society has now about 1000 
volumes. The librarian is Mr. Eliot Perry. 

Probably but few of the people of the town, much less 



of the adjoining towns, have any correct impressions 
respecting the variety and value of what may be seen 
in the museum of this society in South Natick. Mr. 
William Edwards, Professor of Botany in Wellesley 
College, a life-long student of nature, has been tireless 
in adding to the collections. There are birds gathered 
from South America, stuft'ed animals of various kinds, 
minerals, shells, stone implements, and relics taken 
from Indian graves, as their old burying-yard has 
been dug over in the progress of modern improve- 
ments. 

UiiirersUt/ and College Grfi<Jmtt€» and Mtrmbt^ra.— Oliver Peabudy (Har- 
vard Cniversit.y 174.")), NaUianiel Buttelle (II. V. 17C6), Elilirami Dniry 
(H. U. 1770), William Biglow (H. U . 17H4 ; see biograpliical), Robert 
Peteshal Farris (H. U. 1815), John Angier (H. U. 1821), Calvin E. 
Stowo (Bowdoin College 1824 ; see biographical), Cliarles Augier (H. U. 
1827), Joseph Augier (H. n. 1829), Amos Perry (U. V. 1837), Daniel 
Wight (H. U. 1837 ; see biographical), Jonathan F. Moore (.\niherst 
College 1840), Alexander W. Thayer (H. U. 1843), John \V, Bacon (H. 
U. 1843 ; see biograiiliical), Joseph W. Wilson (Yale University 18.54), 
Alfred Stedman Hartwell (H. U. 1858), James McManus (H. l'. 1871), 
Henry Thayer (H. U., Medical Dept., 1840), Louis E. Partridge (H. U., 
Jled. Dept., 1S50), Albert H. Bryant (H. U., Med. Dept., 1800), .Augus- 
tus E. Dyer (II. U., Jledical Dept., 1805), Gustavus \. Greenwood (II. T., 
Wed. Dept., 1805), John Burte (H. I'., Med. Dept., 1870), George 
Lane Sawiu (H. U., Law Dept., 1800), Albert E. Ware (H. U., Den- 
tal Dept.), 1.575 ; Frank E. McCutchins (II. V., Dental Dept., 1870), Lewis 
JI. Norton (Ma.ssachusett3 Institute of Technology ; .Assistant in Chem- 
istry there two years ; a member of Berlin and Godinger Ifniversities, 
Germany, two and a half years ; received from the latter degree of Doc- 
tor of Philosophy on examination ; is now Professor of Organic and In- 
dustrial Chemistry in Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Horace 
B. Gale (graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1883 ; is 
Professor of Dynamic Engineering, Washington University, St. Louie, 
Missouri). 

The following are recent graduates or are now 
members of Harvard University ; 

1878, Edwin Wilson Morse; 1879, Charles William Bacon ; 1879, 
Henry Coolidge Mulligan ; 18S0, Nat. Maynard Brigham ; 1881, William 
Henry Coolidge ; 1882, Franklin Arthur Daliin ; 1883, Louis Arthur 
Coolidge ; 1884, George William Sawin ; 1885, Charles Bertie Gleason ; 
1880, Irving Wetherbee Fay ; 1887, Herman Timothy Coolidge (died 
September 3U, 1889) ; 1888, Clarence Willard Gleason-, 1889, William 
Iteed Bigelow ; 1890, Harry Fletcher Brown ; 1890, Charles Nutt ; 1890, 
Samuel Foster Swinburne ; 1892, George Alexander Easton ; 1892, Rob- 
ert Winch Harwood ; Leander Coolidge entered 1889. Arthur H. Wilde . 
graduated from Boston University in 1887. Wilson L. Fairbanks (now 
of the Springfield Jfcjn.Winin) graduated at Tufts College 1887. He is 
assistant local editor of the Springfield ni-imbliraii. George William 
Sawin, graduating at Harvard in 1884, has been a teacher of mathemat- 
ics in tliat institution since 1886. Gayle Forbush entered Institute of 
Technology 1888. ' 

Gradmltt from WdksU-ii Coilejf.— 1879, Ella M. Drury ; 1884, Julia 
A. Ellis ; 1884, Nellie M. Wright ; 1884, Florence Bigelow ; 1880, Nellie 
F. Tilton ; 1887, Edith A. True. 

Piesciil .Vciiideis.— Katharine F. Gleason, 1891 ; Ida E. Woods, 1893 ; 
Gertrude Bigelow, 1803. 

.S;ic..iii( Slntl'iUa ill Welleahij CMege.—lilTe. Liverus Dorchester (Miss 
Nellie Hardy), 1881-82 ; Mrs. Homer Fiske (Miss Alice Bird), 1881-82 ; 
Mrs. Henry C. Mulligan (Miss Minna Bawson), 1881-82 ; Mrs. David 
W. Farquhar (Miss Grace T. Peloubet), 1884-80 ; Mrs. Harry True (Miss 
Mabel Sweetland) ; Mrs Lester M. Bartlett (Miss Nettie Spooner) ; Miss 
JIary Noyes, 1887-88; Miss Etta Shattuck, 1887-88; Miss Mae E. 
Felch, 1887-89 ; Jliss Nellie F. Wilson , 1887-89 ; entered 1889 as a spe- 
cial student, 5Iiss Helen Grace Walcott. 

Mary .Mice Peloubet (Mrs. Lewis M. Norton) graduated at Smith Col- 
lege 1883. Annie L. Colby, of South NaticU, Wellesley College 1880. 



-NATICK. 



553 



CHAPTER XLI. 

XA TICK— (Continued). 

MISCELLAXEOUS. 

Popidalion — Wuler Depaytmcnt — Fire Ijepareiiu-nt—Nutirk Gm-Light Com- 
pniiy — Xalkk Electric Ooiupauy — Xatick XatioHat Banfi — Xatick Five 
Cet>U Siivinij Bank-^Heiirif }yilxoii Co-operative Batik — Post-OJiecs — 
Manii/afttirers — Sotitti X<tti<:h Biuinese — (Setttetertee — Lnirt/erf, — Pliyeiciam 
— Kypriss Companies — On/, Wuoil, Etc. — Tlie Press — BiograpJiiciit. 

Population. — That of the Indian jjlantation of 
Natick at different periods lias already been given. 
It was probably the largest just before the beginning 
of King Philip's War, 1675. The first census was 
ordered by the British Government in 1764. At that 
time Xatick contained 185 Indians, 2-4 negroes and 
mulattoes, 450 whites, total 659, of whom three were 
slaves; 1776, 535; 1800, 694; 1810, 760; 1820, 849; 
1S30, 890; 1835, about 1000; 1840, 1285; 1850, 2816 ; 
1855, 4138 ; 1860, 5515 ; 1865 (after the war), 5220 ; 
1870, 6404; 1875, 7419; 1880, 8565; 1885, 8460. At 
the present time, January 1, 1890, supposed to be 
about 10,(jOi». 

Water Department. — In addition to notices of 
this already given, we add from superintendent's re- 
port, March 1, 1889, the following: Number of ser- 
vices in use, 1349 ; tola! cost on construction account, 
$160,042.69 ; total cost of pumping station and 
pumps, •'*45,856. 88 ; cost of reservoir, ^^17, 554.81 ; ser- 
vice pipe, net, 810,480.22 ; total cost of water works, 
s:232,934,60 ; collected 1888-89 for water rates, fines, 
etc. (12 months), .*19, 173.40. J. W. Morse is super- 
intendent. 

Fire Department. — Already noticed in part. 
From report March 1, 1889, it appears that one of the 
two steamers is considerably worn, and the hose-car- 
riages also. The tire alarm system has been extended 
four additional miles and six new boxes added, so 
that now there are nine boxes and eleven miles of 
wire. During the last twelve months the alarms of 
fire were twenty-eight. Insurance on buildings and 
contents injured, 5^33,2011. Amount of insurance paid, 
$14,757.(12. Loss where there w.is no insurance, S1715. 
Whole amount expended during the year, §5227.85. 

Natick Gas-Light Compaxy. — Riley Pebbles, 
president ; Edward Clark, treasurer, who, with Har- 
rison Harwood, Leonard Winch and John O. Wilson 
are directors. Forty stockholders, all in Massachu- 
setts. Stock, .*20,000 ; dividends, eight per cent. ; as- 
sessors' valuation, S12,2o0; assets, $41,874.66; liabili- 
ties, 829,500. Giis made in 1888, 3,711,900 feet; great- 
est daily output, 21,900 feet; least, 3000 feet. Coal 
used annually, 379 tons; candle-power, 17.4. Super- 
intendeat, G. F. Macmunn. 

Natii K Electric Company, organized 1886; 
capital, $14,800 ; stockholders, seven ; system, Thom- 
son-Houston ; use 425 tons of coal ; length of wires, 
113,500 feet; 307 poles; overhead wires, 26,400 feet; 
thirty-six public lamps (arc), burn till 121 o'clock. 



each costing 33J cents per night, or SS per month ; 
commercial incandescent lights, 450, cost $1 per 
month. Assets, $35,493.73; liabilities, $34,226.23. 
President, John O. Wilson ; superintendent, Henry 
True ; treasurer, Francis Bigelow. 

Banks. — Xaficl- Nutioiidl Bank. — The charter of 
this bank was granted May 14, 1873, and it com- 
menced business July 31, 1873, in the brick block 
owned by Nathaniel Clark, with a capital of $100,000. 
The first directors were Leonard Winch, John B. 
Walcott, Nathaniel Clark. Harrison Harwood, Jr., 
Lewis Wight and George Clark. Harrison Harwood, 
Sr., and Richard Hayes were directors for a number 
of years. The directors at the present time are Har- 
rison Harwood, Riley Pebbles, Leonard Winch. Ed- 
ward Clark, O. A. Felch and Frank H. Hayes. Leon- 
ard Winch has been president from the beginning, 
and has been identified with the business interests of 
Natick as merchant, real estate owner and banker for 
nearly fifty years. The first cashier was George S. 
Trowbridge, who held this position till his death, in 
September, 1886. October 1, 1886, Jlr. S. W. Holmes 
was elected cashier, and is such now, December, 1889. 
Mr. Holmes had previously been clerk, book-keeper 
and teller of the National Bank of Orange, Mass., en- 
tering it in 1881. When he was twenty-one years 
old he became cashier of the Natick Bank, being at 
that time the youngest cashier in Ma.ssaohusetts. Mr. 
F. O. Baston was assistant cashier from September, 
1886, until May, 1889, when he resigned to become 
the treasurer of the Natick Five-Cents Savings Bank. 
Mr. Frank O. Brown and Mr. Fred. B. Washburn, 
both Natick young men, and educated in Natick 
High School, are, respectively, teller and clerk, and 
they, like the senior officers of the bank, have deserv- 
edly the confidence of the community. 

After the great Natick fire in 1874 the bank had 
temporary quarters in the Harwood Block, but re- 
turned to its pleasant and commodious rooms on the 
second floor of Clark's new block, corner of Main and 
Summer Streets, as soon as the present block was 
completed. Fifty-eight of the ninety-two stockhold- 
ers reside in Natick and these hold 730 of the 1000 
shares. The first dividend was paid October 1, 1874, 
and ever since the bank has paid eight per cent., free 
from tax, annually, with the excepfion of one year, 
when it paid seven per cent. The total amount paid 
in dividends has been $114,000. In 1874 the num- 
ber of open accounts kept with the bank was 110, and 
the deposits $60,000, while January 1, 1889, the 
former were 350 and the deposits $240,000. The sur- 
plus and undivided profits of the bank amount to 
$30,000. The policy of the bank, from the beginning 
has been to do a safe, conservative business, while 
fostering all the interests and meeting all the wants 
of the town as far as consistent with safety ; and the 
same principle has been adopted with regard to the 
public generally. 

Natick Five-Cents Savings Bank. — The charter of 



554 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



this bank was granted in April, 1859. The corpora- 
tors were Edward Walcott, Nathaniel Clark, Horace 
B. Morse, Willard C. Childs, Franklin Hanchett, 
Leonard Winch and William Edwards, with all the 
powers and privileges and subject to all the duties, 
liabilities and restrictions common in such cases. 
Officers of the bank were elected August 23, 1859, as 
follows : President, John Kimball ; Vice-Presidents, 
Leonard Winch and .Tohn J. Perry ; Trustees, Wil- 
lard Drury, John W. Bacon, John O. Wilson, Dex- 
ter Washburn, J. B. Walcott, James M. Bent, James 
Bullard, George Jennings, G. W. Pierce ; Investing 
Committee, B. F. Ham, Henry Coggin, John Travis, 
William Edwards and Edward Washburn. Nathan- 
iel Clark was chosen treasurer September 2, 1859, and 
held that office till May, 1872, when his successor, 
James Whitney, was chosen. Mr. Whitney resigned 
May 1, 1889, by reason of impaired health, when Mr. 
Frederick O. Baston, lately assistant cashier of Na- 
tiik National B.ank, became treasurer. This savings 
bank has steadily increased in financial strength as 
well as popularity, its total assets amounting to more 
than a million dollars. The deposits, representing the 
accumulated savings of a great number of families, 
attest the general thrift and economic habits of the 
Natick people. 

The present officers are : President, John O. Wil- 
son ; Vice-Presidents, Leonard Winch, John L. 
Woodman; Trustees, John O. Wilson, E. P. Hollis. 
J. L. Woodman, Leonard Winch, Riley Pebbles, Ed- 
ward Clark, F. E. Cummings, G. W. Howe, Francis 
Bigelow, William Nutt, O. A. Felch, James M. For- 
bush, F. M. Boardman, F. H. Hayes ; Investing Com- 
mittee, Leonard Winch, J. L. Woodman, William 
Nutt, Francis Bigelow, F. H. Hayes and Frederick 
O. Baston. 

Henry Wilson Co-Operative Bank was established in 
1886, with J. R. Adams, president; E. H.Wilson, 
vice-president ; Dr. C. W. Smith, secretary ; H. H. 
Whitney, treasurer, and a full board of directors. M. 
T. Jones later became secretary. The bank has 
$53,000 assets and pays six and one-half per cent, 
interest to about 500 members. The officers now are : 
President, J. R. Adams ; Vice-President, G. H. 
Ames ; Secretarv, M. T. Jones ; Assistant Secretary, 

A. P. Cheney; Treasurer, H. H. Whitney, with fif- 
teen directors. 

Post-Office.s.' — yatick office was established Jan- 
uary 27, 1815 ; Martin Haynes appointed postmaster 
January 27, 1815; William Farris, January 15, 1818; 
Isaac D. Morse, January 9, 1840 ; Nathaniel Clark, 
June 22, 1841 ; Isaac D. Morse, June 24, 1845 ; John 
M. Seaward, July 25, 1849 ; Calvin W. Perry, Novem- 
ber 7, 1853; George W. Pierce, June 25, 1861 ; John 

B. Fairbanks, June 20, 1865; Mrs. Caroline Brigham, 
April 29, 1870 ; George L. Sleeper, July 3, 1886. 

The iSouth Natick post-office was established May 



23, 1828. Postmasters : Lester Whitney, May 23, 
1828; Ira Cleveland, Jane 9,1832; Charles Adams, 
May 29, 1833; Moses Fames, January 9, 1840; 
George B. Curtis, May 25, 1841; John Gilman, Jr., 
June 8, 1844 ; Moses Fames, June 24, 1845 ; John 
Cleland, Jr., September 8, 1849 ; John I. Perry, 
April 18, 1854; William H. Wright, April 3, 1857 ; 
Isaac B. Sawyer, August 2, 1861 ; Gustavus Smith, 
December 2, 1872 ; William J. Cronin, April 23, 
1886. 

Manufactuees — Boots and Shoes. — The making 
of these is by no means a new industry in Natick, 
but the conditions and results of this business have 
greatly changed within the last half-century. Natick 
had, like all country towns, its shoemakers from the 
beginning, but until about the year 1828 these con- 
fined themselves to custom-work and repairing, and 
never attempted to furnish supplies for a general ■ 
market. In the year just named Edward Walcott, 
who then resided in the west part of the town, com- 
menced the manufacture of boots and shoes upon a 
larger scale than the local trade called for or would 
justify, and a few years later found him established 
in the centre of the town and employing about one 
hundred workmen. In 1856 Mr. Walcott is said to 
have put upon the market three millions of pairs. 

John B. Walcott was later in this business by a few 
years, but, in twenty years, had made 1,099,763 pairs. 
In 1836 Isaac Felch began the same business, and 
soon employed seventy or eighty workmen, who made 
50,000 or 60,000 pairs annually. Henry Wilson, be- 
ginning at the bottom and learning the trade of a 
shoemaker, became a manufacturer in 1838, and is 
said to have made — in the eleven years in which he 
continued this business — 664,000 pairs. E. & F. 
Hanchett or F. Hanchett & Co. were large manufiictu- 
rers, and in 1853 had one hundred and seventy-four 
employees, viz., one hundred and twenty males and 
fifty-four females.- 

It is to be understood that these statements refer to 
a period before the introduction of labor-saving ma- 
chinery, when the cutting of the leather and the fin- 
ishing and packing of the goods were done in centrally 
located shops, while the making was all done by hand, 
and chiefly at the homes of the workmen. A revolu- 
tion in the whole business has followed the introduc- 
tion of machinery in nearly every department of the 
work, and the use of steam-power in driving the vari- 
ous machines. 

One of the oldest and the largest of the modern 
factories is that of J. 0. Wilson & Co. This is situated 
on North Avenue, and occupies the whole space be- 
tween Walnut and Washington Streets. The owners 
are John O. Wilson and H. G. Wood. Like nearly 
all who succeed in this business, the senior partner 
first learned to make boots and shoes by hand, and 
was employed in this manner about twelve years. In 



1 Obtaiiit'd from the office of the First Assistant Postmaeter-General. 



' St-e Bacon's "History," pp. 152 and 153. 



NATICK. 



555 



1863 this factory was established. Additions from 
time to time have given it its present large ])ropor- 
tions. There are four hundred names on its pay-roll. 
Brogans and plow-shoes are its chief productions, 
though of late a finer and better kind of goods is 
made for the Southern market. One million of pairs 
are made annually, and the annual sales amount t > 
81,2r)0,00(). C. H. Moulton, of Boston, makes the sales. 
Power is applied to all the latest improved machinery. 
The establishment is lighted by electricity. The 
junior partner, Mr. Wood, now manages the details of 
this large business. (For additional concerning Mr. 
Wilson, see Biographical.) 

JiiUy Pebbles d- Co. (owner, Riley Pebbles). — Estab- 
lished in 1853. Goods, — brogans, plow-shoes, Impe- 
rials, Congress, slippers, etc., and almost all kinds of 
foot-ware, including hob and Hungarian boots and 
shoes, especially "Pebbles' Seamless Balmorals;" a 
much greater variety of production than comes from 
most factories. Annual production, 290,000 pairs. 
Amount of annual sales, $325,000. 

Mr. Pebbles has ten salesmen almost continually on 
the road, each with a separate territory, and selling in 
all parts of the United States. On the pay-roll, 150. 
Wages paid annually, $83,000. Power is applied in 
nearly every department, from sole-cutting to finish- 
ing. Superintendent, William S. Morey ; book- 
keeper, Mary A. Blaney; assistant book-keeper, 
William F. Quinlan ; clerk, William 0. Cutler. 

Mr. Pebbles is among the pioneer manufacturers in 
this part of the State, having been in business thirty- 
six years; was among the first to test and introduce 
the best labor-saving machines, quite a number of 
which are his own invention. 

He has also made many improvements upon the 
inventions of others. He puts upon the market 
several kinds of his own patent shoes, which are 
more or less complicated, and the idea of furnishing 
soles, taps and half-soles to cobblers throughout the 
country came from Mr. Pebbles. He had built for 
himself the first "beam sole-cutting machine" that 
was really successful. The reputation of Mr. Pebbles 
in the market as the maker of goods that will stand 
the test of severe use is unrivaled. His Boston office, 
which he visits daily, is at 59 Lincoln Street. 

John B. Walrotl (owner)., established in 1834, is 
by far the oldest manufacturer now doing business in 
Xatick. Productions — brogans, and plow-shoes, and 
of these about 120,000 pairs annually. Annual 
amount of sales, $130,000. Mr. Walcott sells the 
goods which he makes. His pay-roll numbers forty- 
eight. He paid in wages last year §2t),150. At 
present he does not use steam-power, but his goods 
are all made by hand. He lost his very valuable 
factory on Main Street in the great fire of 1874, and 
has since conducted his business in two or three lo- 
calities. The site of his former factory is now occu- 
pied by one of the best business blocks of Natick, 
which Mr. Walcott erected in 1888 and owns. 



J. W. Walcolt <£■ Co. (owners, J. AV. Walcott and 
Francis Bigelow), established May 1, 1882. The 
firm manufactures men's, boys' and youths' kip, 
split and grain boots, brogans, ball and plow-shoes. 
Boston business house, 107 Sumner Street. Number 
ofpairs annually, 250,000. On the pay-roll, 125. Su- 
perintendent, W. E. Rollins. This firm occupies the 
large building of a former hat factory which they 
have furnished with all modern machinery for mak- 
ing foot-wear, and to which they have recently made 
very extensive additions. 

Felch Brothers. — Proprietors, J. F. Felch, O, A. 
Felch and Harry Felch. Factory in northern Felch- 
ville. Established in 1858. Production, wax and 
split brogans and plow-shoes, of which 300,000 
pairs are made annually. Amount of annual sales, 
$300,000. Mr. O. A. Felch, of this firm, goes annually 
or oftener into the South or Southwestern States and 
sells the goods made by this company. Number on 
pay-roll, 100. Wages paid annually, $75,000. The 
owners superintend all departments. Book-keeper, 
J. Elmer Felch. All the employees are paid in cash 
every Saturday night. 

J. L. Woodman. — Owner and superintendent. Es- 
tablished in 1850. Number on pay-roll, eighty. 
Goods, boots and shoes ; number of pairs made last 
year, 147,340. Annual sales equal $200,000 ; steam- 
power is applied to all machines. Goods consigned 
to Henry & Daniels. W. H. Nutt is book-keeper. 

E. Best & Son. — Manufacture brogans and plow- 
shoes, 60,000 pairs annually. Established in 1872. 
On the pay-roll, twenty-five. Wages paid annually, 
$12,000. Use steam-power. 

•■1. F. Travis ct Sons., — Felchville, have suspended 
operations in their factory because of the sickness of 
the senior partner. 

Richard Hayes & Sons, Summer Street. — The senior 
member of this firm established this business nearly 
fifty years ago, and it has always maintained an 
honorable position. Their production consists of 
boots, brogans and plow-shoes. On pay-roll, 125. 
Daily production, about 1200 pairs. Boston office, 
133 Summer Street, in charge of F. H. Hayes, while 
E. A. Hayes superintends the factory operations. 

F. L. Ward & Co. — On the old stand of Dexter 
Washburn. Established in 1887. Make men's, boys' 
and youths' shoes, balmorals ; annual i)roduct from 
ten to twelve thousand pairs. Sales, 815,000, are 
made to retailers in New England and Pennsylvania. 
Mr. Ward superintends and employ ten persons. 

A. I. & G. W. Trarii & Co.— This firm is the suc- 
cessor of C. B. Travis & Co. This was established in 
1852, and the death of the senior partner in 1880 was 
followed by the organization of the firm as above 
named ; pay-roll, fifty. 

The factory has the modern improvements, is 
heated by steam and lighted by electricity. It is 
supplied throughout with automatic sprinklers to 
extinguish fires. The production consists of kip, 



556 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



split and grain boots, brogans and plow-shoes. 
Boston office. 120 Summer Street. Ninety thousand 
pairs are made annually. Sales, $80,000 to !?9o,000. 
Pay of employees, $25,000 annually. 

H. H. Brown & Co. — Established four years ago. 
During the warm season this company manufacture 
boots chiefly, and heavier goods in the winter, as 
plow-shoes, brogans, Don Pedros, English ties, 
nailed and stitched downs — the last a specialty. 
Pay-roll, 175 to 200. Daily product, 1000 pairs. Boston 
ofhce, 135 Summer Street. The business of this 
company is having a healthy growth. 

C. E. Johnson & Co., 1885. — Factory on Cochituate 
Street, 160 feet long, four stories high, with ell of 
forty feet. This firm has a complete establishment, 
with the latest machinery for the manufacture of 
brogans, plow-shoes, Creedmores and kip, split, grain 
and calf seamless " bals." for the extreme Western 
trade. Pay-roll, 175. Weekly product, 200 cases. 
Boston office, 116 Summer Street. Superintend- 
ant, Frank L. Ferrin ; book-keeper, Frank Atkinson. 

Sheldon Brothem. — W. E. Sheldon and Alexander 
Sheldon, established 1882, make men's, boys' and 
youths boots and shoes, about 20,000 pairs annually. 
Sales, $20,000. Pay-roll, 25. Sell chiefly to re- 
tailers. Use steam-power in nearly all departments 
of work. 

A'. Bartlett <!■ Son. — Nathaniel Bartlett and George 
N. Bartlett, 1869, make brogans, hob-nail, English 
ball and button boots, 46,000 pairs annually. Sales, 
per annum, $52,000. Pay-roll, 40. Yearly wages, 
$22,250. Taxed $145. 

Clark's Brick Block. — This, which is the largest 
business block in Natick, or in this part of the Com- 
monwealth, stands partly upon the site of a similar 
but smaller structure, which was erected in 1872, 
only to be burned in the great fire of 1874. That 
block was about 100 feet in length and three stories 
high, while the present structure is of the same height, 
but 260 feet long. The latter, as was true of its pre- 
decessor, was built and is owned by Mr. Nathaniel 
Clark, who, after a long and useful business life, is 
passing the time of old age with the respect and af- 
fection of the entire community. 

The chief frontage of this block is on Main Street. 
The lower story, wliich is devoted to stores, is occu- 
pied as follows ; Edward Clark, grocer; J2, M. Mar- 
shall, watch-maker and jeweler; W. L. Doane, boots 
and shoes; Gardella & Cuneo, fruits; barber; W. F. 
Cleland & Co., dry-goods ; C. H. Whitcomb, hats 
and furnishing goods ; Arthur W. Palmer, ready- 
made clothing and tailor; James H. Frost, apothe- 
cary ; Charles W. .\mbrose, watch-maker and jew- 
eler; W. F. Denieritt, tailor ; W. H. .Tones, boots 
and shoes; George L. Bartlett, dry-goods; Miss C. 
H. Travis, milliner; Daniels & Twitchell, druggists; 
Harrison L. Whipple, art-store, dealer in pictures 
and picture-frames — sixteen stores. 

In the second storv are the rooms of the Natick 



National Bank and of the Five-Cents Savings Bank 
(elsewhere described), of O. J. Washburn, dentist, 
.Judge Nutt's law-office and District Court-room ; the 
offices of tax-collector, of the selectmen, of the over- 
seers of the poor, of the assessors, of the town clerk, 
of the School Committee and of the chief of police; 
the law-offices of James McManus, I. W. Parker, 
C. Q. Tirrell, G. D. Tower and L. H. Wakefield ; 
office of Dr. William Richards ; rooms of John F. 
Dowsley, dentist ; of !Miss L. Jl. Hart, dress-maker. 
Palmer's sewing-room and four large rooms occupied 
by the Natick Citizen Printing and Editing Company. 
In the third story are four halls, the largest of which 
— Concert Hall — is more than 100 feet long and well 
furnished for an audience of 1200 or 1400. This the 
town uses for all town-hall purposes. 

Erwin H. Walcoit Brick Block. — Owner, Erwin H, 
Walcott, at the present time a non-resident. -This 
block fronts on West Central Street. One of the 
largest stores in it — and the entire second story 
of the building as well — is occupied by Cleland, 
Healy & Underwood for the sale of furniture, wall- 
papers, curtains, and a great variety of small wares. 
Another store constitutes the grocery establishment 
of Barnacle & Allen, while the third is the druggist 
establishment of C. W. Perry, who, in addition to his 
regular business as an apothecary, is entrusted with 
the sale of sjiirituous liquors for medicinal, chemi- 
cal and mechanical jiurposes. 

The Walcott Building, Mr. J. B. Walcott, owner. 
This brick and stone block, upon the corner of 
Main and Summer Streets, was erected in 1888, upon 
the site of the owner's boot and shoe factory, which 
w'as consumed in the great fire of 1874. The new 
block is by far the most beautiful and elaborately- 
finished structure in Natick. The lower story on 
Maifi Street is constructed of iron and plate-glass, 
and on Summer street of red sandstone. The upper 
stories are of brick, with sandstone trimmings. 
The staircase to the second story is wholly of pol- 
ished marble, while the flagging-stones of the two 
fronts are very large and costly stones from the 
Hudson River Valley, perfectly cut and fitted in 
the best possible manner. On the lower floor, at 
the corner, is the spacious, well-lighted and finely- 
decorated store of Learay & Tilton, with a large 
stock of new dry-goods and small wares. On the 
same floor is the Bay State Clothing Store of Has- 
tings & Lowell. 

On the second floor are six rooms for offices, 
with a large hall. Above are the elegant quarters 
of the Red Men, comprising a room for the ladies 
of the order with ante-rooms. ; also the large hall for 
the society's gatherings, and their banqueting-hall, 
with tables and a kitchen and pantry, furnished 
with ranges and crockery. The walls throughout have 
been treated with fresco or beautifully-tinted paints, 
and the entire establishment would be deemed or- 
namental in any city of our land. 



NATICK. 



557 



Oue of the most imposing public buildings is Odd 
Fellows' Hall, situated on the corner of Main and 
Pond f^treets, This building was built and is owned 
by Takawambait Odd Fellows' Building Association. 
The following-named gentlemen constitute the direc- 
tors of said association : P. G. Charles Q. Tirrell, 
President ; P. G. Frank E. Cummings, Treasurer ; 
P. G. William L. Doane, Secretary ; P. G, William F. 
Demeritt, P. G. James H. Littlcfield and P. G. George 
E. Duuton. The architect was Ernest N. Boyden, 
Xo. 35 Congress Street, Boston, JIass. The land for 
this building cost S4500. The corner-stone was laid 
with impressive ceremonies June 17, 1887, and it was 
dedicated by the Grand Officers of the Grand Lodge 
of Massachusetts, May 23, 1888. The building is 
about sixty feet high and is of four stories. On Main 
Street it is 56J feet, on Pond Street, 88A feet. The first 
story on Main Street is of iron and plate-glass, 
while on Pond Street it is of brick and plate-glass. The 
remaining three stories are constructed of brick with 
Long Meadow sand-stone trimmings. L'ndeiwood 
Bros., of Xatick, had the contract for the brick, stone 
and iron work, and George Brierly, of Natick, the 
wood-work. The cost of the building was S2S,000. 
The first story consists of three stores occupied as 
follows : On Main Street, Milton E. Smith & Co., 
meat and provisions, — while the corner store is leased 

to Miss McGrath for millinery. The Pond 

Street store is used by Xoah L. Hardy for the sale of 
teas and coffees. The second story : O. H. Burleigh, 
insurance ; H. G. Sleeper, lawyer. On this floor is 
the Banquet Hall of Takawambait Lodge, No. 59, L 
O. O. F., and is 36 feet x 44 feet, seating capacity of 
300. Third and fourth stories contain Odd Fellows' 
Hall and ante-rooms. The hall is 42 x 53 feet and 
21 feet high, containing a new feature in Odd Fel- 
lows' Halls, viz., a gallery on two sides, with chairs 
for about 100, which is a very convenient arrange- 
ment. The hall is frescoed in elegant style at a cost 
of -StJOO by Strauss Bros., of Boston. It is furnished 
to match in solid cherry and plush, at a cost of 
S3000. 

TIte Hdijan Brick Block. — This is on the west side 
of Main Street. George C. Howe has in it a spacious 
store for the sale of dry goods and furniture, with 
storage-room on the second floor. Timothy Burns 
occupies the central part of the block as a boot, shoe 
and rubber store, with room for custom-work and re- 
pairing in the rear. Also in this block is W. C. May- 
nard's barber- shop. 

John M. Fiske's Brick Block. — This, which fronts on 
South Avenue, was erected in the winter of 1888-89, 
and is seventy by fifty feet and three stories in height. 
Fiske & Co. occupy nearly all of it for the sale of 
hardware, stoves, building materials, painters' sup- 
plies and everything appertaining to water, steam 
and gas-piping, plumbing, etc. Mr. Fiske was in the 
same business in Eagle Block, but in his new and 
commodious building has found room for an increased 



stock of goods and greater facilities for his business 
in general. The superintendent of his sales depart- 
ment is Charles H. Turner, wiiile George L. Hill su- 
perintends the business of the workshop. A portion 
of the lower story of this block is occupied by G. W. 
Howe & Co., as the Xatick office of Howe & Co.'s 
Boston and Natick Express, which will be noticed 
elsewhere. 

Dotriu' Block. — This is on the west side of South 
Main Street, and is owned by James Downs, baker. 
Of the north division, Mr. Downs occupies a con- 
siderable part of the lower floor for his bakery and 
business office, and all of the second story. Kennedy 
& Buckley (successors of Loker Brothers) have here 
their grocery store. In the south division Mrs. J. 
Kenealy has a store stocked with dry goods and fancy 
articles, and Mr. Soule has a confectionery and ice 
cream establishment. The entire second story is 
occupied by Elijah Edwards & Son in the manufac- 
ture of shirts of woolen, cotton and silk. Their 
large business will be noticed elsewhere. 

The Cliilds Brick Block, owned by Willard Curtis 
Childs. At the time of the great fire in 1874, Mr. 
Childs was the owner of three buildings, for manu- 
facturing purposes, on or near the site of his block, 
viz., one twenty-four by sixty feet, two stories high ; 
one thirty by fifty feet, two stories high, and a third 
forty by sixty feet, three stories high. All of these 
were destroyed, and the loss equaled $.'>OoO above the 
insurance. The block now standing was erected in 
1876 and 1877, and is forty by eighty feet, and three 
stories high, fronting on South Avenue and Wash- 
ington Street. In the basement is ]\Ir. Childs' own 
workshop, where there is a twenty horse-power boiler 
and eight horse-power engine. Mr. Childs repairs 
bicycles and tricycles, turns wood-work and grinds 
tools. 

P. F. Peters has here his factory for spring-lasting 
hammers and shoe-jacks ; and J. A. Reall has his 
barber-shop and bath-rooms. 

In the first story H. H. Berry has his refreshment 
saloon, J. J. Dolan his tobacco stjre. Miss M. Dolan 
her millinery establishment, and Blanchard & Hay- 
ward their rooms for shoe-finishing and stitching. 
The second-story is occupied by JIartin Hall's job- 
printing office, whence issues the Natick Weekly Re- 
view. C. H. Inman and Dion have their machine- 
shops here, and make machine pegging-awls and 
edge-trimmers and Dion's Hiveting Machines. In 
the third story is Washington Opera Hall, with spa- 
cious stage, scenery, etc., seating 350, heated by steam 
and lighted by Lungren lamps; with ante-rooms, fire- 
escajje, etc. 

Mr. Childs has built, also, a large number of houses 
in the village, besides being a partner in many firms 
for the manufacture of foot-wear and working in the 
gold mines of California. 

Burks' Brick Block, owned by t'harles W. Burks, 
and occupied on the lower floor in part, and on the 



558 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



second entirely, by the owner as a furniture and car- 
pet store. Mr. Burks is one of the undertakers of 
Natick and much employed in conducting funerals, 
and is largely concerned in the care and adornment 
of Dell Park Cemetery. 

Charles S. Oliver, fish-dealer, occupies nearly, or 
quite, one-half of the lower story. 

Woodbury's Brick Block.— Ofin&T, P. F. Woodbury. 
Erected in 1874, on the site of the block destroyed 
by fire in same year. Situated corner of Main and 
Court Streets. Lower story occupied by H. F. Cham- 
berlain, for sale of dry and fancy goods; Marnell 
Brothers, as a boot and shoe store, and on Court Street 
by the owner, P. F. Woodbury, for the sale of furni- 
ture, carpets, beds, bedding, window-shades, etc. On 
the second floor are the Young Men's Christian Asso- 
ciation rooms, well fitted up and convenient, and the 
rooms of Dr. Frederick Lewis, dentist. On the third 
floor is a spacious public hall. 

Winch's Brick Block, corner of Main Street and 
South Avenue. Owner, Leonard Winch. The cor- 
ner of the first story is occupied by the Natick post- 
office, George L. Sleeper, Esq., postmaster. On the 
same floor is located the insurance and real estate 
firms of J. M. Forbush & Co., an agency for the sale 
of sewing-machines, and the large grocery store of 
Gray & Young. On the second floor are found a 
barber's shop, the rooms of St. Patrick Benevolent 
Society, and the quarters of the American Brass 
Band. In this block "The Lasters' Union," "The 
Trimmers' Union," and the "Natick Cadet Band" 
have also established quarters; while in the base- 
ment, under the post-oflice, is the fruit store of Gioga 
Salvatore. 

Masonic Brick and Marble Block. — This was erected 
in 1874, and belongs to the estate of the late Leonard 
Morse. The front is of marble, the other walls are 
brick. It is occupied on the lower floor by the At- 
lantic Tea Stores Company, Messrs. Wilde & Soule, 
who deal in teas, cofl'ees and crockery ; by James F. 
Gray, manufacturer of confectionery and keeper of 
fruit for sale ; by Leonard P. Stone, dealer in meats 
and vegetables, and by Beals' Clothing and Furnish- 
ing establishment. In the second story are Mulli- 
gan's billiard-room, Finn's barber-shop. Dr. Abbott's 
rooms for dentistry, and Miss Mabel Morse's music- 
room. The third and fourth stories are wholly occu- 
pied for Masonic purposes. 

Rice's Brick Block (owners, Phineas G. and Martin 
Rice). — Adjoining the Masonic Block is the very ex- 
tensive establishment of William D. Parlin, who 
occupies the basement and four stories above for 
his hardware, stove, plumbing, gas-fitting, steam and 
hot-water heating business, and whose contracts for 
goods and work extend over all the region and largely 
over the- entire country. Mr. Parlin has two large 
store-houses for materials outside, and employs thirty- 
five or forty men. Seven horses are used in his work. 

John B. Fairbanks has his large establishment in 



this block, selling fruits, stationery, newspapers and 
everything found in a variety store. J. E. Dewitt's 
art store adjoins, for the sale of pictures, picture 
frames, stationery and artists' supplies. Here also 
is the domestic and Vienna bakery of C M. McKech- 
nia, with sales-room, and the " Blue Store Clothing 
Company's " establishment, owned by Henry An- 
drews. In the second story is the printing-office of 
George C. Fairbanks, proprietor of the Natick Bulle- 
tin, the shop of J. H. Gilligan, tailor, and the law- 
offices of Messrs. P. H. Cooney and Henry C. Mulli- 
gan. A large part of the third story is used by the 
Grand Army of the Republic. 

Task's Brick Block, Summer Street, is chiefly oc- 
cupied by George C. Wight, dealer in salt and fresh 
provisions, fruits and vegetables. 

Wilson House Block, F. A. Stone, owner, hotel 
kept by L. K. Mitchell. — The stores in it are occupied 
by M. C. Brigham, druggist ; James Sweeney, harness- 
maker ; A. B, Lindsay, laundry; C. H. King, fish- 
dealer, and Jefferson Holmes, Yankee notions. 

B. H. Randall has a store for the sale of dry and 
fancy goods at No. 9 West Central Street. 

Hooker & Hawes are funeral and furnishing under- 
takers and dealers in carpets and household goods, at 
Adams Block. 

At 29 South Main Street is the well-known estab- 
lishment of J. H. Washburn, jeweler. Mr. D. W. 
Wells, in charge, is a regularly educated optician. 

Wood's Block, erected by Edward W. Wood, oppo- 
site the railroad station. — This is occupied by Mrs. R. 
S. Bent, milliner ; Washburn & Reed, druggists ; R. 
E. Farwell & Son, insurance and real estate business ; 
H. W. Atherton, millinery; E. E. Everett, baker; 
L. A. Perry, who has a bakery and eating-house, and 
John B. Moyse, harness-maker. 

Eagle Block, owned by R. A. Ballou and occupied 
by Finn Brothers, tobacco and cigars ; Shattuck 
Brothers, groceries ; W. L. Brown, boots and shoes, 
and T. L. Irwin, for a furniture and kitchen goods 
store. On the second and third stories John Palmer 
has a boarding-house. On the first floor William 
Ballou keeps tonic and temperance drinks. 

Edward Walcott Block, owned by the heirs of Ed- 
ward Walcott, on Main, West Central and Pond 
Streets. — Hamlein's eating saloon and S. B. Knowlea' 
meat-market are in the basement. The Natick Pro- 
tective Union store, groceries and meat-market, is on 
the first floor, as is also the boot and shoe store of 
Moran & Buckly. William Flynn, tailor, has quar- 
ters in this part of the block. In the second and 
third -stories is the hotel of George Rogers, and a por- 
tion of the boot and shoe manufactory of J. B. Wal- 
cott is in the same. 

South Natick, Business, etc. — The postmaster 

is William J. Crouin, appointed in 1886. He has 

also a harness establishment. M. B. V. Bartlett 

keeps fine groceries, flour, provisions, etc. James E. 

' Cooper has succeeded Gust.avus Smith as druggist. 



NATICK. 



559 



Thomas Foy has a boot and shoe store. J. A. Smith 
sells dry and fancy goods. George H. Jackson has a 
variety store. J. W. King keeps groceries, crockery, 
tin goods, grain, flour, etc. George J. Ingalls has 
sold for seven years foot-wear and furnishing goods, 
H. P. A. Weigand has a grocery and variety store. 
Frank F. Schumann keeps vegetables and has a meat- 
market. Patrick F. Hallinan and Fred. Jseauschafer 
have meat markets'. The largest business block is 
owned by Messrs. Edwards & Clark. The South Xa- 
tick manufacturers are as follows: 

mi/iam F. Pfeiffer & Co. (William F. Pfeiffer, 
William H. Pfeiffer, Charles F. Pfeiffer) began busi- 
ness in 1870. Make boots and shoes — 130,000 pairs 
annually; annual sales, .§115,000; wages annually, 
.SiOjOOO; apply power to all machines ; are their own 
superintendents. Cashier, Charles F. Pfeiffer ; book- 
keeper, Jlrs. C. F. Pfeiffer ; employes, 50 in number. 

John Schneider (established 1883) makes brogans, 
plow-shoes; specialty, Hungarian nail and hob-nailed 
shoes for miners ; from 25,000 to 30,000 pairs annually ; 
has 30 employes ; sells all over the United States ; 
works mostly on orders ; sales, 836,400. 

E. Doted, Jr., successor of Hopf & Bisch, makes 
boots and shoes, chiefly nail brogans ; employs 8 men, 
and sells chiefly at the West. E. Dowd commenced 
manufacturing in 1860. 

The Maltha Manufacturing Company have com- 
menced making at South Natick a substitute for In- 
dia rubber, which, it is claimed, can be produced for 
two and one-half or three cents per pound. The 
work is yet largely experimental. This is a joiut 
stock company, Mr. Stephen M. Allen owning one- 
half. 

The water-fall at the village is rated at 150 horse- 
power, and at the rapids below at 100. 

Other ^Manufactures. — Shirt-making is one of 
Natick's industries which continues to give employ- 
ment to many females. This was commenced in 1861 
by W. li- E. Edwards (William and Elijah), and when 
the partnership was dissolved, the younger brother 
as30'.;iated with himself his son, F. E. Edwards, under 
the lirm-name of E. Edwards <£• Son. The produc- 
tion of their factory is very large, and consists of 
fancy and plain flannel shirts for vacation, bicycling 
and tennis wear. They also produce the same article 
in cotton and silk. In the early days of this business 
the work was chiefly done in the families of the town 
and region, without steam or gas-power, but now it 
is done in the factory, and an engine drives all the 
sewing-machines. The Edwards shirts are well 
known and rank high in the market. 

Newell Cooper is engaged in the same business, and 
manufactures woolen shirts of all kinds. Production, 
35,000 dozen. He uses steam-power, and employs 
from 30 to 50 females, who run sewing-machines. 
The machines in this business are all owned and kept 
in repair by the proprietors. Mr. Cooper has con- 
ducted this business twenty years or more. 



Base-ball Factory. — Firm of H. Harwood & Sons. 
Established 1858 by Harrison Harwood ; later as 
above. Diflerent grades are made, the best covered 
with liorse-hide ; the cheaper with sheepskin. The 
balls are wound at the factory, the covers are put on 
by women at their homes. Great quantities are 
made, that are shipped to all the cities and larger 
towns of the United States and Canada. The League 
ball is the ball of the prominent professional clubs 
throughout the country. Superintendent, J. Sweet- 
land ; book-keeper, F. Wight. 

CoNSECTiox WITH THE WoRLD. — A century ago 
three turnpike roads, from Boston westward, passed 
through this town in the north, centre and south 
parts of the same. These were kept in fairly good 
repair, and stages upon them furnished the means 
for public conveyance. 

In 1834 the Boston and Worcester Railroad (now 
Boston and Albany) was opened through the centre 
of the town, and from that time the population and 
business of the place have been increasing. It is 
understood that this railroad corporation will soon 
lay the third and fourth tracks through Natick, and 
make great and substantial improvements in and 
around the station. The passenger and freight busi- 
ness of Natick upon this road is very large. 

The Saxonville Branch of the Boston and Albany 
Railroad connects with the main line at Natick. 
This is about five miles long. 

The Natick and Cochituate Street Railway is be- 
tween three and four miles long, and carries and 
brings passengers between the two villages as many 
as twenty times each day, except on the Sabbath, 
when the trips number five each way. This road, with 
its good equipments is a great public convenience, as 
from 100 to 120 of the employees in the factories of 
Felchville and Cochituate reside in Natick, and daily 
use the horse-cars. Built in 1885 ; cost, §32,000 ; 
capital, 825,000, held mostly in Natick and Cochitu- 
ate; 200,000 passengers annually. President, Harri- 
son Harwood ; secretary, F. H. Hayes ; treasurer, 
William H.Bent; superintendent, George F. Keep. 
These, withO. A. Felch, John 0. Wilson and Charles 
Park, are directors. 

Cemeteries — The Ancient Indian Burying- 
Ground. — Like the English people of early times, the 
Indians of the Natick Plantation made a cemetery of 
the ground immediately adjacent to their first meet- 
ing-house. This was in South Natick, and the limits 
of their burying-ground appear to have been as fol- 
lows : Beginning at the ancient Eliot Oak and run- 
ning west, north of the Unitarian Church, to a point 
near the corner of the school-house yard, thence 
southeasterly to about the lower end of Merchants' 
Block.thence across thestreet in front of Bacon Library 
building, and over the green in the rear, to the south- 
east corner of the land enclosed, where once stood 
the residence of the famous " Deacon Badger," and 
from that point back to the Eliot Oak, taking in the 



560 



HISTOEY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



grave of the ludian preaclier, Daniel Takawambpait, 
wliich is tiie only grave that can be identified. 

William Biglow, who wrote his history of Natiek 
in 1S30, tells us that within his memory tlie remains 
of Indians had been brought to this ground from the 
surrounding region for burial. In building the walls 
around the church green, many graves were disturbed, 
aud in laying the water-pipes south of the church to- 
wards Bailey's Hotel, a long row of Indian graves 
was brought to light. Beads, spoons, pipes, an Indian 
kettle and many other relics were secured for the 
museum in this way. Generally, the bones were care- 
fully re-interred.' 

A second Indian burying-ground, of smaller dimen- 
sions and plainly opened much later, is on the north 
side of Pond Street, in the central village. This was 
probably used after their old cemetery in South 
Natiek had been chiefly given up for other purposes. 

This ground on Pond Street, much neglected for 
many years, is now to be fenced and properly graded. 
Trees are to be set out, seats provided, etc. This is 
to be done by the Wamsquam A.ssociatioQ, of which 
Amos P. Cheney is president, with a full list of 
officers, all of which is as it should be. 

Theancientcemetery north of the Unitarian Church 
in South Natiek was granted by the Indian proprie- 
tors, June 22, 1731, " to Mr. Peabody and his success- 
ors, and for the use of other English inhabitants." 
In 1830 there were ninety-two grave stones for single 
persons, and one, that of Rev. Mr. Badger, for seven 
members of his family, in that cemetery. One tomb 
contained then five bodies. Eighteen of the ninety- 
two alluded to above were over sixty years old at 
death.'' 

Before 180.5 the remains of some persons had been 
buried where the Edward Walcott business block now 
stands, and possibly in the ground now covered by the 
" Odd Fellows' Block." But burials there were doubt- 
less discontinued when the Central Cemetery was 
opened north of the brick church, covering the ground 
now occupied by the brick blocks on the east side of 
Main Street. This last-mentioned burying-ground was 
used nearly or quite as late as 1849, when the town 
purchased twelve acres of land of Edward Walcott, 
for the Dell Park Cemetery. This was consecrated 
in that year, Hon. Henry Wilson having charge of 
the procession which was formed on the occasion. 
Rev. Samuel Hunt's address at that time has been 
preserved in Bacon's " History of Natiek." When this 
new cemetery was opened, the remains of those who 
had been buried in the ground on Main Street, as well 
as the tombstones, were removed to it, and for nearly 
forty years a large part of the interments of the town 
have taken place there. Farther west, the Catholic 
cemetery has been laid out and now contains many 
graves and monuments. 

1 See Biglow'a " History,'' and the pamplilet of the Hielorical Soc. 
1884, page 29. 

2 Biglow, p. IG. 



The North Cemetery is supposed by many to be the 
oldest in Natiek, with the exception of that in South 
Natiek, but when it was laid out is uncertain, though 
it must have been before 1758. In 1830 it contained 
forty-three grave-stones, ten of which were for per- 
sons over sixty years of age, and a later notice refers 
to one of a person who was ninety-one, and another 
to an individual who arrived at the age of 103. 

The land for the cemetery in the west part of the 
town was given by William Boden, Esq., and the 
grant was made in 1815. A monument was erected 
in it, in 1855, to perpetuate the memory of the donor, 
who was a man of respectability and great excellence 
of character. 

Laavyers. — William Biglow wrote in 1830 thus: 
" But one of this class of citizens has ever attempted 
to gain a residence in this town ; and he remained 
but a short time." 

The historian here had reference to Ira Clcavland, 
Esq., who, finding but little encouragement to be a 
lawyer in Natiek, soon removed to Dedham. John 
W. Bacon, born in Natiek in 1818 and graduating at 
H.arvard College in 1848, commenced the practice of 
law in this place in 1846, and continued it until he 
wasappointedoneof the judges of the Superior Court. 
He was as a lawyer what he was as a judge, an inflexi- 
ble supporter of everything that is right and eleva- 
ting in the community. (See under the head. Bio- 
graphical.) 

Benjamin F. Ham, a native of Farmington, New 
Hampshire, opened a law-office in Natiek about 1853. 
He studied law with John W. Bacon and was admit- 
ted to the bar in 1852. Mr. Ham was chosen town 
clerk to succeed Chester Adams, Esq., when the lat- 
ter retired from that position after twenty-seven 
years of faithful service. 

Oliver N. Bacon, the historian, was a teacher for 
some years, studied law with John W. Bacon aud 
Lyman Mason, of Boston, and opened a law-office in 
Natiek about 1856. 

Georfje Lane Satnn, born in Southboro', January 
15, 1837, graduated from the Law School in Cam- 
bridge in 1860, and received from that institution the 
degree of LL.B. in 1867. He was a partner of 
Judge Bacon from 1860 to 1865. Mr. Sawin was an 
able lawyer and did much business. He died at Wash- 
ington October 31, 1867. Had been a member of the 
State Senate one year and of the Lower House three 
years before his death. Among the Natiek lawyers 
of the present generation Walter N. Mason was very 
prominent and ranked high in his profession, not 
only here, but in Boston, where he had an office. Mr. 
Mason was capable of doing a great amount of busi- 
ness and had a large practice. He was elected Sena- 
tor from the Fourth Middlesex District for the Legis- 
latures of 1883 and 1884. 

Charles Q. Tin-ell was born in Sharon, Massachu- 
setts, December 10, 1844. His father was a ])hysician 
in Weymouth. He entered Dartmouth College in 



NATICK. 



561 



1862 and graduated in 1866. Taught an Academy 
and High (School for three years. Was a member of 
the School ( '(iiiiiiiittee of Weymouth four years. Was 
a Republican member of the Legislature from Wey- 
mouth iu 1872; served on the Frobate and Chaticery 
Committee. Removed to Natick in 1878, and in that 
year married Miss Mary E. Hollis, of this place. 
Was Senator for the Fourth Middlesex District in the 
Legislature of 1881, serving on Committee on Public 
Health, I'risons, etc. A year later he was reelected 
to the same otlice and was a member of the Commit- 
tee on Judiciary and Public Health and chairman of 
the Joint Committee on the Liquor Laws. In 1884 
he received a large complimentary vote for Congress 
in the Republican Convention, and in 1888 was the 
Presidential elector from the Ninth Congressioiuil 
District, casting his vote lor Benjamin Harrison. Mr. 
TirrcU studied law with Richard H. Dana, Esq., and 
was admitted to the bar, in 1870, and has offices in 
Boston and Natick. He has one child, Arthur H. 
Tirrell, born June 4, 1881. 

William Niiff was born August 5, lS3(i, in Topsham, 
Vermont, studied law with Walter N. Mason, Esq., 
in Natick, and was admitted to the bar August, 18ii8. 
His ofiice is in Natick. Was Kepresentative from 
Natick iu the General Court in 1871 and 1872. Was 
chairman of the Natick selectmen in 1874, 1876 and 
1881. Served in the war for suppressing the Rebel- 
lion ; was corporal and .sergeant Company I, Second 
Massachusetts Regiment, lieutenant in Fifty-fourth 
Regiment Jlassachusetts Volunteers, then captain, 
major and lieutenant-colonel in Fifty-fifth Regi- 
ment Massachusetts Volunteers and made colonel of 
volunteers by brevet. Colonel Nuttwas appointed Jus- 
tice of the District Court in 51ay, 1886, and a large 
Inisiness is transacted in his court, particularly in the 
trial of li(juor cases. He is often the moderatorof town 
meetings and the trusted executor or administrator 
in the settlement of estates. Judge Nutt married 
Miss Abbie P. Pufi'er, and their children are Wil- 
liam H., Charles, George, Henry, Nellie A., Julia M. 
and Matilda E. 

FittricI: Hcarij Coimeij was born in Stockbridge, 
Massachusetts, December 20, 184.5; Wiis educated in 
New York Schools, Natick High School (graduating 
in 1866) and in the West Newton English and Clas- 
sical School (Allen Brothers, proprietors) ; studied 
law with Bacon & Sawin and John W. Bacon; was 
admitted to the SuHblk bar November 1, 1868. Fs- 
tablished in Natick .January 1, 1869. Has a Boston 
office at 23 Court Street. Was a member of the Natick 
School Committee from 1880 for three years. In 1884 
was appointed assistant district attorney for the 
Northern District of Mas.sachusetts — a State office — 
is now district attorney. Was nominated by tlie Re- 
publicans for Representative in 1881 and defeated by 
three votes. Is unmarried. 

Harrison G. Sleeper was born in New Sharon, 
Maine, in 1837, and educated in Boston Public 
3G 



Schools, including English High School. Studied 
law and was admitted to the bar at Ijowell in 1862. 
Practiced law in Frederick, Maryland, from 1 86.') to 
1876, and served on the Public School Board there for 
eight years. Was a lawyer in Portland, Maine, from 
1876 to 1888, when he removed to Natick. Mr. 
Sleeper married Miss Sarah F. Prescott, of Deerfiehl, 
N. H. They have two sons, — Henry G. Sleeper, born 
.July 9, ISOr), and Arthur P. Sleeper, born Sept. 21, 
1870. Mr. Sleeper's law-oflice is in (.)dcl Fellows' 
Block, Natick. 

miliam A. Knowllon was born in Nashville, Tenn., 
June 24, ISS.i, and was three months old when 
brought to Natick, where he has since resided. Was 
educated in Natick Public Schools, including the 
High School and Phillips Academy, Andover, from 
which he graduated. Then went to Amherst College 
and to Boston University Law School, from the latter 
of which he graduated in 1881, and was at once ad- 
mitted to the bar. Immediately Mr. Knowltim began 
to practice law in Natick and Boston, and is engaged 
in the same at the present time. In 1888 he was 
elected by the town as one of the trustees of Morse 
Institute. The maiden-name of his wile was Eliza- 
beth J. Burks, and they have one child, born Oct. 
31, 1888, named Harold W. Knowlton. 

Frank ^[. Forbush, counselor-at-law, Natick and 
Boston, was born at Natick, Sept. 20, 1858, was edu- 
cated in the public schools of Natick and the Eng- 
lish High School of Boston, and is secretary of his 
class (75) of that school. Entered the Law School 
of Boston University in 1881, taking the studies of 
three years in one year. Was admitted to the bar of 
Middlesex County Sept. 13, 1882. Commenced prac- 
tice at once in Boston and Natick. Nov. 1, 1882, he 
married iMiss Annie Louise Mead. They have one 
child, Walter Alfred Forbush, born Oct. 11, lS8(i. In 
1886 Mr. Forbush organized in Natick "The Henry 
Wilson Co-operative Bank," of which he has been 
from the first the attorney. In •' The Royal Arcanum " 
and "Home Circle" (fraternal benefit societies) 
he has held office. His Bo.ston office is al No. 5 
Tremont Street, Room 63. 

Henry Cuolidijc Mallijaii. was born in Natick 
March 6, 1854, and educated at the Adams Academy 
at Quincy and Harvard University, graduating from 
the college and the Law School. Was admitted to 
the bar in Boston, Jan. 14, 1883. Has law otiices in 
Boston and Natick. Has been a member of the 
Natick School Committee since 1884, and one of the 
Trustees of Morse Institute since 1885. Mr. Mulligan 
married, Dec. 22, 1886, Miss Minna Rawson, of 
Worcester, and lias a sou, Ralph Coolidge, born 
March 15, 1888. 

.7a//«vi M'MamiK, a lawyer in Natick, was born iu 
Ireland August 20, 1847. Came to the United States 
when a child. Was educated in the public scliools 
and at Harvard University, graduating in 1871. Ad- 
mitted to the bar iu 1873. Practiced iu Natick. Is 



idi^ 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



tf>\vii clerk, and has been since 188(5. Has served as 
trustee of Morse Institute, and is a member of tlie 
Sehool Committee. 

Messrs. G. L. Sleeper, C. B. Felch, G. D. Tower, 
I. W. Parker and L. H. Wakefield are also Natick 
lawyers. 

Phy.sicians. — Of tlie Indian doctors, male and fe- 
male, the name of Joshua Bran alone survives. Those 
whose names follow were among the earlier pliysi- 
cians in Natick: Isaac Morrill, came 1771; .Vsa 
Adams, 1782; Alexander Thayer, 1813; John An- 
gier, 1817 ; Stephen II. Spaulding, 1823 ; John Hoyt, 
1840; Adino B. Hall, 1849; Ira Russell, 1853. Dr. 
Russell, who has recently died at his home in Win- 
chendon, was greatly respected by the i)resent gene- 
ration. 

Dr. George J. Townsend is the oldest of the Natick 
physicians. He resides at South Natick, but he has 
patients in all parts of the town. He was born in 
1820, and graduated at Harvard University in 1842.' 

Dr. William lUchanh has had much experience as 
a physician. Born in Hillsdale, N. ¥., educated at 
Kinderhook Academy, University of Pennsylvania, 
Albany Medical College and in Long Island Hospital ; 
he practiced in Cummington fifteen years. He was 
then nine years in Brockton, and came to Natick in 
1879. Has been selectman, overseer of the poor, as- 
sessor, and is now a member of the Natick Board of 
Health. Is a Fellow of the Massachusetts Medical 
Society. Mrs. Richards was Miss Martha A. Brown, 
of Berkshire County, Mass. 

l)r. Samuel K. Harriman was born in Prospect, 
Maine, educated under ])rivate tutors till fitted for Yale 
College, took his undergraduate medical course at 
liucksport and Winterport, Maine, then was a member 
of Pennsylvania University, and took degrees in 
medicine in Philadelphia and Jefferson Medical Col- 
leges. Later pursued special studies at the latter in- 
stitution 1881-83, after he had practiced three 
years in Philadelphia, and the same length of time in 
Natick. Dr. Harriman is at the present time unmar- 
ried, having buried all his family. 

Dr. Edrjar S. Dodr/c was born in Enfield, N. H., 
was educated in the public schools, at Union Academy, 
in Canaan, N. H., and at the Harvard and Dartmouth 
Medical Colleges, graduating at the latter in lS7(i. 
Was resident physician at the hospital on Rainsford 
Island, Boston Harbor, and then pursued medical 
studies in Europe. Settled in Natick 1879, and has 
had here a lucrative practice. In 1885 was on the 
Board of Health, and in 1887 and 1888 was on the 
I')Oard of Selectmen. In 1880 Dr. Dodge married 
Miss Alice Louise ('hurchill, who was born in .\bing- 
ton, Mass. They have two children — Florence Louise 
and Raymond Churchill. 

A. Franeis Story, M.D., was born in Essex, Mass., 
educated in Salem High School, Brown JJigh School, 



1 See Bacon's '* Ilintory," puge 137. 



Newbnryport, in the Boston University School of 
Jledicine, St. Bartholomew Hospital, London, Eng- 
land, and the Rotunda Hosjiital, Dublin, Ireland. 
Graduated from Boston University in 1882, and from 
Rotunda Hospital in 1883. Commenced practice in 
Natick October 1, 1883. Dr. Story's specialty is 
treating heart and lung diseases, and he has a large 
practice. Married Elizabeth Flora Howard, and 
they have no children. 

Doctors Sylvester, Wright, Cook, Smith, Manual, 
Keating, Cochran and Weston are physicians in 
Natick, but have furnished no items of personal or 
professional history. 

Express Companies. — Howe A- Co.'s Natick, Oo- 
chUuate and Boston Krpres.t was established about 
thirty-five years ago, and jierforms an important part 
in the business operations of Natick. The proprietors 
are G. W. Howe and J. B. Messinger. Their Boston 
offices are at 91 Kilby Street and 34 Court Square. 
The Natick office is in Fiske's Brick Block. They 
employ five or six teams for their Natick work, and 
about the same number in Boston. On an average 
this company sends to and brings from Boston a full 
car-load of goods each day in the week, except the 
Sabbath. 

The Adams Repress Coinpain/ does a large and con- 
stantly increasing business in Natick. The local agent 
is H. G. Wight. 

The American E.rpress Oniiji'iinj has an important 
office in this town, reaching all the communities at 
the North and Northwest, even to the Pacific Ocean. 
William H. Pond is the Natick agent. 

Bailei/'s E.rpress communicates with Boston daily 
from South Natick, taking the Boston and Albany 
Railroad at Wellesley. The proprietor is Almond 
Bailey, of Bailey's Hotel, South Natick. This ex- 
press company loads a car each day to and from 
Boston. 

Coal, Wood, etc'. — Kobin.toa A- JoiiessnW annually 
— Coal, (5190 tons; hay, 4.^)0 tons; straw, 75 tons; fer- 
tilizers, 40 tons; wood, (500 cords. 

Warren A. Bird is a dealer in coal and wood. 

The Union Lumber Company deals largely in wood 
and coal. 

Natick Fratehnities. — These are social, educa- 
tional and benevolent, and most of them secure to the 
members aid in sickness and a fixed allowance to 
families at the death of members. The JS'atick Ciliien 
enumerates forty-seven of these societies (without in- 
cluding those connected with the churches), with 
4858 members, and concludes that they raise and ex- 
l)end not far from $4000 jier month. 

On Church Street is the "People's Laundry." 
Proprietor, Daniel A. Malioney. Also E. jM. Reed's 
furniture store and W. B. Fletcher's drug store. 

The old tavern of South Natick, built during the 
Revolutionary W^ar by Deacon Eliakim Morrill, the 
" Uncle Fliaicim " of " Old Town Folks," was burned 
in 1872, and under one of its corner-stones its owner, 



NATICK. 



563 



Jlr. (ioeii IJailcy, found seventeen pieces of copper 
money beuridg iliites f'roiii 16'JG to 177r>. These are all 
French or English coins, hearing the names of Louis 
the W. of France, and of the first, second and third of 
the ticorgcs of England. Mr. .\lniond Bailey, pro|>ri- 
etor of Bailey's Hotel, has these coins in charge and 
will show theiu. 

TiiK I'liKin — The Xatlclc Htdlcfm.—T\ie predeces- 
sors of this paper were as follows: In IHCii'i the NdlicL- 
Ohncn-rr, E. E. Fisher, proprietor, started with 800 
siiliscriliers. Then edited and published by George 
(). Willard, then by f}. W. & D. B. Ryder. No 
paper during the Civil War. In 1865 came the Natick 
Tiiiu-a^ under Washington C'lapp, continued till 181!!), 
when, umier W.W^. Hemenwaythe name was changed 
to jXtitir/: linlli'tin. Later Hemenway & .ALiyhew 
published it. It was burned out in 1874. Then Cook 
iV >Sons. of Jlilford, took it and conducted it till 1880, 
when Horace L. Welles became owner. In 1882 it 
passed into the hands of its present editor and propri- 
etor, Mr. George C. Fairbanks, since winch period its 
I subscription list Las lieen greatly enlarged, in eight 
months from (iOO to 1200, and a large job printing es- 
tablishment built up, printing at one time, besides 
the Bulklin, Tlie Cochituate Enterprise, The Siixonville 
A'cKw and iS/ier/xirn Mirnir. The form of the Bulle- 
tin was changed to a quarto in 1885. The aim of this 
paper is to promote and strengthen every good cause, 
as the business of Natick and vicinity, education, 
temperance, general morality and virtue. In politics 
the JJii/letin is independent, with Republican procliv- 
ities. Mr. Horace Mann has contributed to it, from 
rime to time, many valuable articles upon the early 
history of this town. 

Niitii-/: Citi:rit. — In the autumn of 1878 a number 
of the leading men in Natick, not feeling satislied 
with the newspaper purporting to be published in this 
town, but really owned and printed by parties in Mil- 
ford, called a meeting and decided that the interests of 
Natick denumded a new paper, which should represent 
more largely and vigorously the business and general 
welfare of the town. They also became responsible 
to th(! amount of .*5O0, should such a paper fail to be 
a paying investment during its first year. With this 
guarantee Messrs. Ryder & Morse commenced the 
puldication of the Natick Citizen in December, 1878. 
From the beginning the enterprise was a success, and 
at tin' end ol' the year r.o part of the ^oOO w:us called 
for. In .lune, 1882, the firm of Ryder & Monse was 
dissolved, Mr. Ryder removing to California and Mr. 
• Rilwin C. Morse becoming judge of the District 
Court. A stock company was tlien formed to continue 
the iiublication of the paper, with a capital of s^rrtKM), 
and Mr. Erwin H. \Valcott as its editor. After three 
years' .service family atllictions led Mr. Waleott to re- 
tire Irom this position, and the ofiice was leased for a 
term of years by Mr. Charles D. Howard, who had en- 
joyed twenty years' experience in journalism as the 
publisher of the Penboily Press and the Sulcm Evaiing 



Post. With Mr. Howard, his son, Mr. William T. 
Howard, is connected, and the Citizen is published by 
Messrs. tJharles D. Howard & Son, the former of 
whom is editor. Duringthepast four years this office has 
(lone a large book, job and newsjiaper business, at one 
time printing every week no less than live distinct news- 
papers. It occupies four rooms in the second story of 
Clark's Block and its employees number ten to 
twelve. Its ei|uii)ment is exi^ellent, and it bids fair to 
become the largest printing establishment between 
Boston and Worcester. The Natick Citizen may be 
called independent with Republican [)roclivities, and 
is a strong advocate of temperance, education, moral- 
ity and all that can advance the public welfare. It is 
issued every Wednesday. 

ynlick Weekly Beriew, proprietor and editor, Mr. 
Martin Hall. Independent teith /kmoi-nilir prortirities. 
First issue, January 1, 1887. Mr. Hall removed his 
office to Childs' Block, May 1, 1881). Thejiaper, which 
has been printed at the office of the Natirk Citizen, will 
be issued from the proprietor's new office in future 
in connection with a job i)rinliiig business. ^Ir. Hall 
prints by steam on a Campbell oscillating press. 

Meat M.vkicets. — The meat-markets of Natick 
and of many of the adjacent towns are supplied by 
The Natick Beef Company, who are receivers of Swift's 
Chicayo Dressed Beef, etc., which comes in the re- 
frigerator cars of the company direct from ('hicago. 
The refrigerator here takes in at once lllty tons of 
ice. 

BlotiRAPHlt'AL. — William Bigluw (Bigelow) grad- 
uated from Harvard College, 17'J4. Was a teacher in 
Salem, and master of the Boston Public Latin School ; 
was a writer of books and pamphlets; was a poet of 
no mean abilities, and published brief but reliable 
histories of Sherborn and Natick, the latter in 18;i0. 
He died suddenly in Boston, .lanuary 12, 1844. 

Calvin E. Stinec. — Born in Natick, April 2U, 1802, 
graduate of Bowdoin College and Andover Theologi- 
cal Semiimry, was a Professor of Ancient Languages in 
Dartmouth College, of Sacred Literature in LaMcSem- 
inary, Cincinnati, (_)hio, and hehl the .same place in 
Andover Theological Seminary. He traveled exten- 
sively in Europe, was a voluminous writer and transla- 
tor, a ripe scholar, and a num of note because of his 
own abilities and aquirement-s, but known all over the 
world as the husband of Mrs. Harriet Heecher Stowe, 
the author of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," ''Old Town 
Folks," and other pojiular books. 

Judye John W. Ilacon. — Born in Natick, ISIS, 
graduating at Harvard University in 1843; was long 
a conspicuous figure in this community as a teacher, 
lawyer and especially as judge of the Superior 
(lourt. At different times beheld some of the most 
important town offices, and was one of the citizens 
who did a most important work in establishing the 
Morse Institute, of the trustees of which he was a 
prominent member for fifteen years. Judge Bacon 
died very suddenly while holding court at Taunton, 



564 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



March 21, 1888. The members of the bar in Natick 
presented, through their chairman, Hon. C. Q. Tir- 
rell, to the town, in town-meeting assembled, a series 
of r&solutions, setting forth the character and noble 
work of Mr, Bacon as an estimable citizen, able 
lawyer and just and enlightened judge, which the 
town ordered to be placed in full upon their records. 

Henry MHlson.—X native of Farmington, N. H., 
came to Natick, December, 1833. He learned the 
shoemaker's trade, and was soon a manufacturer of 
boots and shoes, employing more than 100 men. He 
continued this business about eleven and a half years, 
but during all this period was laying up a store of 
practical knowledge. In 1840 he was a politician en- 
gaged in the Presidential campaign ; in 1841 a Rep- 
resentative in the General Court ; in 1844 a State 
Senator; in 1855 a Senator in Congress; in 1861 a 
colonel in the United States service, and the Vice- 
President of the United States upon the second elec- 
tion of General U. S. Grant to the Presidency. Mr. 
Wilson was deeply interested in the moral and relig- 
ious prosperity of Natick, as well as in crushing the 
slave power that had long ruled our country. He 
died suddenly at Washington, November 22, 1875. 
President Grant at once announced his death to the 
country, setting forth his high character and eminent 
services, and giving the usual directions to the several 
departments of government for honoring his memory. 
His funeral took place in Natick (where his remains 
rest), December 1, 1875, in the presence of a great 
assembly. 

John 0. Wilson — Senior partner in the lirm of J. O. 
Wilson & Co., has long taken a prominent part in 
the industrial, educational, moral and religious as 
well as linancial affairs of Natick. Mr. Wilson is a 
native of Hopkinton, came to Natick in IS.'W^ learned 
the trade of a shoemaker and followed it twelve 
years. Then he commenced as a manufacturer and 
is now at the head of the largest boot and shoe factory 
in Natick, employing 400 persons and selling goods 
amounting to $1,250,000 annually. For thirty-eight 
years he has been one of the deacons of the Congrega- 
tional Church, is the only one of the original trustees 
of ]\lorse Institute now in office, and is president of 
the board ; is the president of the Natick Savings 
Bank and of the Natick Electric Company, and one 
of the directors of the Natick Gas (Jompany. 

Daniel Wiij/il — Born in Natick, has been an oc- 
togenarian since September 18, 1888. Early a teacher, 
he fitted for college in I'hillips Academy, and grad- 
uated from Harvard University in 1837, and from 
AndoverTheological Seminary in 1840 ; was ordained 
pastor in Scituate, Mass., September 28, 1842, where 
he remained tor si.xteen years. Later he was pastor 
at Boylston three years, missionary to the Seneca 
Indians, N. Y., one year, pastor of Second Church, 
Ashburnham, 1863-71, after which he returned to his 
native town, where he now resides, engaged in liter- 
ary and other helpful work of various kinds. Was 



librarian of Morse Institute, 1875-83. Mr. Wight is 
the author of the impressive picture, " Progress of 
Bunyan's Pilgrim from the City of Destruction to 
the Heavenly City." The London Mornimj Adrer- 
tiser speaks of this as '' a remarkable work of art," 
and gives an outline of the entire composition, em- 
bracing at least one hundred subjects. The picture ■ 
has been admired by thousands on both sides of the ■ 
Atlantic. There were (iOOO copies and 800 proofs 
printed, after which ^Ir. \Viglit presented the plates 
(considerably worn) to " the Congregational Publica- 
tion Society," with 100 of the proofs. The plates 
were afterwards sold (with the full consent of Mr. 
Wight) for the sum of $450, to be removed to one of 
the Western States. 

Harrisnn Harwood. — Was born in North Brook- 
field Oct. 18, 1814, and was the son of George W. ^ 
and Annie Biscoe Harwood, of Spencer, Mass. His ■ 
grandfather was a major in the Revolutionary War. 'I 

The pecuniary circumstances of the family prevent- " 
ed young Harwood ft-ora obtaining a collegiate edu- 
cation, but in Westminster Academy, which deserv- 
edly held a high rank among the institutions of learn- 
ing in Worcester County, he made great proficency 
in his studies. 

At the age of nineteen he was a popular and suc- 
cessful teacher, and three years later was engaged in 
business in Adrian, Michigan. At the age of twenty- 
five he returned to New ICngland, and after having 
lived for a short lime in Oakham, and for a longer 
period in Fitchburg, he finally settled in Winchen- 
don and soon became one of her most enteriirising 
citizens. In that place he built a fine Town Hall, a 
large business block, his own pleasant home and a 
number of other private residences, besides origina- 
ting and establishing the business of manufacturing 
rattan liitskets. Later, he re-engaged in business in 
Adrian, but in 1858 settled permanently in Natick. 

Here he erected a factory for the manufacture of 
base-balls, which soon became the foremost of its 
kind in the country. His three sons were admitted 
as partners in this enterprise, and the firm " Har- 
wood it ."^ons " built up a large and lucrative business 
that continues to give employment to many of the 
people of Natick. 

Ten years after he came to this place JMr. Harwood 
erected his elegant residence on Walnut Hill, and to 
his taste and liberality in making iniprovenieuts is 
due, in no small degree, the great beauty of that |iart of 
the town. His good judgment and large business ex- 
perience fitted him for faithful and efficient. service as . 
one of the selectmen of Natick iu 1871, '72 and '73. I 
In the first of these years he was chosen one of the 
county commissioners of Middlesex County by a 
large majority, receiving for this office '.110 of the 919 
votes cast in Natick. Re-elected in 1874, 1877 and 
1880, he had, at the time of his death, entered upon 
the twelfth year of his service in this capacity, and for 
about seven years had been the chairman of the board. 







11 nl( 



Ov^— V, Y) -AT-vr-Ov^^ 



NATICK. 



oGo 



Jlr. Harwood was also one of the projectors of the 
Natiek National Bank and, for a number of years, 
one of its direotoi-s. 

In an enterprisirii; and growing town like Natiek 
the calls upon the public spirit and liberality of its 
leading citizens will always be numerous, and these 
were met' most cheerfully by Mr. Harwood. 

But while his industry, ability, gentlemanly bear- 
ing and rare judgment eminently fitted him to be a 
useful and trusted public servant, the same and other 
qualities of mind and heart made him especially re- 
spected and beloved in the domestic circle. His home 
was his delight. His wife was Miss Adeline Green- 
wood, of Winchendon. As a husband and a father 
Mr. Harwood seemed to live largely to promote the 
comfort and welfare of his family, but for this reason 
he never overlooked the claims of his neighbors and 
acquaintances upon his hospitality, and this be dis- 
pensed generously. He delighted in the culture of 
fruit and the adornment of his grounds and those 
connected with the elegant residences of his sons, all 
of which are in close prnximity. 

For two years Mr. Harwood was feeble and, at 
times, a great but uncomplaining sufferer. He died 
Aug. 27, 1.SS2, leaving a widow, three sons and one 
daughter. 

Though for a considerable part of his business life 
a servant of the public, and as such unsparing in his 
efforts to faithfully and promptly discharge all the 
duties of the offices to which he was elected, Mr. 
Harwood was, more than most husbands and fathers, 
a domestic man. and for this reason his death, at the 
age of sixty-eight years, was a heavy blow to liis fam- 
ily. His married life had covered forty-two years, 
and his home, as we have seen, was his delight. He 
was a confiding and loving husband and a trusted 
father. 

To distinguish, in his case, between inherited char- 
acteristics and those acquired by a long and diversified 
business experience, might be difficult, but it is not 
too much to say that his parents were persons of 
strong practical common sense and their son was like 
them. He encountered at times great difficulties and 
experienced great disappointments in his business 
career, but these seemed only to make him more per- 
severing and to bring out new and more effective re- 
sources for the work before him. Whatever seemed 
t(p him the right and best thing to do, he generally 
found the means of accomplishing. 

Mrs. Harwood (formerly Miss Adeline Greenwood), 
is the daughter of Henry and Sally Woodbury Green- 
wood, of Winchendon. 

They were married Afay 21, 1X40. Her father was 
a farmer. She and her daughter have for their home 
the beautiful dwelling-house, with pleasant surround- 
ings, that was erected by the deceased husband and 
father. 

The three sons have families as follows : 

Henry G. married, December 24, 1865, Miss Isa- 



bella Simonds Bryant, of Templeton, Massachusetts. 
They have one son, born January 22, 1870, Augustus 
Bryant Harwood. Harrison married. May, 18(>,S, Mi.ss 
Sarah .lane Winch, of Natiek. Their children are 
Robert \V. and Blanche G. Frank W. married, Oc- 
tober 3, 1876, Miss Jennie M. Wheaton, who was 
born in Boston, but resided at Wellesley Hills. Their 
children are Albert W., born July 2"), 1880, and Ijciia 
W., born August 30, 1884. 

It should be added that the business inaugurated 
in Natiek by Mr. Harwood (now, June, 18!l0, con- 
trolled entirely by Mr. Harrison Harwood) has given 
to the family, if not great wealth as this phrase is* 
now generally understood, at least a competence, 
while the factory has furnished profitable employ- 
ment to very many in the town of limited means. A 
very large part of the hard work involved iu the 
manufacture of base-balls can be conveniently done 
at the homes of the employes, and as leisure can be 
secured from domestic employments. 

The covering of the regulation base-ball (ard this 
is a very important item in its manufacture) must be 
sewed on by hand. As the best leather only will suf- 
fice for this covering, this firm built, some years 
since, in Natiek, a tannery for the production of the 
best material for ball-covers. 

An electric motor has recently been introduced 
into this factory. 

The subject of this sketch was of medium height, 
compactly and symmetrically built, with dark and 
penetrating eyes and an attractive countenance. 

Edward Walcott was born in Danvers, Mass., May 
3, 1810, and was the son of John and Rebecca Newell 
Walcott, and the eldest of thirteen children, of whom 
two died in infancy. It was an industrious, laborious, 
pious family. John Walcott was a farmer and could 
give to most of his children only such educational 
advantages as were afforded seventy-five years ago by 
the public schools. The youngest daughter, however, 
would have graduated at Mt. Holyoke Seminary had 
she lived five weeks longer. 

The subject of this sketch inherited from bis father 
what may be termed an easy temper coupled with 
good judgment, and from his mother ambition, hope- 
fulness, foresight and perseverance. 

Probably without any definite and settled plan for 
his life's work he came to Natiek when a youth of 
seventeen or eighteen years, and found a home in the 
family of Captain William Stone, who lived in the 
west part of Natiek, and whose daughter Elizabeth he 
married about six years later, or December 25, 1834. 
Having gained some knowledge respecting the making 
of shoes, he invested the little money lie had been able 
to save in the stock and implements necessary lor this 
work. This was in 1S28, which, as nearly as can be 
ascertained, was the date of the founding of Natick's 
great industry — the manufacture of foot-wear. 

Lacking a more convenient stand for cutting his 
leather, young Walcott placed two barrels under some 



5GG 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



shade-trees, and upon a wide board laid upon them 
commenced his work. When the stock first pur- 
chased had been used he took his goods to Boston 
and receiveil for them additional stock and a little 
money. Though gradually enlarging liis business, it 
was conducted for a number of years in this manner, 
when Mr. Walcott found himself able to remove to 
larger and more convenient quarters. Having pur- 
chased of Rev. Martin Moore his estate which covered 
the chief part of what is now West (!entral Street, 
with much of the land on both sides of it, and extend- 
ing from Main Street west to the extreme boundary 
♦ of Dell Park Cemetery, he moved the parsonage 
(built by Rev. Freeman Sears) from the corner where 
tlie Edward Walcott business block now stands west, 
and, turning it so as to have it face the north, made, it 
into a comfortable home for himself. This is the 
house next west of the Edward Walcott l)lock, on the 
south side of West Central Street. The house next 
west of this, and fronting north on the same street, 
was Mr. Walcott's Shrte Factory, in which for many 
years the cutting and packing was done. At that 
time no machinery was employed in tlie manufacture 
of boots and shoes, and the making of them was 
chiefly done at the homes of the workmen in this and 
the neighboring towns, even twenty or thirty miles 
distant. In 18.50 the historian of Natick, Oliver N. 
Bacon, reported Mr. Walcott as employing about 100 
men, and as having manufactured not far from three 
million pairs of shoes. But this business did not en- 
gross all the attention of Mr. Walcott, for, anticipat- 
ing the wants of the growing village, he was instru- 
mental in the laying out of new streets, and in re- 
claiming the swampy lands between the Boston and 
Albany Railroad and the Saxonville Branch, and con- 
verting them into good building lots. Spring Street 
was laid out and built up by Mr. Walcott. 

Later he built the Edward Walcott Block, which is 
still owned by his surviving family, and also erected 
for himself the spacious and costly residence on West 
Central Street, now owned and occupied by Mr. 
Cluirlcs W. tilcason. It may safely be asserted that 
no other man ever built so many houses in Natick as 
Mr. Walcott, while to his forethought and taste the 
town is indebted for the long rows of noble shade- 
trees that add so nuich to the beauty and comfort of 
tlie homes on West Central Street, and awaken at 
once the admiration of strangers. With an unusual 
share of i>ublic spirit he was a leader in making im- 
provements, and for a number of years was the largest 
tax-payer in Natick. He was not ambitious for office, 
but the town found in him a capable and faithlul 
servant, while for a considerable period he was one 
of the directors of Newton and Kramingham Banks. 
Happy in his domestic life, his home was his delight- 
ful retreat, while his numerous cares were perplexing 
and the gravest responsibilities pressed heavily upon 
him. Among Mr. Walcott's early a.ssociates in Natick 
were Captain George Herring, i-^ B. Maun and Henry 



Wilson. With the latter he was especially intimate, 
as both were early anti-slavery men from the depths 
of their souls. "The Underground Railroad," which 
carried so many bondmen from hard servitude to free- 
dom, had an openijig into Mr. Walcott's house, and 
many an escaping slave found help and protection 
there and was sent on his way rejoicing. 

During the war for the suppression of tlie Rebel- 
lion he was for two years a paymaster in the service 
of the Government, and stationed raf>stl3' at Wash- 
ington. 

By his marriage to Elizabeth Stone, Mr. Walcott 
had five children, one of whom died in infancy ; 
three sons and a daughter survive him. The eldest 
of these, Albert, resides in Washington, and is em- 
ployed in one of the Government departmenls. The 
second son resides in Oakland, Cal., and does busi- 
ness in San Francisco. The third son is John W. 
Walcott, who is, as his father was, a manufacturer 
of foot-wear in Natick. 

The daughter is Mrs. Nichols, a widow, whose 
home is with her stepmother in the plea.sant dwelling 
where Jlr. Walcott spent his last years and died. 

His second wife was Mrs. Hannah R. Henry, and 
they were married December 19, 1850. 

When a young man Mr. Walcott w.as rather 
slightly built, but as years increased he became a 
stout man, weighing 180 pounds. His habits were 
those of the courteous and refined gentleman. 

In 1832 he became a member of the Congregational 
Church, which he always supported with his money 
and influence. 

In politics he was a consistent Republican, though 
not an ardent partisan. 

His last sickness w.'is of about three weeks' dura- 
tion. It was a case of apoplexy, and he died April 
7. 1876. 

The interment was in Dell Park Cemetery, which, 
tm'enty-seven years before, he had conveyed to the 
town for burial purposes. 

Wi/liird Dritry. — The most remote ancestor of Cap- 
tain Drury, of whom the family in America has any 
reliable information, was Hugh i>rury, whose name 
appears upon the records of Sudbury in 1G41. The 
year following this date he purchased an estate in 
that town, but, selling the same four years later, he 
removed to Boston. There he became a member of 
the First Church, in \KA, and owned one-half of the 
Castle Tavern estate, besides lands near the Mill 
Bridge. He was a house carpenter by trade. IMr. 
Drury died in July, 1089, and was buried with his 
wife, Lydia, in the Chapel burying-ground. 

The subject of this sketch was of tlu' eighth gener- 
ation from Hugh, as follows : Hugh' ; as above John'; 
born in Sudbury May 2, l(i4H; Thomas', born August 
10, 1668; Caleb', born October f), 1688; Caleb'', born 
May 22, 1713 ; Caleb" (time of b irth unknown) ; Abel', 
married, December 1, 1803, Nabby Broad, of Natick. 
Willaidwasa son of Abel, and was born Apiil IS, 





^ccrci yO ^ I ci 



NATICK. 



5G7 



1806, in the house now belonging to the estate of Ed- 
mund W. Wood, a little west of the Waban Rose 
greenhouses, for that was the home of Abel Drnry, 
his father. 

Willard Drury was the younger of two children, 
both sons, his brother Otis having been born Novem- 
ber 26, 1804. Mr. Otis Drnry lived in Boston, and 
was in busine.ss there. He died October 2, 1SS3. 
Captain Willard Urnry lived in the house in which 
he was born forty-seven years. In childhood and 
youth he attended the public schools of the town, 
and for a time was a student in Leicester Academy. 
Arriving at manhood, he became a teacher, though 
devoting himself cliieHy to farming. 

In early, iis well as in mature life, lie was distin- 
guished for his industry, earnestness, perseverance 
and fidelity to trusts. Whatever he was expected to 
do he found means of accomplishing, provided it was 
right. Difficulties that would dishearten most men 
only served to make him more resolute, and to call 
into requisition new and more effective resources for 
overcoming them. No other man ever detested shams 
more heartily than did iMr. Drury, while he had what 
amounted to a genuine reverence for what was real, 
true, just and right. These characteristics he re- 
tained to the last, and never did they serve him and 
his fellow-townsmen better than during the last 
twenty-five years of his life. His mother was a very 
capable and strong-nunded woman, in the Itest sense 
of this much-abused term, and her son Willard inher- 
ited most of her best qualities of mind and of heart. 

Mr. Drury cared little for official distinction, but 
when called to ofDce lie was faithful in meeting all 
its responsibilities. It is doubtless vnthin the bounds 
of truth to say that more than to any other person 
or persons the town of Natick owes to Sir. Drury one 
of its most beneficent and valuable institutions. Ref- 
erence is here made to Tiie Morse Institute, the gen- 
eral history of which will be found in its place in 
this iketch of Natick. It may properly be staled 
here, however, that, after the town had voted to ac- 
cept the gift of Miss Mary .Vnn Morse for the found- 
ing of a library, Mr. Drury was the first named of the 
five trustees appointed by the town to take charge of 
the property and to carry into execution the will of 
Miss Morse respecting the same. After the trustees 
had been legally organized, and had entered upon 
their work, such difficulties and complications ap- 
peared that a vote was carried in a town-meeting to 
refuse the oB'er of Miss Morse, and to annul the act 
appointing a Board of Trust. It is understood that a 
part of the trustees favored this last-mentioned pro- 
ceeding, and were indisposed to make any additional 
efforts to save the property for the town, but the ma- j 
jority persevered and brought about the appoint- 
ment of Mr. Drury a.s administrator of the estate 
of Miss Morse with the will annexed. At once 
he entered upon the difficult work before him with 
great earnestness, and for some years managed the 



whole matter with so much care and skill that, while 
the claims against the estate were satisfied, the prop- 
erty increased rapidly and largely in value; so that 
before 1872 the trustees could report to the town that 
the estate was substantially settled, and a large fund 
was ready for building purposes and the purchase of 
a library. 

With less resolution, courage and skill in manage- 
ment on the part of Mr. Drury and his associates (of 
whom in thismatter he was the acknowledged leader) 
the Morse Institute, with its large and valuable free 
library, reading-rooms, etc., would never have been 
established. Probably few, if any, of the multitudes 
who enjoy from week to week the benefits of this in- 
stitution have any adequate idea of the niirrowness of 
the margin between success and failure in this case, 
or of the amount of life-consuming anxiety and labor 
that was involved in saving this treasure for the town 
of Natick. 

Mr. Drury 's first wife was Mi.ss Louisa H.aynes, 
who was born April 22, ]SOr>, and died .August 26, 
1840. Their only child, Abigail, became the wife of 
Mr. Isaac M. Fellows .September 5,18154. Mr. and 
Mrs. Fellows have a pleasant home <m West Central 
Street. 

June 1, 1853, Mr. Drury married Miss Roxa Broad, 
of Natick. She was born February ]:i, IS2M, and 
died October 5, 1875. Their only child, Ella M., 
was born August 16, I85i). She was a member of the 
first class that graduated at Wellesley College. As 
an instructor in microscopy she spends a portion of 
each year in Boston, and devoted to the same spe- 
cialty she is a member of the faculty of instruction 
of Martha's Vineyard Summer Institute, the sessions 
of which o|)en each year in the month of July and 
continue a number of weeks. 

In 1853 Mr. Drury sold the house in which he was 
born and had hitherto live<l, with all the land con- 
nected with it on the north si<le of the street (now 
" the Waban Rose" property), to Mr. William Henry 
Howard, and built for himself a new house on the 
south side of the street. This, standing upon eigh- 
teen acres of reserved land, wits ever afterwards his 
home. It is the well-known place now occupied by 
Mr. Browning. 

In stature Mr. Drury was tall and large, and till he 
w;ls injured by lifting a burden too heavy, in the later 
year.s of his life, he was strong and had great i>owers 
of endurance. His parents became mend)ers of the 
Congregational Church in ISOS, and he united with 
the same Nov., 1866. 

Mr. Drury's last sickness, of a few weeks' duration, 
brought with if much suti'ering, and he died of cystitis 
(inflammalion about the bladder) .Inly 13, 1882. By 
will he left funds to the town of Natick to secure 
care for his burial kit in Dell I'ark Cemetery. 

Leonard Morse, ' belonged to one of the ancient 



1 Thu family oame was, aad ia, variously spelled, in difleraut, and 



568 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



families, certainly of America, if not of England, and 
one of the most numerous. Reliable records trace liis 
descent from Samuel Morse, who was born in England 
in 1585, and came to America with his wife, Pjjiza- 
beth, and, at least, three sons, and settled in Dedham, 
Mass., in ](i37. 

Samuel Morse w.as not one of the "Pilgrim 
Fathers," but a stanch Puritan. 

The subject of this sketch was of the ninth genera- 
tion from Samuel the immigrant. The names of 
these ancestors, with those of their wives, are here 
given. 

Samuel', wife Elizabeth; DanieP, wife Lvdia; 
Daniel'', wife Elizabeth Barbour; Daniel', wife Su- 
sannah Holbrook ; Obadiah^, wife Mary Walker; 
Daniel", wife Hannah Eames ; Henry', wife Eunice 
Dowse ; George", wife Abigail Underwood. Leonard' 
was born at Sherborn, Jlass., .Tan. 27, 1817. He had 
two brothers, George, born Oct. 1.3, 1821, and John 
U., born Jan. 21, 1829, and a sister, Eleanor C, who 
was born Oct. 17, 1819. 

The father of this family was a farmer, and re- 
moved from Sherborn to Little South, now Southville 
Natick. Mr. Leonard Morse, like many other Natick 
men when laying the foundations of their ]>rosperity, 
learned in youth the trade of a shoemaker, and not 
content to be simply a workman in that business, he 
established a shoe factory upon the east side of South 
Main Street, nearly opposite the dwelling-house of 
Mr. Dexter Washburn. This was before the intro- 
duction of machinery in the manufacture of foot- 
wear. All the work was done by hand, and it was a 
slow way to make a fortune. It is certain Mr. Morse 
did not acquire any considerable ])ortion of his 
wealth in this manner, but he gained what was then 
more valuable, — a knowledge of men and skill and 
shrewdness in business. 

The exact date of his withdrawing from this, which 
is the chief industry of Natick, is uncertain, but the 
time came when he turned his attention to invest- 
ments in real estate and the loaning of money, and 
this was his business during all of the latter part of 
his life. For many years he always had funds to lo.an 
in almost any amount on good security, and doubtless 
did vastly more in this branch of business than anv 
other capitalist in Natick. Harely did his good judg- 
ment fail him in making his numerous investments. 



often in the same localitiee. Morse, Mobs, Morrs, Morree and Mors com- 
prise tiie ciiief variitliuns, and to tiiese potwiltly Max/, may be added. It 
is suppOHod, witli f^ood riMiHon, tlial tlie naino \\a^ Hpt^Ilod at an early 
peritid iirnio (lite Latin for death), ;m it Mas sitelled l>y Itie Farulty of 
Harvard Ooliege in graiilitig oarly dcgrei^H to meinljers of tliis faiinly, 
and tbat to ol)scnre Ilio original meaning of tho word some brandies of 
the I'amily added an c, others an n or a double «, white some ondtted the 
r. The motto upon the coat of arms of the Morse family for more than 
.lOO years, or from the time of Edward 111. iiai* been, " Fn Peo noii armis 
fido,"- "I trast in (iod, not in arms." t)f tho numbers of the family it 
may be said that the Morse Kegistei-, published forty years ago, and con- 
taining a record of seven divisions of the fanuly has, according to its 
compiler, 2u,0U0 entries of births, marriages and deaths. It is nearly cer- 
tain that the seven heads of these divisions had a common ancestor. 



Among his valuable possessions in real estate was 
the lot upon the east side of Main Street, next .south 
of the block which contains the post-ofHce. After 
the great fire, Jan. 13, 1874, had swept ofl' all the 
cheaper buildings which had previously covered both 
sides of Main Street in that ]>art of the village, Mr. 
Morse erected upon the lot just named the Masonic 
Block. This is built of brick, with a marble front, 
and is three stories in height, with stores upon the 
lower floor, business offices and rooms upon the second 
floor, while above are the spacious and convenient 
quarters occupied by the Masonic Fraternity. This 
is one of two or three ornamental blocks in Natick, 
and no other is more conveniently located for business 
purposes. 

May i, 1842, Mr. Morse married l\Iiss Mary Ann 
Stone, daughter of Mr. Gilbert and Mrs. Eunice Un- 
derwood Stone, of Hopkinton, Mass. They had no 
children. Mrs. Morse survives her husband and re- 
tains their pleasant home on North Main Street, cor- 
ner of Mechanic Street. 

For two years before his death the health of Mr. 
Morse had been gradually failing, but he was con- 
fined to his house three weeks only. His death oc- 
curred April 27, 1S88, and the immediate cause of it 
was apoplexy. His age was .seventy-one years and 
three months, and he was buried in his lot in Dell 
Park Cemetery. Mr. Morse always took a deep in- 
terest in whatever affected the growth or prosperity of 
Natick. 

Captain Daniel Horse, oi the fourth generation from 
Samuel, of Dedham, was a man of note in the early 
history of this town. Born in 1094, he married, in 
1719, Hannah Dyer, a daughter of his step-mother, 
and died January 7, 1773. He was the captain of 
the first military company raised in Natick, and 
when the plantation was to be erected into a parish, 
in 1740, he was authorized by the General ( 'ourt to 
call the fir.st meeting. His intellectual ability and 
undaunted courage fitted him to be a successful 
leader among the white settlers and the resident 
Indians. 

Samuel 0. Daniels was born in Fiamingham No- 
vember 10, 1844. He came to Natick when a young 
man, and after having rendered himself familiar with 
the business of a druggist, opened, on Main Street, 
a druggist's store, on his own account. In the great 
fire in 1874, which consumed nearly the entire 
central portion of the village, Mr. Daniels was one 
of the sutferers ; but when Clark's Block w.as rebuilt 
he opened a new and very attractive druggist estab- 
lishment in that block, at the corner of Main and 
Summer Streets, and directly under the Natick 
National Bank. In this business he continued till 
the time of his death. 

From his interest in scientific pursuits, especially 
in chemistry, it was natural that he should be among 
the first of the citizens of Natick to consider the ad- 
visability of introducing electric lights as one of the 



TOWNSEND. 



569 



institutions of the town. As the result of inquiries 
and ileliberatioiis upon this matter, in whicli .Mr. 
Daniels took a leading part, six gentlemen of Natick 
formed a syndicate for the purpose of establishing 
here an electric plant and lighting the streets and 
business establishments of the town by electricity. 
Of this syndicate Mr. Daniels wa.s president and gen- 
eral inanaeer, and Hon. Francis Bigelow was treas- 
urer. A large building was erected on Summer 
Street and furnished with the appliances for generat- 
ing electricity, and the business thus projected was 
prosecuted with good success. But not many months 
elapsed before it was deemed best to dissolve the 
syndicate and to organize and carry on the work as a 
regular corporation. For this purpose a charter 
was obtained from Maine, and the Natick Electric 
Company was organized, with Deacon J. B. Wilson 
as president, Hon. Francis Bigelow as treasurer, 
and Mr. Daniels as JIauager. This was in 188(3, and 
seventeen stockholders constituted the company, with 
a capital stock of ."<14,800. The system adopted was 
the Thomson-Houston, and, in 1889, there were 
thirty-six public and four hundred and fifty com- 
mercial lamps in use. Since the date just mentioned 
the number of both kinds has considerably increased, 
the town appropriating each year a larger sum for 
arc lights, and maintaining them in all the larger 
centres of business, while the incandescent are found 
year by year in a greater number of factories, stores 
and offices. Business fcas been greatly facilitated by 
these movements, and the same may be said of the 
comfort of the people and the security of their 
properly. 

Recently, the comi)rtny, of which Mr. Daniels was, 
for a time, general manager, has sold its entire efl'ects 
to a new electric corporation, which is building, in 
the northwest part of the village, new and greatly 
enlarged works for the generating m.".chinery. As 
the result of these changes, and the founding of a 
new and costly electrical plant, the running of 
electric cars through the village of Natick, and a new 
and easy connection with Bo-ston, are among the an- 
ticipations of the near future. Of this entire electric 
enterprise Mr. Daniels should have the credit of be- 
ing one of the foremost and persevering originators. 
In the midst of his work he died very suddenly of 
apoplexy, March 28, 1888, at the age of forty-three 
years. 



CHAPTER XLII. 

TO WSSEND. 

BY ITHAMAR B. SAWTELLE. 
DESrRIPTI VE. 
The town of Townsend is situated in the north- 
west angle of the county, in latitude 42' 38' north, 
and longitude 4° 19' very nearly east from Washing- 



ton, on the northern margin of the State, adjoining 
New Hampshire. It is forty miles northwesterly 
from Boston, thirty-two miles northerly from Wor- 
cester, and fifty-six miles southerly from Concord, 
New Hampshire. In 1792 the selectmen of Town- 
send, in company with the selectmen of the seven* 
adjoining towns, each in their turn, caused an accu- 
rate survey of the town and a plan thereof to be 
made. The several boundaries of the town since that 
date. have remained unaltered in the least particular. 
According to that survey it is bounded as follows : 

"BeginninE at the nortlieast corner and running south 4*^ west on 
Pepperell line 300 rode to Groton old corner ; thence south 14° west on 
Pepperell line 880 rods to the northwest corner of Groton ; thence soutli 
14- west on Groton line, 270 rods to the northwtfst corner of Shirley ; 
thence south 14^ west on Shirley line, .SOO rods to the northwest corner of 
Lunenburg ; thence south 6'2V^° west, 1880 rods to the northeast corner 
of Lunenburg, in the east line of Ashby ; thence north \P east by 
* sbby line, 1360 rods to the northeast corner of .\shby ; thence south 
S2J2'' east by the State line and Mason south line, HOG rods to the south- 
east corner of lUason ; thence by the State line and the south line of 
Brookline, 760 rods to the point of beginning ; and contains by estima- 
tion ly,271 acres." 

The town contains a trifle more than five and one- 
half miles square, or thirty and one-ninth square 
miles. The surface of the town, except that portion 
near the river, is greatly diversified with hills and val- 
leys. On the banks of the Squanicodk, through the en- 
tire length of the town, there are areas of level sandy 
plains. Some of these, that are only slightly elevated 
above the natural surface of the river, are fertile and 
afford good remuneration to the husbandman for his la- 
bor. The rocks are ferruginous gneiss, Merrimac schist, 
sienite and St. John's group. There'are ledges which 
afford large quantities of stone for building purposes; 
some of them can be 8|)lit and worked to good advan- 
tage, and only a small portion of iron, which is one of 
their constituent parts, prevents a much more exten- 
sive use of them. On the east side of the Nissequas- 
sick Hill a vein of plumbago crops out, which has 
never been investigated, and nothing is known in re- 
gard to its quality or value. The borders of the town, 
except at the southeastern part, are hilly. The prin- 
cipal hills are Nissequassick Hill, West Hill, Barker 
Hill, Battery Hill and Bayberry Hill. 

Nissequassick Hii.i, embraces the northeastern 
part of the town, from the Harbor to the State line, 
the northern slope extending into New Hamjishire. 
Since the settlement of the town this hill has been 
more densely populated than any other portion thereof, 
except the villages. It contains some rough ledges 
and broken crags on its eastern brow, except which, it 
has few ravines or abrupt elevations ; and its soil, al- 
though somewhat rocky, is both arable and productive. 
It is a graceful elevation, and h.as many standpoints 
of scenic beauty. Many charming prospects, worthy 
of an ascent to behold, may be seen from its .summit. 
The Monadnock, the Watatic, the Wachusett and 
the bold elevations at the north, including Jo Eng- 
lish Hill, together with the mountains of New Ips- 
wich, Peterborough and Lyndeborough, in New 



570 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Hampshire, are distinctly visible and stand out in 
bold relief, resembling turret.s in the sky belonging to 
the walls of some ethereal world. The farm-build- 
ings situated on the summit of this hill are in plain 
sight of portions of -several towns situated at the west 
and northwest. 

West Hill, situated west and nearly opposite the 
hill just described, and of about the same elevation, 
lies also in the northern part of the town, e.xtending 
farther into New Hampshire. It, however, does not, 
take up so much of the territory of the town as Nis- 
sequassick Hill. It contains, ledgy, waste lands, in 
wliich are wild ravines and swamps, caused by rocky 
barriers, which impede the natural course of the riv- 
ulets. Two or three farms on its summit constitute 
all the soil on this hill suitable for cultivation ; and 
it is generally covered with a growth of young forest 
trees of different sizes and ages, for which purpose it 
is best adapted. Closing up to this hill on the west, 
comes 

Barkeu Hill is sometimes called "Walker Hill,'' 
it being tlie place of residence at one time of Deacon 
Samuel Walker. The eastern brow of this hill con- 
tains some good soil, on which are two or three well- 
cultivated farms. The balance of its territory is quite 
rough and ledgy and is the largest tract of uninhab- 
ited land in Ton nseud. Some parts of this hill are 
covered by a nice growth of chestnut timber. 

Batteky Hill is a name applied to a part of an 
unbroken sjmr of the Turkey Hills which extend 
from Pearl Hill, in Fitchburg, north to New Ipswich, 
New Hampshire, bordering the whole western line of 
the town. The name was a|q)lied to that part of this 
range over which passes the old county road from 
West Townsend to Ashby, extending, |)erh.aps, a mile 
both north and south of this thoroughfare. It was 
so called from a garrison-house which stood on its 
eastern slope in the town of Ashby, on which a can- 
non was placed by the settlers to give an alarm in 
case of the incursions of Indians. A tiew farms on 
this hill, at the west and northwest of Ash Swamp, 
are of excellent quality, the soil containing just 
enough argillaceous matter to prevent the cultivated 
fields from l)eing washed by heavy rains, and to hold 
moisture during the drouths of summer. Some heavy 
crops of grass have been taken oil' from these farms. 

Bavberrv Hill, in the southwest part of the 
town, has nearly half of its territory in Lunenburg. 
On the north and west sides of this hill its ascent is 
quite steep, and the approaches to it are somewhat 
dillicult. Two or three hundred acres on its top are 
comparatively level. The land here is rocky, cold and 
backward in the spring. Formerly there wereseveral 
farmers who produced large and valuable crops of 
peaches on this hill, but for the last few years there 
lias been a small amount of this fruit sent to market 
from this town. There is astamlpoint on the summit 
of this hill from which a prospect of panoramic beauty 
may be seen, having the three villages of Townsend 



in the foreground situated about equidistant in an 
elongated basin, widening from the northwest to the 
southeast and shut in by these hills, dotted with 
white dwellings, pastures, fields and forests. Five 
brooks which drain parts of Mason, Ashby, New 
Ipswich, Fitchburg and Lunenburg converge into 
Ash Swamp, situated in the west part of the town. 

Si^'ANROOK River is the product of these streams, 
and it takes its course through Townsend from north- 
west to southeast, turning to the right on leaving the 
town and in its onward course forms the boundary 
line between Groton and Shirley till it empties into 
the Nashua. It is the largest tributary to that river, 
and has furnished motive-])Ower which has been 
utilized, since 1734, at several places in this town. 

WoRDEN Pond, a small sheet of clear water, situ- 
ated in the southwest part of the town, near Ashby 
line, is the only natural pond worthy of notice. It 
has no visible outlet, and the probability is that it has 
some subterranean connection with Pearl Hill Brook, 
whereby it becomes replenished, while other streams, 
during a drouth, afford a small flow of water. It is 
considerably frequented in early winter for fishing 
through the ice. 

As a farming town, Townsend is inferior to Lu- 
nenburg and some other towns in Worcester County, 
but compared with the other joining towns, it is 
naturally as good and better than some of them. 
The farms have been neglected, so that agriculture 
is not a branch of industry of which the people 
are particularly proud. Too much attention has 
been given to the coopering business, to the detri- 
ment of good cows, cleanly cultivated fields and well- 
filled barns; yet its inhabitants regard their lines as 
having "fallen in pleasant places, and that they have 
a goodly heritage." The situation of the town is com- 
paratively favorable for genial climatic influences. 
The first precursor of winter, in earnest, is seen in the 
powdered crests of the hills at the we.st and north- 
west, on the mornings which follow the cold Thanks- 
giving raiti-storms. Snow appears in that direction, 
occasionally, two or three weeks before it is seen on 
Townsend soil. Certain changes in the air are notice- 
able in traveling to the northwest from Boston. In 
spring, vegetation at Concord, a little outside of the 
ocean air, is dift'erent from that at the tide-water. 
Commencing at the hills bordering on Townsend on 
the west, another atmospheric change is noticeable ; 
while at the distance of twenty-five miles farther at 
the northwest there is considerable difference in the 
climate. At the same time the extremes of heat and 
cold are greater on the plains here than either on our 
own hills or those at the northwest. The cold waves 
of air, following up the Niwhuaand Squanicook to the 
Harbor Pond, cause that locality and its surroundings 
to be the coldest of any part of Townsend. 

The provincial Governor assumed the responsibility 
of giving names to towns and counties, which were 
generally called for one of his intimate friends or 



I 



TOWNSEND. 



571 



some person of rank or of tlie nobility. Tlie (iov- 
eriior nanu'il tliis town in honor of Viscount Charles 
Townsheml, His Majesty's Secretary of War, and his 
contemporary. About 1780 the town clerk and 
others began to spell Townshend by omitting the /( 
and ffiving it its present orthography. Thence till 
about 1800 the custom was to spell the word both 
ways, since which time the correct method of spell- 
ing has been abandoned, perhaps contrary to the 
principles of good tivste or justice. The town has 
three postal centres, known as Townsend Harbor, 
Townsend and West Townsend, each situated about 
two miles from the other and clustering on both 
banks of the !Si[uanicook. The Peterborough and 
Shirley Railmad, a branch of the Fitehburg Railroad 
(completed in 1849), passes through the town, touch- 
ing the three villages daily with three regular pas- 
senger trains each way. 

The firot paper title to any land in Townsend was 
made on the (ith day of September, ItiTt!, which 
conveyed to William Hathorn a mile square, of which 
the following is a copy : 

** Layil out to the Wor^pffi' " \ViIIi:iin Ilautlntrn, Esq., six liuinlred 
ami forty acres of Ijind, more or less, lyintc in theWilcierneason the north 
of Groatoii river, at a phire railed hy the Indians, Wiste'juassuck, on 
the west side of sjiyd hiil, Itlieginsata j^reat Hendoek tree standing 
on the west side of the sayd hill marked witli II, ami rnnns north ami 
by e:ist three hundred and twenty pole, to a maple tree marked w^ H ; 
fpMn thenee it rnnns West and hy north three hundred and twenty pole 
to a stake and atones ; from thence it riiuns sontli X hy west three hun 
dred ami twenty pole to a great [I'ne in a little swamp, marked w^f> H ; 
front llience it rnnns ea^t & hy south to the first hemlock. ,\II the 
lynesare rvnne A the trees are well marked. It eontaynesa milesqnai'e 
and is layed exactly square, asnniy beea.sily demonstnitedhy ye platform 
inserted vnderneath .t is on file. 

".I0N.4TH.\N D.ANKORTii, Surx'e.jor. 

*'The court allows .V approves of this returne, so it interferes not w"' 
former grants." 

William Hathorn was a magistrate in Salem when 
the (Juakers commenced their eccentric and indecent 
lU'ocei-dings " .ngainst the peace and dignity" of the 
Colony ; and a captain of the Salem militia during 
the Indian war, afterwards promoted to the rank of 
major. He Wiis a deputy to the General Court two or 
three times, Speaker in 10(51, and a man of promi- 
nence. "Hathoru"s farm," so-called, was situated 
on the western slope of what w'as formerly known as 
Wallace Hill, including the meatlows at its base, ami 
was undoubtedly .selected from the unbroken wilder- 
ness on account of the spontaneous growth of grxss 
which this meadow produced. The Indian name in 
this grant has been found spelled quite diflerently in 
diH'erent reeoj-ds. In both the town and the proprie- 
tors' records the word is almost invariably Nisseqiias- 
sick. This word translatcil signifies the two pine 
place {ninsi, two; coos, pines; and ic/:, a locative par- 
ticle). This word has never been applied to any 
other locality. There is no evidence showing that 
the Indians ever made Townsend a permanent place 
of abode. There might have been two large or pe- 
culiarly situated pines on this bill which served them 
as a guide in their journeys from Lancaster to Dun- 



stable, where the Ntishua River joins the Merrimac, 
which was one of their favorite tishing-grounds. 

In 1702 the Colony of Massachusetts Bay com- 
menced issuing paper money to pay debts which ac- 
cumulated from the expense of the Indian wars and 
other causes. The inflation of the currency, together 
with a strong passion and greed for landed estates, 
brought to the surface a class of speculators who 
were anxious to have new towns granted and sur- 
veyed. 

In 1719 a certain number of men, the most promi- 
nent of whom belonged to Concord, petitioned the 
General Court for the grant of two towns at the 
" Westerly side of Groton." This was soon after 
Groton had been re-surveyed by Samuel Danforlh, 
who establi.shed the northwest corner of Groton on the 
easterly side of " Wistequaset Hill," thereby giving 
to Groton the gore of land between the north line of 
that town and the south line of old Dunstable, hav- 
ing the east lines of Lunenburg and Townsend as 
they now are for its western boundary. By this sur- 
vey Groton obtained large portions of land which are 
now included within the limits of the townships of 
Pepperell and Shirley. On the 7th of December, 
1719, the General Court made the following grant 
which is of great importance, for it is not only the 
foundation of tlie municipal rights of the town, but it 
is the btise upon which rest the titles to all the real 
estate in Townsend except Hathorn's mile square. 
It is here given entire. from an exact copy of the co- 
lonial records : 

*'Anno Retjni Regii Getirgii MatjuH- Brittaiinif Si'xlu, At a great and Gen- 
eral ('ourt or Assembly for bis Ma.jesty'8 Province of the M!i8.s;ichnsett« 
Bay, in New Kngland, hegnn and held at Boston, upon Wednesday, the 
twenty-seveDth of May, ITlit, and ctnitinned by Prorogation to Wedties- 
day, the fourth of November, 17111, and then met, being their second 
session." 

"Monday, December 7, 1719. 

"In the bouse of Representatives, the vote for granting two new- 
towns was brought down from the board with .Amendments, which were 
read and agreed to. And the said vote is as follows, viz.: VvUd, That 
two new towns, each containing a ijuantity of land not exceeding six 
miles square, be laid out in as regular Forms as Land will allow ; to be 
settle<l in a defensible manner on the Westerly side of Groton West line 
and that William Tailor, .Sanniel Thaxter, Fnincis Fullam, Esqrs., Canl. 
.lohn Shipley and Mr. Benjamin WhiUemore bo a committee fully em- 
powered to allot and grant out the land lontainetl iu each of the s;iid 
towns (a lot not to exceed Two huildreil and lifty acres), to such per- 
sons, and only such as will effectually settle the same within the s|>are 
of three years next ensuing the laying out and granting such by the 
Couunittee, who are instructed to admit eighty families or ]iersons in 
each town at least who shall pay to the said <'.ommittee for the use of 
the Province, the sum of five j>ounds for each allotment, which shall he 
granted and allotted as aforesaid ; and that each person to whom snch 
lot or lots shall be granted or laid out, shall he obliged to build a good 
Dwelling House t!iere(m, and inhabit it ; and also to break up and ftoue 
in three acres of latid at the least, within the term of three years ; and 
that there be laid «uit and reserved for the first settled minister a good, 
convenient Lot; also a Lot for the schocd, and a ministerial lot anil a 
Lot for Harvard Cxjllege, of two hundred and fifty aere.s each ; ami the 
Settlers bo obliged to build a good, convenient Hcnise for the worsliij> ^A' 
God, in each of the said Towns, within the term of four years ; and to 
pay the ciiarges of the necessary surveys, and the (Jonmiittee for their 
service in anil about the premises ; and that 'he t^mmittee give public 
notice of the time and place when and where they will meet to grant 
allottmenla. 

"Consented to Saml. Shote." 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



The townships of Iviinenbiirg :uiil Towiiseud, by 
this order or grant of tho (ioneral ("ourt, were called 
into existence Ironi the "counlric land" of the Prov- 
ince and from a territory previously called Turkey 
Hills. From the ilate of the grant till each of these 
towns wa.s surveyed and received its respective char- 
ter, Lunenburg was called Turkey Hills, and Town- 
send WAS called The North Town, sometimes Turkey 
Hills North Town. The committee named in the 
grant called their lirst meeting at the inn of Jona- 
than Hobart, of Concord, on the Hth of Jlay, 1720, 
when seventy-two of the eighty shares in North Town 
were taken up, some subscribers paying the five 
pounds, others paying only a part, and others noth- 
ing at that time. Twenty-four of these seventy-two 
shareholders belonged to Concord. At a subsequent 
meeting the other eight shares were taken, but the 
names of those who took them do not appear on the 
manuscript record of Francis FuHam, the clerk of the 
committee. This manuscript is preserved in Harvard 
College Library. It was impossil)le for the original 
proprietors of the town to conform to the strict letter 
of the grant. The Indian war of those days delayed 
the settlement of the town for some time and men 
hesitated to leave the older settlements for fear of In- 
dian incursions. The " convenient house for the 
worship of God" was not built (in part) till 1730. It 
was a rude, cheap bouse and the only one in town 
that was built of sawed lumber. Only a few of the 
men who met at Concord with the committee to sub- 
scribe for an eightieth part of the town in 1719 ever 
saw the town, the settlement was so long delayed. 
The first birth in Townsend was in 1728, during which 
year a few families came here from Chelmsford, Ciro- 
ton and Woburn. Some men from Groton, who had 
land here, came up and cleared the land in the fall of 
the year for two or three years previous and returned 
home and spent the winter. The petitioners of the 
North Town for a charter, in 1732, signed by the set- 
tlers of the iS'orth Town, represented 'that the town 
was completely filled with inhabitants," when prob- 
ably there were less than two hundred people in town. 
One of the conditions in all land grants was, " Pro- 
vided it doth not interfere with any former grant." 
Dunstable received its charter in 1673, or about fifty 
years before any man except Major Hatborn owned 
any Townsend soil. The North Town men found 
their east line, bounded on Groton, running north 
17J° east from Lunenburg corner, was less than six 
miles long; so they interfered with a former grant by 
pushing their northeast corner up into Dun.stable, 
fearing that they would not get their six miles square, 
as was promised by the act of 1719. They desired 
and expected their east line, running northerly from 
Lunenburg northeast corner, to continue "north seven- 
teen and one-half degrees east," after reaching Groton 
northwest corner, and penetrate the town of Dunstable 
in that direction. This created a bitter controversy 
between the two towns, the settlement of which has 



never been explained and no one knows mucli ab"ut 
it from the fact that the Dunstable records of that 
period are lost. In 1732 the General Court .settled 
the matter parr/y in the charter for Townsend by di- 
viding the territory claimed by Townsend between 
the two towns ; but until the Province line was estab- 
lished, in 1741, as will be seen by the charter. Town- 
send had no northea.st corner. 

CHARTER Oy TOWNSEND. 

*' Wheretwtbe uortlit-rly part of Tiirkijy Hills, so-called, is complftcly 
tilled with inliabitaDts, and who are now about settling a learned and or- 
thodox minister among them, and have addressed this court that they may 
be set oft" a district and 8ep(a)rate town, and be vested with all the pow- 
ers and privileges of a town ; Be it therefore enacted by .his excellency 
the governor, council and representatives in General Court asseni bled, 
and by the authority of the same, — 

"That the northerly part of Turkey Hills, ae hereafter bounded and 
described, be and hereby is set off and and constitnled a sepla)rate town- 
ship by the name of Townshend, the bounds of said township to be as 
followeth, vict, : Beginning at a heap of stones at the northwest corner 
of Lunenburg ; so running east tbiity-two degrees and oue-balf south, 
three thousand and fifty rods, to a heap of stones in Groton tine ; then 
bounded on Groton line, north seventeen degrees and an half east one 
thonsjind four hundred and forty rods to a heap of stones at (iroton 
northwest corner ; from thence running due north, leaving eighty 
acres out of the plan to the town of Dunstable ; then running from 
Dunstable west line on province land, west thirty-one degrees and an 
half north two thousand two hundred and forty rods, to a tree marked ; 
then running south, thirty-six degrees west to the northwest corner of 
Lunenburg, where the bounds tirst began, one thousand nine hundred 
and twenty rods. Provided, That nothing heroin contained be construed 
to effect the rights of the proprietors of the land called Hathorn's farm, 
and the inhabitants of tlie said lands, as before described and hounded; 
be ami hereby are vested with the powers, privileges and immunities 
that the inhabitants of any of the towns of this province are or ouglit 
to be vested with. Provided, 'i'bat the said town of Townsliend do, 
within the space of two years from the publication ol this act, procure 
and settle a learned orthodox minister of good conversation, and make 
provision for his comfortable and honoralde support. In the House of Kep- 
resentatives, June 29, 173'2, ordered that Mr. Joseph Stevens, one of the 
principal inhabitants of the town of Townshend, be and hereby is fully 
impowered to assemble and convene the inlial>itiint.s of said town to 
chose town officers to stand mitil the anniversary meeting in March 
next, any law, usage or custom to the contrary notwithstanding. 

" Sent up for concurrence, 

" J. QuiNCY, bpeaUr. 

" In council June 30, 1732, Received and concured, 

"J. WiLLARD, Secre/ary. 

" June 30, 1732, consented to .T. Belcher." 

From the grant it appears that Townsend acquired, 
in 1732, about forty-two .square miles of land instead 
of thirty-six, as contemplated by the act of 1719. t 
Perhaps this liberality is traceable to the fact that 
some of the members of the General Court were part 
owners of the North Town and assisted in making 
the survey of the town. Its northeast and southwest 
lines were parallel, the northeast line being somewhat 
shorter than the southwest line. The southwest cor- 
ner of Dunstable was about two miles farther west 
than a line drawn due north from Groton northwest 
corner, so that the northeast line of Townsend must 
have been more than nine miles long, and the south- 
west line more than nine miles and one-half. Prob- 
ably it was the intention of the General Court that 
the proprietors of Townsend and Dunstable should 
agree upon a point for a northetist corner of Town- 
send which was to be legalized at a future period. 

The running of the Province line, in 1741, settled 



TOWNSEND. 



573 



many disputes about land titles, and certainly was a 
great benefit to New Hampshire, which received a 
fresh impetus in civilization by aoiuiriiig from Mass- 
achusetts twenty- eight townships which were chartered 
by that Province, besides large tract of land never 
incorporated into towns. Duostable (then in Middle- 
sex County) was severed in twain, tiie larger and more 
eligible part l)eing left in New Hampshire. Town- 
send lost about one-third of its territory by this line 
but found a northeast corner of tlie town located con- 
siderably south of the point for which it contended. 
Parts of Brookline, Jfason and New Ipswich, in New 
Hampshire, were then taken from Townsend. The 
proprietors of Townsend felt much uneasiness, on 
account of their loss of land caused by this new line, 
dasher Wyman, who was clerk of the proprietors, 
not only lost his laud, a part of which was under cul- 
tivation, but his improvements, including a mill 
which stood near the spot where the mill situated 
nearest to the State line in Brookline now stands. 
Colonel William liawrcnce, of! Iroton, lost about four 
hundred acres of non-resident laud, and John Farrar 
was forced away from his home by a writ of eject- 
ment. 

Jonas Clark and John Stevens were also losers. 
These lands are now in Brookline. These losers of 
land petitioned the General Cowrt at difl'erent times 
for grants of land to make themselves whole, and the 
court responded tavorably, and granted tracts «l land 
at three different times, none of which were ever any 
benefit to the proprietors. The fourth grant was 
made in I7S5, when a townshiji marked No. HI, on 
Rufus Putnam's i)lan of a set of towns in the extreme 
east part of Lincoln County (now Washington), in 
the district of ]\Iaine, was granted to the proprietors. 
The Townsend people never received any profit from 
this grant, and the township itself (which is now 
Charlotte) was not settled till ISIO, or about sixty 
years after the lands in Townsend were lost. 

The town ofAshby was chartered in 1767. It was 
taken from Fitchburg, Ashburnliam and Townseud, 
the last-named town contributing more than one-half 
of the territory to make the new town. The only 
alterations in the boundary-lines of Townsend since it 
was chartered were caused by the estaldishiug of the 
Province^line in 1741, and the creating of the town of 
Ashby in 17(}7. 

There were, at first, two divisions of laud out, 
running northerly from the river, by the line of 
(iroton, across the east end of the town. In 1733 
a third division was made which extended nearly 
two miles west from Groton line. The east end of 
the "House Lots" abutted on a "six rod way, run- 
ning nearly north and south," which is now the 
road loading over Nissequassick Hill. The west 
end of the second division also abutted on this road, 
which was the longest and widest highway laid out 
by the proprietors, now in use. The proprietors 
made ample reservations for roads. Almost every 



deed closed with these words: "There is also an 
allowance for a way whenever the town shall think 
it necessary." No matter how rugged iuid precip- 
itous, marshy or ledgy, whether the land was on Rat- 
tlesnake Hill or the rough peaks which are now in 
Northern Ashby, that ubiquitous "allowance for a 
way" was sure to be present. Tiie road cuteiing 
the northeast corner of the town, running nearly 
-outh for a short distance, then turning easterly 
and running about half-way from the State line to 
the harbor, to the point where oue road turns to- 
ward Pepperell and another westerly, was /he rond 
between the first and second divisions then laid out. 
N'o original proprietor, according to the terms of the 
court's conuiiittee, could hold more than 1200 acres 
iu one body, although he had a right to one- 
eightieth of all the land in the town. Lots in 
these divisions contained about fifty acres, aud are 
designated iu the proprietors' records as "original 
house lots.'" There were more than 100 lots in 
these three divisions, and was it determined by lot or 
chance where each man's lot should be located, 
nothing could be more fair than this method. 
After this drawing, when the fourth aud fifth divi- 
sions were laid out, the second fiftj' acres or more 
would be exchanged by these men with each other, 
so that their lands would become more in one body. 
Sometimes, if a proprietor were not present at a 
drawing, a committee, composed of men of their 
number and choice, and sometimes a committee ap- 
pointed bythe General Court, would designate the 
lot. At this distance from that period, not much 
being a matter of record, it cannot be expected that 
the precise location of the lands and houses of many 
of the first settlers can be designated ; aud if it 
were practicable, from the necessity of the case, any 
description that would be quite intelligible to peo- 
ple now living would ]ierhaps be obscure and with- 
out meaning to the future men and women of Town- 
send. Some of the first settlers are worthy of partic- 
ular notice. 

Jashek Wyman, the first clerk of the proprietors, 
and who filled that office for more than twenty years, 
was a man of more than ordinary ability. His spell- 
ing and language in the records are excellent, and his 
penmanship good. He came from Woburn. When 
he lost his property and land in New Hampshire he 
moved back to one of his lots in Townsend, where he 
died September 11), 1757. 

Captain John Stevens came from Groton, and was 
an innholder. Some of the regularly called meetings 
of the proprietors were held at his public-house. He 
was a justice of the peace, a land surveyor and the 
owner of more acres of land than any other per.sou in 
this vicinity. 

Ephraim Sawtki.i, came from (irc)t<ni, and his 
house and land were on the nortli side of the Harl)or 
Pond, bis house-lot extending northerly to land of 
Jeremiah Ball. He was strictly puritanical in his 



574 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



viows and acts. He was moderator of several of the 
priiprietors' meetings, and lost considerable by the 
I'rovince line of 1741. 

Timothy Hkai.d livedin thesouth part of the town, 
on the road leading from the first bridge above the 
Harbor Pond, near the top of the hill, where a trav- 
eler first begins to lose sight of the Harbor, going 
towards "South Row." Tradition informs us that he 
was a disciple of Ninirod, and that he was noted for 
his destruction of wild lieasts. He livedin a garri- 
son-house, the cellar of which can be seen at the pres- 
ent time. 

.TosEPii Stevens, who was empowered by the act 
of incorporation lo call the first meeting of the pro- 
prietors, was a man of considerable wealth and of strict 
integrity. He livetl on the second lot on tlie road 
leading from .Jeremiah Ball's house, northeasterly, at 
the base of the hill, near Pepperell line. 

John Wai^lace, his brothers and nephews were 
of Scotch-Iri.'.h descent. They settled on Nissequas- 
sick Hill, which was for a long time known as Wal- 
lace Hill. Atone time there were five or six fami- 
lies by this name in Townsend, but at present there 
is not a voter in town descended from the original 
settler by the name of Wallace. John Wallace 
bouglit his farm from Thomas Phillips in 1734, which 
was situated on the east end of Hathorn's farm, abut- 
ting on "the six-rod way." They were coopers, and 
introduced this branch of industry into this town. 
This business has, from that time to the present, 
brought more money into Townsend than all other 
industries added together. For some reason unknown 
to the writer, Joseph Stevens waived his right of 
calling the first meeting of the |iroprietor8 after the 
incor|ioration of the town, and this duty devolved on 
Benjamiu Precott, Esq., of Groton, who, in His 
-Majesty's name, required and commanded John 
Stevens to " notify the proprietors of Townshcnd to 
meetatthePublick Meeting-Houseon the last IMon day 
in .luly," for the choice of town officers and other 
purposes, which was accordingly done. 

Danikl Taylor lived in the south jtart of the 
town. He owned a large quantity of land and was a 
slave-owner, and besides he had much personal prop- 
erty. 

Isaac .Spauldini; came from Chelmsford at an 
early date and lived on the south side of the Harbor 
Pond. He w;us a man of influence and the first deacon 
of the church in Townsend and one of the selectmen 
several times. Our limits forbid anything further 
concerning the settlers and founders of this town, 
i]uite a number of whom were military men, some 
holding commissions under the King, and again 
under the Commonwealth after indei)endence was 
obtained. 

Something of an incomprehensible character comas 
down to us from these bold and intrepid men. They 
a]q)ear almost within the environment of romance, 
rather than human beings struggling for homes where 



they could enjoy "freedom to worship God." Some 
barrier, always overcome, generally interposed be- 
tween them and success. A wilderness wasdisplaced, 
and in its stead Ceres and Pomona smiled in thesun- 
light. A savage foe lurked around their cabins and 
garrisons, but "the anointed children of education 
were too powerful for the tribes of the ignorant ;" 
and when, after a long time, they began to enjoy the 
fruits of their labors, and hymns of gratitude ascended 
from their altars, their King taxed them beyon<l their 
enilurance and com|iellcd them to draw the sword. 
Then came " the tug of war," in which they were 
agdin victorious. \V^ould that the photographer's art 
could reach back and give us the forms and features 
of these brave men. Hut, like the knights of olden 
times, 

" Tlieir swuids ani rust, 
Tlieir Itoues are (Inst, 
Theii- souls, we trust, 
Are witli the just." 

Ecclesiastical Affairs.— Agreeably to the con- 
ditions of the charter of the town, the settlers, soon 
as possible, placed themselves within the sound of 
the gospel and ordained a " learned orthodox minis- 
ter of good conversation." Their house of worship 
had been built three or four years before they were 
able to settle a minister. Before they had a minister 
they were accustomed to go to Groton, on the Sab- 
bath, to hear Rev. Mr. Trowbridge, (raveling through 
the woods on horseback, by couples (man and wife), 
and crossing the Nashua River at "stony fording- 
place," whei'e the bridge now is on the main road 
between Pepperell and Groton. Frequently men went 
on foot the stime route and for the same purpose. 

At a town-meeting in March, 17.!4, " voted to choose 
a committee of three to purchiss a lot for the minis- 
ter." Presumably this minister was the Rev. Phine- 
has Hemenvvay, who was preaching as a candidate, 
for he was ordained on the third Wednesday of the 
following October. His house stood on the east side 
of the road, nearly a ([uarter of a mile northerly 
from where the mccliiig-honsc stood on the hill. 

Rev. Phinehas Hcmeuway was born in Framing- 
ham, April 2(i, 1706. His father, Joshua Hemenway, 
came from Roxbury, where he received a superior ed- 
ucation for the time. He was town school-master the 
same year that his son Phinehas was born, and a man 
of decided convictions and an earnest worker in the 
church. Phinehas, the son, grew up under the in- 
fluence of such ii home, and was graduated at Harvard 
College in 17;>0. No traditions as to his person or 
character are preserved in the family. He was the 
tirst native born son of Framingham to graduate at 
college, iiiid was elected master of the grammar sclit.ol 
in that town at the close of his senior year, (or which 
he received the annual salary of £50. He married 
Mrs. Sarah Stevens, of Marlborough, Blay 8, 1739, 
who survived him, and, in October, 1701, she married 
Daniel Taylor, of Concord. He died May 20, 17t)0. 
The church book of records kejit by him is consider- 



TOWNSEND. 



iibly mutilated, but it contains everything from his pen 
tbat has been preserveil. It cont:iins tiie church 
covenant, which is tlieonly piece of literature wlierelty 
we can judge of his scholarship. The church was 
organized with sixteen male members, whose names 
were as follows : Phinehas Hemenway, Joseph Stevens, 
William Clark, Nathaniel Tailor, Daniel Tailor, 
Joseph Baldwin, John Stevens, James McDonald, 
John Wallis, Sanuiel Manning;, .lacob Baldwin, 
Samuel Clark, John Slowiii, Benjamin Tailor, Isaac 
Spalding, Jeremiah Ball. 

Soon after tiie organization of the church, some of 
tlie wives of these men, and others of the same sex, 
were received into the church. Of this number we 
lind "On >[arcb 11, 1739, Sarah Hemenway, ye wife 
of ye Rev. Phinehas Hemenway, having received a 
letter of dismission from ye church of Southboro', was 
received into our church fellowship and communion." 

During Mr. Hemenway's pastorate, which covered a 
period of more than twenty-six Nears, the church in- 
creased in numbers from sixteen to seventy-nine. The 
church book of records contains (or rather contained, 
for some part of it is gone) a full account of the 
names of the church members, the baptisms admin- 
istered and the marriages performed by the pastors, 
together with some examples of church discipline. 
The book gives an idea of the state of society as well 
as the fidelity with which our fathers adhered to their 
church covenant. Then the black and white races 
were amicably associated together. 

" On December 14, 1735, was bajiti/.ed .Vudrew Not- 
grass, a servant child of William and Eunice Clark." 

"On May 19, 1745, Ama, ji negro servant of Mr. 
Benjamin Brooks, was received into full communion 
with the church of Christ in T.iwnshend." 

The second minister was Rev. Samuel Dix, a native 
of Reading, born March 23, 173G; was graduated at 
Harvard College in 1758 ; ordained March 4, 171)1, 
died November 12, 1797, in the thirty-sixth year of 
his |iastorate. Jlr. Dix was admirably adapted to the 
>acred calling which he espoused. He was dignilied 
without coldnessor arrogance, cheerful without levity, 
and strictly courteou.s and condescending in his de- 
portment. He gave his undivided attention to his 
pastoral duties and, with the exception of one or two 
patriotic sermons delivered during the early |.art of 
the Revolutionary War, he labored faithfully for "a 
crown incorru|itable," lM)th for himself and the peo- 
ple committed to his charge. He was an excellent 
cbissical scholar, and as a writer he would lose noth- 
ing by comparison with his contemporaries in the 
ministry or those who succeeded him in the church 
ill Townsend. 

Rev. David Palmer, the third pastor, was born June 
2lj, 17tJ8, at Windham, Connecticut ; graduated at 
Dartmouth College, 1799; was preceptor of New Ips- 
wich Academy, 1798; ordained third i)astor in Town- 
send, January 1, 1J<00 ; married Chloe Kinsley, of his 
native town, 1794, and died at Townsend, February 



15, 1S49, aged eighty-one \ears. This New Year's 
day, when ^Ir. Palmer was opdaiiied, was a complete 
holiday tor Townsend. A great coin|)aiiy assembled 
from this and the adjoining towns to witness the cere- 
monies, and after the exercises closed the citizens 
generally opened their houses to their friends and 
visitors and welcomed them to tables well filled with 
substantial edibles " for the stcmiach's sake,'' when the 
coveted grog and templing toddy were passe<l around. 
This was the last festival of the kind in wd;icli a// our 
people particiiiated, for long before Mr. Palmer left 
the church militant, and before his successor was or- 
dained it was ml/ clnirch, my ministfr, mi/ modenf hap- 
/isiii, and sectarianism began to unfurl the banner of 
discord. The town and church m!'<le a judicious 
choice for their third spiritual adviser. Mr. Palmer 
was decidedly a pojiular man in all s'lcial relations, 
and his influence as a townsman was felt particularly 
by the children and youth of the town. During most 
of his pastorate it was the custom, among their other 
duties, lor the ministers to examine the teachers, and, 
in part, to superintend thescliO(ds. The teachers and 
scholars were always glad to receive a visit from him. 
Besides, he was a practical educator outside of the pul- 
|)it. About twenty young men fitted for college with 
him, some of whom will be noticed further along in 
this work. He was a successful pastor. During his 
ministry two hundred and fifty members were added 
to the church, sixty-two of that number having 
joined in 182(). He was dismissed in July, 1830, after 
a pastorate of thirty and one-half years. As a com- 
pliment to his integrity and from motives of benevo- 
lence and respect, he was elected by the town a rep- 
resentative to the (leneral Court in 183:! and 1831. 
.Mr. Palmer lost his position as minister through the 
influence of two or three men of wealth, who wanted 
a pastor that would or could better combat the Unitar- 
ians and their doctrines. 

In 1829 there was a disagreement between the Or- 
thodox and the Unitarians in regard to the use of the 
meeting-house, both parties wanting it at the same 
time. A majority of the town, in .sympathy with the 
Unitarians, gave the use of it to tliein more Sabbaths 
during the year than was agreeable to the Orthodox. 
This w;is rcscnieil to such an extent by the Orthodox 
that, on one Sabbath morning when a man of the Uni- 
tarian faith came to preach alter the congregation had 
assembled, they lell the house in a body and never 
u,sed it afterward. After the Orthodox seceded from 
the town's meeting-house the Unitarians had occa- 
sional preaching in it for a year or more. 

Rev. Warren Burton sup|ilied the pulpit part of the 
year 1831. He was the author of " The District School 
as it was," one of the most graphic and faithful pic- 
tures of that institution. He was learned, elocpicut 
and witty, and " truths divine came mended from his 
tongue." For the next three years the services at this 
meeting-house alternated between the Unitarians and 
the Universalists. 



576 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



In 1836 Rev. Ezekiel L. Bascom preached here and 
gathered a church consisting of twenty five mem- 
bers. Mr. Ba.sconi was a man of attractive personality 
and a fiueiit speaker. He was formerly settled in 
Ashby. For si.x years he held the office of Grand 
Chaplain of tiie Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachu- 
setts. Soon after the organization of the Unitarian 
Church tlie Rev. Linus H. Shaw received a call to 
settle, which he accepted, and he was ordained De- 
cember '2\, 18;')(>. There was a drenching rain during 
all that day, and for this reason there was not a large 
audience in attendance. The exercises were very in- 
teresting, as sqme of the best talent in the denomina- 
tion took a part. Rev. Andrew P. Peabody, of Ports- 
mouth, delivered the sermon, and the charge to the 
pastor was given by Rev. Charles Belbidge, D.D., of 
Pepperell, who is still among the living. 

Mr. Shaw was a good scholar, and his sermons were 
well written, but as an e.xtemporaneous speaker he 
failed. This was the cause of his short pastorate of 
about two years. 

From this time till 1852, when the First Parish sold 
their mcrtinghouse to the Methodist society, the 
Unitarians liad no settled minister. Occasionally 
the Universalists, as well as the Unitarians, occupied 
the house, and once in a while the Restorationists, 
and then the Methodists, would have preaching in it. 
In 1853 the Unitarians built the house of worship 
which now stands at the Harbor, and the Rev. Still- 
man Barlier preached for them about two years, after 
which time no money was collected for the support 
of preaching by the Unitarians. Mr. Barber left, and 
all interest in the denomination melted away like an 
.^prii snow-wreath. 

In 1852 the Rev. Samuel Tupper and his associates 
founded the Methodist Episcopal society here, in 
conformity to the provisions of the statute of the 
Commonwealth. This church and society has had a 
large number of pastors, of ditferent grades of ability, 
who have, most of them, passed their biennial term 
of service here, and are now either located in other 
fields of labor or have joined "the silent majority." 
In 1S7<) this church received sixty-eight new mem- 
bers, the result of a revival conducted by I. 1). John- 
son, the evangelist. 

The Univer.salist Restorationists formed a society, 
in 1848, at West Townsend, and Rev. John Pierce, a 
young man of good abilities, was employed as their 
minister. He was a native of Lunenburg, and he 
began preaching when he was quite young. This 
young man was a good speaker, but he died soon 
after the Universalists became attached to him, and 
was much lamented. With much promptness the 
brick church buihling now at West Townsend was 
built in 1848. Sonic of the Ashb)' people belonged 
to this denomination and attended meeting here reg- 
ularly. The building was dedicated Jan. 25, 1849. 
Rev. Stillman Glark, of East Jatl'rey, N. H., preached 
the sermon, which was well received by a large audi- 



ence. There never was a Universalist Church here, 
which worshiped in this building, but, in its stead, 
the Universalist Restoration Society. Rev. Stillman 
Clark was the first minister, and he was succeeded by 
Rev. Varnum Ijjncoln for about two years, when Mr. 
Clark returned and preached for about a year. They 
were both much respected, and both were members 
of the School Committee. Mr. Clark was a member, 
for Townsend, of the Massachusetts Constitutional 
Convention in 1853. 

In 1853 this society employed a man by the name 
of R. J. Chapman, wh(j remained here for nearly two 
years before the wolf in sheep's clothing was dis- 
covered. 

In June, 1855, Rev. C. C. Clark was settled as pas- 
tor over this Restorationist society, and this engage- 
ment continued for four years, when he went to 
Pennsylvania, and remained there till 18(53, when he 
returned, and was again employed as preacher till 
about the last of 1865. Since the close of Mr. 
Clark's connection with this society the LTniversalists 
have had no preaching, but at present (and for a few 
years past) Rev. George S. Shaw (Unitarian), of 
Ashby, preaches here every Sabbath afternoon. 

The Baptists commenced here in 1827, with Rev. 
Benjamin Dean as minister, although they had a 
society here as earlj' as 1818. Members of the 
churches in New Ipswich and Mason, N. H., and 
Harvard met and formed themselves into a society, 
which was afterward formed into a church, consisting 
of Asa Baldwin, Josejih Walker, Solomon Stevens, 
Joseph Simonds, Levi Ball, SusannaHolt, Chloe Ball, 
Elizabeth Stevens, Unity Manning, Lucy Ball, Chloe 
Stevens and Alniini Stevens. ,Vt the commencement 
of the present century there were two or three fami- 
lies in Townsend of the Baptist faith. These people 
were obliged, by law, to pay a tax annually for the 
support of the town's minister, besides being under a 
moral obligation to contribute towards Baptist preach- 
ing in the towns from whence they came. At the annual 
town-meeting, in March, 1805, the following article 
was put in the warrant: "To see if the town will 
consider the Baptists, in regard to their paying taxes 
towards the meeting-house and leveling the Com- 
mon." The tax for moving and finishing the meet- 
ing-hou.se on the Common was assessed this year. 
On this article the town voted to' abate the tax set 
against Joseph Walker to a certain extent. The 
town also considered the Baptists inasmuch as to 
grant them the use of the meeting-house a certain 
number of Sabbaths during ijuite a number of years. 
Usually their meetings were (previous to 1834) held 
in what was known as the Battery School - house, 
where they had services part of the time, but not 
constant preaching. 

The church record for May 20, 1833, shows the fol- 
lowing: "Chose Rev. Caleb Brown our pastor." This 
gentleman was here until the summer of 1835. The 
Baptist meeting-house having been dedicated during 



^OWNSEND. 



577 



the early part of the previous winter, and the church 
being increased some in numbers, so that the sur- 
roucdings and circumstances began to be more favor- 
able to this denomination, an eflbrt was made to 
secure the services of some one distinguished in the 
Baptist denomination for a pastor. 

In June of this year the church gave Rev. James 
Barnaby, pastor of the Second Baptist Church in 
Lowell, an invitation to settle with them at the 
annual salary of five hundred dollars. There is 
nothing in the church records concerning his install- 
ation here, but the time of his coming is recorded — 
"Sept. 28, 1835, Mr. Barnaby removed among us and 
entered on his labors." A large number, compara- 
tively, attended the meetings during Mr. Barnaby's 
pastorate, but there was no special revival. In 1836 
the church contained thirty-seven members. 

After the short pastorate of about two years, for 
certain reasons, he asked his dismission, which was 
ratlier reluctantly granted, both pastor and church 
being much attached to e.ach other. He wasdismiss- 
ed October 8, 1837, when he moved to Harwich, 
where he was installed over the oldest Baptist Church 
in that part of the State, and where he remained till 
his death. 

Rev. Oren Tracy waji the next minister. He came 
from Newport, New Hampshire, and commenced his 
labors February 3, 1838. There was a very pleasant 
intercourse between Mr. Tracy and this church and 
people. A Baptist Church in Fitchburg, being favor- 
ably impressed by Mr. Tracy, gave hini a call with an 
offer of a larger salary, when, " his duty " pointing in 
that direction, he asked his dismission in January, 
1841, and soon departed for that place. 

In the spring of 1811 the church gave a call to Rev. 
Charles W. Redding, who was regularly installed soon 
after. He remained till July, 1844, when the society 
" voted that the pastoral connection between Rev. Mr. 
Redding and the church and society be dissolved." 
The cause of this act is unknown to the writer. He 
was a good writer and well polished in his manners. 

Rev. William C. Richards was his successor for 
two or three years, when the services of Rev. Caleb 
Blood were secured for about two years. He was 
grand-son of his name-sake, who was a distinguished 
man in the Baptist denomination. 

Rev. F. G. Brown, Rev. Leater Williams and Rev. E. 
A. Battell supplied the pulpit, each one about the 
same length of time, from 1850 to 1800. 

Rev. George W. Ryan entered upon the labors of 
pa.slor of this church in 18lJ0. Mr. Ryan took con- 
siderable interest in education, and served on the 
S.;hool C((mmittee, in which office he was well receiv- 
ed. The Baptist pulpit has been supplied at different 
limes by the theological students at Newton -for 
months at a time. 

Rev. Willard P. Upham was pastor from 1867 to 
1872. He was for a long time associated with the 
Cherokee Indians as missionary and teacher, and 



afterwards as pastor of the churchconnected with that 
intelligent tribe. He had considerable experience 
also at other places at the west. His pastorate here 
was the longest of any person in the ministry who 
labored with the Baptists. He was an exceptionable 
preacher, a diligent student and a social' gentleman. 
He was an invalid for some time before his death, 
which occurred in 1877. 

Rev. Oren K. Hunt, a graduate of Newton Theologi- 
cal Seminary, was installed pastor of this church in 
June, 1874, and he remained until the spring of 1877, 
when he was followed by Rev. William R. Thompson, 
who preached very acceptably for this church and con- 
gregation for three or four years. 

Rev. Benoni F. Kellogg, following Mr. Thompson, 
was the next pastor, and he remained about three 
years, and was succeeded by Rev. Charles W. Williams, 
the present pastor. 

The early records of the Baptist Church are so 
meagre and incomplete that it is impossible to give as 
many facts and dates as are desirable. From its be- 
ginning to the present lime this church has been the 
recipient of pecuniary aid from " The Dome.stic Bap- 
tist Missionary Society of Masssachusetts." No diffi- 
culties have ever disturbed this church, and there has 
invariably been extreme unanimity among the church 
members, its friends and its patrons. 

On the Stli of February, 1830, the church, which 
left the town's meeting-house with Mr. Palmer, as- 
sumed the name of " The Orthodox Congregational 
Church of Christ in Townsend." 

The first pastor of this church was Rev. William 
M. Rogers, who was ordained February 16, 1831. This 
young man was an Englishman by birth, and his 
father fell at the battle of Waterloo. His name was 
Kettell, which was changed by an act of the Legisla- 
ture to Rogers, the name of one of his uncles, who 
gave him quite a sum of money. He was a man of 
much discretion — had a winning address — knew just 
when he had said enough and was a popular preacher. 
He was dismissed in July, 1835, at his own request, 
and afterward he settled with a church in Boston, 
wiiere he died in 1851. 

Rev. Columbus Shumway was the second pastor. 
He was installed January 6, 1836, and in every par- 
ticular he was an honorable man and a respectable 
preacher. Mr. Shumway must have been placed iu 
a delicate position, and experienced all the embar- 
r.assments of being the successor of a first-class man. 
Undoubtedly too much was expected of him. The 
notice of his dismission, tendered to him March 28, 
1837, was a surprise to him, from the fact that up to 
that moment everything on the surface indicated 
unanimity and .satisfaction. 

Rev. David Stowell, who was installed June 28, 
1837, as. the third pastor, was a man of good intel- 
lectual abilities, on account of which he was selected 
to fill this position. There were some irregularities 
in his conduct during the latter part of his pastorate, 



578 



HISTORy OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



which caused both him and the church considerable 
excitement and trouble. He was dismissed by order 
of an ecclesiastical council, August 15, 1843. 

Rev. Luther H. Shelden, the fourth pastor of this 
church, was a very active man, prompt to an appoint- 
ment, and always prepared for any pastoral work to 
which duty called him. He took an interest in the 
cause of education, in temperance reform, and in the 
abolition of slavery, and " he spoke right out in meet- 
ing " on each of these subjects. He was ordained 
here August 16, 1844, and continued a successful pas- 
torate until March 7, 1856. In proof that he has 
taken good care of himself, it may be noticed that 
he is now (1890) alive at the age of seventy-five, and 
j)reaches a part of the time with the same force of his 
early years. 

Several candidates then entered the field for pro- 
motion to the pastorate, and April 28, 1858, Rev. 
Elisha W. Cook was installed. This Cook did not 
"dispense the bread of life" or flavor his morals with 
an "extract" that pleased this church, and he was 
dismissed October 12, 1859. 

Rev. Moses Patten was ordained June 7, 1860. He 
was not a fluent speaker or a man calculated to give a 
first-class sermon, but he was of amiable and exem- 
))lary character and much respected by his people. 
Dismissed April 27, 1863. 

On the 27th of August, 1863, the church instructed 
its committee to employ Rev. John C. Hutchinson as 
their acting pastor. He was an interesting speaker, 
quite original, and sometimes eloquent. He was in- 
terested in his calling and gave his whole attention to 
it. He was dismissed July 22, 1S6G. 

Rev. George Williams was installed pastor of this 
church May 1, 1867 ; dismissed February 1, 1869. 

Rev. George H. Morss succeeded Mr. Williams 
June 17, 1869. He remained till April 10, 1873, when 
he was dismissed. 

September 29, 1873, the church invited Rev. Henry 
C. Fay to become their acting pastor. He was a live 
preacher, a cloffe student, and had much force of 
character. He was dismissed September 12, 1876. 

Rev. Albert F. Newton was ordained as pastor of 
this church September 5, 1877. Mr. Newton's pas- 
torate of about four years was passed very pleasantly 
and profitably with this church, till he was " called " 
to a church in Marlborough, with which he is now in 
service. 

Meeting-Ifouses. — The first frame building made in 
Townscnd was the meeting-house, which was built 
about 1729, or nearly at the same time that the house 
of worship was built in Lunenburg, wliicli was in 
1728. There is no record of this building in regard 
to the time when it w;is built. Lunenburg raised 
£200 (.$88.88) for building and fiaishing its first meet- 
ing-house. From records concerning the cost of the 
house in Townsend, it appears that the first meeting- 
house in' tliis town cost much less. It stood on the 
hill nearly a mile from the Common at the centre of 



the town on the west side o f the road leading over the 
hill. It was a very ordinary building, and it was con- 
tinually altered and repaired as long as it was used as 
a place of worship. But the settlers, owing to their 
poverty, made it answer their purpose for forty yeers. 

In 1770 the town commenced to build the second 
meeting-house, concerning the location of which there 
was a long wrangle, which was finally settled by a 
reference to three men, each coming Irom three join- 
ing towns. This house was located within a few feet 
of where the first meeting-house stood. There is no 
doubt but that these referees selected this spot on 
account of the beautiful and picturesque prospect from 
this standpoint. Large portions of the towns of Lun- 
enburg and Groton, at the south and southeast, with 
the towers, landscapes and white farm-houses of these 
old towns, together with the hills and mountain 
slopes, at the west and northwest, dotted over with 
fields and forests, all presenting a charming panorama, 
caused this location to have peculiar attractions for our 
ancestors. This hill, in a deed written one hundred 
years ago, conveying some land on its eastern slope, 
is called " Mount Grace." This meeting-house was* 
finished so much that it was occupied during the 
latter part of 1771. Among the list of baptisms by 
Rev. Mr. Dix, this is recorded, October 27, 1771 : 
" Baptized Gaus, son of Eleazor Sjiaulding, in y' new 
meeting-house." This edifice was a great improve- 
ment on the house for which it was substituted. Al- 
though it was never finished where it was first built, 
it was clapboarded, and the windows, door frames and 
the doors were painted on the outside the same year 
that it was built. This edifice was the town's meet- 
ing-house. Within its consecrated walls the followers 
of the Master worshiped, the citizens devised plans 
to meet all the wants of the town, in its corporate 
capacity, the training-band assembled to listen to the 
reading of the militia law; -here the "Committee of 
Safety " held consultations, the selectmen discussed 
their duties, and the smouldering patriotism of an 
oppressed j^eople burst into a flame. After this house 
had stood about twenty-five years, there began to be 
considerable dissatisfaction concerning its location 
so far from the centre of the town ; besides, the 
building needed some repairs. The expense of main- 
taining a road over the ledges and steep grades of 
Meeting-house Hill was an objection which had an 
influence with many ; besides, in dry seasons there 
was no water to be had at or near the summit of 
this hill. 

Ill March, 1799, tlie town chose a committee "to 
find the centre of the town and say where this meet- 
ing-house ought to stand." This committee of six- 
teen citizens soon after reported, recommending the 
spot where this same house now stands for the loca- 
tion of their meeting-house. There was for a long 
time much disagreement about what should be done, 
some wanting a new house, others wanting this house 
removed and enlarged when put up; but finally it 



TOWNSEND. 



579 



was agreed to remove it, set up and renovate it with- 
out any addition except a belfry. Two brothers, 
Moses and Aaron Warren, toolc the contract to move 
and set up this house, wliere it now stands, wliich was 
done in 1804. Zaccheus, Hezekiah and Levi Rich- 
ardson were the carpenters and stone-masons em- 
ployed by these Warrens in finishing this edifice. 
After this house was finished there was great satisfac- 
tion in regard to its location and the manner in which 
it was done, and desiring to make it mors easy of 
access, August 28, 1804, the town raised $300 to be 
expended in leveling the Common. 

In Jlay, 1852, after sectarianism had done its work, 
Charles Powers and others, in the interest of the 
Methodists, bought this house from the Unitarians, 
turned the west end of the same to the south and fit- 
ted it up into two flats, in its present style. Since 
that time the Methodists have rented the lower part 
of it to the town for a town hall, and occupied the 
upper part as an auditorium, in which they have en- 
joyed an uninterrupted preaching of the Gospel to 
the present time. It has been judged that the tower 
on this edifice has good architectural proportions, and 
is as well adapted to the main building as anything 
of the kind in this vicinity. 

The Orthodox Congregational meeting-house was 
completed and dedicated in June, 1830. Some of the 
men who seceded from the town's meeting-house, just 
previous to that time, possessing a good amount of 
wealth, and not lacking either in enterprise or will, 
were determined to have a first-class church edifice. 
With much unanimity this society agreed, both on 
the location of this house and the manner in which 
it was to be built. This fourth meeting-house in 
Townsend is made of brick, and in every particuLar 
is much superior to any church building ever erected 
in town, and it reflects credit upon the taste and good 
judgment of the men who designed the same and 
furnished the money with which it was erected. The 
clock in the tower of this church was presented by 
Deacon Joel Adams and Samuel Adams, his son. 
This edifice w;is subjected to a thorough renovation 
in 1884, at an expense of about S5000. An entire set 
of stained glass windows was substituted, the seating 
arrangement was altered, a place for the organ and 
choir was located on the ground floor, at the south 
side of the pulpit, the auditorium was elegantly fres- 
coed and the building was nicely painted both inside 
and outside. 

During the summer of 187!) the iron fence around 
a part of the Common was put up, the ground plowed 
and enriched, shrubbery was set out, flowers were 
cultivated and the park at the central village was 
brought into existence. About SIOOO were raised by 
subscription to pay for the fence and the labor in 
setting it in position. Alfred M. Adams and William 
P. Taylor, living directly opposite this park, contrib- 
uted the most liberally towards defraying the ex- 
pense of this improvement. 



The fifth meeting-house was erected at West Town- 
send, by the Baptists, in 1834. It is a commodious 
structure, sixty-four feet long, forty-five feet wide, 
with posts twenty-four feet in height. This house is 
a facsimile of a church building that was in Fitch- 
burg, which so favorably impressed the building 
committee in regard to its proportions and conveni- 
ence, that it became the model for their meeting- 
house. In 1873 it was thoroughly repaired, painted 
and frescoed, and a new pulpit, new chandelier and 
side-lights on the walls were put in. The Warren 
family has done much for the Baptists. Levi Warren 
gave the land on which the meeting-house stands 
and about one-third of the money required to build 
this house; Moses gave the bell which was hung in 
the tower when the edifice was completed ; Charles 
gave the clock on the tower and the one inside hang- 
ing in front of the gallery ; and others, including 
Ealph, Aaron and Dorman, have contributed liberally 
to assist this denomination. 

War of the Revolution.— In September, 1768, 
the selectmen of Townsend received a letter from the 
selectmen of Boston requesting them to call a town- 
meeting, and then to take into consideration the criti- 
cal condition of government affairs, and to choose an 
agent to come to Boston, to express there the views, 
wishes and determination of the people of Townsend 
on this important subject. A town-meeting was ac- 
cordingly called expressly for this purpose ; when 
"Put to vote to see if the town would comply with 
the town of Boston in sending a man to join with 
them in the convention proposed to be held in Faneuil 
Hall, and it was unanimously complied with. Unan- 
imously voted and chose Lieut. Amos Whitney as a 
committeeman to join with the convention as afore- 
said." 

It will be recollected that the five years which pre- 
ceded the time of this action of the town of Boston, 
were exciting times for the Colony. Commerce had 
come to a stand-still by the operation of the " Stamp 
Act " and the " Sugar Act." The operation of both 
of these obnoxious measures was defeated by non- 
importation and smuggling. In 1760 the Stamp Act 
was repealed, to the great joy of the people, and 
importation of goods was greater than before. Every- 
thing was prosperous for a short lime, but in 1768 
the obnoxious " Revenue Act " was passed, which 
threw a cloud over the enterprise and chilled the 
prosperity of the whole people. It was at this junc- 
ture that the town of Boston consulted the other 
towns in this Province in regard to assertiug their 
rights and maintaining their liberties. 

The firm resistance with which the projects of 
the British Government were received, served to 
strengthen the ministry to carry their points at all 
hazards. Troops were stationed in Boston to intimi- 
date and overawe the inhabitants and acts more se- 
vere were passed by Parliament, The colonists saw 
that they must either yield with abject submission or 



580 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



gain their rights by a resort to arms, and they did not 
hesitate between the alternatives. Tlius their decision 
was arrived at witii the greatest deliberation and a 
count of the cost. The people of Boston were fore- 
most in resisting the unjust measures of the mother 
country, and they were nobly seconded by the inhab- 
itants of other towns. Every man in the Province 
was consulted upon this all-absorbing subject, that 
they might know what they could rely upon in case 
of open rebellion against the government of Great 
Britain. 

In January, 1773, another letter and a printed 
pamphlet was received from tbe town of Boston, re- 
questing the inhabitants of the town of Townsend to 
pass such resolves concerning their rights and privi- 
leges as free members of society, as they were willing 
to die in viaintalning. These resolves the Bostonians 
requested might be sent in tlie form of a report, to 
their Committee of Correspondence. The town re- 
sponded to this suggestion in an appropriate manner, 
as will be seen in the following extract from the 
record : 

'*At a town-inectiiig i)f the iiiliabilniita of Townshend, legally assem- 
bled at the Pnblic Meytiiig-honse in said tuwii on Tuesday, January 5, 
1773, at Kloveu O'clock iu tlio forenoon, James Ilasley was cUoaeu Mod- 
erator. 

*• Voted^ to chooae a committee of fiTO men to consider tlie letter of 
CorreBpondtnce from the town of Boston, concerning the rights and 
l)rivilege8 of this Province, and report such llceolves and measures as 
may he proper foi- thu lown to couih into, re8iH?cting the same. Ciioscn 
for said conimittco, Capt. Daniel Adams, Di'arun Jonathan Stow, Capt. 
Daniel Taylor, James Iloslcy and Jonathan Wallace. 

*' Voted, to adjourn this meeting till tomorrow at twelve of the clock 
tu this place. 

"Met at the adjourrnncnt on Wednesday, Jan. G, 1773. The commit- 
niittee chosen Iiy the town at a meeting on the r»th of aiid month to con- 
eider the present state of our pnblic nfTairs, particidarly as pointed out 
to us by the nii-tropolis of this Province, rejiorted as fullows: 

"1. That it is the opinion of this town that the llightsof the Colonists 
of this Province in particular, asmeu, as christians and as subjects, are 
justly stated in the pamphlet sent us from the town of Boston. 

•'2. It is our opinion that our rights and liberties do labor under 
divers infringements, particularly in ret^pect to tbe way in which our 
money is taken from us, by which our governor is supported, and in the 
extensive jwwer vested in the commissi oners of tlie customs, and by a 
military power being employed to keep us in awe and so forth. 

*'3. litsohed ^Wv.xi if the prevailing report couceniing the Judges of onr 
Superior Cmirt being supported any other way than by the free grauts 
of the People bo true, it is a very threatening and dangerous innovation, 
directly tending to corrupt the Streams of Justice. 

"4, li'-iolced, i\\i\t our natural and constitutional llights, our civil 
and Religious liberties, were coutirmed to us by our charter, purebased 
by our ancestors at the expense of nuioh fatigue and blood, which ren- 
ders the jiossession of them more dear to ns. and the parting with them 
more grievous, ami lays us under stronger obligations lo defend them in 
all constitutiunal and scriptural ways. 

'"5. Jiisulee'l^ that the following instructions he and are hereby 
given to our Itepresentative (viz) : that he use liis utmost influence to 
obtain a remotal of our present burdens, and to defend our liberties 
from all further encroachments, and lo en^piirc into the report conccrn- 
ing our Superior Judges being independent of the people; to have our 
unhappy cinnmstances represented in a troe light to onr Itightful Sov- 
ereign, and that the General Assembly recommend to the people of 
this Province to set apart a day, they, thu Assembly, shall think fit 
to name, for Humiliation and Prayei, that we may in a united Public 
manner spread our grievances before the King of Kings. 

"6. llcmlved, that the town of B pston have shown a true spirit of pa- 
triotism and a tenclcr concern for the welfare of the Province, and that 
our siucore thatdis are dne to them for their spirited endeavoia to dis- 



cover the danger of our situation, and to lead ue in the way of seeking 

redress. 

"7. Resolved, that a committee of fivesuitablomen be chosen to corre- 
spond from time to time, as occasion nifiy require, with the town of Bos- 
ton and any other towns that have or shall, from a sense of our uilhcul- 
tie-', Come into such a method of correspondence and communication. 

"Tbe above Report being read severHl times and debated ui)on, and 
put to vote to see if the town would accept of the same, passed in tho 
affirmative. 

*'The committee, chosen to correspond from time to time with tho 
town of Boston and other towns, is as follows (viz.): Daniel Adams, 
Deacon Jonathan Stow, Capt. Daniel Adams, James Hosley and Samuel 
Manning, 

'■'Voted, that the town clerk transmit an authentic copy of the forego- 
ing proceedings of this town-meeting to the conimitteo of correspond* 
enco of the town of Boston. Daniel Adams, Toxm Clerk." 

From the foregoing extract from the town records 
may be learned what the sentiments of the peo])le of 
this town were in regard to the attitude of Great 
Britain towards her Colonies. They considered that 
the course of the mother country was oppressive and 
unjust and that their rights had been violated. 

In 1774, after having received another letter from 
Boston, and having also heard from other towns, by 
letters, concerning the tax on tea, a town-meeting 
was called January 11, 1775, when the following was 
recorded : 

"Tho town, taking into consideration certain intelligence received 
from the committee of coirespondence in Boston, together with their 
request for intelligence and advice from the seveial towns in this Prov- 
ince, passed the following resolves (viz.) : 

"Being informed of tbe late proceedings of our fellow-countrymen in 
Philadelphia, relative to the East India Company being allowed to send 
large quantities of tea into these Colonies, subject to the payment of 
a duty upon its being landed, we do agree with ihem and readily adopt 
their sentinientsupon this aflair, 

" h'csolveil, that we have always been uneasy with tlie plan laid down 
by the British Ministry for raising revenue in America, and that thu 
present situation of our public affairs, particularly in lespect to a late act 
of Parliament in favor of tho East India Company, requires our atten- 
tion, and therefore further 

" iitfhohct/, that we stand forth In the cause of liberty in union with 
other towns, and in gratitude to the spirited, patriotic town of Boston 
in particular. 

'^ Jienolved, that we earnestly advise that no tea be imported into Ihis 
or any other American Colony so long as it is subject to a duty, payablu 
upon its being landed here. 

*' liesi'hed, that we are sorry for the unhappy disagreement between 
this and the mother country, and we earnestly wish to see harmony 
restored. 

^^ Voted, that the preceding resolves be recorded, and a coi»y of the 
same attested by the town clerk bo transmitted to the committee of cor- 
respondence of the town of Boston. Daniel Adams, Town Clerk?* 

It thus appears that His Majesty's subjects in the 
Province of Massachusetts, while deliberating on the 
injustice and wrongs whicli liad been inflicted oii 
them, were not entirely without hope that their 
rights might be respected and " harmony restored.*' 
An armed resistance as yet had not been agreed upon 
by the Colonies. 

The first public meeting of the people iu Massa- 
chusetts, except iu Faneuil Hall, was a Provincial 
Congress, holden at Concord, October 11, 1774, which 
adjourned to Cambridge, and of which John Han- 
cock was president. At a town-meeting, "Oct. 3, 
1774, Jonathan Stow was chosen to appear in behalf 
of the town of Townshend to join the provincial con- 



TOWNSEND. 



581 



gross to be holden at Concord on the 11th of Oct. 
Inst." 

In 1775 Captain Daniel Taylor was chosen to at- 
tend a Provincial Congress at Cambridge, and soon 
after Israel Hobart was chosen to succeed him. This 
congress enacted that at least one-fourth of all the 
militia should be enrolled as minute-men, who should 
be prepared to march at a minute's warning, on any 
emergency. This was a decisive step, which shows 
the grit of the Revolutionary fathers. Some of the 
members of this congress, from different towns, gave 
their time and expenses; others were paid wholly or 
in part by subacriplion. 

The town voted to indemnify the constables for re- 
fusing to pay over the money which had been assessed 
by the Province, into the hands of Harrison Gray. 
The people were exceedingly aroused at this time. 
These were the defiant measures that brought on the 
war and started the King's troops en route for Con- 
cord, on the memorable 19th day of April, 1775. 

Boston at that time wa.s suffering under the ven- 
geance of Parliament, for throwing over the tea and 
for being the head and front of disloyalty. There 
were many poor in that town out of employment, 
who had a scanty allowance of supply for their 
tables. To them the inland towns extended the 
hand of charity and relief. At a town-meeting, Jan- 
uary 2, 1775, " Voted and chose a committee of five 
men to forward the donations for Boston and Charles- 
town. Chose for said committee, Mr. Israel Hobart, 
Capt. Benjamin Brooks, Lieut. Zachariah Emery and 
Mr. John Conant." Probably each man of this com- 
mittee took a well-packed sled-load of provisions to 
their suffering friends at the tide-water. There is no 
other record concerning this transaction, as the war- 
rants for calling town-meetings were not always re- 
corded at that time. 

At a town-meeting, June 19, 1775, " Voted to pur- 
chase 50 Hogsheads of salt for a town stock. Deacon 
Richard Wyer chosen to go to Salem to. i)urehase said 
salt, and ordered him to take his directions from the 
Select Men, who are to give security in the name of 
the town for the same." 

It thus appears that, the town was preparing for the 
fight which was about to commence — the opening 
scene of the Revolution. So far as the actual means 
of gaining a living were concerned, the people of that 
time were comparatively independent. They took 
the wool from the sheep, cleansed, spun and wove it, 
ready to be made into clothing, which they wove in 
their hand-loom.f. Lighter fabrics were made from 
their flax, spun by a foot-wheel, the thread being 
graded by running between the thumb and fore- 
finger of the operative. They ground their own j 
grain into flour for their bread, produced vegetables 
and meat plentifully for their tables, and laid the 
rock maple under contribution for their sugar supply. 
The virgin soil yielded abundantly in payment of the 
toil of the husbandman. Luxury was a word not to 



be found in their vocabulary ; and tea they would not 
use after it was subject to a duty. Salt they could 
not produce, but they exercised great prudence in 
sending to the coast in season for an abundant supply. 
For the expense of getting it, a separate tax was a.s- 
sessed on all the polls and estates in town. 

The alarm to the minute-men was given on the 
19th of April, 1775, by the firing of a cannon on the 
hill where the meeting-house stood, about noon. 
Without doubt, quite a number of Paul Reveres 
tested their horsemanship in warning the patriots of 
the approach of the "ministerial troops.'' Ephraim 
Warren was plowing on his farm, a little to the south- 
east of Townsend Harbor, when the alarm was given. 
He immediately detached his team from the plow, 
and running to his house, called, "MoUie" (he mar- 
ried Mary Parker, of Chelmsford) ; " the regulars are 
coming and I am going; give me my gun." And he 
quickly mounted his horse and started towards the 
coast. He arrived at Concord early in the evening, 
only in season to see some dead bodies and a ieiir 
wounded British soldiers, who had been left by their 
comrades in their hasty flight. The resistance to the 
British troops at Concord, and the manner in which 
the yeomanry of the Province hurried them back to 
their ships, makes a thrilling episode in American 
history. 

'• Muster Roll of Capt. James Hosley'a compan.v of iniQute-men, be- 
longing to Col. William Prescott's regiment, who marched from Town- 
slienil April last to CambriJge in defence of the colony against tho min- 
isterial troops ; 

"James Hosley, Capt.; Richard Wyer, 1st Lieut.; James Locke, 2J 
Lieut.; Peter Butterfiold, Sergt. ; Benjamin Ball, Sergt.; Lemuel May- 
nard, Corpl.; Ephraim Brown, Corpl.; Nath'I. Bagley, Drummer; Eb- 
enezer Ball, Daniel Holt, James Sloan, William Kendall, Daniel Conant, 
.\sa Heald, Joseph Rumrill, Oliver Proctor, Daniel Clark, Richard War- 
ren, Israel Richardson, Robert Waugh, Elijah Wyman, Eleazer Butter- 
field, Benjamin Hobart, John Brown, Daniel Emery, Ephraim Shedd, 
Zachariah Emery, Joseph Baldwin, W'illiam Clark, David Gniham, 
Thomas Eaton, Ebenezer Ball, Jr., Joseph Shattuck, Thomas Webster, 
Jr., Levi Whitney, iToah Farrar, Josiah Richardson, Jonathan Patt, 
Isaac Kidder, James Rumrill, Jr., Jonas Farmer, Daniel Sberwin, 
Eleazer Butterfield, Jr., Is;iac Boyuton, Ephraim Brown, John Clark, 
Jedediah Jewett, Dudley Kemp, .\bel Richardson, John Manning, Jolm 
Emery, Thomas Wyman, Henry Dunster." 

These men were paid for their services by order 
of the General Court in December, 1775, and they 
were in the field most of them twenty-one days. 
The action of the Townsend militia was nearly as 
prompt as that of the minute-men. 

"A Roll of the travel and service of Capt. Samuel Douglas, of Town- 
shend iu tho county of Middlesex, and belonging to Col". James Prescott'e 
Regiment, and also of tho men under his command, who, in consequence 
of the alarm made on the 19th of Apail, 1775, marched from home for 
y« defence of this Colony against the ministerial troops, and continued 
in the service till called back to take care of the Tories in sd Town.-hend. 

"Sanniel Douglas, Captain; James Hildreth, Drummer; Oliver Hil- 
dreth, Jona. Hildreth, Ephm. Adams, -\b!juh Hildreth, -loel Davis, Isa;ic 
Holden, .\bner Adams, Abner Brooks, Benjamin Wilson, Benjamin 
Brooks, Abel I'orter, Daniel Campbell, Samuel Scripture, Robert Camp- 
bell, Benjamin Adams, Joseph Giles, Andrew Searles, Jonathan Goss." 

These men were in the service five days, and on the 
22d of March, 1776, the General Court ordered them 
to be paid. Captain Douglas received £1 7s. Id. and 
the men 12s. 9'i. 'Iqr. each. 



582 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



These two rolls were copied from the " Lexington 
Alarm Rolls," vol. xii. pp. 115, 42, in the State 
archives. The captains of these companies made 
oath before Israel Hobart, Esq., that they were cor- 
rect in regard to travel, term of service and the days 
of the month on which the service was rendered, from 
which it appears that Townsend had seventy-three 
men who quickly responded to the "alarm" on that 
memorable 19th of April. 

The title of the roll of Captain Douglas' company 
is instructive in regard to the feeling here among the 
people at the commencement of the Eevolution ; for it 
appears that this company " was called back to take 
care of the tories in sd Townshend." Most of*the 
Townsend men who did not favor the cause of inde- 
pendence were near neighbors of Douglas and his 
soldiers. It appears from the records that Townsend 
had quite a number of men who were loyal to the 
King, some of whom left the Province. Both of these 
rolls designate the British soldiers as " ministerial 
troops" instead of His Majesty's troops, which rather 
indicates that the colonists considered that the King 
had bad advisers, and that the British ministry might 
perhaps be induced, in using deliberation and reason, 
and guided by wisdom, to consider and reconsider 
some of the acts that bore so heavily upon them. 

The assembling of the soldiers around Boston in 
1775 was a great advantage to the colonists, as it 
showed them the need of arms, blankets and other 
munitions of war. The acquaintance there formed, 
the discussions of future operations against their ene- 
mies and the necessity of well-concerted action, all 
strengthened their determination to be free. A large 
portion of the soldiers from all i)arts of the State who 
responded to the alarm rc-eulisted and served more 
or less during the war with ditl'erent captains and in 
companies from different towns. 

The summer of 1775 was extremely hot and dry, 
much more so than any since the settlement of the 
town; there were small crops of corn and potatoes, 
and on dry land failed entirely ; of hay not over half 
a crop was raised. There was also' much sickness in 
town; many families suffering from the diseases of 
dysentery and fevers, which in many cases were long 
and severe. The number of death^ in town was unu- 
sually large. Add to this the absence of so many 
heads of families in the army, and the keen anxiety 
concerning the affairs of tne Province, and we can 
have some idea of the depressed condition, the trials 
and struggles of this first year of the war. 

The exact number of men from Townsend in the 
battle of Bunker Hill is not known ; tliirty-iive of 
them were in Captain Henry Farwell's company, 
made up principally from (iroton and Townsend sol- 
diers. Oliver Stevens, in Captain Wyman's company, 
was wounded and died in prison. Archibald Mcin- 
tosh, of Townsend, was killed in this action. 

As near as can be ascertained, there were between 
thirty and thirty-five men couslautly in the army 



from this town until the British evacuated Boston in 
March, 1770. One great mistake in the war was the 
short term of enlistments, just as it was in the War of 
the Rebellion. About as soon as some of the recruits 
began to be worth anything to the government their 
term of service expired and they were mustered out. 

In 1776 Oliver Preacott, of Groton, was appointed 
brigadier-general, and in that capacity he organized 
the militia of Middlesex County into eight companies 
constituting a regiment of drafted soldiers under fifty 
years of age. 

Company No. 8, in this regiment, was commanded 
by Captain Thomas Warren, of Townsend. There 
were sixty men in this company, thirteen of whom 
belonged to Townsend, and their names are as fol- 
lows : 

Thomas Warren, captaio ; Samuel Ulaynard, corporal ; Robert Waiifrb, 
corporal ; "William Manning, Joel Davie, Sauinel Wynian, .Touatlian 
Bowers, David llolt, William Clark, Aba Qlerroll, llinchmao Wurren, 
El)liraim Warren, Timothy Waneu. 

It will be easily understood that, under the severe 
pressure of a harassing war, when all resources were 
heavily drawn upon to furnish arms, ammunition, 
clothes and provisions for the army, to supply funds 
for the payment of the soldiers and to meet other ex- 
penses incident to the state of public affairs, money 
among the people was not only exceedingly scarce, but 
that, in consequence of the successive drafts for sol- 
diers, laborers were in great demand, and their ser- 
vices commanded exorbitant prices. The result of 
this was that 'prices of all commodities, and articles 
of consumption, rose in proportion. This was a pe- 
culiar state of affairs. Every kind of goods was held 
at a high price, although no one had money to buy 
with. The (General Court passed an act dividing the 
State into districts, and ordered that a committee 
should be chosen in each district to fix upon the, 
prices of labor and provisions. This plan operated 
unequally, and was given up, as the people would not 
submit to it. 

At this time the people began to feel the heavily- 
pressing burdens of the war, and began to devise 
means to equalize the same among themselves. At 
the March meeting, 1777, the town "voted to choose 
a committee of five men to estimate all the past ser- 
vices done in the war by men of this town ; Thomas 
Warren, James Hosley, Daniel Adams, Richard 
Wyer and Levi Whitney were chosen for said com- 
mittee." The report of this committee is spread on 
the town records, and the sums awarded to the sol- 
diers are certainly small. The expense was made 
into a tax "on the several inhabitants of this town, 
and that the polls pay one-half of said rait." 

In addition to all other embarrassments under 
which the patriotic citizens were laboring, was the 
discouraging influence of about a dozen men in this 
town who were Tories. These men, for more than 
two years, had clandestinely opposed all measures 
which tended to resist the authority of Great Britain. 



TOWNSEND. 



583 



They were intelligent, most of them, and lived on 
Nissequassick Hill, and during the time that the sol- 
diers were absent — after the alarm of the 19th of 
April — they were offensively outspoken and disagree- 
able. It was during this year that it became neces- 
sary for every man to show his color.-", as public opin- 
ion demanded every able-bodied citizen to give his 
individual support to the American cause, or be ex- 
posed to public indignation, to prosecutions before a 
special court of the Sessions of the Peace, to impris- 
onment, or to a coat of tar and feathers. Occasionally 
they were obliged to uncover their heads, and, in 
presence of the assembled majesty of the town, to 
promise greater love for the American cause and a 
strict corformity to the popular will. 

The selectmen reported the names of persons who 
were suspected of unfriendly feelings towards the pa- 
triots, and who were considered dangerous. There 
were eight of them, viz. : Isaac AVallace, William 
Wallace, David Holden, Jonathan Wallace, Ebenezer 
Giles, Joshua Smith, Reuben Tucker and Seth John- 
son. Jonathan Wallace and Ebenezer Giles were ex- 
cused after a rigid examination. There were others 
besides these men, some of whom, when the excite- 
ment was at its height, precipitantly left the town. 
The most prominent Townsend man who was loyal to 
the Crown and British ministry was Joseph Adams, a 
physician. He came to this town from Lincoln, 
married Miss Lovy Lawrence, of Lincoln, December 
19, 1774. He owned a farm in Townsend and one in 
Pepperell, both of which, after the close of the war, 
were sold under the confiscation act by James Locke, 
who was appointed agent by the Judge of Probate. 
A committee was appointed to settle with his cred- 
itors, consisting of Rev. Samuel Dix, Captain Joseph 
Adams and others. He left early in the struggle and 
went to England, and died at Liscard, Cornwall, 
February 3, 1803. 

At the close of the war there was considerable pres- 
sure on the part of the absentees, or runaway tories, 
from all parts of the country, for the privilege of re- 
turning to the places that were once their homes. To 
this the patriots never consented. On the 17th of 
April, 1783, the town of Boston sent a letter concern- 
ing these abserjtees, and a copj' of the proceedings of 
a meeting at Faneuil Hal!, directed, — "To the com- 
mittee of Correspondence. &c., the Selectmen of the 
Town or Plantation of Townsend, to be communi- 
cated to the Town or Plantation." The tone of this 
meeting had the regular Faneuil Hall ring to it. 
The preamble to their action set forth the case of the 
absentees in their true light at considerable length, 
stating the duty of each town to practice their rights. 
One resolution only was passed which covered the 
whole subject : 

*'KESOLvei>, That this Town will at iill tjiiiea (as tliey have dune), to 
the utmost uf their Power, Oppose every Kiieriiy to tbe just Rights and 
Lihertiea of Slaukiud: And that after so wieked a conspiracy agaiust 
those Rights and Liberties, by certain lugrates, most of them Natives 



of these States, and who have been Refugees and declared Traitors to 
their Country, it is the opinion of this Town, that they ought never to 
be suffered to return, but be excluded from having Lot or PortioD 
among us." 

Townsend, at a town-meeting on the 12th of May 
following, voted not to allow the return, of the ab- 
sentees, and that the selectmen communicate the 
vote of the town to the town of Bo^ton. All the towns 
on the coast, as well as Boston, had more interest in 
the return of these Tories than the inland towns, for 
more of them belonged in these towns. 

On the 30th of April, 1775, General Gage made 
a proposal " that those persons in the country who 
inclined to move into Boston with their effects 
might have liberty to do so without molestation." 
To this the Provincial Congress assented, and officers 
were appointed to grant permits, and a large number 
of Loyalists availed themselves to seek the shelter of 
the British guns. There are good reasons for suppos- 
ing that two or more of the Townsend Tories took 
advantage of this chance of escape, for their names, 
as far as is known, never appeared afterward on any 
records of the town. 

All along through the war there were repeated calls 
upon the town for soldiers. Sometimes a few left at 
a time and joined companies in other towns. William 
Kendall, third sergeant, Jo.seph Putney and Jedediah 
Jewett, of Townsend, were in Captain Jonathan Davis' 
company, of Harvard. Perhaps the most critical 
period in the war was the state of affairs on the Hud- 
son River, when Burgoyne was marching for Albany 
with his army. The General Court ordered thither 
a portion of the troops from several counties, ,Iune 27, 
1777. In some parts of the State volunteers enlisted, 
and marched to the assistance of General Gates and 
General Arnold, who at that time was the bravest of 
the brave. The following is a roll of one of these 
volunteer companies : 

"State of MASSACHtjsEXTS. Capt. James Hosley's Muster Roll of 
Volunteers, who turned out of the towns of Townshend. Pepperell anti 
Ashby, and marched with him to the assistance of Major-General Gates, 
agreeable to a Resolve of the General Court of saitl State, upon Septem- 
ber '22d, 1777, in the Regiment whereof Jonathan Reed is Colonel. James 
Hosley, Capt.; Asa Kendall, Lieut.; Nath^. Sartell, Lieut.; Daniel 
.\dams. Clerk ; Lemuel Patts, Sergt. ; Thomas Shattuck, Sergt. ; Asa 
Shedd, Sergt. ; Henjamin Whitney, Sergt. ; Abram Clark, Lieut. ; Abner 
Adams, Sergt. ; Nath'. Bailey, Sergt. ; David Heywaid, Sergt. ; Elijah 
Wynian, Sergt. ; Renj*. Adams, Corpl. ; Jedidiah Jewett, Corpl. ; Joseph 
Lawrence, Corpl. ; John Boyutou ; William Slovens, Corpl. ; Thomas 
Fisk, Corpl. ; Samuel Stone, Corpl. ; Abel Richardson, Corpl. ; William 
Prescott, Es(i., formerly Colonel; Henry Wood, Esq., formerly Major; 
Samviel Stone, Major in the Militia. Privates : James Campbell, John 
Emery, John Eaton, Isaac Farrar, James Giles, Jonas Farmer, James 
Green, James Hildreth, Benjamin Ball, Joshua Hosley, Samuel Hen 
shaw, .\bel Hildreth, Benj». Hudson, Daniel Jewell, Asa Kendall, Jr., 
David Locke, Thomas Lawrence, Joseph Baldwin, .\bn6r Broolts, Abra- 
ham Boynton, Sampson Bowers, Jonas Baldwin, Dauiel Butterfield, 
Isaac Blood, llaniel Clark, John Locke, Jolm .Manning, John Steveun, 
Richard Stevens, Samuel Seward, Nath', Sartell, Jr., Daniel Sherwin, 
Jr., William Tarbell, Samuel Wright, Jr., J^tjeph Walker, Jacob Wright, 
Tiuiuthy W^arren, Pomp Phillis, John Kmersou, Nathan Lovojoy, Tim- 
othy Hodgman." 

These volunteers were in the service one month 
and fifteen days, and tlie pay of the privates was X3 



584 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



15s., tLatof the oflficers being about sixty per cent, 
more than that of the men. This was one of the most 
efficient military companies that went to the war from 
this part of Middlesex County. Colonel Prescott, the 
hero of Bunker Hill, and two of his subordinate offi- 
cers carried their guns and served in the ranks of this 
corps, which, on the 17th of October, 1777, assisted in 
the surrender of the haughty Burgoy neat Saratoga. 

During the year 1778 town-meetings followed in 
rapid succession ; the fourth one, on May llih, was 
called " to see if the town will come into some method 
that will be effectual to raise the men called for of 
said town, for the public service, by the resolves of the 
General Court, April 20, 1778." At this meeting 
voted to give £ViO to each of the Continental men 
and £80 to each of the militiamen. It must be kept in 
rememhrance that when the war commenced, the en- 
thusiasm of the people was at its height, and the pay 
was comparatively good ; after this period it became 
necessary to resort to some regular system for keeping 
our quota full. Besides this, the seat of war was so 
much farther from home than at first that there was 
more dread to enlist. Townseud had two militia com- 
panies, organized about 1774, known as the "North 
Company " and the " South Company." These compan- 
ies are called the "training-bands "in the records. The 
men of the town were enrolled from sixteen to sixty- 
five years of age, in these two companies, the dividing 
line between the two being the old county road. 
Whenever a call was made for troops from this town, 
these soldiers would meet and equalize the number 
of men each company was obliged to furnish. Gen-, 
erally the soldiers from this town, in the first part of 
the war, received bounties, but some went for less 
bounty than was offered by the town at that time. 
In some instances members of these two companies 
cast lots among themselves to see who should go. 
The man upon whom the lot fell had to shoulder his 
musket and march, or hire asubslitute. The number 
of men who could afford to hire a substitute was lim- 
ited. One fact is worthy of record : Townsend sent 
no man to the war except its own sous and citizens. 

The following list of names is the only roll to be 
found in the records of the town of Townsend. 
Names of the six month.s' men in the continental ser- 
vice for 1780 — travel, 220 miles : 

"Eleozor llultci-fluld, Wllliiini Stacoy, Tsaac Spalding, Jolin .Slicrwin, 
Potor Ailams, Jouatliau Wlioelock, lieiijauiiu Hill, Timotliy Shattuck, 
Bonj=». Wullierboo." 

In June, 1779, a town-meeting was called, with this 
article in the warrant: " To see what the town will 
give to the men for the nine months' conliiicntal ser- 
vice, rather than jtroceed to a draught." On this 
article " voted to offer each soldier of our quota of 
nine months' men, 1000 dollars, or ninety bushels of 
rye." 

During the last years of the war the depreciation of 
the currency deranged all business transactions and 
caused much cxcitemeut. The mother country had 



flooded the States with counterfeit scrip, so that even- 
tually paper money became entirely valueless. One 
dollar in specie varied in vslue from $4.50, in 1778, 
to $166, in 1781, compared with Continental scrip. In 
July, 1781, the town voted to raise £40,000 to defray 
the charges of the war, and £6000 to make up the 
salary of Rev. Samuel Dix. 

The writer is aware that this dim abstract of the 
part which Townsend took in this great struggle for 
constitutional freedom does not do justice either to 
the subject or to the men who engaged in it. They 
were poor, they had " foes within " in the heartless 
gang of Tories with whom they had to contend, they 
fought against great odds, and nothing but a con- 
sciousness of the rectitude of their course gave them 
success. Looking back over these scenes, they rise 
up before the mind like things coming from dream- 
laud. 

" *Ti9 like a dream when one awakes. 

This vision uf the scenes of old ; 
'Tis like the moon when niornii';^ breaks, 

'Tis like a tale round watch-fires told." 

The Shays Reisellion.— At the close of the Rev- 
olution the country was in a demoralized condition. 
Nearly all the available wealth of the people, at the 
commencement of the war, had been expended to 
feed, clothe and pay the soldiers. There was much 
dissatinf'action among those who Ijad served in the 
army at being paid oft' in worthless currency. The 
increase of the indebtedness of the towns and individ- 
uals, the scarcity of money of any value, the decay of 
business, numerous law-suits, and a want of confi- 
dence in the government, particularly in regard 
to financial matters, generated a depressed state 
of feeling, which caused great anxiety among 
the people. This state of feeling, in some degree, 
was co-extensive with the Commonwealth. People 
began to express great disapprobation of the man- 
ner in which the government was administered, 
and a revolt, in the western part of the State, 
was freely discussed, as early as 1782. In the town 
of Northampton the insurgents were rather numer- 
ous, having a disappointed and disaffected clergyman 
by the name of Ely for a leader, who understood all 
the arts of a demagogue. In 1783 a mob assembled 
in Springfield, resolving itself into a general conven- 
tion. Proceeding to the court-house, on the appear- 
ance of the judges and sheriff, they opposed their 
entrance into the building. A riot was prevented by 
the timely intervention of the most influential citi- 
zens there present. 

For the next three years " the distressed state of 
affairs " as expressed in Townsend records, continued. 
In 1786 a convention of insurgents, according to 
Holland's " Western Massachusetts," assembled at 
Leicester, when thirty-seven towns were represented, 
which, without any interruption, freely discussed the 
propriety of obstructing the sitting of the General 
Court at Boston, the closing of the County Courts by 
force, law abuses and other subjects. 



TOWNSEND. 



585 



In the counties of Middlesex, Bristol and Berk- 
shire similar conventions were held, and votes and 
resolves passed. On September 5, 1786, a mob pre- 
vented the session of the court at Worcester. The 
voters in the towns of Pepperell, Shirley, Groton and 
Townsend were about equally divided on this subject. 
The town of Concord, where the court was then in 
session, was much excited, dreading the arrival of the 
rebels against the State authorities. A majority of 
that town was in symjiathy with the insurgenis. A 
committee chosen by the town of Concord addressed 
the following letter to most of the towns in this 
county, and Townsend among the number : 

" To Ihe TovH of Totniseml : 

** Gentlemen : Alarmed at the threatening aspect of our public 
afTairs, this town has this day heUl a meeting and declared unanimously 
their utter disapprobation of the disorderly proceedings of a number of 
persons in the Counties of Hantpshire and Worcester, in preventing the 
action of the courts. And apprehending the like may be attempted in 
this County, and probably be attended with very dangerous conse- 
quences, we have thought it advisable to endeavor, in conjunction with 
as many of the neighboring t<twus as we can give seasonable informa- 
tion to, by lenient measures to dissuade from such rash conduct as may 
involve the state in anarchy and confusion, and the deprecated horrors 
of civil war. VVe conceive the present uneasiness of the people to be 
not altogether groundless ; and although many designing men, enemies 
of the present government, nuiy wish and actually are fomenting un- 
easiness among the people, yet we are fully persuaded that the views of 
by far the greater part are to obtain redress of what they conceive to be 
real grievances. And since the method they have taken cannot fail of 
meeting the hearty disapprobation of every friend of peace and good 
order, we cannot but hope, Ironi what we know of the strenuous exer- 
tions which have been made by the towns around us, and in which 
those disorders above mentioned now exist, to purchase at the expense 
of blood our independence, and the great unanimity with which they 
have established our present government ; and from what we know of 
the real grounds of their complaints ; were lenient measures used, ami 
a number of towns united to endeavor, by every rational argument, 
to dissuade those who may seem refractory Ironi measures which tend 
innuediately to destroy the fair fabric of our government, and to join in 
legal and constitutional measures to obtain redress of what maybe 
found real grievances, they would be attended with happy effects. 

*' Wo have therefore chosen a committee to act in concert with the 
neighboring towns, for the purpose of mediating between opposing par- 
ties, should they meet. And we Ciinuot but hope our uriited endeav- 
ors to support the dignity of governnienl and prevent the effusion of 
blood will meet with general approbation, and be attended with happy 
results. 

'* If the above should meet with your approbation, we request you to 
chooge some person to meet a committee of this town, chosen for that 
purjiose, at the house of Captjiin Oliver lirown, innholder in Concord, 
on Monday evening or Tuesday morning next, that we may confer to- 
gether, and adopt measures which may be thought best calculated 
for the attainment of the end above proposed. 

" We are, gentlemen, with great esteem and friendship, your humble 
servants. 

*• .Joseph Hosmeu, 
" in behalf of the town's committee. 

" Concord, Sept. 9, ITSG." 

Townsend during this period was in a state of great 
perplexity, judging from the records of many town- 
meetings. In May, 1780, a warrant was posted call- 
ing a town-meeting on tlie 5th of June following, 
when a committee of five men was chosen " to draft 
public grievances," consisting of David Spafibrd, 
Jonatlian Wallace, Daniel Adams, Benjamin Ball 
and Thomas Seaver. The first and last-named man 
on this committee were disaffected men ; the other 
three were opposed to the insurrection. At the same 



meeting chose the same men as a committee to con- 
fer with other towns, and then adjouraed to the 2Gth 
of the same month. Met at the adjournment and 
adjourned for two weeks. At this adjourned meeting 
the town "chose two men to attend a convention (of 
insurgents) to be holden in Concord on the twenty- 
third of August." 

There is no record of anything like a response to 
the letter sent to Townsend by the committee of the 
town of Concord. It seemed to be the first purpose of 
the insurgents to suppress the Courts of Sessions until 
some action should be taken to stay the flood of exe- 
cutions which wasted their property and made their 
homes desolate. On the 12th of September, 1786, 
three days after the date of the letter from Concord, 
three companies of insurgents marched into Concord, 
and forcibly stopped the court then in session 
The " head-centre " of the insurrection in Middlesex 
County was Job Shattuck, of Groton, assisted by 
Sylvanus and Nathan Smith, of Shirley, and Peter 
Butterfield, of Townsend, all of whom had been ofii- 
cers in the War for American Independence. .Shat- 
tuck served in the French War, and all of these 
men were well qualified to be conspicuous in such a 
cause. 

Meeting with no resistance in stopping the court at 
Coucord, their deportment was insolent and offensive 
in the extreme towards the judges, the members of 
the bar and every one not diposed to be in sympathy 
with them. The court being about to be holden at 
Cambridge, the Governor ordered the militia to be 
in readiness to march to that place, and at this junc- 
ture, when an effort to stop the court so near the capital 
of the State had succeeded, without any further delay or 
chance for the insurgents to rally their forces, " war- 
rants were issued for apprehending the head men of 
the insurgents of Middlesex, and for imprisoning 
them without bail or mainprise." A company of 
horse was ordered from Boston to assist the sheriff in 
the capture of Shatluck and his officers, which, on 
its arrival at Concord, was reinforced by a party of 
mounted men from Groton, under Colonel Henry 
Woods. This force succeeded in capturing two pris- 
oners — Oliver Parker and Benjamin Page, but failed 
to find Shattuck during the day, as he had taken 
alarm and escaped. " Under this disappointment, at 
midnight, in the midst of a violent snow-storm, the 
whole party were ordered on to Shattuck 's house, in 
Groton, where they did not arrive till late in the morn- 
ing. A search was immediately commenced, and judi- 
cious pursuit discovered him to a party of a few persons 
led by Colonel Woods himself. Shattuck obstinately 
resisted, and was not taken till he had received sev- 
eral wounds, which he returned without much injury." 

The following list of the Townsend insurgents has 
been preserved among the papers on file with the 
town records. It is worthy of notice that about one- 
fourth of the persons whose names are in this list 
were young men in their minority. Fourteen of them 



586 



HISTOKY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



had the suffix of Jr. to their names. Abraham But- 
terfleld, the son of Peter, was less than seventeen 
years old, and some of them were under sixteen years 
01 age. Four of these men held commissions during 
the Revolution, and most of them were respectable 
and useful citizens, misguided though they were : 

"Peter Biittbrfield, .\8ii Itcald, Samuel Stevens, Jonas Warren, Jacob 
Bacliolder. Benja. Spaulding, Jr., Andrew Searle, Jr., Daniel Clark^ 
Sinieun Uictiardson, Joliii Kmery, Ephraim LambsoD, Jonatban Pierce, 
Asa Stevens, Isaac Lewis, Andrew Searlea, Jedediah Jewett, Elijah 
Dodge, Jesse Baldwin, Nathaniel Bailey, Jr., Zachery Uildreth, Aaron 
Proctor, Phillip Warren, Isaac Green, Isaac Giles, Solomon Sherwin, 
Azariah P. Sherwin, Peter Adams, Joseph UumriU, Jonathan Sanderson, 
Tlioniiis Seaver, Jssiah Burge, Jr., Sloses Burge, Abijah Monroe, Abel 
Keys, Elnathau Spalding, Josiali Richardson. Levi Whitney, Bonj. -Wal- 
lace, Moses Warren, Isaac Farrar, Jr., Stephen "Warren, Jonas Ball, 
Nathan Conant, Jr., Isaac Wallis, Jr., Reuben Gaschett, Benjamin Di.x» 
\Viniam Stevens, Jr., David Wallace, James Bali, Asa Whitney, Isaac 
Wallis, Joseph Baldwin, Jr., Phinehas Baldwin, David SpalTord (lid), Sol- 
omon Peirce, John Conant, Benja. Wood, Nathan Carlton, Samuel 
Searles, David SpaOord, Kbenezer Ball. .Ir., Abraham Ball, James Sloan» 
Richard \Varnor, John Waugh, .Ir.. Joel Davis, Jeremiah Ball, Charles 
Richards, Jesse Maynard, Nath'. Bowers, Josiah Rice, Abraham Bnt- 
terfield, John Campb'dl, Jr , Jonas Campbell, John Colburn, John 
Graham, Benja. Brooks, Jr., Thads. Spaulding, Abijah HiUreth, Abel 
Green, Isaac Spalding, William Wallace, John Giles, Aaron Scott. 

About thirty of the young men, whose names ap- 
pear in the foregoing list, marched to Concord under 
Lieutenant Peler Butterfield and were present at the 
time the court was stopped. 

A strict search, in and around Townsend, was made 
for Butterfield by the posse comilatus under Colonel 
Woods, when Shattuck was taken, but he eluded his 
pursuers. -There was after that time quite an effort 
made to capture him. During a part of the follow- 
ing winter he secreted himself in a cabin masked with 
evergreens, on the hill northwe.'terly from his house, 
in plain sightof the same, where he was apprised of ap- 
proaching danger by his wife. His house stood about 
three- fourths of a mile northerly from the harbor, on 
the west side of the road leading to Brookline, along 
the easterly base of Nissequassick Hill. At length 
his retreat was discovered, and his pursuers followed 
his track on the snow until nearly night, when, get- 
ting into a secluded place in a thicket, in the dusk of 
the evening, they lost sight of his track and abandon- 
ed further pursuit. After he was satisfied that his 
enemies had departed, he took a direct course for the 
house of one of his friends, who immediately took 
him over the line into New Hamp.shire. His exer- 
tions to escape fluoded him with perspiration, so that 
waiting in a frosty atmosphere to be sure that the 
officers had gone, he took a violent cold, which in- 
duced rheumatism, from which he sufl'ered during the 
remainder of his life. He never was arretted by the 
officers, and there has been found no certificate from 
any magi-trale, showing that he took the oath of alle- 
giance, although the same file of papers in which, 
these names were found, contains the certificates of 
different magistrates, belore whom sixty of these men 
took that oath. He was a man of excellent moral 
character, very industrious and had many friends. 

Daniel Shays, from whom the outbreak takes its 



name, was born in Hopkinton, 1747. After the rebel- 
lion was crushed he fled to Vermont, and afterwards 
removed to Sparta, New York, where he died Sept. 
29, 1825. He was a pensioner of the United States, 
having been a captain in the Revolutionary War. 

Perhaps there never was so much smoke and so 
little fire, or so small a show of talent or brains in 
any insurrection as in the Shays' Rebellion. The in- 
surgents appeared to dread a collision with the troops 
during the whole time they were in arms against the 
government. All the loses in the rebellion were 
three killed and one hundred and fifty taken prison- 
ers — all Shays' men. In 1787 certain laws were 
altered, which made every thing satisfactory to the 
entire voting population of the Commonwealth. 

Educational Hktory. — The settlers of Town- 
send, in common with the citizens of all the towns in 
this Commonwealth, displayed much sagacity in 
matters concerning their future welfare. As early as 
1734 the proprietors' records contained the follow- 
ing: 

*' Voted, that Jasher Wyman, Lieut. Daniel Taylor and Nathaniel 
Richardson be a comt<« to talie effectual care that tliere be no Strip or 
W'aste made of Timber, or Timber cutt, or Pines boxed, or Caudlewood 
picked up for tarr upon y« undivided Land, and to sue and Prosecute any 
persons whom they shall find Guilty of said offences. Also to prosecute 
any persons who have been Guilty thereof, or take satisfaction therefor 
fur yo use of ye proprietors." 

In connection with the.se precautionary measures, 
one interesting fact may be learned from this extract, 
and that is, the importance that was attached to the 
value of the " candiewood," or resinous pitch pine, 
scattered on the undivided land. Families, at that 
time, were generally large and almost every one of 
them constituted a school by itself Around the 
capacious fire-places, common in those days, sat the 
sons and daughters, in order according to their age 
and advancement, while the father or mother acted 
as teacher. The Bible, and particularly the New Tes- 
tament, was one of the principal books used. Their 
cabin walls and the shining faces of youth and beauty 
within wcro'illumined through the long winter even- 
ings by the pine-knot light; and no one can say 
that this trainingof the mind, in their rude domiciles, 
was not sufficient to furnish the town with amiable 
women and honorable and capable men. Every op- 
portunity for intellectual improvement, within their 
limited means, was then turned to their advantage, 
and a complete exemplification of the maxim" where 
there is a will there is a way," has come down to us 
in their example. 

The first record of any effort for a public school was 
in 1744, when the town " voted to raise twenty 
l)ounds, old tenor, for the support of a school, and 
chose two men as a committee to provide a school- 
master : John Conant chosen first, Josiah Robbins 
second." The record further states where the school 
should be kept at different dwelling-houses, in differ- 
ent parts of the town — the north school at the house 
of Benjamin Brooks, the school at the middle of the 



TOWNSEND. 



587 



town at Joseph Baldwin's, and the south school at 
Daniel Taylor's. One man, without doubt, taught 
the school at these three places. There is no record to 
show the name of the tirst teacher in Tosvnsend. 
From 1745 to 1750 the town raised twenty pounds, 
old tenor, for the support of schools, which were kept 
at several difl'erent places. In 1749 the town " voted 
to raise £10 lawful money to support a school," and 
designated three places at which it should be kept, 
oneuf which was ''at the new school-house in the mid- 
dle of the town." The foundation of this house may 
still be seen, on the east side of the old discontinued 
road, nearly opposite to the spot where the first meet- 
iog-house stood. There is no record of the time when 
this house was built, but probably it was during 1747. 

From 1754 to 17GG the town, each year, appropri- 
ated £8, lawful money, for the support of a school and 
decided where it should be kept. In 1753 the records 
show that there was a "school on the south side of 
the river," but when it was built, or its size, is not 
known; neither can the precisespot where it stood be 
pointed out. At that time the largest part of the 
inhabitants of Towusend lived in the east part of the 
town, within three miies of the east line thereof, so 
that a school on Nissequujsick Hill, one at the middle 
of the town, and one just south of the harbor would 
accommodate the people in the best possible manner. 

In 1783, beginning to realize that they had thrown 
off the British yoke, and feeling the spirit of inde- 
pendence stirring within them, the people, at a town- 
meeting in May, chose a committee of nine " to divide 
the town into squadrons for convenience for school- 
ing."" This committee divided the town into seven 
parts, for school purposes, and designated the location 
of the several houses. Not many of the places where 
tbese school-houses stood have houses on them at 
present. There is nothing of importance on record 
in regard to educational aflairs from the time these 
squadrons were made until thepopulationof the town 
had increased so that larger houses were required. In 
1790 voted to choose a man in each school squadron 
for a School Committee. Chose Samuel Stone, Jona- 
thau Wallace, Life Baldwin, Jacob Blodgett, Ephraim 
LampsoUj John Sherwiu and Daniel Adams, Esq., for 
said committee." This first School Committee chosen 
in Towusend was made up of men of prominence in 
the districts to which they belonged. What they 
lacked in the higher branches of mathematics, as 
taught in our high school, and on which much time 
is lost by pupils who never expect to be teachers or 
professors, they made up in square common-sense 
general information and integrity of character. 

Soon after the Baptist meeting-house at West Town- 
send was erected, the subject of establishing a semi- 
nary for young ladies at that village began to be dis- 
cussed. The idea was suggested by Mr. Levi Warren, 
who, at that time, was the most influential man in 
that section of the town. In 1835 between thirty 
and forty gentlemen of the Baptist faith, a part of 



whom did not belong to Towusend, contributed to- 
wards purchasing the land and erecting the building 
known as " the seminary." No sum was subscribed 
less than twenty-five dollars, which was called a 
share, and most of the subscribers took one share, 
while others gave according to their interest in edu- 
cation and the prosperity of the village. The largest 
contributor was Mr. Levi Warren, who subscribed 
for nineteen shares. The building was finished in 
April, 183*3, and the institution was inaugurated un- 
der highly favorable circumstances, which more than 
met the expectations of its patrons and founders. 
March 13, 1839, the owners received an act of incor- 
poration from the General Court under the name of 
the "Townsend West Village Female Seminary." 
The lady who was principal when the seminary com- 
menced, remained in office only about a year, when 
she married and left town. Another principal suc- 
ceeded her until the fall term, 1839, when the trustees 
engaged the services of Miss Ruth Robinson, a person 
of excellent judgment and ample scholastic attain- 
ments. Associated with the principal were six 
teachers of experience in the natural sciences, mathe- 
matics, intellectual and moral philosophy, the orna- 
mental branches and music. This board of instruc- 
tion was selected with much care by a board of trus- 
tees from different New England States. It was a 
Baptist institution, but enjoyed the confidence of all 
denominations. The Baptists of the Eastern States 
and some from New York sent their daughters to 
West Townsend for an education at this seminary, 
which for more than twenty years was very popular. 
In almost every State in the Union may be found one 
or more who have been teachers, principals of high 
schools and seminaries, besides wives of professional 
men, who remembered with pleasure the pleasant 
days of their youth passed at this, their Alma Mater. 
In 1844 a more lucrative position was oft'ered Jliss 
Robinson, wheu she resigned her oflice. Miss Han- 
nah P. Dodge, a native of Littleton and a graduate 
of this seminary iu 1843, succeeded as principal. She 
remained in office until November, 1853, when, at her 
own solicitation, she was dismissed, partly ou account 
of ill health. The building was commodious, well 
arranged and its recitation rooms richly carpeted. 
The Lesbian Society, a literary association of the pu- 
pils, was a success, belonging to which was a ju- 
diciously selected library, a large part of which w;is 
presented by Messrs. Levi and Charles Warren and 
their Baptist friends in Boston. 

Iu every particular it had no i)eer in America ex- 
cept, perhaps, in Miss Willard's Female Seminary, at 
Troy, New- York. But after a successful existence of 
about twenty-five years — afier it had shone brilliantly 
among the constellations of the literary galaxy of its 
time — in an evil hour, it finally sunk, never to rise 
again from beneath the horizon of financial misman- 
agement which enshrouded its exit. Thus the civi- 
lizing inlluence, which to a great extent built up 



588 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



West Townsend, which gave a fresh impetus to our 
public schools and made Townaend an objective-point 
as a seat of learning and refinement, was irretrievably 
lost. The building passed into the hands of the 
mortgagee and it is now used for the graded schools 
at West Townsend. 

After the seminary had been in operation for four 
or five years the Congregationalists and others at the 
centreof the town, observing tuegood influence emana- 
ting from that institution, and that the Baptist Church 
was much better tilled than at previous times, tooli the 
idea of an academy at Townsend Centre. First and 
foremost in this enterprise was the Rev. Mr. Stowell, 
the orthodox minister. Accordingly, from the 
people of the town, and from the members of the 
Congregational society in particular, a sufficient sum 
of money, in addition to the quantity of lumber and 
building materials given by others interested, was 
subscribed to erect a suitable building. Capt. Elna- 
than Davis gave the timber for the frame, delivered 
on the ground where the building was to stand. The 
traders at the Centre gave the nails, lime and hard- 
ware, and the academy was built by a mutual effort 
by which no one felt the least impoverished. It was 
finished in the summer of 1841, and opened the fol- 
lowing September with a respectable number of stu- 
dents. It stood on the north side of Main Street, 
nearly opposite to where the bank now stands, in 
what is now the stable-yard of Walter Fessenden & 
Son. It was not so expensive a structure as the 
seminary, but it was a substantial, well-arranged, 
two-story building, with a tower and bell surmounting 
it. For five or six years consecutively this aeademy 
received a good share of patronage, and during the 
autumn months a large number of scholars gathered 
within its walls. 

Mr. Noahdiah Dickinson was the first preceptor, a 
graduate of Amherst College, a good scholar, and of 
very gentlemanly deportment. While Mr. Stowell 
remained in town he took much interest in this 
school, and he assisted Mr. Dickinson, when the 
services of an additional teacher were needed, in a 
manner very acceptable to the students. 

Jonathan C. Shattuck, a graduate from Dartmouth 
in 1842, had charge of this academy for some time. 
The difficulty of supporting two institutions of simi- 
lar character in so small a town soon became apparent ; 
besides, three of the towns joining Townsend had 
each an academy, in addition to New Ipswich Acad- 
emy — all seeking patronage. After Mr. Stowell and 
Mr. Dickinson left this town, the interest in the 
Academy began to decrease, uniil finally, in 1851, the 
old district school-house, situated at the northeast 
corner of the Common, was much too small to accom- 
modate the scholars, and what was District No. 1 
bought this academy-building and moved it on the 
ground nearly north of the Muihodist meetinghouse, 
and fitted it up for the accommodation of two schools. 
It was used for a public school-house until January 



5, 1870, when it was burned, as was supposed, by an 
incendiary. There have been four other school- 
houses burned in this town — two in what was called 
Potunck District (No. 8), and two in the Harbor Dis- 
trict. About 1830 a school-house was burned which 
stood about one-fourth of a mile southerly from the 
bridge over the river at Townsend Harbor, in the 
angle of land made by the divergence of the Shirley 
and South Row loads; and in 1872 another school- 
house, situated on the west side of said Shirley road, 
nearer the Harbor, was destroyed by fire by the care- 
less deposit of ashes. 

The school laws of the Commonwealth are altered 
so often, and there is such an effort made to hurry 
along the scholars from one grade of school to the 
next higher, and everything about the schools is so 
much run in grooves, that it is doubtful if our 
scholars leave the schools now with any better mental 
or moral equipment to enter the battle of life than 
those did, long ago, when Miss Rebecca Warren, Seth 
Davis, Miss Mary Palmer, John K. Palmer, Samuel 
Adams and Miss Polly Giles were the teachers. 

Cemeteries. — Generally, the cemetery of the New 
England Puritans was situated next to their house of 
worship, so that the shadow of their sacred temples 
might fall upon the graves, which, being in plain 
view, on each returning Sabbath might forcibly re- 
mind tliem of their mortality. The situation of the 
first meeting-house in Townsend, on "Mount Grace," 
as it is called in some of the old deeds, made it im- 
practicable to conform to this custom, on account of 
the rocky and ledgy nature of the land. It is not 
known where the people of this town buried their 
dead for the first fifteen years after there was a settle- 
ment here. 

In 1742 the town "voted to accept of an acre of 
land from Mr. William Clark, for a burial place." It 
is probable that this "God's acre" was given to the 
town a considerable length of time before this vote 
was passed. There must have been some burials in 
Townsend before this time, and considering the near- 
ness of this spot to their meeting-house, this was un- 
doubtedly the first place selected for the interment of 
the dead. The graves first made here are marked by 
rough slabs of slate, minus any inscriptions, and the 
first stones on which are any records date back no 
further than 1745. 

In 1744, " Voted to choose a committee of three 
men to clear up the burying-place, a»id dispose of 
the timber for the best advantage of the town. Chose 
for this committee, Nathaniel Richardson, Joseph 
Baldwin and Josiah Robbins." In 1747 the town 
evinced a deeeper interest in this cemetery, and 
" Voted to fence the burying-ground with a stone 
wall four feet and four inches high." Mr. William 
Clark, the giver, was the owner of a large amount of 
land in this town. His name appears on the list of 
the seventy-two persons who were present at Concord 
on May 19, 1720, when he subscribed for a " Lott in 



TOWNSEND. 



689 



y' North Town," but did not pay for it at that time. 
He was a shoemaker, owned skives, came from Con- 
cord to this town, and settled on the south side of the 
river, at the base of the hill, on the South Row road, 
leading from the first meeting-house, where one 
Isaac Spaulding afterward lived. A slate grave- 
stone, now in a good state of preservation, was 
erected to his memory, situated near the centre of 
this burial-place, from which it appears that he died 
in 1756, aged seventy-seven years. 

About 181G the people began to talk about a new 
cemetery, the acre given by Mr. Clark being nearly 
full ; besides there are no avenues in this acre, and 
the graves are so close together and the headstones 
so numerous that the small part of it farthest from 
the road, which is not used for burials, is not easily 
approached by a funeral corter/e. In 1818 the town 
voted to buy the land now used for a cemetery at the 
centre of the town, then owned by Rev. David 
Palmer, Deacon Daniel Adams and Richard Warner, 
Esq., each of whom had an angle of land needed to 
make the ground eligible, both in distance from the 
meeting-house and quadrangular in form, and this cem- 
etery was inaugurated this year. 

In 1854 the town chose a committee, consisting of 
the selectmen, to buy land at the east of their new 
burial-place, in order to enlarge the same. The east 
line of the land, bought in 1818, commenced near the 
site of the receiving-tomb ; thence southerly in a line 
nearly parallel with the west line of the cemetery. 
This committee bought about six acres of land of 
Richard Warner, at the east of this line, enclosed it 
with a picket fence, and took up the east line fence of 
the original plot. This burial-place has broad ave- 
nues, the natural surface of the ground has been 
properly graded, the lots are kept clear from grass or 
weeds, and it contains many substantial specimens of 
monumental art. 

In 1836 Mr. Levi Warren set apart a tract of land 
for a cemetery, on the south side of the road from 
West Townsend to Ashby. Two cr three bodies were 
buried here ; but, for good reasons, he altered his 
mind about the location, and had the bodies moved, 
in 1838, at his own expense, to the village cemetery, 
now at the north of the river, and then gave the town 
a deed of the land. For the lew years past this cem- 
etery has been kept in a neat and orderly manner, 
and there are some expensive monuments here. 

Mechanical Industries. — The first mill in 
Townsend was built at the Harbor by Johu Stevens 
and John Patt, by mutual agreement in writing, each 
binding himself, his heirs and executors, to the other, 
his heirs and executors, " to furnish one-half of the 
labor, timber, stone and iron necessary for the erec- 
tion of said mill for sawing boards; and to keep the 
same in repair for twenty years." This agreement, 
drawn in a neat, bold hand, worded in a scholarly 
manner, and legally binding on both parties, is now 
in possession of the Ball family, which was connected 



by marriage with the Stevens family. The signatures 
of these men and that of the two witnesses to the in- 
strument would be particularly noticeable for good 
penmanship in a collection of autographs. John Patt 
owned the land on the north side of the river, and 
Johu Stevens on the south aide, where the mill was 
built, which stood about twenty rods easterly of the 
location of the bridge at the Harbor. This was exe- 
cuted in January, 1733. and the mill was built before 
the 30th of the following November. A dam, suita- 
ble in height, was thrown across the river at or near 
where the stone dam now stands, which stopped the 
water much farther up the river than was agreeable 
to the engineering of these two men. A meeting of 
the proprietors was called in August of that year, when 
it Wds voted to allow Ephraim Sawtell " an equiva- 
lent for such land as may be flowed by the raising of 
the dam." A grist-mill was soon put in this building. 
This mill was sold by the builders a few years after it 
was built, including the privilege and a certain 
amount of land, to Joiiu Conant, who was the owner 
and occupant for a long time. 

About 1768 a mill stood on the south aide of the 
river at West Townsend, near the west side of the 
stone bridge at that village, which was known, in its 
day, as " the Hubbard mill," but whether William 
Hobart or Isr.ael Hobart built it is unknown, as it 
was burned about 1790. In 1790 Hezekiah Richard- 
son made the canal leading easterly from this stone 
bridge to the spot where the leatdier-board mill now 
stands, and made a mill for sawing and grinding at 
that locality. Here has been a saw and grist-mill, a 
wool carding and clothier's mill, a stocking factory, a 
machine shop and a leather-board mill, the last being 
the j)resent business. James Giles had a saw-mill 
where the A. M. Adams kit- mill was burned as early 
as 1780, and before that time Major Samuel Stone, of 
Ashby, built a mill on Willard's Stream, in the fork of 
the two roads leading to Ashby. Afterwards this 
mill was owned by Eben Butler, from whom, in 1819, 
Benjamin Barrett and son bought this property. 
They demolished the old mill, made a stone dam and 
the second mill .it this place. Quite recently a mill 
three stories in height, and rather capacious, was 
built here ; and in 1871 another stone dam, farther 
up the stream, was made for reservoir purpo.';e.s, by 
which the privilege was much enhanced in value, and 
within a year an engine was put in this mill to secure 
power any day in the year. All kinds ot lumber and 
coopering stock are made here and the property is 
owned and occupied by Clarence Stickney. 

In 1817 Daniel Giles erected a mill on the si)ot 
where the grain elevator now is at Townsend Centre. 
This mill has not passed through many hands, but it 
has been enlarged and improved at dilferent times. 
Adams «& Powers were the next owners, and now 
the property belongs to Union S. Adams. For the 
last half-century this saw and grist-mill, in connec- 
tion with the coopering business, and on account of 



590 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX C0UNT5f, MASSACHUSETTS. 



its central location in relation to a market for flour, 
grain and meal, has done the most business of any 
mill in town. Soon after Daniel Giles sold this prop- 
erty he built a steam mill on the west side of the 
Brookline road, about half a mile northerly from the 
Common, where the furniture factory now stands. 
This mill was not long in operation before it was 
burned, and he lost heavily by the fire. The citizens 
of the town and his friends, with much sympathy for 
the loser, contributed liberally to his relief, so that he 
rebuilt on the same spot and continued his business, 
using steam-power, in company with a partner until 
his death, in 1858, when Mr. Edwin A. Larkin went on 
with the mill in making coopering stock. In 1874 
the furniture factory, now owned and operated by 
William P. Taylor and others, was put up here where 
the Giles and Larkin mill stood, that mill having 
been taken down. This establishment is operated by 
steam-power, employing ten or fifteen workmen and 
turns out about thirty thousand dollars' worth of 
goods annuaKy. 

In 1867 a large two-story and basement factory for 
the manufacture of coopering stock of all kinds, op- 
erated by steam, was built at the centre of the town 
by Walter Fessenden & Son. This mill gave em- 
ployment to about thirty workmen. The building, 
motive-power, machinery and every facility for the 
manufacture of this stock was first-claas. Except 
the usual summer vacation of four or five weeks, it 
was kept running during the year. In August, 1874, 
this mill was burned, the fire being undoubtedly the 
work of an incendiary. This large structure was, at 
that time, full of combustible goods made from sea- 
soned pine lumber. There was no wind ; the even- 
ing was dark, during which the fire which raged 
furiously when the roof fell in, sent a gleaming and 
hissing sheet of flame upward into the sky which 
was visiblefora long distance around. Had the fire hap- 
pened when the wind blew, or any time except when 
the mill-yard and surrounding roofs were wet, the 
central village would have been reduced to ashes. 
The owners soon cleared away the dtbris and com- 
menced re-building, and on the 4th of the follow, 
ing February another building, similar in every par- 
ticular, and equally expensive, commenced running 
on the same location. This second mill of the Fes- 
sendens was also burned June 22, 1884. 

In 1800 Benjamin Pierce started a tannery near the 
first little brook crossing the road leading from the 
depot at West Townsend to the ])ost-office in that 
village. It stood on the north side of the road. Sev- 
eral proprietors followed him in the business, among 
whom were George Hartwell, Levi Stearns (about 
1825), Alexander I^ewis (about 1828) and Abram S. 
French, 1831. 

In 1827 Curtis Stevena had a tannery on the spot 
where Stickney's mill now stands, which he operated 
for .seven or eight years. He ground the bark in the 
mill, and his vats were on the north side of it. 



In 1789 Captain Timothy Fessenden was engaged 
in the tanning business on land now owned by Har- 
riet Read, near the north end of the dam across the 
Squannicook, at the Harbor. John and Samuel Bil- 
lings, of Lunenburg, were interested in this property, 
but whether as owners, mortgagees, or otherwise, is 
unknown. John Jewett followed Fessenden in this 
business until about 1808, when Oliver Read bought 
the place and worked at the same trade until about 
1827. 

John Orr, in 1854, erected quite a large two-story 
and attic building near the railroad track at West ' 
Townsend Depot for a tannery, which was operated 
by steam-power. He employed five or six workmen 
in the trade until 1858, when the property went into 
the hands of a firm doing business under the name of 
Freeman & Avery. These men increased the business, 
constantly employing fifteen or twenty operatives. 
The firm shipped a large amount of goods into the 
market, but the owners were not first-class financiers 
and did not succeed according to their expectations. 

In 1864 George Taft bought this establishment, re- 
taining the foreman and some of the workmen under 
the firm which preceded him, and he went on with 
the business. The building and finished stock con- 
tained in it were burned in 1868, but in due time Mr. 
Taft built another structure of about the same di- 
mensions, on the same site, which remained about 
three years, when that also was burned. Since that 
time the ruins of this factory have remained undis- 
turbed. Within the last forty years this branch of 
industry has been concentrated into a few places and is 
carried on by combined capital and rich firms, with 
whom competition is next to impossible. 

In 1833 Abram S. French built a morocco fiictory 
on the brook running northeasterly from Bayberry 
Hill, near its confluence with the river, and near where 
James Giles built his saw-mill described in this chap- 
ter. He erected a dam on this brook which kept 
back suflicient water to operate a fulling-mill during 
the largest part of the year. This establishment was 
in successful operation for twenty years, employing 
constantly ten or twelve workmen; and considering 
the length of time the business was prosecuted, it 
must have been a source of wealth to the proprietor. 

From 1800 to 1840 many families in this town 
manufactured woolen goods — using the hand-loom — • 
for their own clothing. A tailoress would be in at- 
tendance with these families once a year, and cut the 
cloth and make these woolen goods into clothing for 
their members. So with boots and shoes. The 
farmers sent their hides — marked so as to be recog- 
nized — to the tanners, where they were made into 
leather. A boot and shoemaker would go around to 
each house and make these goods — sufficient for 
a year's stock for the family. 

Nathan Carlton had a wool-carding and cloth-col- 
oring and dressing-mill at the Harbor as early as 1790. 
His mill stood on the north side of the river, just above 



TOWNSEND. 



591 



the bridge, and he took water from the Harbor Pond 
for his power. In 1821 Paul Gerrish toolc possession 
of this property and engaged quite extensively in the 
same trade with good success. This gentleman was 
one of the most prominent citizens of the town. He 
was a justice of the peace and one of the selectmen 
for a number of years. He represented Townsend in 
the Legislature in 1832, was an accurate town officer 
and an exemplary man. Died September 15, 1847, 
at Townsend. 

About 1807 Jonathan Richardson came into posses- 
sion and ownership of the saw and grist-mill erected 
by Hezekiah Richardson & Sons, which stood a few 
rods easterly of the present leather-board factory. 
Connected with this building was an ell, or wing, 
which contained a wool-carding machine owned by 
Captain Josiah G. Heald, who continued in the 
clothier's trade here for more than twenty-five years. 
He was a much respected citizen, represented Town- 
send in the General Court in 1839, died at Mason Vil- 
lage, N. H., June 15, 1849. 

Soon after the close of the Revolution the Warrens, 
and others, were engaged in the manufacture of pot- 
ash, and this industry was followed in a profitable 
manner until about 1820, when wood became more 
valuable for other purposes. 

Previous to the beginning of the present century 
the principal branch of industry of the town, from 
which was derived the greatest &moiint of money, was 
the manufacture of beef, pork and rum barrels, and, in 
fact, this trade continued until nearly 1830, when 
casks began to be made from sawed pine staves. 
These casks were drawn to Boston market by ox- 
teams, usually about four days being spent making 
the journey. 

lu 1787 Peter Manning commenced making sad- 
dles at the Harbor, his house and shop both being in 
the building where Charles Emery resides. This w-as 
in the days when equestrianism was practiced by both 
sexes, when pleasure wagons were unknown and the 
"one-horse shay " had not been introduced. A sad- 
dler was almost as indispensable in every town as a 
minister. He is represented as a very polite man, a 
skillful mechanic, and a good singer; but he rebelled 
against the practice of alternate reading and singing 
the lines of the hymn, which was the custom in pub- 
lic service on the Sabbath, and it was through his in- 
fluence that fashion was laid aside. At that time 
Townsend Harbor was the only collection of houses 
in town which could be called a village. It had a 
tavern, the large, old house (now standing) at or near 
the south end of the dam at the river, kept by John 
Conaiit, a very popular landlord; a saw and grist- 
mill, a blacksmith shop, a clothier (1790), a tanner, 
a trader (Life Baldwin in 1788), who occupied the 
building now painted red, for a store, which stands 
on the north side of the road, nearly opposite of the 
spot where the first mill stood. This was the first 
store in Townsend, and its proprietor at that time. 



Jlr. Baldwin, was a man of good influence, was town 
clerk 1793, and one of the selectmen 1793 and 1794. 
About 1830, Beriah Blood and Reuben Farrar came 
frona Concord to the Harbor and bought the Conant 
mill. Soon after they moved a large barn, standing 
near by on the south side of the river, and set it up 
in their mill-yard, near the side of the road, and con- 
verted it into a foundry. Quite a sum of money was 
invested in the building and stock in trade. Albert 
S. Page commenced the business, which afterwards 
was in possession of several different men and ditt'er- 
ent firms. At one time the establishment turned out 
a large quantity of goods. The Wards, two brothers 
there for a while, were experienced workmen and 
gave character to their goods. There always appear- 
ed to be a lack of capital in the hands of the owners 
of this foundry to prosecute the business in a suc- 
cessful manner. In 1851 it was burned, while the 
Wood brothers (the railroad contractors) were the 
owners. 

Soon after the old meeting-house wa.* moved on to 
the Common (1804), a blacksmith, a tinsmith and a 
hatter set up their several trades near each other, 
just west of the Goss Bridge, at the centre of the 
town; but a large number of hatters were in Town- 
send twenty years after that date, scattered through- 
out the town in almost every farmer's house, where 
their wives and daughters braided thousands of dol- 
lars' worth of palm-leaf hats every year for more than 
twenty-five years after this industry was introduced 
here. David P. Livermore, a trader at the Harbor, 
introduced this business into Townsend, and he and 
John Snow, at the centre, put the leaf into the hands 
of the braiders, who received their pay for braiding 
in goods. The wives, in many families, earned 
enough to buy the groceries and store goods for their 
households through the year. The business waned 
about 1850, but between that year and 1860 Daniel 
Adams, a trader at Townsend Centre, had m.adc and 
sold annually between twelve and fifteen thcjusand 
dozen of palm-leaf hats, a large part of whicli went to 
the Southern States and were worn by colored people, 
concerning whom President Lincoln issued a procla- 
mation. 

It is remarkable how soon a few years will sweep 
into oblivion the dates and events which were once 
of thrilling interest to the whole community. Not 
all the dates could be given in this chapter which are 
desirable. A friend when laid in the ground has the 
time of his departure indented on the faithful marble 
that perpetuates his memory, but no monument is 
ever erected on the spot once cheered by happy in- 
dustry, where a mill has rotted down or been swept 
out of existence by fire or flood ; neither is there any 
record of the event, and, unless the searcher after the 
date can obtain an interview with some intelligent 
mother who recollects that " it was the same year 
that my Mary wa.s born," he can scarcely, with cer- 
tainty, fix the date. 



592 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Alison D. Feasenden, Albert L. Fesseuden, Union 
S. Adams and Clarence Stickney are the only persons, 
each operating separately, who are now extensively 
engaged in the coopering business in this town. They 
ship a good many thousand dollars' worth of pack- 
ages to market annually, and they employ in all parts 
of this business about seventy-five workmen. 

E. W. Seaver & Co. are tub and pail-makers in a 
factory at Joslynville, built in 1849, and occupied 
since that time by Potter, A. M. White, Law- 
rence Brothers and Charles Lawrence before the pres- 
ent firm took possession. The motive-power here ia 
both steam and water, and the mill has first-class ma- 
chinery. The firm employs about eighteen men 
through the year in this trade, which produces about 
thirty thousand dollars' worth of goods annually. 

'' Spaulding Brothers," Jonas and Isaac W. Spauld- 
ing, are leather-board manufacturers. They have 
two large mills, one at the Harbor and one at West 
Townsend. The mill at the Harbor they built with 
much expense; the main building at West Town.seud 
is the same that has been used for different industries 
for a long time. This is a bulky business, producing 
many tons of goods each month. 

The Rebellion of 1861-65. — The great wrong 
of firing upon the national flag, and plotting treason 
against the government, must be held in everlasting 
remembrance, to the disgrace of the Southern leadeis 
in the slave-holders' rebellion ; but let no reader, for a 
moment, suppose that the South alo7ie was respon- 
sible for this civil feud which sundered the ties of 
consanguinity and drenched the land with fraternal 
blood ; which entailed an enormous debt on the na- 
tion, and swept away from their homes and into the 
grave nearly half a million of men, on both sides, 
who have fought their last battle. 

It is hardly necessary to state here that Massachu- 
setts extended a vigorous and unqualified support to 
the government in its effort to preserve the Union by 
military force. The report of the adjutant-general of 
this State, in 1866, shows that this Commonwealth 
was represented in the army and navy, in the different 
terms of service during the war, by one hundred and 
fifty-nine thousand one hundred and fifteen (159,115) 
men ; and that with the exception of twelve small 
towns, every town and city in the State had furnislied 
a surplus over all the demands from the War Depart- 
ment, which amounted in the aggregate to fifteen 
thousand one hundred and seventy-eight (15,178) 
men, of which the town of Tov/nsend furnished 
thirty-three (;i:5) men. 

As on tlic 19th of April, 1775, the Middlesex County 
men were the first to yield their lives in the llevolu- 
tion, so on the 19Lh of April, 1861, just eighty-five 
years afterward, men from the same towns, belonging 
to the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment, were the first 
to give their lives for their country, in the mob fight 
at Baltimore, on which occasion three men were 
killed and thirty wounded. 



In common with all the towns and municipalities 
of the State, Townsend was aroused to a great excite- 
ment by the treacherous shots, April 12, 1861, aimed 
at Fort Sumter. On the 20th of April a town- 
warrant was posted at the usual places, in Townsend, 
calling a town-meeting on the 27th day of said 
April, which contained the following article : 

*' To see if the town will take any measures to facilitate the enroll- 
ment or enlistment of volunteers, whose services shall bo tendered to tlio 
Governor of the Oommonwealth, or through him to tho President of the 
United States. 

" On this article voted and chose a committee of five citizens to report 
to tho town a plan for its action. Chose for said committee, Henry 
Sceva, Walter Fesseuden, Daniel L. Blown, Nathauicl F. Cummings 
and Samuel S. Ilaynes, who submitted the following preamble and res- 
olutions, which were accepted aud adi pted by a unanimous vote of 
the town : 

" Whereas, a portion of the states of this confederacy are now in open 
rebellion against tho governmeor, and whereas the I'resident of these 
United States has called upon the Loyal Stiitea for a military force suffi- 
cient to suppress the rebellion aud nuLintaiu the laws of the land, 

'• Now, therefore, we, the citizens of Townsend in town-meeting assem- 
bled, hereby declare our undying love for liberty, and our sacred regard 
for the Constitution as submitted to us by its lounders. 

" /ife.so/t'crf, that we tender to the Government our sympathy, and, if 
necessity requires, our lives and properly. 

^^ liewlveit, that our foreign-born citizens, for the promptness with which 
they have rallied to the support of this their adopted country, have laid 
us, tho native-born citizens, under everlasting obligations, and that our 
gratitude for their support and sympathy sheuld be appropriately, cheer- 
fully and promptly acknowledged. 

" VoU-il, that Walter Fesseuden. Daniel S. Brown, Nathaniel F. Cum- 
mings, James N. Tucker and Alfred BI. Adams be a committee to tako 
immediate measures for the enrollment of a company of able-bodied men, 
whoso services shall forthwith be tendered to the government. 

^' Voted, to provide for tho families of those who may need assistance 
during their actual service." 

The gentlemen of this committee, and other men 
of wealth and influence, appealed to the patriotism 
of the citizens, assuriug them that the families of 
married men should be cared for in case they should 
volunteer to fill the quota of the town. It appears 
that the seceding States had been making prepara- 
tions for a fight for some time, while the North, with 
the exception of a few regiments of volunteer militia 
in Massachusetts, and one or two other States, was 
unprepared for either an offensive or defensive war. 

The President called for seventy-five thousand men, 
April 16, 1861, and the next day the Old Sixth Massa- 
chusetts Regiment, with General Butler, left for 
Boston, en route for Washington. June 19th follow- 
ing, seven Townsend men were enlisted and joined 
this regiment, viz.: Henry J. Parker, Frederick A. 
Jones, Robert F. Webb, John Quigg, Ramson C. 
Watson, George N. Spaulding, Daniel Sidelinger. 
These men enlisted for three months, and were mus- 
tered out at expiration of term, but most of them re- 
enlistcdand served in various regiments. 

" The Old Sixth," which had a skirmish in Balti- 
more with Butler as commander, was reorganized in 
October, 1861, under the name of the Twenty-sixth 
Massachusetts Regiment, and sailed from Boston di- 
redly for Ship Island. Mustered out August 26, 
1865. Town.send had thirty-two men ia Company G, 
in this regiment, whose names are as follows; Loren 



TOWXSEND. 



503 



Holey, Cxeorgi' A. Adams, Charles \Y. Dix, .Tames 
Wilhinl, Ally B. Hrowii, Elijali T. Iwites, Charles H. 
[tniwii, Warren \i. Clark, Frankliu F. Cross, William 
Davis, lUii-sell O. Houi^hton, Alvah Kichardson, 
Charles Willard, James A. Saiihorn, Frederick A. 
Jones. Samuel W. (Jrittith, Merrick S. (iilson. Charles 
R. Sliattuck, William Hunt, Charles L. Spaulding, 
.Myron F. Going, Charles J. Hapgood, Charles L. 
Hull, Charles H. Martin, Aaron S. I'etts, Ai H. 
Spaulding, Andrew H. Sloan, Frank Stevens, FVancis 
W. Wood, Ramson C. Walson, Lysaiider P. Taylor 
and .Fohn Shattuck. 

This regiment took part in the engagements at 
Winchester, ('edar Creek and Fisher's Hill in the 
Nineteenth Army Corps. 

.(uly 1, KSii2, the Presidonl called (or ;'>0(),(HM( men 
tor three years, considering the reverses iu the Shen- 
aniloah Valley and the imminent danger of a suceess- 
I'ul attempt to take Washington. Under this call 
twenty- live men of this town volunteered for service, 
.ind joined the Thirty-third Massachusetts Regiment 
of Volunteers, Company E. The names of these 
men are as follows : George W. Bennett, Ahijah W. 
Blood, James Buckley, George E. Clark, Thomas 
Dairy mple, Lewis Gonnier, Andrew D. Heselton, 
.Tames King, Clarence W. Sylvester, Charles E. Jlar- 
sludl, Dominick May, Waldo T. Tower, Jonah Parker, 
Henry .J. Parker, Charles AV. Parker, Simeon K. 
Richards, Sylvester T. Wheeler, Charles W. Wether- 
bee, JeH'erson Whitcomb, F^vander W. Wright, Frank- 
lin S. Wright, .Vndrew L. Woodard, William H. 
Wright, T.cwis T. Wright, Abram Clark and Oliver 
B. ( )sboni. 

This regiment took part in the battles of Freder- 
icksburg, Chancellorsville, Beverly Ford, Gettysburg, 
Lookout Mountain, JHssiouary Ridge and the several 
battles of Sherman's grand army. It used up two 
stands of colors, which were so torn and mutilated by 
wear and bullets that they woulil scarcely hang to- 
aether. They were .sent home and deposited in the 
State-House with other mementos of the conflict, and 
a third stand of colors was sent to the regiment, on 
which were inscribed the names of the twenty -two bat- 
tles in which it was engaged. 

Five TowMsend men re-enlisted in the Sixth Regi- 
ment Ma.ssachusetts Volunteers in .\ugnst, l.S(i2, for 
nine mouths, and they were under Captain (ieorge F. 
Shattuck, of Groton. The names of these men are 
Richard Pierce, .Moert D. Turner, Alanson Withing- 
ton, Charles W. Hildreth and Charles A. Wright. 

On the 1st day of August, 1SG2, the President 
called for o(M),000 nine months' men. War-meetir.gs 
during that month were frequently held at the town 
hall to devise means to fill the quota of the town. At 
one of these meetings Anson D. Fessenden was 
selected to recruit a company, if possible; ifnot, a.s 
many as he could. He enlisted forty Townsend men, 
and about the same number of recruits were enlisted 
in the town of Shirley and the neighboring towns. Mr. 
38 



Fessenden was chosen first lieutenant of this company, 
which made a part of the Fifty-third Regiment Mas- 
sachusetts Volunteers, which served in the Depart- 
ment of the Gulf, Nineteenth .\rmy Corps, John W. 
Kimball, of Fitchburg, colonel. This regiment was 
in the battle of Port Hudson, and in other battles and 
skirmishes during the spring and summer of 1863. 
The following are the names of the Townsend men: 
Anson D. Fessenden, promoted to captain September 
2, lSfi3, John Q. Adams, Isaac Allen, Wallis S. Arlin, 
John B. Blood, Daniel Brogan, John A. Brown, 
William Bu.sh, Charles S. Champney, Edmund O. Bay, 
Andrew Foster, Adams S. Graham, Harlan F. Green, 
.John Haynes, John P. Hildreth, Webster Hoffses, 
Leander C. Jefts, Dennison S. Kimball, Francis A. 
Laws, William Ordway, Henry C. Nichols, Levi T. 
Parker, Shubell B. Pierce, Hiram F. Richards, John 
Richards, Edson A. Richardson, Dennis .J. Shehan, 
(ieorge A. Sherwin, Alden W. Smith, Benjamin B. 
Spaulding, Augustus G. .Stickney, William E. Sylves- 
ter, Levi Wares, Alson S. Warren, William H. Wood- 
ward and Thomas H. Warren. 

The following are the names of Townsend men who 
enlisted at different times and served in various regi- 
ments; Patrick Murray, Charles C. Cobleigh, Henry 
O. Adams, James E. Brooks, Amos Pierce, Boyd 
Todd, Fxlward Potter, Loienzo Bruce, .lames A. Wil- 
lard, George Siialding, William H. Lewis, Aldeu 
Adams, Leonard O. Bruce, William T. Barrett, Wil- 
liam T. Adams, Charles Searles, Julius C. Eastman, 
Henry H. Hosley, Joseph O. Hildreth, Oliver E. 
Hazard (colored), Horace Hazard (colored), Nahum 
G. Hazard (colored), John J. Hennessey (colored), 
William A. Champney, Edwin Adams, Thomas H. 
Welsh, Robert Webb, Daniel T. Goodwin, (Ieorge F. 
French, Horace E. Lawrence. 

The following is a list of the names of the men who 
enlisted in August, 18(i4, for one year, and were mus- 
tered in on the 2.5th of the same month. They are 
described in the records as belonging to the "Twenty- 
fourth JIassachusetts Regiment Unattached Heavy 
Artillery." They were stationed at Fort Delaware 
and near the city of Washington : Vernal Barber, 
John A. Brown, William Coombs, George H. Ellis, 
Jonas L. Jennerson, Benjamin F. King, Augustus 
liOvejoy, Newell F. Putnam, Nathaniel A. Ripley, 
Benj. B. Spalding, Amos Webber, Elbridge A. ^\'right. 

A roll of the men who enlisted July 7, iSCA, for 100 
days, and proceeded to Washington and performed 
guard duty at Arlington Heights. The men are repre- 
sented in the record as belonging to Company B, Sixth 
Regiment Ma.ssachusetts Volunteers. No casualties 
happened to these men during their absence : Charles 
Adams, Joseph Barter, James Brogan, Rufus T. 
Brown, George H. Green, Samuel K. Gilson, (ieorge 
S. Graham, Charles W. Hildreth, James C. Moody, 
Ai Richards, Charles Spaulding, Marshall D. Spaul- 
ding, Henry Sturtevant, William R. Wright, John B. 
Spaulding. 



594 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



The foregoinsr rolls contain the names of all the 
Townsend men, as far as known, who volunteered 
to assist in 8up])ressing the Rebellion. Only one 
Townsend man (Horace Hazard) was drafted. No 
mention of the substitutes has been made, as they 
were mere mercluuKlise, used for a time to shield the 
men who chose to purchase them rather than to take 
the risks of war ui>im their own shoulders. 

The town records, during the time the Rebellion 
wfis in progress, were not kept with the greatest ac- 
curacy ; but, as near as can be ascertained from all 
sources, Townsend sent to the field troops enlisted for 
three months, one hundred days, nine months and 
three years, or for the war, including substitutes, 
270 men, of whom 161 were voters in this town 
at the time of their enlistment. Twelve Townsend 
men were killed in action and twenty-one lost 
their lives by starvation in rebel prisons, disease 
and the casualties of war. It has been a source of 
pleasure to the writer that, during the entire labor 
of examining muster-rolls, discharge-papers, diaries, 
adjutant-general's reports and town records, that the 
word " deserted " has never been found written or 
printed opposite the name of any Townsend man. 

The services of the women of the town, acting in 
concert with the Sanitary Commission, are not to be 
overlooked. During the war, from the time our 
soldiers were first encamped within the borders of the 
State, until they returned home at the expiration of 
their term of service, they were remembered by 
this class of patient toilers. The sessions of the 
Ladies' Benevolent Society were many, which were 
devoted to industrious efforts in making quilts, 
clothing, lint and cushions for broken limbs. The 
busy hands of the home-circle, similarly employed, 
should also be mentioned. The goods thus made, 
together with condiments, provisions, stinuilants and 
delicacies, purchased at considerable expense, suita- 
ble for those who were suffering in the hospitals, 
were at different dates carefully packed, tilling 
many barrels and boxes and forwarded in a cause 
where philanthropy was at a premium. Among the 
ladies who were active in this womanly sympathy, 
the names of Jlrs. Mary Bertram, Mr.^'. Ralj>h Ball, 
Mrs. .Jonits Spaulding, .Jr., Mrs. Noah Ball and others 
might be mentioned. Their efforts awakened glad- 
ness in many hearts, and will be held in grateful 
remembrance. 

" War it) honorable 
In tliose who lio their native rights maiotaiu ; 
In tlioiie whoHe swords an iron harrier are 
Between the lawless slioiler ami the weak." 

Lawyers, Physicia;j.s and CJollegk (jHAduates. 
— Walter Hastings, born in ( 'hclmsibrd, 1778; Harvard 
College, ]7',)It; admitted to the bar, 1803; was a col- 
onel at Port Warren in the war with England, 1812 ; 
died in Townsend, June 6, 1831. 

Aaron Keyes, born in Westford, 171)1 ; read law 
with .John Abbott, of Westford ; was admitted to the 
bar in 1822; came to Townsend the same year and 



opened an office ; was in practice here for twenty 
years ; died at Townsend, November 28, 1842. 

.John Preston was a lawyer in practice in Town- 
send for two or three years, about 1830 ; Harvard 
College, 1823 ; removed to New Ipswich, New Hamp- 
shire; died March 5, 1867. J 

Frederick A. Worcester, born in Hollis, New m 
Hampshire, January 28, 1807 ; Harvard College, 1831 ; 
came to Townsend and opened an office in 1836 ; re- 
mained in practice here during his life ; died March 
3, 1888. 

Charles F. Worcester, born in Townsend, February 
2.5, 185!); Dartmouth College, 1884; has an office in 
Townsend and onc^ in Aycr ; resides in Townsend. 

The first physician in Townsend, Doctor Joseph 
Adams, came from Lincoln about 1774; was a loyalist, 
fled to England and died there, Febuary 3, 1803; 
property conficated. 

Dr. Samuel Hosley was an assistant surgeon in the 
Continental Army until the close of the war, and com- 
menced the practice of medicine here at its close ; 
born in Townsend in 1758. 

Dr. Isaac Mullikin originated in Bradford ; came 
to Townsend about 1780 ; was a justice of the peace 
and town clerk several years. 

Dr. Samuel Lovejoy, born in Milton, New Hamp- 
shire, 1775 ; came to Townsend, in 1S02 ; was in prac- 
tice here more tlian thirty years, — the last man that 
traveled on horse-back with saddk-bags ; died 1851. 

Dr. Moses Kidder came from Billerica; was surgeon 
at Fort Warren, 1813; came to Townsend, 1822; 
moved to Lowell about 1835 ; died there. 

Dr. .John Bertram was born at Pctersborough, New 
Hampshire, 1794 ; Dartmouth College Medical De- 
])iirtment, 1825 ; came to Townsend 1827 ; died Decem- 
ber 15, 1846, at Townsend. 

Dr. Ebenezer P. Hills, born in Newbury, 1804; 
Bowdoin College Medical Department, 1825 ; came to 
Townsend Harbor, 1825 ; remained at that village 
about twenty years; died in Shirley, 1854. 

Dr. John Heard was born in Maine about 1810; 
took the degree of Bachelor of Medicine from Dart- 
mouth College, 1838 ; came to Townsend, 1852 ; left 
town 1861. 

Dr. Augustus G. Stickney, born in Antrim, New 
Hampshire, 1807; Berkshire Medical College, Pitts- 
field, 1833 ; came to West Townsend, 1834; member 
of Massachusetts Medical Society, 1844 ; died at We.st 
Townsend, August 23, 1862. 

Dr. Royal B. Boynton, born in Pepperell, February 
7, 1826 ; Medical College, Woodstock, Vermont, 1852 ; 
commenced practice in Townsend, 1853; was in prac- 
tice at JIason Village, N.H., for a few years; returned 
to Townsend in 1865, and remained here ever since. 

Dr. Edward J. Donnell, born in Lyndeborough, 
New Hampshire in 1835; Dartmouth Medical Col- 
lege, 1865; came to West Townsend, 1870; removed 
to Stockton, Kansas, 1876 ; member of New Hamp- 
shire Medical Society. 



TOWNSEND. 



595 



Dr. Charles J. Towue, born in Stoddard, New 
Hampshire, 1840 ; College of Physioiaus and Surgeons 
in the City of New York, 1865; came to Townsend, 
1867; removed to the town of Essex, 1881. 

Dr. Luther G. Chandler, son of George S. and 
Elizabeth (Thurston) Chandler, born in Nashua, New 
Hampshire, December 12, 1844 ; graduated from 
Portland (Maine) High School, 1863 ; Harvard Col- 
lege Medical Department, 1871 ; came to Townsend 
June, 1878 ; is now in practice here. 

Dr. Albert J. Atwood, son of George M. and 
Jane (Hall) Atwoood, born in England, county of 
Kent, Jlarch 30, ISo'j; graduated from Cleveland Ho- 
mipopathic Hospital (Jollege 1885; came to Townsend 
September, 1S85 ; is now in practice here. 

fOI.T,EGR r,BAI>l-ATE.S. 
.John HiibltHni, DHrtiiiouth College, 1TS5 ; Abniliain Hiilterfielil. 
Partnioutli College, 17;»> ; Daniel .\danig, Dartiiiuutti Cullege, 1797 ; Jo- 
seph Walker, Bowduiii College, ISIS; William Karmer, Harvard Col- 
lege, 1819: John Steveus, Middlebury College, 1S21 : Joel Giles, Har- 
vard College, 1829 ; John Graham, Amherst College, 1829 ; John Giles, 
Harvard College, 1831 ; Charles Brooks, Yale College, 18.'>.J ; Warren 
Brooks, Harvarii College, 18.'»5 ; Mark Davis, Dartmouth College, 1859 ; 
Charles Theodore Hayncs, .\mhergt ('ollege, 18ri2 ; John IMilton Proctor, 
Dartmouth College, 1863 ; lUudall Spaulding, Yale College, IS'lt; Eliel 
Shumway Ball, Dartmouth College, 1874; Wayland Spaulding, Y'ale 
College, 1874 ; t'harles Frederick Worcester, Dartmouth College, 1884 ; 
Edwanl James Sartelle, Harvard College, ISS-'i; George Klliott Wright, 
HarvanI College, 1889 ; Willie E. Smith, Williams College, 189(1 ; Charles 
Spaulding, Williams College, 189(J. 

Post-Office — One hundred years ago there was 
not much written communication among the people liv- 
ing a considerable distance from each other. Most 
all the letters written in Northern New England were 
sent by the market-men and teamsters to a general 
post-ofSce in Boston, and most of them were adver- 
tised in the Boston Gazette, a newspaper duly author- 
ized for that purpose. There were some subscribers 
to that paper in Townsend at that time. In 1777, 
amiiiig the letters advertised in a copy of that paper, 
is one for a man in Lyndeborough, N. H., one for 
Colonel William Prescott, of Pepperell, and one for 
" Mary Reed, of Townshend." 

In 1794 a man by the name of Balch was a courier 
between Keene and Boston, traveling on horseback. 
His route was through Townsend, and he was an ex- 
pressman, in a small way, for two or three years. 

The Boston and Keene stages began to run in 1806, 
making three trips a week at first, but soon the horses 
were more frcc|uently changed and the entire distance 
was made daily, and the passengers dined at Town.send, 
which town is about ei|uidistaiit from these twoplaces. 

The monotony of the long summer days in these 
rural towns was very plea.santly broken by the noisy 
axle-trees of these vehicles ; and the busy toilers in 
the roadside fields would pause in their labors to 
catch a view of these messengers of civilization as 
they moved briskly along. The stage-drivers of that 
time were a jolly set of fellows, always pleasant and 
accommodating. Their hardships in occasionally en- 
countering the deep snow-drifts on the hills and the 
pinching northwest winds, which January sweeps 



over the Townsend plains, were ipiite severe. Afler 
the railroads were made some of these drivers were 
placed upon the cars as conductors, but they always 
appeared out of their element, and as though they 
greatly preferred the excitement allbrded by their pet 
animals rather than the unnatural snort of the iron 
horse. 

The following is a list of the postmasters at Town- 
send Centre and the date of their appointments : 

Moses Warren, July 1, 1808 ; John W. Loring, July 1,1811; William 
A. Bancroft, February 17, 1817 ; .\aron Keyes, August 23, 182(> ; office dis- . 
continued, October29, 1834; re-established, April 11, 1835 ; Joseph Adams, 
Jr., April II, IS35 ; Thomas Farrar, July 20, 1839 ; Walter Fessenden, 
November 12, 184r. ; John Brooks, Sel)tember 15, 1849 ; George A. Wood, 
Septeml.ier 13, 1851 ; Charles Osgood, August 12, 1852; William T. Tay- 
lor, April 12, ISfJI ; Edwin .\. Larkin, September 27, 1866; Charles Os- 
good, August 5,1868; William P. Taylor, April 8, 1869; Charles Os- 
good, July 22, 1885 ; Walter D. Osgood, May 24, 1886 ; Heury B. Hil- 
dreth, October 22, 1880. 

The following is a list of the postmasters at Town- 
send Harbor, and the time of their appointments : 

James .S. Walton, • ■ ■ ; Ilavid B. Livenuore, July 31, 

1.832; Paul Gerrish, February 23, 1.S35 ; Ebenezer P. Hills, April 17, 
1839 ; Charles Gerrish, February 23, 1842 ; Charles Emery, February 8, 
1843; Oliver Wliitcomb, Jauuary 3, 1850; Charles Emery, September 
1.5, 1855. 

The following is a list of the postmasters at West 
Townsend and the dates of their appointments: 

Silas Bruce, July 20, 1849 ; Augustus G. Stickney, June 25, 1855 . 
Albert Howe, April 22, 1861; Augustus G. Stickney, July 17, 18C2 • 
Albert Howe, October 1, 1862 ; John E. Dickerman, August 30, 1881 ; 
Kicbard McElligott, September 15, 18S5, 

There was a mail-route established between Lowell 
and Worcester in 1832, which gave the Harbor a post-' 
office at that early date. The post-office at Townsend 
Centre was discontinued in 1834, because the returns 
to the department were not made as promptly as was 
required, so that all mail matter for Townsend, from 
October, 1834, to April 11, 1835, came to Townsend 
Harbor. 

The Public Library. — 

" The past hut lives in words ; a thousand ages 
Were blank, if books had not evok'd their ghosts. 
And kept the pale, unbodied sluidows to warn us 
From fleshless lips." 

In 1858 a book agent canvassed this town for the 
sale of a set of books to make up an agricultural li- 
brary and obtained the names of some more than one 
hundred subscribers who paid three dollars each and 
became mutually interested in the enterprise. A 
farmers' club was talked about, but never organized. 
A committee was chosen to select the books from a 
long catalogue. Most of the volumes selected were 
well worthy the attention of the farmer, but a part of 
them, like Peter Pindar's razors, " were made to sell." 
The volumes were read considerably for a year or 
two, when it began to be discussed how to have more 
books and those treating on difl'erent subjects. In 
the winter of 1861 a levee was given at the town-hall 
expressly in the interest of the library, at which some 
over a hundred dollars were made after paying all 



50fi 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



expenses. During tlie next ten years two (ir three 
giillierings of this kind were held, the object of whieh 
was to raise money with which to buy books for the 
library. The proprietors of the two stores siluated on 
the borders of tlic town's Common (Mr. Osgood more 
th:in the other), for the space of ten or more years, 
had the care of this little library, and they dealt out 
the books twice a week for a little or no compensa- 
tion, except room rent, on account of the trade or 
custom which it brought them. At that time each 
person having the benefit of this library was taxed 
fifty cents a year to hel]) pay for a place to kee() it in 
and to ])ay for the services of a librarian. The num- 
ber of readers increased and nearly every time when 
books were to be bought a good degree of judgment 
was exercised in selecting standard literature from 
the best authors. 

In 1873 the shareholders and patrons of the library 
had an article inserted in the town warrant to see if 
the town would take it off their hands and make it a 
free library to be supported by the town. The town 
voted to accept it as a town institution and appropriated 
one hundred dollars annually for its support for sev- 
eral years, and later one hundred and fifty dollars 
have been appropriated — this year (1890) one hun- 
dred and seventy-five dollars were appropriated. These 
funds have been used in the purchase of books by a 
committee and for the payment of the librarian. It 
is open for the delivery of books about two hours 
each day four days in each week. The influence of 
this institution has been excellent in creating and 
fostering a t.aste for reading and observation, and in 
giving to our youth pleasant thoughts and profitable 
culture. There are over two thousand volumes in 
this library, which is properly catalogued and under 
the care of Miss Kate L. Larkin, the efficient librarian. 

In 1875 the town inaugurated a Fire Department 
containing the modern appliances in this direction. 
It consisted of hose and hose-carriages, a hand fire- 
engine, an Amoskeag steam fire-engine and the 
houses to contain them — in all at an expense of over 
$1(),000. Since the organization of this department 
considerable property has escaped "the devouring 
element" on account of the presence of these ma- 
chines in the hands of stalwart, active men. 

North Star Lodge of the Independent Order of 
Odd-Fellows was instituted in Townsend in ISGG, and 
David Cram, N.G., Albert Howe, V.G., and Frederick 
Stevens, Secretary, were inducted into oflice. Pre- 
sumably, from the social and charitable nature of 
this institution, in a <iniet way it has done some good 
and caused the burdens of life in many instances 
easier to be borne. 

The Townsend Bank was chartered iu 1854. At 
the organization of the grantees, in September of that 
year, .lohn M. HoUingsworth, of Groton, was elected 
president and Edward Ordway cashier. The next 
month Mr. HoUingsworth resigned the office of presi- 
dent and Walter Fessenden, of Townsend, was chosen 



to fill the office, which he held until his death, .Janu- 
ary 28, 1884. For over thirty years Mr. Fessenden 
and Mr. Ordway attended to the business of this bank 
in a very satisfactory manner, both to the stockholders 
and every one doing business with them. Soon after 
the death of ^Valter Fessenden I\Ir. Ordway resigned, 
whereupon the directors made unanimous choice of 
Albert L. Fessenden president, and Henry A. Hill 
cashier, who hold these offices at the present time. 

The capital stock is one hundred thousand dollars. 
It was changed to a National Bank in April, 1865. 
There have been two or three attempts to burglarize 
this bank, none of which were successful. It is fairly 
patronized and it does a cjuiet, paying business. 

Town Offices. — 

" .\nd Absalom said moreover. Oh that I were made a judge iu the 
land, that every uian which liath any suit or cause, miglit come nnto 
me, and I wuuld du him juntice.*' 

It thus appears that there were office-seekers away 
liack in the time of this good-looking young man, 
whose death caused his father so many tears. 

In colonial times the justices of the peace were 
commissioned in the name of the King, and the office 
was considered as one of marked distinction. Upon 
the adoption of the State Constitution the appointing 
power vested in the Governor, yet the duties and pre- 
rogatives of the office remained the same as before, 
and the peculiar dignity continued to attend those 
holding the office. In later years appointments have 
been more freely given, and the number of persons 
qualified for the position, both by education and a 
knowledge of legal forms and proceedings, is so nu- 
merous that the magistrates of the present time, sur- 
rounded by men of etjnal influence and eminence, do 
not enjoy the distinction that once attended the posi- 
tion. The commissions of these men conferred au- 
thority for seven years, but they were almost invaria- 
bly renewed and continued. John Stevens, Israel 
Hobart and Daniel Adams obtained the office by the 
favor of the royal Governors. 

In the following list of Townsend men, who have 
been and are now magistrates, the names of the eight 
men and all of the list now among the living are 
printed in i/atirs. Two of them, however, are not at 
present residents of Townsend : 

John Stoveu«, Israel Hobart, Daniel Adams, James I.ocke, Isaac Mul- 
liUin,Josiali Ilicbardson, Samuel Brooks, Aaron Warren, Walter Hast- 
ings, Shobal ij. Allen, Kichard Warner, Aaron Keyes, Levi Shei'win, 
llirain Walcoti, .lool Adams, John Farwell, George Green, Samuel Jen- 
kins, Ebenezer Rawson, Daniel (Jiles, Kzra Dlood, .lohn Bertram, Henry 
Sceva, Daniel Jj. Itrovvn, Levi Stearns, Noah Ball, Frclerick A. Woices- 
ter, Hartwell Graham, lllfinun- It. Snwielle, Albert Howe, Newltm C. 
Hiinli'Ue, Solomon J. Strnrns, Ettinird ./. SoiielU\ .himes N. 'I'uckol', Kph- 
raim S. Wilder, StiUmoti Iloynvs, George Taft, Sinuui'l to". Ihiiint:», Ch'nies 
F. Worcester^ Royal }i. }ioijnton. 

The following is a list of the names of those who 
held the principal offices in Townsend, from the incor- 
poration of the town until 1801 inclusive. 

It will be observed that Townsend omitted to send 
a representative to the General Court many times 
during the first fifty years 'after the acquisition of our 



TOWNSEND. 



■m 



I 



national independence. Probably this may be ac- 
counted for from the fact that each town, for the most 
oi that time, paid its own representative, and the 
neglect was regarded as economy. A lawsuit (James 
Locke vs. the inhabitants of the town of Townsend) 
was commenced in 178*1, concerning a bill which 
James Locke brought against the town for services as 
a represt^itative. The town considered the charge 
in his account excessive, and refused to pay it, which, 
after the usual delays of the law, was finally compro- 
mised and adjusted. 

Townsend has guarded her interests iiivariaiily 
with a jealous eye, and maintained her legal rights, 
" asking for nothing but what was right, and submit- 
ting to nothing that was wrong." 

The records for 17o:i are lost, so that it h impossible 
to give the officers for that year. Samuel Manning 
was town clerk, as appears from a part of the record, 
for that year. There is not much doulit but that the 
town had the same officers in 17;:>2 as in 1738: 



173:j. 
1734. 
1735. 

173G. 
1737. 

1738. 



ITlii. 
1741. 
1742. 

1743. 



nil'.. 

1747. 
174S. 

I74y. 

17.^0. 
1751. 
175-^. 
1763. 



Moderator, Joseph Stevens ; Clerk, Samuel MaDning. Selectmen 

— Joseph Stevens, Joseph Baldwin, Samuel Manning. 
Moderator, Jasher Wymau; Clerk, Samuel JEanning. Select- 
men — Joseph Stephens, Joseph Baldwin, Samuel Manning. 
Moderator, Jasher Wyman ; Clerk, Samuel Manning, Selert- 

nien — John Stevens, Jaaher Wyman, Daniel Taylor, Jeremiah 

Ball, Samuel Manning. 
Moderator, Samuel Manning ; Clerk, John Stevens. Selectmen 

— .Tohn Stevens, Jaslier Wyman, Daniel Taylor. 
Moderator, Daniel Taylor ; Clerk, .Samue! Manning. Selectmen- 
Samuel Manning, John Stevens, William Clark, Amos Whitney, 

Jacoh Baldwin. 
Moderator. Jiisher Wyman ; Clerk, Samuel Manning. Selectmen 

— Daniel Taylor, James Hosley, Amos Whitney, Isaac Spanld- 

ing, Samuel Manning. 
Moderator, Nathaniel Iliciiardson ; Clerk, Samuel Manning. 

Selectmen — Samuel Manning, Daniel Taylor, Jasher \Ayuian, 

Ephraim Brown, .\mos Whitney. 
Moderator, Ephraim Brown ; Clerk, Samuel .Manning. Select- 
men — John Stevens, Daniel Taylor, .\ni"y Wliittiey. 
Moderator, Daniel Taylor; Clerk, Samui-I Manning, Si-lt-ctmen 

—William Fletcher, .John Stcveiia, NuUianiel Riehardson. 
INIoderator, John Steven.'; ; Clerk, Samuel ."Planning, Selectmen 

— Samuel Manning, .lobn Stevens, Danit-I Taylor, Ephraim 

Brown, William Fletcher. 
Moderator, Daniel Taylor ; Clerk, Samuel Manning. Selectmen 

— Samuel iManning, John Stevens, Benjamin Brooks, Kphraim 

Brown. Daniel Taylor. 
Moderator, Daniel Taylor ; Clerk, Samuel Manuing. Selectmen 

— Samuel Manuijig, Benjamin Brooks, Nathanit-I Itichaiilsou, 

Jnsiah Uobhinn, Daniel Taylor. 
Moderator, John Stevens; Clerk, .Samuel Manning. Stdectuieu 

— John Stevens, Benjamin Brooks, Nathaniel Kichard-itn, John 

Conaut, Amos Whitney. 
Moderator, John Stevens; Clerk, John Stevens, Selectmen — 

John Stevens, Benjamin Brooks, Nathaniel Richardson. 
Moiiemtor, John Stevens ; Clerk, John Stevens. .Selectmen— 

■Iiihn Stevens, Benjamin Brooks, Jeremiah Ball, Isaac Spauld- 

itig, John Wallis. 
Modenitor, Nathaniel Richardson; (.'lerk, Samuel Manning, 

Selectmen — John Stevens,. Jonathan llnbhard, AmoS Whitney, 
Moiiorator, .Tonathan Iluhhard ; Clerk, Samuel Manning. Se, 

lectmen — John Stevene, .Jonathan Hubbani, .Amos Whitney, 
Moderator, Jonathan Hubbard; Clerk, Samuel Manning. Se- 
lectmen—John Stevens, Jonathan Wallia, Amos Whitney. 
Moderator, Daniel Taylor ; Clerk, Samuel IManning, Selectmen 

— Samuel Manning, Benjamin Brooke, Auu)H Whitney. 
Moderator. Daniel Taylor ; Clerk, Samuel Manning. Selectmen 

— Samuel Manning, .■\mos Whitney, .lonalhan Hubbard. 
Moderator, Jonathan Hubbard ; Clerk, Samuel Manning. Se- 



Selectmen 



Selectmen 
Zacheriah 



loctmen — John Stevens, Jonathan Hubbard, Benjamin Brooks, 
Amos Whitney, Isaac Spanbliug. 

I7;"'l. Sloderator, John Stevens ; Clerk, Samuel Manning. 
— JohnConant, Daniel Adiims, Zacheriah Emery, 

17.').'). Moderator, Daniel Taylor ; Clerk, Samuel Manning. 
Samuel Manning, Daniel Adams, John ('oniiut, 
Emery, Epbraiui Brown. 

175(;, Moderator, Jonathan Hubbard; Clerk, Samuel Manning. Se- 
lectmen— Jonathan Hubbard, Amos Whitney, Daniel Adams, 
Zacheriah Emery, .Samuel Manning. 

U.'iT. Moderator, Jonathan Hubbard; Clerk, Daniel Ailam.-*, Select- 
men — Jonathan Hubbard, Amos \\ hitney, Daniel Adiims, Kben- 
ezer Wyman, William Stevens, 

1758. Moderator, Jonathan Hubbard ; Clerk, Daniel Adams. Select- 
men — Jonathan Hubbard, Daniel Adams, Amos Whitney, Daniel 
Taylor, Benjamin Brooks. 

17')!). Moderator, Benjamin Brooks; t'lerk, Daniel Adams, .Seleftmen 
— Benjamin Brooks, Amos Whituej', Isaac Simulding, Daniel 
Adams, Ephraim Heald. 

I7i;0. Moderator, Daniel Taylor ; Clerk, Daniel Adams. Selectmen — 
Daniel Adams, Amos Whitney, Daniel Taylor, Ephraim Heald, 
Isaac Spatilding, 

iTt'.l. Moderator, Daniel Taylor ; Clerk, Daniel Adams. Selectmen- 
Daniel Adams, Daniel Taylor, Zacheriah Emery, Isaac Karrar, 
Ephraim Heald. 

17ri2. Moderator, Daniel Taylor ; Clerk, Daniel Adams. Selectmen — 
Amos Whitney, Oliver Hildreth, Jonathan Wallis, Daniel Tay- 
lor, Daniel Adams, 

1763, Moderator, Daniel Taylor; Clerk, Daniel Adams, Selectmen — 
Daniel Adams, Isaac Spaulding, l>aniel Taylor, Benjamin 
Brooks, Zacheriah Emery. 

17<)4. Moderator, Daniel Taylor; Clerk, Daniel Adams, Selectmen- 
Daniel Adams, Amos Whitney, Ephraim Heald, Thomas War- 
ren, Jonathan Wallis, 

I7t55. Jloderator, Daniel Taylor ; Clerk, Daniel Adams, Selectmen — 
Daniel Adams, Daniel Taylor, Ephraim Heald, Ephraim Brown, 
William Clark. 

17(jil. Moderator, Daniel Taylor ; Clerk, Daniel Adams. I^electmen— 
Daniel Adama, Ephraim Heald, Benjatnin Brooks, James Hos- 
ley, Jonathan Wallis. 

1707. Moderator, Ephraim Heald ; Clerk, Daniel Adams. Selectmen 
— Daniel Adams, Ephraim Heald, Thomas Warren, Isaac Farrar 
Jonathan Wallis.; 

17GS, Moderator. Ephraim Heald ; Clerk, Daniel Adams. Selectmen — 
Daniel Adams, Ephraim Heald, Jonathan Wallis, Benjamin 
Brooks, Amos Heald. 

l7li'J. *Moderator, Sauiuel Manning; Clerk, Samuel Manning. Select- 
men — Samuel Manning, Amos Heald, Isaac Earrar, .Jonathan 
Patls, Daniel Sherwin. 

177(1. Moderator, Amos Heald ; Clerk, Daniel Adams. Selectmen — 
Daniel Adams, .Amos Heald, Isaac Farrar, Thomas Warren, 
John Conaiit, 

1771, Moderator, James Hosley ; Clerk, Daniel Adams. Selectmen — 

Daniel Adams, James Hosley, John C(Uiaiit, Benjamin Si)auld- 
ing, Samuel Douglas. 

1772. Moderator, Jonathan Wallis; Clerk, Daniel Adams. Selectmen 

— Daniel Adams, Isaac Farrar, Sanuiel Douglas, Zacheriah 

Emery, James Hosley. 
I77;i. Moderator, Janus Hosloy ; Clerk, Daniel Adams. Selectmen-- 

Jtaniel .\danis, James Hosley, Zacheriah Emery, Benjamin 

Brooks, Jonathan Wallis. 
1771. Moderator, Daniel Taylor ; r'lerk, Daniel Adams, Seleclrnen-- 

Daniel Adams, Daniel Taylor, Richard W'yer, Jonathan Wallis, 

Benjamin Brooks. 
1770. Moderator, James Hosley; Cleik, Jame.-^ Hosley. Seleettuen — 

James Hosley, Isaac Farrar, Thomas Warren, Daniel Emery, 

Kichard Wyer. 
Rejireseutative in the Provincial Congress, Israel llobart. 
177t''. Moderator, Daniel Adams ; Clerk, .lames Hosley. Selertruen — 

James Hosley, Isaac Farrar, Daniel Emery, Ricbaid Wyer, 

Zacheriah Emery. 
Representative in the Provincial Congress, Isriel Hohart. 
1777. Mo<ierator, Daniel Adams; Clerk. James Hosley, Selectmen — 

.lames Hosley, Richard Wyer, Levi Whitney, Zacheriah 

Emery, Thomas Warren. 
Representative, James Locke, 



598 



1778. 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



17S4. 

1785. 
1786. 
1787. 



1789. 



1792. 



1796, 



17'-t7. 



1798. 



Moderator, Daniel Aaaiiie ; Clerk, James Hoaley. Selectmen— 

Jiimes Hosloy, Richard Wyer, Thomas Warren, Benjamin 

SpaiildinK, Klijah Wyman. 
Rt'presentAtivrt, James Locke. 

Muilerator, Daniel AiiamB ; Clerk, James Hosley. Selectmen- 
Thomas Warrfn, HeiijaiJiiii Spauhling, Samuel Maynanl, Uanie* 

AiIaiiiH, Jr., Elijah Wyman. 
Sent no UepreHonUitive. 
Mfniorator, Daniel Adama; Clerk, James Hosley. Selectmen— 

Thumaa Warrt-n, Richard Wyer, Isaac Farrar, Daniel Adams, 

Jr., lliMijamin Spaulding. 
RfproBtMitative, James Locke. 
Moderator, Daniel Adams ; Clerk, Jamea Hosley. Selectmen— 

Thomaa Warren, Richard Wyer, Benjamin Spanlding, Lemuel 

Petta, Daniel Adams, Jr. 
RepreHentativfi, Thomas Warren. 
Moderator, Isjiac Karrar ; Clerk, Benjamin Ball. Selectmen — 

Benjamin Hall, Daniel Adams, Jr., Lemuel Petts, Daniel Sher- 

wiu, Jamea Giles. 
Representative, James Locke. 

Moderator, Daniel Adams ; Clerk, Benjamin Ball. Selectmen- 
Benjamin Ball, Daniel Adams, Jr., Benjamin Spanlding, 

Thomas Seaver, Elijah Wyman, 
Moderator, William Hohurt ; Clerk, Benjamin Ball. Selectmen 

— Benjamin Ball, Daniel Adams, Jr., Benjamin Spanlding, 

Thomas Seaver, Lemuel Petts. 
Representative, William Hobart. 
Moderator, Daniel Adams ; Clerk, Benjamin Ball. Selectmen — 

Benjamin Ball, Thomas Seaver, Thomas Warren. 
Moderator, Daniel Adams; Clerk, Benjamin Ball. Selectmen — 

Benjamin Ball, Thomas Warren, Benjamin Si)auh.Hng. 
Moderator, Daniel Adains ; Clerk, Daniel Adams, Jr. Selectmen 

— Daniel Adams, Jr., Lemuel Petts, Benjamin Spaulding, Jacob 

Blodget, Abuer Adams. 
Representative, Daniel Adams. 

Bloderator, David Spafford ; Clerk, Daniel Adams, Jr. Select- 
men—Benjamin Ball, Benjamin Spanlding, David Spafford, Jr., 

Thomaa Warren, Thomas Seaver. 
Representative, Daniel Adams. 
Moderator, Daniel Ailams ; Clerk, Benjamin Ball. Selectmen — 

Benjamin Ball, Benjamin Spaulding, David Spaflford, Jr., Dan- 
iel Adams, Jr., John Campbell. 
RepresentJitivf, Daniel Adams. 
Moderator, Daniel Adams; Clerk, Daniel Adams, Jr. Selectmen — 

Daniel Adams, Jr., Benjamin Spaulding, John Campbell, Rich- 
ard Wyer, Lemutd Petts. 
Repre8i_*ntativo, Daniel Adams. 
Moderator, Daniel Adams ; Clerk, Daniel Adams, Jr. Selectmen 

— Daniel .\dams, Jr., Benjamin Spanlding, Nathan Conant, John 

Campbell, John Kniery. 
Moderator, Daniel Adams ; Clerk, Daniel Adams, Jr. Selectmen 

— Daniel Adams, Jr., Lemuel Petts, Jonathan Wallis, John 

Campbell, Nathan Ccmunt. 
Representative, Jonathan Wallis. 
Modarator, Daniel Adams; Clerk, Life Baldwin. Selectmen — 

Life Baldwin, Daniel Adama, Jr., John Campbell, Jonathan 

Wallace, Zacheriah Ilildreth. 
RepresentJitive, Jonathan Wallace. 

Moderator, Walden Stone ; Clerk, Waldeu Stone. Selectmen — 
Life Baliiwin, John Campbell, Jonathan Wallis, Abner Adams, 

Thomaa Seaver. 
Sent no Representative. 

Modomtor, Walden Stone ; Clerk, Jacob Blodget. Selectmen — 
Jacob Blodget, Abner Adams, John Emery, Samuel Stone, Na- 
than Scales. 
Sent no Representative. 

Moderator, Daniel Adams; Clerk, Jacob Blodget. 
Daniel Adams, Jacob Blodget, Abner Adama, 
Samuel Stone. 
Representjitive, Daniel A'dams. 

Moderator, Jniin t'ampiiell ; Clerk, Daniel Adams. 
Daniel Adams, Jacob Blodget, Abner Adams, Samuel Stone, Jo- 
eiali Richardtson. 
Reprcbontativo, Daniel Adams. 

Moderator, Jonathan Wallis ; Clerk, Isaac Mullikin. Selectmen 
— Walter Mulhkin, Jacob Blodget, .Abner Adams, Josiah Rich- 
ardson, Samuel Brooke. 



Selectmen — 
John Kmerv, 



Selectmen- 



Daniel ,\damfl. Selectmen — 

Josiah Richardson, Samuel 



Sent no Representative. , 

|799. Moderator, John Campbell ; Clerk, Isajic Mullikin. Selectmen 
— Isaac Mullikin, Abner Adams, Josiaii Uidiardwon, John 
Emery, Samuel Brooks. 
Representative, John (!ampbell. 

1800. Moderator, Daniel Adams; Clerk, 

Daniel Adams, Abner Adams, 
Brooks, John Emery. 
Representative, John Campbell. 

1801. Moderator, Caleb Sylvester ; Clerk, Daniel Adams.* Selectmen — 

Daniel Adams, Josiah Richardson, Joseph Adams, Abner 
Adams, Caleb Sylvester. 
Representjitive, John Campbell. 

1802. Moderator, ('aleb Sylvester ; Clerk, Isaac Mullikin. Selectmen 

— Is:iac Mullikin, John Campbell, Jonathan Keep, Samuel 
Stone, Daniel Conant. 
Sent no Representative. 

1803. Moderator, John Campbell ; Clerk. Daniel Adams. Selectmen- 

Daniel .^dama, Abner Adams, Ji.hn Cauipt>ell, .losiah Richard- 
son, Jacob Blodget. 
Sent no Representative. 

1804. Moderator, John Campbell; Clerk, Daniel Adams. Selectmen — 

Daniel Adama, Johu Campbell, Jacob Hlodget, Beiiaunel Pratt, 
Shubal C. Allen. 
Sent no Representative. 

1805. Moderator, Caleb Sylvester; Clerk, Josiah Richardson. Select- 

men — Josiah Richardson, John Emery, Daniel Conant, Eb- 

enozer Stone, Richard Warner. 
Representative, John Campbell. 
180G. Modenitor, Daniel Adams ; Clerk, Josiah Richanlson. Selectmen 

— Josiah Richardson, John Emery, Daniel Conant, Kbenezer 

Stone, Richard Warner. 
Representative, John ( 'ampbell. • 

1807. Moderator, Daniel Conant ; Clerk, Josiah Ricliardson. Selectmen 

— Josiah Ribhardsoo, John PZniery, Daniel Conant, Ebene/.er 
Stone, Richard Warner. 
Representative, Abner .\danis. 

1808. Moderator, Daniel Adams ; Clerk, Josiah Richardson. Selectmen 

— Josiah Richardson, Ebenezer Stone, Aaron Warren, Samuel 
Brooks, Nathaniel Cuunnings. 
Representative, Abner Adams. 

1809. Moderator, John Emery ; Clerk, Josiah Richardson. Selectmen 

— Josiah Richardson, Aaron Warren, Samuel Brooks, Nathaniel 
Cummings, Noah Ball. 
Sent no Representiitive. 
ISIO. Moderator, Aaron Warren; Clerk, Josiah Richardson. Selectmen 
— Josiah Richardson, Aaron Warren, Samuel Bmoks, Nathaniel 
Cummings, William Archibald. 
Representative, Abner Adams. 

1811. Moderator, Aaron Warren ; Clerk, Samuel Brooks. Selectmen- 

Samuel Brooks, Richard Warner, Aaron Warren, Nathaniel 
Cummings, William Archibald. 
Representative, Samuel Brooks. 

1812. Moderator, Aaron Warren; Clerk, Samuel Brooks. 

— Samuel Brooks, Richard Wai-uer, Aaion Wari'en 

Cummings, William Archibald. 
Repreaentative, Samuel Brooks. 
lSi:i. Moderator, .\uron Warren ; Clerk, Sanniel Brooks. Selectmen 

— Samuel Brooks, Aaron Warnni, Nath;Hiiel Cunimings, V/il- 

liam Archibald, Josoph Adams. 
Representative, Samuel Brooks. 

1514. Moderator, Aaron Warren; Clerk, Samuel Brooks. Selectmen 

— Samuel Brooka, Aaron Warren, William Archibald, Joseph 
Adams, Eliab Going. 
Representative, Samuel Brooks. 

1515. Moderator, Aaron Warren ; Clerk, Samuel Brooks. Selectmen-- 

Samuel Brooks, Joseph Adams, Eliab Cuing, Nathaniel Cum- 
mings, Isaac Sanders. 
Representative, Samuel Brooks. 

1810. Moderator, Josiah Richardson ; Clerk, Nathaniel Cummings. 

Selectmen— Nathaniel Cummings, John Richardson, Isaac San- 
ders, Zela Bartlett, Solomon Jewett. 

RepresentJitive, Saniuel Brooks. 
1817. Moderator, Aaron Warren ; Clerk, Nathaniel Cummings. Se- 
lectmen — Nathaniel Cummings. Josiah Kichitrdsun, Isaac San- 
ders, Benanuel Pratt, Joel Adams. 

Representative, Samuel Brooks. 



Selectmen 
Nathaniel 



TOWNSEND. 



599 



183-2 



1837 



Moderator, Aamn Warreu ; Clerk, Nathaiiii-l CummiDgs, Se- 
lectmeu — Xatlumiel Ouuimiugs, Samuel Brooks, Aaron Warren. 

Sent riu Represcntiitivo. 

Moderator, Aaron Warren ; Clerk, Nathaniel Cuininings. Se- 
lectmen — Nathaniel Ciininiing», Samuel Brooks, Aaron Warren. 

Representative, Aaron Warren. 

Jlnderator, Aaron Warren ; Clerk, Nathaniel Cumniinga. Se- 
lectmen— Nathaniel (.lummiiigs, Samuel Brooks, Isaac Turner. 

Representative, Aaron Warren. 

Moderator, Aaron Warren ; Clerk, Aaron Warren. Selectmen- 
Aaron Warren, Samuel Stone, Jr., John Shipley. 

Representative, Aaron Warren. 

Muiierator, Nathaniel Cummings ; Clerk, Aaron Warreu. Se- 
lectmen — Aaron Warren, Samuel Stone, ,1c., I»aiiiel <.!iles. 

Sent no Representative. 

Moderator, .\aron Keyes ; Clerk, Aaron Warren. Selectmen — 
Aaron Warreu, Samuel Stone, Jr., Daniel Giles. 

Representative, Aaron Warren. 

Moderator, William .\. Bancroft ; Clerk, .\aron Warren. Se- 
lectmen — .\aron Warren, Joel .\danis, Joel Spaulding. 

Reprewentative, Aaron Warren. 

Moderator, Joel .Adams; Clerk, Joel Adams. Selectmen — Joel 
Adams, Joel Spaulding, Josiah G. Heald. 

Sent no Representative. 

Moderalttr, Aaron Warren ; Clerk, .Aaron Warren. Selectmen — 
Aaron Warren, Josiab tJ. Heald. Samuel Brooks, Aaron Keyes, 
William Pratt. 

Representative, .\arou Wanen. 

Moderator, Solomon Jewett, Jr. ; Clerk, Aaron Warreu. Select- 
men — ,\aron Warreu, Samuel Stone, Jr., William Pratt, Joel 
Spaulding, Aaron Keyes. 

Represenlalive, Aaron Warren.i 

Moderator, Ja»:oh S. Rynt-r; ('lerk, Aaron Warren. Selectmen 
— .\aron Warren, William Pratt, Josiah G. Ileald, Paul Gerrisb, 
Aarou Keyes. 

Representative, Aaron Warren. 

Moderator, Solomon Jewett, Jr. ; Clerk, Aarou Warren. Se- 
lectmen — Aarou Warren, William Pratt, Paul Gerrisli, Aaron 
Keyes, Richard W. Pierce. 

Representative, Aaron Warren. 

Moderator, Soloniuu Jewett, Jr. ; Clerk, Aarou Warren. Select- 
men — Paul Gerrisli, Aaron Keyes, Richard W. Pierce, Solo- 
mon Jewett, Jr., Benjamin Barrett, Jr. 

Representative, .\aron Warren. 

Moderator, Solomon Jewett, Jr. ; Clerk, Solomon Jirwett, Jr. 
Selectmen — Solomon Jewett, Jr., Richard W. Pierce, llenjauiiii 
Barrett, Jr., Josiah G. Heald, Isaac Spauldiny;. 

Sent no Representative. 

Moderator, .\aron Keye.s ; Cli-rk, Solomon Jewett, Jr. Selectmen 
— Solomon Jewett, Jr., Richard W. Pierce, Benjamin Barrett, 
Jr., .loel Kmery, Levi Sherwiu. 

Representative, Paul G«-rrish. 

Moderator, Joel Adams ; Clerk, David Palmer. Selectmen — 
Solomon .It-wett, Jr., Richard \V. Pierce, Benjamin Barrett, Jr., 
Levi Ball, .Vbraham Seaver. 

Representative, David Palmer. 

Moderator, Henry Sceva ; Clerk, Paul Gt-rrish. Si^lectmen— 
Paul i;.'rrish, Joel Emery, William Pratt. 

Represent^itive,>*, David Palmer and Ktuathan Davis. 

Moderator, Joseph Steele ; Clerk, Paul Gerri.sh. Selectmen — Paul 
Gerrish, William Pratt, Benjamin Barrett, Jr. 

Representatives, Joel Kmery and David I'alm.-r. 

Moderator, Samuel Adams; Clerk, David Palmer. S<--lei:tnieii— 
Quincy Sylvester, Luther Adams, Daniel Adams. 

Representatives, Joel Emery and Samuel Adams. 

Moderator, Samuel Adams ; Clerk, David Palmer. Selectmen- 
Joel A<IamH. Devi Ball, Klnathau Davis. 

Representative, Joel Emery. 



1 In 1827, " Voted that the town w ill abolish the custom of receiving a 
treat from their representative when chosen." Townsend commenced 
early in the temperance cause. Aaron Warren, this year, instead of 
furnishing the liquors, presented an expensive pall or hurying-cloth to 
the town. This might have been intended as a symbol of public opinion 
which was preparing to bury His Majesty, King Alcohol. 



1838. 



isay. 



1S4U. 



1847. 



18G1. 



Moderator, Henry Sceva ; Clerk, David Palmer. Selectmen — 
William Pratt, Benjamin Barrett, Jr., Paul Gerrisb. 

Representative, Josiah G. Ileald. 

Moderator, Ezra Blood ; Clerk, Samuel .\dams. Sidectmen — 
Joel .Adams, Joel Emery, Lulher Adams. 

Representative, Luther Adams. 

Moderator, Henry Sceva ; Clerk, John Bertram. Selectmen — 
Joel Emery, Ricliard W. Pierce, William Pralt. 

Representative, Daniel Giles. 

Moderator, Henry Sceva; Clerk, John Bertram. Selectmen — 
Henry Sceva, Ebenezer It;iw.son, Henry .\. Woods. 

Sent no Representative. 

Moderator, Henry Sceva; (Merk, John Bertram. Selectmen — 
Henry Sceva, Henry A. Woods, Luther .Adams. 

Representative, Henry Sceva. 

Sloderator, Ezra Blood ; Clerk, Dauiel Giles. Selectmen— Paul 
(.lerrish, Luther Adams, Dauiel Adam.«. 

Representative, Henry Sceva. 

Moderator, Ezra Blood ; Clerk, Daniel Giles. Selectmen — Paul 
Gerrisli, Daniel Adams, Luther -Adams. 

Sent no Representative. 

Moderator, Samuel Adams; Clerk, Daniel Giles. Selectmen — 
John Scales, Levi Stearns, Kt)enezer Rawson. 

Sent no Representative. 

Moderator, Dauiel Adams ; Clerk, Daniel Giles. Selectmen — 
John Scales, Joseph Adams, John Hart. 

liepresentative, Levi Warren. 

Moderator, Ezra Blood, Jr. ; Clerk, Joseph .Adams. Selectmen — 
Joseph Adanos, Levi Stearns, John Hart. 

Representative, Joel Kendall. 

Modeiat^r, Ezra Blood, Jr. ; Clerk, Joseph Adams. Selectuu'n — 
Joseph Adams, Levi Stearns, Joel Enx^ry. 

Representative, Joel Emery, 

RLiderator, Ezra Blood, Jr. ; Clerk, Joseph .\dams. Selectmen — 
Joel Emery, Luther Adams, Ezra Blin«i, .Ir. 

Representative, Sauiuel Hart. 

Moderator, Ezra Blood ; Clerk, Joseph Adams. Selectmen-- 
Joseph Adams, John Scales, Zimri Sherwin. 

Representative, Henry A. Gerry. 

Moderator, Charlas Powers ; Clerk, Henry A. Gerry. Seleclnn-u 
— Charles Powers, Aarou Pressey, Joel Emery. 

Representative, Samuel S. Ilaynes. 

Moderator, Levi Sherwin ; Clerk, Quincy A. Sylvester. Select- 
men— tiuincy A. Sylvester, Levi Sherwin, Nathaniel E. Cum- 
min gs. 

Sent no Representative. 

Moderator, .Abniui S. French ; Clerk, fjiuncy .A. Sylvester. Se- 
lectmen — Daniel .Adams, Nathaniel F. Ciinimings, Charles B. 
Barrett. 

Sent no Rt-presentative. 

Moderator, Samuel .Adams; Clerk, Daniel Adams. Seh-clmen — 
Joseph Adams, Levi Stearns, Charles IJ. Barrett. 

Representative, Benjamin E. Wetiierbee, 

Moderator, Ezra Blood; Clerk, Rector T. Barllett. Selectmen— 
Nathaniel F. Cummings, Ezra Blood, .lames K. Adams. 

Representative, Frederick A. Worcester. 

Moderator, Eliab Going ; Clerk, Rector T. Bartlelt. Seleclmen— 
Nathaniel F. Cutnunngs, Daniel Adams, Alexander Craig. 

Representative, Luther .Adams. 

Moderator, Kliab Going; Clerk, Rector T. Bartlett. Selectmen 
—Henry Sceva, .Albert Howe, Benjamin E. Wetherbee. 

Representative, Fre<lerick ,A. Worcester, of Townsend, - 

Moderator, Ezra Blood ; Clerk, Daniel Adams. Selectmen- 
Joseph Adams, William H. Lewis, Zimri Sherwin. 
Representative, Noah Ball, of Townsend. 

Moderator, Ezra Blood ; Clerk, Daniel .Adams. Selectmen- 
John Scales, Jr., John Whitcomb, Jonathan Pierce. 

Representative, Alexander C'raig. of Townsend. 

Moderator, Christopher Gates ; Clerk, Daniel .Adams. Selectmen 
— John Scales, Jr., Alexander Craig, Benjamin F. Lewis. 

Representative, Joseph Foster, of Ashby. 

Moilerator, Ezra Blood ; Clerk, K/.m Blood. Selectmen— Na- 
thaniel F. Cummings, Alexander Craig, Benjamin F. Lewis. 

Representative, Abram S. French, of Townsend. 



- Townsend and Ashby constituted District No. 27, thia year. 



GOO 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



1860. 



1869. 



1872. 



187U. 

1877. 
1878. 

1879. 
1880. 

1881. 
1882. 
1883. 
1884. 

1885. 
1880. 



Moderator, Edwin A.Larkin; Clerk, Noah Wallace. Selectmen— 
Natliauiel F. Cuiuuiiugs, Alexander Craig, Benjamin F. Lewis. 

Representative, .\braniS. French, of Towusend. 

Modenitor, Samuel 8. Huynes ; Clerk, Daniel Adams. Seleetnien 
— Nathaniel F. Cnuunings, Oliver H. Pratt, Charl&s U. Warren. 

Representative, Taiil Gates, of Ashby. 

Moderator, Stillnian Haynes ; Clerk, Daniel Adams. Selectmen 
— Nathaniel F. Cnmniings, James N. Tucker, Newton C. 
Boutell. 

Represtnitative, Anson D. Fessenden, of Townsend. 

Moderator, Stiilman Haynea; Clerk, Daniel Adams. Selectmen 
— Oliver Proctor, Still man Haynes, Abel G. Stearns. 

Representative, George 1j. Hitchcock, of Ashby. 

Moderator, Samuel S. Haynes ; Clerk, Daniel Adams. Selectmen 
— Abel G. Stearns, Noah Ball, Edwin A.Larkin. 

Reprefieutative, Noah Wallace, of Townsend. 

Moderator, Cliristoi)ber Gates ; Clerk, Daniel Adams. Selectmen 
— Abel a. Stearns, Benjamin F. Lewis, Edward A. Larkin. 

Representiitive, Jonathan Pierce, of Townsend. ^ 

Moderator, Christopher Gates; Clerk, Daniel Adams. Selectmen 
— AbelG. Stearns, Edwin A. Larkin, Jonathan Pierce. 

Representative, A. A. Plynipton, of Shirley. 

Moderator, Christopher Gates ; Clerk, Daniel Adams. Selectmen 
— Abel (J. Stearns, Charles Osgood, Benjamin Brown. 

Representative, Samuel R. Damon, of Ashby. 

Moderator, Christopher Gates ; Clerk, Daniel Adams. Selectmen 
— Abel G. Stearns, Charles Osgood, Benjamin Brown. 

Representative, Benjamin F. Lewis, of Towusend. 

Moderator, Ithamar B. Sawtelle ; Clerk, Christopher Gates. Se- 
lectmen — Abel G. Stearns, Benjamin Brown, Joshua S. Page. 

Representative, Alvin Lawtou, of Sbirley. 

Moderator, Ithamar R. Sawtelle ; Clerk, Christopher Gates. Se- 
lectmen — Abel G. Stearns, Benjamin Brown, Joshua S. Page. 

Representative, Samuel S. Haynes, of Towusend. 

Moderator, Ithamar B. Sawtelle ; Clerk, Christopher Gates. Se- 
lectmen — Abel G. Stearns, Benjamin Brown, Joshua S. Page. 
Representative, Alonzo A. Carr, of Ashby. 

Moderator, Albert L. Kessemlen ; Clerk, Christopher Gates. Se- 
lectmen — Charles Osgood, Eliot Moore, Ephraim S. Wilder. 

Representative, Edwin A. Spauhliug, of Towoseud. 

Moderator, Albert L. Fessenden ; Clprk, Christopher Gates. Sfe- 
lectmen — Charles Osgood, Ephraim S. Wilder, George A. Upton. 

Kepreflenlative, SamuePLongley, of Shirley. 

Modemtor, Ithamar B. Sawtelle; Clerk, Christopher Gates. Se- 
lectmen — Ephraim S. Wilder, Abel G. Stearns, Eugene R. Kil- 
bourn. 

Representative, Alfred M. Adams, of Townsend. 2 

Mo<ierator, Ithamar B, Sawtelle; Clerk, Christopher Gates. Se- 
lectmen — AbelG. Stearns, Benjamin Brown, Benjamin Henecy. 

Moderator, Ithamar B. Sawtelle ; Clerk, William P. Taylor ; Se- 
lectmen — Abel G, Stearns, Benjamin Brown, Edwin A. 
Spaulding. 

Moderator, Albert L. Fessenden ; Clerk, M'illiam P. Taylor. Se- 
lectmen — Abel G. Stearns, Benjamin Blown, A. K. Tyler. 

Moderator, Albert L. Fessondon ; Clerk, William P. Taylor. Se- 
lectmen—Abel G. Stearns, Benjamin Brown, A. K. Tyler. 

Representative, John E. Dickerman. 

Moderator, Albert L. Fessenden ; Clerk, William P. Taylor. 
Selectmen — Abel G.Stearns, A. K. Tyler, Benjamin Brpwn. 

Moderator, Albert L. Fessenden ; Clerk, William P. Taylor. Se- 
lectmen — Abel G. Stearns, A. K. Tyler, Benjamin Brown. 

Mo<lerator, Albert L. Fessenden ; Clerk, William P. Tayloi". Se- 

lecluu-n — Abel G. Steams, A. K. Tyler, George H. Baldwin, 
Moderator, Albert L. Fessenden ; Clerk, William P. Taylor. Se- 
lectmen—Abel <;. Stearns, A. K. Tyk-r,' Benjamin Brown. 

Representative, Julian W. Eastman. 

Moderator, Albert L. Fessenden ; Clerk, E. A. Blood. Selectmen 
— .\bel G. Stearns, A. K. Tyler, Georgo II. Baldwin. 

Sloderator, Ithamar B. Sawtelle ; Clerk, E. A. Blood. Seloct- 
moii— Clarence Stickney, Eugene R. KUbourn, Oliver Proctor. 



» In 1807, Townsend, Ashby and Shirley constituted a representative 
district. Middlesex County was entitled to foity-one of the two hundred 
tind forty menibors of the House of Repreaentativesi 

- In 1870, Ayor, Ashby, Shirley and Townsend constituted une repre- 
aeutativo district. 



Representative, William P. Taylor. 

1887. Moderator, Ithamar B. Sawtelle ; Clerk, E. A. Blood. Selectmen 

— Clarence Stickney, Eugene R. Kilbonrn, Oliver Proctor. 

1888. Moderator, Edward J. Sartelle ; Clerk, E. A. Blood. Sek-ctmen 

— Eugiieno R. Kilbourn, Abel G. Stearns, A. K. Tyler. 

1889. Moderator, Edward J. Sartelle; Clerk, E, A. Blood. Selectmen 

— Abel G. Stearns, A. K. Tyler, Hansom IS. Adaniw. 
Representative, Charles F. Worcester. 
18110. Moderator, Edward J. Sartelle ; Clerk, E. A. Blood. Selectmen 
— Asa K. Tyler, Ransom B. Adams, Everett W. Seaver. 

The valuation of the town is about $1,000,000. 

AlTROPRIATIONS KOK 1890. 

For the support of schools g;^,niiil 

For the support of roads and bridge.*; isim 

For to defray town charges l5oO 

For the support of the poor .sUO 

For to be added to the memorial fund .->{hi 

For military aid ■ion 

For the Fire department 400 

For the suppression of liquor-selling 200 

For repaira on fichoul-houses Son 

For the purchiise of school-books . , . j((i» 

For the public lihiury 17;i 

For carrying children to school l.>ii 

For the village improvement society ]ir» 

Si'44o 

Finale. — The space in this work given to Town- 
send is SO limited that notices of many promiiK-nt 
individuals must be omitted; and yet it may he 
stated that this town has jnoduced several men who 
have had a good iniiueuce on their contemporaries. 
Her sons have filled the learned professions outside 
of New England as well as in this Commonwealth ; 
and her (huighteis, leaving the WestTownsend Female 
.Seminary, wherever located, have been welcomed as 
teachers in that field of womanly labor. ]\Iiss Myra 
Proctor spent the best years of her Hie as a missionary 
in Turkey. In connection with her labors .she trans- 
lated "Cutter's Physiology," and other Knglish liter- 
ature, into tlie Turkish language, and gathere<l anmnd 
her many friends in that far-oH" land, over whieh the 
crescent lias been the symbol for many centuries. 
Henry Price, an Englishman, was an ado^tted citizen 
of Townsend for seventeen years. In 1704 and i7(>'> 
he represented Townsend in the Provincial Legisla- 
ture, in which he served on two important c(nnniit- 
tees. He was the Ibunder of duly constituted Ma.soury 
in America, died in Townsend (17S0), and was buried 
here. In 1888, more than one hundred years after his 
death, the Grand Lodge of Masons of Miissachusetts 
erected a plain but strikingly beautiful and appropri- 
ate monument, at his grave, which was dedicated by 
that body June 2Ist of that year. Among the T(»wn- 
seinl men who have been actors in the theatre of mer- 
chandise, the name of Asa Whitney is jirominent. 
He was an engineer and a manufacturer of car-wheels 
in Philadelphia. It was through his advice that the 
rails on our roads are laid fifty-six and one-half inches 
apart. He was very rich and he gave liberally. 

Townsend has been repiesented in tlie State Senate 
by three of its citizens. John Hubbard, once a pop- 
ular professor of Dartmouth College, wa-s a musician 
and an author. More than eighty years ago " Hub- 






Y7^A-^C, 




TOWNSEXD. 



GOl 



bard's Anthems" were in use in all the New England 
eliurches. Daniel Adams was the author of a series 
of school-books, which were in use throughout the 
Kastern States for more than half a century. The list 
of tiie deserving might be extended, l)ut it must be 
left to larger space and an abler pen. 

" Long live tlie guod town, giving out year by year 
Recriiitt> to true manhood iiiul wouianhood dear ; 
Unive boys, modest mjiideus, iu beiiuty sent forth 
Tlie living epistles and proof of its worth." 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



ALFRED M. AI).\i\IS. 

Alfred Mark Adams, son of Noah and Levina P. 
fCowden) Adams, was born in Towusend October 2, 
1 S3.5. He was of the fifth generation from Joseph 
Adams, who came from F^ugland about KJS") and set- 
tleil in Cambridge, in that part thereof which is now 
Arlington. While he was at school he was always 
free from trouble either with his teachers or school- 
I'ellows. He was noted for his politeness towards his 
superiors. At the age of fifteen years he entered New 
Ipswich Academy, where he remained nearly three 
years, when he left that institution and joined a class 
at Westfield Academy, where he continued his studies 
tor about two years. On leaving this academy he 
went to Boston and was a clerk in a wholesale carpet- 
store for more than a year. The firm of Adams & 
Powers was dissolved by the death of Mr. Powers in 
IS-*)*). On the 1st of January, 18.'i7, the surviving 
partner and father of .Vlfred j\I. Adams bought out 
the interest of the wiilow and that of Charles E. 
Powers, the only heir. Mr. Noah Adams, being out 
of health and feeling the pressure of business, was 
very anxious to have his son return from Boston and 
assist him ; and he made so liberal an oiler to him 
that he complied with his father's wishes. In De- 
cember, 1859, Mr. Noah Adams died. Soon after his 
decease Alfred M. Adams bought the interest of his 
mother, brother and sister in the estate and continued 
ill the coopering, lumbering and grinding Western 
corn business until August 27, lSS-1, when he died. 
He married Eliza A. (Sylvester) Everett November 
21, 18tj0. Union S. Adams, his only son and heir, 
has continued the business since the decease of his 
father, and he has a large and increasing trade in all 
the branches of industry above enumerated. 

As a successful manufacturer and manager of an 
extensive business, the record of .\. M. .\dams will 
not appear to disadvantage when viewed in connec- 
tion with the eflbrts of men of larger experience and 
equally favorable surroundings. He made many im- 
provements in his mill and extended the business, 
particularly in the grain elevator dc|)arlment. His 
life exemplified the exception rather than the rule in 
the descent of property. Generally when a young 



man, not knowing how to earn money, has a large 
])roperty left to him, he loses it almost as easily as he 
obtained it; and then, perhaps, he will make an eilbrt 
to learn the value of money by earning some himself. 
This gentleman kept as much property as he inherited 
and added largely to that amount. Mr. Adams was 
a prominent member of the Re[mblican party, and as 
such he represented the Thirty-fifth Middlesex Dis- 
trict in the (ieneral Court in 1877. He was strongly 
attached to the Masonic fraternity, and he was bur"ied 
with the honors of that ancient institution, a large 
number of the order being in attendance at his 
obsequies. 



ALEXANDER CK.\I(i. 

Alexander Craig, sou of James and Nancy (Mc- 
Bride) Craig, was born in Mason, New Hampshire, 
January 18, 1815. The family of which he was a 
member moved to Towusend when he was a small 
boy, and lived on a farm at the south ])art of the 
town, where he worked with his father during his mi- 
nority. He attended the district schools regularly 
at the time w'hen both sexes were in attendance dur- 
ing the winter months, until they arrived at the stat- 
ure of manhood and womanhood, and by dint of perse- 
verance he obtained an education suitable for a busi- 
ness life, all of which, except in early childhood, was 
pa.ssed inTownsend. On his arrival at majority lucom- 
menced work for himself, at a time when " from sun to 
sun " was the length of a day's work, and when the pay 
for the labor which he performed was about one- 
fourth as much as it is at the i)resent time. The 
amount of money for his first year's work, over and 
above his expenses, he lost by loaning it and taking 
a note from a man su|>i>o.sed by every one to be 
solvent. This experience so sharpened his observa- 
tion that always afterward his funds were safely in- 
vested. After accumulatiiiLi a limited sum of money 
he commenced tnuling in neat stock, and for a short 
time he was in the butchering business at West 
Towusend, in which he was both popular and siic- 
cessfui. In a certain degree, every transaction which 
he made increased his wealth. For several years, 
between 1840 and 1850 and until the completion of 
the Peterborough and Shirley Railroad, he kept a liv- 
ery stable at West Towusend. He contracted for 
furnishing several thousand ties for this railroad, and 
in carrying out this agreement he employed about 
twenty men in cutting, hewing and teaming them. 
He also furnished most of the telegraph poles on this 
line of road from (Ireenville to Ayer. From 1850 to 
the time of his death he traded in most everything 
in which there was money to be made, including cat- 
tle, horses, wood, lumber and farms. He would buy 
farms, cut oil" the wood and timber, and then sell the 
freehold on the best terms he could, as the value to 
him was in the wood and timber. He had good 
juilgment in all his traffic and peojile knew it. If he 
bought anything at an auction, before touching it, 



602 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



perhaps, some one would give him a profit on it and 
take it ofl' Iris liands. He was a man of conviction, 
was straiglitfbrward, energetic, pushing, and always 
at the front of everything which he undertook. He 
was one of the selectmen 1856, 1860, 1861, 1862, and 
he represented District No. 27 (Ashby and Town- 
send) in the General Court in 1859. He never mar- 
ried, but always had a home of his own, which Miss 
Mary Ann Craig, an unmarried sister, happily shared 
with him all along up to the three-score and ten point 
of life ; and in the distribution of his large estate by 
his will, this sister was kindly and liberally remem- 
bered. He died January 11, 1886. 



CHARLES POWERS.' 

Charles Powers, son of William and Pamelia 
(Wright) Powers, was l)orn in Pepperell September 
6, 180i». 

He was a descendant, in the sixth generation, from 
Walter Power, an Englishman, born in 1639, and who 
came to this country (landing at Salem) in 1654. 
Walter Power was married in 1660 to Trial, daughter 
of Deacon Ralph and Thankslord Sheppard, at Mai- 
den. Two daughters and seven sons were the fruit of 
this marriage. W.-ilter Power, in 1694, bought of 
certain Indians one-fourth part of the township of 
Nashoba (now Littleton) and settled there. 

The name Power in the next generation was 
spelled Powers, and it has retained that orthography 
since that time. The subject of this sketch grew up 
to manhood under the influence of a home where 
work was the rule and not the exception. He at- 
tended the public schools at the time when the first 
principles of an education were mastered and not 
hurried through to gain a higher grade, and the edu- 
cation which he aojuirol was a better equipment for 
the battle of life than in many instances is taken 
from our colleges. 

During his minority he earned some money, with 
which he purchased the farm which his father had 
rented, and gave a deed of it to his mother. After he 
became of age he purchased a few horses, and en- 
gaged in the teaming business, and removed to the 
adjoining town of Townsend, which was upon the 
great highway between Boston and the large towns of 
northern Middlesex County and New Hampshire. 
This was at a time before any railroads were built, 
and the business became large and lucrative, requiring 
a large number of horses. 

Soou after removing to Townsend he, with Mr. 
Noah Adams, purchased the mill property at Town- 
send Centre, and a co-partnership was formed under 
the firm-name of " Adams & Powers," which became 
well known throughout and beyond Middlesex County 
for more than twenty years. This firm did an exten- 
sive business in lumbering, coopering stock, grist and 
ttouring-niill work. Mr. Powers became the presiding 

iBy Charles E. Fowerti. 



genius of this firm. The buying of large timber lots 
wan done altogether on his judgment. After several 
years of devotion to business he purchased interests 
in manufacturing enterprises, railroads and banking 
establishments. For a few years he was a sheriff of 
Middlesex County. He never was an oflice-seeker, 
having a natural distaste for politics. He occasion- 
ally acted as moderator at meetings of the town, and 
served as chairman of the Board of Selectmen iu 
1851. If there was any money to be raised, either 
for charitable, political or religious purposes, he 
would solicit moderately among his friends for the 
amount needed, and would always make up the deficit 
from his own pocket. He contributed largely towards 
the sum necessary to purchase the old First Parish 
Meeting-house, and presented it to the Methodist 
Episcopal Society of Townsend. He was the patron 
of the Methodists, and is gratefully remembered by 
that denomination. In private life his character was 
of singular charm. He was a man of large physicjue, 
was warm-hearted and aft'ectionate, most faithful in 
his friendships, and delighting in liberal hospitality, 
and unwearied in his eflbrts to make everybody about 
him happy. 

His probity was a tower of strength to hinjself. 
and to all who dealt with him. What was right and 
honest was the very law of his being. His judgment 
was sound and conservative. He was a Christian 
and belonged to the whole church of Christ, and be- 
cau.^e he loved every branch of the church, he loved 
not his own communion less. In the bestowal of his 
charities and benevolent contributions he was gov- 
erned, not by occasional impulses, produced by ap- 
peals to his emotional nature, but by calm, settled, 
religious principles. He was one oi' the few but in- 
creasing number who gave by system annually as 
God gave him the means, and known only to the 
Great Head of the church are the amounts of his 
benefactions. As a friend to young men commencing 
business or a course of education, there are a num- 
ber living to-day, and filling honorable positions in 
the community, who can bear testimony to his unos- 
tentatious but generous aid. The manner of his death 
was like the seal of Heaven on a good man's life. 
On the 7th of October, 1856, having spent the greater 
part of the day in the city of Boston, and having re- 
turned to his home in Townsend, seemingly in best 
health and spirits, when all at once, feeling a faint- 
ness coming over him, he exclaimed, " I believe I 
shall faint away ;" these were his last words on earth, 
and after uttering them he immediately expired. At 
the time of his death he had lived tbrty-seven years, 
one month and one day. He left a widow, Sarah 
(Brooks) Powers, and a son, Charles Edward Powers, 
both of whom are among the living. 



ABRAM S. FRENCH. 

Abrara Stickuey French, son of Abram and Eliza- 
beth (Kidder) French, was born in Boston March 5, 




-S^aasK- '/ 



'o^ 



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?y^U^ 




^Z«i-2--?: o^^/^ 






^•tx 



f 




L/u^ 



^J^ Jj-^^^A-'^j 




fS /^/^^^^hJ-^^ 



TOWNSEND. 



(;o:{ 



1809. He made one or two voyages to the AVest In- 
dies as a cabin-boy, but not being pleased with a 
maritime life he was sent to New Ipswich Academy, 
where he ac(|uired a good education. He preferred 
a business life rather than to pursue a course of 
studies witii the view to enter upon one of the learned 
professions. In 1830 he engi^ged in the morocco- 
tanning business at West Townsend, in a building 
which stood opposite to the residence of A. M. Wil- 
son. In 1883 he built a morocci)-factory on a brook 
running northeasterly from Bayberry Hill, near its 
junction with Squanicook River. This establishment 
was in successful ojieration until 1853, employing 
constantly ten or twelve workmen; and from the fiict 
of a continuation of twenty years in the trade, the 
presumption is that the business was a source of 
wealth to the proprietor. Leaving Townsend in 1853, 
he went to Lockport, N. Y.,and stocked a tannery, 
where he carried on business successfully with a part- 
ner, to whom he sold his interest in the business in 
IS'iS, and removed to Wellsville. N. Y., and built an 
extensive tannery, and pursued that branch of indus- 
try for several years, doing a large and profitable 
business. Partially losing his health, and seeing a 
good chance to sell out, he disposed of this factory 
and its stack in trade anil retired from business in 
18ii4. The price of everything was inflated by 
the paper currency, caused by the war, so that leather 
— like all other property — was worth more than 
double when he sold, compared with its value when 
he built the tannery, and consequently the sale was a 
good stroke of financial policy. He married Lois 
P. Richardson, daughter of Jonathan Richardson, 
(October 2, 1831. She was born in Townsend July 
IC), 1812. Although they have an abundance of 
wealth and friends, they have been greatly bereaved 
by the loss of four of their six children — a son in the 
Rebellion, two daughters, each about twenty years of 
age, and a daughter in childhood. The account of 
this fanuly may be of interest to the future gene- 
alogist looking after persons by the name of French. 

Children : Mary Elizabeth, born October 26, 1832, 
died September 30, 1834 ; Mary Elizabeth, born 
March 30, 183-4, died February G, 1859; George Fred- 
erick, liorn September 1, 183('), died November 24, 
1861 ; Ann Maria, born August 2, 1838, died August 
20, 1851; Abram Arthur, born March 1, 1844; Martha 
Ellen, born November 4, 184G. 

Mr. Frenf h has always been fond of books, which, 
during the days of bad health, have been a source of 
pleasure to him. He has a retentive memory, is well 
posted on historical matters an<l possesses a large 
amount of miscellaneous information. He gives 
liberally to the poor, and enjoys life at his advanced 
age in a remarkable manner. He is a member of the 
Republican party, and in 1801-62 he represented the 
Twenty-seventh District (Ashby and Townsend) in 
the General Court. 



CHARLES EMERY. 

The name of Emery is said to be of Norman origin. 
Those of the name were in England in 1006, and 
engaged in the battle of Hastings under William the 
Conqueror. In 1635 John Emery and his son John, 
and Anthony his brother, embarked in the ship 
"James," Captain Cooper, and landed in Boston 
.lune 3d of that year. Jidin settled in Newbury, and 
he died there November 3, 1085, aged eighty-five. 
He was a carpenter, and it was from him that the 
subject of this sketch is descended. Zacheriah Emery, 
the great-grandfather, came to Townsend about 1739, 
and, December 2d, he married Esther Stevens, of 
Townsend. He was a leading man in town and 
church affairs, was one of the selectmen eight years, 
from 1754 to 1778. He was at the battle of Bunker 
Hill in Captain Hosley's company. He owned a 
large tract of land, situated about two miles south 
from where the meeting-house stood, on the Lunen- 
burg road, leading through South Row. This estate 
has remained in the Emery family to the present 
time, Charles Emery and his sister being the sole 
heirs. About 150 acres of this tract remain in a jjer- 
fectly wild state, and the sound of the woodman's ax 
has never reverberated among the huge and mossy 
trunks of this primeval forest. .lohn Emery, the 
grandfather, was a prominent townsman; was in Cap- 
tain Henry Farwell's company at the battleof Bunker 
Hill; married Ruth Sanderson, of Lunenburg; was 
one of the selectmen seven years, from 1795 to 1809. 
Joel Emery, the father, was a soldier in the War of 
1812, stationed at Fort Warren. He served on the 
Board of Selectmen si.x years, from 1832 to 1852, and 
lie represented Townsend in the General Court in 
1835, 1836, 1837 and 1839. 

Charles Emery, son of Joel and Mary (Sylvester) 
Emery, was born in Townsend December 3, 1819. 
He married, July 2, 1840, Amanda M. Walcott. She 
was born in Lowell September 24, 1828. Children: 
twins, a son and a daughter, born October 9, 1862. 
The daughter died in infancy ; the son, Charles H. 
Emery, died October 17, 1879. The death of this 
son, a promising youth of .seventeen, was a great be- 
reavement to these parents. He was their only child. 
Mr. Emery, soon after he arrived at majority, opened a 
store at Townsend Harbor, in the same building 
which he now occupies as a store. In 1848 the fail- 
ure of the contractors to build the Peterborough and 
Shirley Railroad ruined him financially, as he had a 
large amount of goods trusted to their boarding-house 
keejiers and laborers, who received little or nothing 
for their services and consec|Uently could not pay 
their bills. Not losing his courage, he served as a 
clerk for a firm in Boston for a short time, but he 
soon returned to Townsend Harbor and commenced 
business at the store where he is now in trade, where 
he paid all his debts and has had a profitable trade 
ever since. He has often been urged to accept some 
of the town offices, but he hiis always declined a nom- 



C04 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



illation. With the exception of about five years, from 
1850 to 1855, he has been po.stmaster at Townsend 
Harbor since 1843, a term of over forty years. He 
is a genial gentleman and has as few enemies as any 
Townsend man. Since hist winter (1890) his usual 
good health has failed so much that in July of this 
year he sold out his stock in trade and retired from 
business. 



KOYAL li. BOYNTON. 
Royal Cnllard Boyntoii, son of Isaac and Sybil 
(Lawrence) Hoynton, was born in Pepperell February 
7, 182(J. He is descended from John Boynton, who, 
in 1(538, came from Yorkshire, England, and settled 
in the old town of Rowley. On his maternal side he 
is a descendant of .Fohn Lawrence, who first settled 
in Lexington; afterwai-ds removed to Groton. He 
was one of the original proprietors of Townsend. 
While not at school or teaching school the subject of 
this sketch worked on his father's farm until he ar- 
rived at majority. The whole dream and hope of his 
boyhood was to become a physician, and he was at 
his books while his neighbors' boys were at their games 
and amusements. In 1847 he was at Ludlow Academy, 
Vermont. In 1848 he was connected with Pepperell 
Academy, both as pupil and assistant teacher in math- 
ematics. During the winter of 1848-49 he was at 
Groton Acadeiny, studying Greek and geometry, with 
a view of entering college two years in advance, and 
while he was there his eyes failed by an attack of 
amaurosis to such an extent that in the following 
spring for about six weeks he was totally blind. Re- 
covering partially from this difficulty, but not so 
muctli as to enable him to pursue his studies, he went 
to Lnwcll and ent<Ted the office of Knowls, a noted 
mechanical aiul operative dentist, and attended to 
the mechanical jiart of that business for about two 
months during the following summer. He was after 
that a student in theoffice of Dr. Nehemiah Cutter, who 
gave him a certificate of two years' study of medicine. 
He graduated from Woodstock Medical College 
(Woodstock, Vt.) in 1S52, in a large class, of which 
he and five others stood in the front rank in scholar- 
shi|>. He commenced the practice of medicine in 
Pepperell soon after his graduation. In 1855 he 
moved to Townsend C'entre, and was in practice at 
that village until 1802, when he removed to Mason 
Village, N. H., and remained there until 18()5, when 
he removed to West Townsend, where he is now in 
practice. He is a skillful physician and surgeon and 
has an extensive practice. He is decidedly a self- 
made man, and his success in his profession is at- 
tributable as much to his interest in his studies at 
the fireside in his father's house as to any other 
source. He keeps thoroughly posted in the literature 
of his profession, and he has the same yearning for 
advancement, sometimes called ambition, which he 
felt in early life. His office patients come from all 
directions, and, besides taking many long rides to 



visit the sick, he occasionally travels by rail, some- 
times a long distance, to attend to those who wish for 
his professional services. November 12, IStiS, he 
married Jose H. Taft, of JIason Village, N. H. 



CHAPTER XLIII. 



LEXINGTON. 



BY REV. C. .\. STAPLES. 
TOPOGRAPHY AND St'ENEKY'. 

This town lies west-northwest of Boston, the cen- 
tral village being about eleven miles distant from that 
city and connected with it by the Western Division of 
the Bost(m and IMaine Railroad. It contains nineteen 
square miles of teiritory, or upwards of 20,000 acres. 
The boundaries of the town are quite irregular, and 
its length from north to south considerably greater 
than its breadth from east to west. It lies between 
the towns of Winchester, Woburn and Burlington on 
the ea.st, and Lincoln and Waltham. on the west, and 
between Arlington and Belmont on the south and 
Bedford on the north. The central village is situated 
chiefly in a plain, probably in geologic eras the bot- 
tom of a shallow lake, from which rise on all sides, 
excepting the northeast and southeast, hills having an 
elevation of from fifty to one hundred and fifty feet. 
The site is nearly two hundred and fifty feet above 
tide-water in Boston harbor and ninety feet above 
Concord River, six miles distant toward the north- 
west. The surface of the town is broken by ranges of 
hills running generally from northeast to southwest, 
and by many isolated elevations of considerable 
height. ( )f the latter. Concord, Davis, Fiske and Lor- 
ing Hills, lying southwest and northwest of the village, 
and Merriam, Hancock Heights, Mason, Mount In- 
dependence and Mount Ephraim, lying east and south 
of the village, are illustrations. These hills are gen- 
erally covered with wood and are of a rocky and pre- 
cipitous character, especially the eastern slope; but 
some are used as pastures and aflbrd extensive and 
beautiful views of the surrounding country from their 
summits. Embosomed among these hills are exten- 
sive peat swamps, many of which have been reclaimed 
and bronglit under cultivation. They form a striking 
feature of ilie landscape m some portions of the town 
and produce enormous crops under generous fertiliza- 
tion. On one of these meadows the owner gathered 
recently, at a single mowing, over four tons of hay 
from an acre, by actual weight, when put in the barn. 
The second harvest not unfreipiently allbrds half the 
quantity of the first. 

The general elevation of the surface of Lexington 
prevents the accumulation of stagnant water within 
its borders. It contains no pond of more than one or 
two acres in extent, excepting that near the east vil- 
lage, made by flooding the great meadows to furnish 



LEXINGTON. 



005 



a water supply for the Arlington reservoir. The town 
is virtually the water-shed of the soutlierti part of 
Miihllescx County between tlieOharles and the Mystic 
Rivers. Considerable streams take their rise in the 
town and run in different direetions. Among these, 
Vine lirook, one of the largest, rises half a mile west 
of the village and pursues a northeasterly course into 
the town of Burlington, affording several mill privi- 
leges and emptying into the Shawshine River. Tlie 
North Rrook, rising in the same locality, flows 
directly nortli into the town of Bedford, where it 
unites with the same river. Half a mile southeast 
of the village the Munroe Brook, having its source in 
a copious spring of pure cold w.ater, flows southeast- 
erly into Arlington, where it forms the chief supply 
for the town water-works, furnishing, by actual meas- 
urement, 200,000 gallons daily. A mile west of the 
village Hobbs' Rrook has its source and runs in a 
southerly direction along the borders of Lincoln, in a 
deep valley, and pursuing its course under the eastern 
slope of Mount Tabor, empties into the (_'harles River 
in Waltham. Other brooks in the southerly portion 
of the town flow in the same direction, pouring their 
waters, through various channels, into the Mystic or 
the Charles. Thus we may say, in general, that the 
surface of the town slopes to the north and to the 
south, the local water-shed being in the vicinity of the 
central village, from which streams flow in these oppo- 
site directions. This absence of stagnant water and 
the good drainage aflTorded by these brooks, together 
with the general elevation of the surface, give the 
atmos|)here great purity and cause-tlic town to be one 
of the most healthful in the State. There are few 
tracts of level ground within its limits, excepting the 
plain in which the central village is situated and one 
of considerable extent lying eastwardly on the bor- 
ilers of Vine Brook, and containing the old race- 
course. 

Having a great variety of suiface, with extensive 
iracts of forest and meadow land and bold, rocky hills, 
the scenery of Lexington is attractive and delightful. 
In every direction the drive.s are inviting, winding 
around wood-covered hills, along rich valleys, past 
comfortable and spacious dwellings, with broad and 
beautiful landscapes continually opening before the 
traveler. In many parts of the town Wachusett 
Jlountain is seen rising in graceful outline on the 
western horizon thirty miles distant. Farther to the 
north the Grand Monadnock lifts its giant form in 
solitary grandeur, and around it are gathered the 
lofty I'eterboro' hills, all distinctly visible on a 
clear day. But the most extensive and fasciiuiting 
view is obtained from Hancock Heights, where, at an 
elevation of 150 feet above the village, the eye sweeps 
the unbroken line of the horizon on a radius of thirty 
or forty miles. A vast extent of gardens, fields, or- 
chards and forests lies outspread before you, dotted 
over with flourishing villages, while through an open- 
ing between Crescent Hill and Arlington Heights 



are seen the spires and domes of Boston and Cam- 
bridge. The city of Woburn lies farther towards the 
nm-th, with Stoneham and Reading beyond, while 
still farther north are Burlington and Bedford. Turn- 
ing towards the west, we have a wide sweej) of woods 
and fields backed by mountains, ami in the south a 
i-harming view over Waltham and Newton, with the 
Blue Hill of Milton in the distance. From hills 
around East Lexington, and from elevations on the 
Oary farm, the views, though much lessexten.sive, are 
hardly less striking and beautiful. 

Lexington is, almost exclusively, an agricultural 
town, and contains many large and valuable farms. 
Amoi:g these the n\ost noted is the Hayes estate of 
400 acres, with its lordly stone mansion, its noble 
groves of pine and oak, its well-kept lawns and gar- 
dens, its extensive collection of [dants, shrubs and 
trees, and its broad fields and meadows around the 
farm buildings at the foot of Hancock Heights. 
Few places in the vicinity of Boston |)resent so many 
and so varied attractions, — a surface so diversified 
by hill, valley and plain, such enormous masses of 
rock, grand old forests, a natural pond on thehighe.st 
point of land and an unfailing brook winding along 
its southern border. Its late owner, Hon. Francis B. 
Hayes, laid out these extensive grounds with fine 
taste and adorned them with rare shrubs and trees. 
It is a ])lace delightful to visit, es]ieciMlly when its 
thousands of rhododendrons are in bloom, and the 
air is fragrant with the choicest roses, azaleas and 
lilies of the garden and conservatory. 

In the northern part of the town are many exten- 
sive and well-tilled farms. .Vmong these we may 
notice the Bowman farm, now owned by Mr. F. O. 
Vaille ; the Hammon Reed place, now owned by Mr. 
Stimpson ; the Wetherbee farm, the .Tohn P. Reed 
farm and the Henry Simonds farm, all large and pro- 
ductive, with spacious dwellings, fine barns and out- 
buiidings, and having the appearance of comfort and 
prosperity. In the western and southern portions of 
the town we notice the Berry farm, recently pur- 
chased by Mr. Hartley, who is adding extensive and 
costly improvements; the t^ary farm, owned by Miss 
•Vlice B. Cary, and occupied by licr nmlher, the late 
Maria Hastings Car)', many years as a summer home, 
and by her ancestors for many generations, one of 
the most valnalile and beautiful of Lexington farms; 
the old I'hinncy place, liow owneil by .Mr. Webster 
Hniith, long the residence of the I'hinncy family ; the 
Wellington farm, where, for a humlred and fifty 
years, the ancestors of Mr. (Jornelins ^Vellinglon, the 
present owner, have lived — a pla(u; which, for beauty 
of location, fine lawn and garden, noble trees, well- 
tilled fields and broad views over a charming coun- 
try, can hardly be excelled by any other in this por- 
tion of the county; the old Matthew Bridge farm, 
now owned by Mr. Coldthwaite, with its large extent 
of fertile meadows, probably the most ])roductive 
farm in town, upon the improvement of which much 



(inn 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



money has been expended by successive proprietors ; 
and the Estabrook and Blodgett farm, now owned 
by Mr. Severns. Upon the main road, a mile south 
of the viihige, the farm and grounds of Mr. James 8. 
Munroe deservedly attract much attention for their 
beauty and productiveness. The broad meadows, the 
natural {proves of oak upon rounded knolls, the ex- 
tensive lawn carefully kept, the hills bounding it up- 
on the west, planted with many varieties of tree.-", 
make it a delightful place, and peculiarly dear to its 
owner as the home of several generations of his fam- 
ily. In the eastern quarter are the valuable farms of 
Mr. Haskel! Reed, Charles Putnam and the late 
George Munroe, pleasant for situation and under 
careful tillage, while farther north, near the Burling- 
ton line, is the well-known Gibbs farm, recently 
bought by Mr. Moody and now undergoing extensive 
improvements. In the same neighborhood the Wil- 
lard place bears evidence of skillful and profitable 
farming, with its well-managed dairy and its enor- 
mous brood of 200U chickens. In addition to the 
large farms already mentioned are many smaller and 
hardly less valuable estates belonging to merchants 
and business men of Boston who have made here 
pleasant homes for their families. Among these are 
those of Colonel William A. Tower, near the east 
village, on a commanding height overlooking a wide 
sweep of wooded and cultivated land dotted with 
farm-houses and animated by peaceful scenes of coun- 
try life ; the new and spacious house of Mr. C. C. 
Goodwin, with its many acres of bright, velvety lawn 
skillfully graded and adorned with trees and shrubs; 
the stately mansions of Mr. JIatthew H. Merriam 
and Mr. B. F. Brown, on Hancock (Street, with exten- 
sive grounds showing the care of many years in tine 
orchards, gardens and noble trees; and the unique 
and beautiful house of Mr. George O. Whiting, occu- 
pying a pleasant site at the corner of Hancock and 
Adams Streets, and having a delightful view from the 
broad piazza and the spacious rooms over a vast ex- 
tent of country backed by W.achusett, Monadnock 
and the Peterboro' hills in the western horizon. The 
home of Dr. R. M. Lawrence, on the southern slope 
of liOriiig Hill, half a mile southwest of the village, 
is a noteworthy place. On a broad avenue winding 
up from Waltham Street through the native forest, 
sheltered on the north by a heavy growth of oak and 
pine, amid huge masses of granite rock, and having a 
fine outlook to the southwest upon the hills and farms 
of Lincoln, it forms a picture of seclusion and com- 
fort peculiarly attractive to a refined and cultivated 
mind. Many other jilciisant homes might be named, 
for Lexington abounds in such, especially among those 
recently erected on Bloomfield and Oakland Streets; 
but enough has been written to show that the old town 
has fine farms, noble mansions, beautiful scenery and 
much to please and interest the traveler. 



CHAPTER XLIV. 

LEXING TON-{ Contin ned). 

CIVrL HISTORY. 

The early history of Lexington is identified with 
that of Cambridge, of who.se extensive territory it 
formed a part for nearly three-quarters of a century. 
The original purpose of the settlement of Cambridge 
in 1631 was to form there a fortified town for the de- 
fence of other settlements and for the capital of the 
Colony. For this purpo.se, it was laid out to contain 
only about a thousand .acres, and was enclosed by a 
trench and a palisade of logs. This purpose, how- 
ever, was soon abandoned in favor of Boston as a 
more eligible location. The limited territory of Cam- 
bridge, or " Newtowne," as it was called, was rapidly 
taken up by settlers, and complaint was soon made of 
the lack of room for further growth. The leading 
men of the place were uneasy and discontented in 
their straitened quarters, and began to consider the 
question of removal to a location more favorable for 
expansion. To allay this discontent, in 1635 the Gen- 
eral Court granted to the proprietors of "Newtowne " 
all territnty lying between Charlestown and Woburn 
on the east and Watertown on the west, extending 
eight miles from their meeting-hou.se in a northerly 
direction. This grant includes the greater part of 
what is now Arlington and Lexington. The eight- 
mile line ran from east to west, between what is now 
Burlington and Weston. Its location is still pointed 
out across the meadows, just in the rear of the old 
burying-ground in Lexington, and many of the an- 
cient deeds are bounded on it. Thus a large portion 
of the territory of this town became the property of 
Cambridge. But this extensive grant did not wholly 
allay the uneasiness, and in 1642 the General Court • 
again extended the boundaries of the town to include 
ail the territory as far as Concord and IMerrimac 
Rivers not otherwise disposed of. In this way Cam- 
bridge obtained possession of the land lying between 
the grants to Watertown and Concord on the west and 
Charlestown and Woburn on the east, and exteuding 
from the Charles to the Merrimac Rivers, besides that 
portion of territory south of the Charles, now in- 
cluded in Brighton and Newton. Thus the whole 
length of her domain must have been at least thirty 
miles, with an average width of not more than four 
or five miles. 

Alter this great accession was made to her lerritorv 
Cambridge began to parcel out the land among her 
wealthy ami prominent people. Extensive tracts ' 
were granted to them, from time to time, on condi- 
tion that they should clear the forest, erect houses 
and make permanent settlements thereon. Thus 
John Bridge obtained a grant of 600 .acres, which he 
chose in different tracts where the land appeared best 



LEXINGTON. 



nil 



fitted for farming purposes, and settled his four sons 
upon them. The Winships, the Whittemores, the 
Stones, the Bownians, the Cutlers, the Fiskes and 
many more Cambridge families took up lands in this 
outlying territory, cleared away the forest and made 
farms for their children, while still retaining, proba- 
bly, their homes in the village of Cambridge. Thus 
these new clearings and settlements were called 
"Cambridge Farms." The people living here were 
spoken of as " The Farmers."' These names were ap- 
plied to the district and to the people for a long 
period, not only in common speech, but in the official 
documents of the Colony. At what time the first 
settlements were made at the farms it is difficult to 
determine. We find that a grant of tiOO acres was 
made to Ricbiird Herlarkcnden in ll!35, at Vine 
Brook, in the Shawsbine country. From the descrip- 
tion given of it there is no doubt but this tract cov- 
ered the greater part of the site of Lexington village. 
It lay on both sides of Vine Brook, midway between 
Cambridge and Concord. Richard Herlarkenden 
was living at that time in p^ngbind, of which country 
be was probably a native. A brother, Roger, was a 
prominent and much respected citizen of Cambridge. 
The conditions of the grant were, that he should 
cause a clearing to be made and erect a house thereon, 
within a given time, and in the following season come 
over and occupy it himself He failed to come, and 
the grant was transferred to his brother, who took 
I)osses8ion of it and began the work which the terms 
of the grant required. But he died in 16.')7, and five 
years later, viz., in 1642, Herbert Pelham, the first 
treasurer of Harvard College, came into possession of 
it. .\t that time there was a house on the tract, and 
a considerable clearing had been made, as we learn 
from the records describing the jiroperty. As the 
settlement at Concord, six miles beyond, was begun 
in 1686, no doubt the road leading to that place from 
Cambridge had been laid out and was much traveled. 
This road was substantially that now represented by 
.Main and Monument Streets, and not unlikely the 
I'elham house was opened as a place of public enter- 
tainment. Thus it is probable that the first house 
erected in Lexington village was built about 1640. 
It stood on the ea.stern side of the Concord road, and 
not far from the site of the old Buckman tavern, now 
known as the Merriam house. Herbert Pelbani be- 
queathed this large estate to his son F.dward, and it 
was retained by him until I6'J3, when he sold it in 
three different parcels, of 200 acres each, to Benj. 
Muzzey, Joseph Eslabrook and .John Pouller. Up to 
that time the I'elham house appears to have been the 
only one on the land now occupied by the central 
village. It was held as one great farm, and cither 
cultivated or rented by the I'elhams. In ancient 
deeds it is spoken of as "Mr. Telham's Manor," or 
" Mr. Pelham's farm." No doubt it was owing to the 
fact that the site of the village was held by a single 
wealthy family for more than half a century from the 



first settlement, that there was no growth in the centre, 
while the outlying districts were steadily increasing 
in population. The Munrocs had taken up their 
abode in the eastern part of the town and given the 
neighborhood the name "Scotland" (which it still 
retain.?), in honor of the land of their birth. The 
Winships, the Reeds, the Whittemores, the Bowmans, 
the Browns had settled in the soutiicastern ipiarter ; 
the Wellingtons, the Smiths, the Hastingses, the 
Chandlers, the Stones, the liridges in the south- 
western ; the Fiskes, the Reeds, the Tidds, the Si- 
monds, the Cutlers in the northern, making altogether 
a population of nearly 200 persons within the bounds 
of Cambridge Farms, while in the centre district 
there was no more than a single family. But after 
the breaking up of "Mr. Pelham's Manor" new 
farms were laid out and new buildings erected. 

As early as 1682 the farmers began to agaitate the 
question of a separate parish organization. At this 
date they numbered no more than thirty families, 
with about 180 persons. Attendance on the Sunday 
worship at Cambridge was a great burden, involving 
a journey of from si.x to eight miles each way, over 
roads that were mere cart-paths cut through the 
woods. In the autumn and winter the long ride on 
horseback must have been a serious exposure, which 
only the strongest were able to endure. The farmers 
were naturally anxious to have the ministrations of 
religion brought within the reach of all, and esjie- 
cially to have their children reared under its restrain- 
ing and elevating influeuce. But Candjridge resisted 
the granting of the petition, and it was defeated. 
.\gain, in 1684, their request was renewed, with a sim- 
ilar result. But seven years later, in December, 16i)l, 
after a third appeal to the (ieneral ("ourt, they suc- 
ceeded in obtaining an act of incorporation for the 
precinct of Cambridge Farms, with boundaries nearly 
identical with those of Lexington at the present 
time. In the April following (1692) the first meeting 
was held for parish organization, and from this date 
the records of the parish have been carefully kept and 
preserved. 

The Parish of C.^MBUiiniE F.iKMs. — We enter 
now upon the history of Cambridge Farms while a 
parish of the original town, which it continued to be 
until 1713, a period of twenty-two years. I lie first 
business transacted by the new [larish was to clinose 
a minister and build a meetiTig-bouse. Benjamin 
Bstabrook was employed to preach fiir one year from 
May 1, 16112, for forty pounds, of which twenty 
pounds was to be paid in money and twenty'pounds 
in i>rodnce at money price. This arrangement was 
continued from year to year until ( Ictobcr 21, lli!l6, 
when he was ordained anci settled as the minister of 
the parish, and a church organization was formed. 
Thus for more than four years he preached here with- 
out ordination, and before he could admini-ster the 
rites of baptism and the Lord's Supper. At his ordi- 
nation .fudge Samuel Sewell,of the old S<iu(h Cluircli 



008 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



in Boston, was present with the pastor, Rev. Mr. 
WiMard, as a delegate, and in his wonderful diary, 
which he kept for sixty years, we find the following 
entry regarding this event: 

" Oct. 2lst, T'i'jO, — .\ clinrcli is KJitliereil at Canibrkipe North Farm>j : 
no retatinus nmtU", but a covi-nuiit sif^iiert atiri voted by ten brethren, dis- 
niii^Ki'd from the idnirehes of Cambridge, W'atertown, Woburii, Concord 
for the work. Being declared to i>e a cliurcli, tliey chose Mi-, nenjannu 
Kstalirooli their paytor, who bad made a good sermon from Jer. 3 : \rt. 
Ulr. KKtalirook, the fatlier, maiuiged this, having prayed excellently. 
Ulr. Willard gave the charge ; flir. Fox the Right hand of Fellowship. 
Snng pai-t of -Ith psalm from the 0th verse to the end, t!) God, our 
Thoughta. Mr. Stone and Mr. Fiske thanked me for my assisUince 
there. Cambridge was sent to, thongh had no teaching officer ; they 
sent KIder ('lark, Hastings, Remington." 

Thus the church was duly established and a minis- 
ter settled; but in the following year, July, 1697, Mr. 
E.stabrook died, to thegreat disappointment and sorrow 
of the people, by whom he was universally esteemed. 
He was the son of Rev. Joseiiii Estabrook, minister 
of Concord, and a graduate of Harvard College in the 
class of IfJWJ. In Ui'J.i his lather purchased of Ed- 
ward Pelham 200 acres of land on the southeasterly 
side of Vine Brook, beginning at the county road 
(now Main Street), an<l e.xtending far oiit towards the 
Scotland District. The parish erected a house for 
their pastor on that part of this purchase where Mr. 
William I'lunier's house now stands. It i.* believed 
that some portion of the Estabrook house was incor- 
porated with the i)re.sent structure and remains to this 
day. This house was given him by the parish, and 
muedi of the tract bought of Pelham remained in the 
Estabrook family for several generations. Captain 
Joseph Estabrook, the minister's brother, lived on 
that portion of it near the railroad crossing, and Es- 
tabrook Hill, just beyond, doubtless takes its name 
from the family. 

The first ta.\-bill of the parish was made in 1692 for 
the ])ayment of the minister's salary, and contains 
tifty-four names — |)robably, for the most part, names 
of heads of families. Of these seven have the name 
Stone, four Tidd, three Munroe, three Merriam, two 
Cutler, two Winship, two Smith, two Bridge and two 
Fiske. Of the twenty-seven diflerent names, Hfteeii 
are rej)resented in the town to-day by their descend- 
ants, or those bearing the same nanirs. 

TuF, First Meetin(;-Hou.se. — The subscription 
lor building the first meeting-house was made in 
Iti'.tl, and contains forty-one names with the amount 
of £62. Nothing is found upon the records showing 
the dimensioMsof this house or its appearance, e.\ce|it- 
ing that it contained two galleries, one on either side. 
The body of the house was furnished with benches 
for seats, and divided by a central aisle; on one side 
were the men, on the other the women. Some of the 
more i)rominent men of the town were allowed to 
build seats for their wives in the rear of the benches 
and against the wall, and a seat was provided for the 
minister's wife ; these appear to have been raised a 
step above the floor, but there is no mention of pews; 
Mistress William Reed, liowever, is allowed to have 



"asctte" built for her use. Siibsei|uently, in 1700, 
two upper galleries were added to the uieeting-lionse 
to accommodate the increasing number of worship- 
ers. In view of the fact that there were two tiers 
of galleries, one above the other, on each side, we 
may conclude that this liotise must have been of con- 
siderable height, whatever were its other dimensions. 
It stood at the junction of Bedford and Monument 
.Streets, near the site of the stone watering-trough, 
and, with various repairs upon interior and exterior 
remained until it was torn down, to give place to a 
more imi)')Ming structure in 1713, twenty-two years after 
.ts erection. 

Rev. J(uin Hancocic, the Second Minister. — 
We enter now upon the long and prosperous pas- 
torate of Rev. John Hancock, the second minister of 
the parish, the son of Deacon Nathaniel Hancock, 
" Cordwainer," of Cambridge. He was a graduate of 
Harvard ii; the class of 16S9, and devoted a number 
of years to teaching the grammar school of his native 
town. Dining this time he prepared him.self for the 
work of the ministry, and began preaching here 
November 7, 1697, four months after the death of Mr. 
Estabrook, biit was not ordained and settled until the 
following year, November 2, 1698, He was to receive 
i!80 as a settlement and the same salary as his pre- 
decessor, viz. : £45 for the first three years, with a 
quarterly collection in the church for his benefit, and 
afterwards £56 without the collection. This remained 
his salary for a long period, with the addition of 
twenty cords of wood delivered at his door annually 
from the ministerial land. The niinislerial land had 
been purchased from the Cambridge projirietors in 
1693 by a parish subscription, and embraced a large 
tract southwest of the village, lying on both sides cf 
the Concord road. It partially included the lands 
now owned by Mr. George W. Robinson, Mr. M. K. 
(iilmore, Mr. William Ham, on the north side, and 
the tract known as the Blaisdell farm, on the south 
side, extending across the meadow up the northern 
slope of Loring Hill to the estate of Dr. R. M. Law- 
rence. The land was held by the jiarish for a long 
period. Some portions of it were cleared for pasture 
and meadow, and rented annually to dill'erent persons 
and the income used to defray parish expenses. The 
timber for the school-house and the belfry was taken 
from it and the wood to supply the minister ; some- 
times, also, the wood for the schools. From time to time 
large quantities of wood and timber were solil from it, 
and the proceeds put i'lto a fund, the income of which 
was to be used for jiaying the minister's salary. Ulti- 
mately the whole tract was disposed of and the money 
received for it funded for this object. Such was the 
origin of the Ministerial Fund, wdiich, for many years, 
was allowed to accumulate until the interest was ade- 
quate for the support of the minister. The fund has 
been carefully invested and managed down to the 
present day. For the last forty years the income has 
been divided between the three churches of the town 



LEXINGTON. 



Cdfl 



in existence when tlio original division was made, 
and by act of the Lesishiture no change can be niaile 
in the division withoni the unanimous consent of 
the people of these three churches. 

ThK iNfOItPOKA riON OF LEXINGTON. — At what 

time the agitatiou for a town organization began we 
are unable to determine. But in 1712 the inhabitants 
of the parish of Cambridge Farms petitioned the 
(xeneral ('onrt for an act of incorporation as a town. 
Tlioir petition was not opjiosed by Cambridge, and 
on Marcii 20, 1713, the act was passed and the parish 
became a town under the name of Lexington, with 
boundaries corresponding to those of the parish. It 
was stipulated in the act that the new town should 
bear an eipiitabh' portion of the expense of keeping 
the (treat Bridge, in repair over tlie Charles River at 
Cambridge, a provision which caused endless trouble 
and bickering in subsequent years. So onerous did 
this obligation become that the town petitioned the 
General Court for a grant of unoccupied land to help 
them bear the burden, and accordingly, in 1734, a 
thousand acres was donated for this purpose in what 
is now the town of Ashburnliam. It was known as 
"the Bridge Farm," and rented for a small sum an- 
nually, until 17o7, when it was sold for £225, the 
purchaser having twelve years in which to pay for 
it. Ultimately the town was relieved of the expense 
altogether, and the charge laid upon the county. 

The name Lexington appears to have been adopted 
as a compliment to Lord Lexington, an Engli-sh 
nobleman and diplomatist of some prominence at that 
time. From the most reliable statistics obtainable, 
the entire population, when Lexington was incorpo- 
rated, did not exceed 4-")it. There were few, if any, 
wealthy peO|)lc among them, and the support of "a 
learned orthodox minister," added to the sup])ort of 
schools, and other town expenses, must have eutailed 
a heavy burden of taxation from the start. 

Lexis<jton Common, a New MeetingHouse 
AND TirE First School- House. — Before becoming a 
town, in 1711, the people of Cambridge Farms had 
purch.'ised an acre and a half of land in the rear of 
the meeting-house for a Common. It was bought of 
" Nibour Muzzy " (Benjamin) for £16, raised by sub- 
scription. Subsequently, in 1722, an additional acre 
was bought to enlarge its area for £25, from Mr. 
Muzzy and his son .lohn. These purchases comprise 
the triangular plat of land lying between Elm Avenue 
on the north, Hancock Street on the east, and Jlonu- 
ment Street on the west, known and forever memor- 
able as "Lexington Common." In the next month 
after obtaijiing the act of incorporation, at a town- 
imeting duly called, the town voted to build a new 
meeting-house. It was to be fifty feet in length, 
forty in width and twenty in height. Afterwards the 
height was increased to twenty- eight feet by vote of 
the town, on condition that individuals should bear 
the extra expense. It was planned and built accord- 
ingly, with three tiers of windows and two tiers 
3'J 



of galleries, but without a bell-tower or steeple, and 
cost, when finished, about £500. It was located near 
the first meeting-house, on the southern j>oint of the 
Common, with the front door facing down Main 
Street, and with doors in each end toward Monument 
and Hancock Streets. No provision was made for 
warming it, and with three outside doors opening di- 
rectly into the audience-room, it seems impossible 
that the peojile could have sat there on cushionless 
seats and uncarpeted Hoors in winter through two 
services of two hours each, without great sufi'cring. 
The exterior of this building is familiar in the pic- 
tures of the battle of Lexington — a plain, barn-like 
structure, of the usual Puritan type of architecture in 
that period. The interior was arranged with a central 
aisle extending from the front door to the pul|iit, 
and parallel side aisles connected by aisles in front 
and rear. xVgainst the walls, on the four sides of the 
house, pews were built by individuals who bought 
the spaces for them from the town, and in the body of 
the house long benches, were placed, reaching from 
the central to the side aisles. On one hand were the 
men, on the other the women, while children were 
placed on the rear benches, " where they might be in- 
.spected." The permanent seating of the people on 
these benches was a difficult matter. It was assigned 
to a committee chosen by the town, who were instruc- 
ted to have regard " for age, for iiroperty, and for but 
one head to a family." Thus, the old people were 
given the front seats, and the wealthy people were 
next behind them. That there might be no mistake 
in regard to age, the people were directed to bring in 
their ages to the committee by a given time. As to 
property, they were rated from the assessor's lists. 
When there was a re-seating of the meetinghouse, 
the committee charged with this important duty was 
instructed " not to degrade any man, and only have 
regard to real estate." Of course, in the pews owned 
by individuals, there was no seating by the committee, 
the members of the family sitting together in such 
order as they pleased. But on the benches, which 
were for those who had no pews, the seats were as- 
signed in this curious manner. In this house the first 
gallery was occupied, probably, by thepoorerand hum- 
bler people, while the second gallery was set apart 
for the colored folks and also for the town's stock of 
powder. The bell was not placed upon the meeting- 
house, but upon some kind of a structure built for 
the purpose, and when it fell one day while being 
rung, a bell-tower was built against the eastern end 
of the school-house, and it was hung there. Such 
was the second meeting-house built in 1713-14. The 
town clerk has left this record: "Oct. 17, 1714, was 
the first Sabbath day we mette in the new meeting- 
house.'' With occasional repairs, it was used for 
Sunday worship and for town-meetings during a 
period of eighty years. Around it the British sol- 
diers poured in the early morning of the 19th of 
April, 1775, when they formed just behind it and 



610 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS!. 



fired the fatal volleys which drew the first blood of 
the Revolution. Here, after they had raised their 
brutal shout of triumph and marched on towards 
Concord, the bodies of the dead were brought and 
laid upon the floor, and here a touching service was 
held, when they were borne away and placed in a 
common grave in the village burying-gmuud. In 
the afternoon of that eventful day, when the retreat- 
ing army had gained the protection of Earl Percy'.s 
cannon, a shot was tired which passed into the meet- 
ing-house just above the front door, and out through 
the pulpit window, lodging in the Common. But these 
thrilling associations did not avail to ])reserve the an- 
cient structure from dilaiiidation and decay, i^nd, aftei 
standing for more than three-fourths of a century, it 
was torn down in 1794, to give place to a more com 
modious and comfortable structure. Thus perished 
the second meeting-house, which had been the cen- 
tre of so much of the town-life, and was associated 
with an event of world-wide renown. 

This meeting-house had hardly been completed 
and opened for use, when the town voted, in Novem- 
ber, 1714, " to eract a school-house." The building 
was an humble structure, " 28 ft. in length by 20 ft. in 
width, and 8 or nine feet stud." It was placed upon 
the Common facing the Concord road, on a gentle 
knoll afterwards known as " school-house hill," where 
the old monument now stands. Subsequently a well 
was dug near it and provided with a curb and sweep, 
" for the use of the school and the town's people on 
8ul)bath days to drink at." This house remained 
until 17(il, after undergoing frequent repairs, when it 
was torn down and a still smaller one erected on the 
same site, which lasted until 1797, when it was sold 
and removed to give place to the monument. During 
this period of more than eighty years, here was the 
only school-house in the town. It was used for the 
grammar school, and also occasionally lor town-meet- 
ings, especially when the weather was too cold for 
comfort in the meeting-house ; sometimes, however, 
adjournment was made from the meeting-house to the 
Buckman tavern, where other means than fires were 
])rovided for warming up. 

The first school established by the town was on the 
completion of the school-house in 1716, when Captain 
.loseph Estabrook was employed as teacher at a sal- 
ary of £3 per month. He continued in the school for 
several years apparently for this compensation, but 
teaching at first only five months in the year. Itwas 
not, however, a free school, since each pupil was 
obliged " to ])ai two pens per week tor reading and 
three pens per week for righting and siphering." Nor 
was it open to girls even at this charge. Apparently 
it was maintained solely for the education of boys 
during more than thirty years, since in 1747 we find 
a vote recorded admitting " gairls " to the grammar 
school. The tuition was raised to " lour pens " per 
week, with two feet of wood from each scholar to keep 
up the fire. In addition to the grammar school, how- 



ever, female, or "dame schools," were established 
nearly at the same time in different parts of the towrt- 
These were kept in private houses, in hiotus i-enled 
lor the purpose, and were fVee to all. t'ut those fam- 
ilies living in remote districts complained that their 
children were deprived of the advantages afforded by 
the grammar school, and, to give universal satisfac- 
tion, it was decided to make it " a moving school." 
Accordingly a vote was taken annually to see if the 
town would have a moving school or a stationary 
school. Sometimes it is called " a ruilnlhg school," 
and is kept a month in each of the five quarters of the 
town, going around twice during the year. .\t other 
times it r<>mains two months in each locality and goes 
round hut once. This policy of determining, year by 
year, whether the grammar school should be main- 
tained at the central village, or migrate from one part 
of the town to another, seems to have been continued 
till near the beginning of this century, when school- 
houses were built in the outskirts and permaoeul 
schools established in each tlistrict. 

Among the teachers employed here for longer or 
shorter ])eriods were several collegians from Harvard, 
who thus earned in part the means of paying their 
college expenses. And others, after graduation, came 
here to prepare for the ministry under the direction 
of the pastor of the church, and, in addition to their 
theological studies, taught the grammar school. Some 
names of young men so. employed are found upon our 
records who afterwards became distinguished preach' 
ers, .scholars and theologians. Among tliese may be 
mentioned .lonathan l$owman, Abiel Abbot, Peter 
Whitney, .lohn Pipon, Pitt Clark, Benjamin Oreen 
and many others. For two years or more Uev. John 
Hancock, sometimes called " Sir Hancock " on the 
records, was the teacher and fitted young men for 
college in the Lexington Grammar School. In 1729 
his .son, Ebenezer, took charge of the school, and in 
1734 was ordained as colleague pastor with his father, 
but continued to be teacher for some time afterwards. 
Occasionally the grammar school was discontinued, 
no appropriation being made for its support, and in 
two instances the town was presented to the General 
Court for not complying with the law in failing to 
maintain it. But the "dame schools" in the different 
quarters of tlie town appear to have been steadily 
kept up. Considering how small the population was 
at this time, and how little wealth the people pos- 
sessed, and also that during a portion of the time the 
salaries of two ministers had to be provided for, the 
support of the schools must have added materially to 
their burdens and shows a creditable interest in the 
education of their children. Some of the votes passed 
regarding the school are curious and worthy of notice. 
Thus, in 1742, it was voted to take up "a contribution 
for the school-master by reason of his giving so unus- 
ually dear for his board." This was largely due to 
the depreciation of the currency. The school was to 
be dismissed on all public occasions, and if the time 



LEXINGTON. 



611 



was ridl mack' U|>, so imuh was to l)e taken out of tlif 
teacher's salary. Jlev. Tiiiiotliy Harrinstoii teaches 
the school in 1748, and in his contract with the town it 
is specified that " lecture days, half a day at funerals, at 
raisings, at ordinations in the neigliborhood and 
training days to be respected as holidays." " Agreed 
with John Muzzy to board the school-master for £1 
15s. per week and with Deacon Stoue to find him in 
candles at T^/. |)er jiound." In 1750 Rev. Mr. Han- 
cock's salary is fixed at £55 lawful money, instc^ad of 
£41(3, old tenor, showing a depreciation of almost 8 
for 1. In 1751 Nathan Robbins teaches the school, 
and is allowed " half a day a week to preach any- 
where.' 

But let us turn from the schools to notice the action 
of the town regarding other matters. All persons 
were rc(iuired to attend the .Sabbath worship unless 
cxcuhmI for good and sufficient reasons. In 1720, 
when Will Chamberlain was complained of for non- 
attendance, he made the plea that he had no suitable 
clothes. Whereu|)on the selectmen ordered that he 
be furnished with a full suit " forthwith," and the 
l)ill for each article appears accordingly upon the 
records, amounting to about £2. But Will appears 
to have still continued remiss in church attendance, 
and finally he is taken before a justice at Cambridge 
and convicted of violating the law regarding this mat- 
ter, re|irimanded and ordered to conduct himself in 
future as became a citizen of a Christian state. Then 
follow the cluuges for transporting the obdurate of- 
fender to and from the court, and for boarding him 
while awaiting bis trial. Whether poor Will was 
finally brought under the ministrations of religion or 
not, we are unable to determine. Ultimately he be- 
came a i)idjlic charge, and in 1735 was gathered to 
his fathers, as we learn from a bill of "16s. 9(/. for 
drink at Chamberlain's funeral." This is the only 
instance of legal coercion to bring people to church 
found upon our records. The experiment was costly 
and not encouraging. But it is by no means the only 
instance of a charge for "entertainment" furnished 
at the funerals of paupers for the selectmen and oth- 
ers. Thus, in 1728, it required " seven quarts and 
one gill of rhum " to celebrate the obsequies at the 
funeral of a Mrs. Paul. Two years later "42«. is al- 
lowed Mr. Muzzy for rum for father I'aul, and at hia 
funeral.'' And again, in 1747, the selectmen expend 
" £1 for drink at old .lohnson's funeral." On all oc- 
casions where the town was a party, such as letting 
jobs of work, or selling public property, or raising 
public buildings, liquor was jirovided for the people 
at the public charge. Thus, when " the old Cushing " 
of the meeting-house jiulpit and "the glass-iron'' 
were sold at auction lO.s. were used to treat the i)eo- 
ple and stimulate the bidding. At the funeral of 
widow Mead's child " (i prs. of gloves and some rum 
and sugar " are provided. Also, in 1707, paid " 3.?. 
lOd. for liquor used at the renting of the town's land." 
And when "our Reverend and Beioved pastor" (Rev. 



• lohu Hancock) died, £200 (). T. was voted for the 
funeral. The charges amounted to £211), including 
six rings for the bearers, 500 bricks for the grave, 
gloves and weeds for relatives and friends, and a gen- 
erous amount of eating and dritdiing at the taverns. 
The selectmen seldom met for the transaction of bus- 
iness without some "entertainment " being i)rovided 
lor them, the cost of which, during the year, amount- 
ed to several pounds. 

One of the old customs which demands iu)tice, but 
which has happily long since disap])eared, was that 
of warning people to leave the town who might be- 
come a public charge or who were objectionable for 
other reasons. After being officially notified to leave, 
they were compelled to go, or subjected to inqirisou- 
luent. Many instances of this kind arc found upon 
our records, some of which are very curious. Thus, 
in 1723, 1«. 6d. is paid "for running Daniel Ruff out 
of town." In 1724 four persons are warned to leave 
at the same time, one of which bears the honored 
name of .John Parker, "who came from Billerica last 
year." In 1738 all " the Irish are to be warned out 
of town," consisting of live families. It would nut be 
easy at this time to enforce such a resolve, even if it 
could be carried in town-meeting, since that nation- 
ality now forms, probably, one-fourth of the whole 
population. People warned out, however, were per- 
mitted to remain if able to give bonds securing the 
town against liability for their support. Probably 
the warning was not always enforced and was often 
given only as a precautionary measure. To this cir- 
cumstance may be due the fact that the lyexington 
minute-men were provided with a brave captain on 
the l!>th of April, 1775, arul that the town furnished 
Massachusetts, in the following century, with an ex- 
cellent and popular ( iovernor, since it is said that the 
ancestors of both were once warned out lest they 
might become a public charge. 

Stocks were built on the Common, near the nieet- 
ing-hoiise, in 1713, as a terror to iSabbath-breakers, 
profane swearers and other evil-doers. Nor need we 
sU2qJose that they renuuned without occupants, from 
time to time, as another pair appears to have been 
demanded for the preservation of order, ami <lnly 
added a few years afterwards. 

The care of the boys, especially on Sabbath days, 
seems to have received much attention. Thus it was 
voted that "the two hind seals in the lower gallery, 
front and side, are aiqiointed for the boys under six- 
teen years to sitt in on Sabbath days, and a tything 
man to sitt near them each Sabbath, and to take 
turns; and if any above sixteen be disorderly, they 
shall be ordered into said seats." " That the tything 
men be desired to attend Sabbath noons to keej) the 
boys in order in the meeting-house." And that "if 
they llnd any playing on the Lord's day, (hey shall 
inform their parents, and if they [>lay afterwards, call 
their names" in meeting. In 1744 six men are 
chosen to inspect the children at intermission on 



612 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Sabbath day; and subsequently, "two elderly men to 
tarry in the meeting-house on the Sabljath in the in- 
termission season, one below and one above, to see 
that there be no disorder there." And in 1757 a 
committee is chosen by the town "to draw up a paper 
to regulate the people coming down-stairs after ser- 
vice from the galleries and give it to the minister to 
read, and that they should put something in the 
paper to regulate the people Sabbath-day noons.'' 
In 1734 it was voted that " no writing of a worldly or 
.secular concernment be set up, or allowed on the 
meeting-houso on Sabbath day for time to come." 
The tythingineu were provided with long poles with 
which to thump the heads of disorderly boys or im- 
pious sleepers ; nor is it surprising that there should 
have been such* in the Lexington meeting-house, 
when we are told that the minister once prayed for 
an hour, and that his sermons sometimes extended to 
two hours ! It is no wonder, therefore, that when 
Governor Hancock presented the church with a Bible 
on condition that it be read in the service (it had not 
been read up to that time as a part of the service), 
one of the deacons arose and said that if it was to in- 
crease the length of the service, he apprehended the 
people would not want it. Parson Clarke, however, 
promised that it should not, and so from that time, 
1793, the Bible was read in the Sunday worshiji. 

As already stated, the (irst and the second meeting- 
houses had no bell-tower or steeple. But "a Tur- 
riott" was built for the bell, probably a belfry stand- 
ing by itself on the Common. This, however, fell 
down in 1733, and a new one w.as built against the 
east end of the school-house, where the bell was 
afterward hung. A bell appears to have been given 
the parish by the town of Cambridge when the first 
meeting-house was built, and was in use until 1761. 
At a town-meeting in .Tune of that year, Isaac Stone 
pre.sented the town with a new bell, which was "to 
be for the town's use forever." He received the 
thanks of the town, through the moderator, for the 
generous gift, and it was immediately voted to build 
a new belfry, on what is known as Belfry Hill, and 
hang it there. Accordingly it was erected, jirobably 
on the highest point of land, an elevation of thirty 
or forty feet above the Common, and as many rods 
from the meeting-house. But it was not long per- 
mitted to remain there and send out its summons to 
the Sabbath worship. The hill belonged to Mr. John 
Munroe, and he demanded rent from the town for the 
eighteen feet square of rock on which it stood. This 
the town stubbornly refused to pay, and so, after two 
years of bickering, the structure was moved down the 
hill and left on the west side of the Concord road. 
But this location awakened bitter opposition, and the 
belfry was secretly moved across the road to the 
Common, where, after a spirited town-meeting to de- 
cide where it .should stand, it was finally located near 
the meeting-house by a committee appointed for the 
purpose. This bell weighed 463 pounds, as we are 



told by the records. Of course, it was a small affair, 
compared with those now used, weighing five or six 
times as much; probably its note was sharp and 
shrill, but it was the bell that rung out the first notes 
of American Independence, summoning the minute- 
men to the Common, to resist the invader.^, on the 
19th of April, 1775. Were it in our po.'session to- 
day, Lexington would hardly part with it for its 
weight in gold. What became of it no man knoweth. 
The tongue was found many years since in a black- 
smith shop, and is now in Cary library ; but the bell 
itself is probably gone past recovery. How little the 
fiithers valued objects so intimately associated with 
the birth of the nation, but which their descendants 
today regard with the deepest interest! The old bell 
is indeed lost; but the old belfry in which it hung 
remains with us to this day. It was bought by John 
Parker, after the church of 1793 was built, and re- 
moved to the Parker homestead, in the southwestern 
part of the town, where it did duty for a long period 
as a carpenter-shop, and where it still stands. The 
bell given to the parish by Cambridge was retained 
by the town long after that given by Isaac Stone had 
been hung in the new belfry. It was finally sold, in 
May, 1775, for six pounds, probably to provide means 
for buying powder and ball to put the town in a 
proper state of defence. The bell that rung out the 
alarm on the 19th of April, with mended tongue, did 
duty for forty years in the belfry, when it gave place, 
in 1801, to a new one, weighing 800 pounds, and cost- 
ing $333.33. But Ihere were some extra charges for 
hanging it, as we learn from the selectmen's ac- 
counts, of $9.86, allowed "Rufus Merriam for nine 
meals of victuals, 27i mugs of toddy and ten mugs 
of punch supplied the committee when raising the 
bell." And immediately following, "ten mugs of 
toddy when letting the prior and the bell," besides 
"S1.41 for sundries sujiplied the selectmen by Dudley 
when Champney was married." The "letting the 
poor and the bell" refers, no doubt, to the custom of 
putting the keeping of the poor, and the ringing of 
the bell for the year, up at public auction, when they 
were struck off to the lowest bidder. Punch and 
toddy were supplied to bring people together, and in 
the excitement following their use obtain the best 
possible bids for the town. Why the selectmen 
should have treated "when Champney was married" 
it is difficult to understand. But while great shrewd- 
ness was shown in managing the auction to the town's 
advantage, what shall we say of the charge for "one 
gallon of brandy and one ])ound of loaf sugar de- 
livered to the selectmen and used at Mrs. Fessen- 
den's funeral!" Surely, municipal junketing is not 
a modern invention. It [trevailed in Lexington a 
century ago, though, happily, the custom here long 
since disappeared. 

The ministry of Rev. .Tohn Hancock extended from 
1697 to 1752, a period of fifty-five years. Soon after 
his settlement, in 1698, he bought of Benjamin Muzzy 



LEXINGTON. 



013 



a tract of land of twenty-five acres lying on both 
sides of the road leading to Bedford. It extended 
from the Common, northerly on what is now Han- 
cock Street, to the land of David and Joseph Tidd, 
and was bounded westerly on the eight mile line. 
Here he built an humble cottage of four or five rooms, 
probably in IGIHI, to which lie soon brought his wife 
Elizabeth, daughter of Rev. Thomas Clark, of Chelms- 
ford. And here their five children, — John, Thomas, 
Ebenozer, Klizabeth and Lucy, — were born and grew 
up to manhood and womanhood. The eldest, John, 
graduated at Harvard and became minister of 
Braiiitree(iJOW Quincy), where his son, John, Presi- 
dent of the Continental Congress and the first Gover- 
nor of Massachusetts, was born. Kbenezer also grad- 
uated at Harvard and became the colleague of his 
father over the Lexington Church, dying here in 1740, 
after a brief ministry of six years. Thomas was ap- 
prenticed to a bookbinder in Boston, where he became 
a prosperous merchant and ship-owner, accumulating 
a large property and attaining political distinction. 
He bought the Beacon Hill estate and erected the 
famous Hancock mansion there in 1734. Having no 
children of his own, he adopted his nephew, John, 
and at his death left him heir to the principal part of 
his vast estate. No doubt the posse^sion of this wealth 
did much to give young John Hancock the great promi- 
nence which he had in the events of the Revolution 
and the subsequent history of the State. The daugh- 
ters of the second minister, Elizabeth and Lucy, mar- 
ried clergymen, — the former, Jonathan Bowman, min- 
ister of Dorchester, and the latter, Nicholas Bowes, 
the first minister of Bedford. Thus, in the one-story, 
gambrel-roof house of Rev. John Hancock, the second 
minister of Lexington, which was twenty-four feet in 
length by eighteen in width, were born five children 
who lived to exert a great influence ujion the future 
of the State and Nation. Mr. Hancock's salary ap- 
pears never to have exceeded £(30 a year ; but on this 
small income, with the products of the farm, he man- 
aged to support his large fiimily respectably and give 
his children an education that fitted them for po.si- 
tions of usefulness. There are evidences, however, 
that it was u hard struggle to make both ends meet 
in the bumble parsonage. Mr. Hancock repeatedly 
asked for an increase of salary, but it was uniformly 
voted down in town-meeting, though in a few in- 
stances something was added to make up the depre- 
ciation in the currency. But the people were not un- 
mindful of their pastor's faithful labors, and in 1728 
they "voted £85 to purchase a servant for Jlr. Han- 
cock, "no doubt to relieve him from the hard work of the 
farm after his boys had grown to manhood and 
enable him to live in a style more becoming the dig- 
nity of so worthy a family. Evidently he was a man 
of great intlueuce in the town and in the neighboring 
churches. A rigid disciplinarian, ruling with an author- 
ity that was seldom questioned, aud preaching the ter- 
rors of the law not less than the mercies of the Gos- 



pel. An unquestioning believer in the rigid doctrines 
and observances of the Puritan churches, he brought 
the great majority of his people up to the same stand- 
ard in the discharge of their religious duties. In the 
long record of his ministry he has preserved their 
confessions of evil doing " made in open meeting," 
insisting upon them as an indispensable requisite 
"to the enjoyment of gospel privileges" both for 
them.selve8 and their children. There could be no 
admission to the Lord's table and no baptism of their 
children until their impurity, dishonesty and intem- 
perance had been confessed before the congregation 
and the forgiveness of God implored. A large num- 
ber of these confessions are found in the church rec- 
ords. They show how absolute the minister's author- 
ity must have been, or how dull were the sensibilities 
of the people, that he could draw out such revela- 
tions in open meeting and make them a matter of 
public record. For more than half a century he 
held this stern rule over the town, and|there is no evi- 
dence that it was ever seriously opposed. He labor- 
ed faithfully to the last fin- what he believed to be the 
interests of true religion and the salvation of the 
people. A strong, stern, wise and good man, who 
served God according to the best of his knowledge 
and ability, and through his descendants has been the 
means of largely moulding and guiding the atfairs of 
the State and Nation. 

But let us return to the story of the Hancock 
house. It remains in substantially the same condi- 
tion to-day as when built nearly two hundred years 
ago, and its subsequent history is most interesting. 
After Thomas Hancock had become a rich and 
prosperous merchant in Boston, he built an addition 
to the humble cottage, in which he was born, 
for the greater comfort of his father and mother in 
their old age. This was two stories in height and 
contained four large, pleasant rooms. In the declin- 
ing years of his parents, he seems to have taken their 
support into his own hands and pieced out the meagre 
salary by adding whatever they needed in food, cloth- 
ing and money to maintain a style of living befitting 
so noted a family. The whole estate was conveyed to 
him and he advanced whatever things were required 
for their comfort and a generous hospitality. Here 
they passed their remaining days, "Sir Hancock" 
dying in 1752, and Madame Hancock in 1760. The 
old minister was succeeded, in 1755, by a young man 
destined to hold the pastorate almost as long and to 
attain an influence in the town and State far more 
decided and enduring. Jonas Clarke was a native of 
Newton, and graduated at Harvard in 1752. .\fter 
completing his studies he was ordained over the 
church in Lexington, November 5, 1755, where he 
remained until his death, in November, 1805, in the 
active service of the ministry. The town agreed to 
pay him a salary of £80 a year, furnish him with 
20 cords of wood, delivered at his door, annually, and 
£130 as a settlement. In 1757 he married Lucy, 



(;i4 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



daughter of Rev. Nicholas Bowes, of Bedford, and 
granddaughter of his predecessor. Rev. John 
Hancock. They began their married life in the 
old parsonage with Madam Hancock, and after 
her death in 1700, Mr. Clarke bought the estate 
of Thomas, her son. Here their twelve children, 
six sons and six daughters, were born and 
grew up to manhood and womanhood. Here the 
parents lived until their death, and two unmarried 
daughters until their decease in 1843. Thus, for 
nearly a century, the house was occupied by the 
Clarke family, and, for half a century before them, by 
the Hancock family. It was a prolific hive of min- 
isters, no less than twenty-five having been born 
there, or descended from those who were, or were in 
some way connected with it. Four of Mr. Clarke's 
daughters married clergymen — one. Dr. Henry Ware 
HoUis, Professor of Divinity at Harvard ; another 
Dr. William Harris, president of Columbia College ; 
another, Dr. Thaddeus Fiske, of West Cambridge, and 
another, the Rev. Benjamin Green, of WestMedway ; 
from these have descended some of the most distin- 
guished men in the various |)rofessions, in literature, 
in teaching, and in scientific pursuits which our 
country has produced. 

Jonas Clarke was an ardent patriot, and took an 
active part in the measures of resistance to British 
aggre.ssion .adopted liy the town. In the old parson- 
age of his grandfather, occupied by Mr. Clarke, 
young John Hancock had passed much of his boy- 
hood after the death of his father, the honored min- 
ister of Braintree. Mrs. Clarke being his cousin, it 
naturally followed that he often visited there and be- 
came intimate with the family. Samuel Adams, the 
leader of the patriot cause in Massachusetts, was an 
intimate friend of Hancock's and often accompanied 
him on his visits to Lexington. Thus it happened 
that the parsonage became the rally ing-point of many 
prominent patriots in this vicinity. Here they 
gathered for consultation, and here many of their 
plans were formed and important letters and papers 
written. We have glimpses of these matters in the 
manuscript diaries of Mr. Clarke, of which he left 
five volumes, each covering about ten years of his 
ministry. Two of these have been lost, but the re- 
maining volumes are still in existence, carefully pre- 
served by his grandson. Dr. Henry Clarke, of Boston. 
They contain brief entries for each day in the year, 
kept on interleaved almanacs, and covering the period 
from 1755 to 1805, and containing notices of the 
weather, of his visitors, of what he was doing and of 
important occurrences in the town and in the coun- 
try. They contain a vast amount of information re- 
garding the customs and occupations of the peoi)le, 
and especially of what transpired from day to day in 
the parsonage. It was the home of a wide and gen- 
erous hosiiitidily. The most cultivated people of New 
England, college presidents and professors, statesmen, 
politicians and ministers, found genial companion- 



ship at Mr. Clarke's fireside. Here came John Han- 
cock and Samuel Adams from Concord, after the ad- 
JDUrnmeut of the Second Provincial Congress, which 
had been in session there. And here they were sleep- 
ing when aroused by Paul Revere at an early hour 
on the morning of the ever-memorable 19th of April, 
1775, with the intelligence that a battalion of British 
soldiers were marching for Lexington to arrest them. 
From the windows of (he house Mr. (Clarke witnessed 
the encounter of the soldiers with the minute-men on 
the Common, where six of his parishioners fell before 
the murderous fire of the British, aud the first blood 
of the Revolution was shed. These are some of the 
sissociations connected with this venerable house 
which endear it to all patriotic hearts. It remains ' 
substantially as it was a hundred and fifty years ago, 
a most interesting memorial of the characters and 
events belonging to the birth of a mighty nation. 
Long may it be spared to repeat its story of noble 
devotion to freedom and the most sacred interests of I 
man I 

Mr. Clarke was regarded by his people with great 
respect and allection. He was looked up to as their 
leader, not only in spiritual matters, but in political 
and municipal affairs. He served frequently on town 
committees and drew up important |)apers relating lo 
the pending difliculties with the nioilier country, and 
giving instructions to the town's representative in the 
General Court. He was among the foremost advo- 
cates of resistance to the oppressive measures of the 
British Government, and inspired a lofty enthusiasm 
in his parishioners. When convinced that there was 
no hope of obtaining justice from Parliament or the 
crown, he was outspoken and firm in advocating na- 
tional independence. With such a leader, strong, 
bold, enthusiastic in devotion to freedom, it is no 
wonder that the people of Lexington were resolute 
and unflinching in their opposition to the encroach- 
ments of tyranny, and that here was ottered the first 
sacrKice on the altar of American liberty. 

Mr. C^larke cultivated his tarni by the help of his 
sons, and drew from it a considerable portion of the 
support of his large family. He was a diligent 
worker, both in the fields aud in his study. Kev. 
William Ware, his grandson, st.ates that during his 
ministry of fifty years, he wrote 2200 sermons, and 
we may be sure that they were not brief ones ; an 
hour or an hour and a half in length was not unusual. 
Two of these discourses, with prayers and songs of 
similar proportions, occupied four or five hours of 
the Sabbath. Laboring on the farm, catechising the 
children of the schools, making long journeys to or- 
dain young men in the ministry who had grown up 
under his guidance, writing elabor.ate arguments for 
the right of the people to self-government, collecting 
food and fuel for " their distressed brethren in Bos- 
ton," working on the fortifications in the harbor with 
his parishioners, sending oil' reinforcements to the army 
from the voung men of the town alter exhortation 



LEXINGTON. 



riir) 



and prayer in the church, serving as a delegate in 
the convention whicli formed tlie Constitution of the 
State, and preparing two sermons a week for the edi- 
fication of his people — such was the busy life of this 
noble man through his long pastorate. When his 
life closed, in November, 1805, his ministry and that 
of his predecessor had covered a hundred and five 
years of the history of the town and church, a i)eriod 
reaching from the accession of Queen Anne to the 
Euglish throne to the presidency of Thomas Jefler- 
son over the United States. 



CHAPTER XLV. 



LEXINGTON— { Continued). 



JIILITARY HISTORY. 

Thk military spirit in Lexington was strikingly 
manifest in all the Colonial wars, though the early 
history is so interwoven with that of Cambridge as 
to make it ditficult to separate one from the other. 
We find, however, that men from Cambridge 
Farms were engaged in the Indian Wars at the close 
of the seventeenth and beginning of the eigh- 
teenth centuries, and also in those fierce and bloody 
conflicts between France and England for supremacy 
on the American continent. In the capture of Louis- 
burg, in 174."i, that great victory i[i which Massachu- 
setts troops bore so honorable a part, the men of Lex- 
ington were rei)resented. And during the desperate 
struggle extending from 1755 to 1703, Lexington had 
its full quota continually in the service. Thirty-two 
men, in 1757, marched to the relief of Fort William 
Henry, a numl)er fully equal to one-third of all the 
able-bodied men of the town. And in I75i; and 175!t, 
the nuniljer from Lexington in the field w;us nearly as 
large. Among the names most prominent on the 
rolls are the Munroes, the Merriams, the Blodgetts 
and the Bridges, all of whom were found on the bat- 
tle-fields of this terrible war. These war-worn vet- 
erans were first and foremost in organizing and train- 
ing the niiruite-uien of the Revolution. The hard 
discipline of that long struggle gave ns officers 
and men of intrepidity and skill in the conflict with 
the beat troops of Great Britain. The firmness and 
heroism with which Captain Parker's little company 
faced the regulars on Lexington Common w;i8 due 
largely to the mcTi in his ranks who bad seen service 
in the cani|iaigns of the French and Indian War. At 
the close of this war, the whole population probably 
did not exceed IJOO, and yet Lexington furnished 
nearly one hundred men for the service whose names 
are given upon the rolls, and among these were four- 
teen 51 on roes. 

Lexingtox in the Wak of the Revolution. 



— In the events preceding the opening of the conflict 
the town was prompt and decided in its action. The 
.•?tamp Act was passed and sent over in the summer of 
1765. Its execution met with strenuous opposition 
wherever attempted. Those who ofiiered the stamps 
for sale did so at the peril of their lives. A town- 
meeting was called, and a strong protest against the 
measure was drawn up and passed unanimously. It 
was an invasion of their rights as free-born English- 
men to tax them without their consent and without 
representation in Parliament. Two years later the 
town voted to concur with the non-importation act of 
Boston, and declared that those who persisted in 
using British goods should be regarded as public en- 
emies and treated accordingly. When the cargo of 
lea, sent over by the East India Company, arrived it 
was resolved " not to use any tea or snuff, nor keep 
them, nor suffer them to be used in our families till 
the duties are taken off." In .January, 177.'{, a Com- 
mittee of Correspondence was chosen to kee[) the 
town informed of what other towns were doing, and 
ot measures proposed for the public safety. In re- 
sponse to the action of Boston they wrote, " We trust 
in God that we shall be ready to sacrifice our estates 
and everything dear in life, yea, and life it.self, in 
support of the Common Cause.'' Nor was their con- 
fidence in the patriotism of their fellow-cili/.ens mis- 
placed. In the hour of trial it proved to be all that 
they had promised. The first convention to organize 
resistance to British oppression assembled at Concord 
.\ngust 30, 1774. It was composed of delegates from 
all the towns of Middlesex County, who solemnly 
pledged themselves to lay down their lives, if need be, 
■■ in support of the laws and liberties of their country." 
Such was the spirit animating the people when the 
great struggle was coming on, and which impelled 
them to ofl'er themselves and all that they possessed 
on the altar of American iiulependence. In their in- 
structions to their representative in the (Jeneral 
t!ourt (Deacon Stone), the town requires him to use 
his utmost influence that nothing be doue there un- 
der the council appointed by the Governor or " in 
conformity with the late acts of parliament." At 
meetings held in November and December, 1774, 
the town voted "to jirovide a suitable quantity of 
flints, to bring uji two pieces of cannon from Water- 
town and mount them, and provide bayonets fi)r the 
training soldiers and a pair of drums." Thus Lex- 
ington was preparing for the appeal to arms in sup- 
port of the |)eople's rights. The resolutions passed in 
town-meeting were backed by bayonets and cannon 
and men trained to use them. 

In the first Provincial Congress, which met after 
adjournment at Concord October 11, 1774, it was de- 
termined that companies of minute-men should be or- 
ganized and drilled for action. Lexington was one 
of the first towns to respond to this order. A com- 
pany, numbering 120, was immediately enrolled, 
which included all the able-bodied men of the town. 



GIG 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



John Parker, then forty-six years of age, who, it is be- 
lieved, had seen service iu the French and Indian 
war, was chosen captain. And for five months before 
the beginning of hostilities he was diligently drilling 
his men and preparing them to render efficient str- 
vice. Not less than twenty-five or thirty were war- 
worn veterans, who gave steadiness and confidence to 
the others. Aflairs were now rapidly drifting towards 
a collision with the British Government. The people 
were thoroughly aroused to the dangers besetting 
their liberties, and determined to resist further ag- 
gressions to the bitter end. 

Such was the state of affairs at the adjournment of 
the second Provincial Congress, April 15, 1775. John 
Hancock, the president, and Samuel Adams, delegates 
from Boston, returned from the session to Lexington, 
and remained for a few days at the old parsonage with 
the family of Rev. Mr. Clarke. It was no longer safe 
for them to stay in Boston. An order had been sent 
to General Gage to have them arrested and brought 
to England for trial, and a second order directing that 
they should be arrested and hung in Boston, to strike 
terror to the hearts of Massachusetts rebels. On the 
afternoon of the 18th came rumors that some move- 
ment was about being made by General Gage into 
the country, and ii, was naturally supposed that the 
object must be the arrest of Hancock and Adams and 
the destruction of the public stores at Concord. A 
number of British officers had been seen riding 
through the town, as it was surmised, to reconnoitre 
the country and prepare the way for the expedition. 
People were everywhere on the alert, eagerly watch- 
ing and listening for tokens of the intended move- 
ment. For the protection of the distinguished visit- 
ors at the parsonage, a guard of eight men, under 
Sergeant William Munroe, of Captain Parker's com- 
pany, was placed around the house. This was early 
in the evening. Many of the minute-men were in 
the village waiting for news at the taverns and 
eagerly discussing these reports. In the meantime 
the lantern had been hung out from the steeple of the 
Old North (Jhurch, and I'anI Revere wa.s riding fu- 
riously towards Lexington with the intelligence that 
the regulars were surely on the march. He reached 
the old parsonage soon after midnight, but was de- 
nied entrance by Sergeant Munroe. Hancock, recog- 
nizing his voice, threw up the window and bade him 
come in. The news brought by lievere caused an 
immediate alarm to be rung from the belfry on the 
Common calling out Captain Parker's company. 
Men were sent down the road towards Boston to 
learn whether the red-coats were really coming, and 
Hancock and Adams were piloted by Sergeant 
Munroe to the house of .lames Reed, in Woburn, 
about two miles distant; while Revere rode on to- 
wards Concord to give the alarm there and secure 
the stores from destruction. The minute-men as- 
sembled on the ringing of the bell, many coming from 
their homes from one to three miles away. But, after 



forming on the Common, the report came back that 
it was a false alarm, as nothing could be seen of the 
British. Accordingly, after waiting for some time, 
Captain Parker dismissed his men, as the night was 
cool, but bade them remain within sound of the bell, 
to respond to a second alarm, should the report of 
the British march prove true. This was about half- 
past two in the morning. The men remained in the 
vicinity of the Common, sheltered in the taverns or 
in the homes of their friends. Two hours passed 
quickly away, and at half-past four the sharp notes 
of the bell were again heard calling them together. 
There was not a moment to be lost. The regulars were 
not half a mile away. Sergeant Munroe had just re- 
turned from his trip to Woburn to conceal Hancock and 
Adams, and he quickly formed the comj)auy on the 
Common, the right resting on Bedford Rcjad, and the 
line extending towards the Concord Road. Here 
were drawn up about .seventy men, somewhere from 
six to ten rods in the rear of the meeting-house. 
They had on their ordinary clothes, worn in the work 
of the farm, of different colors and patterns, and their 
arms were the old fowling pieces used for generations 
in hunting the game of the woods. What was their 
purpose in forming there in battle array? They 
knew that a battalion of thoroughly disciplined 
and equipped soldiers, numbering not less than 600 
men, were marching towards them. Could they, for 
a moment, think of resisting the King's troops, under 
the command of the King's officers, executing the 
purpose of the royal governor? How foolhardy such 
an idea must: have seemed to thoughtful men. Prob- 
ably they felt that the time had come to defend their 
homes and their rights. They were to make good in 
brave deeds the resolves of the town-meeting and 
the counsels of their beloved pastor. It was vaiu to 
expect to stop the advance of this well-disciplined 
force with a mere handful of yeomanry ; but they 
would stand up for the cause in which they believed, 
and die, if need be, to save their homes from pillage, 
and protect their wives and children. "Stand your 
ground; don't fire unless fired upon," were the words 
of their brave captain. " But if they mean to have a 
war, let it begin here." Calm, firm, resolute was the 
spirit of the little band drawn up there in the early 
morning to receive the shock of battle. 

The British, hearing the drum and alarm bell when 
a quarter of a mile from the Common, came rushing 
on under the lead of Major Pitcairn, riding a little in 
advance. They formed just behind the meeting- 
house, ten rods in front of the minute-men. In rough 
words Pitcairn commanded them to disperse. "Lay 
down your arms and disperse, ye rebels," which, 
being unheeded, he <lrew his pistol and fired, at the 
same time commaniling his men to fire. The first 
shot harmed no one, and, the minute men still stand- 
ing their ground, the command was repeated. The 
second shot brought six brave men to the ground, 
killed or mortally wounded. Several shots were re- 



LEXINGTON. 



t;i7 



turned before the command was given to retreat and 
others were fired from behind stone walls and from 
the door of the Buckman tavern. One wounded man, 
Jonas Parker, was despatched by a British bayonet 
while attempting to reload his gun, and one was 
killed after leaving the Common. It was an unpro- 
voked attack, and it opened a breach which could 
never be healed. 

In his report to. (Jeneral Gage, Pitcairn asserts that 
he was wantonly fired upon before giving tlie com- 
mand to his troops, and that one of his men was 
wounded. But this Wiis certainly a mistake. Each 
party was anxious to lay the res]ionsibil:ty of the first 
firing upon the other. ; so great was this desire on the 
part of some of the minute-men that they even testi- 
fied there was no firing whatever by Captain Parker's 
men. In the excitement of the moment it is not sur- 
prising that very different impressions should have 
been made upon different minds. But that Pitcairn 
fired himself and cnminanded his men to fire before a 
shot from the minnte men, and that the British fire 
was returned before Parker's men left the Common, 
we have the positive testimony of many witnesses. 
The assertion that " no forcible resistance " was of- 
fered to the British until tliey reached Concord has 
no valid foundation. Pitcairn asserts that such re- 
sistance was made here, and those who made it have 
sworn to the fact. 

After raising a brutal shout of triumph and firing 
a voile)' over the fallen patriots, the British marched 
on for Concord, where they arrived about iiine o'clock 
in the morning. Captain Parker soon gathered his 
men together and followed in ]iursnit to the borders 
of Lincoln. During the Brilisli retreat in the after- 
noon, they joined the minute-men of other towns and 
rendered good service in driving the Hying foe back 
to Boston. 

In the western part of the town, a mile and a half 
from the Common, on a stee|) hill well fitted for the 
purpose, the British officers attempted to rally their 
men and make a stand against their pursuers. A 
sharp fight ensued, in which they were driven in great 
disorder from the position to Fiske Hill, a higher 
elevation nearer the village. Here the fight was re- 
newed, with the same result, Major Pitcairn being 
dismounted in the conflict and hi.s horse, witli all his 
accoutrements, captured. His elegant pistols, one of 
which he fired when (be command was given in the 
iuorniug on the Common, thus fell into the hands of 
the niicute men. Subseipienlly they were given to 
General Putnam and worn by him during the war; 
recently they have been donated to the town l>y his 
great-grandniece, and are now preserved amouf.' the 
precious mementos of this day in the i>ublic library. 

After the brief struggle on Fiske Hill, no further 
efl'ort was made to stay the retreat until the disor- 
dered and fiying foe had reached the protection of 
Earl Percy's reinforcements, iialf a mile below the 
Common, on the road to Boston. The proud and tri- 



umphant battalion that raised the shout of victory on 
the Common in the morning were driven past that 
spot in the afternoon in a confused mass, their ranks 
sadly thinned and their spirits broken by six miles of 
a retreating fight. 

. Among the incidents of the day in Lexington was 
the encounter of young Hayward, of Acton, with a 
British soldier at a hou.se near Fiske Hill, a mile 
west of the Common. On the retreat the -soldier had 
entered the house for plunder and been left be- 
hind by his comrades. Hayward, following in the 
pursuit, stopped at the well in the yard to drink, just 
as the soldier came out of the door; raising his gun, 
the soldier said : "You are a dead man." "So are 
you," Hayward replied. Both fired at the same in- 
stant, and both fell, the soldier kilhd and Hayward 
mortally wounded. 

When the retreating host gained the covert of 
Percy's succoring army they were utterly exhausted. 
The day was warm and they had been marching 
since ten o'clock of the night before, almost without 
halting, and without food, save what they had stolen 
from the houses along the road. It was now one 
o'clock in the afternoon. They had been on the 
road at least sixteen hours, and marched not less 
than twenty-five or thirty miles, a portion of the way 
fighting and running as they went. Their provision- 
train, sent out from Bo.ston in the morning, had been 
captured at West Cambridge. It is evident that, 
with the minute-men pouring in upon the line of 
their retreat from a dozen diflerent towns and assail- 
ing them at every point, their capture or total de- 
struction was inevitable. A few hours more would 
surely have completed the work and seen the end of 
this proud battalion sent to strike terror into the 
hearts of the Middlesex patriots. Percy's reinforce- 
ments saved the expedition from overwhelming dis- 
aster. Planting his two field pieces on heights com- 
manding the village and covering the line of retreat, 
while he threw out columns to enclose the exhausted 
men of Colonel Smith's command, he was able to 
avert the great di.saster. At the old Munroe tavern 
he established himself for two or three hours, while 
the wounded were cared for and the men rested and 
bellied themselves to such food and plunder as thev 
could find in the neighboring houses. Much wanton 
destruction of property took place in that vicinity. 
Several buildings were burned and such valuables 
stolen as could be easily carried away. Cattle were 
killed, and one inoffensive old man who had mixed 
their drinks at the tavern bar was shot whileatfempt- 
ing to escape from the house. Some of their wounded 
were left in houses along the way to be cared for by 
the people whom they had so cruelly wronged. 

After a rest of two hours the British march was re- 
sumed, the minute-men still pursuing the retreating 
foe and taking advantage of every favm-alile point to 
anuoy and distress them. A running fight continued 
all the way to Charlestown where the beaten army 



01 s 



ITTSTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



found protection and safety under the guns 'of the 
British shijjs. Thus ended this memorable day, the 
opening scene of the war. Capt. Parlcer's company 
lost ten Icilled and nine wounded, more than one-fifth 
of their number, and the loss to the town in the de- 
struction of property w:us estimated at XITGl. 

At the ijathering of troops in Cambridge to shut 
the British army up in Hoston, Capt. Parker was on 
duty with his minute-men, and also on the 17th and 
18th of June, during and after the battle of Bunker 
Hill, when an attacl< was momentarily expected on 
that place, ('apt. John I'arker was an ardent patriot 
and a brave soldier. Had he lived, no doubt he would 
have taken a prominent part in leading our armies. 
But he was in feeble health at the time of the Lex- 
ington battle, and the excitement and responsibility 
of that day hastened his decline. In September fol- 
lowing be pas.sed away, in the prime of his years, sin- 
cerely mourned by his fellow-soldiers and townsmen. 
His grave was made in the old cemetery of the vil- 
lage near the spot where his fallen heroes were laid, 
but not until more than a century had passed away 
was a memorial erected to mark the spot. In 1884 
the town caused an iijjpropriate and substantial monu- 
ment to be placed there " in grateful remembrance" 
of one whose name is associated with the proudest 
day of Lexington's history. 

Nor did the interest of the town in the success of 
our arms end with the first events of the war. It 
continued unabated until the victory was won and in- 
dependence secured. Contributions of men and sup- 
|)lie.s to our armies were large and constant. The 
rolls, though very imperfect, show that up to 1779 
Lexington men had taken part in seventeen cam- 
paigns. These include the siege of Boston, the expe- 
dition against Canada, the campaign at Ticonderoga, 
of Bennington, of Burgoyne's capture, of White 
Plains, of the Jerseys and of Rhode Island. In 1780 
there enlisted thirty men from Lexington to serve for 
three years, or during the war. When we remember 
that the whole population at this time did not exceed 
seven hundred, it is obvious that a very large pro- 
]>orli(in of all those capable of bearing arms must have 
been in the field. Several hundred cords of wood, 
cut on the ministerial land, were delivered at the camp 
on Winter Hill while Washington was besieging 
Boston. Meat and clothing were sent to our distressed 
men while serving on distant campaigns, and boun- 
ties were liberally paid by the town to keep the rauKs 
full. When the currency had so depreciated as to 
be nearly worthless, these bounties were paid in cat- 
tle; five three-years old for three years' service; five 
two-years old for two years, and five one year old for 
one year. In nearly all the famous battles of the war 
the men of Lexington were engaged. At Monmouth 
two, George and Edmund Jlunroe, were killed. There 
was no shirking of iheir burdens by the town, and to 
their credit be it recorded that not less than ten ne- 
groes, some of whom were slaves, enlisted in the ser- 



vice, and some of them served through the whole 
war. 

The anniversary of the Lexington battle has been 
observed with fitting services annually. In the year 
following it. Rev. .Jonas Clarke preached a sermon 
which was published and, in an api>endix, he has 
left a graphic account of the scene on Lexington 
Common which is undoubtedly accurate and reliable 
in every particular. Through the period of 115 years 
the anniversary has been commemorated by the ring- 
ing of bells and firing of cannon ; by services of 
prayer and song, and patriotic addresses. Two years 
after the great event, in 1777, the town chose a com- 
mittee to take steps towards the erection of a monu- 
ment to those who were slain , but nothing was accom- 
plished until twelve years later, when, on petition of 
the town to the Legislature, an appropriation for the 
purpose was made, and the state and town united in 
erecting a simple memorial on the Common near the 
spot where the heroes fell. The monument was com- 
pleted on the -1th of July, 1799, and was one of the 
first raised to commemorate the events of the Revolu- 
tion. 

On the sixteenth anniversary of the battle, in 1835, 
the occasion was observed by removing the remains 
of those who were killed from the old cemetery to a 
stone vault built in the rear of the monument. 
Their bones were reverently gathered up and placed 
in a mahogany sarcophagus, which was borne to the 
church by the survivors of the battle, where, after 
prayers and songs, an eloquent oration was pro- 
nounced by Edward Everett, then in the zenith of 
his power. The remains were then borne to their 
final resting-place under the monument, by the com- 
rades who had seen them fall, and volleys from the 
military companies fired over the tomb. Lexington 
has always delighted to honor the memory of the first 
martyrs to liberty who perished on her soil. And 
since the organization of the Historical Society, in 
1886, the event has been observed annually by a 
union religious service on the Sunday evening pre- 
ceding the 19th of April, and on the day itself by 
gathering the children of the schools in the town 
hall, where patriotic songs are sung and recitations 
given. The towu has cheerfully and generously ap- 
propriated money to carry out these observances. 

At the close of the War of the Revolution, the 
population of Lexington was estimated at about 80(1. 
In the first census taken by the Covernment, 1790, it 
was found to be 940, and in that of 1800, it had only 
increased to 1006. On the incorporation of Lincoln, 
in 1754, a slice of her territory had been cut off to 
form the new town, containing about a hundred in- 
habitants. The growth was somewhat retarded by 
this spoliation, but it has always been slow. Duriug 
the War of Indeiiendence, she lost heavily of her 
able-bodied men, and, after it was over, the fever of 
Western immigration soon began to rage, carrying 
away many of her most vigorous and enterprising 



LEXINGTON. 



cist 



sons. The census of this year, 1890, shows a popu- 
liition of three thousand, two hundreii, which is 
not a large increase from that of ISOO; hut, if 
moderate, it has been of a substantial and perma- 
nent character. The assessors' valuation of property 
in ISOO amounted to $250,000 ; that ol' this year will 
probably exceed $3,500,00(1, showing a high average 
of wealth to each individual — few towns or cities 
of Middlesex County probably have a higher average 
— .and showing an increase of wealth pir rapi/n from 
$l2r> to $1000, or 800 per cent., while the increase of 
population has been but 300 per cent, in these ninety 
years. 

In the formation of the State constitution, Le.\ing- 
ton took an active interest through Rev. Mr. Clarke, 
her delegate in the convention. It was noi altogether 
satisfactory to him, and when submitted to the town 
for approval, he proposed several amendments, which 
were unanimously adopted. He thimght the riglits 
of the people were not sufficiently guarded by that 
instrument, and also that Protestantism should be 
recognized as the religion of the State. Happily, his 
fears proved groundless, and all semblance of a State 
religion ultimately disappeared from the laws of the 
Commonwealth. 

The W.\k of 1812 with tireat Britain was unpcipn- 
lar in New England, and especially in Massachusetts, 
where it was generally regarded as a needless one. 
And the fact that peace was made without even men- 
tioning the matter which caused it, would seem to 
prove that it was wholly unnecessary. Party spirit 
ran high. Lexington was strongly opposed to the 
policy of the administration, but she did not f;\il to 
support the Government. Bounties were readily 
granted for soldiers, and an earnest purpose was mani- 
fest to bear her portion of the burdens and sacrifices 
of the war. Patriotism wa-s stronger than party 
spirit, and the sons of the men who fought the battles 
of the Revolution were not wanting in the vahir of 
their fathers. So it proved also half a century later 
in the great Rebellion. 

Wak of the Rebellion. — The reconl of the town 
in that long and desperate conflict is a most credita- 
ble one. The old heroic spirit was here which in the 
earlier struggle dared all things fur frce<lom and right. 
The town expended nearly .■?30,00i I in furnishing men 
for the army and in supporting their families. Every 
call of the President was promptly answered from the 
first ti) the bust. Lexington's (juota was always full, 
and at the close of the war she had nine more men in 
the field than were required of her. During the war 
244 men were enlisted from this town in the army and 
navy, of whom twenty were killed in battle, or died 
from wounds, or from disease contracted in the ser- 
vice. Lexington men may be traced in all the great 
battles and marches, doing their duty nobly, bearing 
the hardships and sacrifices of war patiently and he- 
roically. Some of them, ala.s ! learned what it was to 
face the horrors of Southern prisons and die iu South- 



ern hospitals. But wherever the fortunes of war car- 
ried them, the town had no cause to be ashamed of 
the men who represented her in the field. They 
made a brave and worthy record, and every patriotic 
heart delights to do them honor. Truly the record 
of 1775 is not dishonored by that of 1801, and the 
sires might well be proud of the sons. 

Nor was the devotion of Lexington to the cause of 
the Union confined to the men in the field, or the 
men at home who faithfully supported them. The 
women of the town were just ;« earnest and as self- 
sacrificing, so far as it lay in their ]iower. They 
toiled nobly to supply clothing and comfort for the 
sick and wounded in the hosidtals. p'.llicient organi- 
zations existed in the churches lor aiding the mfin in 
the field, and many boxes of stockings and mittens 
and underclothing were sent from the town to cheer 
their brothers on picket duty, on weary marches and 
in the trenches of besieged towns where they were 
pressing on to victory. After every great battle they 
promptly gathered, bringing their stores to alleviate 
the awful suffering and do all that could be done to 
save the precious lives of the wounded men. Some 
left their peaceful homes and went into the hospitals 
bearing light and comfort and making those dreary 
places brighter by their gentle ministries. Truly the 
heroism in that tremendous contest was not all on the 
side of the men in the service; the hardships and suf- 
fering were not all on the long marches or in malarial 
camps, or the terrible scenes of Southern prisons. 
The wives, mothers and sisters at home had things to 
bear that were quite as trying, anil they bore them 
just as bravely and cheerfully. They did their ]iart 
with equal fidelity and enthusiasm. All honor to the 
brave men who faced death in so many forms for 
union and freedom; all honor likewise to the noble 
women who bore the awful anxieties and losses of the 
war so patiently and toiled so faithfully to sustain 
their husbands, sons and brothers in the Held. IjCX- 
ingtoii had her full share of both. She opened the 
bloody drama of freedom in 1775, and she did her 
part in the final scene of 18()1. 

Since the war a Grand Army Post, the (ieorge G. 
Meade, No. 110, has been organized iu the town, now 
numbering forty veterans. A Women's Relief Corps 
is connected with it numbering fifty, lioth organiza- 
tions are well maintained and are in an eflicient and 
flourishing condition. In addition to all which is 
done by the State for soldiers' families neediug as- 
sistance, the Relief Corps watches over them and sees 
that they are properly attended in sickness ami that 
nothing required for their comfort is lacking. The 
object of the corps is not only to give aid in time of 
need, but sympathy and counsel in the time of trouble, 
that no man's fiimily who served his country in that 
awful crisis shall be neglected. These organizations 
command the hearty respect of the people of tlu! town 
and anything necessary for their work is cheerliilly 
contributed. The Grand Army Post annually observes 



C20 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Decoration Day with appropriate ceremonies. The 
graves of their fallen comrades in the cemetery, of 
which there are nearly twenty, are visited, baskets of 
flowers and wreaths of ivy placed upon them, while 
the old flag, in defence of which they died, is waved 
over their resting-place, and a band of music plays 
solemn dirges in honor of their memory. In no por- 
tion of ilie State are the names of our country's dead 
heroes more fondly cherished or gratefully remem- 
bered. When the new town-hall was erected, in 1874, 
the late Mrs. Maria Hastings Cary, a native of Lex- 
ington, residing in Brooklyn, N. Y., gave the princely 
sum of .'?2(l,000 towards it on condition that a room 
should be provided in it for Cary Library and a Me- 
mortal Hall. Accordingly it was so planned and 
built. Two marble tablets were inserted in the walls 
of Memorial Hall — one inscribed with the names of 
the minute-men who fell on the 19th of April, 1775, 
and the other with the names of those who perished 
in the War of the Rebellion. Four marble statues 
of life-size, were also placed there by the contribu- 
tions of the citizens commemorative of the men of 
the Revolution and the soldiers of the Rebellion; 
that of John Hancock and Samuel Adams, represent- 
ing the foremost patriots of the earlier conflict, to- 
gether with a typical minute-man of Captain Parker's 
company, and that of a typical infantry soldier stand- 
ing on guard in the latter conflict. All are statues 
of artistic merit and fittingly represent the character- 
istic men of these great epochs of our history. 

In the main hall of the town building there is also 
a large picture, by Henry Sandham, of the battle of 
Lexington. It represents the scene on the Common 
in the early morning as the dawn is breaking and at 
the moment when the firing occurred. On the left is 
the old Buckman tavern, the rendezvous of the min- 
ute-men, the smoke rising from the chimney and a 
candle dimly burning in the chamber; on the right 
stands the ancient meeting-house, and between them 
are drawn up the British troops, with Major Pitcairn 
upon his splendid charger, turning in his saddle and 
giving the command to fire. In the foreground are 
the broken ranks of the patriots, some returning the 
fire, some stooping over their fallen comrades, some 
standing their ground to reload their pieces and some 
turning to leave the field. The whole force and spirit 
of the |)icture are thrown into the faces and positions 
of the minute-men. The resolute, determined pur- 
pose of resistance speaks in every face and form. 
Their appearance is full of life and valor, well repre- 
senting the spirit of the people at that time. While the 
dull, apathetic, mechanical ai)pearance of the British 
soldiers in their splendid ei|uipmeiits forms a striking 
contrast and filtingly expre.sses the idea that they 
had no heart for the bloody l)nsiness. There are also 
touches of beauty in the picture. The morning light 
breaking on the gable of the meeting-house and flush- 
ing the clouds with the coming glory, the wreaths of 
smoke rising over the British line from the firing, the 



pale, innocent face of a mere stripling who has fallen 
and whose head is held up by an old man bending 
over him, serve to give a softened beauty and pathos 
to the scene, which veils something of its horror and 
invests it with a marvelous fascination. While 
strongly realistic, depicting nnich of the actual scene, 
it is also instinct with the spirit of the time. 

In the centennial year of the battle, the occasion 
was observed in Lexington by elaborate and fitting 
ceremonies. Many of the highest civil and military 
ofiicials of the State and National Governments, in- 
cluding President Grant and members of his Cabinet, 
were present. A vast multitude, numbering it is 
thought from 50,000 to 75,000, persons from the neigh- 
boring cities and towns, and from distant portions of 
our country, including meii distinguished in every 
walk of life, crowded the streets and public grounds, 
to visit places of historical interest. The services 
consisted in the unveiling of the statues in Memorial 
Hall, an oration by Hon. Richard H. Dana, and a 
banquet followed by a ball in the evening. A tree 
was planted on the Common by President Grant in 
commemoration of his visit. The day was cold and 
blustering, snow covered the ground and muchsufl'er- 
ing was caused by the crowded condition of the town 
and the impossibility of providing transportation on 
the cars for so vast a multitude, or food for their hun- 
ger and shelter from the cold. These things detracted 
much from the enjoyment of the people and the suc- 
cess of the celebration. The town, through its various 
committees had made systematic arrangements tor the 
observance of the day, and no money or labor were 
spared to pay fitting honor to the occasion. More 
than $9000 was expended by the town for this pur- 
pose. Lexington has never grudged any money 
needed for patriotic objects or to perpetuate the mem- 
ory of historic incidents within her border.'^. In 1884 
the sum of $1500 was expended under the direction 
of a committee appointed by the town in marking 
places of interest in her history. These included 
tablets on the Hancock-Clarke house, the Buckman 
and Munroe taverns, the home of Jonathan Harring- 
ton, the last survivor of the battle, and several 
others ; a huge boulder was placed on the Common to 
indicate the line of the minute-men; an appropriate 
and beautiful monument, on the site of the first three 
meeting-houses; a large granite block cut in pyrami- 
dal form and standing on a heavy base, over the grave 
of Captain John Parker; a unique stone cannon, on 
the spot where Earl Percy planted one of his field- 
pieces to cover the British retreat ; a granite slab at 
the foot of the hill in the western part of the town, 
where Lieutenant-Colonel Smith attempted to rally 
his fleeing troops; also a similar one at the well 
where young Haywood and the British soldier shot 
each other; and one in the wall on Main Street near 
the Munroe tavern, to indicate ihe position of another 
field-piece and the locality where several buildings 
were burned by the retreating soldiers. These mem- 



LEXINGTON. 



G21 



orials have added much to the satisfaction of those 
visiting the town for historic study, and they serve 
also to preserve a knowledge of many incidents and 
places in danger of being forgotten by future gener- 
ations. 

In keeping with the marking of historic spots was 
the improvement of the Common two years later, i 
The old dilapidated fence of stone posts with wooden 
rails between was removed and a wide gravel walk 
made around the entire area. The unsightly town 
scales were taken from the southern point of the Com- 
mon and put in a more convenient but less conspicu- 
ous place. Several hundred cubic yards of gravel 
were excavated and carried away and the space filled 
in with loam. It was then plowed, re-graded, enriched 
with fertilizer and seeded and a i'i'W additional trees 
set in vacant places. Thus the Common was made 
into a beautiful lawn, and it has been carefully kept 
as such ever since. It is now an attractive and de- 
lightful spot, surrounded with grand old trees and 
containing three historic monuments. Hundreds of 
pilgrims from every .State in the Union visit it an- 
nually, and are pleased to find a spot "sacred to liber- 
ty and the rights of mankind " (in the words upon 
the old monument) so faithfully watched over and 
cared for by the people who possess it. For the.se 
improvemects the town has expended nearly !!<2000, 
and an annual appropriation is made to keep the 
place bright and clean where the martyrs died. These 
facts show that the patriotic spirit still burns brightly 
in the hearts of the Lexington people and that a gen- 
erous appreciation of brave men and noble deeds ex- 
ists among them. 



CHAPTER XLVI. 

LEXINGTON -{Continued). 
EDUCATION — SCHOOLS AMI I.TBRAEIE.S. 

We have seen that the earliest public school in 
Lexington was cstablislied by vole of the town in 
1715. This was a grammar school, probably for boys 
only, and kept in the school-house erected that year 
on the Common. It was not altogether free, but a 
small charge was made eacli pupil according to the 
studies he pursued, and in addition to this he was 
sometimes obliged to furnish two feet of wood annual- 
ly for the fire. Women schools, or " Dame Schools," 
as they were called, were established about the same 
time in different parts of the town, kept in private 
houses, and free to girls and the younger children. 
There were as many as five or six of these schools lo- 
cated in places where they would*best accommodate 
the young children. In theyears when the Grammar 
School was moved from one quarter of the town to 
another, every two months, it took the place of the 
Dame Schools, at least for a portion of the school year. 



This policy seems to have been continued for three- 
quarters of a centnry, or until 170."), when three 
school-houses were erected, one in the north, one in 
ihe easi and one in the southwest parts of the town, 
and permanent schools e.stablislied in them. At this 
time $.333 was appropriated annually for education. 
The number of children of school age probably ex- 
ceeded l.')0, showing that no more than >>'l.r>(^ per 
scholar was expended. In 1804 three additional 
school-houses were erected, including a new one on 
the Common, making the third on that site, and more 
liberal appropriations began to be made for the sup- 
port of schools. Evidently not much supervision 
had been exercised over the schools up to the begin- 
ning of this century. The minister was accustomed to 
visit them once or twice in tbe year, as we learn from 
the diary of Rev. Jonas Clarke, but it was for the 
purpose of hearing the children recite the Catechism 
and of giving some moral and religious instruction. 
In the year ISOO the town voted that teachers must 
bring certificates of their qualifications, and the select- 
men were instructed to visit the schools and see that 
they were properly taught and governed. The first 
committee chosen to have a general oversight of them 
appears to have been in 1821. But tbe appropria- 
tion for schools did not reach $1000 until nine years 
later, in 1830. From this period there has been a 
gradual increase in the expenditure for public educa- 
tion. The school buildings have been much improved 
and seven of the schools are now graded. In 185-1 a 
High School was established to furnish a thorough 
English course of study for graduates of the grammar 
schools and to prepare pupils for college. At the 
present time there are twelve schools in the town, in- 
cluding the High School, with thirteen teachers, 
besides a teacher of music and of sewing. Of 
these, four are ungraded schools, in the outlying 
districts; two are in the east village, a grammar and a 
primary; and five are in the centre village, viz., one 
granrmar, two sub-grammar and two primary schools. 
The average number in all the schools during 1889 
was 401, of which 60 were in the High School under 
a principal and assistant. The appropriation for 
schools the last year was S1],.")00, giving $28 for each 
scholar, which is certaitdy a generous expenditure 
and exceeded by few towns in the State. Tlie man- 
agement of the schools is under the contndof a com- 
mittee of three persons, one of whom is chosen an- 
nually to serve three years; and a superintendent 
who is also principal of the High School, and who 
receives additional compensation for this service. 

A committee appointed by the town is now consid- 
ering the question of a new school edifice for the cen- 
tral village. It is proi)cpsed to erect a building of six 
or eight rooms upon an ample lot, containing all 
modern improvements in heating, ventilation and 
drainage, and accommodations for some of the outly- 
ing schools, should the town decide to con.solidate 
them by providing transportation for the scholars. 



622 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



There is a deiiiaiid on tlie jiart of the people for spa- 
cious, conit'orlable and convenient school-rooms, and 
there is no disposition to withhold any a|)proprialion 
needed to secure them, and to make the means of 
public education as excellent as possible. 

An academy "as established in Lexington in 1822 
for a liigher education than the public schools 
afforded. Under the instruction of the late Caleb 
Stetson it attained a creditable standing among sim- 
ilar institutions, and drew scholars from other towns 
and States. It was i'ounded by a number of the 
town's people, who erected a building for its use on 
a lot fronting the Cimimon at the northeast corner. 
It was an incorporated institution, and maintained a 
school here with varying success for a number of 
years, but was finally abandoned. Having no en- 
dowment, the charge for tuition was the only means 
of its support, and the income proved inadequate to 
maintain it in an efficient condition. In 1839, when 
the State of Massachusetts tooii the first steps towards 
establishing normal schools, the use of the academy 
building was offered to the Board of Education for 
thai pur|)ose and gladly accepted. It was fitted up 
and jiut in a condition to accommodate the Normal 
School and also an experimental school, where the 
Normal scholars could receive practical instruction 
in teaching. The town paid these expenses and do- 
nated the use of the building without charge to the 
State. The school was opened in July, 1839, under 
the charge of Rev. Cyrus Pierce with but three pupils. 
The number gradually increased, and the school be 
came eminently successful during the five years that 
it remained in Lexington. Such was the humble be- 
ginning of the first Normal School in America. In 
1844 it was decided to place the school upon a more 
permanent basis and give it better accommodations. 
The location was opened to competitive bids, and 
Lexington was distanced by her more wealthy neigh- 
bors. It was secured by Newton, and transferred to 
that place during this year. Subsequently it was re- 
moved to P'ramingham, where it still remains, and has 
become one of the most efficient and popular of our 
Normal Schools. The old academy building has 
undergone many changes since it was abandoned for 
school purposes. For the la,st twenty years it hat- 
been used by the Hanc(jck Congregational Society as 
a meeting-house, by whom it was purchased and 
fitted up for purposes of worship on the organizatioji 
of that society. It must always be an object of pecu- 
liar interest to the historian as the place where, half 
a century ago, the experiment of Normal Schools was 
first made — an experimtnt from which have come the 
most beneficial and splendid results. May it long be 
preserved from the hand of the destroyer as a me- 
morial of an event which has been fruitful in bless- 
ings to our country ! 

A young ladies' seminary was established here by 
the late Dr. Dio Lewis. For this purpbse he pur- 
chased the Lexington House in 18G4, a spacious ho- 



tel, and fitted it up for a boarding and day-school. 
His devotion to the physical training and develop- 
ment of the i)upils, in connection with their studies 
and the favorable location for health, made the insti- 
tution widely i)opular. Nearly 1.50 pupils were en- 
rolled in the school during the third year after his 
occupancy of the Lexington House. I'.utin the vaca- 
tion following, and just before the opening of the fall 
term of IStJT, the house took fire and was entirely 
consumed, involving a heavy loss of property and of 
school advantages to the town. It has never been re- 
built, and the school was broken up by the misfortune. 

Lexington bad several libraries before the present 
public library was founded. A library appears to have 
been connected with the First Parish sixty or seventy 
years ago. During the early pastorate of Rev. Charles 
Briggs, while town and parish were one, the juvenile 
library was established, designed especially to provide 
good reading for the children and young people. Ap- 
propriations were sometimes made by the town lor 
the purchase of new books. This library was kept in 
the front vestibule of the meeting-house, and on Sun- 
days between services was opened for returning and 
giving out books. It was well maintained, and afforded 
a valuable means of entertainment and improvement 
for young people before the organization of Sunday- 
schools. At the same time there was a village library 
belonging to an association formed for mutual im- 
provement. By the payment of a small sura annually 
a person was entitled to the use of the books. And at 
a later period the Agricultural Library was established 
in connection with the Farmers' Club. This was de- 
voted maiidy to such books as were of value to the 
cultivators of the soil. Before any libraries existed 
in the town, the minister's books were freely loaned 
to his parishioners, as we learn from the MS. diary 
of Rev. .Jonas Clarke, where a list of borrowers' 
names is carefully preserved. Among them are Bax- 
ter's works in four quarto volumes, presented to the 
Lexington church by the Hon. Samuel Ilolden, Gov- 
ernor of the Bank of England, in 1730, the donor of 
Holden Chapel to Harvard College. The volumes 
were to be loaned to the people and kept for the use 
of future generations. They are now to be seen in 
the public library ; but probably are not often called 
for. 

In 1SG8 .Mrs. Maria Hiw.tings Cary proposed to give 
$1000 to Lexington to establish a free public library, 
HU condition that a similar sum .should be raised in 
rtu)ney or in books for the same object. The offer was 
made as an expression of interest in her native town 
and in the ho]ie of promoting the welfare of its peo- 
ple. It was specified in the gift that the selectmen, 
the School Committee and the settled ministers of the 
churches for the time being should constitute a board 
of trustees for the management and control of the 
library, and that the town should provide a place for 
it and necessary attendance and care. The proposi- 
tion was gratefully accepted and the conditions com- 



LEXINGTOJ^. 



f.2:? 



jllied with, by the donation of the other libraries to 
m'\i oltjt'ct .Hild ari iiiij-ihiprintion of money by the 
town. Such was the origin of Cai'y Libf-ar_<', Sii flamed 
in honor of the original donor. The organization of 
the board of trustees was soon effected, tlie books 
]iurcliiused, the otlier libraries consolidated with it, a 
place rcntc<i for itH Use, and Cary Library opened to 
the ponple of the town. Tliree years later, in 1S71, 
Mr.sv Gary bfin^ pleased wltli the public ap|)reciatioii 
ilild llselhlness of tiie libiaiy, gav^ *,'fll()fl towards a 
permanent endowment. When the new town-hall 
was erected a room was provided for the library by 
an additional gift from Mrs. Cary, as previously 
noticed, where it has remained to the present time. 
By her will she left the 9uu> of '^■oWO for its fur- 
ther endowment, which was received after her death. 
The town lias made generous appropriations annually 
tot its lllalilteilaul't', and it lla? been gradually en- 
larged until it contains between 12,0(10' and J.'^, 000 vol- 
umes, h is hi^dily prized by the people and exten- 
sively used ; more thau 25,0110 volumes havebeen drawn 
from it during the last year. From 500 to 8O0 new books 
are added annually. For the most part the library 
has been carefully selected, and is especially rich in 
Works (if history, biography and travel, and in books 
of reference. It is .sujiplied with a variety of niaga- 
Uines and papers and the tables are occupied by inter- 
I'sted renders, among whom there is a large proportion 
of youHg people and piipils of the pilblic nchools. 
The influence going out from Cary Library into every 
portion of the town is most encouraging and helpful. 
No institution among us is more popular, and none is 
more cheerfully supported. A branch library is 
maintained in the east village, where a room is open 
for drawing and returning books through an assist- 
ant librarian. It is also .supplied with magazines and 
papers. V>y this means the liltrary is made available 
to a much larger class of people and a comfortable 
reading-room provided for their leisure hours. A 
special appropriation is made annually for the sup- 
port of the branch. 

In 18S7 a propo.sal was made to the town by Col. 
William A. Tower to erect a building for the library, 
costing from forty to fifty thousand dollars, on condi- 
tion that a site should be provided by the town for 
that purpose. In his letter addressed to the select- 
men announcing this generous gift, he named a loca- 
tion at the southeast corner of Main and Clark 
Streets as the one he desired, if it could be procured 
at a reasonable price. A town-meeting was called, 
and it was unanimou.-ily resolved to accept the pro])o- 
sition of Colonel Tower, and the sum of $12,000 
voted to purchase the site. A committee w:us also 
chosen to co-operate with film in procuring the site 
and erOcting the building. After the passage of these 
votes, a letter was read from Miss .Mice I?. Cary, 
offering, on behalf of the heirs of the Cary estate, to 
give SlO.tlOO towards the purchase of a site that 
should be acceptable to Colonel Tower. This gener- 



ous proposal was received with great enthusiasm, and 

the thanks of the town voted to Colonel Tower afMl 
the heirs of the Cary estate for their munificen! pro'-- 
ptfsala. Ijong and complicated negotiations n«*>' 
followed foT ihe loeation named by Colonel Tower — 
the owners of tlje property holding it at a price that 
seemed unreasonable and e.'torbitant, ,\ committee 
appointed by the town to make «ome changes in the 
organization of the Board of Trustees in the njeaii- 
time appealed to the Legislature for an act »f incor^ 
poration for the library and the privilege of taking 
the site tinder the right of eminent domain. Th«- 
act was granted. This produced new and greater 
complications, and awakened strenuous opposition in 
the town to the act itself Before th'; conditions 
named by Colonel Tower were complied with th<? 
time had expired to which his proposal was limited- 
He renewed it, making it a condition, howcrer, 
that the act of incorporation should be accepted by 
the town. It was so accepted by a majority of nearly 
fifty votes. Finally an appeal to the Su]ireme ('<iurt, 
involving the constitutionality of the act, was made, 
and the decision just rendered pronounces ii a viola- 
tion of the original compact with Mrs. (."ary, and, 
hence, unconstitutional. Thus an unfortunate di- 
vision of o[iinion has deferred the erection of ail 
elegant and substantial building (or the library, and 
not unlikely lost it altogether. It is much t<i be re- 
gretted from every point of view. 



CHAPTER XL VI I. 

LEXINGTOX—i Contivwd.) 

ECCLEPIA.STICAL AFF.VIR.'^ CIIITHC 11 KS, SINDAY- 

srHOOL.S AND BENEVOLENT ORCANIZATIONS. 

The early history of the first church and its meet- 
ing-houses has been given in connection with the 
early history of the town, when ecclesiastical and 
municipal afliiirs were under the same government. 
,\s already stated, the first pa.storate, that of Rev. 
neiijamiu I'>tabrook, was a brief one, ending witli 
his death, in July, 1607, less than one year alter his 
ordination, though he had preached here for five 
years previous to his settlement. The ordination of 
.lohn Hancock, as the second minister, took place on 
November 2, 1G9S, and he continued to be the pastor 
of the church until his death, December 5, 1752, a 
period, including the time that he preached here 
before ordination, of fifty-five years. In 17154 his son, 
Kbenezer Hancock, wits ordained as his colleague, 
and continued to be his father's assistant until his 
death, in January, 1739. After the death of Rev. 
John Hancock, in 1752, an interregnum of three 
years occurred, during which various persons were 
heard as candidates, including Rev. Timothy .Minot, 



624 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



of ('oncord; Rev. Mr. Stearns, of Billerica; Rev. 
Aaron Putniiin, who was invitcil lo settle over the 
parish, Imt declini'il, and Rev. Jonas Clarke, of New- 
ton, upon whom the town and church finally united 
by a vote of seventy to three, after a day of fasting 
and prayer. He was ordained on the 5th of Novem- 
ber, 1755, and remained in active service until his 
death, November 15, 1805, thus entering upon the 
tifty-first year of his ministry. The fir.st four pastors 
of the parish, therefore, were ordained to the min- 
istry here and died in the service of the parish. 
Their mortal remains rest in the old cemetery witji 
those of the people to whom they ministered. The 
tomb of Rev. ISenjamin Kstabrook is one of the old- 
est in the burial-ground, bearing the date of U1SI7, 
though no doubt there are many unmarked graves 
much older, since the place was used for burial pur- 
poses from the early settlement of the town. The 
other pastors have a common tomb, that of the Hnn- 
cock-Clarke families, sealed u|) since 1S44, when the 
body of the last of Mr. Clarke's children living here 
was placed in it. 

After the close of the long pastorate of Rev. Mr. 
Clarke, the parish again gave two years to the hear- 
ing of candidates before another minister was settled. 
In iMay, 1H07, a call was given to Rev. Henry Cole- 
man, which he declined. Finally, after another trial 
of candidates, the church and congregation united in 
calling Rev. Avery Williams by a unanimous vote. 
He accepted, and was ordained as the tifth pastor on 
December 30, 1807, at a salary of $600, with lifteen 
cords of wood annually, to be delivered at his door, and 
a settlement of $1000. He was to be the minister of 
the parish for the remainder of his life. His predeces- 
sors had all been settled on the same condition, which 
was, indeed, the universal custom in the early history 
of New England. So, likewise, was the custom of 
giving a sum in addition to the salary, called "a set- 
tlement." 

It is interesting to notice the charges made on the 
town records for Mr. Williams' ordination. Evi- 
dently it was quite an elaborate and hilarious affair. 
At this time there were as many as eleven taverns 
and stores licensed for tlie sale of spirituous liquors 
within the town, and they received agenero\is patron- 
age, especially on such an occasion as the ordination 
of a new minister. First, the council met and rigidly 
examined the candidate. After he had shown his 
proficiency in the profound and difficult questions of 
theology, and that he had passed through a true re- 
ligious experience and possessed a sound Christian 
character, the servicer of ordination were performed. 
Then ministers, deacons and messengers, with the 
most prominent members of the church and parish, 
repaired to the tavern of Amos Muzzy, Jr., where 
sumptuous provision was made for their entertain- 
ment. What this consisted of we are unable to tell, 
since only the aggregate charge of $139.78 appears 
upon the records for the council dinner. The sum of 



$8 wiis paid " for spirits and luncheon for the singers," 
and " four mugs of toddy furnished the men who 
propped the meeting-house galleries for the ordina- 
tion, and four mugs of toddy when letting the bell to 
be rung; "at the same time six mugs are provided 
for the selectmen when letting out the town's poor. 
It is not surprising, therefore, that three constables 
were required to keej) order at the ordination, who 
were paid five dollars for their services, and that 
the meeting-house had to be cleaned at an additional 
expense after the ordination was over. A charge of 
$2.33 for new strings for the bass viol, and $14.75 for 
"moreen" for the pulpit windows completes the list 
of ordination exjietises in the First Parish eighty years 
ago, when Rev. IMr. Williams was consecrated tor his 
work. Surely, there has been a great advance in 
public sentiment and social custom since that time, ! 
when, on the most solemn occasion and for the most 
trifling work, spirituous liquors were reijuired, that 
all things might be done properly. Mr. Williams' 
ministry appears to have been a harmonious and 
[irosperous one. He was evidently a preacher of 
more than average ability, and very acceptable to his 
people. During his ministry increased attention was 
given to church-music, and a singing-school was 
maintained at the expense of the town for many 
years. In 1800 a sum of money was voted to supply 
"firewood and candles, to encourage the singers in 
keeping a school, in case they will engage to sit to- 
gether in the meeting-house after they have learnt." 
And afterwards we find frequent charges for the re- 
pair of musical instruments and for keeping up mu- 
sical instruction, showing that this ])art of public 
worship was much encouraged by the |)euple. 

Rev. Mr. Williams published two discourses in 1S13 
on the centennial of the incorporation o£ Lexington. 
They contain much valuable information regarding the 
early history of the settlement and the customs of the 
people. He gathered up many interesting facts 
which otherwii-e would have been forgotten, and he 
deserves grateful remembrance for the service thu.s 
rendered to historic knowledge. His health seems to 
have been feeble, aud frequently he was unable to 
perform the duties of his office. On this account, 
probably, there was increasing uneasiness and dissat- 
isfaction in the parish. Unt, being settled for life, 
the connection could not be easily dissolved. Finally, 
in August, 1815, the town voted to ])ay him $G15 to I 
withdraw and bring the relation to an end. He con- 
sented, anil, after a ministry of eight years, an ami- 
cable separation took place, and the parish again 
entered upon the experience of hearing new candi- 
dates for settlement. 

The people appear to have been more diflicnlt to 
please than ever, and not until February, 1819, could 
they unite on a new minister, when Rev. Charles 
Briggs was chosen by nearly a unanimous vote, and 
ordained in April following as the sixth minister of 
Lexington. Jlr. Briggs was in feeble health much of 



LEXINGTON. 



025 



the time during his pastorate, and was occasionally 
oliliged to give up his duties and travel for its im- 
provement, but he continued in charge of the parish 
for sixteen years, when he asked to be dismissed. 
His request was granted, and in July, 1S35, his re- 
lation with the parish came to an end. He had a 
peaceful and prosperous ministry. He gave much 
attention to the public schools, and was deeply inter- 
ested in the welfare of the young, gathering a valuable 
library for their use. The Sunday-school was organ- 
ized by him about the year 1830, but the precise date 
it is impossible to establish. 

He appears to have been highly respected and es- 
teemed by the town, and entrusted with important 
otiices. The parish had been gradually changing its 
theological basis for some time before the settlement 
of Mr. Briggs, and during his ministry appears to have 
become distinctively Unitarian in faith and alhlia- 
tion, though there is no record of any action to that 
effect. The old covenant was never formally dis- 
owned, but its use seems to have been silently aljan- 
doned. Rev. Jonas Clarke was probably what was 
called a " moderate Calvinist," though his daughter 
"Betty" often asserted that he was an Armiuian, the 
name given to those of the old Congregational order 
who held advanced opiniims regarding the extent of 
the atonement. 

Rev. .Vvery Williams was evidently more conserva- 
tive in his views ; but after his dismissal from the 
ministry here the parish gave invitations to two can- 
didates who held liberal oi)inions in theology, and 
after they declined, settled Rev. Jlr. Briggs, which 
indicates that the parish had become decidedly lib- 
eral in faith. There is no evidence on the cluirch 
records of any dissent from this position. It appears 
to have been accepted by all the people. 

A year pas.sed away before the next minister was 
chosen, — Rev. William Gray Swett, who was ordained 
July 13, 1S3G, as the seventh minister of Lexington. 
Up to this time there had been no separation between 
the town and parish, but they were one and the 
same. Mr. Swett was chosen to be the minister at a 
regular town-meeting, and his salary fixed at $700 
per annum. Xo mention is made of a sum for a set- 
tlement. He continued in the pastorate but two 
years, when, at his own request, he was dismissed and 
afterwards settled in Lynn, where he died in 1843. 
Mr. Swelt was a warm-hearted, genial man, but of a 
somewhat eccentric character. He was apparently 
devoted to his work and made many friends in the 
l)arish, by whom he is |)leiisantl3' renicmbered. After 
the termination of Mr. Swett's ministry the parish 
continued without a settled pastor for six years, in 
the mean time engaging a temporary supply for the 
pulpit for a longer or shorter period. Among those 
employed were Rev. George M. Rice, Rev. William 
Knapp and Rev. S. B. CAift. Other religious so- 
cieties had been formed in the town and they claimed 
that there should be a division of the ministerial 
4(1 



fund. The members of these societies retained their 
connection with the First Parish as voters and sought 
to compel a distribution of it. A long and bitter 
controver.sy followed, producing much alienation be- 
tween families and friends, and preventing the settle- 
ment of a minister. This unfortunate division and 
strife entered into town affairs and caused great 
trouble and confusion. l'"'inally, through the patient 
and kindly offices of Rev. Samuel J. May, who was 
employed as the minister for a few months, a settle- 
ment of these difficulties was arranged by a division 
of the income of the funil among the existing churches, 
to be made annuall)'. .Ml parties assented to this ar- 
rangement, and the town gave Jlr. May a vote of 
thanks for the service he had rendered, and recom- 
pensed him for the time and trouble which the settle- 
ment had caused him. In 1845 the parish was sepa- 
rated from the town and placed under an organiza- 
tion of its own, and all similar complications prevented 
for the future. Rev. Jason Whitman, of Portland, 
Me., was unanimously invited to settle over the par- 
ish at a salary of $'JUO, and the old meeting-house, 
which had long been in a dilapidated condition, was 
reconstructed at heavy expense and made pleasant 
and comfortable. Mr. Whitman accepted the invita- 
tion and was installed as the eighth minister on .luly 
30, 1845. Unfortunately the destruction of the meet- 
ing-house by fire on the night before it was to be re- 
dedicated, December 17, 1S4(), involved the parish in 
new strife and led to long and vexatious suits to de- 
termine where the |)ecuniary responsibility belonged. 
Years passed away before these nuittcrs were finally 
settled. 

Rev. Mr. Whitnum entered upon his ministry under 
favorable auspices. The peoi)le were united in him. 
He was an able and interesting preacher and he gave 
himself to his work with hearty devotion. He was 
deeply interested in the cause of temperance and 
anti-slavery, and firm and fearless in their advocacy. 
The iirosi>ect of a long and useful ministry opened 
invitingly before him, and the church seemed to be 
entering upon a period of substantial prosperity. 
But in January, 1848, before completing the third 
year of his pastorate, he was suddenly removed by 
death, to the great disappointment and grief of his 
people. Mr. Whitman was the author of several bio- 
graphical and controversial works, besides a volume 
of sermons and many addres.ses and magazine articles 
which he published. The new meeting-house, erected 
after the destruction of the previous one, was com- 
pleted and dedicated soon after his death. 

Following the ministry of Mr. Whitman came that 
of Rev. Fiskc llarrett, who was ordained as the ninth 
pastor in September, 1849, but continued only about 
three years, when he resigned and left. Two years 
later, September, 1854, Rev. N. A. Staples was or- 
dained as his successor — the tenth minister of the 
parish. He entered upon his duties with much en- 
thusiasm aTul devotion. The people were heartily 



62fi 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



united in bis support, and his ministry, of a little 
more than two years, appears to have been prosper- 
ous and peaceful. In November, 1856, he resigned 
to accept an invitation to the pastorate of the Thiitar- 
ian Church in Jlihvaukee. Here he remained until 
the beginning of the War of the Rebellion, wlu-n he 
wascliosen chaplain of the Sixth Wisconsin Regiment, 
Col. Lysander Culler's, and entered the service in 
the Army of the Potouiiic. The severe exposure of 
the field brought on a long sickness, which compelled 
him to withdraw from the army. He resumed his 
profe.ssion, and was settled over the Second Unitarian 
Society in Brooklyn, N. Y. But his health was never 
restored, and after a few months he was utterly pros- 
trated and died February 5, 1864. 

Rev. lyconard J. Livermore succeeded Mr. Staples, 
and was installed in October, 1857. During his 
ministry of nine years he was active and self-.sacri- 
ficing in his work. He succeeded in paying otf a 
heavy indebtedness which had hung over the parish 
like a mill-stone from the losses incurred in the burn- 
ing of the old church. He labored earnestly for the 
prosperity of the public schools, and, during the 
war, for the aid of the soldiers in the field and the 
sick and wounded in the hospitals. A man of fine 
scholarly tastes, and gentle, loving spirit. In Sep- 
tember, 1866, he resigned the pastorate and closed 
his connection with the parish at the beginning of 
the new year. Subsequently, Mr. Livermore was 
settled over the Unitarian Church in Danvers, where 
he remained for nearly twenty years, greatly beloved 
by his people. He died in Cambridge, after a long 
illness, in June, 1886. 

Mr. Livermore was succeeded by Rev. Henry West- 
cott, who was installed .Tune 26, 1867, the twelfth 
minister of the parish. During Mr. Westcott's min- 
istry a siiacions and ])leasant chapel was added to 
the meeting-house, containing Sunday-school and 
library room, and a large parish parlor, for the ac- 
commodation of the sewing society and for other 
uses. In the basement a supper-room and kitchen were 
constructed for social occasions, and all arrangements 
made for llie purposes of a working religious society. 
Mr. Westcott labored faithfully for the prosperity of 
the Sunday-school anil the church. He was deeply 
interested in the organization of Gary Library, and 
was one of the committee appointed by the town to 
take the necessary steps for establishing and open- 
ing it to the jiublic. During the fourteen years of 
his ministry he acted as one of the trustees, and de- 
voted much time to the selection of books and the 
management of its affairs. To him and to Rev. Mr. 
Porter the town is deeply indebted for this valuable 
library. In June, 1S81, Mr. Westcott resigned his 
])astorate, and shortly afterwards was insl:illcd as 
pastor of the Unitarian Church in Melrose. His 
pastorate there was a peaceful and prosperous one, 
but was suddenly terminated by his death July 14, 
1883. His loss was sincerely mourned by his people, 



who had become warmly attached to him in his 
brief ministry. 

The present pastor, Rev. C. A. Staples, was installed 
Odober 31, 1881. During his ministry the meeting- 
house has been remodeled, newly carpeted and 
painted, the orgiin reconstructed, new furnaces put 
in and stone steps in front to replace wooden ones, 
at a total cost of more than $5000. The meeting- 
house is now in thorough repair, and is a substantial 
and pleasant edifice. There are connected with the 
parish about 110 families, and the services of wor- 
ship are fairly well attended. The Sunday-school 
contains twelve classes, numbering one hundred and 
twenty-six scholars, including a primary-class of eigh- 
teen, and two classes of young men and women. 
There is a temperance society connected with it of 
fifty-eight members, holding meetings once a mouth, 
and a Christian Union of young people for religious 
improvement and charitable work. The Ladies' Sew- 
ing Society has from twenty to thirty members en- 
gaged in working for destitute families and for chil- 
dren at home and .abroad. The Lend-a-Hand Society 
of young ladies is engaged in work for hospitals and 
benevolent societies. There is also a Women's 
Branch of the Unitarian Auxiliary Society, number- 
ing about thirty members, holding meetings monthly 
for mutual religious improvement and the collection 
of funds for missionary work. The young people's 
societies have supported a student in the Tuskegee, 
Ala., Normal School for three years, and have con- 
tributed to support an Indian school in Montana 
among the Crow Indians. 

Such is the history, the present condition and 
work of the old First Parish of Lexington. Its 
present meeting-house, erected in 1847, is the fourth 
built since the organization of the parisli in 16i12. 
The audience-room contains two large tablets, one 
on either side of the pulpit, inscribed with appro- 
priate passages of Scripture expressing the faith, hope 
and love of the Christian church. These were pre- 
sented by the late Mrs. Maria Gary. It has also 
a beautiful marble font presented by Mrs. Margaret 
Hayes in memory of her husband, Hon. Francis 
R. Hayes, a member of the parish, who died in 
September, 1884. The old pulpit Bible, pre- 
sented by (lovernor John Hancock, in 1793, is 
still carefully preserved, though no longer in use. 
There are a large number of communion vessels be- 
longing to the church, the gifts of deceased members 
through the nearly two centuries of its existence. A 
portion of these was given to the church in East 
Lexington, an offshoot of the First Parish, and are 
now in possession of Follen Church in that village. 
They are simple memorials of men and women to 
whom the church was dear while they lived, and who 
left these tokens of their love and reverence for it 
after they had gone to the church above. 

The Baptist Ghurch was the earliest organized 
in the town after the First Par'sh. There appear to 



LEXINGTON. 



627 



have been some people of this persuasion liere for 
lifty years before the formation of a churc-li. They 
were connected witli tiie Uaptist Church in t'am- 
l)riflge, and attended worship there. In 17S7 Thomas 
(ireenwas the pastor. These people refused to ]iay 
a ministerial tax in Lexington, as aj^peara from the 
town records, but it seems to have been exacted of 
them by the authorities. Probably this was after a 
law had been passed exempting those persons from 
the ministerial tax who broui^ht certificates of their 
connection with some church other than that of the 
parish where they were living, and that (hey were 
paying there for the support of the institutions of nv- 
ligion. Such a provision was made for the relief of 
the Baptists, Quakers and other dissenters from '"the 
standitig order." The exaction of the tax by Lexing- 
ton, therefore, was illegal, if the Baptists brought the 
proper certificates. However this may have been, 
the record states that Rev. Jlr. Green made comjilaint 
of the injustice done to his Lexington parishioners, 
and an action was brought against the town to re- 
cover damages. The case was not allowed to come to 
trial ; the authorities, probably, finding themselves 
in the wrong, a settlement was made with the Bap- 
tists in the following year (1788), and they were no 
longer compelled to pay for the support of a church 
in which they did not believe. Services of worship 
were probably held by them occasionally, and the 
rite of baptism by immersion was performed, but 
they were chiefiy connected with the Baptists in 
Cambridge and Waltham up to 1880, when regular 
preaching was commenced in the town. In 188.5 
Rev. T. V. Kopes became the pastor, and in the same 
year a church was organized and a meeting-house 
erected on Main Street, a little south of Vine Brook, 
where, with extensive additions and repairs, it still 
remains. The site for the meeting-house was gen- 
erously given to the society by Benjamin Jfuzzy. In 
183.5 Rev. <). A. Dodge was ordained and settled over 
the church, and under his ministry it was prosperous 
and many additions were made to its numbers. But 
after a ministry of five years he died in Afay, 1845, 
and was succeeded in the following year by Rev. C. 
M. Bowers, who remained in charge until February, 
1846, when he resigned and left. Mr. Bowers is re- 
membered as an ardent temperance advocate, and by 
his advanced opinions on the subject awakened much 
opposition. In the autumn of 1.847 Rev. Ira Leiand 
became the pastor, an<i continued in the service of 
the church for ten years. He was deeply interested 
in the pulilic schools, and gave much attention to 
their welfare as chairman of the School Committee, 
and is remembered in the town as a devoted i)astor 
and a useful citizen. After Mr. Leiand left, in 18.')7, 
the society h.ad no |>ermament pftstor for many years, 
but the pulpit was supplied by various persons, for 
short periods of time, until Rev. Dr. Pryor came to 
live in the town, when he was employed as the 
preacher and pastor, though he was never settled 



over the society. This arrangement continued for 
ten years, when he withdrew, owing to his declining 
health and the lack of success in the work. At this 
time the soifiety had become very much reduced, and 
the idea of selling the meeting-house and abandoning 
the euterpri,sc was seriously considered. Happily, 
through the protestations of one of the members — 
Mrs. Charles Tidd^the proposition was given up 
and the organization preserved tor new growth and 
usefulness. Through Mrs. Tidd's influence. Rev. 
Russell H. Conwell was called to the pastorate, in 
the hope that he would revive the church from its 
languishing condition by his bold and aggressive 
spirit. The hope was speedily realized. He entered 
into his work with great enthusiasm, and his popu- 
lar manners and style of preaching drew in numbers 
of new families and gave the society much additional 
financial strength. He began at once the remodel- 
ing and enlargement of the meeting-house. It was 
completely trjusformed without and within ; a church 
parlor was added, a spire constructed in place of the 
old sijuare tower and a bell procured ; windtiws of 
colored glass were put in, and the handsome and 
comnu)dious audience-room furnished with comforta- 
ble seats, and also a baptistery, making it substantially 
a new building. At the rededication a large congre- 
gation from the town and from sister churches in 
other places assembled to join in the services and ex- 
press their hearty interest in the revival of the so- 
ciety's prosperity. Mr. Conwell's novel methods and 
style of prea(diing attracted large congregations, and 
his pulpit ministrations proved very acceptable to the 
people. In the two years of his ministry he certainly 
wrought a great change in the atiairs and prospects 
of the society. At the end of this time he received a 
call to a Baptist Church in Philadelphia, which was 
accepted, and in that new and larger sphere his suc- 
cess appears to have been e(|Ually extraordinary. The 
church building and the revived prosperity of the so- 
ciety are due to his persistent labors and his execu- 
tive ability — a monument to his zeal in the cause of 
denominational growth and up-building. Succeed- 
ing Mr. Conwell came Rev. Charles L. Rhoades, a 
man of marked ability and of sincere Christian con- 
viction and faith. He toiled earnestly for the pros- 
perity of the church, and made numy devoted friends, 
both within and beyond the bounds of denominational 
lines. But the contrast between him and his prede- 
ces.sor was too great to secure the interest and api)rc- 
ciation of the people; and, after a ministry of about a 
year, he lett to take charge of a church in West .Vc- 
ton. His withdrawal from the church produced 
some alienation and loss of members. 

Rev. Wm. P. Bartlett followed him in a mini.stry 
of a single year, when he left for another field, finding 
it dilhcult to secure co-operation and harmony. 

The present minister is Rev. Leonard B. Hatch, 
who was installed over the church in 1887. The society 
is now enjoying a good degree of harmony and pros- 



628 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



perity. M:iny new families have been added to the 
congregation and new members to the church. A 
valuable organ has been purchased and placed in the 
audience-room beside the pulpit, adding much to the 
attractiveness of the service. An earnest, religious 
spirit pervades the church, and frequent prayer and 
conference meetings are held. A warm and hearty 
social life is also maintained. The number of fami- 
lies represented in the congregation is about seventy. 
There is a flourishing Christian Endeavor Society ol 
sixty-two members connected with the church and a 
Sunday-school of 124 members with eleven teachers. 
The ladies' sewing society is large and active in good 
works. Thus the ministry of Mr. Hatch has been 
peaceful and prosperous. 

The Second Co^'(iKEGATIO!s■AL Society. — The 
village of East Lexington and that portion of the 
town lying soutli and west of it, being remote from the 
First Parish meeting-house, naturally desired a place 
of worship more convenient of access. As early as 
18:!;5 they began to agitate the formation of a society 
in that village, and for this purpose they asked for 
one-half the income of the ministerial fund. The 
town refused to yield it and the demand was made and 
refused many times during the next ten years. Fi- 
nally it was determined to try the experiment of es- 
tablisliing preaching in the east village. A hall was 
engaged for the purpose and a subscription opened to 
pay the expenses for one week. The first sermon was 
preached by Rev. Dr. Charles FoUen, on April 5, 
1835. The subscription was again circulated for 
means to supply another Sunday's preaching and 
again for a third ; at the end of three weeks the people 
were so much encouraged that they made a subscrip- 
tion for six months and voted to employ Dr. Follen 
for that period. In this way the preaching was con- 
tinued for a year, and after that from one year to 
another by a new subscription. Dr. Follen, Ralph 
Waldo Emerson and J. S. Dwight, being the minis- 
ters. In the mean time an organization was formed 
called " The Christian Association," for the mainten- 
ance of religious worship, and in 1839 a meeting- 
house was built costing about $4000. Dr. Follen was 
chosen as their minister and was active in securing 
the means to erect the building and place the society 
ui)on a permanent basis. He was an able and fearless 
preac licr, yet of a mihl and gentle spirit. Driven 
from his native land for his devotion to liberal opin- 
ions in government and religion, he became an earnest 
advocate of the cause of the slave in this country and 
encountered great prejudice and opposition for that 
reason. But the people of East Lexington were 
heartily united in his support, and his influence in 
the village and town was steadily growing. Hefore 
the dedication of the new meeting-house Dr. Follen 
spent a few weeks in New York, where his wife was 
detained by sickness. On the night of January 5, 
1840, while on his way home to attend the dedication, 
he was lost ou the Sound by the burning of the 



steamer " liexington," that fearful disaster in which so 
many helpless people perished. It was a severe blow 
to the young society, by whom he was sincerely be- 
loved. The event cast a deep gloom over the village 
and the town, and indeed over all this portion of the 
State, where many of the lost were well known. It 
was a long time before the society recovered I'rom this 
calamity. No attempt was made to settle another | 
minister during the next three or four years, but ser- 
vices of worship were maintained regularly by ditt'er- 
ent ministers ; among these were Revs. Mr. Hurton, 
Charles Sewell and Samuel J. May, the latter at that 
Jkne principal of the Normal School. After the di- 
vision of the income of the ministerial fund among 
the four churches then existing in the town, "The I 
Christian .\ssociation " organized as the Second (Con- 
gregational Society, and proceeded to settle Rev. 
Thomas H. Dorr as their minister. His installation took 
place on the 2d of July, 1845, and he remained until 
August 1, 1849. Mr. Dorr labored earnestly for the 
prosperity of the society, but it was difficult to raise 
the sum required for current expenses, and he felt 
that his salary was too heavy a burden for the peoi)le, 
us well as an inadequate support for his family. Ac- 
cordingly he resigned and left. In November of the 
same year William F. Bridge was ordained and set- 
tled as his successor, who also left after a ministry of 
two y ears. The pulpit was again supplied by a variety 
of preachers employed from Sunday to Sunday, until 
1855, when Rev. E. P. Crufts became the stated supply. 
In 1860 Rev. Caleb Stetson took charge of the society 
and continued as their minister for three or four 
years, when Rev. William T. Stowe was employed. 

The FiKsT Un'iversalist Society of Lexington 
was organized in the east village in the year 1845 ; 
but worship had been maintained for several years 
before this, and a meeting-house was erected as early 
as 1840. Rev. James M. Usher was the first minister, 
continuing about five years. He was succeeded by 
Revs. C. H. Webster, W. B. Randolph and .1. A. 
Cooledge. The society, finding itditticuk to raise the 
means for maintaining religious worsliip, was oliliged 
to depend on a temporary supply of the puljiit, and 
finally united with the Second Congregational Society 
in the settlement of Rev. Mr. Stowe. A new organ- 
ization wiis formed under the name of " The CliurcJi 
of the Redeemer;'' the Universalist meeting-house 
was sold, extensive repairs were made upon the meet- 
ing-house of the Second Society, and both congrega- 
tions united in worshiping there. These arrange- 
ments were finally consummated by an act of the 
Legislature in 1805, consolidating the societies. 
Under the ministry of Rev. Mr. Stowe the Church 
of the Redeemer was .prosperous, and the attendance 
upon worship largfer than ever before. Jlany new 
families were brought in, and there was a substantial 
increase of financial strength. In 181)9 Rev. Mr. 
Stowe was called to the pastorate of the Unitarian 
Church in New Orleans, and the society reluctantly 



LKXINGTON. 



(129 



accepted his resignation after a ministry of seven 
years. He was succeeded by Rev. W. C Gannett, 
who was employed until 1878, when Rev. E. S. Elder 
was settled, who continued to minister to the society 
with acceptance until 1880. The relation was harmo- 
nious, and Mr. Elder won many friends outside his 
parish, and rendered good service to the public 
schools. He resigned to accept a call to the Unita- 
rian Church in Franklin, X. H. After this the pul- 
pit wa.s supplied by various ministers, among whom 
were Rev. C. J. Staples, of Reading, and Rev. Mr. 
Gr.ay, of .\rlington, who held service in the after- 
noon. In Oct., 1885, W. H. Branigan, a student from 
the Divinity School of Cambridge, was called to the 
])a.storate and ordained on the 14th of that month. 
He remained for two years, and was succeeded by 
Rev. Thomas Thompson, who came from .Vndover, 
N. H., and i,s still in charge. In 1886, by an act of 
the Legislature, the name of the organization was 
changed from the " Church of the Redeemer" to that 
of " Pollen Ciiurch," in grateful remembrance of the 
noble CUiristiau man who was the first minister. May 
it always bear that honored name, and prove by its 
good works and its earnest spirit a worthy monument 
to his memory! 

H.vNcocK Congj>,f,(;ation.\l Church. — This 
church was organized May 20, 18G8, with twenty-four 
members; fourteen families being represented in the 
congregation. The old Academy building was pur- 
chased by the church, remodeled and fitted up a.s a 
place of worship, making a neat and pleasant meet- 
ing-house. Jlr. Edward (i. Porter was employed to 
supply the [Uilpil during the summer. His ministra- 
tions proved so acceptable that in the autumn follow- 
ing he was invited to become the pastor, and on Oct. 
1st was ordained and installed in that ofiice. For the 
first four years the church received some pecuniary 
assistance in defraying the expenses of worship, but 
in the fifth year it became self-supporting. It has 
steadily grown in numbers, in financial strength, and 
in benevolent and missiouary activity. The contri- 
butions of Hancock Church to various denominational 
organizations, outside of its own expenses, have been 
extremely liberal, and up to Jan. 1, 1890, amounted 
to $<)701.t>.'), an average of more than .*.300 per annum 
during the twenty-two years of its existence. The 
memberslii]> now numbers 1G9, and seventy families 
are included in the congregation. The system of 
weekly offerings has been in operation in the church 
for some time, and has proved very successful in 
raising funds for missionary and benevolent work. 
Connected with the church there are three ladies' 
societies engaged in home and foreign missionary 
enterprises. An active and flourishing Society of 
Christian Endeavor is also connected with it, having 
a membershi[) of Ihirty-five. The Sunday-school 
contains sixteen classes, with a niembershii) of 1?,0 
scholars. Many adult members of the congregation 
are connected with it as teachers or scholars. The 



church is now about commencing to build a new- 
meeting-house, having outgrown its present accom- 
modations. A site has been purchased on Monument 
Street, opposite the Common, and a large subscrij)- 
tion made towards the erection of a handsome and 
commodious edifice. The location is a prominent 
and beautiful one. It is designed to build of stone, 
and the structure will undoubtedly be a credit io the 
church and an ornament to the village. Hancock 
Church has been fortunate in retaining the same pas- 
tor through all the years of its history — Rev. E. G. 
Porter. He has faithfully ministered to its people 
now for nearly a quarter of a century, and has been 
the leader in all its enterprises. And not only in the 
work of the church, but also in all matters [pertaining 
to the welfare and progress of the town, the schooLs, 
the Public Library, the Historical Society and other 
organizations for the improvement of society. In 
many ways be has proved a patriotic and valuable 
citizen. His relations with Hancock Church have 
been harmonious and his ministry successful. 

Church of our Redkemek. — The last of the 
Lexington churches to be organized was the Episco- 
pal. There had been families of this faith in the 
town for some years before religious services were 
held. They worshipped with the other churches, or 
with the Episcopal Church in Arlington. But at 
length, after several accessions to their numbers from 
new tamilies moving into town, it was thought advis- 
able to begin services of worship. Accordingly the 
Town Hall was opened for that purpose, and the first 
service held there on April 8, 1883. The meetings 
were continued in the same place for a i'fv/ Sundays, 
when, feeling much encouraged by their .succes.s, the 
congregation hired a hall on Main Street, near Vine 
Brook, and fitted it up for their use. After two years 
it was resolved to erect a house of worship ; a lot was 
purchased at the corner of Merriam and Oakland 
Streets, and work commenced on the foundation in 
November, 1885. The building, a neat and attractive 
edifice handsomely furnished, was completed the fol- 
lowing summer, and the first service held in it on the 
24th of June, 1886. The cost of the building was 
about $5000, including the site, and was paid for in 
full by the generous contributions of thi' people and 
their friends. It was formally dedicated by Bishop 
Paddock, .lune 16, 1887. The building is of wood, an<l 
has a seating capacity of about 150. The fii-st organ- 
ization as an Independent Mission was ett'ected in 
April, 1884. Subsequently the members of the con- 
gregation organized as a corporation according to the 
laws of the state under the name of the " Parish of 
the Church of our Redeemer." This was efl'ected on. 
October 15, 188.5, and the following officers were elect- 
ed, viz. : Senior Warden, Robert M. Lawrence ; 
Junior Warden, Albert Grifiiths; Clerk, Alexander 
S. Clarke; Treasurer, George S. .Tackson. The Rev. 
Wilford L. Robbins was ordained and installed as the 
first rector June 22, 1884. He remaineil in office 



C30 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



above three years, and resigned November 27, 1887, to 
accept an invitation to become the dean of the Epis- 
copal Cathedral at Albany, N. Y. Mr. Bobbins la- 
bored earnestly to build up the church, and was 
regarded as a man of rare gifts as a preacher and of 
fine culture. 

The Rev. Gustavus G. Nieolls succeeded Mr. Rob- 
bins, and remained in charge until April 1, 1889, when 
he left. Since that time the church has been without a 
pastor but services of worship are maintained regu- 
larly, the pulpit being supjilied from Sunday to Sunday 
by young men fnim the Episcopal Divinity School in 
Cambridge. Various organizations for charitable and 
social purposes are connected with the church, iind a 
Sunday-school is maintained. The congregation is 
coivsiderably enlarged during the summer and autumn 
months by transient residents in the town, many of 
whom are of that faith. 

The Roman Catholic Church. — The preaching 
of this faith appears to have been established in Lex- 
ington nearly twenty-five years ago, or about 1865. 
At first, services were held in private houses, by 
Father John Qualey, now of Woburn. The move- 
ment was organized as a mission annexed to the 
church in v^rlington, and ministered to by the priest 
of that parish. When the Universalist meeting-house 
in East Lexington was sold, it was purchased for the 
use of the mission and worship was held there until 
the erection of a church building at the central vil 
lage in 1876. The mission steadily grew in numbers 
and activity under successive priests, among whom 
was Fr. Harkins, now Bishop of Rhode Island, who 
was greatly respected and beloved by the people, — 
and Fr. Sheehan, his successor. In 1886 the mission 
was detached from the Arlington Parish and organ- 
ized as a church under Fr. P. Kavanaugh, who was 
ordained and placed in charge that year, and who 
still ministers to this people. At the same time a 
mission in Bedford was organized and attached to the 
Lexington Parish, to which Fr. Kavanaugh, also min- 
isters, holding services in both places each Sunday. 
The church edifice in Lexington is a large wooden 
structure, of Gothic architecture, substantially built, 
in the basement of which the services have been held 
The audience-room above is now being finished and 
will be spacious and handsome, with a seating capac- 
ity of 700. The church building occupies a pleasant 
and prominent site on .Monument Street, alittle west ol 
the Common, and has large grounds around it. Near 
it is a parsonage erected in 1885, and occupied by Fr. 
Kavanaugh. The church numbers about 160 families, 
and the congregation is undoubtedly the largest 
and the most regular in attendance of any in town. 
A temperance .society is connected with it which 
holds its meetings on the first Sunday evening of 
each month. The church has been very active in 
various enterprises to raise money for the completion 
of its meeting-house, and its people have been most 
generous and successful in their eflbrts. They cherish 



the expectation of being .soon rewarded with an at- 
tractive and commodious place of worship. 



CHAPTER XLVIIL 



LEXINGTON— (Conlirme.d). 



MIsrKIJ.ANlCOUS. 

iNDtTSTRiES. — Lexington has always been chiefly 
engaged in agriculture. At the beginning it was 
known as The Farms, and it has remained almost ex- 
clusively a community of farmers until within the 
last twenty years, during which time a considerable 
addition has been made to the population of people 
engaged in business in Boston and other cities, who 
now make it their home. The products of the farms 
are chiefly hay, vegetables, fruit and milk. In the 
production of milk it stands among the highest, if 
not the highest in the United States, as shown by the 
census of 1880, when it reached a total of 721,000 
gallons. A large quantity is sent from the railroad 
station in the central village to Boston. Some of 
this, however, is gathered in from the adjoining 
towns. But the number of men and teams engaged 
in collecting milk from the farms and retailing it to 
customers in Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Woburn, 
Newton and Waltham, is very large. Indeed, it may 
be said to be the most prominent industry of tlie 
town. On some of the farnls there are from twenty- 
five to fifty cows, kept for making milk. The exten- 
sive production of milk, of course, causes a large 
consumption of hay and grain, and much of this is 
brought into the town from other States. It is a 
branch of farming which continually enriches and 
improves the land, preparing it to yield more abund- 
ant crops of hay and vegetables. Considerable 
quantities of fertilizer are used, and the manure 
wagons are running half the year bringing the pro- 
duct of the city stables to increase the fertility of the 
fields. Lexington farms, on the whole, are well 
tilled, and rank among the most productive in I\Iid- 
dlesex County. What profit is received from this 
industry in our town it is impossible to say. Few 
farmers keep accounts of recei]its and expenditures 
in a manner which makes it easy to form any esti- 
mate of the balance. But it is not difticult to see 
that the profit is small and uncertain. The higher 
wages paid farm laborers, the large increase of taxes, 
the severe competition with the farms of the West 
and the vegetable gardens of the South, bear hard 
on the farmers of New England and reduce their 
profii-s to the minimum. Yet it is evident that the 
farmers are living in better style than ever before ; 
their dwellings are more comfortable, their stock is 
better housed and cared for, their tools and vehicles 



LEXINGTON. 



()?,l 



are more costly and convenient, their fields more 
productive and their life more enjoyable than that 
of the farmers of a hundred or even tifty years ago. 
This is especially true in the vicinity of cities and 
large towns. They may not be growing rich as rap- 
idly .as some others, but their condition is certainly 
improving, and their life probably has in it as much 
freedom and happiness as that of any class in the 
country. 

There has never been much manufacturing in 
Lexington. No doubt this is due to the fact that it 
lias very little water-power; none, indeed, that is 
permanent and reliable. In the early history of the 
town we find that s.aw-niills and grist-mills were 
built on Vine Brook and Muuroe Brook, and for a 
long time were maintained there. A saw-mill was 
erected near East Lexington as early as 1050, proba- 
bly by Edward Winship, who owned large tracts of 
land in that vicinitj-, a portion of which is still 
owned and occupied by his descendants. It must 
have lieen one of the earlrest saw-mills erected in 
this part of the country. The privilege wa-s occu- 
pied by a mill or a shop of some kind until quite re- 
cently, when the construction of the Arlington water- 
works rendered it no longer available. Other mills 
for simple mechanical work have been built in va- 
rious parts of the town. Near the Burlington line, 
on Vine Brook, is a privilege used for a long period 
to run a grist and saw-mill ; but all these have been 
abandoned, and now there is no mill in Lexington of 
any kind run by water-power. In the east village 
formerly an extensive business was carried on in the 
dressing of furs. Jlr. Ambrose ilorrill was engaged 
in it for about forty years, employing many people, 
and Mr. -Eli Robbins carried on the same business for 
a time. The tanning of leather on a small scale was 
likewise established in that village, but was long 
since given up. None of these industries now remain 
in the town. 

The principal manufacturing establishment in 
Lexington now is that of Mr. Matthew H. Merrram 
for making strip or ribbon trimmings. His manu- 
factory is on Oakland Street, a one-story building, 
200 feet in length, erected in 1882. The business 
was originally established in ("harlestown in 1857, 
where it was conducted for more than twenty five 
years under the firm style of Merriam & Norton. 
After the death of Mr. Norton, in 1880, Mr. Merriam 
purchased his interest, and, erecting a convenient 
building for the purpose, removed the business to 
Lexington, which had previously been his home for 
some twelve years or more. The articles made at this 
estiiblishment embrace a great variety of goods 
adapted for use in the manufacture of boots and shoes 
and articles of clothing, and are auxiliary to many 
other industries. They are made from fancy leather, 
morocco and textile fabrics of various kin<ls. The 
establishment is raid to be the largest and best 
equipped of its kind in the country. Its goods find a 



ready market not only throughout the United States, 
but also in foreign countries. The warehouse for the 
sale and distribution of the.se goods is located on 
High Street, Boston. From thirty to thirty-five 
hantls are employed in this establishment at the 
present time. About half a million square feet of 
fine leather and morocco, and two hundred thousand 
yards of cotton cloth, including enameleil cloth, sile- 
sia and fine cambric, are used in this manufactory an- 
nually, producing about eighteen million yards of 
goods. Mr. Merriam has associated with him in the 
management of the business his two sons, N. H. and 
E. P. Merriam. The work in the factory is light and 
pleasant, and many women and girls are employed 
who make excellent wages after learning to do it. 

The Lexington Gear Works, belonging to Mr. 
(leorge B. Grant, have been recently established in a 
building on Fletcher Street, erected for the purpose. 
This establishment manufactures all kinds of iron 
and brass gearing, from that having a diameter of an 
inch to that of si.x feet. The business requires a 
large amount of costly machinery and the best skilled 
labor. Mr. Grant is an educated and practical me- 
chanic, and has built up an extensive business in 
Boston, where his works were originally established, 
and where the larger portion of them still remain. 
The plant in Lexington is now doing well, and he is 
receiving constant orders from many other dejiart- 
ments of machinery business. He makes it a spe- 
cialty, and the manufacture of gears is brought to a 
high 3?ate of perfection. It is designed to gradually 
enlarge the business by adding a foundry for the cast- 
ings and other branches to make it more complete. 
It bids fair to bring considerable business to the town 
and add many skillful mechanics to the population. 

The Lexington Grain-Mill of Mr. B.C. Wliilcher is 
located near the central railroad station, and does a 
large business in preparing all kinds of grain and 
feed for market. This business has been cstalilished 
for several years, and has been steadily enlarged un- 
til an extensive trade has been built up in supplying 
the surrounding country. A steam mill was erected 
a few years since, and large quantities of grain are 
ground and retailed to the farmers of this and the .ad- 
joining towns. 

Near the grain-mill is the lumber-yard of .Air. 
George E. Muzzy, where all kinds of lumber and 
building material are kept on sale. This business has 
been steadily growing, until it has become quite ex- 
tensive and prosperous. It has .stimulated building 
enterprises in the town, bringing the frames of houses 
and barns directly from the mills of Maine ami New 
Hampshire, and rendering their erection more expe- 
ditious and economical. A large amount of building 
has been done in Lexington during the last few years, 
and Mr. Muzzy has been prompt and earnest in meet- 
ing the wants of builders. The outlook for continued 
and enlarging prosperity in his business appears most 
encouraging. He has recently as-sociated with him as 



G32 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



a special partner Mr. J. W. Skillings, of Winchester, 
a man long engaged in the lumber trade, and bring- 
ing to the business valuable experience. 

In the central village of Lexington there are three 
retail grocery-stores, two dry -goods and notion-stores, 
two tin and sheet-iron .-hops united with a general 
))lumbing business, one dealing in furnaces and 
stoves, two meat-shops, also running peddling carts, 
one harness and hardware-store, one boot and shoe 
store, with a newsdealer's department, and one drug- 
store, two wheelwright-sliojis and two blacksmith- 
shops. These comprise the chief business establish- 
ments of the place. In East Lexington there arc two 
retail stores, two blacksmith-shops, a meat market 
and a post-office. In the east village there is a pop- 
ulation of several hundred. They are engaged in 
gathering up and retailing milk, in raising vegetables 
and fruits for the city markets, in the cultivation of 
plants and Mowers, and in such industries as have 
been already mentioned. Several of the neighboring 
farms and residences are the country-seats of men do- 
ing business in Boston. The diversified and pic- 
turesque scenery of this section of the town makes it 
desirable for summer homes or for permanent resi- 
dences. 

The Hotels of Lexington. — Three-fourths of a 
century ago, when the travel was by stage-coaches and 
all transportation of freight by teams, the taverns of 
this town were numerous and well patronized. The 
])rincipal thoroughfares were liberally planted with 
them, and elderly people call to mind no less than 
twelve, where good cheer was provided for man and 
beast. In all these, of course, spirituous liquors were 
sold, and also at the grocery-stores, numbering five or 
six. But the old taverns were obliged to pull down 
their signs and close their doors soon after the whistle 
of the locomotive was heard in our land. 

Lexington now has but four places of public enter- 
tainment, viz. : the Willard House, in East Lexing- 
ton, and the Russell House, the Massachusetts House 
and the Jlonument House in the centre village. 
Three of these, — the Willard, the Russell and the Mas- 
sachusetts House — are chiefly patronized by summer 
visitors, of whom there are considerable numbers dur- 
ing the season. They are well kept, and families from 
the city often come here for a quiet country home 
iiiany years in succession. People in feeble health, 
or exhausted by over-work, find the atmosphere pure 
and l)racing, and a residence of a few weeks often 
proves wonderfully invigorating. To sickly children 
especially the Lexington air and life is stimulating 
and healthful. Thus the hotels are generally well 
patronized, and are sometimes filled to overflowing 
with guests. The Massachusetts House receives that 
name from the fact that it is the idendcal building 
erected by the Slate at Philadoliihia for the accom- 
modation of its officials and i>eople at the Centennial. 
It was purchased of the State by Mr. Muzzy, taken 
down and brought to this place, where it was re- 



erected and fitted up as a hotel. It remains, however, 
very much as it was originally, both without and 
within, and with an adjoining house affords pleasant 
rooms for many guests. If the old taverns have dis- 
appeared, so also have many of the old customs as.so- 
ciated with them. Spirituous liquors are no longer 
sold under the protection of law in Lexington. A 
strong public sentiment is in favor of no license, and 
.at the last municipal election it gave the emphatic 
majority of 200 votes. 

Lexincton SAVixns Bank. — This institution was 
incorporated in 1871. It began in a small way and 
has been steadily gaining in favor among all classes 
of people. The management from the start has been 
of the most economical and conservative character. 
Its officers have served the depositors for the most 
part without compensation. Mr. George W. Robinson, 
the president from the beginning, has devoted much 
time to its affairs and always declined to accept any 
compensation. The treasurer has been paid a small 
salary, but the whole cost of management for 18.S!) 
barely reached iiSSOO, with 785 open accounts and de- 
posits, including the guarantee fund of .$200,000. The 
institution has paid two and one-half per cent, senii- 
annual dividends (or many years, besides steadily 
adding to the guarantee fund. The investments are 
chiefly in mortgages on real estate in this and neigh- 
boring towns. Many of the depositors are laboring 
men and girls at service in families. As a means of 
encouraging habits of industry and forethought, the 
savings bank has had a most salutary influence. In 
this way it has done much in helping laborers to buy 
land and make pleasant homes for themselves. A 
large proportion of the workingmen of the town pos- 
se.'s such homes, and are sober, prosperous; respect- 
able people. The savings bank occupies a room in 
the town building and is open on the afternoons of 
Wednesday and Saturday in each week. 

Water-Works. — Town water is supplied by the 
Lexington Water Company, a private enterprise, in- 
corporated in 1881. About five miles of mains have 
been laid in the streets running through Main Street 
nearly to the Arlington line. The water is taken 
from wells in a meadow at the foot of Concord Hill, 
half a mile southwest of the central village. In addi- 
tion to two large wells dug for the purpose, an arte- 
sian well has recently been drilled to the depth of 185 
feet, of which 175 feet is in solid rock. This has a 
diameter of six inches anil has been tested by forty- 
eight hours' consecutive pumping, which drew a large 
number of gallons per minute without exhausting the 
supply. From these wells the water is pumped into 
a stand-pii)e having a capacity of upwards of 00,000 
gallons, and standing at an elevation of 143 feet above 
the iHimping station, and giving a pressure of sixty 
cubic feet per square inch at the town hall, half a mile 
'distant. The town is supplied with fifty-one hydrants 
for fire purposes under contract with the company, at 
an annual cost of about $1400. The water is taken 



LKXINGTOX. 



iV.Y.i 



by about 250 consumers and 75,000 gallons are sup- 
jilied daily. It has been pronounced by tlie State 
Hoard of Health to be of excellent quality, and stands 
near the top of their list for purity. The supply has 
been largely increased by the artesian well, and is now 
considered ample for the wants of the town for many 
years to come. 

Closely related to a supply "f pure water i.s a sys- 
tem of drainage. At present the drainage of the cen- 
tre village is into Vine and North Brooks ; but this 
is not sufficient or satisfactory. A competent com- 
mittee has been appointed by the town to consider 
the -subject carefully an<l report a system of drainage 
for consideration. This committee have had a 
thorough survey made and have examined different 
methods of disposing of sewage. The plans which 
seem most feasible are two : first, a system of dispos- 
ing of it at some central point by means of purifica- 
tion through chemical agency ; the other to make 
connection with the My.stic Valley sewerage system 
tlirough Arlington. The first cost of the latter plan 
will be heavy, but in the end it may be the cheaper, for, 
when once completed, the annual expense of mainte- 
nance will be light; whereas the former method, 
though not very expensive at first, will require a con- 
siderable annual expenditure. The committee will 
be able soon to report the method, in their judgment, 
best fitted to meet the necessities of the case, and the 
town will he called upon to take final action upon 
this important matter. There is no doubt but an effi- 
cient system will be adopted and put in operation as 
speedily as possible. The subject is one of vital in- 
terest to a large proportion of the inhabitants. 

The Gas Comp.vsy. — This company was incorpor- 
ated in 1874 with a capital of $20,000, taken largely 
by citizens of the town. The gas is made from crude 
jielroleum by the Henlow process. It gives a gas ol 
great brilliancy and of about thirty candle-power 
against eighteen candle-power for coal gas. The 
consumption is small and only about one and a quar- 
ter million feet are manufactured annually. The 
company has laid four miles of mains on the princi- 
pal streets and supplies the Town-Hall, the churches, 
the stores, the hotels, the railroad station and about 
100 families, besides eighty-five street lamps. It ha^ 
not been a financial success thus far, owing to the 
fact that the works were once destroyed by fire, and 
the mains at first laid were of wood, coated with as- 
phaltum, which proved a failure and had to be re- 
placed with iron pipe, causing a considerable addi- 
tional expense. Experiments are now being made to 
manufacture a gas of less candle-power, which can be 
furnished at less cost to the consumer. The cost at 
present appears to be high, but owing to its greater 
illuminating power it is doubtful if the actual cost is 
more than coal-gas affiirding the same amount of 
light. 

The Post-Office. — At first the centre ])ost-office 
was kept in the Merriam house, on the east side of 



the Common, or rather in a small room attached to 
the house and still standing. It remained there and 
in the store of the Merriams for a long i)eriod. The 
house being used as a tavern, and near to the meeting- 
house, made the place convenient for the jieople of 
the town. The post-office was o]>en for an hour at 
noon on Sunday to accommodate jjcople living away 
from the village. Afterwards Mr. John Davis was 
appointed postmaster, and he removed the office to 
his house on Main Street, opposite the railroad sta- 
tion. Here it remained for nearly twenty-five years, 
during which lime Mr. Davis continued in charge. 
After his removal Mr. L. (i. Babcock was a[)pointed 
postmaster and has held the office up to the present 
time, now more than twenty-three years. Mr. Bab- 
cock was a soldier in the War of the Rebellion and 
saw hard service in the Western Army. He was se- 
verely wounded in the battle of Fort Donelson and 
remained all night on the field, his garments frozen 
to the ground in his own blood. His administration 
of the office has been satisfactory to the people, and 
in the political changes of these twenty years there 
ha-s been no disposition to seek his removal. The 
office is now a third-class money-order office, and the 
business is steadily increasing. The number of piecas 
of mail matter received per mouth averages 10,000 
through the year, and the number sent out amounts 
to 12,000 pieces. 

The Lexington Hlstoricai, Society.— This so- 
ciety was organized in March, 188(), for the purpose 
of awakening an interest in local history and pre- 
serving important matter relating thereto in danger 
of being lost and forgotten. It ha-s a membership of 
men and women amounting now to more thau 200. 
Regular meetings are held on the second Tuesday of 
the months of October, December, .lanuary, March 
and April, and special meetings as business may re- 
ijuire, when papers are rea<l by the members on sub- 
jects pertaining to the history of the town, and to 
families belonging to the town, with occasional pai)ers 
of a broader scope. The admission fee is one dollar 
and the annual due fifty cents. The society has pub- 
lished a volume of its proceedings and of papers read 
by some of its members, making a book of 250 pages, 
with pictures of the first school-house of the town, of 
the second and third meeting-house-s, of the old Mun- 
roe tavern, and of the old academy building. The 
papers contain much valuable information concern- 
ing some of the most prominent events and indi- 
viduals connected with Lexington history. The 
large and striking picture of the battle of Lexington 
in the Town-Hall by Henry Sandham, costing S4000, 
Wiis purchased and hung there by the society, the 
money being raised by subscription through the so- 
licitation of the members. Some valu.able relies illus- 
trating the life of our ancestors and the events of our 
history have been given to the society and are care- 
fully preserved; books also and pam|ihlets that relate 
to important matters. The society has held memorial 



634 



HISTOBY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



services annually on the anniversarj' of the battle of 
Lexington, at which the children of the public 
schools were present and lessens of patriotism incul- 
cated. On the hundredth anniversary of Washing- 
ton's visit to Lexington, November T), 1889, the occa- 
sion was observed by a banquet at the Russell House 
with appropriate songs and speeches. It was an 
evening of great interest and was heartily enjoyed by 
a large company. Thus the society has done and is 
doing an important work in stimulating the study of 
local liistory and preserving valuable knowledge and 
memorials of the i)ast that were likely to be left 
behind and forgotten. 

The Field and Garden Club. — This organiza- 
tion was formed for the purpose of improving the ap- 
pearance of the town by cultivating a taste for well- 
kept side-walks, borders, yards and lawns ; planting 
trees along the highways, and taking care of public 
grounds. It has a membership of fifty men and wo- 
men, who pay an annual due for the objects of the 
society — one dollar for gentlemen and fifty cents for 
ladies. The members have accomplished a good deal 
in various directions for village improvement, .secur- 
ing a|>|)ropriations from the town for concrete walks 
and street-crossings ; caring for shade-trees along the 
roads, and inducing people to keep their grounds in 
order. The care of the Common has been given up 
to the club by the town and appropriations made an- 
nually to be expended by them in keeping it in the 
best possible condition. There has been a great 
change for the better in the appearance of the town 
in the last ten years, owing, no doubt, in part to the 
attention which has been called to these matters by 
the Field and Garden Club. The road-sides have 
been improved and much has been done in making 
concrete walks. A public taste has been fostered for 
adorning yards and grounds with flowering plants 
and shrubs, and this taste is constantly increasing, 
making the town more beautiful and attractive. The 
Field and Garden Club has also done a good work by 
contracting with nurseries for ornamental trees at 
wholesale rates and disposing of them to the peojile 
of the town at cost, thus encouraging the planting ol 
trees by everybody. It has also secured favorable ac- 
tion from the town in regard to the location of side- 
walks, so as to leave a border for grass and trees be- 
tween the walk and the road-bed, adding much to the 
beauty of the roads. In these and other ways this 
organization has proved a public benefit. 

There are several social and secret societies in the 
town which appear to be in a fairly prosperous con- 
dition. 

The Hiram Lodge of Ma.sons was formed more 
than a century ago and contained some of the leading 
men of the town. A hall was obtained and fitted up 
for their use in the old Munroe tavern, where their 
meetings were held. Gvving to the death or removal 
of many of the members, the lodge became much 
weakened and was finally transferred to West Cam- 



bridge, (now Arlington), where it is active and flour- 
ishing. Subsequently the Simon W. Robinson 
LoDiJE of Masons was organized here and now num- 
bers about sixty members. It a|)pears to be well sus- 
tained and is the means of much usefulness in the 
community. 

The Ancient Order of United Workmen, In- 
dependence Lodge, No. 45, was chartered in Septem- 
ber, 1882. This organization has a hall where the 
meetings are held, in Norris Block, and numbers 
forty-one members. 

The Lexinhton Young Men's Caiholic Ly- 
ceum has been recently formed for intellectual and 
moral improvement. They have a hall in a new 
building lately erected on Main Street, and a mem- 
bership of thirty. It promi'ies to be an organization 
of great helpfulness to the members, and has the 
hearty co-operation of Father Kavanaugli,ofthe Cath- 
olic Church. 

Besides these societies, there are two or three finan- 
cial clubs among the young men, whose object is the 
saving and safe investment of their earnings. These 
organizations are carefully managed and have been 
eminently successful in their plans. 

There are two book clubs, whose object is the tak- 
ing of papers and magazines for the use of the mem- 
bers. A large number of the leading periodicals of 
this country and of England are subscribed for and 
passed from house to house each week, thus bringing 
within the reach of many families the best reading 
of the time. Women's clubs for mutual improvement, 
where books are read and discussed by the members, 
and lectures upon subjects of literary interest are 
given, form a striking feature of Lexington society. 
There are several of these organizations, and an ele- 
vating and refining influence goes out from them into 
many homes. 

A male chorus, under the direction of a competent 
leader, has been maintained for several years, and 
many fine concerts have been given. The town con- 
tains a large amount of musical talent, both instru- 
mental'and vocal, and the male chorus has done much 
to develop it and cultivate an appreciation of good 
music in the community. 

Municipal Statistics.— The assessor's valuation 
of Lexington for 1889 was $3,19-3,000, and the amount 
of tax was 142,000, making a rate of si?! 2.70 on a thou- 
sand. Total number of tax-payers was 1233, of 
whom 498 paid a poll-tax only. The number of 
dwelling-houses was 590. Number of horses, 549. 
Number of cows, 1248. Marriages registered during 
the year, 16 ; whole number of births, 50 ; whole 
number of deaths, 60. 

The town holds some important trust funds for 
charitable objects. Besides that of Cary Library, 
already noticed, it has a cemetery fund amouuting to 
nearly $3000, for the perpetual care of burial lots in 
the town burying-grounds ; the Bridge fund, founded 
by Samuel Bridge, amounting to .flOOO, for the assist- 




COL. \\"ILLIvVM iirXHOK. 



LEXINGTON. 



G35 



ance of deserving persons not in the alms-house. 
Nearly one-half of this fund, however, came from the 
estate of Jlrs. Elizabeth Gerry, daughter of the late 
Dr. Whitcomb, of this town ; there being no relatives 
near enough to elaitn it, the State became the legal 
heir, but, on the petition of people of the town, it 
was turned over to Lexington, and given to the 
Bridge fund. The Gam m ell fund of $500, bequeathed 
by the late .Tunas Gammell, the income to be used for 
supplying additional comforts for the sick and aged 
at the alms-house. These funds are in charge of 
committees appointed for the purpose, and the in- 
come is used in accordance with the directions of the 
donors. 

The Oi.n Families of Lexington'. — The Bridge 
family, long numerous, and very prominent, both in 
municipal and ecclesiastical affairs, is no longer rep- 
resented by any male descendant of that name. The 
Bowman family, which, for several generations, occu- 
pied a leading position in society, and some of whose 
members long held the highest offices of the town, 
has become extinct, and the old homestead has long 
been in the possession of strangers. The Marrett 
family, descendants of President Dunster, of Har- 
vard University, from which have sprung noted min- 
isters, lawyers and statesmen, have no representative 
in Lexington to-day, and nothing but a cellar-hole 
now marks the place where they lived. The Hastings 
family has no one representing that name, long 
honored with the confidence of the people, though 
the old homestead is owned and occupied by Miss 
Alice B. Gary, daughter of Maria Hastings t'ary, who 
did so much for the improvement of Lexington. The 
Tidd family was among the earliest settlers, and, for 
a long period, maintained an honorable position in 
the town, and rendered good service to the schools 
and churches, but it has wholly disappeared, and the 
house which they occupied for 200 years has fallen to 
decay. The Chandlers were formerly numerous and 
influential, both in political and military affairs, but 
only a very few persons bearing the name now re- 
main among us. Thus, two and a half centuries have 
witnessed great changes; many families becoming 
extinct, and the descendants of others removing to 
the new States and cities of the West, si)reading far 
and wide throughout the country. 

tjther families of the early inhabitants are still 
strongly rooted in the soil, though sending out shoots 
that have become vigorous and fruitful in distant 
places. Among these are the Muuroes, the Cutlers, 
the Browns, the Reeds, the Harringtons, the Lockes, 
the Wellingtons, the JIuzzys, the Parkers, the Fiskes, 
the Smiths and others who, in the two centuries and 
more of our history, have maintained their ])osition 
in the town, and are still strong in numbers and vig- 
orous in activity. 

Many new families have come in during the last 
twenty-tive years to make good the places of those 
who have disappeared, and the intellectual and moral 



character of the people has suffered no deterioration 
by the infusion of new blood into Lexington society ; 
on the contrary, the enterprise of its people, their 
interest in learning, their concern for the good name 
of the town, their devotion to its historic associations, 
their readiness to reach out the helping hand to those 
ill distress, and their fidelity in the sup|)ort of civil 
and religious institutions, were never more earnest 
and hearty than they are to-day. And we nuiy confi- 
dently look forward to a future of permanent growth 
and substantial prosperity. The coming generations 
are sure to be imbued still more with the spirit of the 
fathers, and do no discredit to the old historic .town. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



COLONEL WILLI.^M MUNKOE. 

Colonel William Jluuroe was a direct descendant 
in the fourth generation from the emigrant, William 
Munroe, who settled in Lexington (then Cambridge 
Farms) about 1660, and who came to this country 
from England in 1652. The family was of Scotch 
origin, and, taking up an extensive tract of land in 
the eastern portion of the town, where for genera- 
tions they resided, the district came to be known as 
Scotland, a name which it retains to this day. Col- 
onel William was born in 1742, and received the 
name of his father, grandfather and great-grandfather, 
a name which has been perpetuated in the Lexing- 
ton family down to the present time, a perio<l of two 
hundred and thirty years, by men living within a 
mile of the original settler's home. ^Much of the 
land taken up by the first William still remains in 
the possession of his descendants, showing how firmly 
rooted the Munroes have been in Lexington soil. 
Colonel William was orderly sergeant of Captain 
l^irk<r's company of minute-men. On the evening 
of the 18th of April, 1775, he was placed in com- 
mand of a guard of eight men at the house of Parson 
Clarke to protect Hancock and Adams who were 
spending the night there. After the alarm of Paul 
Revere he conducted them to a place of safety about 
two miles distant and returned in season to form the 
line of minute-men on the Common before the P.ritisli 
attack. He was actively engaged in the subsequent 
events of the war, at Cambridge on the 17th of .June, 
in the siege of Boston and in the northern army 
which captured Burgoyne, where he was lieuten- 
ant in a Lexington company. After the conclusion 
of peace he became prominent in town affairs, occu- 
pying the position of selectman for nine years and 
representing Lexington in the Legislalure for two 
years. He was appointed colonel in the Middlesex 
Militia, and marched his regiment in pursuit of the 
rebels during Shays' Insurrection. In 1822 Colonel 
Munroe personated Captain Parker in reacting the 



636 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



battle of Lexington, forming tbe line of minute-men 
where he formed it on that eventful evening forty- 
seven years before, and using the words of Captain 
Parker to the men, which are now inscribed on the 
boulder placed on the spot where he stood. 

Colonel Munroe kept tbe old Munroe tavern, long 
known and popular as a place of public entertain- 
ment. Here General Washington and his attendants 
were received in November, 1789, while the President 
was on his northern tour, and provided with a sump- 
tuous dinner. The venerable house still remains in 
posession of his descendant, William A. Munroe, a 
grandson, and is little changed from its appearance a 
century and a hxilf ago. It was used as a hospital 
by the retreating British army on the 19th of April, 
after coming within the lines of Percy's reinforce- 
ments, and before leaving it they piled up the furni- 
ture in the bar-room and set it on fire. Happily our 
men were able to extinguish the fire before much 
damage was done. 

Colonel Munroe lived to the advanced age of eighty- 
five years, dying October 30, 1827, and leaving an 
honorable record of service to his native town and 
country. 



HON. FRANCIS B. HAYES. 

Mr. Hayes was a native of South Berwick, Maine, 
where he was born in 1819, when tbe State was still 
a district of Massachusetts. He was the son of .Judge 
Hayes, of the York County Prob.ite Court, a graduate 
of Dartmouth College and a lawyer of extensive prac- 
tice in that portion of the State. The family of Judge 
Hayes consisted of twelve children, six sons and six 
daughters, all of whom lived to adult age. The 
mother was tbe daughter of Hon. John Lord, a fam- 
ily some of whose members were long connected with 
Dartmouth College. Thus Francis was born and 
grew up under conditions favorable to literary tastes 
and social refinement. He attended the academy in 
his rative town, and completed his preparatory stud- 
ies at Exeter, New Jlampsbire, entering Harvard at 
the early age of sixteen and graduating at twenty. 
He commenced the study of law in his father's office, 
and after completing the usual course was admitted 
to the Suffolk County bar of Boston. Here he ac- 
quired a reputation for industry and ability in his 
profession and secured an extensive and lucrative 
jiractice before reaching his thirtieth year. Being 
employed to investigate the affairs of an embarrassed 
railroad, he was so successful in unraveling its difficul- 
ties and placing it in a sound and prosperous condi- 
tion that his reputation as a sagacious business man 
was established and he was much sought after in sim- 
ilar cases. Great confidence was placed in his judg- 
ment in railroad building and management. Large 
enterprises, involving the expenditure of many mil- 
lions, were placed in his bands. He was wonderfully 
successful in the construction of new roads in the 
West, and in reorganizing those which had become 



embarrassed and unremunerative through unwise 
management. Mr. Hayes became deeply interested 
in the colonization of Kansas with Free State men 
when that territory was organized and opened to set- 
tlement. He was an active worker in the organiza- 
tion known as tbe Emigrant Aid Society, which ac- 
complished much in saving that St.ate from the con- 
trol of slaveholders, and consecrating it to freedom, 
hi 1873 he was elected to the Lower House of the Leg- 
islature from 15oston, and in tbe following year to tbe 
Upper House. He was instrumental in carryingtbrough 
a bill, for reducing the hours of labor in tbe factories 
and shops for women and children to ten hours per 
day, and other legislation to protect them in manu- 
facturing establishments from overwork and .abuse. 
Mr. Hayes was identified with the Republican party 
from its organization, and received the nomination 
for Congress in the caucus of the party for the Fifth 
District in the election of 1884. He would undoubt- 
edly have been elected had not death snatched him 
away from the honors that seemed so near. 

In his Lexington home Mr. Hayes took great de- 
light and pride. He bought originally a few acres of 
the old Hancock-Clarke farm and gradually added to 
it by additional purchases until it became a magnifi- 
cent estate of more than 400 acres. For twenty 
years he was buying piece after piece of adjoining 
land, laying out fields and pastures, planting gardens 
and orchards, and bringing together there every 
species of plant, shrub and tree fitted for the .soil and 
climate. He showed fine taste, and he spared no ex- 
pense in adorning the grounds with whatever is rare 
and beautiful in nature from every part of the world. 
Under his care and skill the pl.ace became a ]>aradise 
of gardens, lawns and groves. 

For several years and up to the time of his death 
Mr. Hayes was president of the jNIassachusctts Horti- 
cultural Society, and at its exhibitions his roses, 
rhododendrons and azaleas won many prizes and 
much well-deserved admiration. 

l_)nring the last year of bis life be was engaged 
in erecting a noble mansion built out of the field 
stone on his estate for his permanent residence in 
Lexington. This was nearly completed at the time 
of his death, and is undoubtedly one of the most 
tasteful and sumptuous dwellings in Massachu- 
setts. His death occurred after a brief illne.-;s on the 
21st of September, 1884, at theage of sixty-four years. 
In many ways he was a great benefactor to the town, 
not the least of which was in opening his extensive 
and beautiful grounds to the people, thus providing a 
public park for their instruction and enjoyment. 



DAVID HAERINGTON. 

The ancestor of the Harrington family in this coun- 
try appears to have been Robert Harrington, who 
settled in Watertown about 1642. From his thir- 
teen children have descended branches that are 




7^. 






.,,*-» 




>TON 



STOW. 



687 



now scattered throughout New England smd in- 
deed throughout the United States. When his 
graiidehildren or great-grandiliildreu, llobert and 
John, came to Lexington it wa3 impossible to de- 
termine; but tlu'ir names are found upon the town 
records as early as 1713. They were cousins, and 
from them have descended a large number of families 
in this and the adjoining towns. Indeed, the name 
on the town rtM<l church records of lycxington is one 
of the most numerous of all. Nor is it a name un- 
known to honorable events and notable characters in 
the history of the town. Eleven Harringtons were 
on the roll of Captain Parker's company of minute- 
men, and two of them, Jonathan and Caleb, were 
killed in the memorable encounter on the Common, 
April 19, 1775. 

David, the subject of this notice anil the son of 
Solomon, was born in this town January 2, 1790. He 
married, December 10, 1810, Elizabeth Francis, by 
whom he had two sons, Sylvester and Charles, and 
one daughter, Mary, who became the wife of Charles 
■J. Adams, for a long time keei>er of the House of (.'or- 
rection at East Cambridge. 

" Uncle David," as he was familiarly called, learn- 
ed the business of dressing furs under the direction 
and in the employ of Ambrose Morrill, who had an 
extensive establishment at East Lexington. He be- 
came an expert in the ]>reparatioii of furs for market, 
and his services were highly prized by bis employer. 
Here about thirty years of his life were passed, and 
when Mr. Morrill retired from business, " Uncle Dav- 
id " began the manufacture of peat in the Great 
Meadows, near the village. In the belief that wood 
in New l'",ngland was being rapidly exhausted, and 
that a substitute for it must be found, peat was re- 
garded as an important article for fuel. Accordingly 
great preparations were made for digging and i)repar- 
ing it for market, and much swamp land was bought 
up for this object. Happily people's fears proved 
groundless, and coal ultimately took the place, to a 
large extent, of both peat and wood. The manufacture 
of peat was a losing business, aiul the tireat ."\Ieadows 
at East Lexington were tinall)' abandoned to the town 
of Arlington, for their water-works supply. " Uncle 
David " and the other proprietors were thus driven 
out of the old swamp, where for a long period they 
bad been producing this kind of fuel. 

David Harrington was well known in Lexington, 
all through his life, as a man of sterling honesty, and 
was much respected by his friends and fellow-towns- 
men. He w:is gathered to his fathers in a ripe old 
age, and is still pleasantly remembered in the places 
that once knew him, but will .soon know him no more 
forever. 



CHAPTER XLIX. 

STOW. 
BY REV. GE0K(;B k. clakk. 

The town of Stow is situated in the west part of 
Middlesex, and adjoins Worcester (Jounty. It is about 
twenty-five miles a little north of west from Boston, 
and nearly eight south of west I'rom Concord. It was 
originally noted for two (juite conspicuous hills, 
known as Pompasittacutt and Shabbukin, which are 
now respectively within the bounds of Maynard and 
Harvard. There are, however, within its borders, at 
the present time, four hills from which most charm- 
ing views can be obtained, viz.: Sjiindle, Jlarble, 
Birch and Pilot (irove, all wilbin about a mile ol' the 
centre ; and the last, formerly called " Strong Water " 
Hill, lies northerly, and in close proximity to the 
centre meeting-house, and is crowned with a cluster 
of beautiful pines. There is a lesser hill at the south- 
easterly part of the town known as " Boone's" Hill, 
taking its name from the tir.st settler who locateil 
near it. The principal stream of water is the .Vssabet 
River, rising in or near Westboro' and flows 
through the southerly part of the town, and joins the 
Sudbury River at Concord. Assabet Brook, some- 
limes on the old records called '' Klzabeth," rises in 
the northwest part of the town, near the corners of 
Harvard and Boxboro', and Hows southerly around 
the southern slope of Spindle Hill, thence northerly 
and easterly, and empties into the Assabet River, 
near the line of Maynard. Heath Hen Meadow 
Brook rises in the south ])art of Boxboro', flows 
southerly near to the northern slope of Pilot drove 
Hill, thence northeasterly into .Vcton. forming a sort 
of ox-bow. What wa.s formerly known as "Strong 
Water " Brook flowed from the northerly side of the 
little pond at the centre of the town towards South 
.\ctou. But many years ago Rev. Mr. Newell dug a 
trench on the .southerly side of the pond and drained 
its waters into .\ssabet Brook. The only other nat- 
ural pond is Boone's, near which the first settlement 
was made. 

There are three villages in the town, viz. : The 
Centre; another about a mile easterly, called the 
Lower Village, where the first meeting-house was 
liuill; and Rock Bottom, at the southerly part of the 
town, near the border of Hudson, which is the largest 
of the three. 

By the incorporation of Concoid, Sudbury, Marl- 
borough, Lancaster and (iroton, there was left in ItiiiO, 
surrounded by these towns and the Indian plantalion 
of Nashoba, (now Littleton), quite a large tract of land 
called Pomi>asiltacutt by the Indians. It extended 
from Sudbury on the east to what is now Lunenburg 
on the west, and from Groton on the north to Marl- 
borough on the south. 

It is now bounded north by Boxboro' and .Vcton, 



638 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



east by I^faynard and Sudbury, south by Hudson, 
and west by Bolton and Harvard. Its area is 11,021 
acres ; valuation in 1885, $955,721. The population in 
1880 was 1045. A few years ago it was reported to 
be the third town in the State relative to healthiness. 
The Marlhorouf^h Branch of the Fitchburg, and the 
Central Massachusetts Railroad pass through its 
southern border. 

The earliest known settler upon the original terri- 
tory was Matthew Boone, about IGGO, near to Sudbury 
and Marlborough. He is said to have come from 
Charlestown. About the middle of February, lli7(!, 
he was killed by the Indians, as appears from an in- 
ventory of his property taken April 3, 1()7(). His 
wife's name was Ann. We liave learned nothing more 
about him. About three years later John Kettell is 
supposed to have settled in the west part of the town, 
near Lancaster line, or " Nashaway," as it was origi- 
nally called. He is believed to have previously re- 
sided at Gloucester. There is, however, some doubt 
as to his identity. There were two men of the same 
name who were contemporaneous, both of whom 
were "coopers," and by did'erent writers both have 
been declared to be the settler at Pompasittacutt. 
The second of the name was from (/harlestown. The 
evidence, on the whole, seems to favor the man from 
Gloucester as being the settler. The traditional 
story of his being killed by the Indians February 10, 
1676, appears to have no foundation in point of fact. 
His wife and two daughters were taken prisoners 
with Jlrs. Rowlandson at that time. While they 
were captives an Indian sent a letter to .lohn ICcttcll 
saying, "Your wife and all your child is all well, and 
all them prisoners taken at Nashaway is all well.'' 
This shows that Kettell was living some time after he 
is said to have been slain. Furthermore, he died at 
Salem October 12, 16S5, and the inventory of his prop- 
erty was taken November 10, 1685, wherein his farm 
"near Nashaway of 300 acres" is mentioned. His 
wife was Klizabeth Allen, of Salem, who married her 
second husband, Samuel Corning, in 1688. 

There were "layed out unto the worshipful Miij' 
pjleazer Lusher," in 1665, 500 acres of land at Pom- 
pasittacutt, west of Sudbury, and bounded northerly 
by what is now Acton. The same year .5(10 acre^ 
more were assigned to Capt. Daniel Gookin, bounded 
northerly by Nashoba, and southeasterly by what is 
now Acton. Some three years later, 150 acres were set 
apart to Richard Ileldridge (Hildreth ?), btninded 
northerly by Gookin's land, southeasterly by .Acton. 
Probably about the same time some 200 acres were 
apportioned to John Alcocke, on or near Assabet 
River, doubtless just above Rock Bottom, which, June 
6, 1671, was confirmed by the General Court to his 
orphan children. It is presumed that none of these 
persons ever settled upon their farms. There were 
doubtless others who had taken up land in this un- 
incorporated territory previous to 1670. 

Incorporation. — The first direct action looking 



to the incorporation of Pompasittacutt as a town is 
embodied in the following petition to the General 
Court, of John Hayward, George Hayward, John 
Hayward, Sr., Richard Heldredge, Jos. Lampson, 
ilohn Law and others, of Concord. They say, " hav- 
ing observed a certaine tract of land environed with 
the bounds of Concord, Sudbury, Jlaribuz-y, Lancas- 
ter, Groaton and Niishoby, within whitch is certaine 
farmes . . . whitch we judge may be convenient to 
make a plantation, wee therefore yo' petition" re- 
quest the favour of this honoured Court to appoint 
some persons to set the bounds of townes and I'arines, 
that thereby yo"^ petition" may see what incourage"" 
they may have to inake farther addresses unto this 
honoured Court for accommodations for theraselve?, 
fiimlyes being at the present much wanting therein." 
This petition had no date. But the General Court, 
on the 13tli of October, 16()9, appointed "Left. 
Wheeler, of Concord, Deacon John Haynes, of Sud- 
bury, James Parker, of Groaton, John Moore, of 
Lancaster, & Wm. Kerby, of Marlborou," or any 
three of them, to view the premises ment'oned, and 
"make report to this Court of the qualitye and quan- 
ty thereof, . . . whether it be capable (if the farmes 
belonged to it) to make a village." On the 12th 
of May, 1670, George Hayward, Joseph Wheeler, 
Thomas Wheeler, John Hayward, William Butter- 
ick, Sydrack Habgood, Stephen Hall, Joseph New- 
ton, Edmund Wigley and Richard Heldredge, inhab- 
itants of Concord. Chelmsford and Sudbury, sent a 
petition to the General Court, relative to this territory. 
But it is so mutilated and defaced on the record-book 
that its full import cannot be stated. It seems to be 
desired that the land may be granted to them and 
assistance rendered, probably for the support of a 
minister, "that the neglect of God's laws may be pre- 
vented, & the Gospel of Jesus ( 'hrist be preached 
and encouraged." The committee appointed by the 
Court reported May 31, 1670, saying they had viewed 
the land petitioned for, "and find it, by estimation, 
as followeth, viz. : ten thousand acres of counti-y's 
land, whereof five hundred acres of it is meadow, the 
greatest parte of it is very meane hmd, but wee judge 
there will be planting land enough to accommodate 
twenty famclyes ; also there is about four thousand 
acres more of lands that is taken up in farmes whereof 
about fivehundied acres of it is meadow. There is also 
the Indian plantation of Nashoby, that doeth border 
on one side of this tract of land, that is e.xcteding 
well meadowed, and they doe make Idit litle or no 
use of it." The Court then granted "y' tract of land 
unto George & John Hayward, Jose^ph 
Wheeler, Sydrack Habgood & the rest of the peti- 
tioners, w'" others that shall joyne to it w"' them to 
make a village, provided that the place be settled w"' 
not lesse than teiin iamelyes w"' in three year-s, & that 
a pious, orthodox and able minister be mainteyned 
there." Capt. Daniel Gookin, Mr. Thomas Danforth 
and Mr. Joseph Cooke, or any two of them, were 



STOW. 



(i39 



a[ipoiiited a committee to ordi'r and regulate the set- 
tling of the village, in all respects, until lurtlier or- 
ders. No immediate .slejis towards a settlement seem 
to have been taken: but as the Court required that 
ten families should be settled thereupon within three 
years, the committee in charge chose, December 4, 
1672, another committee "to lay out in the most con- 
venient places Twelve Lotls, containing lifty acres of 
Land as ueare together as may be." The petitioners 
and their associates were to cast lots for these home- 
steads, provided they should "be men of good and 
honest conversations and orthodox in religion . . . 
and Engage according to their ability to contribute 
towards the maintenance of a godly minister amongst 
them, and alsoe doe Setle upon, Build & Improve 
said Lotts within two years from the beginning of 
May next," or their lands would be forfeited and as- 
signed to others. These homestead lots were proba- 
bly soon drawn. But some of those securing lots 
forfeited them by not complying with the cr)ndition8. 
The proprietors therefore make complaint to the 
committee in charge, who, April '■'(;, l('i7o, order that 
all persons claiming any rights in the I'lantation 
should meet at Cambridge, at the ordinary, on the 
17th day of May, at eight o'clock, to make answer for 
their neglect; and if they did not appear at the time 
and place they were to be considered as utterly re- 
linquishing their claims. What was done in May 
we do not know. But June I, l(i75, the committee 
issue further directions relative to the occupancy of 
these lots. The alarm caused by the breaking out 
of King Philip's War stayed further proceedings 
until the return of peace. How soon the inhabitants 
returned does not appear. We find no definite record 
of action until October 4, liiSO, when Stephen Hall, 
Boaz Browne, Samuel Buttcrick, Kpliraim Heldretb, 
.I(din Butterick and.lonathan I'rescott make an agree- 
ment with John Hay ward, of Boston, who was equally 
interested with them in the plantation, that he should 
have a lot of land laid out and secured to him, where 
he should choose, with a full share of the first divi- 
sion of upland and meadow, he paying his full share 
of the ministerial charges, etc. From a document 
dated 1681 we learn that the following persons were 
owners of the twelve original lots drawn by the pro- 
prietors: No. 1 was for the minister; 2, Boaz 
Browne ; 'i, (iershom Heale ; 4, .John Butteriok ; 5, 
Ephraira Heldreth ; 6, Thomas Stevens; 7,Sle]>hen 
Hall; 8, Samuel Butterick ; '.t, Joseph Freeman; 10, 
Joseph Dawby ; 11, Thomas Gates; 12, Sydrack Hap- 
good. All these except Thomas Stevens, Jo.seph 
Freeman, Thomas Gates and Sydrack Hapgood are 
lielieved to have come from Concord. Hapgood was 
killed by the Indians near Brookfield, August 2, 
1 117'), in Philip's War. 

These homestead lots were on the northerly and 
southerly sides of the old road laid out in 1646, be- 
tween Lancaster and Sudbury, passing by where 
Francis W. Warren now lives, and over the river 



beyond the almshouse. The most westerly of these 
farms was that of Thomas Gates, where Charles A. 
Whitney now resides, and two of them, belonging to 
Joseph Dawby and Sydrack Hapgood, were over the 
river near Sudbury. Besides those having the foun- 
dation lots, just named, the following persons had lots 
granted them at the dates given. Tho.se in italics 
were from Concord : John Wetherby, December 18, 
1779; Richard Whitney, Sr., June ?., 1680; J'imes 
Wheeler, April 8, 1681 ; Moses Whitney, April 8, 1681 ; 
Henry Rand, January 13, 1682; Isane Heiild, January 
13, 1682; hracl Utald, March 13, 1682; Benjamin 
Bosworth, August 7, 1682 ; Benjamin Crane, Decem- 
ber 23, 1682; Joseph W/ieekr, April 19, 1683; Jabez 
Brown, June 1!), 1683; Richard Whitney, Jr., June 
lo, 1683; Jabez litter, June 15, 1683; Thomas Stev- 
ens, .Ir., June 17, 1684; Boaz Broicn, Jr., June 17, 
1684; Samuel Hall, June 17, l(i84 ; Thomas Daby, 
June 17, 1684; Mark Perkins, January 1, 1685; 
Richard Burke, Sr., March 1, 1685 ; Roger Willis, 
March 1, 1685; Thomas Williams, March 1, 1685; 
Stephen Randell, March 10, 1686. 

As the plantation increased in numbers, the inhab- 
itants soon felt able to manage their own atiairs; and 
the court's committee might have desired to be relieved, 
in some measure, from their supervisory duties, and 
hence, on the 11th of October, 1681, at the request of 
several of the proprietors and inhabitants, the com- 
mittee api)ointed Thomas Stevens, Boaz Browne, 
Thomas Gates and Stejdien Hal! as overseers of the 
place, with the powers of selectmen, subject, how- 
ever, to instructions from the court's committee. The 
following year the population had so increased that 
it was deemed advisable to have a record of the pro- 
ceedings kept. And on the 24lh of April, 1682, the 
committee appointed .John Hayward, of Boston, 
scrivener, town clerk, to record all orders of the 
General Court and committee referring to the plan- 
tation ; and all persons concerned were to bring to 
Mr. Hayward all orders and grants to be recorded. 
The committee also ordered, with the general consent 
of the inhabitants, that each one should contribute 
towards all pul>lic charges in proportion to the num- 
ber of acres allotted them, and that no second divi- 
sion of lands should be made until forty lots had been 
settled upon, and no person was to have more than 
fifty acres of upland and fifteen of meadow. It was 
also ordered that as Jlr. John Hayward had been at 
eonsidenilije expense in obtaining the grant of land, 
he should be abated the charges that would arise for 
the coming seven years, excepting those for the min- 
ister and the meeting-house, on condition that he 
keep the register of the town until further orders. 

Prosperity seems to have attended the planta- 
tion, and the people became an.xious to manage their 
own affairs, and take their plaee among the towns of 
the Colouy, and that the clerk of the proprietors 
should be a resident of the plantation. Therefore 
they bring the matter before the court's committee, 



640 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



who, on the 9th of April, lfi83, chose Mr. Thomas 
Stevens clerk, and Mr. Hayward's record-book was 
to be delivered to him. The inhabitants were also 
directed to meet and choose live selectmen and a con- 
stable to order and manage their town affairs for the 
ensuing year. 

The iieoi)le were ready and abundantly willing to 
obey the order of the committee, and on the 19th of 
April they met and chose .Sergeant Benjamin Bos- 
worth, Thomas Stevens, Stephen Hall, Boaz Browne 
and Joseph .Freeman, selectmen, and Thomas Gates, 
constable. As Thomas Stevens had been previously 
appointed town clerk, it was deemed unnecessary to 
choose another. Subsequently the selectmen ap- 
pointed .John Wetherby and (iershom Heald, tithing- 
men. The preliminary steps towards the organiza- 
tion of the town having been taken, and as the Gen- 
eral Court was soon to assemble, it was decided to 
make immediate application to them, through the 
committee, for an act of incorporation. Early in 
May a consultation was held and a petition was pre- 
pared and forwarded to the prudential committee, 
and Benjamin Bosworth and Stephen Hall were em- 
powered to present it. The document is quite long 
and refers to many matters. Among other things 
they say, " We are sensable enough of o' want of yo' 
wisdom to help advise us, & are sory y' aneything of 
o'^ wceknesse should seem to discoridg you, and look- 
ing upon o'selves something to yong to be cast of 
. . . wee doe in all humility returne yo' Hodo™ 
all possible thankfulness wee are able for all yo' care 
& time & paines bestowed upon us, . . . Si 
whereas many things lye-upon us it presseth us hard, 
by sundry Knotts y' remaine yett to bee untied, & 
many great Disburst"", . . . about settling an 
able & pious minister & other Church work relating 
thereto, making bridges & other unavoidable heavye 
secular matters y' will sorely pinch a poore people in 
soe yong a plantation where they can not yet raise 
competent, ordenary food & Raym"', our prayer is 
that wee, yo' poore petitioners, might have accesse 
unto you for advise in some emergencies & y' yo' 
Hono" will please still to patronize us so fFarr as to 
bee a means by y° Hon'"* Gen" Court at their next 
sessions to free us from Country publick Charges it 
Kates a while Longer till wee bccom more Tollcrably 
able to doc o' duty therein, in o' measure as all other 
Towns in this jurisdiction are,& y' you will not please 
wholly to cast us of till you have alsoe procured for 
this plantation some suitable, comly English name." 

The General Court, satisfied that the people could 
act for themselves, on the lirst day of the session, 
May 10, ]()S3, old style, or May 2()th, new style, de- 
creed that the place should become a town, and al- 
lowed the choice already made of selectmen and 
constable, etc., and gave the name of Slow to the new 
town, and freed the inhabitants from the country 
rates for the next three years. We have no record 
of any public celebration of the event by the people, 



though they doubtless rejoiced that they were of age 
to act for themselves. 

Indians. — There is no doubt that Indians fre- 
quented the territory of Pompasittacutt, and that 
some of them laid claim to lands within its bounds. 
Indian arrow-heads and hatchets have been found in 
different localities. .Soon after the incorporation of 
the town it was decided to extinguish, if ])ossible, 
all the Indian claims to land. Hence, December 126, 
1683, the town " ordered yt Stephen Hall & Boaz 
Brown, who have Treated with Benn Bowhugh or 
Piphuh, Indian, in deferance to ye purchasing of all 
his Rights in lands, meadowes, swomps lying within 
this plantation, and have agreed with him, are or- 
dered and Ini powered by ye Town to Ishue yt matter 
in ye Town's behalf. The purchase and other 
charges to bee defrayed by ye proprietors." It was 
further ordered " yt ye above"" Stephen Hall and 
Boaz Brown shall ludever to find out all those In- 
dians yt pretend to any right of land in this plan- 
tation, & to treat with them " relative to the pur- 
chase of their rights. A rate of four pounds was 
made to pay Benn Bowhugh for his lauds. In the 
following February a five-pound rate was made "to 
pay for y' Lands purchased of James Speene, Ben 
Piphue and y" rest y' clame a right to lands in Pom- 
pasittacutt, . . . the whole purchase being Tenn 
pounds." March (>, 1703-04, a committee was ap- 
pointed " to Defend our land purchased of Benn Bo- 
how, Lying on y° south side of y' River . . . against 
any persons that may pretend to have rights in y" 
lands." It does not appear what was the result, nor 
do we know what was the fate of " James Speene and 
Benn Bohugh." But, February 8, 1715-16, it was 
voted to sell " the Indian planting land "upon the 
river below Zebediah Wheeler's. 

During King Philip's War the hills and swamps ot 
Pompasittacutt were doubtless the rendezvous of his 
warriors wlicn about to make a raid upon Sudbury or 
other neighboring places. Tradition — a very unreli- 
able authority — says that the Indians held a consulta- 
tion upon Pompasittacutt Hill, overlooking Concord 
and Sudbury, as to which of the towns they should 
attack. One of the chiefs said: "We no prosper if 
we go to t!oncord. The Great Spirit love that people. 
He tells us not to go. They have a great man there. 
He great pray." This was an allusion to Rev. Mr. 
Bulkley, the minister of the town, who seems to have 
been known to the Indians as a distinguished man, 
and they feared hisiiiHnence with the " Great Sjiirit." 
Hence Concord was spared and Sudbury suffered. 

Ecci.K.siAsTicAL. — The first settlers of the town, 
like most of those who peopled the State, were pious 
men and women who believed in the abiding presence 
of an Almighty Ruler of the universe, to whom they 
Were even more accountable than to the civil magis- 
trate. Hence they deemed it all-important to pro- 
vide for the stated worship of God, that their children 
might "enjoy the means of grace." We have seen 



STOW. 



G-kl 



tiiat it was required of tiiose to wlumi laud was al- 
lotted, that they should be of " good aud honest con- 
versations and orthodox in religion." Every pre- 
caution possible was taken to exclude from the settle- 
ment all who were heedless violators of the laws of 
God and man. Being thus of good repute, the inhab- 
itants, as soon as the management of all matters came 
into their hands in a corporate capacity, began to 
look around for an able and pious minister of the 
Gospel. Doubtless there had been occasional preach- 
ing, perhaps by the Concord minister, before the town 
was incorporated. Be this as it may, on the 20th of 
June, about six weeks after they were made a town, 
a five-pounds tax was voted to defray the minister's 
charges for what had been already expended, and 
also for Mr. Green, who had "given some encourage- 
ment to be helpful to us on ye Lord's days as his oca- 
tions may pr mitt." The rate was to be paid a quar- 
ter part in money, and three-quarters in such corn or 
other grain or provisions that would be acceptable to 
Goodman Hall for what was past and for the future. 

This " Mr. Green '' was undoubtedly Percival Green 
(H. C. 16S0), son of John and Kuth (Mitchelsou) 
Green, of Cambridge. He preached for a time in 
Wells, Me., in 1683, but died July 10, 1G84, aged 
twenty-five years. He was never ordained, and could 
have preached in town only a short time. Nearly two 
years elapse before any reference is made to another 
minister. A rate was made "June 5, 1685, to pay 
what ye town are indebted to Mr. Parris fur his pains 
amongst us." He was not, probably, iijvited to set- 
tle, for on the 21st of .\ugust, following?, it was voted 
that Mr. Parris should have fifteen shillings for every 
Lord's day he had preaclied, except the first three 
days, and a tax was made and ordered to be collected 
and lorthwith paid to Mr. Parris, who probably soon 
after left town. This was Rev. Samuel Parris, who 
afterwards took a very conspicuous part in the Salem 
witchcraft delusion. In the latter part of 1685 Mr. 
James Minot (H. C. 1675) commenced preaching. 
He seems to have supplied for about one year. At 
first he was paid 12«. aud Gd. per Sunday in money, 
and a contribution was to be taken up every Lord's 
day. It was voted in July, 1686, to pay him ten 
pounds per quarter, half money aud half corn and 
other provisions, or all in money, if he would accept 
the same salary as he had been previously paid. Mr. 
Minot belonged to Concord. There were, at this 
time, only thirty-seven ratable polls or estates in 
town. 

John Butterick and Gershom Heald were directed, 
November 7, 1686, to go to Lancaster " to discorse 
with Mr. William Woodrop, to give him a solemn in- 
vitation to come and dwell aud settle with them, and 
to ascertain his terms," etc. Mr. Woodrop forthwith 
came and preached one Sunday. Negotiatioiis 
■were then opened with him, and he came into the 
meeting and promised " to dwell aud settle iu town, 
. . . judging ye call and unauemouse coucurrauce of 
41 



ye people to be a call from God." The town then 
voted to pay him forty pounds, half money and half 
corn and grain. A committee was chosen December 
1.3, 1686, to report in writing what it w.as expedient 
to be done relative to the full settlement of Mr. 
Woodrop. The next day they report in favor of 
building with all speed a frame dwelling-house. 
They desired it to be of such a character that he 
could invite his wife to come from her English home 
and abide with him.' A few days later the selectmen 
were.directed to make a written contract with Mr. 
Woodrop, to be signed by each party to prevent fu- 
ture mistakes — a very wise measure. But a sad dis- 
appointment awaited the people. About the middle 
of March following, Mr. Woodrop informed the town 
that his wife would not come to him, and hence he 
"concluded his call was to go to her! " Strong efforts 
were made to induce him to remain, but without suc- 
cess. He preached only a few weeks longer, and, 
about the 12th of July, he sailed for England, having 
relinquished all claims to the ministerial land. 

Though disappointed at the turn of affairs, the in- 
habitants were not discouraged. Ou the 30th of 
May, 1687, a committee was choseu to go to Concord 
to induce, if possible, Mr. Minot, a former preacher, to 
accept a call. If he would not come, then they were 
to speak with Mr. Mitchel, at Cambridge, and if he 
refused they were to apply to young Mr. Whiting, of 
Billerica. But all these men declined. Soon, how- 
ever, an ither candidate w.as found, and, August 8'.h, 
a rate was ordered to pay "Mr. Overton, minister," 
for three months. With the hope of securing him as 
a pastor, another attempt was soon made to build a 
parsonage, and have it completed in about three 
weeks. But as this was not done, Mr. Overton called 
the attention of the town to this fact. Hence, Oeto- 
ber 24, 1687, a committee was chosen to oversee the 
matter. Directions were given about the dimeusions 
of the house, which was to be finished by the 1st of 
April, 1688. Two cf the committee, from some cause , 
withdrew, and the other member was empowered to 
go on with the work. The house was erected, but 
either before or soon after Mr. Overton concluded to 
remove from town. Whence he came or whither he 
went is unknown. Yet these men of " good and hon- 
est couversations " still persisted in their search for 
a minister. In the process of a year or more a new 
candidate appears. His name was John Winborno. 
He was given a unanimous call, and had accepted t 
previous to August I'J, 1680, for on that day a long 
agreement with him was concluded. The substauvC 
of it was that his salary should be forty pounds yearly, 
" ten pounds iu money, ten pounds as money, aud 

1 The hovise was to be " 20 or 27 feeto long (8 or 9 fuote Ibereof to bee 
for ye chimnies), yo roome left to boo 18 footo sijuaro at least, two flre- 
placM to be below iu ye cbimnoy an.l one lioartb in yo Chamber, a lean- 
to to bee ye breadth of ye frame affore"' at yo Chimney ewl of yo house, 
to ho can ieil out at ye cilia 10 or 11 foot from ye chimney, w.lh a Seller 
uuder yebaid house." 



(>42 



HISTOllY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



twenty pounds in pay." He was to have all the lands 
allotted to the ministry, and the dwelling-house 
erected thereon, and other lands specified, while he 
should remain the minister " and live and Dye 
amongst them in ye work of ye ministry, except upon 
some special and unexpected and unavoidable provi- 
dence of God." But alter the expiration of five years, 
if he still remained, the lands and dwelling-houise 
were to be confirmed to him and his heirs forever. If, 
however, he did not remain five years, the whole min- 
istry lot, etc., was to revert to the town. If his wife 
should become a widow within five years she was to 
have the use of one end of the house for two years. 
Thus all things were arranged for his peririauent res- 
idence in town. In about six years, however, some 
dilliculties arose, aay the records, " from himself and 
family which have been matter of great olfence at 
home, besides ye noises and scandall abroad." A 
meeting was held June 21, 1095, and Mr. Wiuborne 
was summoned to attend, but he refused to do so, and 
is supposed to have soon left towu. What was the 
trouble does not clearly appear. Though preaching 
for about six years, Mr. Wiuborne seems never to 
have been formally settled, nor was any church or- 
ganized during his ministry. As he had remained 
more than five years after the terms of his settlement 
were concluded, he claimed the jiarsonage and minis- 
try lot as his property. The town thought differently. 
Accordingly, December 14, 169G, a committee was 
chosen to demand a peaceable possession of the prem- 
ises, and if this was denied they were to appeal to the 
courts. But holding the fort, Mr. Wiuborne refused 
to surrender. A lawsuit followed, and it is believed 
Mr. Wiuborne won the case, as the town seems after- 
wards to have purchased the property. 

Once more the pulpit is vacant, and no active 
measures seem to have been taken to procure a 
preacher until late in the autumn after Mr. Wiuborne 
left. Towards the end of December, after one or two 
ineffectual attempts to supply the pulpit, application 
was again made to Mr. Minot, of Concord, to be 
helpful to them on the Lord's day, but he declined. 
Mr. John AVoodward (H. C. 1693), of Dedham, was 
soon engaged. Having preached one Sunday, a com- 
mittee of the town, Jan. 27, 1(J95-'J0, made overtures 
to liim to occupy the jiulpil for some months, and 
were willing to give him at the rate of Xo5 ])er year, 
although they were in very straitened circumstances. 
It is supposed that Mr. Woodward supplied the pulpit 
during the winter. He was not anxious to remain 
long, but the {)eople were unwilling to give him up. 
Therefore on the loth of April, 1G96, mes.sengers were 
sent to Dedham to urge him to return. But in case 
he refused they were to ask Mr. Mors, of Dedham, to 
occupy the pulpit. Mr. Woodward declined to come 
back. July 11, 1696, Mr. Joseph Mors (H. C. 1695) 
was called to be their minister. He came and 
preached for some time, but gave no answer to the 
call. After waiting six months he was again invited 



to settle, in consequence of the satisfaction he had 
generally given. This unanimous call did not meet 
with a favorable response. 

Failing to secure the services of Mr. Mors, it was 
ascertained that a former preacher, Eev. Samuel 
Parris, was disengaged and might perhaps be glad to 
return to town. Accordingly, Nov. 29, 1697, he was 
unanimously requested to become helpful to them in 
preaching the word of God. It was decided to pay 
him £40 a year, if he would not take less. He is 
supposed to have wanted more. The people plead 
poverty, but are anxious to have him come, and there- 
fore ask the General Court for help. In answer to 
this request the Court gave them £10 out of the pub- 
lic treasury towards the support of the ministry. 
This grant of money induced Mr. Parris to be " help- 
ful," and his salary was fixed at £40 per year. But 
at the close of the year he desired an increase of pay. 
The town, however, did not agree to all his terms, and 
he doubtless left in the winter of 1068-69. 

Another effort was then made to secure a resident 
minister. And for the third time they invite, March 
27, 1699, Mr. Joseph Mors " to y' worke of y" min- 
istry," but being elsewhere engaged he could not 
come. 

It is a little uncertain .at what time the next can- 
didate for the vacant pulpit made his appearance. 
Most likely soon after the declination of Mr. Mors. 
At any rate under the date of July 24, 1689, it was 
" Voted and unanimously Concluded to give Mr. John 
Eveleth an invitation & Call to y" work of the minis- 
try in this Towne." It was also decided that he 
should have the use of the parsonage and ministerial 
lands, if he should "settle in Towne & Gary on y° 
work of y" ministry & Live & Dye with ym, then he 
should have and enjoy a fifty-acre Lott ; which shall 
be his & his heires forever." His salary was to be 
forty pounds per annum, twenty pounds every si.K 
months, half money and half corn and other provi- 
sions, and five pounds more in firewood. It is uncer- 
tain when Mr. Eveleth accepted the call. Probably 
not for a year or more, and yet he continued to sup- 
ply the pulpit, and some meetings were held relative 
to his settlement. A committee was chosen May 18, 
1700, to draw up a covenant or agreement between 
the town and Mr. Eveleth, which was subsequently 
signed by him and the following citizens : 

" Thumas Stevens, Abraham Holiiiau, RicbarJ Whitney, Seu^., Tlio. 
Fustor, Jiiu. Wotherhy, Sun'., Juo. Wutlierby, jiui''., Isiuic Giites, 
Slupbeu Untiihill, Nathaniel Gates, Jouatlian Farr, Tliuniiuj Duby, liuitz 
IJiuwiie, Iticliard Burke, Uonry Riinil, Jabuz Bruwn, QIark IViUiiia, 
Simon Gates, John Hullnea, Tlionias W' liituey, Nathaniel llapyuod, Jun- 
itthau Foster, Kichard Whitney, jun'., Jacob Stevens, John Stevens 
Saninel Hall, Eil". llrowne, Isjute Ileaid, John Wbiticur, Moses Wliit- 
uoy, Stephen Farr, John Gates, Ebeuezer Whitney. 

"In testimony of my Coinplyance with ye offeres of ye iuhabitantd 
of Stow, in ye above written Covenant, A of my obligations to serve 
them as God shall enable me, I have here set my hand. 

" JeuN EVELETn." 

By this agreement, Mr. Eveleth was to have £40 a 
year in money and thirty cords of wood, and some 



STOW. 



G43 



assistance ia the way of work upon his buildings and 
laud. Months go and come and no formal settlement 
of the minister takes place, though he still resides in 
town and occupies the pulpit. But on the 1st of 
September, 1702, it was voted to keep a general fast 
(iMr. Eveleth was to appoint the day with two of the 
neighboring elders), which was in reference to the in- 
stallation of the minister. Joseph Daby, Thomas 
Uaby, Boaz Browne, Edw. Browne and Israel Heald 
were appointed to provide for the installation in all 
respects. About this time it occurred to the people 
that if they had an additional tract of land they 
would be better able to meet public charges, and espe- 
cially would be encouraged about settling a minister. 
Therefore they ask the General Court, Oct. 12, 1702, 
to grant them the Indian plantation of Nashoba(now 
Littleton), as they already had " but a pent-up small 
Tract of Laud and vary Little meadow." The repre- 
sentatives said yes to the petition, but the Council 
voted no ; so the project failed and the town wisely 
concluded to go forward without the help of the Gen- 
eral Court. In 1753 the town had a lawsuit with 
Littleton, relative to the bounds in which they appear 
to have been beaten, at a cost of over £55. In refer- 
ence to the " ordination," as it was called, the town 
voted, Nov. 9, 1702, to provide tor it " by a free con- 
tribution and voluntary subscriptions," which was 
doue. But at what time the pastor was inducted into 
oUice, or who took part in the interesting services, is 
unknown. The installation, however, is believed to 
have occurred about the 1st of December, 1702. Thus, 
after years of patient eUbrt, a permanent preacher 
was secured. It is uncertain whether the church was 
organized at the time of the installation. Mr. 
Eveleth either kept no records, or they are lost. Rev. 
Mr. Gardner, the successor of Mr. Eveleth, writing in 
1707, said the gathering of the church was three or 
four years after the call of Mr. Eveleth, and that the 
number of members was about eleven. 

The pastor being settled and the church organized, 
there is not much to record for some time. About 
lifteen years after his settlement it was whispered 
around that the minister's conduct was not altogether 
becoming his position as a moral and religious teach- 
er. Finally the advice of a council of ministers wiis 
sought. They gave some directions in the matter, but 
we know not their import. The trouble, however, 
seems not to have been allayed, and a nieetiug was 
held November 14, 1717, " to consider what step.s to 
take in reference to Mr. Eveleth's miscarriage of late 
amongst us." It was then voted " to stand to the 
5th article in the minister's or counsel's result." A 
committee was chosen " to treat with Mr. Eveleth 
concerning the premises." Subsequently this com- 
mittee were ordered to apply to some neighboring 
minister for advice " at this difficult time." Some- 
what later a second council of ministers was called in 
reference to the pastor's " miscarriage." This council 
met previous to January (i, 1717-18, and advised the 



dissolution of the pastoral relations. Tradition says 
the "miscarriage" of the minister was intemperance. 
He. however, whatever was the nature of his ollence, 
reformed and became a useful man. The records of 
July 28, 1719, say : " Mr. John Eveleth, upon mani- 
festation of repentance, was restored to church fel- 
lowship and communion." In 1719 he taught scliool 
in town. There was some trouble with him about 
the parsonage, etc., and he was notified not to make 
any improvement upon the land and to surrender up 
the house and barn. But he did not vacate the prem- 
ises, as was desired, though he was olfered sixty 
pounds if he would do so. The matter, however, 
seems finally to have been amicably settled. Mr. 
Eveleth was born February 18, 1069-70, and was the 
son of Joseph Eveleth, of Gloucester. He graduated 
at Harvard College in 1G89, and was ordained at 
Manchester, October 1, 1693, and was dismissed from 
the society there in 1695. He was subsecpiently, for 
a time before coming to Stow, a preacher at Enfield, 
Conn. He -married, December 2, 1692, Mary, daugh- 
ter of Francis Bowman, of Cambridge. After leav- 
ing Stow he preached at Arundel, and other places 
in Maine. He was at Arundel about nine years. 
The people were unwilling to have him leave, "as he 
was not only their minister and school-master, but a 
good blacksmith and farmer, and the best fisher- 
man in town." He died August 1, 1734, aged nearly 
sixty-five years, and was buried in Kittery, Me. His 
wife died at Stow, December 2, 1747, aged seventy- 
five. She probably did not live with him after he 
left town. After leaving Arundel he is said to have 
become an Episcopal minister at Kittery. 

The town, being without a minister, chose a com- 
mittee January 6, 1717-18, to procure a candidate. 
On the 17th of June following, Mr. John Gardner 
was called " to carry on the worke of the ministry." 
He was to have one hundred pounds in land as a set- 
tlement, and a yearly salary of seventy pounds for 
five years, and then seventy-five pounds, and then to 
add twenty shillings a year until it reached eighty 
pounds, which, thereafter, was to be his stated salary, 
to be paid in semi-annual installments. Mr. Gard- 
ner bought the ministerial lot for 150 pounds. All 
the preliminaries being arranged, preparations were 
made for the ordination, and on the 26th of Novem- 
ber, 1718, the pastor-elect was inducted into oflice, 
but there is no record of the services. The church at 
that time " consisted of fifteen males and about the 
same number of females." Mr. Gardner says the or- 
daining council " advised us to covenant anew, the 
foundation covenant being lost." But this new cove- 
nant is lost to us, and no one can tell what has become 
of it. Most of the early covenants were not so much 
a statement of belief as a sort of bond of union be- 
tween the members 

Mr. Gardner's ministry, on the whole, seems to 
have been peaceful and jirosperous. During the lat- 
ter part of his pastorate he was much enfeebled by 



644 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



age and disease, so that he could not preach regu- 
larly. He was willing to have a colleague, and sev- 
eral candidates were heard, but for two or three years 
there was no unanimity of feeling or agreement upon 
a successor. At length, however, a candidate was 
chosen, and Mr. Gardner was able to take part in his 
ordination, but he died almost e.xaclly three months 
from the day his colleague was settled, viz., January 
10, 1775, in his eightieth year, and in the fifty-eighth 
of his pastorate. 

Rev. John Gardner, son of John and Elizabeth 
Gardner, of Charlestown, was born July 22, 1G96, and 
graduated from Harvard College in 1715. He was 
strongly opposed to the Whittieldian movement about 
1740. He is represented as being very stern in his 
demeanor, so that the children greatly feared him ; 
yet he was "a gentleman of good intelleclual abilities, 
. . . sound in his principles of religion . . . and 
very faithful in the discharge of his pastoral office." 
He married, April 14, 1720, IMary, the eldest daughter 
of Rev. Joseph Baxter, of Medlield, when she was 
only nineteen years old. She died December 30, 
1784, in the eighty-fourth year of her age. During 
Mr. Gardner's ministry 209 persons joined the church, 
and 1346 were baptized. 

The seating of the meeting-house seems at times to 
have occupied the attention of the town, and Decem- 
ber 5, 1722, it was " voted that in seating the meet- 
ing-house there should be respect to age and to what 
persons paid towards building the house, and to the 
minister for the present year." Other similar votes 
were taken in the course of yeais. Even as late as 
May 14, 1790, a committee report where cerUiin per- 
sons not owning pews should be seated as follows : 

The fvre seat below. — Mr. Julin RaiiJsiH, WiUinm W'liitcomb, Jaiiiufi 
DuviUsun, Bezfleel Ilule, Buiijaniiu M'liilcomb, AVilliani W'itliington, 
Stt'plieu How', Asa Warren, Zuchariali Wljitmail, Oliver Galea, Francis 
Eveletb, Elisba Gates, Jubn Kveletb, Tiioiiias Wetlierbce, .Silas Ilindall. 
ISenJaniin Sniitli, Kliiittbelb lialey, Blary Gates, Mary Hale, Klizabetli 
llall, Deborah Gates, Sarah ('unalit, Martha Skinner, Sibbel Whitney. 

Secftnd atdl below. — Jabez Blown, David Jewell, KliaH Whitney, 
tjaninel Gooilnow, VreJerick Waliiitl, .lohn Davidson, Daniel (Vcutant, 
Abel Taylor, Benjamin Monroe, Josliuu Brown, Joseph Wetliorbee, 
Abner Kay, Josiah Witt. 

I'ore nciU /rout. — Abraham llaudall, Josiah Brown, Abijali Warren, 
Nathan I'ntnnm, Thomas Whitman, Judah Wetherbee, Josiah KandaU, 
William Waleutt, Charles Hale, Saumol llapgood, John Patch, Eph- 
raim Wetberhee, Bezeluel Hale. 

Fore geut side. — Jaeob Whitney, Joniis Hale, llezeklaU Ilapgood, 
James Osborn, Oliver Gates, Jr., .lolialhan tjates, Augustus Cooledge, 
George Davidson, Jolin Conant, l*eter (Sonant, Asa I'titnam, Icliabod 
Stow, .Simeon Whitcumb, Ablaliam Wbitcomb, Daniel Hooker, Oliver 
Marble, He/ekiah Whitcomb, Daniel Kveleth, Samuel Jewell, Israel 
Gates, Benjamin Brown, Isaac Whitcomb, Thomas Gates, Silas Cool- 
edge, John Gates, Jr., lle/ekiah Whitney, David Band. 

Tlie third eeat Itdoie. — Samuel Osborn, William Maxwell, Isaac Brown, 
Eltbraim Wheeler, Sin on Tufler, Timothy Taylor, Samuel Withington, 
ClmrleB Brown, Israel Itobbins, Phiueas Taylor, Ueury tl!ooledge, 
Henry Smith, Benjamin Claik. 

The seeuud seat /rottl. — John Witt, Isaac Conant, Williani Morse, Israel 
Hale, Elfhraim Hale, Benjamin Withington, Ezekiol Gates, Jo-.iah 
Conant, John liaywaid, Jr., Lernnel Whitney, Silas Witt, Eliab Good- 
Ijow. 

The second seat citlc.^Abrahain Bay, Samuel Sargent, Jr., Is:utc Tay- 
lor, .lacob Soper, Josiah Brown, Jr., l.uke Blown, Augustus Tower, 
Jonas Hastings, Sihis Brooks, Amos Brooks, David Osborn, baniel 



Brown, Caleb Gates, Thomas Burgess, William Brown, Thaddeus Good- 
now, Gustin Taylor, Jonas Taylor, Silas Whiteoinli, Darius Whitcomb, 
Jonathan Waleutt, Jacob Gates, Levi Stearns, Ephraim Taylor, Israel 
Taylor, SimeoD Ilayward, Abrain Conant, Abel Brown, Charles Gales. 

In Slay, 1773, it was voted that the womea'sseats in 
the body seats be cleared of the singers, but no 
" further provision of seats for the singers " was 
made. 

Mr. Gardner having signified his willingness to re- 
ceive a colleague, measures were taken to secure one. 

But it was found very dithcult to decide upon can- 
didates. The town held two meetings within one 
week in October, 1773, relative to the matter, yet such 
was the excitement that nothing was done. Mr. John 
Marrett (Harvard College, 17(53) was a favorite can- 
didate with many ; and November 29, 1773, the church, 
with only one dissenting voice, voted to give him a 
call. The town, however, December 20th, did not con- 
cur with thechurch, and voted not to hire preaching. 
But as the minister could not be settled without the votes 
of both parties, Mr. Marrett left and was fcubsequcntly 
settled at what is now Burlington. When Hancock 
and Adams left Lexington, on the morning of April 
19, 1775, they were conducted to Mr. Marrelt's board- 
ing-house, and by him were guided to a place of 
safety near the Billerica line. 

At their meeting March 4, 1774, the town concluded 
to have preaching again and chose a committee to at- 
tend to that matter. March 13th, Mr. Jonathan 
Newell preached his first sermon, as a candidate. 
Having preached six or eight Sundays, the church, 
on the 13ih of June, invited him to tettle, and on the 
20ththe town,bya very great majority,voted to concur 
with the church in the invitation to Mr. Newell to be 
the joint pastor with Mr. Gardner. He was to have 
IGO ptmnds as an encouragement to settle, and his 
yearly salary was to be fifty-three pounds, six shillings 
and eight pence during the life-time of Mr. Gardner. 
It was then to be increased to eighty pbunds, to be 
paid to him annually while he should continue in the 
work of the ministry ; but when he should be, by 
sickness or age, or otherwise, unable to supply the 
pulpit, then his salary shoulil be only forty pounds 
annually so long t;s he should live in the ministry. 
Mr. Newell's acceptance of the call was read to the 
church September 11, 1774. On the 26th of the 
month the town voted to liave " the proposed ordina- 
tion of Mr. Newell observed as private as jjossible, 
agreeable to the vote of thechurch." Henry Gsndner, 
Jonathan Wood and Deacon Samuel Gates were 
chosen to carry forward the ordination when they 
think proper, and to consult with Mr. Newell about 
the same. Colonel Jonathan Wood was requested to 
entertain the ordination council, and he was to be 
paid six pounds for so doing. The ordination took 
place on Tuesday October 11, 1774. Rev. Samuel 
Johnson, of Harvard, began with prayer; Rev. Samuel 
West, of Needham, preached the sermon. Rev. Mr. 
Gardner, of Stow, gave the charge ; Rev. Mr. Swift, 
of Acton, gave the right hand of fellowship. 



STOW. 



645 



During the long ministry of Mr. Newell harmony and 
good will generally prevailed. On the one hundredth 
anniversary of the incorporation of the town he 
preached an occ.Tsional and interesting sermon, which 
was printed ; yet it does not contain so much historical 
matter as we of this day should have desired. Fifty 
years from the date of his settlement he preached a 
sermon commemorative of that event, which was also 
printed. During his ministry at one time the dogs 
became somewhat troublesome at church, and a com- 
mittee was chosen, April -t, 179G, to take care of the 
dogs that come to meeting on Sunday, and also to kill 
all " that come into the meeting-house on the Sab- 
bath Day, if they can't keeji them olf without." 

As the infirmities of age grew on apace, Mr. New- 
ell, in June, 1828, proposed to relinquish one-half of 
his salary if the town would secure an assistant. This 
proposition w.as accepted on the 1st of September fol- 
lowing. But three months later Mr. Newell, "on ac- 
count of his declining health and increasing infirmi- 
ties," asked the town "to immediately provide a 
preacher, agreeing to relinquish all further support as 
a minister." On the 22d of December, 1828, the 
town acceded to his request, and " voted that the in- 
habitants of the town and parish will hold in lasting 
remembrance and veneration the Rev. Mr. Newell, 
their pastor, for the deep interest which, during his 
long ministry among them, he has ever manifested in 
their behalf, collectively and individually ; that in his 
late voluntary relinquishment of salary they recog- 
nize a fatherly and anxious concern that a colleague 
and successor may be selected and settled while he 
yet lives and can aid them by advice and example." 
A colleague was soon settled. After relinquishing 
the charge of the pulpit Mr. Newell lived nearly two 
years, dying on the morning of October 4, 1830, lack- 
ing but one week of fifty-six years from his ordin.a- 
tion, at the age of almost eighty-one years. 

Eev. Jonathan Newell was born at Needhara, De- 
cember 13, 17-19, old style, or December 24th, new 
style. He fitted for college at Hatfield, and gradu- 
ated from Harvard College in 1770. He studied the- 
ology with his pastor. Dr. West, of Needhara, and 
commenced preaching in tha»autumn of 1773. We 
are told that he " was a man of a strong mind, of sound 
judgment, exceedingly well acquainted with human 
nature, benevolent and generous to the poor, almost 
to profuseness. He had a great deal of shrewdness 
and of wit. . . His passions were naturally very strong, 
but he kept them undercontrol. . . His whole ministry 
w.as marked with consummate prudence." " His con- 
duct was that of a gentleman to everybody. He was 
a very social companion and was universally beloved. 
He was remarkably fond of mechanical studies." He 
invented a machine for cutting nails, which proved a 
great success. "He was a large and well-iiropor- 
tioned man, and when fifty years old is said to have 
carried ninety-four bricks in a hod, at one time, to 
the top of his two-story house." At his request no 



funeral sermon was preached, and none but the rela- 
tives followed the body to the grave. He married, 
November 24, 1774, Miss Sarah Fisk, of Watertown, 
and there was great rejoicing when he and his bride 
arrived in town ; but in less than two years their joy 
was turned to mourning, for she " passed on " from 
earth September 14, 177G, aged about twenty-five 
years. The town greatly sorrowed at her departure. 
"Her singular good temper and courteous conduct 
endeared her to all." Mr. Newell remained a wid- 
ower a little more than five years. Exactly seven 
years from the day of his ordination, or October 11, 
1781, he married Miss Lucy Rogers, daughter of Rev. 
Daniel Rogers, of Littleton. She survived him more 
than fifteen years, and died May 26, 1846, aged ninety 
years. During Mr. Newell's ministry 140 persons 
were admitted to the church, about 1100 were bap- 
tized, and 337 couples were married by him. 

Rev. John Langdon Sibley, having preached a few 
Sundays, was, on the 16th of February, 1829, invited 
to become the minister of the town. He was offered 
$500 as a settlement and a yearly salary of $600, with 
twelve cords of oak or walnut wood yearly. The call 
was accepted April 1, 1829, and ho was ordained on 
the 14th of May following. The introductory prayer 
and the reading of the S-.;riptures were by Rev. Mr. 
Robinson; sermon, by Rev. Dr. Lowell, of Boston; 
ordaining prayer, by Rev. Dr. Ripley ; charge, by 
Rev. Mr. Newell ; right hand, by Rev. Mr. Emerson ; 
address to society, by Rev. Dr. Harris; concluding 
prayer, by Rev. Mr. White. Dr. Lowell's sermon was 
printed. At the close of the services the council 
dined at the house of Francis Conant. 

Mr. Sibley's ministry was of short duration. Soon 
after his ordination a Universalist Society was formed, 
■and some persons holding Trinitarian views withdrew 
from his support. Religious convictions were form- 
ing anew. Seeing the drift of aftairs, the pastor, on 
the 31st of March, 1831, sent in his resignation, but it 
was not accepted. The people still being divided in 
sentiment, he renewed his resignntion in February, 
1833, and it was accepted by the town March ISth, to 
take efl'ect on the l=t of April. Rev. Mr. Sibley was 
born December 29, 1804, at Union, Me. He fitted for 
college at Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, N. H., 
and graduated from Harvard College in 1825. After 
leaving Stow he preached but little. He subse- 
quently became assistant librarian of Harvard Col- 
lege, and afterwards librarian. He was the editor of 
the Tru-nnial Catalogue for several years, and pub- 
lished three volumes of biographical sketches of the 
early graduates of his alma mater, and was a large 
benefactor of Phillips Exeter Academy. He married, 
May 20, 1866, Charlotte Augusta Langdon Cook, and 
died at Cambridge December !), 1885. 

He was the la>t minister settled and supported by 
the town. In the latter part of the year the First 
Parish was organized, embracing all who had not 
withdrawn from the old church, who were known as 



(346 



HISTOKY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Unitarians. But things were still in a somewhat un- 
settled condition, yet preaching was maintained for a 
considerable part of the time. Different ministers 
sup])iied the pulpit for some years, among whom was 
]iev. Selh Alden, Rev. Jonathan Farr, Kev. Matthew 
Harding, an Englishman, and probably some others 
whose names are unknown. 

Rev. William Homans Kingsley was installed as 
pastor December 25, 1839. He continued in ofBce 
until the last Sunday of March, 1846. He was born 
at East Bridgewater May 3, 1809. He had previously 
preached at Ipswich, Mass., and at Hubbardston. 
He subsequently preached at Mansfield and Mendon, 
and died at the latter place, September 7, 1851. 

Rev. Reuben Bates (H. C, 1829) was installed 
June 18, 1846, and, on account of ill health, closed 
his ministry October 3, 1859. He was born at Con- 
cord March 28, 1809, and had previously been settled 
at Ipswich, N. H., and Ashby, Mass. He died De- 
cember 1, 1862. After his retirement various candi- 
dates supplied the pulpit until January 20, 1862, when 
Rev. George F. Clark was invited to become the pas- 
tor. The parochial year commenced March 1st. He 
was installed April 23d of that year, and closed his 
ministry on the 10th of March, 1867. 

The subsequent pastors of the First Parish have 
been Revs. Frederick W. Webber, John F. Locke, Da- 
vid P. Muzzy, Thomas Weston and J. Sidney Moulton. 

The first Sunday-school of the parish was organ- 
ized during Mr. Sibley's ministry, June 6, 1830, and 
Jacob Cildwell, the preceptor of the academy, was 
chosen superintendent. About 125 children were 
connected with the school during the first year of its 
existence. 

Uiiiversalisls. — About 1830 a UniversalistSociety was 
formed and lived some twenty years, but never had a 
settled minister, and had preaching only a part of the 
time. They were granted the use of the meeting- 
house a portion of each year, according to the amount 
of money they paid. 

Orthodox. — The Evangelical Church was organized 
May 11, 1839. It was composed of twenty-one mem- 
bers — six males and fifteen females. It was, indeed, 
an oUiihoot of the " Hillside Church," formed at Bol- 
ton in 1829. Rev. E. Porter Dyer was ordained pas- 
tor September 25, 1839. A chapel, for the use of the 
society, was built in 1840, and dedicated July 8th of 
that year. Kev. Mr. Dyer was dismissed January 29, 

1846, and Rev. Theodore Cooke was ordained June 9, 

1847. On the 1st of April, 1851, the place of worship 
was transferred from the centre of the town to Union 
Hall, in Rock Bottom Village. Several prominent 
members, however, withdrew in 1852, to help form a 
church at Assabet Village (now Maynard). This and 
other causes so weakened the society that it ceased 
to exist in the course of a year or two. The pastoral 
relations of Rev. Mr. Cooke were dissolved May 2, 
1853. The chapel was sold some fifteen years later 
and removed from town. 



Methodists.— T\\e Methodist Church of Rock Bot- 
tom is the legitimate successor of the old Methodist 
Church of that part of Marlborough now Hudson, 
which was constituted in 1808 by Rev. Benjamin R. 
Hoyt, at the house of Phineas Sawyer, the pioneer 
Methodist of that village. It was composed of mem- 
bers from several towns. They built a meeting-house 
in 1827, which was subsequently known as the "Old 
Brick Church," where they worshiped until Decem- 
ber 28, 1852, when the edifice was burned. A hall 
was then secured at Rock Bottom Village, where 
meetings were held. Thirteen of the Marlborough 
members soon after withdrew to form a new society. 
Those who remained decided to build a house of 
worship at Rock Bottom, and the corner-stone was 
laid July 4, 1853, and the house was dedicated No- 
vember 30th of the same year. Rev. L. D. Barrows 
preaching the sermon. Rev. T. B. Treadwell was the 
first preacher in charge of the society during 1853 
and 1854, Rev. G. F. Pool in 1855, Rev. William 
Pentecost in 1856-57, Rev. W. I. Lacount in 1858, 
1859-60, Rev. J. W. Lewis in 1861-62. Rev. Albert 
Gould in 1863-64, Rev. J. W. Hambleton in 1805, 
1866 and 1867, Rev. Augustine Caldwell in 1808-09, 
Rev. Burtis Judd in 1870-71, Rev. N. A. Soule in 
1872, Rev. J. L. Locke in 1873-74, Rev. N. Bemis in 
1875-76, Rev. G. R. Bent in 1877-78, Rev. William 
Full in 1879-80, Rev. W. E. Dwight in 1881-82, Rev. 
G. E. Sanderson in 1883, 1884-85, Rev. S. L. Rodgers 
in 1886-87, Rev. J. A. Day in 1888-89. In 1855 a 
parsonage-house was bought for $600. In 1884 a new 
parsonage was built at a cost of about $2200. 

Meeting-Houses — The first settlers were well 
aware of the importance of having a place of worship 
as an inducement for a minister to cast his lot among 
them. Hence they early took measures to erect a 
meeting-house where they and their children could 
regularly repair for public worship. Probably the first 
religious services were held in dwelling-houses, and, 
perhaps, in the summer season, in the open air, for 
" the groves were God's first temples." It is pretty 
evident, however, that the first meeting-house was 
built, though not finished, in 1685, two years after the 
incorporation of the tojrn. It stood at the east end 
of the Common at the lower village. The following 
votes are the first records extant relative to the build- 
ing. It was voted March 1, 1685-86, " yt Thomas 
Ward shall bee freed from any farther Charges in ref- 
erence to ye finishing ye meeting-house erected in 
this town." A few days later, March 10th, it was 
voted "that ye selectmen doe, and are hereby im pow- 
ered in ye behalfe of ye town, to agree & bargain 
with Samuel Hunt yt he finish ye meetinghouse of 
this town to ye tuining of ye key, or at least to agree 
with him to doe soe much of ye s'' work yt may bee 
of present necessity." Here is the agreement in ref- 
erence to finishing the house, between the selectmen 
and Mr. Hunt, dated March 22, 1085-86 ; "Samuel 
Hunt is to lay ye floors double in ye meeting-house. 



STOW. 



C47 



make and bans; two double doors, four windows each 
with three lights framed two feete and half in length 
with hansom niunions to be despatched forthwith sub- 
stantially and completely." He was to be paid for 
the work "ten bushels of Indian corne, good and 
mercbant.able, and to provide boards and nails." How 
" substantially and completely" the work was done 
we do not know, but evidently something more was 
needed. And as the following winter approached the 
people were reminded that the house was not sufR- 
cientl V protected against the cold blasts of this rigorous 
climate. Therefore, " .Vtt a meeting of ye inhabit"" 
& Proprietors of this Town ye .Sth of Octob' 1(586, It 
was voted that ye publick meeting-house newly 
erected in this Towne shall bee forth""' filled betweene 
ye wall timb" and studs from ye cills to ye Jowie 
peices with clay and wood and lathes, to hold the 
crosse peic^s, and to hold up ye clay «& yt ye same be 
l)lastered even with the studs & yt ye whole house 
shall be well & sufficiently every way round about 
und' planed, and it is agreed w* Jno Butterick and 
Ephraim Heldreth yt they doe arrange all ye said 
work to be done effectually, they providing materi- 
alls." They were to receive three pounds, five shil- 
lings, or in corn "at common price as it commonly 
goes from man to man." The house must have been 
of very rude construction and of small dimensions, 
having only " four windows each with three lights." 
But it was probably the best the inhabitants could do 
in their poverty, and they were content for the time 
being, at least. At any rate it served their purpose 
for a few years. But as the town grew in numbers 
and wealth, a larger and more comfortable place of 
worship was desired. Accordingly, on the 6th of 
March, 1709-10, the town met "to conclude some- 
thing about building a meeting-house," but there is 
norecordof anything done. Junel2, 1711, it was voted 
"that the meeting-house shall be built and set upon 
the little plaine on the norwest side of Strong Water 
Pond, on the right hand of the country road between 
Moses Whitney's and Capt. Stevens' house." This 
was where Mr. F. W. Warren's house now stands. 
There was, liowever, some dissatisfiiction with the lo- 
cation, and March 20, 1712, Samuel Hall, Zebediah 
Wheeler, Deliverance Wheeler, John Wetherby and 
Thomas Brown were chosen a committee to decide 
upon some place to set the house. The house was to 
be " 38 foot in length and 32 foot broad." We find 
no further action until January 12, 1712-13, when it 
was voted " to set the meeting-house on the right hand 
of the country road on the little knowl between Capt. 
[Stevens'] barn and the dame at Strong Water Brook." 
This was about seventy-five rods easterly of the first 
locption in 1711. 

The house was to be " 40 foot long, 32 wide and 
20 foot between joynts." April 7, 1713, Joseph 
Baby, Thomas Whitney, Sr., and Thomas Brown 
were chosen a committee to let out the building of the 
house, and were fully empowered to decide how it 



should be finished inside and out, how the seats, 
doors, windows and stairs should be made, and other 
things " to set out the beutey of the house." February 

1, 1713-14, it was ordered that i)ews be built in the 
new house "all round the body if persons de.'-ire lib- 
erty." The house was probably accepted and occu- 
pied about the 1st of May, 1714. It probably liad a 
gallery. The old meeting-house was sold before 
March, 1719, and the money was used to purchase a 
" burying cloth.'' The old Common at the lower vil- 
lage, whereon the first meeting-house stood, was sold 
in 1809 to Rufus Hosmer and Jacob Soper, for $100, 
on condition that it always remain a Common, never 
to be fenced or built upon. The new house cost about 
£250, besides some voluutary work upon it. 

The second house, like the first, was not probably a 
.very imposing edifice. Repairs were frequently made 
upon it; and in the course of years it was, by some, 
deemed unsuitable for religious purposes. Having 
been used about forty-six years, a movement was 
started for a new house, but nothing came of it. But 
April 6, 1752, it was voted " that the town will build a 
new meeting-house." A few weeks later it was voted " to 
sett the new meeting-house over the old celler-place near 
Strong Water Brook, called Capt. Stevens' old cellar- 
place." The house was to be fifty feet long, forty 
feet wide and twenty-three feet between joints. The 
location of the house was subsequently reconsidered 
once and again, and finally, February 12, 1753, it was 
voted " to set the house on the north side of the coun- 
ty road where Shabbukiu Road leads into said road." 
This was where the brick school-house now stands. 
The house is supposed to have been raised on the 
27th of August, 1753. As the house approached com- 
pletion the town decided, June 3, 1754, that " there 
shall be nineteen pews round the meeting-house, as 
they are in the old meeting-house, one of the nine- 
teen exempted for the minister's pew." On the same 
day Mr. Samuel Gates, Mr. Jeremiah Wood, Mr. John 
Marble, Junr., were empowered to sell the pew ground 
and give title to the same. The committee were to 
" dignifye " the pews and sell the highest pews to the 
highest payers ; but if the highest payer did not take 
the pet*-, then it was to be oll'ered to the next highest 
payer, &c. If the pew ground was not sold by the 
27th of the next January, the committee were direct- 
ed to build the pews at the town's expense. On .Ian. 
17, 1755, all former votes relative to selling the pew 
ground were reconsidered, and the pews were to be 
sold for £100, lawful money, and whoever bought 
should take the spot for his seat. January 27, 1755, 
the pew ground was sold to the following persons: 

Etut of Fore Hooy.—l, Capt. llczekiah Ilapgood ; 2, Lieut. Joseph 
Daby; .'J, Jeremiah lluhiloli. Wt-nt of Fore [)oor.—\, Daniel Hapgood; 

2, Joshim Wliitney; 3, Samuel Gates. Entt of I'lilpil.—l, Abraham 
Whitney; 2, Amos Gates; 3, John Marble, Junr. Wcat Z>nor nn-i ilff n'« 
SUtirit. — John Whitman, Esq. EuH Itoor iind Womai'n St'iirf. — Amos 
Brown. North of HV«/ />oor.— 1, ('apt. Phinoaa Gates ; 2, Elisha Gates. 
North of Font Uoor.— Samuel Sargent; 2, Widow Sarah Stevens. North- 
rnst Corner,— Capt. Timothy Gibson. Northwest Onicr.— Jonathan 
Wood. Next to the Minister'! I'ae, Wat of the Pulpit.— Stephou Gibson, 



6-18 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



The whole sold for £91 14s. lOrf. These pews were 
around the house, next to the walls. The apace within 
was at first occupied by long benches, one side of the 
broad aisle being for the men, and the other for the 
women. Some of these benches were subsequently 
taken up, and pews built instead. The house had 
probably a double front-door, and also a door at each 
end, with a gallery on three sides of the building. 
The cost of the edifice was about £2G6. The old 
house was sold for £122, and the proceeds were ap- 
propriated for the support of the poor. The house 
was first used for religious worship in February, 1755, 
and the first communion service in it was on the 23d 
of March following. 

In the course of a few years there appears to have 
been some irregularity in entering, or at least in 
leaving their seats after publick worship. Hence the 
town took the matter in hand, and March 4, 1771, 
they "recommended that the fore seats below move 
out first after publick service is over, and so successive- 
ly till they are empty. That the people in the gal- 
leries, in leaving their seats, the fore seats clear first, 
and so in succession till the galleries are empty." 
This probably led to an orderly and decorous depart- 
ure from the precincts. 

As time wears on, buildings once new wear out, no 
matter to how good uses they are devoted. So, in 1822, 
a movement was made for a fourth meeting-house, but 
failed. In 1824 a committee report against repairing 
the old house and recommend that a new house be 
placed a little west of the old one. Another com- 
mittee report in favor of a spot a little west of the 
Academy. This w;xs not satisfactory to all, and, in 
January, 1825, the town voted to purchase land of 
Levi Warren, near Noah Gates' house. This vote 
was re-considered and another site was selected. In 
the course of a few months various other votes rela- 
tive to the location, size and cost of the house were 
p.issed and re-considered. Finally the Gordian knot 
was cut December 9, 1820, by the town voting "to 
convey the old meeting-house and land connected, 
belonging to the town, to Moses Whitney, Esqr., and 
Augustus Tower, Esqr., and others, to their use, in 
consideration of their building a new house for pub- 
lic worship for the town, the surplus money arising 
from the sale of the pews to be paid into the town 
treasury." The house was to be completed within a 
year from the 1st day of January, 1827. The house 
was erected during the year 1827, on the site of the 
present meeting-house. It was dedicated on Monday, 
October 1, 1827. Rev. Dr. Thayer, of Lancaster, 
preached the sermon ; Rev. Dr. Ripley, of Concord, 
offered the dedicatory prayer ; and Rev. Mr. Allen, of 
Bolton, closed with prayer. October 22d the select- 
men were authorized to employ some one to take 
charge of the meeting-house and to ring the bell on 
Sundays, at funerals, town-meetings, etc. The bell 
was presented to the town by Mrs. Abigail Eveleth, 
an aged ladv, and it was tolled for the first time at 



her funeral. Tliis fourth house, built in 1827, was 
burned November 9, 1847. The books, clock, jiulpit 
and communion service were saved. The First Par- 
ish erected the present house in 1848, on the site of 
the one burned, and it was dedicated August 30th of 
that year. Rev. Chandler Robbins, of Boston, preach- 
ing the sermon. 

Parsonage— On the 30th of Dec, 1870, Col. Elijah 
Hale purchased a house and two or three acres of 
land, costing about 12000, and presented them to the 
First Parish, to be used as a parsonage. 

Sell.— Ahoat the 1st of January, 1722, a small 
bell was presented to the town by a Mr. Jeskell, an 
Englishman, who resided at the lower village, and 
that year a turret was built to the me;eting-house, to 
hang it in. No belfry or steeple was built on the 
house erected in 1754. The bell appears finally to 
have been sold in 1823. 

Educational. — The first reference to schools, on 
the town-books, was made December 13, 1714, when 
Thomas Brown was chosen schoolmaster. We think, 
however, there must have been schools of some char- 
acter at an earlier period than that, though perhaps 
not supported at public expense. Some of the set- 
tlers were probably men capable of giving instruction 
to the young and would doubtless do so gratuitously. 
It is not our province, however, to speculate upon 
this matter, but to record known facts. Thomas 
Brown probably taught one or two quarters. January 
11, 1715-16, John Whitman was chosen schoolmaster 
for one quarter. The following May Thomas Brown 
was again chosen for six months, and in September 
of the same year Benjamin Drowet was chosen for 
one quarter, to teach youth to read and write, and he 
was to be paid five pounds, and to begin on the 29th 
of October. In May, 1717, John Gardner was paid 
£7 13s. 4rf. for keeping school the previous winter. 
On January 17, 1718, Rev. John Eveleth w.as engaged 
to keep school for one quarter at £1 10s. per month. 
In March, 1720, Mr. Eveleth was paid £(! 10s. for 
keeping school the previous year. October 24, 1721, 
it was voted that the school shall be kept "at ye 
Capt" house " for the rest of the half-year. This was 
probably Captain Stevens' house. 

February 8, 1721-22, a rate of twenty pounds was 
made to pay the schoolmaster. December 5, 1722, 
it was voted to keep a writing-school for three months, 
and that the school should be kept one month each 
at Amos Brown's, John Taylor's and Jacob Brown's. 
December 2, 1723, it was ordered that the school be 
kept one month each at John Taylor's, Daniel Gates' 
and Zebediah Wheeler's. The next year it was to be 
kept at Phiueas Rice's, Daniel Gates' and John Tay- 
lor's. The first vote to build a school-house was in 
January, 1731-32, and the following year three school- 
houses were voted up. September 24, 1733, it was 
ordered that the town be divided into three school 
quarters, and three men in each quarter were chosen 
to locate the houses. It was subsequently decided 



STOW. 



649 



that the lnuisas sliould be twenty feet k)ng, sixteen 
wide and seven feet from the top of sill to the top of 
the plate. A streak of poverty came over the town, 
so that on August 22, "1734, they petitioned the Gen- 
eral Court for a grant of land to support the schools. 
They seem to have been indicted for not having a 
school. December 18, 1734, voted to so far accept the 
school-bouse lately built nearest the meeting-house, 
as to order the school to be kept in it for four months. 
The following February voted that every part of the 
town shculd have their part of schooling according to 
their pay, and should choose their own schoolmaster ; 
that every school should be free, and that every quar- 
ter should build their own school-house by subscrip- 
tion, etc. October 9, 1749, a committee was chosen 
to answer for the town at the next Inferior Court. 
This had reference to a grammar-school, as one had 
not been ke)it .according to law. A great innovation 
upon the established order of things occurred in 
March, 1750, when it was voted to provide a "School 
Dame," and that the school should be kept six 
months in the summer season, and forty pounds, old 
tenor, was granted for that purpose. In October of 
that year it was decided that the school should begin 
at " Shabican," and then at the east end, etc. It was 
voted not to keep a grammar-school in 1752, and in 
1758 the town was indicted for not having one. The 
same year it was voted to build a school-house at the 
meetipg-house — all within two miles were to help 
build the house, all ouiside of two miles were to have 
as much schooling as they were taxed for. The 
house was not probably built, for in March, 1763, a 
similar vote was passed, the limit being a mile and a 
half. The house was to be eighteen feet square ex- 
clusive of the chimney-place, seven feet stud ; the in- 
side to be well ceiled, the chimney of brick, the house 
underpinned and well glazed. March 3, 1766, forty 
pounds, lawful money, were raised to build three 
school-houses in the out divisions of the town, but 
they were not speedily built. In 1771 a committee 
was chosen to provide schools ; this had previously 
been done, but sometimes the matter was intrusted to 
the selectmen. Six months of a man's and six 
months of a woman's school was provided for. April 
19, 1779, a committee reported that the middle of the 
town should have twelve weeks and two days of 
schooling, east end thirteen weeks and one day, west 
end sixteen weeks, north end ten weeks and four 
days. 

Forty-seven pounds, ten shillings, silver money, were 
appropriated tj build a school-house near Silas Ran- 
dall's. It was arranged in 178S that every quarter 
should draw their own pay and keep their own schools 
for the future. The Legislature of 1789 ordered that 
the towns should be divided into school districts. 
The town had already five school-houses, and it 
was therefore divided into five districts. Liberty 
was given May 12, 1794, to the "Squadron" in the 
middle of the town to hang the town's bell on their 



school-house, and to set a school-house at the east 
end of the meeting-house on the town's land, but not 
nearer than the white oak trees. The same year 
£300 were a;)propriated to build and repair school- 
houses. Rev. Mr. Newell, in March, 179.), gave 
the proprietors of the centre school-house the privi- 
lege of erecting a house on his land, southerly of 
the Great Road, so long as it was used for school 
purposes. In 1803 a committee was chosen to re- 
district the town, and in 1811 there appear to have 
been eleven districts. For some years previous to 
this a School Committee had been chosen in each dis- 
trict to look after the schools. This year Rev. Mr. 
Newell and seven others were chosen to visit the 
schools at the opening and close of the same. A 
similar committee was chosen for two or three years 
following. In 1814 the south and southwest districts 
were united. In 1826 a law was enacted requiring 
all towns to choose a superintending school commit- 
tee, and since then, with two exceptions, such a com- 
mittee has been yearly chosen, the number vari'ing 
from three to nine. In 1829 the town was divided 
into five districts. The prudential school committee, 
for many years, was chosen by the town, but in 1812 
the several districts were allowed to choose their 
own committee. In 1869 the district system was 
abolished and the whole supervision of the schools 
devolved upon the superintending committee. Many 
of the towns, however, clung with great tenacity to 
the management of their own district affairs. Much 
of the time since the town assumed control of the 
schools a superintendent of schools has been chosen 
by the committee who has looked after their interests. 
Among the famous teachers of the past may be men- 
tioned Mr. Francis Eveleth, son of Rev. John Eve- 
leth, who for many years was a prominent instructor 
of the young, and died November 23, 1776, at the age 
of seventy-four years. Of late years probably no one 
has taken a higher rank as a teacher and disciplina- 
rian than Mrs. Susan M. Lawrence, who for twenty- 
five years has been almost constantly employed in 
that capacity and is still employed. 

Acadi-my.— On the 13th of October, 1823, twenty- 
seven of the prominent inhabitants of the town met 
to consider what could be done to improve the edu- 
cational advantages of the town, especially as related 
to greater privileges for their children than were then 
furnished by the public schools. The result of the 
conference was the formation of an association for 
the establishment of an aca<leniy, where the languages 
and the higher branches of English studies should be 
taught. Under the existing state of things it was a 
wise movement, and reflects great credit upon its 
projectors. A building spot was soon purchased and 
a contract for the erection thereon' of a suitable edi- 
fice w.as made. The grounds were graded by volun- 
tary labor, and the house was ready for occupancy 
the following spring. The services of dedit-ation 
took place on the 31st of May, 1824. Rev. Mr. 



G50 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Newell, the minister of the town, delivered a very 
api)ropriate address. The school was immediately 
opened under the direction of John M. Cheney 
(Harvard College, 1821) as preceptor. In order to 
give some degree of permanency to the institution, at 
the outset the proprietors gave their notes, with sure- 
ties, to the board of trustees chosea for that purpose, 
to an amount .sufficient to pay the salary of a precep- 
tor for five years. But the.se notes were never paid, 
for tlie very good reason that the school at once be- 
came self-supporting, and continued to be so for a con- 
siderable number of years. In fact, the school was a 
decided success. So popular was it that pupils came 
from many neighboring towns, as well as from New 
Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maryland, Louisiana and 
the Province of Canada. At one time, indeed, the 
school was so thronged that the proprietors kept their 
own children at home to accommodate students from 
abroad. In the process of years, however, the pros- 
perity of the school began to wane. The necessity of 
a frequent change of teachers had a deleterious influ- 
ence, and the increase of similar institutions in the 
neighborhood led to a considerable reduction in the 
number of i)upils. Perhaps the improved condition 
of the common schools had its influence in rendering 
the school less popular than at first. So after a life 
of about twenty years it ceased to be. 

Hhjh School. — Some years after the academy became 
defunct, tlie need of something to take its place was 
felt, and in 1851 the project of a high school was de- 
bated in town-meeting, but an adverse vote was 
given. But the town, April li', 1852, appropriated 
over $320 for the support of such a school, and for a 
few years it was sustained, perhaps somewhat reluc- 
tantly by many of the voters. In this state of affairs 
a public-spirited and wealthy citizen of the town. 
Col. Elijah Hale, came forw.ard in 1871, and proposed 
to give the town $5000 as a fund towards the support 
of a high school, on condition that the town also ap- 
propriate an equal sum for the same object, and 
should never abandon the school, but if they did so, 
the money was to revert to the donor or his 
heirs. Hon. John W. Brooks offeied $1000 and his 
father, Henry Brooks, $100 in addition, and on the 
same terms. The town met on the 24th of May in 
that year to consider the propositions. They then 
voted with great unanimity " that the offer of C<il. 
Elijah Hale, Henry Brooks, Esq., And Hon. John W. 
Brooks, of means for tlie creation and support of a 
High School be accepted on the partof of the Town." 
It was then " voted. That the Town Treasurer give 
the Town's note for five thousand dollars with inter- 
est, payable semi-annually to the Trustees, and pay 
the interest to them as it shall become due." The 
trustees were to " give a bond in fifteen thousand 
dollars, to be kept by the Town Treasurer, for the 
faithful performance of their trust, who shall keep 
the fund well invested, . . . and make annual re- 
port of the amount and condition of the fund to the 



Town." ''Voted, That the old Academy building and 
grounds be appropriated for the use of said School, 
and that it be under the care of the School Commit- 
tee, and be put in order by them." Seven trustees 
were then elected by ballot, namely, Edwin Wliilney, 
Theodore Cooke, A. C. Livermore, Charles W. Glea- 
son, Francis W. Warren, Henry Gates and Micah 
Smith. Finally " Voted, That the thanks of the town 
be presented to Col. Elijah Hale, Henry Brooks, Esq., 
and to Hon. John W. Brooks, for their generous do- 
naiions for the creation and support of a High School 
for the Town of Stow." The school was opened 
about the 1st of the following September, and is 
still in a flourishing condition. 

Miscellaneous. — The Rock Bottom Library As- 
sociation was formed July 15, 1880, and has about 
1000 volumes of books. 

The publication of Tlie Stoiv Sentmcl, a weekly 
newspaper, was commenced May 19, 1883, and the 
first number contained a full report of the proceed- 
ings at the Bi-Centennial Celebration on the 10th of 
the same month. 

Graduates from College. — We here give the 
list of graduates, so far as we have learned. Very 
likely some may have escaped our notice. In regard 
to the name of Silas Randall, we are not quite sure 
he was a native, yet we have but little doubt. H. C. 
means Harvard College; D. C, Dartmouth College; 
T. C, Tufts College, and B. U., Brown University. 
The first three names are the sons of Rev. John Gard- 
ner, the second minister of the town. 

Samuel Gardner, H. C, 1740; Henry Gardner, H. 
C, 1750 ; Francis Gardner, H. C, 1755 ; Jeremiah Bar- 
nard, H. C, 1773; Phineas Randall, H. C, 1792; 
Abraham Randall, H. C, 1798 ; John Randall, H. C, 
1802; Silas Randall, B. U., 1804; Jonathan Newell, 
H. C, 1805; Augustus Cooledge, D. C, 1813; George 
Newell, H. C, 1823; Charles Newell Warren, H. C, 
1834; Eben Smith Brooks. H. C, 1835; Jonathan 
Newell, H. C, 1838; Silas Webster Hale, H. C, 
18(17; Francis Eugene Whitney, H. C, 1872; Ed- 
ward Prescott Reed, H. C, 1878; (Jharles Henry 
Murdock, T. C, 1888; George Frederick Murdock, 
T. C, 1888; Eugene Burtt Lawrence, T. C, 1889. 
In addition to these we give the name of Galen 
Alonzo Clark, H. C, 1871, who was a resident of the 
town when he entered and while in college. Abra- 
ham Garland Randall Hale graduated from Harvard 
College Law School in 1871. 

Military and War Operations. — Under the 
circumstances wherein they were placed, the early 
settlers of the town felt compelled to arm them- 
selves, and thus be prepared to repel any attack that 
the Indians should make upon them, and also to 
provide some fortified place or places to which they 
could flee in case of any hostile invasion. Hence, 
on the 16th of May, 1698, it was "voted y' y° 
selectmen are hereby empowered to make a rate 
for ye repairing ye Garrison about ye ministry 



STOW. 



G51 



house for ye securing ye same, every inhabitant 
liaving Liberty to worke out their rate, and if any 
shall neglect or refews to worke out their proportion 
they are to pay it unto ye selectmen theire due pro- 
portion, and in order to ye Carring out ye s'' work ye 
foote Company are apoynted to meet or appeare next 
Munday." The ministry house, being doubtless the 
most central, was selected for the garrison. We are 
also informed that there was a fortified house 
towards the southerly part of the town, near the 
river, above Rock Bottom Village. And there might 
have been another towards the western end of the 
town. Doubtless, as soon as possible after the settle- 
ments were made one regular military company was 
organized, and then another, who met occasionally 
for drill, etc. We find allusions to these " military 
exercises " as early as 1706. Thomas Stevens was 
probably the first, or at least one of the first, com- 
m.inders of the militia, for he is sometimes alluded 
to as if he were "Captain" par excellence. There 
are few records, however, relative to early military 
matters. For many years after 1693 the towns were 
required by law to keep a supply of powder, ammu- 
nition and other military stores, to be drawn upon in 
case of an emergency. These materials of war were 
sometimes kept in the loft of the meeting-house, and 
later a special building or "powder-house" of brick 
was erected for their safe keeping. As late as 1814 
such a house was built, and we infer that it stood in 
the cemetery near the brick school-house, for the 
town, Oct. 22, 1S49, authorized the selectmen to sell 
the '■ powder-house," and have it removed from the 
burying-ground. 

As the population increased, two infantry com- 
panies were formed, one at the north, the other at the 
south part of the town. There was also a cavalry 
company, composed in part, we i)resume, of men 
from other towns, as was often the case. We find 
(|uite early an allusion to "Cornet" Joseph Daby, 
which designates him as a cavalry officer. These 
military companies continued down to quite a 
recent period, and, with other towns forming a 
regiment, were required to meet for an annual 
" muster," as it was called, when they were reviewed 
by the "stall" officers," on which occasions the town 
was accustomed to bear some portion of the necessary 
expenses. So on the 18th of August, 1800, the town 
voted to find the soldiers at the Concord muster (27th 
and 2Sth of August), " four rations a man and 2 
barrels of cyder." Forty dollars were appropriated 
to provide " for 56 men of the Troop and North Com- 
pany, and a like proportion for the South Company, 
being 60 men." The days of total abstinence had 
not then arrived. 

French and Isdiax Wau. — During the French 
and Indian War, from 17o5 to 1763, the town 
furnished soldiers for the army at Fort William 
Henry, Crown Point, Canada and Nova Scotia. 
Sometimes, when the scldiers were on the point of 



leaving for the seat of war, religious services were 
held by the resident minister. Thus, on the 28d of 
June, 1755, Rev. Mr. Gardner preached "at the 
desire of Capt. William Pierce, being the day he 
began his march with his company for Albany, in 
the expedition against Crown Point." Samuel 
Preston was a captain in the army in 1756. In 
Capt. Pierce's company, Michael Law was sergeant, 
John Law was corporal. Jonathan F.arr was drum- 
mer, and Nathan Whitney, Solomon Taylor, Josiah 
Wetherbee and Jonathan Pierce, of Stow, were 
privates. Ephraim Powers was sergeant in Capt. 
Preston's company, and Ezekiel Davis was in 
another company. May 22, 1758, Ensign Jabez 
Brown and others of Stow, whose names are un- 
known, started to join the army destined for Canada. 
And in April, 1760, others started for Crown Point. 
The following Stow soldiers went to Canada in 1760: 
Joshua Brown, Jonathan Farr, Phineas Fuller, 
Amos Gates, Simon Gates, Abraham Gates, Paul 
Graves, Solomon Savcas, ('), a servant of Mary Hap- 
good. None of the Stow men were killed in the 
army during this war, so far as we can learn, but the 
following are known to have died while in service 
or from diseases contracted in the camp, viz. : Capt. 
Ephraim Brown died Jan. 4, 1756, a few days after 
his return from the array; July 23, 1758, Ebenezer 
Gates died at Lake George ; May 24, 1760, Abel 
Ray died at Shrewsbury, on his march to the army ; 
Nov., 1760, Isaac Taylor died at Crown Point, and 
Nov. 23, 1761, .Stephen Houghton died while returning 
from Crown Point. It is proper that these men 
should be remembered, as well as those of a later 
day who gave their lives in defence of their country. 
Ante-Revolution. — The Stamp Act and other 
arbitrary measures of the government of England 
alarmed the people, and they came together October 
21, 1'765, to consider the state of affairs, and to choose 
a committee lo give instructions to their representa- 
tive, Henry Gardner, Esq., relative to the imposition 
of duties or taxes upon the Colonies by Parliament. 
The committee presented their instructions giving 
reasons why the taxes should not be imposed upon 
the Colonies, and recommended that their represen- 
tative " should use the strictest care and the utmost 
firmness to prevent all unconstitutional draughts 
upon the j)ublic treasury." March 7, 1768, voted that 
the town will use their utmost endeavors to encourage 
economy, industry and manufactures within this 
Province, both by example and every other legal 
method ;" also that " the town will by every legal way 
and manner discourage the importation into this 
Province of any foreign superfluities, or any arti- 
cles that at present may be avoided ; " also to " use 
their utmost endeavor to encourage the manufacture 
of paper in this Province, and to this end the sd town 
will do everything proi)er towards supplying the 
paper mills at Milton with materials for carrying on 
said uuinufactures." 



652 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Henry Gardner, Esq., was cliosen, September 22, 
176S, to meet with others at Boston, and another com- 
mittee was appointed to take the state of public af* 
fairs into consideration. As the arbitrary measures 
of England increased, the spirit of resistance seemed 
also to increase, and, January 25, 1773, the proceed- 
ings of the town of Boston on tlie 20th of November, 
relative to the situation of affairs, was approved, and 
Dr. Charles Whitman, Henry Gardner, E<q., Solomon 
Taylor, Captain Phineas Taylor, Captain Jonathan 
Hapgood, Samuel Gates and John Marble were di- 
rected to report at a future meeting " what may 
further be necessary to be done thereon." The com- 
mittee, February 8, 1773, report a letter to the Com- 
mittee of Correspondence at Boston, wherein they ex- 
press their satisfaction " of the care and vigilance of 
the town of Boston to preserve our happy constitu- 
tion from infringement and violation ;" and they 
further say, '' as we are solicitous of handing down to 
Posterity the Privileges, both civil and religious, ob- 
tained by our Ancestors at the E.Kpense of their Lives 
and Fortunes, we shall at all times and on all proper 
Occasions endeavor to preserve the Constitution from 
Infringement, and obtain a Kedress of Grievances 
where the same is violated in a loyal, manly and dis- 
creet way and manner." These were brave and noble 
words. They show the spirit that actuated the patri- 
otic citizens of the town at a time "that tried men's 
souls." Such men seldom fail in their opposition 
to despotism. On the same day these men express 
their great concern that Parliament had assumed the 
power of legislation for the Colonies, and were col- 
lecting a revenue; also wiih uneasiness they notice 
the unreasonable extension of the power of the Courts 
of Vice-Admiralty, together with many other griev- 
ances. 

A committee, consisting of Henry Gardner, Solo- 
mon Taylor, Samuel Gates, John Marble and Cap- 
tain Taylor, was chosen " to correspond with the 
several towns within the Province respecting our 
rights and privileges as British subjects, men and 
Christians." Henry Gardner, the representative, was 
directed, September 26, 1774, to oppose the late 
acts of Parliament. January 16, 1775, it was "voted, 
that Henry Gardner, Esq., Lieut. David Jewell and 
Capt. Phineas Taylor be a committee to take effec- 
tual care that the association of the Continental 
Congress setting at Philadelphia in September 
liist, and the agreements of the provincial Con- 
gress referring thereto, be carried into execution, 
according to the true intent and meaning thereof. 
Voted that this town will, on all occasions, use their 
influence, both publickly and privately, so far as they 
can consistent with the principles of our Constitution, 
to carry into execution the said association of the 
Continental Congress, and the resolves of the provin- 
cial Congress referring thereto, and will aid the com- 
mittee aforesaid in all their endeavors therefor." 
Thus again tliiy show their " manly and discreet" 



determination to uphold their liberties. They also 
requested the assessors and the constables to pay the 
public moneys to Henry Gardner, Esq., who had been 
chosen treasurer by the Provincial Congress, and not 
to Harrison Gray, the royal treasurer, and that these 
officers should be held harmless at the town's expense, 
for so doing. This was an open act of defiance to the 
constituted authorities. But the time had come for 
such action. 

Kevolution. — The raid upon Lexington and Con- 
cord aroused the patriotism of the people to the highest 
[litch. "Starting from their beds at midnight, from 
their firesides and from their fields, they took their 
own cause into their own hands." Without discipline 
and almost without orders, they rushed forth to meet 
the foe. 

Anticipating the attempt to seize the military 
stores at Concord, a large quantity of them, with 
some cannon, were sent to Stow, and concealed in 
the woods northerly of the lower village, and not far 
Ironi the residence of Henry Gardner. Some of the 
citizens were in the fight at Concord, and Daniel 
Conant was wounded. We are told that " the two 
military companies, under Captains Hapgood and 
Whitcomb, marched for Concord at noon, passed 
the North Bridge," where Davis and Hosmer had 
fallen earlier in the day, " and arrived at Cambridge 
at sunset." Nearly forty of Stow men were in the 
battle of Bunker Hill, where they did valiant service. 
And all through the war, at various places, the town 
was represented by its soldiers. 

May 29, 1775, it was voted not to take any notice of 
Governor Gage's orders for representatives, but, in- 
stead, chose Henry Gardner to represent them in the 
Congress at Watertown. And not for a moment 
during the entire war did their patriotism flag. In 
every possible way they aided the patriot army. 

It was voted, January 15, 1776, to give the men that 
delivered two tons of hay at Carabrdge, for the army, 
£2 13«. 4rf. July 1, 1776, while the question of inde- 
pendence was debated in Congress, the town voted, as 
their opinion, "that a government independent of Great 
Britain might be formed, if the Government of this Col- 
ony and the Continental Congress shall think such a 
measure expedient." And five days later it was voted 
to raise £6 6s. 8rf. for each soldier that should go to 
Canada in the Continental service, to the number of 
twenty-four. 

In May, 1777, it was decided to provide " ten good 
firearms to those persons wlio cannot get them for 
them.selves." In November of the same year voted to 
hire one man more for three jears' service or during 
the war. January 19, 1778, voted to pay " £550, be- 
ing a part of the State's money which is their due to 
pay." Also, at the same time that the whole of the 
ammunition that was drawn out of the town stock at 
the Concord and Bunker Hill fights, and last sum- 
mer, when men were drafted to go to Rhode Island 
be returned in again. January 23, 1778, a commit- 



STOW. 



653 



tee of eleven was chosen to consider tbe matter of a 
confederation and practical union between tbe 
States. The committee recommended that tbe confed- 
eration and union "take place as soon as conveni- 
ent." Tbey also urge tbe representatives to see that 
the army was provided with clothing, and faithful 
men see to it, that " they may not be so shamefully 
neglected," but what they may be willing to defend 
lis from our cruel enemies, and that " this should be 
seen to before any other business is done." This 
shows how solicitous they were for tbe men in tbe 
army. March 26, 1778, they show their interest in 
the soldiers by voting to find clothing for them, and 
that the selectmen shall do something for tbe soldiers' 
families when needy. In May, 177S, £180 were 
raised to pay six men for the army. A few days later 
£100 were olfered per man, for si.\, to go to Fishkill ; 
three days later £60 bounty each to five men to go 
to the North River for eight months. August 2, 
1779, chose two men to sit in convention at Con- 
cord on the first Wednesday of October; also a com- 
mittee of seven was chosen to see that all tbe resolves 
of tbe said convention are strictly observed and put 
in execution. August 30tli voted to ajiply to tbe 
Honorable Council to know what should be done 
with the prisoners that were in town. In September 
it was decided that some of the prisoners should lie 
sworn, viz., "the Dutchmen and the Brittons and the 
Scotchmen." Where these prisoners came from is not 
stated. .June 15, 1780, chose a committee to hire 
the eleven men called for, and soon after to hire 
thirteen men for three months' service. September, 
1781, raised £40 to clothe the army and >£106 for 
beef. 

In 1782 £300 were raised to pay the three 
years' men in 1781. Thus all through the war the 
town failed not to do its duty to those who went forth 
in defence of human rights. Up to 177U there had 
been in the army at difl'erent times 305 men, whose 
term of service was from three weeks to three years, 
at an expen.se of £3833 9s. 8(^ Some of the men are 
counted two or three times, having enlisted for short 
terms of service. The exact number of different men 
is not known. After March, 1779, probably some fifty 
men or more were in the army at a cost of £500. 
This is a very liberal supply of men and money for a 
town of about 1000 inhabitants. 

While it is believed that none of tbe Stow soldiers 
were killed on tbe battle-field during the Revolution, 
the following are known to have died in the country's 
service, viz.: John Gordon, of Captain Joshua Park- 
er's company, died in camp at Cambridge June 19, 
1775; Daniel Gates, of Captain Joshua Brown's com- 
pany, died January 20, 1778 ; Ephraim Gates, of 
Captain Whipple's company, died March 19,1778; 
Stephen Hale, of Captain Joshua Brown's company, 
died July 2, 1778; Benjamin Gates, of Captain 
Joshua Brown'.^ company, died July 9, 1778. Others, 
we presume, were enfeebled for life by the exposures 



to which they were subject, and subsequently were 
pensioned. 

Tbe question of adopting a State (Constitution came 
up two or three times during the war, and the town. 
May 25, 1778, voted against tbe Constitution and form 
of government. May 20, 1779, voted, forty-three to 
seventeen, not to do anything about the Constitution 
or form of civil government. May 29, 1780, some 
slight alterations in several of the articles of the 
Constitution were suggested, and it seems to have 
been accepted by a vote varying from thirty-nine to 
fifty-five yeas, the nays not being given. 

The first votes for Governor under the Constitution 
were given September 4, 1780, as follows: John Han- 
cock, fifty-nine votes ; James Bowdoin, five votes. 
Henry Gardner had twenty votes for Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor. 

It was voted May 15, 178(3, that the guns given out 
in the war to those who had none should be returned 
or paid for. These, perhaps, were wanted for service 
in the "Shays' Rebellion." . We do not learn that 
any of the Stowites joined Shays in his rash move- 
ment; yet we presume they felt dissatisfied with tbe 
state of alfairs, for a committee was chosen, Aug. 21, 
1786, to attend the convention at Concord on the 
23d inst., to consult about grievances and find means 
of redress ; and in May, 1787, Charles Whitman, the 
Representative, was instructed to exert himself to 
remove the party spirit and disunion that prevailed 
in the State, to remove the General Court from Bos- 
ton, to lighten the taxes upon land, to raise money by 
duties and excise upon all imported articles, especially 
upon wines and distilled liquors, foreign and domes- 
tic, and the luxuries of dress, the proceeds to be used 
for the payment of foreign debts ; that the State Con- 
stitution be maintained inviolate ; that tbe salaries of 
the civil list be lowered; that a paper medium be 
opposed, as injurious to widows and orjibaus, and that 
distilled liquors pay the duty of distilling. Whether 
the Representative succeeded in accomplishing all 
this the depcjnent saith not. 

Wai: of 1812-14. — We will pass now from the 
Revolution to tbe War of 1812-14. We find but little 
action of the town relative to the matter. The war 
was generally unpopular in the State, and no great 
zeal was manifested in most of the towns to furni.sh 
tbe men and tbe means of carrying it on. On tbe 
22d of May, 1812, it was voted to pay each volunteer 
soldier two dollars down and three dollars when 
called into active service, and make up ten dollars per 
month with what the government pay them. In the 
following September a Committeeof Safety was chosen. 
September 12, 1814, voted to make up the three sol- 
diers that were detached twenty dollars per month 
with what tbe government pays them. March 6, 
1S15, the soldiers were to have sixteen dollars per 
month with what the United States pay. None of 
the Stow soldiers were killed in this war, and we 
know of none who died in service. 



654 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Rebellion War.— Immediately after the assault 
of the rebels upon Fort Sumter aud the call of Presi- 
dent Lincoln for volunteers to defend the attack upon 
the nation's life, some of the Stow boys, members of 
the " Davis Guards," of Acton, proni|)tly responded 
to the President's proclamation, as did others at the 
beginning of the Revolution, and were in the famous 
Sixth Regiment when it passed through Baltimore 
on the l!)lh of April, 18G1, just eighty-six years after 
the Concord fight. At once a call was issued by the 
selectmen for a legal town-meeting, which was held 
on the 27th of April, to take action in the great crisis 
that had arisen. It was then voted to appropriate 
S^IOOO to uniform aud equip those who would volun- 
teer into the service of the country, and also to assist 
their families while absent. This action induced 
twenty-eight men to enroll themselves for duty. 
Early in the fall of 18G1 an appeal, endorsed by the 
President, was made to the women of the loyal States 
to furnish hospital stores for the sick and wounded 
soldiers. In response, a public meeting of the citi- 
zens was held, October 22d, and a committee, consist- 
ing of R. W. Derby, A. W. Nelson and Augustus 
Rice, was chosen to obtain and forward contributions. 
Previous to this a sufficient amount of cloth had been 
purchased to make nearly one hundred garments, 
which the ladies had prepared for an emergency. 
Following the appeal for sanitary stores, the ladies 
in each school district collected a large amount of 
articles that were forwarded to the proper authori- 
ties. In July, 1862, the town voted a bounty of !?125 
to the three years' men, and in August, $100 to the 
nine months' men. There were frequent meetings 
during the war to encourage enlistments, and to uphold 
the nation's arm. The Stow men entered twenty-five 
diH'erent regiments, which made it difficult to look 
after and assist those who were in need. 

April 4, 18G4, it was voted to pay re-enlisted men a 
bounty of 5-100. During that year eleven persons 
were bought to fill the town's quota, who were paid 
from $325 to $525. Quite large sums were subscribed 
by individuals for recruiting purposes, which were 
subiequeully refunded by the town. There were 174 
men in the army accredited to the town, who served 
for a longer or shorter time, including the nine 
months' and one hundred days' men. The record of 
these men was not so accurately kept as it should 
have been. Twenty-two more recruits were furnished 
by the town than were called for by the Government. 
Only once, we think, was it necessary to resort to a 
draft for a few men. 

The whole amount of money expended by the town 
on account of the war was $15,991.70, exclusive of 
State aid to soldiers' families, amounting to $8000, 
that was reimbursed by the State. A large amount 
of sanitary articles were furnished by the Soldiers' 
Aid Society, to the value of nearly $1500. The read- 
iness with which the people responded to these calls 
is shown by the fact that on the 14th and 15th of 



December, 1864, a fair was held to raise funds for the 
needy soldiers. The net receipts of the fair were 
$617.58. The interest taken in it by the ladies is 
shown by the fact that two young misses called at the 
grist-mill about a mile southerly of the village, and 
solicited a bag of meal. The young Mr. S., who was 
in charge at the time, said he would give it if they 
would drag it up to the Town-Hall. They assented 
to the proposition, and, loading it into a little band- 
wagon, they soon accomplished the task. It may be 
interesting to add that Mr. S., not long afterwards, 
married one of the young ladies. A wheelwright 
gave a wheelbarrow, which was sold on shares fur $17. 
It was then given back, and sold two or three times 
at auction, and netted over $46. The contributions 
to the Sanitary Commission, and directly to the sol- 
diers of the town, amounted to more than, $2000, 
which was quite a generous sum for so small a town. 
On the 3d of April, 1865, the joyous intelligence 
reached the town, late in the afternoon, that Rich- 
mond, Va., the rebel capital, was captured, and that 
the members of the Confederate Government were 
fleeing for their lives. Great enthusiasm was mani- 
fested. The bell of the village church was rung, 
flags were displayed, and in the evening the house of 
the pastor of the First Parish was illuminated. Just 
one week later the most welcome news of the surren- 
der of General Lee and his army was received with 
every possible demonstration of delight. The church 
bell rung for an hour, and almost all business was 
suspended. In order to accommodate all parties, a 
general illumination of the houses was deferred until 
the next evening, when a most brilliant exhibition 
was witnessed by crowds of people. An' extemporized 
band of musicians paraded the streets, and finally all 
came together in the Town-Hall and listened to some 
patriotic songs. Yet mauy hearts were sad at the 
recollection of dear friends whose lives had been sac- 
rificed during the " cruel war." The following per- 
sons were either killed, died of wounds or disease, or 
in rebel prisons, viz. : Lieutenant Winfleld H. Ben- 
ham at New Orleans, La., May 18, 1863; John 
Brown at Point Lookout, Va., September 5,1864; 
Sergeant John Alpheus Brown at Winchester, Va., 
December 8, 1864; Thomas Cunningham at Salis- 
bury Prison, N. C, October 30, 1864; Edward An- 
drew Davidson at Baltimore, Md., November . 9, 
1864; William Henry Dun'ap at New York January 
13, 1863 ; Samuel Hampton in rebel prison after June 
5, 1864 ; Albert Mardough Kingsbury at Gaines' 
Mills, Va., August 31, 1862; Daniel Artemas Lover- 
ing, at Cold Harbor, Va., June 3, 1864; Francis 
William Moore at New Orleans, April 19, 1863; 
Albion Nuttingat Washington, D.C., October 14, 1864; 
George Whitemarsh Parks at Getty.sburg, Pa., July 
2,1863; Charles F. Perry March 18, 1863; James 
Rye at Vienna, Va., March 4, 1864 ; Abraham Foster 
Rogers at Baton Rouge, La., August 5, 1862 ; Cori)oral 
Matthew Smith at Danville, Va., December 2, 1864; 



STOW. 



655 



Joseph Albert Swift at Winchester, Va., October 12, 
1804; Albert Walcott, April 15,18(54; George Frank- 
lin Whitcouib at Sali-ibury Prison, N. C, January 2, 
1805; Thomas Whitman at Fair Oaks, Va., June 19, 
1862; Sergeant Henry Windsor Wilder at Winches- 
ter, Va., September 1, 18G4 ; George Willis ar. Chan- 
tilly, Va., September 1, 1802. Of these, Cunningham, 
Nutting and Kye were non-resident-s, but were credited 
to Stow. 

New Towns.— About 1729 the question of form- 
ing a new town from parts of Stow, Lancaster and 
Groton was agitated, but the town voted, March 2, 
1729-30, not to set ofl" the lands beyond Beaver Brook, 
with the inhabitants thereon. Thii brook is in the 
westerly part of Boxburo'. On the 20th of August, 
1730, the town, through their committee, .John Whit- 
man, John Foster and Phineas Rice, gave the following 
reasons why the petition of Simon Stone, Jonathan 
AVhitney, Thomas Wheeler and others for the forma- 
tion of a township should not be granted : A great 
part of the land was barren and incapable of improve- 
ment ; the new town would take away about one- 
seventh of the inhabitants ; that the town was poor 
and could hardly support their minister, nor could 
they bear the country charges without help from the 
others. But these pleas availed not with the General 
Court, and on the 29th of June, 1732, the town of 
Harvard was incorporated. This left a small strip of 
territory west of the Nashua Kiver, about two hun- 
dred rods wide, belonging to the old town, but com- 
pletely separated irom it ; and for many years it was 
known as " S;ow Leg." But in March, 1704, the town 
voted that this tract of land, between Lancaster and 
Shirley, might be annexed to the latter |)!ace, on con- 
dition that all taxei due from the inhabitants be paid 
to Stow. Soon alter, it became the southern part of 
Shirley, extending from Nashua River to Lunenburg. 

Boxborouijh. — About forty years after the incorpor- 
ation of Harvard another portion of the old town 
was wanted to help make a new municipality, but it 
met with no favor from a majority of the inhabitants. 
For, on the 1st of March, 1773, it was voted not to 
grant the request of Daniel Wetherby and others, to be 
set oil" from Stow, to form a new town, with portions 
of Littleton and Harvard. This vote was repeated 
in 1775. The chief reason given for a new town was 
the distance they were from the meeting-house and 
thediliiculty of a regular attendance upon |)ublic wor- 
ship. But to obviate this difficulty, while the town 
vote " no " relative to separation, Dec. 19, 1777, they 
agree to give the northerly part of the town £0 13s. 
4(/., lawful money, to hire preaching with. This did 
not, however, satisfy the northenders. They still ask 
for a separation. Twice in 1779 the town refused to 
be dismembered, whereupon Edward Brown and 
fifty-one others apply to the General Court, ask- 
ing to be erected into a town, for the reason that 
" many of us are four or five miles distant from the 
uieetiug-houics cf their respective towns, whereby it 



is impossible for them, with their families, to attend 
the worship of God, at those places, in the winter 
season, iis they desire to do ; " and also that, atgreatex- 
pense, they had built themi-elves a meeting-house, etc. 
Their prayer was not granted. June 15, 1780, it was 
voted not to provide any money for preaching in the 
northerly i)art of the town. And on Oct. 16th of the 
same year it was agreed to grant the prayer of the 
petitioners on these conditions, viz., that the propos- 
ed bounds should be somewhat changed, that those 
set off should take all the poor of that section and 
also the poor of the former inhabitants that should 
come back for support, and that Stow should be 
at no cost for roads nor any other thing. But for 
some reason there was a delay in the matter. Ac- 
cordingly, in March, 1782, SiUis Taylor and sixty- 
eight others again apply to the General Court to be 
made a town, district or parish, in about a year, 
after some opposition from Littleton, they were made 
a district, taking 154 inhabitants from Stow, and 
three-tenths of the valuation. It was more than 
three-fourths of a century before anj' more of the old 
territ^iry was wanted lor a part of another town. But 
when the time came, in 1806, for the incorporation of 
Hudson, no particular opposition was made to giving 
a few acres to the new town, as no inhabitants were 
included. • 

Maijimnl. — When it was projiosed, in 1871, to take 
the easterly part of Stow and the westerly part of 
Sudbury to form the town of Maynard, seeing it was 
a forgone conclusion, very little opposition was made 
to the project, and about 2300 acres and 800 inhabit- 
ants passed into the new municipality. This leaves 
the old town in a much better form than when orig- 
inally constituted, though with less than one-half its 
area. 

Ce.meteries. — The cemetery at the lower village, 
near where the first meeting-house stood, was doubt- 
less the first spot devoted to burial purposes. The 
earliest allusion to it we have found was August 21, 
1738, when a committee was chosen "to lay out ye 
Burying-place in order for to fence it." But there 
seems to have been no haste about the work, for on 
the 31st of March, 1740, forty pounds were voted to 
fence the ground. Yet we presume the fence was not 
immediately built. In his will, dated May 13, 1751, 
Thomas Burt bequeathed to the town €0 12s. 8(/., for 
the purpose of fencing the burying-gronnd, but pro- 
vided that if it should be well lenced previous to the 
jiaynient of the money, it was to be u.sed to jiurchase 
" necessary or decent utensils for the communion 
table" of the church. The money did not become 
available until after the death of his widow, in 
1702, when a committee wius chosen to receive the be- 
quest; and from a vote taken in 1703, it appears that 
after fencing the ground there was some money left, 
which was ordered to be delivered to a committee of 
the church. For more than a hundred years this was 
the only cemetery of which we have any record. 



G5G 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



A new biirial-i>lace becoming necessary, the town 
voted, September 21, 1812, to take a part of the town's 
laud near the meeting-house for a burying-ground. 
Thus the cemetery, situated on the southerly side of 
Pilot Grove Hill, near the brick school-house, came 
into existence. This was, however, too small a lot to 
last for many years. Accordingly, as additional space 
was needed for sepulture, the town, in the sp-ring of 
18C4, purchased " Brookside Cemetery,'' on the Rock 
Bottom Road, and northerly of Assabet Brook ; and 
it wa', on the Ist day of the following October, pub- 
licly consecrated, with appropriate religious exercises, 
to the purpose for which it was set apart. The ad- 
dress was given by Rev. George F. Clark, the pastor 
of the First Parish. 

Pound. — March 5, 1705, a three-pound rate was 
voted to build a pound. As early as 1698 the Gen- 
eral Court decreed "that there shall be a sufficient 
Pound or Pounds made and maintained, from Time 
to Time, in every Town and Precinct within this 
Province ... for the impounding or restraining 
of any Swine, Neat Cattle, Horses or Sheep, as shall 
be found damage-feasant, in any cornfield or other in- 
closures, or going upon the Common" without author- 
ity. So the town felt obliged to comply with the law. 
The pound was to be set "on a small Knowel, Be- 
twixt the meeting-house & Thomas Whitney's house." 
It was to be " thirty foot square, seven foot high, with 
good white oak posts, the railes to Be Eyther sawed 
or hewed timber." In the progress of years a new 
pound was deemed necessary. Hence, October 21 
1721, it was voted to " erect a good and substantial, 
pound, which shall be according to Law . . . on 
the edge of the highway between the Capl°' house 
and the meeting-house." It was doubtless maintained 
there for many years, perhaps until the one near the 
brick school-house was ereclel. 

PooK AND WoKK-iiousE. — The first reference to a 
pauper was March 17, 1724-25, when widow JIary 
Hewes was voted to be one of the poor, and provi- 
sions were made for her support. A mulatto child was 
thrown upon the town, June 28, 1748, by Deliverance 
Wheeler, and thus we suppose he was delivered of 
a burden. It was voted, December 20, 1784, to build 
a work-house to put the pour in. It was to be thirty 
feet square and s^even feet stud. The house was not 
probably built, for in 17S7 another vote was taken to 
build a house for the poor. April 14, 1788, money 
was granted to build a poor-house to be set on the 
side-hill near the burying-place. Oliver Blood was 
chosen overseer of the work-house in May, 17'J0. In 
April, 1790, it was decided that the children in the 
work-house should go lo school near Esquire Woods, 
and twelve shillings were to be paid to that quarter. 
A committee was chosen December 1, 1828, to pur- 
chase a farm for the poor. The farm, we presume, 
was soon bought, and in March, 1829, it wiis voted 
that the poor-liouse should be a house of correction. 
The poor of the town are still provided for on this farm. 



Slavery. — It is well known that several of the 
inhabitants of the town, many years ago, were own- 
ers, or perhaps we should say holders of slaves. 
Morally speaking, no man can be the owner of an- 
other man. Of course it is impossible, at this late 
day, to learn the names of all the slaveholders iu 
town. Some of them are known to have been lead- 
ing citizens. But the name of one man, whose moral 
eyes were so opened that he could see the injustice of 
human slavery, ought to go down to posterity as that 
of a philanthropist in advance of his timas. We 
allude to Joseph Stone, who, in the early months of 
the Revolutionary War, recognized the inconsistency 
of fighting for freedom, while holding a fellow-being 
in bondage. On the town records the following act 
of manumission may be found, which we gladly 
transcribe : 

" Whereas, I, Joseph Stone, did, on the 14th day of 
February, a.d. 1770, buy of one Nathaniel Sher- 
man, of Boston, gentleman, a negro man named 
Youhel, to serve me and my heirs forever, as a ser- 
vant ; therefore, in consideration of his fidelity and 
other motives moving me, I have, and do hereby dis- 
charge and set at liberty from slavery said slave 
known as Youbel Stone." Perhaps it was iu conse- 
quence or his emancipation that this Youbel Stone 
served forty -six months and eleven days as a soldier in 
the Continental Army. Soon after the close of the 
war, by a decision of a judge of the Supreme Court, 
slavery ceased to exist in the Commonwealth. 

Town-House. — For a lung period the town-meet- 
ings were held in the meeting-house, as there was no 
other suitable place. On the erection of the fourth 
meeting-house it was thought best not to use the 
auditorium of the building for the transaction of 
town business ;* and therefore, October 22, 1827, it 
was decided to finish a town-hall under the meeting- 
house, and meetings were held there until the house 
.was burned. Then, on the 20th of December, 1847, 
it was voted to build a town-house; and soon after 
land was purchased of Francis Conant for $125, 
whereon to erect the building, which was to be fin- 
ished within a year, and is the one now used for lowu 
purposes. 

Tempeiiance. — For many years there was a great 
amount of travel to and from Boston, thruugii the 
town, and there were two or three taverns within its 
limits for the "entertainment of man and beast." 
Intoxicating liquors were kept in these houses and 
freely sold to all calling ibr them. It was customary 
for some of the townspeople, especially in the even- 
ing, to resort to these places for a social time with 
the guests; and much drinking was often the result. 
The excessive use of liquor in those days was no un- 
common thing, and quarrels were sometimes the re- 
sult. Hence the town, March 4, 1771, ordered that 
the law respecting idle and disorderly persons be 
observed and carried into execution. 

Agaiu, in May, 1790, it was voted to put the law in 



STOW. 



657 



force to stop those persons who are spending their 
time and estate at public-houses, which indicates the 
town's desire to maintain good order and good morals. 
In accordance with a later law the town, in 1819, 
declared that they would support the selectmen in 
doing their duty in respect to those frequenting "the 
taverns and grogshops, to the damage of themselves 
and families," by posting up their names in public 
])laces. And, in 1823, a committee was chosen to 
" enforce the law against bowling alleys and other 
complements of gami%ig.'' No decided temperance 
movement was inaugurated here until about 1829, 
when we are told that the late Deacon Calvin Hale 
was one of the first to ''sign away his liberty,'' as it 
was called, by affixing his name to a pledge against 
the use of ardent spirits or distilled liquors. It was 
not until about 1838 that the pledge against the use 
of all alcoholic liquors was adopted. The Washing- 
tonian crusade followed in 1S40, and aroused a new 
interest in the reform. On the 23d and 24th of 
August, 1841, Dr. Charles Jewett gave temperance 
lectures, which awakened so much interest that a 
meeting, of which Jonas Warren was chairman, was 
held on the 25th to consider the matter of forming 
a temperance society. It was decided to organize an 
association, and two pledges were adopted, one 
against the use of all intoxicating liquors, but the 
other allowed the uoe of cider. The following pledge, 
however, was soon made the basis of the society, viz.: 
" We, the undersigned, mutually pledge ourselves that 
we will not use as a beverage any intoxicating liq- 
uor." The Slow Total Ahslinence Soriety was formed 
September 1, 1841, with Rev. William H. Ivinsley as 
j)resident, and H. W. Robinson secretary. In the 
course of two or three weeks nearly all the officers, 
for some reason, resigned their positions, and others 
were chosen. There was a grand temperance cele- 
bration on the 25lh of August, 1842, when a Co/d 
Tl'a^t'c Army of 200 members was enrolled. At the 
close of the first year 2(32 names were attached to the 
pledge — 111 males and 151 females. After a year or 
two meetings were held very irregularly, sometimes 
almost a year intervening between them. Lectures 
were given occasionally, and committees chosen to 
induce the rum-sellers to quit their business. The 
last record of a meeting was October IG, 1852. Up 
to that time 2(>() men and 299 women had signed the 
pledge. The interest waned after the passage of the 
prohibitory law, in May, 1852, and little was done in 
the cause until February 16, 18(53, when Protector 
Lodge of Good Templars was organized, composed of 
some of the most respectable citizens. For about ten 
years it exerted a very beneficent influence, when it 
ceased to exist. Gleason Dale Lodge, at Rock Bot- 
tom, was instituted June 3, 1867, and lived about 
seven years. Eben Dale Lodge was formed Decem- 
ber 20, 1886, at Rock Bottom, and is the only temper- 
ance organization in town. 

Lafayette. — One of the red-letter days of the 
42 



town was September 2, 1824, when the Marquis de 
Lafayette passed through from Concord to Bolton. 
It was nearly sunset when he left Concord, and quite 
dark when he arrived at the lower village, where he 
was met by a military company, commanded by 
Capt. Pliny Wetherbee, and by a large concourse of 
citizens. Rufus Hosmer, Esq., was chief marshal 
of the occasion. For an hour or so there was a 
general reception at the hotel. Bonfires were 
kindled, flags were unfurled and the booming of 
cannon resounded among the hills as the distinguished 
friend of America and the intimate confidant of 
Washington was escorted on his journey beyond the 
limits of the town. 

Homicide. — In the year 1844 a trouble arose 
between William Goldsmith and George Hildreth, 
about gra«s which both claimed. Early in Septem- 
ber Hildreth passed Goldsmith's house, while the 
latter was using an axe near his residence. The old 
quarrel was renewed, and it is supposed, in self- 
defence. Goldsmith struck his opponent with the axe, 
which proved a death-blow. Without knowing the 
result, Goldsmith entered the house and called for 
his best hat and coat, saying he " must be off from 
the place immediately," and left. The selectmen 
oflered a reward of $100 for his arrest. Having 
become weak and exhausted from travel and hunger 
in a day or two, he started to return, when he was 
met in Wilton, N. H., and recognized by a man who 
had learned of the reward offered, and he was taken 
into custody without resistance, and brought back. 
He was tried and convicted of manslaughter, and 
sentenced to the State's prison for seven years. But 
before the expiration of his sentence he was pardoned, 
and remained a very quiet and inofJ'ensive citizen until 
his death. 

Business Matters. — The principal employment 
of the citizens has, from the first, been agricultuie. 
At one time considerable attention was given to the 
raising of hops, but nothing in that line has been done 
for many years. Besides other farm products, about 
194,000 gallons of milk, worth $18,250, some $2000 
worth of butter, and nearly $8000 worth of apples 
have been sold some veaTs. The aggregate value of 
all the agricultural products in 1885 was $144,332. 

A tannery w:is started a hundred years ago, or 
more, near where Mr. F. W. Warren now lives, and 
was subsequently o])erated by his father, Mr. Jonas 
Warren. Having had their tannery destroyed by 
the bursting of a reservoir, at Ashburnhani, in May, 
1850, Mr. Peter Fletcher and Nehemiah A. Newhall 
removed to town and established the tannery business, 
which they maintained for about twenty years, at the 
site of the old grist-mill, just below Brookside 
Cemetery. Sometime previous to 1853 Rufus Temple, 
Cyrus Brigham and Theodore Pomeroy carried on 
the shoe business at Rock Bottom. In 1853 H. 
Brigham as:-umed the owner-hip. Mr. Brigham 
and A. Rice were in partnership from 1862 to 1864. 



658 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSxVCHUSETTS. 



Mr. S. A. Gleason, with Mr. Brigham as a silent 
partner, managed the busiiiesa from 1865 to 18G7. 
Tlie large shoe-shop built in 1862 was burned in 
1875, which put au end to this industry in that 
village. The first allusion we have found to a mill 
was about the year 1700, when a road was laid out 
through Israel Heald's house-lot to the corn-mill. 
This mill was probably on the Assabet River, just 
above the present village of Maynard, and the road 
must have started from near the old cemetery at the 
lower village. Andrew J. Smith built a saw and 
grist-mill on Assabet Brook, not far from his house, 
in 1856. He sold them to Micah Smith in 1864. 
They were subsequently owned by A. Priest and B. F. 
Folsom, and are now operated by E. F. Wheeler. 
Other small mills are alluded to later, but their 
exact locality we have not learned. 

Bock Bvttom Mills and Fcwtorij. — From some refer- 
ence to him, on the town-books, we presume that 
Ebenezer Graves had a saw and perhaps a grist-mill, 
on the Assabet River, at Rock Bottom, as early as 
1735. On the 19th of February, 1770, his heirs sold 
these mills to Timothy Gibson, who six years later 
deeded them to Abraham Randall. They were on the 
east side of the river, about five rods below the pres- 
ent factory dam. Mr. Randall died in 1815, and in a 
few years his sons sold the premises to Joel Cranston, 
Silas Felton and Elijah Hale. A factory for the mak- 
ing of cotton yarn was erected on the west side of the 
river, in 1813, by Silas Jewell and Joel Cranston, 
drawing the water from theRandall mill-pond. Some 
two years later Jewell sold his half of the factory to 
Messrs. Felton and Hale, and the firm then assumed 
the name of the " Rock Bottom Cotton and Woolen 
Company." The origin of the name Rock Bottom is 
a little uncertain. This is the first mention of it. 
Mr. Felton disposed of his interest to Messrs. Cranston 
and Hale in 1823, and then the firm was known as 
the " Rock Bottom Manufacturing Company." In the 
financial crash of 1S2'J the firm became insolvent. 
Mr. Benjamin Poor soon became the owner, who 
built a new dam above the old one, and erected a new 
brick mill and introduced improved machinery. The 
" Rock Bottom Company" was incorporated in 1836, 
consisting of Mr. Poor, Charles Bradley, John A. A. 
Laforest and associates, with a capital of $100,000. 
The company was not successful and became sub- 
stantially bankrupt in 1849. The mortgage on the 
property was then assigned to Benjamin W. Gleason 
of North Andover, and Samuel J. Dale, of Ware, and 
they took jjossession February 14, 1849, Mr. Gleason 
becoming the managing partner of the firm of 
" (ileason & Dale." Prosperity attended them, and 
in 1850 an addition to the iactory and other improve- 
ments were made. But on the 9ih of May, 1852, the 
mill was burned. A new brick mill, 125 (eet long, 
fifty feet wide and four stories high, w.as completed in 
1854. Jlr. Dale died March 1, 1853, from the efiects 
of a severe cold taken at the time of the fire. His 



brother, Ebenezer Dale, then became a partner in the 
firm of "B. W. Gleason & Co." His connection, 
however, was little more than that of a silent partner, 
and agent for the sale of goods. Soon after the death 
of Mr. Dale, December 3, 1871, Mr. Gleason became 
the sole owner of Ihe property, and on the 1st of 
June, 1872, received into partnership his three sons, 
and the firm took the name of " B. W. Gleason & 
Sons," and so remained after the death of the senior 
member, and until November, 1887, when Stillman A 
Gleason retired from the firm, 5nd it is now entitled 
"■ C. W. & A. D. Gleason," who continue the manufac- 
ture of all-wool flannels, turning out over a million 
yards per year, and giving constant employment to 
eighty persons. " The systematic organization of the 
business, the well established reputation of the firm, 
and the experience of several years under the supervi- 
sion of their father, have enabled the sons to maintain 
both the i)re8tige and substantial prosperity of the 
concern." 

PEE.SONAL Notices. — Hon. Benjamin Whitney 
Gleason v/aa born at Petersham, Mass., October 12, 
1806. He was descended, in the seventh generation, 
from Thomas Gleason, who was an early settler of 
Watertown, Mass., having located there previous to 
1640, when his second child and oldest son, Thomas, 
was born. The latter removed to Sudbury in 1065 
and thence to Framingham, SEass., in 1678, where he 
died, July 25, 1705. The fourth child and second 
son of this Thomas was Isaac, who, on arriving at 
manhood, removed to Sherborn, Mass., where he mar- 
ried Deborah Leland, the great-granddaughter of 
Hopestill Leland, who settled at Weymouth in 1624, 
and removed to Sherborn in 1653. The oldest son of 
Isaac and Deborah Gleason was also named Isaac. 
In early manhood he removed to Framingham, and 
thence, in 1757, to Petersham. His eighth child 
and fourth son was Joseph, who always, after the re- 
moval of his father thither, resided at Petersham, 
where he died in 1814, at the age of seventy-OLe 
years. He married, August 14, 1766, Sarah Curtis. 
His second son and eighth child, also named Joseph, 
was born in Petersham, April 7, 1781, and married, 
October 24, 1802, Sucan Whitney, daughter of Benja- 
min Whitney, a descendant, of the sixth generation, 
from John Whitney, who settled at Watertown in 
June, 1635, and became one of the most influential 
citizens, and is supposed to have been the ancestor of 
all, or nearly all, of the numerous family of that 
name in the country. The Joseph Gleason last 
named, the father of Hon. Benjamin W. Gleason, 
was a farmer by occupation, and died when the sub- 
ject of this sketch was but two years old. Conse- 
quently the young lad was deprived of paternal care 
and influence during his childhood and youth, and he 
had only the meagre opportunity for an education 
then aflbrded by the common schools of a small hill- 
town of Worcester County. Mr. Gleason was there- 
fore dependent for his honorable career upon his na- 





'Z^^r-?'-'^ 



STOW, 



659 



live talent and great strength of character, together 
with such self-discipline and culture as he was able to 
secure in a lite characterized, especially i» its first 
forty years, by repeated changes of business and loca- 
tion. He was emphatically aseltimade man. When 
about fourteen years old he entered an establishment, 
in his native town, to learn the trade of cabinet-mak- 
ing, and served through the whole term of his 
apprenticeship with great fidelity, gaining an expert- 
ne»s in the use of tools and a general acquaintauce 
with mechanical operations, which were of great 
value to him iu his subseijueut life. 

Soon after reaching his majority he went to Graf- 
ton, Mass., and obtained employment in a cotton 
factory, at New England Village. He remained 
there about five years, working in the wood depart- 
ment of the machine-shop, which, as was usually the 
case at that lime in cotton and woolen mills, was 
connected with the factory. Sjmo portion of his 
work was the making of shuttles. 

From Grafton he removed, in 1S33, to Worcester, 
where he obtained employment, as a journeyman, in 
a machine-sh(jp devoted to the manufacture of cotton 
and woolen machiuery, and remained there four 
years. Leaving Worcester, he went to North 
Audover, Mass., and entered the employment of 
George H. Gilbert and Parker Richardson, manufac- 
turers of cotton and woolen machinery, under the 
style of "Gilbert & Richardson." This firm was 
dissolved in 1842, Jlr. Gilbert removing to Ware, 
Mass., and engaging in the mauufacture of flannels. 

Mr. Gleason, on the 13th of July, 1842, formed a 
copartnership with George L. Davis, who had been a 
fellow-workman with him in the employ of Messrs. 
Gilbert & Richardson. The name of the firm who 
then assumed the business was " Gleason & Davis." 
The partners were both in the prime of life, ambitious 
and enterprising, and well adapted to work together. 
The jirevious experience of Mr. Gleason had thor- 
oughly fitted him to superintend the construction of 
the machinery composed of wood, while Mr. Davis 
had had a similar exi)erience in the working of iron. 
Their business gradually increased until 1848, when 
Charles Furber, who for several years had been iu 
their employ, was admitted as a ])artncr, the firm as- 
suming the name of" Gleason, Davis A Co." 

Soon after this change in the firm Mr. Gleason's 
health began to fail, and the indications of pulmo- 
nary disease became so apparent that he was ad- 
vised by his physician, as the only hope of recovery 
and of prolonged life, to spend the winter in a milder 
climate than that of New Englaud. He accordingly 
made preparations to forthwith leave for Florida. 

At this juncture it was suggested to him by his 
friend, Mr. Ebenezer Dale, of the firm of Johnson, 
Sewall & Co., commission merchants of Boston, who, 
with others, were large creditors in the insolvent 
Rock Bottom Company, of which we have previously 
spoken, that he should undertake to pl.ace the busi- 



ness of that concern on a new and firm basis. The 
only apparent serious obstacle to a reasonable pros- 
pect of success was the precarious condition of his 
health. He, however, decided to take the risk, and, 
as we have before stated, eulered into partner.-hip 
with Mr. Samuel J. Dale, a brother of Ebenezer, 
above mentioned. The success attending the change 
of business, and the removal of Mr. Gleason to Rock 
Bottom, we have recorded in our sketch of the devel- 
opment of the water-power at that village. 

In the autumn of 1875 Mr. Gleason suffered a 
slight stroke of paralysis, partially disabling him as 
to physical eftbrt. Yet he continued iu some meas- 
ure to superintend his business until 1880, when his 
failing health compelled him at least to lay aside all 
business cares and responsibilities, but he continued 
to take an interest in the occurrences of the day 
nearly up to the date of his death, January 19, 1884. 

While he was residing at Grafton he made the ac- 
(juaintance of Miss Louisa P'essenden, of Shrewsbury, 
who boarded in the same family with him, whom he 
married, August 31, 1831. She died May 8, 1858. 
By her he had four sons and a daughter, one of the 
sons dying when about ten years old. 

One of the marked features of Mr. Gleason's char- 
acter, which contributed very largely to his prosper- 
ous career, was his strong self-reliance. With nothing 
of that vanity or arrogance usually resulting from an 
overweening self-esteem, he had that confidence in his 
own powers, and in the results of his own observation 
and experience, that induced him to undertake a busi- 
ness wherein there had been repeated failures ou the 
part of others, and then to pursue his own course, 
giving his personal attention to what many would 
consider unimportant details, which could have been 
attended to by others, as well as to matters of great 
weight and importance. This he was able to do by 
his tireless industry, systematic methods and remark- 
able executive ability. 

Again, he had great will-power, which enabled him 
in middle life, when his physician and others fe.ared a 
fatal result, to resist and throw off disease, and so to 
renew his vitality that he nearly reached the allotted 
three-score and ten years of human life before he was 
compelled to abate his active labors. This enabled 
him, before he had placed his business upon the sub- 
stantial basis of as.sured success, to overcome difficul- 
ties which, to a less determined spirit, would have 
seemed to be, and indeed would have been, insur- 
mountable. 

Again, he was remarkably shrewd and sagacious, 
and had a very clear and quick perception of those 
facts and principles whereby he was enabled to cor- 
rectly decide questions of the utmost importance to 
mercantile success, and to the favorable manage- 
ment of a large manufacturing establishment. Hence 
he could not be duped by others, while he accorded to 
them all they could rightfully claim for themselves. 

Once more, he was economical. Some one has said 



GGO 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



that this is " the guardian of property, the good 
genius whose presence guides the footsteps of every 
prosperous and successlul man." This most excellent 
trait of character, while in him it did not degenerate 
iuto parsimony, was nevertheless manifest in his 
preference, everywhere, iu his mills, on his farm, 
about his home and in his numerous tenements, for 
the substantial and useful, rather than for the showy 
and merely ornamental. This characteristic, as with 
many other men who, beginning life without money, 
and dependent wholly upon their own exertions, have 
become wealthy, contributed largely to his success, 
for his early savings became the foundation of a 
future large accumulation. 

To these iunate fecullies, which contributed so 
largely to his prosperous career in life, he added those 
genial (juidities of mind and heart that made him a 
most agreeable companion and won for him the uni- 
versal respect and esteem of those with whom he was 
more or less intimately connected. 

He always manifested a deep interest in the educa- 
tional afiairs of the town, and especially of the village 
where he resided, which owes its development, during 
the last forty years, to the growing industry under his 
charge, and also in the social, domestic and personal 
welfare of his employes. He was also a liberal con- 
tributor to the support of the religious society in the 
village. Though it was of a somewhat different faith 
from that with which he had previously been con- 
nected, he did not deem it necessary, as too many 
sometimes do, to go out of town for religious instruc- 
tion, but sought to build up a prosperous society at 
home. And to the several pastors of the village 
church he was ever a judicious counselor, an efficient 
supporter and a personal friend. He was prompt to 
extend sympathy, encouragement and needed pecun- 
iary aid to his emjiloyLs and others of the village, 
when in trouble, sickness, bereavement or other cir- 
cumstances, even if they were sometimes in the fault. 
He was a genuine lover of law and order, a friend of 
the down-trodden and oppressed, and during the War 
of the Rebellion he was a firm and faithful snpjiorter 
of the government, using his great influence in the 
town to secure the men and the means needed to 
preserve the nation's life. 

Having a natural love for rural pursuits, he found 
his recreation in the superintendence of a large, well- 
managed larm,and in the rearingof domestic animals 
of the first (luality. 

Though deeply interested in public afiairs at home 
and abroad, his engrossing personal business left him 
little time for such official service to the town or 
State as his townsmen sought to secure from him, and 
for which no one of the citizens wa.s more eminenth' 
(jualilied. He, however, in 1859, and again in 1872, 
represented the town in the lower branch of the 
Massachusetts Legislature. He was also a member 
of the State Senate in 1860 and 1861. 

before coming to llock Bottom he had become in- 



terested in other manufacturing enterprises. From 
1847 until his failing health, in 1880, admonished him 
to relinquish some of his cares, he was a director in 
the Norway Plains Company, at Rochester, N. H. He 
then declined a re-election. In July of that year the 
company unanimously passed thii resolution : " That 
the stockholders of the company have learned with 
regret that the failing health of Benjamin W. Gleason 
has made necessary his withdrawal as a candidate for 
re-election to the Board of Directors, and they wish 
hereby to express and to place on record their hearty 
thanks for his faithful service to the interests of the 
company, continued for so long a time, Mr. Gleason 
having served as a Director for thirty-three years.'' 
He was also, for several years, a director, and one year 
the president, of the Cabot Manufacturing Company, 
at r>runswick. Me. At the meeting of that ci)m])any, 
October 20, 1880, it was voted that "the stockholders 
desire to place on record their sense of the long and val- 
uable service which he has rendered to that Company, 
and his constant devotion to their interests." These 
resolutions clearly indicate how highly he was appre- 
ciated by the business men with whom he had been 
associated. From 1871 to 1880 he was one of the 
directorsof the Worcester Manufacturers' Mutual In- 
surance Company. Thus by his efficient management 
of a large and growing industry, and his remarkable 
success in that department, together with his un- 
wavering lidelity in all the positions he occu])ied, 
Hon. 15enjamin W. Gleason most completely estab- 
lished his claim to an honorable place among the 
representative textile manufacturers of the United 
States. 

Joliti Green. — One of the most notable residents of 
the town, in its early history, was John Green, who, 
after some years' residence iu Charlestown, returntMl 
to England, and, being a man of much ability, was in 
high favor with the famous Oliver Cromwell, by 
whom he was made captain of the guard at the dock- 
yard at Deptford, and clerk of the Exchequer. U])on 
the restoration of Charles II. he returned to New 
England, and finally came to Stow with bis sister 
Mary and her husband, Thomas Stevens, to whom 
was assigned one of the original twelve foundation 
lots. Mr. Green remained here until his death, and 
w:as buried in the old cemetery .at the lower village. 
His will was dated Se[itember 4, 1088, and ho pmb- 
ably died soon afterwards, as his will was probated 
February 21. 1088-89. He was evidently a man of 
wealth, owning much real estate in Sudbury. His 
library alone was valued at twenty pounds, and was 
an unusually large collection of books for those 
times. 

TLin. Hunrxj (Inrdner. — Probably the most distin- 
guished n.ative of the town was Hon. Henry Gardner 
(H. C. 1750). He was the son of Rev. John Gardner, 
and was born November 14, 1731. He represented 
the town in the General Court most of the time from 
1757 to 1775. He was a member of the Provincial 



STOW. 



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cause of tern (J 


■li: 


hi; 'uifalte' 


.:. *■.,-,„, 1 ... 


cu 


lated to pru 


ijjtied u) ai- 

iju, geneia: 

but he ;jUo could in- 



'lOtJor. o; *'■ 
.,ental uc 
i.ta IJale, a ni:-. 
[ to the First I'r 
-house ai;d grounds now owued : 

■ •'■ -)us fund of $-'5000 tn^... 

School, which bears tlie 



iiwn at iieari. I'cw towun tiavfc iouu>i 
aiore loyal adopted son than he. 
For some years previous to May IC, 
■ 'id the two hundredth aunivensary 
( !i of the town, he was active . 
to iilu-' 
( cerituri 



a Ir.iv) I.1- 






wlif^ 



tf d bis I In pfiivioi^ 



Che city, in 



-tani c - . 

tnraittec of fifteen, chosen by the to 

'■ - ■' -iroacbing '^ 

•d »•» thi 



l'bou)£h overruled i 



wn, 



iwo moil 11;^ 



STOW. 



661 



Ciiiigress thiit met at Salem, October 7, 1774, and was 
chosen treasurer of the Province by that body Octo- 
ber 28, 1774, which office he held until the adoption 
of the State Constitution in 1780, when he was 
chosen the first treasurer of the Commonwealth, and 
continued in that office until his death, October 7, 
1782, aged nearly fifty-one years. He was also a 
member of the Provincial Congress that assembled at 
Cambridge, February 1, 1775, and also at Watertowu, 
May 31st of the same year. He was chosen coun- 
cilor May 30, 1776, and was re-elected until the 
Constitution rendered him ineligible. He was a jus- 
tice of the peace throughout the State, and for some 
years was one of the judges of the Common Pleas 
Court for Middlesex County, and he was one of the 
original members of the American Academy of Arts 
and Sciences. On announcing his death, the papers 
of that day spoke of him as " a courageous, uniform, 
industrious patriot, and a discreet, humane and up- 
right judge." He removed from Stow about the 
year 1778. He married, September 21, 1778, Han- 
nah Clapp, of Dorchester, and was the grandfather 
of ex-Governor Henry J. Gardner. 

Hon. Edwin WkUneij, the subject of this sketch, 
was born at Harvard, Ma-s?., Oct. 2, 1812. He was 
the son of Cyrus and Mary (Whitney) Whitney, grand- 
son of Isaiah and Persis (Randall) Whitney, great- 
grandson of Isaiah and Elizabeth (Whitney) Whit- 
ney, and undoubtedly descended from John and 
Elinor Whitney, who settled at Watertown, Mass., in 
1035, though, on account of the loss, or perhaps more 
properly the neglect of records, that fact cannot now 
be clearly established. He was born on the old home- 
stead occupied by his ancestor, one of the first settlcis 
of what is now the town of Harvard, and which has 
remained in possession of the family down almost to 
the present day. Having grown up on a farm, he was 
early inured to manual labor. While residing at the 
family estate he attended the common schools of his 
native town until he was prepared to enter those of a 
higher grade, when he went to Brattleboro', Vt., and 
became a student of the academy of that place. 
Here he applied himself with great diligence in 
preparation for the study of his chosen profession of 
law. About the year 1834 he commenced the reading 
of law in the office of Judge Cheever, of Albany, 
N. Y., where he remained two or more years. From 
thence he went to New York City and completed his 
course of professional studies with Judge Morrell, of 
that city. Having been admitted to the bar, he at 
once became associated with Judge Morrell in profes- 
sional business. For some years he was constantly 
employed as a public administrator of the city, in 
which position he was quite successful. But, at the 
solicitation, as we are informed, of Col. Elijah Hale, 
he left New York in 1844 and removed to Stow, where 
he continued to reside during the remainder of his 
life. He soon became one of the most prominent and" 
respected citizens of tlie town, always desirous and 



ready to do what he considered for the best interests 
of the community. Though a man of unassuming 
manners, he was nevertheless possessed of those ster- 
ling qualities of mind and heart that prepared him to 
take a leading position in the commuuil.y where he 
resided. He was gifted with a good degree of public 
spirit, so that for nearly forty years he was a constant 
and efficient promoter of those measures calculated 
to advance the prosperity and development of all those 
interests conducive to the general welfare of the town 
and the intelligence of its inhabitants. For a series 
of years he was an active member of the School Com- 
mittee, and a portion of the time was also the effi- 
cient superintendent of the schools, in which he wivs 
deeply interested; and in various other positions he 
proved himself a faithful servant of the people 
among whom he lived. Not only in secular matters, 
but also in religious, his interest was strong and un- 
wearied. He was au active and most devoted member 
of the First Parish Religious Society, which for a 
long period he served .as one of the standing com- 
mittee and a prominent supporter. To whatever was 
conducive to the welfare of the church of which he 
was a communicant, or of the cause of temperance, 
which found in him an unfaltering friend, as well as 
in everything calculated to promote sound morals and 
good citizenship, he was ever ready to lend a helping 
hand and bid it a hearty God-speed. Not only was he 
desirous of furthering every project designed to ad- 
vance the progress of universal education, general 
morality and practical religion, but he also could in- 
spire others to aid in the promotion of those noble 
objects. He was largely instrumental not only in in- 
ducing his friend, Col. Elijah Hale, a man of wealth 
and yet childless, to present to the First Parish the par- 
sonage-house and grounds now owned by them, but 
also to give the generous fund of i^'SOOO to establish and 
help support the High School, which bears tlie honored 
name of the donor. All this most unmistakably 
shows how thoroughly he had the best interests of the 
town at heart. Few towns have found a truer or 
more loyal adopted son than he. 

For some years previous to May 16, 1883, when 
occurred the two hundredth annivei-sary of the incor- 
poration of the town, he was active in collecting 
material which would serve to illustrate the progress 
of the town during the two centuries of its existence. 
In previous years he had served as chairman of many 
important committees, and he was made chairman of 
the committee of fifteen, chosen by the town, April 3, 
1882, to arrange for the approaching bi-centennial 
celebration, and was also selected as the president of 
the day, and for nearly a year was untiring in his 
effiirts to make the occasion one of credit to tlie town. 
Though overruled by a majority of the committee in 
some of his plans, he still lal)ored with unflagging zeal 
to make the celebration a success. But he was not 
destined to see the long-looked-for day ; for on the 
7th of March, 1883, a little more than two months 



602 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



before the celebration was to take place, after an ill- 
ness of a few (lays of pneumonia, he passed from the 
mortal to the immortal sphere. 

The committee in rendering their report of the 
celebration- to the town, in 1884, speak of Mr. Whit- 
ney in these words: "His long and minute acquaint- 
ance with the history of the town, together with the 
large amount of statistical, biographical and other 
valuable information which he had gathered, made 
his death a great loss to the committee and the 
town." 

While he practiced law to a considerable extent 
after his removal from New York, the duties of his 
profession were somewhat subordinated to the man- 
agement of a large farm that devolved upon him, and 
to the care of other extensive real estate of which he 
was the owner. 

Though originally identified with the Democratic 
party, he earnestly espoused the anti-slavery move- 
ment that resulted in the formation of the Republi- 
can party. During the War of the Rebellion he was 
among the foremost of his townsmen in the support 
of those measures that led to the triumph of the great 
principles of freedom and equality embodied in the 
Declaration of Independence made by our Revolu- 
tionary fathers. 

He represented the town in the lower branch of 
the Massachusetts Legislature in 1846 and 1847 ; and 
again, the district of which Stow was a part, in 1879. 
He was a member also of the State Senate for the 
year 1850. 

He married, October 26, 1841, Miss Lucia Mead 
Whitney, daughter of Moses and Lucy (Gates) Whit- 
ney, of Stow, who still survives. She is a lineal de- 
scendant of Thomas Gates, one of the original twelve 
settlers of the town, and was born on the farm that 
he occupied. They had no children. 

In addition to those already mentioned who have 
held important positions in public affairs, either na- 
tives or residents of the town, may be added the 
name of Hon. Rufus Hosmer, who was a member of 
the Governor's Council in 1839, and died at Boston, 
April 19th of that year while in office. 

John Witt Randall, son of Dr. John (Harvard Col- 
lege, 1802) and Elizabeth (Wells) Randall, grand- 
daughter of Samuel Adams, the great jialriot of the 
Revolution, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, No- 
vember 6, 1813. He received his preparatory education 
at the Boston Latin School, in company with many 
who were afterwards his classmates in college, by 
whom his peculiar and marked originality of charac- 
ter is well remembered. Though among them, he 
was not wholly of them, but seemed to have thoughts, 
pursuits and aspirations to which they were strangers. 
This was also the case after he entered college, where 
his tastes developed in a scientific direction, ento- 
mology being the branch to which he especially de- 
voted himself, though heartily in sympathy with 
nature in her various aspects. The college did little 



at that time to encourage or aid such pursuits; but 
Mr. Randall pursued the quiet tenor of his way till he 
had a very fine collection of insects and extensive 
and thorough knowledge on that and kindred sub- 
jects, while his taste for poetry and the belles-lettres 
was also highly cultivated. He studied medicine 
after graduation, but his acquisitions as a naturalist 
were so well known and recognized that he received 
the honorable appointment of Professor of Zoology in 
the department of invertebra animals in the South 
Sea Exploring Expedition (called Wilkes), which the 
United States were fitting out about this time. 

In consequence of the wearisome delays and jeal- 
ousies which occurred before the sailing of the expe- 
dition, Mr. Randall was led to throw up his ap- 
pointment. Since that time he has led a quiet and 
retired life, devoting himself to his favorite pursuits, 
adding to these also the collection of engravings. 
His collection is one of the most rare and original in 
this country. He has also devoted much time to the 
cultivation and improvement of an ancestral country- 
seat at Stow, Massachusetts, for the ancient trees of 
which he has an almost individual friendship. An 
account of his life and experiences from Mr. Randall's 
own pen would have been very interesting as well as 
amusing and witty; for in these qualities he excels. 
In excusing himself from giving this he writes as fol- 
lows : "As for myself, my life, naving been wholly 
private, presents little that I care to communicate to 
others or that others would care to know. I cannot 
even say for myself as much as was contained in 
Professor Teufelsdrock's epitaph on a famous hunts- 
man, viz., that in a long life he killed no less than 
ten thousand foxes. It might have beeu interesting 
in former days to have related adventures of my loot 
journeys as a naturalist amid scenes and objects then 
little known or wholly unknown, where the solitary 
backwoodsman and his family, sole occupants of a 
tract of boundless forests, were often so hospitable as 
to surrender their only bed to the stranger and huddle 
themselves together on the floor. But since Audubon 
published his travels, and railroads have penetrated 
everywhere, such accounts cease to be original, and in- 
deed the people themselves have become almost every- 
where homogeneous. Itineraries fill all the magazines, 
and natural curiosities little known forty years ago 
have become long since familiar to the public. As 
for my present self, I will say no more than that for 
health's sake, to be much out of doors, I have been for 
a long time engaged in hydraulic planting, building 
and other improvements on my grounds, which create, 
it is true, pleasant occupation, but which, when com- 
pared with wild nature so varied about me, I am im- 
pressed with the conviction how inferior are our 
artificial pleasures to those simple enjoyments of 
wood, water, air and sunshine, which we uncon- 
sciously and inexpensively share with the innumera- 
ble creatures equally capable of enjoying them. As 
to my literary works, — if I except scientific papers on 



4 



BURLINGTON. 



6G3 



subjects long ago abandoned, as one on ' Crustacea,' 
in the 'Transactions of the Academy of Natural 
Sciences of Philadelphia ;' two on ' Insects,' in the 
' Transactions of the Boston Society of Natural His- 
tory ;' one manuscript volume on the 'Animals and 
Plants of Maine,' furnished to Dr. Charles T. Jack- 
son to accompany his geological survey of that State 
and lost by him ; 'Critical Notes on Etchers and En- 
gravers,' one volume; 'Classifications of Ditto,' one 
volume, both in manuscript, incomplete and not 
likely to be completed, together with essays and re- 
views in manuscript not likely to be published, — my 
doings reduce themselves to six volumes of poetic 
works, the first of which was issued in 185G and re- 
viewed shortly after in the North American, while 
the others, nearly or partially completed at the out- 
break of the Civil War, still lie'unfinished among the 
many wrecks of time painful to most of us to look 
back upon, or reHect themselves on a future whose 
skies areas yet obscure." Dr. Randall was never 
married and resides with his sister, Miss Belinda Lull 
Randal], in Koxbury, Massachusetts. 



CHAPTER L. 



BURLINGTON. 



BY MRS. M.\RTHA E. (SF.WALL) CURTIS, ASSISTED EV W. R. 
CUTTER. 

INTRODUCTIOX. 

Burlington w.ts originally a part of Woburn, and 
much of its history has been already included under 
the history of that town elsewhere. Previously to 
1800 the section was an important portion of the 
older town, when the older community was merely an 
agricultural one, and farms were the principal prop- 
erty of the inhabitants. From IT.SO to 1799 the town 
of Woburn contained two parishes. The First, or 
Old Parish included the portion now covered by the 
present towns of Woburn and Winchester, in general 
terms; and the Second Parish — otherwise known at 
that day as the West Parish, or Woburn Precinct — 
comprised the part known as the present town of Bur- 
lington, and a small section of Burlington afterwards 
set oir to Lexington. Burlington was incorporated 
.as a separate town in 1799. The Second Parish or 
Precinct of Woburn was incorjjoratcd September 16, 
1730, and the meeting-hou,se, yet standing, though 
considerably altered, was built in 1732. One of the 
most important events connected with the history of 
this house was the loss, in 1777, of near half of the 
roof by a hurricane. Cotemporary chroniclers state 
that " near half of the roof was taken off through near 
the middle, and the gable end of the west side was 



taken off." ' Esquire Thompson, of the First Parish, 

states ; 

" Past the middle of August, 1777, a hurricane oc- 
curred that tore off about half the roof of the Second 
Parish meeting-house, and part of sundry other 
buildings were destroyed — Mr. Joshua Jones' barns 
and some others. The wind tore up a great many 
apple trees, and blew down and turned up by the 
roots many large and strong trees, blowing almost all 
the limbs off some ; their naked trunks still standing, 
five or seven, eight or ten feet high, more or less. 
The hurricane reached two or three miles in length, 
but not a quarter of that in width." - 

There is extant an old list containing the names of 
the preachers and texts in this parish meeting-house, 
from the day of the ordination of Rev. John Mar- 
rett as minister, December 21, 1771, to July 16. 1775, 
and with this list are preserved other papers of inter- 
est, from which it is learned that the people of the 
parish donated £2 ll.s. Id. for the Revolutionary suf- 
ferers of South Carolina and Georgia, 1782, and the 
sum of £1 15.?. lOd. to assist in rebuilding a meet- 
inghouse in Charlestown, in 1783 — burned by the 
British, June 17, 1775. 

Another interesting local occurrence was the dark 
day of 1780, the following description of which is 
taken from an interleaved almanac of 1780, kept by 
Rev. John Marrett, then minister of the parish: 

" 17811, Miiy 19, Ma»e [in the morning], thunder and rain, an 
uncommon Darkness from J^ 10 elk. A. M. to J^ past 1 P. M., so 
Dark yt I could not see to read common print at ye window, nor see 
ye hour of ye clock, unless close to it, & scarcely see to read a Bible of 
large priut ; abroad, pie. [people] left off work botli in ye house and 
abroad ; ye fowls, some of yni [them] weut to roost ; it was cloudy, wd 
[wind] S. W. ; ye heavens looked yellowish ami gloomy ; wht [what] ye 
occasion of it is, unknown; ye moon fulled yesterday moru*g: many 
persons much terrified ; never If nown so dark a Day ; pie. lit up candles 
to see to dine! May 20. Some cloudy and some fair, wd. \V'.; last 
night, extraordinary Dark, notwithstanding a moon ; it was cloudy, but 
no rain ! Could not see where ye windows of ye house were, not till ye 
moon was above an hour high ; nor see ye hand, tho' close to ye nose, 
any more yau [than] if ye Eyes were Shut ! '' 

The old parish burial-ground in Burlington is in- 
teresting for certain monuments to be found there, 
such as the stones of the three ministers of the parish 
before 1800. Here is the memorial erected to the Rev. 
Supply Clap, 1747, — the first pastor of the " Second 
Cliurch of Christ in Woburn," who died in the thirty- 
seventh year of his age, and the thirteenth of his 
ministry. Beside it is the stone — one of the most 
prominent in the yard — of the Rev. Thomas Jones, 
1774, "late pastor of the Second Church of Christ in 
Woburn," who died suddenly in the fifty-second year 
of his ace and the twenty-third of his ministry. And 
here, too, is the stone of the Rev. John Marrett, the 
"third pastor of the Church of Christ in this place," 
who died in the year 1813, the last of the ministers of 
the former century. These three inscriptions on these 
memorialsof the early ministers of Burlington Church 



1 Marrett. 



* Diary (copied), p. 3. 



664 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



are lengthy and eulogisticspecimens of mortuary liter- 
ature; yet, no doubt, they satietied the wants and 
feelings of the people of that generation, who desired 
thus to perpetuate the memory and good deeds of the 
worthy ministers who had spent their lives among 
them. 

Beside the stone of the Kev. Supply Clap stands 
another to Mrs., otherwise Madam, Abigail Jones, 
who was, according to her epitaph, the "relict of Rev. 
Thomas Jones, formerly pastor of the church in this 
place, and daughter of John and Sarah Wiswall, of 
Dorchester." Her death occurred May 22, 1814, 
when she was aged ninety-two years. Beside her stone 
is a small gravestone of a child named Charles Pratt 
M.arstou, the infant son of John Marston, Esq., and 
Mrs. Elizabeth Marston, of Boston,— probably con- 
nections of Mrs. Jones, they having sought refuge in 
the Burlington Precinct, while Boston was enduring 
a siege. The child died October 20, 1775, aged two 
months, " while British forces held his native town," 
says the epitaph.' 

Near the western wall of this yard is a respectable 
slate stone, erected in memory of Cuff, " a faithful 
black domestic of Madam Abigail Jones," who died 
in April, 1813, aged about sixty-seven years. He 
was borne to his grave by the selectmen of the town, 
personally, as a mark of respect to him and the fami- 
lies he had served so long. 

In this yard also is a stone erected in memory of 
Madam Hannah Peters, the relict of the " late Rev. 
Mr. Andrew Peters, late pastor of the church in Mid- 
dleton." Her death occurred, says the epitaph, "at 
AVoburn, Miiy XV, MDCCLXXXII, in the LXXVHI 
year of her age" [1782, in her seventy-eighth year]. 
The Rev. Andrew Peters was the first minister of the 
town of Middleton, ordained TJ29. He was a gradu- 
ate of Harvard College, and originated in Audover. 
He remained in the ministry at Middleton twenty- 
seven years, and died there on October G, 175G, aged 
fifty-five years. The historian of Middleton'- says 
very little is recorded there of his wife Hannah ; "her 
name is not found on the church records." But she 
was buried in Woburn Second Precinct, as her grave- 
stone intimates, and had been a resident here.^ 

1 From entries recorded iu Uev. Joho Marred's diary, it would appear 
that Mr. Marston and wife and children moved from Boston to Burhug- 
ton, or the Wohuru Precinct, on .June 10, 1775. Later, on Jnne llith, 
he is spolten of as arriving from Boston again, having escajied in a 
fislling-boat. On September 9, 1775, Mr. Marrett rode to Lexington 
with Captain Marston. On October 22, 1775 (Sunday), Mr. Marrett at- 
tended the funeral of Captaiti Mai'Stou's child — the one mentioned in the 
epitaph— and on Jan. :i, 177<i, the minister visited, with Captain Blars- 
toG, at Deacon Reed's. Captain fliai-ston is again referred to, under 
date of March 8, 177G, as visiting the minister, iu the evening. On 
April 20, 177G, Mrs Marston visited him. 

2 Lewis & Oo.'s IliiU. of Kmcz Co., vol. i. p. 9:i4. 

^ \ nieuioranduni among the papers of Rev. Samuel Sewall says, that 
Nov. 12, 1781, Timothy Wiun gave notice to the selectmen of Woburn 
that lie bad taken in Mrs. Hannah Peters, from Middletown, aged HO 
years. She was helptes.s, but he supposed had a sufficiency for her sup- 
port. Ue offered to give bonds ut the end of the year if required by the 
town. 



There is also in this yard a large marble stone to 
the memory of General John Walker, 1814, father of 
Rev. Jamea Walker, D.D., a president of Harvard 
University. On this stone is a long and ably-written 
inscription. 

It would be easy to allude to the stones of others 
less distinguished, but one inscrii)tion among the 
others bhould not be missed. It is as follows, and 
explains itself: 

"Ruth Wilson, died Dec. 3, 1871, aged 89 years. This aged lady sjient 
most of her long life in this, her native town, respected and esteemed by 
her relatives and friends; and from the proceeds of money earned by her 
in youth, gave for the benefit of the church in this place, a fund of six 
thousand dollars, and to the town, six hulidred dollars, to keep iu repair 
this ancient burial-ground." 

One hundred dollars for the improvement of the 
old cemetery was used immediately in erecting a new i 
wall on the front side of the old burying-ground, and 
five hundred dollars was invested as a fund to keep 
the yard in repair. 

Names of occupants or possessors of dwelling- 
houses above the value of one hundred dollars, in 
that part of the town of Woburn now known as the 
town of Burlington, owned, possessed or occupied on 
the 1st day of October, 1798. 

[From an original document in the possession of 
the Woburn Public Library.] 

Giles Alexander, William Abbott, Lsaac Baldwin, Tliomas Wright, 
William Newell, John Radford, Josiah Blancliard, Nathan Harrington^ 
Benjamin Blancliard, David Blauchard, James Bai'ry, Ebenezer Cum- 
mings, David Cnnunings, Samuel Carter, John Caldwell, Samuel Cutler, 
Samuel Fowle, Nathaniel Cutler, Jr., Jonas Carter, Joshua Caiter, Wil- 
liam Carter, James Carter, Joshua J. Caldwell, Wid. Sarah Caldwell, 
Jesse Dean, Sanmel Dean, Kemer Bhickman, Josiah Flagg, Aaron 
Jones, Robert Homer, Rebecca Johnson, Calvin Siniouds, Reuben John- 
son, William Johnson, Jotham Johnson, Wid. Abigail Jones, Josiah 
Johnson, David Johnson. Reuben Kimball, Philip Peters, Abiatliar 
Johnson, Josiah Locke, Thomas Locke, Ishmael Mnnroe, Isaac M.nrion, 
Joseph Mclntire, Rev. John Marrett, Samuel Nevers, Josiah Parker, 
Benjamin Parker, .Tonatlian Reed, Jacob Reed, Jacob Richardson, Pru- 
dence Reed, Jesse Russell, Jonas Reed, George Reed, James Reed, Sam- 
uel Reed, James Reed, Jr., Nathan Siniouds, Thomas Skilton, Daze 
Skilton, Benjamin Smith, David Lovering, Caleb Simonds, Calvin Sini- 
ouds, Samuel Shedd, Solomon Trull, John Wood, Abel Wynian, Ezra 
Wymau, Josiah Walker, Thomas Gleason, Josejdi Winn, James W'alker, 
.Samuel Walker, Benjamin Gleason, Philemon Wright, Edward Walker, 
Rebecca Wilson, Timothy Wilson, David Winn, Timothy Winn, John 
Bruce, Edward Ilniwu, John Wood, Jr., John Walker, Josiah Walker's 
heirs, James Wright. 

Among the owners whose houses were held by " oc- 
cupants" only were: Joseph Brown, James Bennett, 
Benjamin Blauchard, Thomas Bartlett, Jesse Blan- 
chard, the heirs of Micah Cutler, the heirs of Jonas 
Evans, Ebenezer Foster, the heirs of Joseph Johnson, 
Reuben Kimball, ClementSharp, Josiah Walker,Sam- 
uel Walker, Timothy Wiun and Catherine Wheeler. 
The situation of the houses in relation to the town, 
country or county roads is stated. Some are given as in 
the centre of the farms, and the words " public road " 
are once used. The area or square feet they cover, the 
number of stories high, the number of windows, 
square feet of glass, the materials of which built are 
stated. The materials, without exception, were of 
wood. An exemption from taxation was claimed for 



BURLINGTON. 



665 



one only, viz., — the one occupied and improved by 
the settled minister, Uev. John Marrett. The valua- 
tion of each dwelling-house, with the lot and out- 
houses appurtenant thereto, is given in dollars and 
cents. The total number of houses, including the 
minister's, was eighty-three ; valuation of the houses, 
out-houses, etc., by the assessors, $30,061. 

Catalogue of papers in the Woburn Public 
Library relating to the separation of Burlington and 
Woburn. The dates covered by these papers are 
June 10, 1799, to March 1, 1801. 

1. Agreement of the Committees of Woburn and Burlington. 

2. Names of Patifiers siipport*'d by "Woburn and Burlington. 

3. An account of tlie Town Stock, Weights, Meaaures, etc., between 
Woburn and Burlington. 

4. An account of Articles sold at Vendue belonging to same. 

5. Paupei-g supported by Woburn and Dnilington Divideil. 

r.. Agreement between Woburn and Burlington respecting W'idow 
Wright. 
7. Do. respecting the Pound. 
S. List of Paupers. 

9. Cost of the SL-liool-hou.ses in the town of Woburn, 

10. List of Paupers and their ages. 

11. Non-Beeideotd iu Woburn and Burlington and bow they Stand in 
the Single Tax. 

1*2. Accounts allowed by the Committee of Woburn and Burlington. 
13. Sleeiings of the C-oinuiittee to Settle with Burlington. 
H. Division of the W^est Uitad in Burlington. 
15. Agreement respecting School-Houses Divided. 
Hi. Do. respecting .lames Thompson, Jr. 

17. Meetings of the Committee on the West Road in B. 
\i<. Settlement of accounts between the towns of Woburn and Bur- 
lington. 

19. Agreement respecting old Orders and Notes. 

20. Last division of the West Road. 

21. Report of the Conmiittee of Woburn and Burlington. 

22. Outstanding orders against the town of Woburn. 

Note. — The Woburn Public Library has also many other papers re- 
lating to that section of Woburn afterwards set off as the town of Bur- 
tiiigton, among them the alarm list of the military company there, 177(1 ; 
rt-turns of the training soldiers of that precinct, 177fi, including those 
that were in the Continental Ber\ ice in the year 1775 ; a list of the draft 
of soldiers destined for Canada, etc., and the equipage of the alarm list 
of the same company. Also, there are similar rolls of the same com- 
pany for 1777, 1780, 1781 and 17Si, and records of company meetings 
1777-80. 

Population of Burlington in 1800. — From a 
copy of the cen.siis preserved in the Woburn Public 
Library, taken in that year. The original contains a 
list of the heads of families, and the statistics per- 
taining to each. A summary of these is the follow- 
ing: 

Free white males, to 10, 63 

to 16, 39 

to 26, 48 

to 45, 47 

to 45, etc., . - 44 

Males 241 

Free white females, to 10, 71 

to 10, 4:i 

to 26, 41 

to 45, 55 

to 45, etc., 59 

Females 209 

Total Males and Femaiea • . . 510 

Negroes 2 

Total in the town of Burliiiglou 512 



Adding S;imuel Fowte's and Robert Mullet*s families and 
Saiah Johnson, making 13 

Gave an additional total to Burlington of 525 

inhabitants at the opening of the century. 

The houses in Burlington, according to tliis 
enumeration, were 74. Of the negroes, one African, 
male, belonged to the family of Abigail Jones, and 
one African, female, to the family of James Reed. 



CHAPTER LI. 



B VRUNG TON—{ Continued). 



CIVIL HISTORY. 

In the interleaved almanac or diary of Rev. John 
Marrett, for 1799, we find the following notes regard- 
ing the incorporation of Burlington: 

*' February 28, fair and moderate, Dmi [Domi], 
this Day an act for corporating this Parish into a 
Township was completed by y"^ General Court. 

"March 11, fair & cold. Dial, p. m., attended first 
town-meet'g in Burlington to chnse town officers. 

*' March 18, very cold, w'd N. & Snowy, went to 
an Entertainment at Capt. Wood's, be'g a general 
meet'g of men k y" wives, & rejoicing on acc't of this 
Parish being Incorporated into a Town." 

Among the papers left by Mr. Marrett, there is 
still in existence a yellow and time-worn but well 
preserved copy of the proceedings at this celebra- 
tion. It is interesting to compare it with accounts of 
similar occasions of to-day : — 

"The Principle Inhabitants of the Town of Burlington h.id a general 
&. Social Interview at Capt. .lohn Wood, Jun's., Socmi ifuH, and, after 
partaking of a Sumtuous Dinner, (he following Toasts were given: 

'*1. The United Slates of America — may forrieng Influence and Do- 
mestic faction be discountenanced by every Citizen. 

"2. The President of y* United States— may the wise, firm, pacific & 
energetic Measures which have marked iiis Administration insure to him 
the Love, Esteem, C<>utidence fc Support of every Ameriam. 

"^. George Washington, Lieut. Genl. of the Armies of the united 
States — If that Illustrious Character shall again havo occasion to dmw 
his Sword in the defense of his injured and insulted Country, may it 
never be returned until Complete Satisfaction be niadt- . 

"4. The Commonwealth of Massiichusetts — the first to assert its 
Rights ; the last to Surrender them. 

"5. His Excellency, Increase Sumner, our worthy and Mcritorioua 
Governor. 

"6. The Legislature of MassachuKetts — the protection of the weak, 
the Relief of the oppressed, and the watchful Guardian of all our 
Rights. 

"7. The Secretaries of State, of the Treasury, of the Navy and of War 
—wise as a Serpent, harmless as a Dove, Swift ;t8 an Eagle, and terrible 
;u> an Army with Banners. 

"S. Our Infant Navy — may it increase in proportion as y« Exegencies 
of our Country A Commerce niuy require. 

" 9. 1 be Army of j« United Sttaea — may it Combat with none but our 
Jlnemies, and then may it prove invincible. 

*• iO. Oiir Ambassadors to all foreign Courts— may they maintain y* 
Dignity of tlieir Station i bo faithful to our Country's cause. 

"11. The town of Wbn. [Woburn]— Allho' apart has been taken off, 
yet itiay y* remainder increase in numln-r, wealth .t Beauty. 

"12. Tlie Inhabitants of Burlington—may they uuile like a Itiind of 



666 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Brotliers, & incrense in wisdom, atrongth & virtue, and may no private 
animosity or local prejudice ever annoy their future prosperity. 

"13. Tlie ,\meriain fair — may tbey be faitliful and cover this good 
Land witli their own Sons, and let the first Lesson which they teach 
them he love to God it (heir Co\ilitry. 

" 14 Agriculture & y" Mechanic Arts — may we enjoy y« sweets of our 
own Labour, uninterrupted by forriengners. 

" 15. Rational Liberty & haj)piness to y« whole family of Adam. 

" IC. A speedy, honourahlo & porminent Peace to all y Nations of the 
Earth. 

•' The company all rose & heartily joined hands." 

The author of these sentiments is unknown, but it 
is safe to conclude that they were composed by Rev. 
John Marrett, since very few persons, in those days, 
except ministers or college fjraduates, held the pen of 
the ready writer. The patriotism shown in many of 
them was characteristic of the brave clergyman, 
whose name headed the "Alarm List" of Woburn 
Precinct in Revolutionary times. 

The house in which the celebration was held is still 
standing in the centre of Burlington. It is now 
owned by the heirs of the late Charles Caldwell, and 
its original form is mainly preserved, although, in 
the change from a tavern to a dwelling-house, the 
" Social Hall " has been divided into chambers. 

The first book of the records of the town is a well- 
preserved, leather-covered volume, inscribed on its 
title page, in a legible hand, " The Commencement of 
the Records of the Town of Burlington." 

To this book we are indebted for many facts re- 
garding the early town history. 

The first town-meeting was called by John Cald- 
well, one of the principal inhabitants of the town of 
Burlington, in obedience to a writ served by John 
Walker, justice of the peace. It was held March 
11, 1799. The town ofl^icers chosen were a town 
clerk, five selectmen and overseers of the poor, three 
assessors, a town treasurer, a constable, three survey- 
ors of highways, two fence-viewers, two surveyors of 
lumber, a sealer of leather, two measurers of wood, a 
clerk of the market, a sealer of weights and measures, 
two "hog reefes" and three field-drivers. A motion 
to dissolve the meeting was then passed " in the af- 
firmity." ' 

At the next meeting, held April 1, 1799, the vote 
for State oSicers was taken, and certain articles relat- 
ing to the appropriation of money and other town af- 
fairs were con.sidered. True to the spirit of the 
fathers, the first vote of appropriation was " to raise 
two hundred fourty-eight dollars and ninety cents for 
the Rev'd John Marrett's sallery, y' present year."'' 

The next vote was " to raise one hundred and fifty 
dollars for shooling."^ 

In Rev. Mr. JIarrett's diary of 1800 we find the fol- 
lowing account of the service held in commemoration 
of the death of Washington : 

•'Feb. 22. The Day appointed by Congress to 
be observed in respect to the Memory of Gen'l Wash- 

1 Town Uecords, vol. i. p. 3. 

2 Town Records, vol. i. p. G. 
^Town Records, vol. i. p. 6. 



ington, deceased. We had an Exercise at y" meet'g- 
house and procession to the meet'g-'house." 

In ISIO the population of Burlington by the United 
States census was 471, a decrease from the number in 
1800; but in 1820 it was 508, and in 1850 it had 
increased to 545. 

Those who are now familiar with the town must 
not think that the marked difference we see to-day 
between rural Burlington and the city of Woburn 
existed between the old and new towns at the begin- 
ning of the century. Then the inhabitants of both 
places were largely engaged in agricultural pursuits- 
Many farmers of substantial means lived in Burling- 
ton, and it was no small loss to the mother town to be 
deprived of their tax money. Burlington was on the 
stage-route from Boston to Concord, N. H. The 
coming and departure of the stage-coaches brought a 
certain stir of life into the village several times e.ich 
day and furnished the most convenient means of 
communication with the outside world known at that 
time. 

During later years the Marion Tavern, still stand- 
ing, in the centre of the town, became noted as the 
"Half-way House" between Boston and Lowell. 
Here the horses were changed and the passengers 
sometimes took dinner. 

When the Lowell R.ailroad was built, in 1835, its 
course was turned aside from the direct route to the 
north, and Burlington was stranded by the tide of 
progress. The stages ceased to run ; even the mail 
was at last carried on the cars ; and a quiet — unbroken 
by the merry horn or the cracking of the whij) — 
settled over the little village. The opening of the 
railroad marked the close of one important era of the 
history of Burlington. 

In the dark days of the Civil War, 1861-65, the citi- 
zens of Burlington gave abundant evidence of their 
patriotism. Meetings were held from time to time, 
money wiis appropriated, a recruiting committee was 
employed to canvass the town, and the recruits were 
drilled under competent instructors. The town fur- 
nished eighty-two men for the war — a number ex- 
ceeding, by four, all demands of the Government. 
The amount of money appropriated and expended 
by the town for the war, nut including State aid, was 
$10,(jol. This was a large sum for a town, whose 
valuation, in 1860, was only $328,461, with a popula- 
'ation of 606. The women of Burlington also did a 
large amount of work for the soldiers, kn.tting, sew- 
ing, preparing lint and bandages for the wounded, 
and in other ways ministering to the needs of the de- 
fenders of their country. 

The name of Ward Brooks Frothingham, son of the 
late Dr. Nathaniel L. Frothingham, and a nephew of 
Hon. Edward Everett, heads the list of soldiers from 
Burlington. In a personal communication, he gives 
an account of his experience in the army, which we 
record here : 

" I first enlisted, September 0, 18G1, as a corporal in Comimny D, 



BURLINGTON. 



667 



■ Everptt Guard,' 2'2d Muasachusotts Infantry Volunteers. I was 
wounded through the left t<houlder by a niiuie-ball, at the battle of 
Gaines' Mills, June 27, 1802, was taken prisoner and conAned in Libby 
Prison. I was paroled and discharged July 30, 1802. I re-enlisted as 
second lieutenant, in the 59th Massachusetts Infantry Volunteers 
(Konrth Veterans), April 23, 18li4. I was promoted to the rank of first 
lieutenant for gallant and meritorious services in the battle of the 
Wilderness, May U, 18G4. At the battle of Spottsylvania Conrt-House, 
Blay 12, 18C1, I was shot through the hat, and, on June nth of the 
same year, in an assault on the enemy's works, my canteen was shot 
away. I was wounded in the right leg at the battle of Pegram's Farm, 
Septembor 30, 18G4. In the attack on Fort Steadman, March 
2.0, 1865, I was captured, and, after giving up my sword, 
marched to Richmond and Libby Pjison. I was paroled for exchange 
April 2, 1865, and, returning home, was 'mastered out ' May 15, 1S05, 
my services being no longer required. 

" I served in the .\rmy of the Potomac, and all the engagements in 
which I participated were in Virginia. Nine years after the war I was 
most agreeably surprised by having my sword and belt returned to me, 
by the rebel captain to whom I surrendered. He says in a letter tome, 
which I still have with me, 'I trust the sword will never be drawn 
again except in defence of our common country.' " i 

When the centennial anniversary of the Battle of 
Lexington was celebrated by that to'wn, April 19, 
1S75, an invitation was sent to the citizens of Burling- 
ton to join in the exercises of the day. At a town- 
meeting, held March 25, 1875, it was voted to accept 
this invitation and to raise a sum of money to defray 
the expenses of the day. It was also voted to form a 
company of cavalry to join in the procession. This 
company consisted of forty-six citizens of the town 
and four honorary members. The officers of the 
company were Captain, William E. Carter; first lieu- 
tenant, George L. Tebbetts; second lieutenant, James 
Graham ; quartermaster, George W. Austin ; orderly 
sergeant, Nathan H. Marion. They were dressed 
in neat uniforms, and presented a fine appearance. 
They carried a handsome flag and a banner bear- 
ing two views of the " Retreat of Hancock and 
Adams, April 19, 1775," now the residence of 
Samuel Sewall, Esq., of Burlington. The cavalry es- 
corted two carriages occupied by the honorary mem- 
bers and four aged citizens of the town. On their 
way to Lexington the company stopped to pay their 
respects to the " Retreat of Hancock and Adams," 
which was appropriately decorated for the occasion, 
and also to give a salutation to one of the descend- 
ants of Paul Revere, who was, at that time, an inmate 
of the dwelling. The 19th of April, 1875, was a day 
long to be remembered in Burlington. 

The citizen.-* of Burlington have always been pub- 
lic-spirited and liberal, according to their means. 
This is shown by the neat appearance of their public 
buildings. The Town Hall, built in 184-t, was en- 
larged and greatly improved in 1879. Beside a com- 
modious hall for town-meetings, lectures and social 
entertainments, the building now contains a conven- 
ient room for the selectmen, and a room for the post- 
office and town library on the lower floor, and above 
a well-fitted dining-hall. 

There are five school-houses in town, all in good 
condition. Four schools are kept thro'Jghout the 

1 Communication of THr. Ward Brooks Frothinghani. 



year, and one additional during the winter months. 
This year, 1890, the town, for the first time, employs 
a superintendent of schools, in conjunction with sev- 
eral adjoining towns. 

The public library of Burlington was established 
in 1858. It now contains 2058 volumes. The circu- 
lation, 1889-90, was 1000 volumes. The library is 
free to all inhabitants of the town over twelve years 
of age. 

The late David Simonds, a wealthy resident of 
Boston, who was born in Burlington, recently left by 
will a fund of $1000 for the town library. The library- 
room is adorned by a portrait of the late Col. Leon- 
ard Thompson, of Woburn, presented by his son, 
Leonard Thompson, Esq. Colonel Thompson was 
born in this town. He was a wise and public-spirited 
man, who achieved a high reputation for benevolence 
and justice to his fellow-men. In his will he left a 
generous gift to the Sunday-school library of Burling- 
ton. Previous to the establishment of the town 
library in Burlington a social library was formed. 
The proprietors met Aug. 30, 1810. The number of 
proprietors was twenty-two. Sh'dres were sold for 
two dollars each, the holders being subject to an 
annual assessment of twenty-five cents, with fines 
for neglect in returning books. The records of this 
library are very interesting. The library was com- 
menced with less than ninety volumes, but in- 
creased to two hundred and fifty. These book;? were 
well selected and the list of them, still extant, shows 
that the popular taste of those days was certainly not 
inferior to that of our own times. This library, for 
lack of interest, and perhaps other causes, was given 
up, in 1842, and the books divided among the share- 
holders. Rev. Samuel Sewall iR'as the librarian. 

In 1880 a new almshouse was built, on the town 
farm in Burlington to replace the old house, which 
was destroyed by fire in the fall of 1879. There have 
been few inmates in the almshouse during late years, 
but these seem contented and happy. Kind and 
Christian treatment has been the rule of the institu- 
tion. 

In the Introduction a description of the ancient 
burial-ground of Burlington was given. In 1851 land 
was purchased and a new cemetery laid out, on the 
Bedford road. This cemetery was dedicated with ap- 
propriate exercises and an address by Rev. Samuel 
Sewall, June 25. 1851. Of late years considerable 
attention has been paid to the care and adornment of 
the cemetery. Every year a committee is elected by 
the town to keep the ground in order, and a sum of 
money appropriated for their use. Many proprietors 
of lots also take great pains in their improvement 
and adornment. 

The town of Burlington is noted for the beauty of 
its natural scenery. 

The surface is uneven and diversified by conspicu- 
ous hills, which command fiue views of the surround- 
ing country. From Bennett Hill, in the centre of 



(J68 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



the town, can be seen, on a clear day, Mt. Waehusett, 
Mt. Monaduock and other mountains of New Hamp- 
shire. 

The view of the village from this hill at sunset 
in summer — the church tower rising above the slate 
stones of the burying-ground, the houses nestling 
among the trees, and the green fields and orchards — 
is one hardly to be surpassed among our New Eng- 
land villages. 

A clear and beautiful stream of water, a branch 
of the Shawshine River, called Vine Brook, waters 
the meadows in the south part of the town. 

Sources of the Ipswich River have been traced to 
the east part of Burlington. Situated on elevated 
land, the town is noted for the healthful ness of its lo- 
cation. Very few epidemics have prevailed here, al- 
though a letter of Rev. John Marrett to his kinsman, 
Rev. Isaiah Dunster, of Harwich, dated May 25, 
1790, seems to hint that our modern influenza was 
known in that early time. In this letter, he says ; 

" We have not had y' Measles tho y^ hve been all 
round us. It has been sickly & a time of mortality 
in many places this spring, with us in general 
healthy. The Distemper called y" Influenza has pre- 
vailed. — I have been confined with it about 10 days. 
But now well, as we all are.'" 

His diary for that season recorded his own illness 
and shows an unusual number of visits to the sick. 

A newspaper clipping from the Middlesex Observer, 
March 8, 1823, carefully preserved by Rev. Samuel 
Sewall, gives some interesting facts regarding the 
heali.hfulness of Burlington at that time. This clip- 
ping gives an abstract of the deaths that occurred in 
twenty towns in the county during the year 1822, 
with the population of each town, according to the 
census of 1820. 

In point of healthfulness Burlington ranked sec- 
ond, there being one death to every 127 inhabitants. 
In Hopkinton, which ranked first, there was one 
death to every 184 inhabitants. The population of 
Burlington at that time was 608; the number of 
deaths for the year only four. A note says : 

"This is an unusually small number. In 1821 the 
deaths were fourteen. The average number for the 
past nine years ha.* been eight. The whole number 
since April 13, 1814, to December 31, 1822, is seventy- 
one. Nineteen of them were over seventy, nine over 
eighty, and two over ninety years of age." 

Burlir;gtou is almo-st entirely an agricultural town. 
The soil is generally fertile, and, under skillful culti- 
vation, produces good crops of grain, vegetables and 
fruit. There are many successful farmers in town 
who are daily demonstrating that farming may be a 
profitable employment. Some of them raise vegeta- 
bles of all kinds, early and late, which are sent to the 
Boston market, and others are engaged in raising 
milk, principally for use in VVoburn. Mr. John Winn, 

' " Ilonry Dunstor and liis Ddsceiidants," by Samuel Dunster, p. 91. 



in the east part of the town, keeps a herd of fifty or 
sixty cows, and supplies many people in Woburn 
with milk. 

Mr. Samuel Walker has become quite celebrated 
in this vicinity as a raiser of small fruits. He has a 
number of acres planted with raspberry and black- 
berry vines and sends large quantities of the berries 
to the Boston market every year. 

Mr. Henry A. Coffin is engaged extensively in the 
poultry business and is the inventor of a successful 
incubator. There is one saw and grist-mill in town, 
owned by Mr. Edward Reed, and situated on Vine 
Brook. On the same stream there is also an establish- 
ment for block-printing. 

There are two shoe stock manufactories in the 
centre of the town. One of these, owned by Mr. 
George L. Tebbelts, has a ste.am boiler of twenty-two 
horse-power, and employs, on an average, seventeen 
people. A goodly amount of business is done there. 

The other, owned by Mr. W. E. Carter, has a 
boiler of eighteen horse-power and employs about 
the same number of hands. 

There are two grocery-stores in Burlington — one in 
the centre, owned by Tebbetts & Getchell, and the 
other in tho west village, owned by J. C. Haven. 
The people do much of their trading in Woburn and 
Boston. 

The most extensive business in town is undoubtedly 
the ham business, owned and managed by Mr. 
Thomas I. Reed, who cures the celebrated "Reed 
hams," at his establishment in Burlington, and sells 
them in Boston and in many towns in the county. 
This business was begun, in a small way, fifty years 
ago, by Mr. Reed's father, the late Isaiah Reed, Jr., 
who commenced by buying a few hogs and selling 
pork and sausages. Some people in Woburn, who 
knew that Mr. Reed had an excellent recipe for 
curing hams, employed him to cure theirs and 
gradually the business grew, until, in 1872, he was 
curing four or five thousand in the season. In 1868 
he began to buy hams for sale, and, that year, sold 
one hundred. In 1872 Mr. T. I. Reed, who had then 
begun to work with his father, bought and sold four 
hundred and fifty hams. This, he thought, was a very 
good year's work. In 1874 Mr. T. I. Reed took the 
business, after the death of his father. The business 
since then has constantly increased and the territory 
has grown more extended. In the season of 1889- 
90, from October 1st, to the middle of June, about 
eight thousand hams were cured for others, and forty 
thousand were bought and sold by Mr. Reed himself 
In this business he employed a large number of men 
and horses. He has two ham buildings, one story 
and a half high, with cellars, one measuring twenty 
by fifty-five feet, and the other seventeen by fifty-one 
feet, and two smoke-houses, each measuring twelve 
by twenty-four feet. Mr. Reed has also a large farm, 
which he cultivates profitably. 

The finest residence in Burlington is now owned. 



BURLINGTON. 



6C9 



with tlie larn;e farm adjoining, by Mr. Samuel W. 
Rodman. Tiie mansion-house was built by Rev. Na- 
thaniel L. Frothingham, D.D., minister of the First 
Church in Boston, and a noted poet and translator. 
Dr. Frothingham had his summer home in this town 
for several years, and Hon. Edward Everett, a rela- 
tive of Mrs. Frothingham, spent at least one season 
here. During his residence in Burlington, Dr. Froth- 
ingham selected a family burial-place in the new 
cemetery, and there he was buried. 

The Burlington Agricultural Society was organized 
in the fall of 1889, and held their first annual field- 
day and fair October 3, 1889. Large numbers of 
people attended, many coming from adjoining towns. 
There was a fine collection of needlework, vegetables 
and historical articles to be seen in the Town-Hall, 
and also a good exhibition of stock and poultry on 
the grounds. This society is prospering, and making 
active preparations for its fair to be held next 
autumn. 

Like other country towns where few changes oc- 
cur, Burlington is rich in landmarks of the past. 
Prcibably the oldest house in town is the one owned 
by Mr. Joshua Reed, in the north part of the town. 
Its exact age is not known, but it is said to be cer- 
tainly two hundred years old. It was once used as 
a garrison house. 

In the history of Woburn an account is given of 
events connected with the historic house which was 
the refuge of Hancock and Adams and the fair 
Dorothy Quincy on the 19th of April, 1775. This 
story is one of the best of authenticated traditions. 
It was related to Rev. Samuel Sewall, who records 
it in his "History of Woburn," by two of the wit- 
nesses of the occasion — by Madam Jones, who was 
living when he came to preach in Burlington, and 
by the veritable Dorothy Quincy, afterward Madam 
Hancock, and, by a second marriage, 3Iadam Scott, 
who was a relative of the Sewalls, and is still re- 
membered by Samuel Sewall, Esq., of Burlington. 

A very large chestnut tree near this house is sup- 
posed to be one which remained fiom the original 
forest, since no record exists of its planting, as is the 
case with the other trees around the house; it 
measures four feet lu diameter. 

The house of Captain James Reed, where the first 
Revolutionary prisoners were confined, is still owned 
bv his descendants. The house owned by Deacon 
Samuel Reed, where the library and jmblic records 
of Harvard College were kept in those perilous 
times, is still standing, although not in the posses- 
sion of the family. 

The Middlesex Turnpike, once a famous highway, 
pas^ied through a part of Burlington. There were no 
gates in this town. The "Turnpike" is now one of 
the ]iublic roads. 

The territory embraced by the town of Burlington 
was once the home of many Indians. Numerous 
relics, as stone tomahawks and arrow-heads, are still 



found by the farmers as they overturn the fields with 
their plows. 

Probably the most distinguished individual born in 
Burlington, or in Woburn Precinct, was the late Rev. 
James Walker, D.D., presideut of Harvard University 
for several years. He was the son of General John 
and Lucy. (Johnson) Walker, and born August 16, 
1794. His father was a famous and influential man 
of his times. His mother was descended from Cap- 
tain Edward Johnson, one of the noted founders of 
Woburn. 

There has been one native of Burlington whose life 
was extended to the long duration of one hundred 
years. Mrs. Betsey Taylor, who died March 2.5, 181)5, 
aged one hundred years and five months, was born in 
this town and spent her life here. She remembered 
the 19th of April, 1775, and once told the Rev. Samuel 
Sewall that, while it was yet dark on that eventful 
morning, a messenger was sent from Cai)tain Joshua 
Walker, commander of the military men of the pre- 
cinct, to her father, Jonathan Proctor, drummer of 
the company, to beat an alarm as soon as possible, 
as the " red-coats" were on the march towards Lex- 
ington. As she advanced in years she asked Rev. 
Mr. Sewall to promise that the one hundredth anni- 
versary of her birth should be publicly celebrated, as 
she felt that she should live to that "great age," as 
she called it. This he readily promised, and the cele- 
bration was held at her home, as she was then unable 
to leave the house — October 31, 1S04. Mr. Sewall 
made an address and conducted appropriate religious 
exercises. 

In concluding the civil history of the toivn, we arc 
led to inquire what manner of men were these who 
laid its foundations and "builded better than they 
knew?" 

We have already spoken of their true Puritan prin- 
ciples and zeal for the worship of God, which led 
them to surmount all difficulties and endure "all 
manner of contradiction" that they might be incor- 
porated as a parish, and have a place for public wor- 
ship convenient to their homes. The cost of the 
meeting-house — $943.17 — was a considerable sum of 
money for those days, and the addition to the taxes 
of individuals, each one being taxed according to bis 
estate, was not a small burden. Certain votes and 
proceedings at the early meetings of the town .show 
us that money was not plentiful, even as late as 1800. 
Propositions which incurred expense were often 
promptly voted down. 

In reading these records, we must remember that 
our forefathers acted not from parsimony only, hut 
from what appeared to them, in the light of their 
times, to be true economy and thrift. 

The attitude of the people on the reforms of the day 
is important. Very few slaves were owned in Woburn 
Precinct. The most noted of these was Cuff, the 
servant of Madam Jones, mentioned in the Introduc- 
tion. The class distinctions of his day were such, 



G70 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



however, that he was obliged to sit iu the gallery of 
the meeting-house, but, as he hyd the care of his 
young mistress, the granddaughter of Madam Jones, 
he took her to sit with him. 

It is a remarkable fact that, although liquors were 
extensively used ia olden times, at all occasions, joy- 
ful and sorrowful, even at ordinations and church- 
raisings, there is no record that any money was ex- 
pended for them by this parish or church. 

The ordination of one of the ministers, at least, 
was celebrated by a ball, and it is related that the 
people once partly paid for the painting of the meet- 
ing-house in a similar way. The people gave strict 
attention to the observance of the Sabbath, which 
began at sunset Saturday night, and continued 
twenty-four hours. Travelers were not allowed to tra- 
vel through the parish. A story is told of those days 
which shows that "one touch of nature makes us all 
akin." It is said that a certain drover came from the 
north and stopped over Saturday night at a tavern in 
this place. Thetithingmen went to forbid his moving 
the herd on the Sabbath, but being received with great 
affability, they were entrapped into examining the 
herd, and the sight of one particularly fine animal 
tempted one of the tithingmen to ask its price, where- 
upon thedrover called out to h's men, "Let down 
the bars. If it's right to buy cattle on the Lord's 
day, it's right to drive them." 

Whether this story is true or not, these traditions 
teach us that our forefathers were not entirely diifer- 
ent from the people of to-day. They had their joys 
and sorrows, their virtues and frailties, their human 
afi'ections and passions. Let us preserve all ihe 
records tliat remain of their family and social life, as 
well as the more pubiic memorials of the transactions 
of the church and town. 



CHAPTER LII. 
li URLINGTON—( Coyitinued). 

ECCLESIASTICAL HI.STOEY. 

Ol'lt fiithers, wlicre are tliey V Tin; worthy of old, 
Wliuse pniise and whoso honor witli joy we Jiave told? 
Willi strength und with pHtience they labored and Jirayed, 
Ttiey truuteil Ooit'a mercy, though often delayed, 
And still on the Mighty their courage was stayed. 

The walls that they builded are firm as the hill, 
Wo meet where they met, hut their voices are still. 
From altars of earth, they ascended on high. 
To worship our God in the courts of the sky ; 
Their fame and their labor the ages defy. 

W'e stand in their places, our footsteps may tread 
The path that they followed, by righteousness led. 
Wo pray for their spirit, our work to perform, 
While, faithful to duty, in shining and storm. 
We gather the harvest of holy reform. 
— Hymn for the l5Plti Auniversarj/of the Chwchin Bltrlhgton hij M. E, S. C. 

The history of Burlington, especially in early times, 
is vitally connected with that of the church. The 



distance from the meeting-house in Woburn and the 
strong determination of the inhabitants of ancient 
Shawshin, or "Shushan," as this part of Woburn was 
then called, to attend public worship, led to the for- 
mation of the Second Parish in 1730, and shortly 
afterward, to the building of the meeting-house and 
organization of the church. There has been but one 
church in Burlington, and never any strenuous 
attempt to form another, although a few families have 
always attended the churches of their choice in 
adjoining towns. This church is Congregational 
Trinitarian. It has always been liberal in spirit and 
doctrine, and very few theological controversies stain 
its records. 

This churcli was organized October 29, 1735, Old 
Style, or November 8, 1735, according to our present 
mode of reckoning. Ten male members, including 
the pastor, subscribed to the church covenant. The 
following list of these members is given for conven- 
ience in reference :" 

Simon Thompson, John Spear, James Thompson, 
Joseph Pierce, Edward Johnson, William Bruce, 
Supply Clap (the first minister), George Reed, Ebeu- 
ezer Johnson, Samuel Walker. 

The history of this church and parish from 1730 to 
the incorporation of the town in 17'J'J, has been in- 
cluded in the " Ecclesiastical History of Woburn." 

A note in the first book of church records, in the 
handwriting of Rev. John Marrett, states that from 
November 23, 1735, to December 28, 1800, 943 people 
were baptized.'- In the same book. Rev. Samuel 
Sewall, his succes-.or, records that the whole number 
baptized by Mr. Slarrett, from December 25, 1774, to 
his death, in 1813, was 358." 

Later church records help to furnish the following 
statistics : Whole number admitted into the church, 
46G ; present numberof members, 58; whole number 
of baptisms, 1177. 

In the description of the ancient burial-place in the 
Introduction, the fund left to the church by Jliss 
Ruth Wilson was mentioned. The interest of this 
sum for years paid one-half of the church expenses. 
Of her it may be truly said, " She being dead, 
yet speaketh." 

In the Introduction to this history reference was 
made to the old meeting-house, built in 1732, two 
years after the Old South in Boston. In 1799 this 
ancient house of worship was still preserved in its 
original form. After forty years' exposure to the 
wind and storms it was painted, and the diamond 
panes in the windows were exchanged for the s<|uare 
form of glass ; but it had neither steeple nor bell. 
When the meeting-house was built there were no 
pews, but the fiuor was occupied with long seats. 
The men sat on one side of the broad aisle and the 



1 Records of Second Church in Woburn, vol. i. p. 1. 

- t;hurch Ilecords, vol. i. fly leaf. 
■'' Church Ilecorils, vol. i. p. 08. 



BUKLINGTON. 



G71 



women on the other. In those days it was necessary, 
according to the old custom, to " seat tlie meeting- 
house." In 1735, by a vote of the parish, the first 
pew lots were sold and pews built upon them, and 
these continued, from time to time, to replace the 
ancient seats, until, in 1X14, the last seats were 
exchanged for pews. In 1824 the meeting-house 
suffered from the injuries done by a severe storm. 
The front door was blown down, and the inside of 
the house was considerably damaged. These injuries 
were repaired and by the pious care of the people ; the 
meeting-house was kept in good condition iind in its 
original form until 1840. At this time it was 
thoroughly repaired and remodeled. 

Ten feet were added to its length, the porch was 
built and also the steeple with its bell. The inside 
was entirely changed and greatly improved. On the 
last Sunday in which the people worshiped in the 
parish meeting-house, before leaving it to the hands 
of the repairing workmen. Rev. Samuel Sewall 
preached a sermon from the text, "Remember the 
days of old, consider the years of many generations ; 
ask thy father and he will shew thee; thy elders and 
they will tell thee." Deut. 32:7. This sermon is 
still remembered as "The Farewell to the old Meet- 
ing-House." 

Its closing sentences are given here, as affording a 
picture of the ancient house of God and showing also 
the simple and genuine eloquence of the preacher: 

" For myself then and for you, in your name, I will 
now bid Farewell to this House of Prayer. 

" Farewell, ye pews, in which we and our fathers 
and our fathers' fathers have sought our God and 
listened to the instructions of his Word. 

"Farewell, ye galleries, and especially thou, in 
which the sweet singers of our Israel, the skillful in 
holy song, in our days and in those which have gone 
by, have declared the high praises of our God, have 
sung the songs of Zion. 

"Farewell, thou Deacons' Seat, in which the 
former deacons of this Church of God, now deceased, 
a Keed and a Walker, a Johnson and a Reed, a Winn 
and a Blanchard, a Sim^nds and a Cutler, were ac- 
customed successively to sit; where its former pas- 
tors have stood, one after another, and blessed the 
memorials of the Saviour's death, and dedicated to 
his service with bapti-jmal water the infant offspring 
of their people. 

"Farewell, thou Sounding-Board ; under whose 
shade many a venerable minister of religion in former 
days has stood, dispensing the Word of Life, think- 
ing he was much indebted to thee for his ])ower to be 
heard, but whose services the notions of modern 
times have led men to dispense with. 

"Farewell, thou Pulpit, in which my predecessors 
and I once used to stand in performing the holy 
offices to which we were called. Thanks for all the 
enjoyment and comfort I have taken and for any 
good 1 may have done in thee: and if I or any other 



preacher that has occupied thee has ever abused or 
slighted thy accommodation, may God forgive! 

"Farewell, thou House of God, in thy present 
form ; a long, a final farewell. But, blessed be God ! 
we hope to meet in thee again, with thy walls re- 
built and with new and better accommodations for 
the sacred services for which thou art designed than 
thou hast ever afforded. The prospect of that day 
we will cherish with thankfulness; we will hail its 
arrival with pious joy. Amen.'" 

It does not appear that the meeting-house was 
dedicated at the time of its erection, but, in 184G, 
when it was re-opened to the public, after the re- 
pairs, it was consecrated, with appropriate cere- 
monies, to the worship of God. 

In the loft of this remodeled meeting-house could 
still be seen the timbers of the original frame, un- 
touched with decay, and, as the old sexton of the 
parish used to remark, "so hard that no worm could 
eat them." 

These remain to this day in the heart of the build- 
ing, and stoutly resisted the carpenter's chisel in 
1888. 

The one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the 
organization of the church and settlement of the 
first minister was celebrated on Sunday, Nov. 8, 
1885. The church was decorated with rare plants, 
flowers and evergreens. Noticeable among the deco- 
rations was a board taken from the meeting-house in 
1S4G, bearing in ancient lettering this inscription : 

Bnilt— 1732. 
Bepiiireci— 1793. 

This was sold with other lumber to Mr. William 
Locke, of Lexington, who had the charge of re- 
modeling the meeting-house in 184G. By his gener- 
osity it was restored to its original place. A large 
audience attended and the old meeting-house was 
once m< re filled with worshipers as in the olden 
days, when tradition says that all the seats were 
occupied, on ordinary occasions, and the teller of 
the tale, then a boy in the parish, was obliged to sit 
on the gallery -stairs. 

The exercises opened with the singing of "0:d 
Hundred " by the congregation. Prayer was offered 
by Rev. Leander Thompson, of North Woburn. A 
hymn written for the occasion by Rev. Charles C. 
Sewull, of Medfield, was sung by the congregation, to 
York Tunc as sung by our forefathers. 

An excellent historical sermon wiis delivered by 
Rev. Charles .Vnderson, the pastor of the church. 

His text was from Joshua 13 : 1 :— " Thou art old 
and stricken in years and theie remaineth yet very 
much land to be possessed." This sermon gave an 
interesting review of the past and pointed lessons of 
inspiration and admonition for the future. 

At the conclusion of the sermon the hymn at the 
heading of this chapter was sung. The sacrament of 



1 Manuscript HemioD of Rev. Samuel SewuII. 



tJ72 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



the Lord's Supper was then administered by the pas- 
tor, assisted by Rev. Leander Thompson. 

The ancient silver cups uted in this service were 
presented to the church as follows : two by Dea. 
George Reed, in 1718 and 1734; one by Roland Cot- 
ton, 1741 ; one by Roland Cotton and Nathaniel 
Saltoustall, no date; one by Silvanus Wood, 1808; 
one by Rev. John Marrett, 1813 ; one by Timothy 
Winn, 1814. 

On Monday evening the citizens of the town held 
a banquet and reception in the Town Hall. Promi- 
nent among the decorations was the sword of Rev. 
John Marrett. At the post-prandial exercises, ad- 
dresses were given by Rev. Charles Anderson, Rev. 
Daniel March, D.D., Samuel Sewall, Esq., Rev. E. 
G. Porter and William Winn, Esq. 

At this time considerable enthusiasm was aromed, 
among the people of the town and those from abroad 
who were interested in the place as their former 
home, or the home of their forefathers, in retiard to 
repairing the meeting-house, which had begun to 
plainly show the marks of time and age. 

Through the efforts of Rev. Charles Anderson 
the funds for this purpose were raised, generous help 
being given by friends from abroad. The work of re- 
pairing and remodeling was begun and completed 
in 1888. The steeple was removed and a new tower 
and porch built on the south side of the meeting- 
house. The interior was entirely changed and, in- 
stead of the one room with hall and gallery, now con- 
tains an auditorium for public worship, a vestry for 
the Sunday-school and above the vestry a parlor and 
kitchen, all handsomely decorated and furnished. 
The windows in the auditorium were given by Mrs. 
S. D. Warren, of Boston, as a memorial to her father, 
Eev. Dorus Clark, D.D., once acting pastor of this 
church, and to his wife, " who loved and served this 
people." 

Before the remodeling of the meeting-house was 
completed Rev. Charles Anderson had resigned his 
pastoral charge and Rev. Charles H. Washburn was 
acting as pastor of the church. Interesting services 
of re-dedication were held at the meeting-house De- 
cember 20, 1S88. The sermon was preached by Rev. 
Daniel March, D.D., of Woburn. The Sunday- 
school has been for many years an important factor 
in the life of the church. 

Rev. John Marrett i'aithfully performed the duty of 
catechising the children, as recorded in his diary. 
This was continued by his successor, Kev. Samuel 
Sewall, for a time. Mr. Sewall then formed Bible 
classes for the young men and women of the parish, 
who met at the house of the minister, to be instructed 
in the Scripture. The Sunday-school was organized 
May 4, 1827. At their first meeting Dr. Ezra Rip- 
ley, of Concord, addressed the school. A library was 
given by Messrs. J. B. and Nathan Blanchard. 

The present superintendent of the school is Mr. 
Thomas I. Reed, chosen in 1871. It has been a 



peaceful and prosperous school, productive of great 
good to the young peoj)le of the town. 

The Ladies' Benevolent Society, connected with 
the church, has always acted a prominent and uselul 
part in charitable work among the poor and in con- 
tributing to the funds of the church. This society 
celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its organization 
by a reception and reunion of members, May 22, 
1890. The president, Mrs. Mary B. Reed, has held 
her office for thirty-six years. 

The ministers of the church in Woburn Precinct 
previous to 1799 were Rev. Supply Clap, ordained 
November 8, 1735, died January 8, 1748, and Rev. 
Thomas Jones, ordained January 2, 1751, died March 
13, 1774. 

An account of these ministers will be found in the 
Ecclesiastical History of Woburn. 

The pastor of the church in 1799 was Rev. John 
Marrett, a direct descendant of the fifth generation 
from Henry Dunster, fir.-<t president of Harvard Col- 
lege. He was born in Cambridge September 21, 
1747, and graduated from Harvard College in 1703. 
He married, December 16, 1779, Martha Jones, 
daughter of Rev. Thomas Jones. 

He was ordained December 21, 1774, and continued 
his ministry in Burlington until his death, February 
18, 1813. The time between these dates includes a 
period of loving, faithful and earnest service as pas- 
tor, neighbor and friend, which left a mark on his 
contemporaries and influenced generations then un- 
born. Mr. Marrett was a fine representative of the 
old-fashioned clergyman — a class which has ceased 
to exist, even in our rural villages. 

Among his manuscripts are copiesof short addresses 
to his people which show that his ideas were in ad- 
vance of the time in which he lived. In regard to 
admitting persons into the ordinances of the church, 
he says : 

" I would n't [not] have y" Door so large or wide as 
to admit unsuitable persons nor so streight or narrow 
as to exclude y" well disposed." In the same address 
he recommends that when persons have any confes- 
sion to make to the churclk it shall be before the 
church alone and not before the congregation. 

In his time the reading of the Scripture was not 
usually a part of public worship, but when a large 
Bible was presented to the church he signified his in- 
tention of reading in it, " while y" season was mode- 
rate." The last words bring manifold suggestions of 
the days when our fathers worshiped in unwarmed, 
comfortless, meeting-houses, without the modern con- 
veniences we now think necessary to our spiritual 
well-being.' ' 

Like nearly all country clergymen of a century ago, 
Mr. Marrett was also a proprietor of land and a prac- 
tical farmer. Tradition hatb it that he often worked 
in his own fields. 



' " Mii'ch 5, nno. Began to read y» S. S. in PuLlkli."— Ciari/. "S. 
S." iiK-uniug tlic " Sacred Scriptures." 



BURLINGTON. 



r,-3 



Mr. Marrett kept a diary, still in the possession of 
Ids descendants, to which frequent reference has been 
made in this history. Besides notes of the weather, 
descriptions of journeys, memoranda of parish work 
and farmini;, it contains accounts of noted public 
events, such as tlic lioston massacre, the Boston tea 
party and the battlos of Lexington and Bunker Hill. 
Several times, he writes, that he went to meeting " on 
rackets," or snow-.shoes. Mr. Marrett's successor tu 
minister of Burlington was Rev. Samuel Sewall, still 
remembered and revered as " Father Sewall." He 
was descended from Henry Sewall, of Newbury, the 
first of the name in this country, and son of Henry 
Sewall, the mayor of Coventry, England. Among his 
ancestors were Samuel Sewall, chief justice of the 
Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1718 to 1728, 
celebrated as one of the presiding judges at the witch- 
craft trials in Salem, 1G92, and his son. Rev. Joseph 
Sewall, a noted minister of the Old South Church in 
Boston. Samuel Sewall was the son of Chief Justice 
Samuel Sewall and Abigail (Devereux) Sewall, and 
was born at Marblehead June 1, 1785. There is a 
family tradition that he was consecrated in infancy by 
his mother to the tJhrislian ministry. Certainly, his 
l>arents seem to have directed his education with that 
end in view. Wise and thoughtful beyond his years, 
as his early writings show, he readily took a hold up- 
on "things unseen," and began in youth to lay the 
foundations of that character whose .symmetrical 
Completion was an inspiration to all who knew him 
in his ripe old age. Having fitted for college in the 
academy at Marblehead, he entered Harvard Univer- 
sity in 1800, when only fifteen years old, and gradu- 
ated with honor in 1804. Having already decided 
upon his profession, he at once began the study of 
theology at Cambridge, filling, at the same time, a 
minor ]iosition in the college government. 

After the completion of his professional .studies he 
took orders in the Episcopal Church, of which his 
parents were members ; but, after officiating in this 
church for a short time, in Cambridge and elsewhere, 
he became dissatisfied with some articles of its creed 
and decided to enter the ministry of the (Congregational 
Church. He was ordained at Burlington April 13, 
1814, where he preached as a candidate, after the 
death of Mr. Marrett. He married, January 1, 1818, 
Martha Marrett, daughter of Rev. John Marrett, and 
took up his abode in the house formerly owned and 
occupied by his predecessors, Mr. .Jones and Mr. 
Marrett, the grandfather and father of his wife. This 
dwelling was especially dear to him on account of its 
associations with the past. 

As a pastor, Mr. Sewall was greatly beloved by his 
people. His name is still spoken with loving mem- 
ory at the firesides of the i>arish. His sermons, still 
in existence, are marked by their earnest puri)o.sc 
and vigor of thought. After twenty-eight years of 
faithful ministry, Mr. Sewall gave up his pastoral 
charge, but did not relinquish his interest in the wel- 
43 



fare of his townspeople or his zeal in the cause of his 
Master. He continued to preach, from time to time, 
as long as he lived. He was the first minister of the 
cluirc!) in North Woburn, where he preached for 
some lime, and during his ministry the first meet- 
ing-house in that place was built. .V memorial win- 
dow in the new meeting-house, given by the church 
in Burlington, commemorates his faithful labors in 
that parish. 

Mr. Sewall was a man of public spirit, and ever 
active in all movements for the good of the town. 
He filled the offices of town clerk and School Commit- 
tee with acceptance for a term of years. It is a well- 
known fact that men of strong intellect usually cher- 
ish a favorite avocation or study apart from their 
business or professional cares, which they pursue 
with avidity in leisure hours. This chossn study 
with Mr. Sewall was historical and genealogical re- 
search. Certain circumstances of his life favored 
this choice. Descended from a family rich in tra- 
ditions and memorials of the past, he was connected 
by marriage with another family also famous for the 
preservation of these valuable heirlooms. 

As an antiquarian Mr. Sewall became widely dis- 
tinguished. His contributions to historical litera- 
ture have always been highly valued, and those who 
knew him best can testify to the care and faithfulness 
of his researches. His last and greatest work was the 
" History of Woburn." This was printed while its 
author lay on his death-bed. For himself, he said he 
wished to live only a (e\v hours longer, that he might 
see the completion of this work, the result of years 
of study and toil ; but this ccuild not be. Mr. Sew- 
all's last sermon was preached at Carlisle, Mass., Au- 
gust 11, 18()7. The last public service in which he 
participated was the ordination of Mr. Alfred S. 
Hudson, at Burlington, December I'.i, 18(17, where he 
made the ordaining prayer. Rev. Samuel Sewall 
died February 18, 18fi8. His funeral, attended by 
hundreds of his friends and former parishioners, was 
held at the Burlington meeting-house, February 21, 
1868, and his remains were laid at rest beside his 
wife — who died several years before — in the new 
cemetery at Burlington. 

It is impossible for us in the limits of this sketch 
to do justice to the historian, the author and the 
preacher, Samuel Sewall. Worldly distinctiim he 
never sought, and fame he never courted. He was 
indeed one of tho.se whom the poet Lowell de- 
scribes : 

"Thi! liraml.v cliimli tli:itilicl their iliM'il 
.\ud Bcorni'd ti) lilot it with n luiiiie, 
Sleu (>f llic jilniii, lieruic hrt-fil 
That luveil lleuvcn'g silcDco murf tlian funic." 

After the resignation of I\Ir. Sewall the church 
remained without a settled minister until 1849, 
when Rev. Harrison (f. I'ark was called by a unan- 
imous vote to the ofiice of pastor. He was in- 
.stalled November lo, 1849, ami continueil in his 
office until May 10, 1852, when he was dismissed at 



C74 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



his own request. Mr. Park died several years ago. 
The next settled minister was Rev. Alfreds. Hudson, 
who was ordained December 19, 1867, and resigned 
his office June 9, 1873. 

He is now minister of the Congregational Church 
in Ayer, Mass., and has achieved a worthy reputa- 
tion as the author of the " History of Sudbury," 
his native town. 

In 1S73 the churches in North Woburn and Bur- 
lington agreed to unite in the choice of a minister, 
and, September 2, 1874, Rev. Charles Anderson was 
ordained and settled over the two parishes. 

Mr. Anderson's ministry extended over a period 
of fourteen years. Possessing remarkable power as a 
preacher, he might easily have filled a more note- 
worthy position, but he preferred to remain among 
the people of his first choice. His self-denying de- 
votion was richly rewarded, and his ministry was 
marked with signal success. 

In 1887 he received a call to a professorship in 
Robert College, Constantinople, Turkey. As he had 
been a teacher in that institution in his youth, and 
was' thoroughly acquainted with the work, he felt 
that this was a summons of duty, and, greatly to 
the regret of his people, he accepted. He was dis- 
missed July 2, 1888, and in September sailed with 
his family for Constantinople. 

Rev. Charles H. Wa.shburn is the present acting 
pastor of the church. 

Among the ministers who have, at diflerent times, 
preached in Burlington, although not settled, were 
Rev. Nathaniel Richardson, Rev. Dorus Clarke, D.D., 
and Rev. Eli Moody. 

ExTEACTS FROM Rev. John Maerett's Intek- 
LEAVED Almanacs for 1775, and 1776, not 

ELSEWHEEE NOTICED. 

January 1, 1775. Preached at Woburn ; went from 
Deacon Reed's to meeting on snow-shoes. 

3. Rode to Cambridge ; lodged at College. 

4. Rode to Boston and returned to Cambridge ; 
lodged at College. Patty B-r-d-n married to Mr. 
Osgood, of Andover. 

5. Returned to Lexington. 6. At Lexington. 

7. Rode to Woburn ; lodged at Deacon Reed's. 

8. Preached at Woburn. 9. At Woburu. 

10. At Woburn. Spent evening at Deacon Reed's. 
Sons much company. 

11. P.M. Rode to Lexington. 

12. At Lexington. Sent my goods to Woburn. 

13. Moved to Woburn. Board at Madam Jones's, 
for 408. per week, and keep my horse myself. 

[15.] Sunday. Preached at home. A full meeting. 

18. Spent the evening at Reuben Kimball's. Much 
company. 

21. P.M. Rode to Billerica. Sunday. Preached at 
Billerica on excliange. 

23. Rode to Woburn. l^odged at Lieut. .lolinson's. 
Visited a number of families in West Quarter. 



24. Dined at Deacon Reed's. Rode home. 

25. Dined at Deacon Johnson's with much com- 
pany. 

27. At home. Mr. Thaxter dined here. 

28. Last night, between 9 and 10 o'clock, had to 
visit a sick woman, Mrs. Twiss. Sunday. Preached 
at home. 

30. P.M. Visited a number of families on Billerica 
Road. Evening, Mr. Coggin spent with me. 

81. Hay brought me by Messrs. Trask and Dodge. 
Evening. Deacon Reed's sons and wife visited [me]. 

February 1, 1775. Attend Mr. Sherman's Lecture 
and preached. 

2. Preached a lecture for Mr. Cumings. 

5. Sunday. Preached at home. A full meeting. 

7. Deacon Reed and Sergt. Joseph Johnson visited 
me. 

8. Rode to Lexington. 9. Lodged at my brother's 
last night. Attend lecture at Lexington ; a lecture 
on the times. I began with prayer. Mr. Cushing 
preached from Psalm 22 : " He is governor among 
the nations." Mr. Clark concluded with prayer. 

10. Spent last evening at .lohn Wood's. Much 
company. Lodged at Deacon Reed's. 

12. Sunday. P.M. Very snowy. Thin meeting. 

13. Rode to Wilmington and return. 

15. Chilly, uncomfortable. Rode to Boston and 
returned to Cambridge. Lodged with Mr. Gannett at 
College. 16. Returned home. 

19. Sunday. Preached at Wilmington on exchange. 
21. Mr. Clark, of Lexington, visited here. 

27. Vinited several families towards Lexington 
side — seven houses. 

28. Married a couple. Visited three houses. 
March 6, 1775. Prayed at March meeting. Rode 

to Lexington. 7. Lodged last night at Brother's. 
Spent day at Lexington. Attend training there. At 
night rode home. 

12. Sunday. Preached at Lexington in exchange. 

13. Parish meeting. A committee came to know 
if I would accept some certain sum of money in lieu 
of my wood, and after some discourse I told them 
that I would accept of £8 annually in lieu thereof, 
which they cheerfully and thankfully received. 

14. Attend the luneral of Mrs. Sarah Johnson, wid- 
ow of the late Deacon Johnson. 

16. Annual fast. Preached at home, P.M. A 
very full meeting. 

20. Rode to Cambridge. Dined at College. Re- 
turned home. 

21. Training. Viewed arms. 

25. Towards night rode to Woburn Old Parish. 

|26.| Sunday. Lodged last night at Mrs. Burbeen's, 
and preached at Woburn Old Parish on exchange. 
Mr. Prentiss preached forme, and Mr. Sherman for Mr. 
Prentiss, and I for Mr. Sherman. Returned home. 

27. At home. Bottled cider ; 11 dozen and I bot- 
tle, and visited Messrs. Trask, Abijah Smith and .Vn- 
drews. 



BURLINGTON. 



(h5 



29. My Lecture. Mr. Cumings preached from 
John 20: 29. .\ gooil sermon. 5Ir. Edward Brooks 
and wife, of Medford, here. 

30. Preached lecture at Billerica and returned. 
April 2, 1775. Suudav. The first sacrament I have 

had since ordination. Lenfrthencd the intermission 
during summer season two hours. 

3. Visited Henry Reed, James Twist, Stearns, 
Gleai-on and Mclntire. 

4. Rode to Wilmington and Reading. P.M., 
Heard Mr. Stone |of Reading] preach a sermon to 
the minute-men. Returned to Wilmington ; lodged 
at Mr. Morrill's. 

'}. Returned home before dinner. 

(1. Rode to Lexington ; attend lecture. Mr. Cooke, 
of Jlenotomy, preached. Mr. Gushing and Jlr. Wood- 
ward there. 

8. People moving out of Boston on account of the 
troops. 

9. Sunday. Sir. Marston came up from Boston to 
get a place here for his wife and children. 

10. Rode to Stow. Dined at Concord. Lodged at 
Madam Gardner's. 11. Rode from Stow to North- 
boro'. 12. At Northboro' ; at Jlrs. Martin's. 13. Re- 
turn from Northboro' to ]>exington. 17. Visited 
Thomas Locke, Newman and Welsh. 

18. Attend funeral of child at Abel Wyman's. 

20. P.M. Att«nd funeral of Mr. Baldwin, in Wo- 
burn town, who died of a fever; and afterwards rode 
to Lexington and saw the mischief the Regulars did, 
and returned home. 

21. Rode to Concord. The country coming in fast 
to our help. Returned home. 

22. At home. All quiet here. Our forces gathered 
at Cambridge and towns about Boston. The Regu- 
lars removed from Charlestown to Boston the day be- 
fore yesterday.' 

[23.] Sunday. Preached at home. Soldiers travel- 
ing down and returning; brought their arms with 
them to meeting, with warlike accoutrementii. A 
dark day. In the forenoon service, just as service 
was ended, Doctor Blodget came in for the people to 
go with their teams to bring provisions from Marble- 
head out of the way of the men of war. Consider- 
able number at meeting. 

'24. At home. A dull time. Packing up my most 
valuable effects to be ready to move on any sudden 
occasion. 

2o. Rode to Cambridge. Our forces very numer- 
ous there. Lodged at Richard ('lark's, Watertown. 

26. Returned home, via Lexington. JIany houses 
on the road pillaged by the Regulars between Lexing- 
ton and Charlestown. 

27. Josiah Quincy arrived this week from England 
and died at Cape Ann. 

29. Rode to Bedford. Sunday. Preached at Bed- 
ford on exchange. 

1 For entry regarding llio events of tlie 19th of April, see Senall's HV 

iurn, 3*>3. 



May 2, 1775. Rode to ministers' meeting fat Mr. 
Stone's. Lodged at Jlr. Sraitli's. 3. Rode to Tops- 
Held and to Bcxford. J>odged al Mr. Holyoke's. 

7. P.M. Preached at Old Parish in exchange with 
Mr. Coggin. 

'8. Rode to Billerica and returned. 9. To Lexing- 
ton. 

11. Fast Day. Preached at Reading in exchange 
for Mr. Haven. Rode to Medford. 

12. Lodged last night at Capt. Brooks, Medford. 
Rode through Cand)ridge to Dorchester. Surveyed 
the situation of our forces. 

13. Lodged last night at Mr. Wiswell's, at Dor- 
chester, and returned home through Cambridge. 

17. Saw about 9 o'clock P.M., a great fire towards 
Boston. Went up a hill and saw the blaze. Just 
before the fire heard a great noise. 

18. The fire last night was in Boston. Burnt a 
number of stores. It began in one of the barracks. 

21. Sunday. Married Josiah Wilkins, of Marl- 
boro', to Judith Fox, of Woburn Old Parish. They 
came to my lodgings. 

23. Last Sabbath our people destroyed a quantity 
of hay at Weymouth, which the Regulars attempted 
to get to Boston. Some firing on l)otli sides, hut have 
not heard that any were killed. 

26. Mr. Prentiss, of Reading, dined with me. 

[27.] Sunday. Last night exceeding warm. Lay 
most naked. All day and in the night heard the 
cannon at Boston. A skirmish, I suppo.se, between 
the troops under General Gage and our forces. 
Heard tlie cannon in time of service, A.M.,'?Lny{ hear 
our forces have burnt a tender to a man-of-war, this 
morning, at the mouth of the Mistick River, and that 
they from yesterday, P.M., to to-day, were firing at 
each other. 

29. Catechising the children, — thirty in number. 

30. Rode to Cambridge. Lodged at Dr. Appleton's. 

31. Rode to Watertown. Dr. Langdon preached to 
the Congress from Is. i : 28. Lodged at Waltliam. 

June 1, 1775. Rode to Watertown. Heard Mr. 
Stevens preach Convention sermon. Rode to Cam- 
bridge and home. 

4. Sunday. Mr. Wyeth came up between meetings 
and preached P.M. 

6. P.M. Married Joshua Reed. 

9. Went fishing at Billerica with Messrs. Blanchard 
and Andrews. 

10. Mr. Marston and wife and children moveil from 
Boston here. 

16. Mr. Marston, of Boston, ariived here. He 
escaped in a fishing Iwat.^ 

19. Rode to Menotomy and lodged at Mr. Welling- 
ton's. 

20. Rode to Watertown and t'ambridge, and viewed 
the intrenchments of our army between Cambridge 
and Charlestown and returned home. 

3 For entry regarding the eTonta of tlie ITtli of June, see Woburn 

Journal, May 22, 1875. 



(57ti 



HISTOBY^ OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



21. Mr. \V[igglesworth came here and lodged.' 

24. Began to rain about noon. We have had an 
early and long and severe drought. P.M. Ju.st 
beard that our army had entrenched last night near- 
er the enemy on Bunker's Hill, and that the enemy 
this morning appeared with their horse in battle 
array and in readiness at the bottom of the Hill by 
Charlestown Neck to drive our forces away ; but after 
a while they withdrew. The heavy cannon are now 
playing, the tiring is smart and very plainly heard. 

29. In evening, married Ruth Wyman to Josiah 
Kendall. 

Juhj 1, 1775. Heard the firing of some cannon 
which were at Roxbury Neck. 

[2] Sunday. A great deal of firing below. It began 
about daybreak and continued till 7 o'clock. Heard 
it was at Roxbury Neck. Mr. Prentiss, of Charles- 
town, preached for me, A.M. P.M. Preached myself 
and attended a funeral of .Tessa Russell's [wife] in 
the other parish. 

3. Rode to Lexington and returned, and attended 
a funeral in the other Parish of a young man, who 
received his death wound by a horse's throwing him. 

4. Attended Ministers' meeting at Billerica. I was 
admitted into the association. 

9. Sunday. Mr. Prentiss, of Charlestown, preached 
for me, P.M. 

10. Thermometer 92° in a shade abroad. 

11. Thermometer 95° in the shade abroad. 

12. Rode to Lexington. P.M. Great shower of 
rain, which extended far and wide. Rained about 
an hour as fast as ever I saw. 1 believed the water 
ran in brooks and stood in ponds. After shower rode 
to Watertown. 

13. Last night lodged at Watertown, and rode to 
Roxbury, Cambridge, and to Prospect and Winter 
Hills, and viewed the forts and entrenchments, well 
executed and strong. Prayed in evening with Col- 
onel Gerrish's regiment and returned home. 16. Sun- 
day. Mr. Prentiss, of Charlestown, preached for me. 
17. Great shower of hail, etc. 

20. A General fast ai)i)ointed throughout British 
America by the Continental Congress at Philadel- 
phia. Preached at home. 

21. Rode to Cambridge. Lodged at Jlr. Watson's. 

22. At Cambridge. At evening prayed in the 
army. [23.] Sunday. Last night lodged at Mr. Tap- 
pan's. A.M. Preached jii the army. P.M. Some rain 
which prevented preaching. 24. At Cambridge. 

25. Keturn home. 

26. Very unwell. 27. Extreme sultry : hot. Rain, 
P.M., etc. It has been a very dry time, the hay cut 
greatly short — English hay here 22s. per hundred. 
Indian corn looks promising. The rye very short 
and Hax. 28. Dine at Mr. Reuben Kimball's. 

30. Sunday. Attend the funeral of old Mr. Si- 
monds ; a very large funeral. 

I For entry on the 22d, kc SewuH'o JKoliii™, 578 ; the 2l)tb, tee Sew- 
all, 073. 



Auffiisl 2, 1775. My lecture ; Mr. Morrill preached 
from P.salm 56 : 3. After lecture had church meet- 
ing. Chose Mr. David Blanchard and Mr. Joseph 
•Tohnson (3d), deacons. There were 17 members 
]ireseiit. Mr. B. had 10 votes ; the rest scattering 
votes. Mr. Joseph Johnson, the Third, had 1 1 votes- 

3. Evening. Married a couple. 

6. Sunday. Mr. Prentiss, of Charlestown, preached 
all day. Sacrament. 

8. Visited a sick person in the Old Parish at Capt. 
Brooks's. P.M. Visited James Johnson's son. 

10. Visited Capt. Walker's son, sick. 

11. Rode to Bedford and returned. On return 
called and prayed with Bacon's family, very sick, 
and also visited and prayed with Capt. Walker's son. 

13. Sunday. Preached at Bedford ou exchange. 
Returned very unwell. 14. Very unwell. 15. Do. 

16. Better, but very feeble ; a cold in the limbs, at- 
tended with some fever; little or no appetite. 17, 18, 
19, Sunday. Unwell, at home. Mr. Wyeth preached 
all day for me. I am very unwell — not able to 
preach— the rheumatic disorder. 

21. Visited Jonas Walker, very sick. 

23. Rode to Deacon Reed's and returned at night. 
Unwell. 24. Not well. 25, 26. Ditto. 27. Sunday. 
No preaching nor meeting. Not well. 

28. Master Hutchinson, of Boston, lodged here. 
To-day I rode to Lexington, dined at Brother's and 
returned. 

29, Rainy day, at home. Took a vomit. 30. At 
home, unwell. 31. Better of my sickness. 

September 1, 1775. Confined to house. 2. Rode, but 
in the P. 31., unwell. [3.] Sunday. Exceeding rainy, 
a northeast storm ; abundance of rain. Mr. Brooks, of 
Medlbrd, preached for me. At home ; did r;ot attend 
meeting; very unwell. 4. At home, confined to house. 
5. Rode out in Parish. 6. Rode to Wilmington. 
Feel better in health. 7. P.M. Rode to Billerica 
and back. 8. Rode out in the afternoon. 9. Rode 
to Lexington with Capt. Marston. A short shower at 
Lexington and some rain at Woburn. Very warm 
after the rain. 

11. Visited three sick persons, viz.: Old Mrs. 
Proctor, .lohn Gleason's wife and Stratton's wife. 

12. Rode to Cambridge, and viewed the camps and 
forts, and returned at night. Boston is hedged in on 
every side but the water. 

13. P.3f. Attend a funeral of Mr. Switcher's 
[Sweetser] child, of Cliarlestown, now living in the 
other Parish, ^nd ]irayed with a sick woman at Dr. 
Hay's. 

14. Attend a funeral of Bartholomew Richardson's 
child in Old Parish. 

16. Visited Mrs. Kendall, a dying i)erson, and who 
died while I was there. 

17. Sunday. After meeting P.M., attend a funeral of 
a child of Jonathan Carter's, Old I'arish. 

18. Visited four pick persons and attended the 
timeral of Jlrs. Kendall. .\ sickly time. 



BURLINGTON. 



19. Visited tiiree sick persons. 

20. P.M. Attended the f'liiierai of l\rr. /w<(i' Snow, 
Old Pariah, and on return prayed with the sieli at 
Capt. Walker's. 

21. Attended and preached Mr. Clark's Lecture. 
My birthday. 

22. Visited Elizabeth Reed's daughter, sick. 

23. Attended the funeral of Capt. Walker's child. 

24. Sunday. Put on coarse, linen shirt. 

25. Visited six houses where there were sick, and 
prayed, and two houses of well. 

27. Lecture. Mr. Cumings preached. Mr. Whit- 
ney, of Attleboro', here with Mr. Cumings. 

29. Visited sick at John Caldwell's and Center's, 
Old Parish. 

30. Attended the funeral of Abraham Alexander's 
child. 

October 2, 1775. Visited the sick and catechised the 
children present, 24. 

3. Prayed with Center's Son and Mrs. Kendall, 
Old Parish. Rode to Reading, attend Ministers' 
meeting at Mr. Prentiss's, and P.M., returned and at- 
tended the funeral of John Caldwell's child. 

5. P.M. Attended two funerals in Old Parish and 
prayed with a sick person. Evening, married Jonas 
Evans, of Reading, to Rachel Eames, of Woburn. 

l>. Deacon Johnson moving my goods, I purposing 
to board at his house. 

9. Moved myself from Mrs. Jones's to Deacon 
Johnson's to live. 

10. Visited George Reed's and Elizabeth Reed's 
families, very sick. 

11. Attend the funeral of Center's son, aged 8 years 
and 7 months. Evening, came on thunder and light- 
ning and rain. Rained most of the night. The 
lightning exceeding sharp and very frequent, — more 
lightning than at any one time this year. A building 
on fire at the westward, not far distant. Set on fire, 
I imagine, by the lightning. Isaac Stearns's barn, of 
Billerica, was consumed, being struck with lightning. 
Barn was 85 feet long. 

13. Rode to Lexington. Attended the funeral of 
one of Brother's children, viz., Ruth, aged seven years, 
and returned. 

18. Messrs. Wigglesworth and Gannett dined here. 

22. Sunday. Attend the funeral of Capt. Marstoii's 
child. 

23. Rode to Watertown, via Lexington. Very 
sickly at my brother's. Lodged at Watertown. 

24. Rode from Watertown to Cambridge, viewed 
the camps and returned home. 

25. Mr. Burbeen dined with me. ,, P.M., visited 
old Mrs. Reed, being sick. 

30. Visited Mr. Welch's daughter, she being sick. 

Sovember 1, 1775. Rode to Concord, .\ttended the 
Dudleian Lecture. Dr. Langdon preached from Micah 
4 : 5. Subject : Natural religion. Returned home. 



1 Should be Timothy, not Isaac Snow. — Ed. 



2. Deacon Marrett, of Cape Ann, hero. 3. He 
lodged here, weather bound. I'.. If. Attended funeral 
of the Widow JIary Reed. 4. Deacon Marrett went, 
morning. <j. Visited at Mr. Symnies's. 

7. Rode to Wilmington to Jlinisters' meeting and 
returned. 

9. Cannon fired much from 12 to 3 o'clock ; about 
400 or 500 Regulars landed on Lechmere's Point and 
carried off 1 cow. They were soon drove off by a 
party of our soldiers. We lost 1 man killed, and 1 
mortally wounded. What they lost, cannot tell. 

13. P.M. Attended funeral of one Jlrs. Perry in 
the Old Parish, and visited Solomon Wood's wife, 
being sick. 

21. President Langdon came here. 

22. Visited Mrs. Temple's daughter, dangerously ill _ 

23. Thanksgiving Day. i 

25. P.M. Attended the funeral of Mrs. Temple's 
daughter. 

28. Visited Jlr. Peters's child at Jonathan John- 
sou's. 

30. Attended three funerals in my Parish, viz.. 
Widow Speer ; a child of Abraham Alexander's ; and 
a child of Mr. Peters's, of Wilmington, whicli died 
here ; and married a couple. 

December 2, 1775. P.M. Attended the funeral of 
Samuel Converse, of Old Parish, aged 40 years. 

5. Rode to Cambridge and back. Hear (iuel)ec is 
taken by the Provincials. 

9. Attended the funeral of JL\ Sweetcher's wife, 

17. Sunday. Heard several cannon fired. Our 
people are raising a covert way from Prospect to Cob- 
ble Hill, and the enemy endeavoring to prevent 
them. 

18. The firing yesterday fl'as at Lechmere's Point, 
our people intreJiching there. A ship that had Iain 
up the River all summer moved ort' this morning. 

20. Fair, and the coldest day this season. At home. 
Heard several cannon fired. 

23. P.M. Attended the funerat of Mr. Gardner, 
leather dresser, formerly of Charlestown ; he died in 
the other parish. 

25. Christmas. 

27. Attended the funeral of Madam Temple, late 
of Charlestown, who died at Captain Johnson's; and 
married Josiah Locke to Elizabeth Richard.son, both 
of Woburn Old Parish. 

29. Rode to Cambridge and returrted, and lodged 
at Jonathan Carter's. Last night our forces arranged 
to attack Bunker Hill over the ice on the mill pond, 
but the ice was not strong enough, and therefore they 
de.si8ted. 

30. I'.M. Many cannon fired. Returned home, 
A.M. 

Januari/ 1, 177(). Dined at Mrs. Temple's, and 
visited John Dix's sick child. 

2. Spent evening at Shubael Johnson's. 

3. Visited with Captain Marston at Deacon Reed's, 
and in evening married a couple. 



678 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



10. Called up about break of day to visit Capt. 
Wood's wife, being sick. 
15. Ditto. 

18. Oannou fired muoli. Heard our army is de- 
feated at Quebec. 

21. Siinilay. Preached at Old Parish on exchange 
wilh Mr. Burbeen. 

22. Evening, singing meeting here. 

23. Rode to Cambridge and viewed the lines, and 
returned home ; Deacon Johnson and wife went with 
me. 

24. Got my hay home from Caldwell's. 

31. Eight men enlisted out of this parish for two 
months. 
February 2, 1776. Heard several cannon. 

4. Sunday. Fair and exceeding cold. Last night, 
between 11 o'clock and 12 o'clock, there was either a 
small shock of an earthquake or else the ground 
cracked, it being frozen very hard. It gave the house 
a sudden and smart shock and was felt in like manner 
at Wilmington at the same time. It proceeded from 
north to south. 

12. Heard many cannon, supposed to be below 
Boston, at sea. 

14. Last night the enemy burned some houses and 
barns on Dorchester Neck. 

19. Rode, P.M., to Esquire Reed's, of Lexington, 
and back again. Mr. Trask, of my parish, dined with 
me. 

20. Brother Marrett and wife visited here. Vfspere, 
at Deacon Reed's. 

22. Visited old Mrs. Wyman, being sick. 

23. Visited, atThos. Skilton's, the widow Simonds. 
28. Mr. Stone, of Reading, and Mr. Jacob Gould, 

of Weymouth, dined with me. Sent my watch by 
Mr. Gould to Braintree, to Mr. Cranch's, to be 
mended. 

March 3, 1776. Sunday. P.M. Master Coggin 
preached from 2 Cor. 5 : 10. People in great anxiety 
about some important transactions speedily to take 
place between onr army and the enemy's forces. 4. 
Last night, from eight in the evening till the 
morning, the cannon and mortars between our army 
and the enemy fired more or less ; and to-day were 
firing more or less, till between 12 o'clock and one, 
a general battle or a very smart skirmish, ensued, as 
I judge, from the report of small arms and cannon. 
The regulars Miid a mock fight in Boston. Visited 
Lieut. Tidd's sick child. My people collecting rags, 
etc., for the use of the army. 

5. Last night, the mortara and cannon played very 
fast most all night from both sides, and onr army en- 
trenched on Dorchester Hill without any molestation. 
Rode to Cambridge. 

(I. Lodged at Cambridge. Returned home. 

7. Fast day. Preached at home, P.M. Mr. Coggin 
made the first prayer. 

8. Evening. Captain Marston visited here. Visited 
Lieut. Tidd's children, being sick. 



10. Sunday. Last night our forces entrenched on 
another hill on Dorchester Point, nearer to Boston. A 
smart firing ensued on both sides. We lost about 12 
men. [At first we were drove off, but by a reinforce- 
ment carried on and completed the work. Not true.'] 

11. Visited Mr. Spear, being sick, and prayed at 
parish meeting. Hear the small-pox is at Welch's. 

12. Attend a funeral of Lieut. Tidd's grandchild. 

13. Attend the funeral of Mr. Robert Spear. 

18. Yesterday morTiing, about lireak of day, the 
British troops evacuated Bunker Hill and Boston, and 
all the shipping moved ott' and lay wind bound below 
the castle, — whither bound, know not, — but it is con- 
jectured to Halifax to wait on orders from Great Brit- 
ain. Our forces have taken possession of all the 
places they have left. The Lord be pmisedl Last 
night we intrenched on Dorchester Point. 

19. Dined at Timothy Winn's. P.M. Rode to Old 
Parish and attended Mr. Pool's funeral. Mr. Morrill 
and I prayed with the sick woman, Mrs. Pool. Hear 
that below the Castle the ships are arrived to the fleet 
of the enemy, which lies below. 

20. Rode to Charlestown Ferry and viewed Bunker 
Hill, the works of the enemy, and the ruins of the 
town. The fleet lays below the Castle. Returned 
home via Cambridge. 21. A great fire last evening 
at the Castle, the enemy demolishing it. Rode to 
Old Parish to see Mrs. Pool, sick. 

22. Attend a funeral of Ahijah Thompson's child. 
Old Parish. 

23. Visit James Twist's wife, being sick. 

25. P.M. Visit James Twist's wife and Dodge's 
child, being sick. 28. Attend the funeral of James 
Twist's wife. 

April 2, 1776. Attend funeral of Nathaniel Wyman. 

5. Attend the funeral of Daniel Simonds and his 
wife, two aged persons in Lexington. 

8. P.M. Visit old Mrs. Ditson, being sick. 

14. Sunday. After meeting, P.M., attend the fun- 
eral of an infant of Mr. Ranger, and visited Mrs. Dit- 
.son, being sick. 

19. Rode to Lexington ; dined at Brother's. P.M. 
Attended a lecture in commemoration of Lexington 
Battle. Mr. Clark performed the whole exercise ; 
preached from Joel, 3d chapter, the last verses ; a very 
crowded audience; the militia companies in Lex- 
ington mustered. Returned home. 

23. Rode to Boston and returned home. First time 
I have been to Boston since the enemy evacuated it. 

24. P.M. Spent at Reuben Kimball's. 26. Mrs. 
Marston visited here. 

28. Sunday. vMr. Gannett preached for me all day, 
from Psalm 110:1, 2. 

M(iy 3, 1776. Mr. Thurston, a preacher in the other 
Parish, visited me. 5 (Sunday). Rode to Concord 
and preached on an exchange with Mr. Emerson. 6. 
Lodged iast night at Doctor Minot's. Returned 
home. 7. P.M. Attend Ministers' meeting at Mr. 
Stone's ; admitted Mr. French. Returned. 



RURLIXOTOX. 



fi79 



16. Attended the funeral of George Reed's negro 
woman. 

17. A Continental Fast; preaoheil at home, a full 
meeting. 

18. Visited Amos Wyman and wife, being sick. 

19. Sunday. Exchanged with Sir. Haven, of Read- 
ing, and returned. 

20. Hear a large brig loaded with warlike stores 
was taken by us from the enemy, as she was coming 
into Boston Harbor. 

'2'',. Dined at Joshua Jones's. 

27. Catechise the children. 

29. Rode to Watertown ; attend Election ; Mr. 
West, of Dartmouth, preached. 30. Lodged last 
night at Mr. Meriam's, of Newton. Attend Conven- 
tion ; Mr. Cooke preached from 1 Thess. 2 : 4. Re- 
turned home in the afternoon. 

June 1, 1776. Hear our forces at Quebec have been 
driven from their entrenchments, and renewed the 
attack afterwards, being reinforced, and recovered 
their lost ground. 

3. Went to the Castle with ^Voburn militia to in- 
trench. 

4. Lodged last night at Roxbury. This morning 
sailed from Boston to the Castle; intrenched all day. 
P. M. Returned home with the militia. 

5. Visited Jotham Johnson's child, sick. 

6. Dined at Mrs. Wood's. 

8. Rode to Xeedham. 9. (Sunday.) Preached on 
exchange with Mr. Coggln, at New Parish, in Need- 
ham. 

l;i. Rode to Reading ; Attend Mr. Haven's wife's 
funeral ; Mr. Morrill prayed. Returned. 

14. Capt. Marrett dined here. 

15. Night before last, .5000 of our people went 
down and intrenched on an island and another place 
in Boston Harbor, and yesterday morning drove all 
the enemy's ships down below the lighthouse. A 50- 
gun ship was obliged to cut her cable and be towed 
down by boats, etc. .\t home. Mr. Clark was here. 

16. Sunday. Preached at Lexington and returned. 

17. Visit Amos Wyman, being sick. 

18. Attend Training. 

19. P.M. Set out for Boston. Lodged at Carter's. 

20. Rode to Boston and returned home. 

24. Visited James Thompson's wife and Reuben 
Kimball's wife, being sick. 

25. Exceeding hot ; the hottest — very dry and mel- 
ancholy time. At home. 

27. Wind northeast, cooler than for many days. 

29. Exceeding hot and scorching, and burning 
sun. The land mourning by reason of the dearth. 

.30. Sunday. P.^f., 6 o'clock, came up a cloud at- 
tended with some thunder and sharp lightning, and 
rained for above an hour ; — great part of the time 
exceeding fast; — abundance of rain for the time. The 
water stood in ponds and ran like brooks ; and after- 
wards [it was] misty and moist. Not so much rain 
have we had for a month past. The Lord is gracious 



and full of compassion, slow to anger, and of great 
mercy ! 

./»/»/ 2, 1776. Independency. 3. Lecture on account 
of the drought and war; 3Ir. I'enniman preached from 
Psalm 39:9. 4. Attend lecture at Bedford; Mr. 
Emerson prayed and preached ; I made last prayer. 
Returned home. 

6. Smallpox in Boston, inoculating there. Ten 
men, of the fifteen, enlisted out of this parish for 
the expedition to Canada — 5000 to be raised from this 
province for New York and Canada. 

14. Sunday. Preached at Bedford. Mr. Sprague 
preached for me, and Mr. Penniman for him, at Car- 
lisle (Concord). Five o'clock P.M. Preached at 
lecture, at home, to a party of soldiers going on the 
Canada expedition. 

15. Visited Amos Wyman, sick in a deep consump- 
tion. [Ths diarist had visited him times before.] 

18. P.M. Rode to Lexington and back; my broth- 
er and two of his sons and eighteen others inoculated 
last week in liis own hou.se for the small-jiox. 

23. Mr. Wyeth came here and tarried all night. 

24. Hear the enemy's ships are destroyed by a 
tempest at South Carolina ; two 40-gun ships, one 
50-gun ship and a tender and a transport lost, and all 
the men perished. 

25. Woburn Company of soldiers for the Canada 
expedition marched for Crown Point. Prayed with 
them at Deacon Blanchard's. 

29. Visit young Mr. Neversand Mr. .\mos Wyman, 
being sick. 

30. The moon eclipsed. 

August 1, 1776. Provincial Fast. E.xchanged with 
Mr. Morrill. 

2. Evening, saw either uncommon frec|uent flashes 
of lightning in the northeast towards Cape .Vnn, or 
else flashes of cannon. 

9. Prayed with Deacon Hlanchard, being sick. 

12. Visit Mrs. Nevers, sick. Extreme hot. 

14. Attend the funeral of Zebadiah Wyman's wife, 
2 o'clock P.M. 

17. Visit Sirs. Nevers, a dying. 

18. (Sunday.) Attend funeral of Samuel Nevers's 
wife. 

23. The enemy landed on Long Island, New York. 
24 and 25. Fight at New York, Long Island. 

26. Visit Ditson's child, sick. 

September 1, 177(i. Sunday. Attend funeral of Sam- 
uel Ditson's child. 

7. Hear our forces are beat otT from Long Island, 
at New York, and that four boats full of men in coming 
away were taken prisoners. 

12. Visited Elijah Wyman, sick. 

15. (Sunday.) Read the Declaration for Independ- 
ency. 

• 20. Visit Joshua .lones's wife, sick. 
25. Attend Dudleian Lecture at Cambridge. Mr. 
Morrill, of Wilmington, preached. Subject : Revealed 
religion from 1 Peter 3 : 15. 



680 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



2C. Attend the funeral of Luther Siraonds's child. 

October 2, 1771!. Mr. .lones, Ciindidate preaching in 
other parish, preached from 1 Peter 1: 12: — " Which 
things the angels desire to look into." 

4. Attend funeral of Mrs. Nevers's youngest child. 

(i. Sunday. Uncle Dnnster and his wife kept Sab- 
l>ath here. 

9. Rode to Miatick and back. 

10. Visit ]\Irs. Burton on account of her child's 
death. 

l.S. Sunday. Preached at Old Parish on exchange 
with Mr. .Tones. Mr. Emerson, of Concord, died at 
Otter Creek. 

17. Attended Lecture iu Lexington ; Mr. Cooke 
preached. 

20. Rode to Stow. 

[27. 1 Sunday. Preached at Stow on an exchange. 

28. Rode to Lancaster and returned to Stow; lodged 
at Deacon Gates's. 

29. Returned home. Heard [that] Mr. Emerson, 
of Concord, died at Otter Creek, [the] 13th inat. 

November 7, 1770. Jacob Bacon, who was put into 
Concord .fail, for abu.sing his wife, this day made way 
with himself by cutting bis throat, in jail. 

15. Visit Sylvanns Woods, being sick. 

16. Fort Washington taken. 

19. Rode to Newton. 

20. Lodged last night at Mr. Pigeon's. Visit some 
in Newton and rode to Cambridge. 

21. liodged last night at College. Rode to Boston 
and returned liomc. 

24. Sunday. Rode to Medford and preached on ex- 
change. 

25. Lodged last night at Edward Brooks's, dined at 
Menotomy, and returned home. 

Dercmhcr 9, 1770. Visited Elizabeth Reed, sick. 
Hear a fleet of the enemy's ships are seen ofl" Rhode 
Island. 

12. Thanksgiving. First snow, 2 inches. 

13. Dined at Samuel Reed's, Jr.'s ; General Lee 
taken prisoner by treache'-y. 

14. Attend funeral of Thomas Skilton's child. 

16. Visit, lames Thompson's wife and .)ohn (ileason, 
being sick. Spent evening .at Mr. Grimes's. 

18. General Howe marching towards Philadel- 
phia, General Washington before, and General Lee 
behind. 

22. Snow on level about inches. 

23. Visited Elizabeth Reed and Thomas Skilton, 
being sick, and dined at Deacon Reed's. 

24.' In evening, married Widow Wyman to Mr. 
Richardson, of Billerica. 

31. Visited .Jonathan Tidd, Jr., and old Mrs. 
Thompson, being sick. 

1 '1^1. General Wasliington with :^fl^O in the Jer8e.VH routed a hody of 
moo of tlie enemy, wiio were stationed at Trenton. Took prisoners 1)19, 
beriiiles what were Itilled and wouniled, uioHtiy Hessian troops ; ti brass 
Itieoes of orduauco, 1200 small arms, 4 stands of colors, a band of music, 
etc. 



CHAPTER LHI. 
SHERBORN. 

nv ..VI.BKRT H. BL.^NCHARD, M.lP. 

Two hundred and fifty years .ago the territory 
which now constitutes the pleasant town of Sherborn 
was one vast wilderness. No white face had ever 
been seen within its borders; only the Indian and 
his dusky mate trod its forest paths and plied the ca- 
noe on its fair streams. In peace and i)lent.y they 
lived their rude life, contented with the products of 
the chase and of the lakes and rivers, the Charles on 
the east and the Sudbury on the west. The Nipmuck 
tribe, less warlike than some of their neighbors, oc- 
cupied this region and that to the westw.ard of it. 
They h.ad just heard, in 1021, of the arrival on the 
shores of Plymouth of a band of men with pale faces, 
and in some manner communicated with them. This 
was the first inland tribe with which the English 
formed an acquaintance. It was independent of 
other tribes and powerful in numbers. Naturally 
peaceful, they prosjiered so long as they held together, 
and resisted the influences of the other tribes. When 
first known to the w hite .settlers they were governed 
by a squaw -sachem, who resided near Wachusett 
Mountain, and they possessed most of the present 
counties of Middlesex and Worcester, ami still more 
land to the north and west. But in the year 1047 
they were unable to agree concerning a chief, and di- 
vided into as many as five bands, each having a dif- 
ferent chief. Traditions appear to .show that one of 
these bands settled in the locality which is now the 
southwest part of Sherborn, and erected their " stan- 
nocks " or wigwams there; hence the name by which 
that district v/as formerly known, and by which it is 
still called by some of tlie older inhabitants. 

After this disunion of the great Nipmuck nation 
it lost its former power and prestige, and the divisions 
became subject to moie |)owerliil trilies. The band 
which settled in this locality came under the influ- 
ence of Massasoit, the chief of the Wanipanoags, and 
were induced by his son and successor. King Philip, 
to unite with him in his disastrous war against the 
English. They ultimately gained nothing by this 
step, their numbers being reduced in the warfare, 
and after the death of Philip but few were left. 

While the Nipmueks dwelt in the southerly )<or- 
tion of this territory, another tribe of Indians ha<l 
settled about five miles to the northeast of them, at 
the present site of South Natick. They were called 
the Natick Indians, and were brought thither from 
Nonantum by the .\postle .John Eliot, who desired a 
more secluded place. Although the dale of their re- 
moval is not accurately known, it was probably not 
far from the year 1650. By the time the town of 
Sherborn was formed, they had already a town or- 
ganization and many of them were converted to 



SITERBORN. 



(;si 



(!!hristiapity. It was a colony of Indians, founded 
and encouraged by Kliot; and VVaban was the most 
prominent and intliiential man among them, and his 
name often apiiears in the business transactions of 
that day. 

It cannot be supposed th;it land so well situated 
and so well watered couUl long remain unattractive 
' to the English settlers. Medticld had been previously 
colonized, and individuals from that town had doubt- 
less explored the neighboring Bogistow and per- 
haps had visited the then friendly Indians in that 
locality and had noticed its capabilities for improve- 
ment. Grants of land by the General Court were 
commenced as early as the year lt)43, and were con- 
tinued at intervals for thirty years, but always subject 
to the rights of the Indians, who received payment 
and gave deeds for all the land afterwards included 
in the township. Grants are found recorded to Rev. 
John Allen, Captain Robert Kayne, Richard Brown, 
Richard Parker, Simon Bradstreet, Captain Eleazer 
Lusher, Dean Winthrop, Tho. Holbrook, William 
Colburne, Colonel William Brown, Lieutenant Joshua 
Fisher, Edward Tynge, John Parker. These persons 
were non-residents, and at later dates conveyed their 
grants to actual settlers. 

We are now approaching the period when an entire 
change is to commence in the territory which we have 
been considering, and in the condition of its Indian 
inhabitants. The white man is to appear upon tho 
scene — the Anglo-Saxon, with his coal head, his cal- 
culating brain, and an intellect cultivated through 
generations of ancestors. Although entering upon 
the land with the fairest and kindest feelings towards 
the aboriginal inhabitants, still it is impossible that 
the latter, with their free and untranimeled life, their 
uncultured instincts and habits, which brooked no 
control and which answered a slight or an insult with 
the spear or the tomahawk, could long live in peace 
and harmony with a race diametrically opposite in 
character and modes of life. It has always proved 
true that the race that dominates intellectually, holds 
the land and the situation, while the inferior race, 
after ineti'ectual attemjits at resistance, gradually suc- 
cumbs and melts away. It was so in this instance. 
Had the Nipmucks held together and retained their 
former peaceable habits, the evil day might have 
been long delayed. When they lost union they lost 
strength. Dissensions and division into bands weak- 
ened their force and led to further dij-sension, by 
which they became a prey to the seductive voice of 
the able and wily Philip and were drawn into his 
scheme to exterminate the new race of colonists, who 
had come to these shores to take away the fair hunt- 
ing-grounds of the red men, as they believed, and to 
despoil them of their birthright. An eloquent writer 
has described their feelings and caused them to say 
" Stranger, there is eternal war between me and thee." 
Some of the shrewd sachems, and notably Philip, of 
Mount Hope, had the foresight to perceive that these 



two races could not exist together; and, with charac- 
teristic cunning and violence which had never failed 
him before and whi<'h he believed would not fail him 
now, determined on a war which should continue 
until the hated pale-face should be destroyed or driven 
from the face of the land. 

Nor can we wonder at this feeling among a people 
who had for centuries occupied the country and had 
the belief that it was their own, and that no Ibreign 
race had a right to claim what had been bequeathed 
by their ancestors. They knew nothing about con- 
ciliation. It had always been their h.abit to conquer 
by force and violence whatever was opposed to their 
wishes, and they could act in no other manner now. 
Although received peaceably at first, the arguments 
of the chiefs excited the Indians gradually against 
the English settlers, until the horror and desolation 
of a savage war was upon them. 

Leaving now the native inhabitants, we come to the 
commencement of actual settlement by the English 
colonists. 

The first transfer to actual settlers, of the land of 
either of the grantees, was made iVIay 8, ICi.W, O. .S., 
by Richard Parker to Nicholas Wood, Thomas Hol- 
brook and Andrew Pitcher, all of Dorchester. The 
deed described 535 acres of meadow and upland 
" lying in the woods on the West side of Charles 
river, 3 ms. from Natick, lying between the land of 
Capt. Robert Kayne on the S. side, and Mr. Richard 
Browne, of Watertowu, in some part on the S. side 
also ; by Charles river on the E. (and a rocky point 
now called the Neck, running into the river) ; and 
by common woods on the W." 

Nicholas Wood and Thomas Holbrook immediate- 
ly took possession and commenced labors upon the 
land. But it is probable that Wood had resided 
here before this date, as he had a child recorded at 
Medfield as early as January, lii51. He may have 
settled upon the grant with the consent of the 
grantee, before any negotiations were completed for 
the purchase of the land. It is generally conceded 
that he was the first .settler. He was a hardy, enter- 
prising man and liecame one of the foremost "in the 
new colony. He signed the first petition for the in- 
corporation of the town, was a member of the church, 
and was possessed of a large |>roperty for those 
times, his inventory after death amounting, after the 
payment of debts and expenses, to £978 18«., or 
ab(Hit $5000. He erected his house very near the 
present site of the cider manuf;ictory <if .lona. Hol- 
brook & Sons, and founded it on a rock, as though he 
intended to commence strongly and sur(dy. .Vlthough 
he had no male issue which perpetuated his name 
yet some prominent and highly distinguished men 
were descended from him, among whom were Henry 
Ware, Sr., D.D., and Asher Ware, LL.D. 

Thomas Holbrook built his first house on his share 
of the grant near Dearth's bridge and near the 
present residence of Charles Howe. He planted an 



682 



HISTORY OP IMIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



extensive orchard there, and was so liberal in the 
distribution of its fruit that liis buildings were 
secured from the torch of the Indian enemy while 
others near him were laid in ashes. In 1657 he 
petitioned for the high, rocky point east of Parker's 
grant, comprising the Neck before mentioned, and 
the General Court granted him 50 acres. He then 
purchased 43 acres more of the government and thus 
became possessor of the entire tract between the lirst 
purchase and the river. In 1666 he erected a new 
dwelling on the spot where the late Dexter Amsden 
lived, and in that year deeded 80 acres of his first 
purchase of Parker to his brother-in-law, Henry Lay- 
land or Leland, who had already occupied it for 
twelve years, having removed from Dorchester in 
1654. He was a son of Hopeslill Leland, the com- 
mon ancestor of all the New England Lelands, who 
«ame from Yorkshire, England, about 1624, settled at 
Weymouth, and afterwards removed to Dorchester. 
He passed his last days with his children at Bogistow 
and died therein 1655, at the age of seventy -five. He 
was one of the oldest men that had then settled in 
New England, having been born in 1580. 

Henry Leland became a man of mark in the new 
colony, and tradition gives him a high character for 
piety and kindness to the Indians. He signed both 
petitions for the incorporation of the town. He was 
chosen on a committee to provide a minister for 
Sherborne, and was associated with the selectmen 
"to grant town lots to those that were known among 
the inhabitants." 

In 1847 a large meeting of his descendants was 
held in a mammoth tent on " The Plain," and the 
occasion was one of great interest. Mrs. Millard 
Filmore, who.se husband was President of the LTnited 
States two years later, was present at the celebration as 
one of Henry Layland's posterity. A granite monu- 
ment to their common ancestor, suitably inscribed, 
was dedicated to his memory on the same day by his 
grateful descendants, as a part of the exercises which 
had been arranged. It stands at the north side of 
the Common. 

Andrew Pitcher, the third purchaser of the grant 
of Richard Parker, does not appear to have settled 
here, but sold his land in lots or parcels to other 
persons. 

In 1657 or 1658, Benjamin Bullard, George Fair- 
bank, John Hill and Thomas Breck, having pHrcha.sed 
of the executors of ('apt. Robert Kayne, of Boston, a 
part of his grant at Pawsett Hill, removed here and 
settled near Bogistow P(ind, south of the land pur- 
chased by Thomas Holbrook and divided their land 
into suitable lots, built houses and also erected a sub- 
stantial fort, of which we shall hear more at a later 
date. 

Benjamin Bullard became one of the foremost men 
in the colony, lie signed both petitions for the in- 
corporation of the town, was one of six brethren to 
constitute the church at its formation, served as 



tithingman and as selectman, and was chosen to the 
very delicate office of seating the meeting-house 
when the edifice was completed. At this day we have 
but little idea of the responsibility attached to the 
duty of assigning seats to the difl'erent members, in 
due order of precedence and dignity, so as to give to 
each one their just claims, as they were then con- 
sidered. He was also one of the chief contributors to 
the extinguishment of the Indian claims, a work 
which had not been completed by the grantees, but 
was left for the settlers. 

George Fairbank also took a considerable part in 
the business of the new town and seems to have been 
an orderly and esteemed citizen. One of his sons, 
Jonathan, was the first physician of Sherborn, and 
an important man in his day. He was selectman 
seven years and town clerk three years. He is sup- 
posed to have lived in the old stone house north of 
Bogistow Pond, and was drowned by falling through 
the ice, in crossing from Jledfield in the night. 

John Hill signed the petitions for incorporation, 
drew many lots of public lands, and was assessed the 
highest among the proprietors of Sherborn to extin- 
guish Indian claims in 1686. He was therefore a 
man of good property. 

Thomas Breck married a sister of John Hill, with 
whom he bought a portion of Robert Kayne's grant, 
which they then divided as was the custom, so that 
each should have suitable portions of meadow and 
upland, arable land and cedar swamp. In such divi- 
sions it was a matter of prime importance that each 
colonist should have a portion of cedar woods from 
which to cut posts and rails, for they had not then 
learned that such could be made from other kinds of 
wood. Breck signed both of the petitions for incor- 
poration, and his descendants remained living in the 
same locality until a few years since. 

Daniel Morse purchased of Simon Bradstreet, the 
grantee, 800 acres in the eastern part of Sherborn, 
and immediately settled upon it in 1658, building his 
house at or near the present site of the residence of 
the late Leonard T. Morse. The whole tract was 
called Morse's Farm, and afterwards "The Farm," a 
designation which it retains to this day. Morse was 
evidently a man of rank, and acted as a leader in tlie 
new colony. In all public meetings and elections, 
precedence was uniformly yielded to him as long as 
he lived. His son Obadiah was the first town clerk 
and representative, and also acted as a schoolmaster 
in the town. 

These were the principal and permanent early set- 
tlers of the colony. Some others came, but removed 
prior to 1674. They were men in the prime of life, 
of strong, determined character and not easily dis- 
couraged, and most of them were men of substance. 
Many of their names still live in the persons of their 
descendants, who are found among the prominent 
citizens of Sherborn at this day. And they required 
all the energy and endurance of which man is capa- 



SHERBORN. 



683 



ble, to subline the wild lands " in the wilderness be- 
yond Meadtield," and to protect themselves against 
the lurking Indian. Their farms, as has beeu seen, 
were mostly iu the present southern part of Sher- 
born, and included a portion of the eastern portion of 
Medway, and the eolony was known by tlie Indian 
name of Bogistow. It is perpetuated in the name 
of a meadow, pond aud brook, which are so called to 
this day. In various petitions to the Governor of the 
Colony aud to the General Court, the settlers term 
themselves " inhabitants of Bogistow," and " inhabit- 
ants & proprietors of lands at or near Boggestow." 

As the colonists received, from time to time, acces- 
sions to their numbers, with the prospect of further 
additions, they began to entertain hopes of being 
formed into a town. Although living at a consider- 
able distance from Jledfield, and not included within 
its Itounds, they took up privileges there and became 
enrolled and taxed as her citizens, and the births and 
deaths in their families were there recorded for 
twenty-five years. 

But in ten years after the first settlement an eftbrt 
was made by the colonists to gain recognition as a 
town, and there was prepared " The humble petition 
of several of the inhabitants of Bogistow, to be pre- 
sented to the much honored General Court, 7 of 3 mo. 
(May), 1662," signed by fourteen heads of families. 
The General Com t appointed " Ephraim Littlefield 
and Edward Jackson a Committee to view the |)lace 
and return their apprehensions.' The result seems 
to have been unfavorable, as nothing more is seen in 
the records concerning the petition. Of its fourteen 
subscribers, six removed and died before 1674. The 
settlement continued, however, and others were added 
to its numbers, both by new arrivals and by the mar- 
riage and establishment of snns of the first planters. 
These were men not easily daunted nor turned from 
their purpose when they had once determined to 
settle themselves in the wilderness and form new 
homes, and, eventually, a new town. 

At length, in the year 1674, twenty-two years after 
the arrival of the first pioneers, the number of fami- 
lies amounted to twenty, and the population to about 
108. Capt. Joseph Morse, a young man of great 
ability, had lately removed into the colony, and had 
married Mehetabel, a daughterof Nicolas Wood, who 
was the first Anglo-American child born here, the 
date of her birth being July 22, 16">.5. They settled 
ui)on a part of her father's farm and built their house 
where Joseph W. Barber now resides. Capt. Morse 
was a son of Joseph Morse, of Medfield, and a 
nephew of Colonel Morse, of Cromwell's army. He 
inherited in his father's right, with his brothers and 
sisters, the landon which West Medway Villagestands. 

In 1674 a second petition, ol' which Capt. Morse 
was the first signer, and probably the franier, was 
presented to the General Court October 7th, and on 
October 21st the Court granted the petition ; " and 
the name of the town to be called Sherborne." 



As the petitioners were not prepared to propose 
any name for their town, the General Court probably 
assigned, as in similar instances, the name of the 
native place of somesettler or proprietor. Sherborne 
(not Sherborn), after which it is named, is an ancient 
town in the northern part of Dorsetsliire, England, 
about 1 18 miles west by south from London. 

This name, by usage, was gradually changed to 
Sherburne, by which the town was known for more 
than a century, and no more beautiful name could 
have been adopted. But in the year 18.')2 a petition 
was presented to the General Court to alter that name 
to " Sherborn," from a mistaken idea that such was 
the name of the original town in England. A most 
thorough search has convinced the present writer 
that the name of the Dorsetshire town was "Sher- 
borne;" and the General Court in sessiou in 1674 
doubtless contained men who had lately come from 
the mother-country and were well-informed of the 
correctness of that name, which they then bestowed 
upon this township. Moreover, in the "confirma- 
tion " of this grant by the General Court, iu 1684, 
" it is ordered that the name of the tonne be Sher- 
borne, and that it belongs to the County of Middle- 
.sex." 

The first meeting of the inhabitants of the new 
town was held January 4, 1674-75, O. S., and was at- 
tended by Daniel Morse, George Fairbank, Robert 
Badcock, Henry Adams, Thomas Holbrook, Benjamin 
Bullard, John Hill, Henry Laland, Joseph Jlorse, 
Obadiah Morse, Daniel Morse, Jr., Jonathan Morse, 
John Ferry and Jonathan Wood. " Thomas Eames 
is accepted as an inhabitant of Shearborn." Com- 
mittees were appointed to take a view of the land 
granted by the General Court; to make an agree- 
ment with Thomas Thurston, surveyor , and to treat 
with Captain Gookin and others concerning an ex- 
change of land with Natick. 

Another meeting was held March 8, 1675, and it 
was chiefly devoted to the consideration of the ex- 
change of land with Natick in ord^r to make their 
township more compact and more easily accessible. 
They had fairly compensated the Indians for the land 
already possessed, and had received from them a deed 
of the territory. In the language of that day they 
" had extinguished the Indian title." But this terri- 
tory was very irregular in form, extending in one di- 
rection from the Charles to the Sudbury River, and 
in the other from the Natick line to Hopkinton and 
Belli ngham. Andas portiims of some previous grants 
were taken out, the land assigned to Sherborn has 
been compared in shape to a huge windmill whose 
north and west arms were joined together. Owing to 
interruptions which will soon appear it was more than 
two years before the exchange with Natick of 4lX)0 
acres of land tor the same number of acres near Hop- 
kinton was considered, and it was finally four years 
before that exchange was completed. These negotia- 
tions and all other business, excepting that which was 



684 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



imperatively required, were soon suspended by an 
event of whidi we can lorni no adequate couception, 
and wiiich required the undivided energies of the 
colonists and prevented all action for the benefit of 
the town for nearly two years. This was nothing less 
than the horror of an Indian war. The able and 
wily Philip, chief of the Wampanoags or Pokanokets, 
(not of the Narragansetts, as has been sometimes 
thought, although the latter tribe was drawn into the 
struggle by Philip, as were many other tribes hitherto 
friendly), had taken the war-path and was determined 
to efl'ect the complete extinction of the new race. He 
little knew with whom he had to deal, as the sequel 
will show. Let us imagine, if possible, the condition 
of our new inhabitants, who were just becoming well 
established and had subdued tosome extent the rough 
forest land. They had accomplished their long-cher- 
ished desire of receiving incorporation as a town and 
eagerly looked forward to the privileges which it 
would confer and the inconveniences which it would 
abate. They could now have a church of their own 
within a reasonable distance, and they could direct 
their own town business and make their own rules 
and regulations therefor. But now the dreaded In- 
dian, who, when excited, knew neither fearnor mercy, 
had declared war against them, and not merely a 
common war, but a war of extermination. Philip 
publicly declared on a paper which he posted on the 
bridge between Medfield and Bogistow that the In- ' 
dians " will war this 21 years if you will," indicating 
his determination to continue fighting long enough to 
cut off all the English people and exciting a corre- 
sponding consternation in their minds. As if further 
to harrow their feelings, he stated in the same notice 
that " the Indians loose nothing but their lives. You 
must loo.se your fair houses and cattle.'' There was 
much truth in these words and the settlers keenly felt 
the force of them and the misery of their situation 
was increased thereby. 

As soon as they heard that the Indians under Philip 
were moving in this direction, they repaired to their 
garrisoned houses, two of which were erected at that 
time. The larger and better of these was situated on 
the farm of Benjamin BuUard, near the buildings of 
the late Daniel W. Bullard, at the south end of the 
town. The other was at the homestead of Daniel 
Morse, Sr. Three other garrisons were afterwards 
built, which it will be proper to mention in this con- 
nection. One was near the homestead of the late 
Captain John Leland, and not far from the ancient 
house now occupied by ( Jharles Leland ; one near 
Holbrook's mills ; and another at the north of Ed- 
ward's plain (probably so called from Edward West, 
who then owned that whole tract of land), near the 
house of the late Nathaniel Dowse. 

The gairison-house on the land of Benjamin Bull- 
ard was carefully and systematically constructed by 
himself and eight neighbors who knew something of 
the traits of the Indians and knew that no depend- 



ence could bejplaced upon their continued friendship, 
notwithstanding that they had been treated fairly 
and equitably by themselves. They felt that they 
must be prepared for depredations and as.saults. And 
accordingly these garrisons were built in difl'erent 
parts of the town according as new settlements were 
made; and in case of any suspicion or alarm of an 
Invasion by the red men, whether by day or night, all 
the families in the neighborhoods repaired to the 
nearest garrison and lived there, sometimes fur con- 
siderable spaces of time. These were their places of 
refuge for as many as two generations, and here many 
of their children were born The garrison we are now 
considering was situated on the north shore of Bogis- 
tow I'ond, on a bank having the extensive " Broad 
Meadows " to the east and northwest. The intervening 
strip of land was burned over so as to aUbrd an unin- 
terrupted view of the country and to cut off all shel- 
ter for the lurking foe. The house itself was built in a 
superior manner, and was a spacious and regular fort- 
ress nearly seventy feet long and two stories high, all of 
faced stone brought from a quarry about a mile 
distant, and laid in clay mortar. It had a double 
row of port-holes on all sides, lined with white oak 
plank, and flaring inward so as require no one to ex- 
pose himself before them, while, by taking cross-aims 
they could direct their fire to any point of the com- 
pass, or to several points at once if needed. It was 
lighted and entered at the south end, overlooking the 
pond, where the bank was so low that enemies in lev- 
eling at the high windows would only lodge bullets in 
the plank chamber fiooi or in the roof of the fortress. 
The second story was set apart for the women and 
children, and a separate room was provided for the 
sick. Here, then, our southern colonists assembled, 
with suitable preparations for subsistence, when the 
news had reached them that Philip was on the war- 
path. 

Of the other garrison-house at the residence of the 
venerable Daniel Morse, we have not as particular 
information. But it was doubtless solidly constructed 
and had adequate means of defence, as we do not 
hear that any persons were killed thereby the enemy. 
It is believed that the only persons who sought refuge 
there belonged to the family of Mr. .Alorse, including 
his sons and daughters and their families ; not a 
small number, however, as he had nine children, and 
some grandchildren were born before the time of 
Philip's war. It must not be supposed that these 
strongholds were not used until the invasion by Phil- 
ip; for the inhabitants had been accustomed to flee 
to their protecting walls from the beginning of the 
settlement on any alarm or report of hostile Indians. 
This they were obliged to do for many years before 
and after the war, for we learn that Capt. John 
Golden, who did not settle in Sherborn (now in the 
bounds of Holliston) before 1705 was, with his family, 
repeatedly driven, by alarms of Indians, to the gar- 
rison that stood near the house of the late John Le- 



SHERBORN. 



()85 



laud, Ksq. In fact, the settlers were obliged to be 
constantly on their guard against Indian depredations 
for a great length of time. 

A communicalion from Daniel Morse, probably di- 
rected to Oovernor liCverett, is of interest at this 
point of the history. It reads, " May it please your 
Worship, prostrating my humble service to your 
Worship, I made bold lately to request your help ol 
four men to be the garrison at my house, which is for 
my family and my son with me, most being married 
men . I humbly prosecute my request that so it might 
be that I might have four men out of Medfield, and 
that Edward West and Benjamin Fisk (sons-in-law) 
miftht be two of them, they living in the remote part 
of Medfield next my farm and they being willing to 
come if liberty by authority were given that they 
might be imprest by authority to be ready when I 
shall call for them. Thus I make bold, humbly beg- 
ging the everlasting blessing and constant presence ol 
the Almighty to be with your Worship." This letter 
was dated "Sherborne, 2G, 11, 1075-76," or February 
26, 1675-76, and is endorsed, "Granted for the pres- 
ent." It is obviously true that Mr. Mor.'e had pre- 
viously made a similar request, and that as soon as 
the Indians had attacked Medfield, he renewed or 
" prosecuted " that request, not knowing how soon in 
turn he might be assaulted. 

The bold attack upon Medfield was made on the 
21st day of February, 1675-76, with 300 warriors. 
They had been in a state of continual warfare since the 
previous June, assaulting first the settlements in 
the Plymouth Colony and in Rhode Island, and then 
appearing suddenly and unexpectedly in various parts 
of Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire. 
The town of Lancaster, in this State, was attacked and 
nearly destroyed, but eleven days before the raid 
upon Medfield. This latter was a daring deed, because 
the town was so near Boston, was well supplied with 
garrison-houses and 200 soldiers were quartered there. 
Sentinels kept a careful watch, and on Sunday, as the 
people were returning from public worship, one or two 
Indians were seen on the neighboring hills, which 
excited some suspicion. 

At dawn of day a force of ?iOO Indians, led by King 
Philip himself, suddenly awakened flie inhal)itants 
by the unearthly war-whoop. The torch and the 
tomahawk were applied without mercy, and at least 
fifty persons were murdered and a large part of the 
buildings reduced to ashes. 

Among the people injissacred at Medfield was the 
respected Lieutenant Henry Adams, one of the chief 
settlers of the town and a considerable owner of land 
in Sherborn. We have thus mentioned the surprise 
and conflagration at Medfield. because its inhabitants 
were closely associated with our settlers at l?ogistow, 
and because it is jiroliable that the first attack on 
BuUard's garrison at the latter place was made after 
the retreat of the savages from Me<lfield. (Jn the 
same dav Jonathan Wood, a son of Nicholas Wood, 



the first settler, was killed by the Indians on the bank 
of the river, probably during their retreat; and his 
brother Eleazer fell at his side beneath the toma- 
hawk, and was scalped and left for dead. He recov- 
ered, however, but was ever afterwards depressed in 
mind, and peculiar. The widow of Jonathan died 
the next day in Bullard's fortress, after giving birth 
to their only child, Silence. The latter afterwards 
married John Holbrook, and settled where Jonathan 
Holbrook, one of her descendants, formerly resided 
near his mills, on lar'.d inherited from her father. 
John Holbrook was a son of the original settler, 
Thomas Holbrook. 

The garrison or block-bouse of Benjamin Bullard 
was constructed with great care and solidity, as has 
been seen. It is probable that all of the women and 
children and many and perhaps all of the men liv- 
ing in that part of the settlement repaired to this 
refuge as soon as they were informed that Indiana 
were in the neighborhood. And it may be true that 
the brothers Wood, who were so violently assaulted, 
had gone out from the fortress for a reconnoissance, 
and had met the enemy sooner than they expected. 
Either on the same day on which Medfield was de- 
stroyed, or soon after that time, this fort was besieg- 
ed by a body of Philip's warriors. But the prepara- 
tions of the colonists for just such an event had been 
carefully made. There was no shelter for the foe. 
They must approach the garrison over open fields, 
and the unerring aim of its inmates, which, it will be 
remembered, could be taken at various angles, proved 
so destructive to the red men that they nearly gave 
up the assault in despair. 

What should they do to reach the hated foe ? 
What rou/d they do? The solid white oak timbers of 
the fortress forbade successful attempts to storm the 
stronghold from an open api)roach where multitudes 
would be picked off by the muskets of the English. 
The cunning of the wily Indian was apparently foiled, 
when one, wiser than the rest, thought of the torch. 
Wood would burn, be it ever so hard and solid, and 
ihey had a device before employed, for conveying fire 
to a building without the direct agency of human 
hands, and without exposing thenisclves in person to 
the fatal gun-barrel projected through the loop-holes 
before them, ft will be remembered that this garri- 
son-house was placed on the side of a hill descending 
to the meadows which border (^harles River. The 
plan of the Indians, which they soon proceeded to 
execute, was to fill a cart witli flax, set it on fire, and 
from the top of the declivity above the fortress push 
it down against the doomeil building, which nuist in- 
evitably take fire from the burning mass. Then the 
colonists would either be destroyed by the conflagra- 
tion, or be driven outside, when they would be at the 
mercy of the savages. But "man proposes and (lod 
disposes." .Mthough a clear and open course was 
doubtless selected for the descent of the cart, it devi- 
ated a little from the straight track and struck a rock 



686 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



which arrested its progress and there burned itself to 
ashes without damage to anybody. With howls of 
rage and disappointment the baffled savages retreated 
and gave up the siege, and our settlers were saved. 

Then was great rejoicing and thanksgiving to God, 
who had mercifully interposed to shield them from a 
horrible form of death. Some two months later the 
Indians again attacked the fort, but on this occasion 
our ancestors sallied forth and punished them so se- 
verely that "they never dared to show their faces 
there afterwards." The walls of this fortress stood 
for more than a hundred years after this time, and 
with care might have been preserved to this day, had 
the owner of the land realized their interest and val- 
ue to posterity. The rock which stopped the cart 
may still be seen. 

For several months after the attack on Medfleld, 
Philip and his band continued their devastating ex- 
cursions in various parts of Massachusetts Bay, Plym- 
outh Colony and Connecticut. He excited conster- 
nation and terror wherever he appeared, and caused 
the destruction of many lives and much property. 
But our colonists by no means abandoned the defence, 
and in many cases they were victorious in the en- 
counters. They were gradually becoming more fa- 
miliar with Indian warfare, and had some noble 
leaders amongst their number, Col. Benjamin 
Chtrch being one of the most bold and efficient. 
They had come to this country to stay, and althougli 
their numbers were decimated by this unhappy strug- 
gle, they had no thought of abandonicg their settle- 
ments, but only of fighting to the bitter end. As the 
months passed on, their condition relative to the 
aborigines slowly improved. 

They gained more victories, they gained .some ac- 
cessions from the r.iuks of the Indians, who were not 
only inclined for their individual safety to turn to the 
winning side, but in many cases made the change 
because they became disafl'ected with Philip. Some 
of the Indians began to complain that Philip had 
drawn them into a war from which they were not 
reaping the benefits promised by him, and which they 
expected. Although they knew that they had in- 
flicted great damage upon the colonies, still their 
own condition was not improved. They were unable 
to plant their usual crops, and were often reduced to 
great straits for sufficient food. They were constantly 
watched and followed by the English soldiers, now 
well organized, and were obliged to retire to swamps 
and other inaccessible places, from which they would 
suddenly rush forth to their work of massacre and 
ruin, and again disappear as suddenly. In short, 
many of the Indians and even some tribas were be- 
coming tireil of the contest from whicli they reaped 
80 little ultinialc advantage. 

Philip was forced by his impatient warriors to com- 
mence the war before he was prepared to do so, and 
before his plans were fully matured ; and he ."uH'ered 
corresponding disadvantages in pursuing the conflict. 



He had also some good traits of character, as he did 

not forget those who had befriended him previously, 
and in many instances used his authority and influ- 
ence to protect them. A family by the name of 
Leonard, of Taunton, was a notable instance of this 
protecting care, and as long as he lived Philip gave 
strict orders that Taunton should be the last town to 
be attacked. It is believed, also, that he did not 
countenance the torture and cruelty that were often 
practiced by his subordinates, and prevented them 
when possible. On the other hand, the English did 
not always temper victory with mercy. They some- 
times beheaded and otherwise mutilated the bodies 
of Indians and .squaws whom they had killed, in a 
manner that was neither humane nor politic. It was 
not politic because it aroused anew the vindictive 
passions of the red men, and led them to commit 
fresh atrocities. The settlers had naturally become 
exasperated with the murderous acts of their foes, and 
regarded them merely as savages and heathen for 
whom no treatment was too severe. In many cases 
they sent to the West Indies those whom they cap- 
tured alive, men, women and children, and un- 
justifiably sold them into slavery, and thus provoked 
the Indians to fresh outrages. 

The summer of 1076 had now arrived, and Philip 
was drawing toward the end of his career. His wife 
and children had been taken and killed or sold, his 
Indian allies were forsaking him, and his own band 
was greatly reduced in numbers. He had become 
disheartened. He secluded himself in forests and 
swamps, and his enemies were diligently seeking his 
life. At length an Indian whom he had offended 
came to Captain Church and offertd to show him the 
place of Philip's concealment, in a swamp, near 
Mount Hope. Captain Church disposed of his force 
with great skill, surrounding the swamp and also 
posted men in ambush in various places. In at- 
tempting to flee, Philip ran into an ambush where 
were hidden a white man and the Indian who had 
brought the information, named Alderman. The 
white soldier first aimed at the chieftain, but bis gun 
missed fire. He then directed the Indian to fire. 
Says Abbott, "A sharp report rang through the 
Ibrest, and two bullets, for the gun was double 
charged, pas.sed almost directly through the heart of 
the heroic warrior. For an instant the majestic 
frame of the chieftain, as he stood erect, quivered 
from the shock, and then he fell heavy and stone dead 
in the mud and water of the swamp." 

Thus the directing brain and the skillful hand were 
removed, and the power of the Indians and their 
ability to harm the colonists began to wane from that 
day. 

Philip, or Pometacom, the great sachem of the 
Wampanoags, was dead. His followers had received 
a severe lesson, and had learned the power and re- 
sources of the English inhabitants. They did not, 
therefore, take any further concerted action against 



SHERBORN. 



fi87 



the people of Massachusstts ; but they kept the latter 
in suspense and in constant preparation for surprise 
by isolated forays in small bands. The great body of 
the Indians transferred the seat of operations to the 
district of Maine and the provinceof New Hampshire, 
where they hoped to find the inhabitants less familiar 
with the character of savage warfare, and where Ihey 
inflicted an immense amount of misery. So greatly 
were the people depopulated, and so greatly were the 
survivors alarmed, that there wfs no settlement re- 
maining east of Portland excepting one garrison. 
This dreadful warfare continued for eighteen months- 
after the death of Philip. Finally the Indians them- 
selves, who had suftered greatly also by death and 
starvation, sued for peace in February, 1678, and 
terms were settled between the sachems and the com- 
missioners from Massachusetts, not wholly to the 
advantage of the English, but considered preferable 
by them to a continuance of hostilities. It was still 
many years, however, before the inhabitants of New 
England could pursue their daily avocations in peace 
and security. 

Besides the losses already mentioned in Sherborn, 
the house of Thomas Fames, at the north part of the 
town, now in Framingham, was burned by the In- 
dians during his absence from home, in February. 
l<>7<5-77, his wife and some children murdered and 
others taken into captivity. 

As soon after the close of the war in this State as 
the people could resume their occupations, the im- 
portant question of the exchange of lands with Natick 
was again considered. The report of the committee 
chosen by the General Court was favorable to the 
wishes of the inhabitants, and the Court approved 
the return provided that the tract of land (now in 
Framingham) belonging to Thomas Danforth, Esq., 
Deputy-frovernor, be excepted. Finally, after much 
consideration and discussion, articles of agreement 
for the exchange of the lands were drawn up and 
signed " upon this sixteenth day of April, 1679," by 
Daniel Morse, Sr., Thomas Fames, Henry Lealand 
and Obediah Morse, in behalf of the town of Sher- 
born on the one part, and by Wabon, Pimbow, 
Thomas Tray, .lohn Awonsamage, Sr., Peter Ephraim 
and Daniel Takaworab|iait, on behalf of the town ot 
Natick on the other part. The 4000 acres of land 
thus acquired by Sherborn was bounded northeast 
by Natick, southeast, southwest and west by Sher- 
borne, and west and northwest by Mr. Danforlh's 
farm. And Sherborn agreed to give in compensa- 
tion 4000 acres of land lying towards Hojjkinton, 
and "the full and just quantity of 200 bushels of In- 
dian grain, to be paid one-half in hand, or at de- 
mand, and the other half the last of March next 
ensuing," which would be about one year after the 
date of the agreement. Peter Ephrairn, above-men- 
tioned, owned land near Peter's Hill, which was so 
named on that account, and between that iiill and 
Brush Hill ; and one article of the agreement allowed 



him to "enjoy the land he hath broken up within 
that tract," and "to add thereunto so much more as 
may make the lot twelve acres, with an equal propor- 
tion of meadow; but to be under the government of 
the township of Sherborne, as the English are." It 
is gratifying to observe, in the fourth article, that a 
lot of fifty acres wa« set out and appropriated forever 
" to the use of a free .school for teaching the English 
and Indian children there the English tongue and 
other sciences." Thus at this early day the care for 
the education of her children which has ever distin- 
guished Massachusetts was notably shown, and thus 
was planted the seed which has grown and blossomed 
forth into our magnificent system of common schools. 
This exchange of lands, now happily completed, was 
a measure of great importance to the new town. It 
rendered their territory more compact in form, more 
easily governed and much more convenient for the 
inhabitants in their attendance on meetings and in 
the transaction of public business. 

During the same year, 1670, the famous "social 
compact" was adopted. It was a very useful instru- 
ment, and showed great wisdom and forethought. 
After a suitable preamble, it says : " We, the per- 
sons whose names are nest under-written, for the 
prevention of questions and mistakes, do order and 
determine, and resolve as followeth." Article first 
provides that all persons whatsoever receiving grants 
of land from the town shall become subject to all the 
orders of the town, provided that they be not repug- 
nant to any orders of the General Court, and that all 
such grantees "shall, for the firm engagement of him- 
self and his successors, thereunto subscribe his name 
to our town-book, or otherwise his grant shall be of 
none eftect." In article second it is agreed that 
"questions, differences or contentions " shall be sub- 
mitted to arbitration, and shall be settled in that way 
whenever possible: and in the third article it is also 
agreed that they would " faithfully endeavor " that 
only such pei^ons should be received into the town- 
ship as they believed to be " honest, peaceable and 
free from scandal and erroneous opinions." In arti- 
ticle fourth it is stipulated that none of the inhabit- 
ants shall, for seven years, " upon any pretence what- 
soever, without the consent of the Selectmen," sell 
or in any other manner convey to others any part of 
the land which had been granted to them by the 
town, " except to some formerly accepted by our so- 
ciety ; always provided that this shall in no sort preju- 
dice or hinder any heirs at common law." This 
provision was obviously intended to exclude persons 
of disreputable character, and such as might create 
dissensions in the community. 

The compact is signed by thirty-two heads of fam- 
ilies, and probably included all the land-owners in 
the township, and it was ratified and allowed by a 
vote of the (icneral Court. 

The article requiring grantees to hold their lands 
for at least seven years, was also designed to secure 



688 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



permanency of occupation. The settlers had en- 
deavored, by liberal offers of land at low prices, and, 
in some cases, even without compensation, to induce 
persons to take farms and become inhabitants of the 
new town ; and it was now desiralile to retain all who 
had arrived, for a length of time sufficient to enable 
them to form homes and become attached to the 
land, with the hope that they would thus become 
permanent residents, and assist by their contributions 
and labors for the public good in building up the new 
community. They believed that a man should be- 
come a part of the body politic not merely for his 
own advantage, but also for the purpose of acting his 
part in the councils of the town, and of promoting 
the general welfare. 

The inhabitants, having .settled the great question 
of the exchange of lands with Natick, now thought 
it time to give attention to the proper business of a 
town, the administration of its internal affiiirs having 
been postponed on account of more urgent matters. 
At a meeting held in February, 1679 (1678-11 mo. 
-1 day), it was voted that five men be chosen as select- 
men, — Daniel ISIorse, Sr., George Fairbanks, Ed- 
ward West, Thomas Eames, Obadiah Morse. This 
was the first Board of Selectmen chosen, and they 
served for ten years. Obadiah Morse, who had been 
chosen early in 1()76 to keep the records of Sherborn, 
was now formally elected town clerk. He also kept 
such records pertaining to the church as were not re- 
corded on the books of the town. But as there was 
but one church in the town for a great number of 
years, its early records were entered with the records 
of the secular business. 

The people also felt the need of establishing a 
church and engaging a pastor, as these were among 
the prime objects of their desire to form them.selves 
into a new and separate community. Moreover, the 
General Court, in the previous year, 1(578, had 
granted them freedom from one single rate in a year 
for the three following years, provided they be sup- 
plied with an able minister; " and they felt that in 
order to avail themselves of this offer they must soon 
secure a spiritual adviser. In 1677 they had voted to 
raise thirty pounds per year for that purpose, but 
they had accomplished no more. In 1679 they voted 
to pay for the " maintenance of the minister £40 i)er 
year liy the inlialiitants— i.'20 in money and £20 in 
good country pay as is most suitable to the minister — 
and to build a suitable house." They also chose a 
committee " for the settling the minister amongst us, 
Mr. Gooking or some other minister as God shall di- 
rect." 

The great obstacle to the completion of their ar- 
rangements for the establishing of public worship 
was an obstinate di.sagreement concerning the loca- 
tion of the meeting-house. All of the earlier settlers 
excepting Daniel Morse resided in the southern 
quarter of the town, and as they had from the begin- 
ning of the colony practically transacted the public 



business according to the dictates of their own judg- 
ment, they thought they had a right to decide so 
important a matter as the location of the meeting- 
house. They naturally desired that it should be 
placed at a point not far from their own houses, and 
had staked out a lot on a hill which is believed to be 
near the present Soutl\ Cemetery. The dwellers on 
Edward's Plain and those in the more northerly por- 
tions of the town were di.'jsatisfied with this allot- 
ment, and wished for a spot more nearly fqui-distant 
from the extremities of the township. But the south- 
ern inhabitants insisted upon their choice, and had 
laid out roads diverging to the different parts of the 
town. The other party was equally obstinate, and in 
consequence of the contention nothing was accom- 
plished. 

A committee was chosen to Ijuild a suitable 
house for a minister. But the former committee, 
selected to engage a suitable minister, reported in 
1680 that " except the inhabitants do agree to what 
was done by that committee in '79, 7 mo., they see no 
likelihood of obtaining Mr. Daniel Gookin to settle 
among us." Affairs were complicated, and it seemed 
impossible for the people to untangle the net which 
they had wound about themselves. Discouraged at 
last, the venerable Daniel Morse, Sr., Dea. Benoni 
Lamed and others, in 1680, petitioned the General 
Court imploring " aid that they may be relieved of 
their difficulties, professing a desire to settle a pious 
and able minister, without which their hopeful plan- 
tation would be ruined and they and their wives and 
children be forced either to live like heathen, without 
God's Sabbath and ordinances, or remove." 

In answer to this petition the Court appointed an 
advisory committee to repair to Sherborn and en- 
deavor to settle the differences among its inhabitants. 
Although the committee was invested with power to 
decide the questions submitted to them, they do not 
appear to have secured a complete reconciliation, and 
theii return to the Court was placed on file, " not per- 
fected." Then the Great and tieneral Court seem to 
have thought it time to settle the disputes of the con- 
tumacious inhabitants by using the strong arm of 
authority ; and they appointed and empowered" Wm. 
Stoughton, Tho. Savage and John Richards, Esqs., a 
committee to order and governe the prudentialls of 
the said town for tliree years next commencing, as to 
laying out lotts, and raysing of taxes." The town 
could do nothing but submit, for the authority of the 
Court was paramount and at that time supreme; and, 
to their credit be it .said, they submitted gracefully 
and dutifully. 

The new committee soon decided the question of 
the locaticm ofthe meeting-house and placed it in the 
more central position, on the site of the house of the 
First Pari.sh of our day. It was finished in 1684-85. 
And this has always remained the .situation of a 
church edifice, a second one being completed in 1726 
and enlarged in 1770 by inserting twenty feet in the 



SlIEllBORN. 



689 



middle of the building; and a ihird, tlie ureseiit 
meeting-bouse, being Iniilt iu ISSI). 

IJclbre the town had obtained a minister, divine 
service was licld for some years in the house of Capt. 
Joseph Morse, and Edn-ard West acted as a hiy-reader. 
A grant was made by the town to Capt. Morse for llie 
accommodation thus received, and concessions were 
also made to J[r. West. In 1(J79 a grant of land was 
voted to the latter " in case he should stay in Sherburn 
one year from the date hereof, if the town have not a 
niinistcr settled. If there be a minister settled, then 
to be in the same condition with other inhabitants.'' 

The year 1681 had now arrived, and the inhabit- 
ants were re.ady at last to proceed to the actual busi- 
ness of obtaining and settling a minister. Early in 
the year a committee, consisting of Daniel Morse, Sr., 
Joseph Morse and Edward We'^t, three of the best 
men, w-as chosen to treat with a minister with a view 
to his settlement. After inquiry concerning "Mr. 
Gushing," they again applied to Mr. Gookin with 
better success. In the same year, doubtless, Mr. 
Oookiu wrote as follows : 

" I, whose nuiiie is lifroby suliscriliotl, do freely and fully cngase to 
rcmiiiti iti tlio work of the niiuistiy of Sheilioriie so lotigjw I can live iu 
said itliice, so ad to iilteud to luy work without distniction. 

" Daniel Gookin, .Ik.'' 

The salary which the (own agreed to pay Mr. 
Gookin was " twenty pounds in money, and twenty 
pounds in country pay, such as we raise ourselves; " 
and when the minister should have a family and the 
iuhabit.ants increased in number, they agreed, " then 
to augment his ajkiwance." This stipend seems 
small to us, but it must be remembered that the 
purchasing power of money was much greater than 
at the present, time. He also had the use of a house 
in addition. In this coanectioo it wiil be of interest 
to transcribe an order of the selectmen made May 29, 
1707. "At a meeting of the selectmen, it was 
ordered that each person in town, for the Pool or 
I'uols he or she is rated for, shall cut aiid cany to the 
house of Rev. Mr. Gookin one-half cord of wood 
per poll ; and each and every person who neglect to 
jierforni ai aforesaid shall pay a fine of 2 shillings 
per poll to the use of said minister." 

;\Ir. Gookin was a man of uncommon ability and 
attainments. He was born in 1750 or 1751, w-as a 
son of Major-General Daniel Gookin, one of liie 
magistrates of the commonwealth and superintendent 
of the Indians. He w;is a friend and assistant to the 
apostle Eliot iu his missionary labors at Nalick, and 
tbi!- fact doubtless made him acciuainted with tie 
people of Sherborn and tlieir spiritual rei|uirements; 
and the contiguity of the latter town to Natick 
|)robably made him more willing to undertake the 
charge of the small church in this town, as he could 
be near his friend Eliot and still assist him. He was 
graduated at Harvard College in 16(39, received the 
degree of A.M. in 167.'i and was chosen a Fellow 
of the college in ihe same year. Althougli he was 
44 



not ordained at Sherborn until March 26, 1685, it is 
probable that he conducted divine service there for 
some time prior to that date. Uev.John Eliot says 
of him, in a letter to Hon. Robert Boyle, dated April 
22, 16S4, "Major Cfookin has dedicated his eldcstson , 
Daniel Gookin, into the service of Christ; he is a 
pious and learned young man, about thirty-three 
years old, hath been eight years a fellow of the 
college; he liath taught and trained up two classes of 
young scholars unto ',hcir commencement ; he is a 
man whose abilities are ah ive exception, though not 
above envy. His f.tther with his inclination, advised 
him to Shcrluirne, a small village near Natick, whose 
meeting-honse is about three miles, more or les^, from 
Natick meeting-house. He holdeth a Lecture in 
Natick meeting-house once a month; which many 
English, especially of Sherburne, do frequent. He 
first preaches in English to the E'lglish audience, 
and then the same matter is delivered to the Indians 
by an interpreter, whom, with much pains, Mr. 
Gooking h.ad fore-prepared. We apprehend that this 
will (by God's blefsing) be a means ti enable the 
Indians to understand religion preached in the 
English tongue, and will much farther Mr. Gookin in 
learning the Indian tongue." 

The only church records known prior to 1734 arc 
contained in one small volume, and consist wholly of 
accounts of contributions raised for various purposes, 
commencing in the year 1G85. The records of the 
church and town were kept together in the books <.f 
the town until October 27, 1734, when the proper 
records of the church commence. But we do not find 
any account of the formation of the church in any 
of these records. A manuscript journal of Judge 
Sewell (who, it may be remembered, married a 
daughter of Capt. John Hull, of Sherborn), shows 
that the church was gathered March 26, lii85, the 
same d.ay that Mr. Gookin was ordained. It reads, 
"Thursday, March 26, 1Sj5. Went to ye Gathering 
of ye Chli at Sherborn, and ordaining .Mr. Daniel 
Gookin their Pastor. But 6 bretheren and 3 of the 
names Mors. Mr. Wilson [of Boston], Mr. .Vdams 
[of Dedham], and Jlr. Nathl. Gookin of Cambridge 
managed the work ; Mr. Nathl. Gookin the youngir 
inlrotluced the Elder ; a happy type of the calling of 
ye Jews." Twelve otKer clergymen v/ere present 
"and fellows of the Colledgc. Only JIaj. Gcnll. anil 
self of Magistrates. No revelations were made ; but 
I hope God was with them" 

Mr. Gookin was a faithl'ul pastor, dil.'gent and able 
in his work. He conlinued his labors with the Indi- 
ans, als.), during the greater part of his life, as time 
and opportunity permitted, and he died lamented, 
January 8, 1717-18, in the si.xty-eighth year of his age. 
In an obituary notice, written probably by Jiis col- 
league and successor. Rev. Daniel Baker, dated Jan. 
9, 1717-18, and found in the Boston News Letter it is 
stated that " He was the oldest son of Honorable 
Daniel Gooking, Esq., a good schohir and solid Divine ; 



090 



HISTOliy OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



was many years a fellow of Harvard College, and a 
tutor. From his ordination he continued our min- 
ister about thirty-four years, being diligent in his 
study, tender of his flock, and exemplary in his life." 
During the latter part of his life, for about seven 
years, " by great pain and indisposition of body, he 
was taken off from his work," so that Oct. 23, 1707, 
the town "Voted to hire a minister while [until] 
March next and that Sir. Baker be the man to supply 
Mr. Gooking's Pulpit, now in the time of his restraint, 
if he may be obtained." December 11, 1710, Mr. 
Baker was formally engaged as an assistant to Mr. 
Gookin, and in April, 1711, the latter repeated an 
offer he had previously made to the town, freely to 
remit ten pounds of the country part of his salary in 
conseijueuce of his infirmities and the necessity of 
hiring a colleague. This was publicly read and 
gratefully accepted by the towu. 

The old Central Cemetery in Sherborn, "in which 
y' first grain was sown, June y" 17, 1(58G," received 
the remains of Mr. Gookin, and the spot was marked 
by a plain stone bearing the inscription, "Here lyes 
y' body of y' Keverend Daniel Gookin, Pastor of y' 
church of Christ at Sherborne, dec'd Jan'ry y° 8th, 
1717-18, in y° 68th year of his age.'' 

As it is more convenient to proceed with the eccle- 
siastical history of the town before returning to its 
civil history, that course will now be jiursued. 

At a meeting of the inhabitants, held December 
11, 1710, Capt. Joseph Morse and Deacon Benoni 
Learned, moderators, " Then it was put to the inhabit- 
ants by the said Moderators, that inasmuch as the 
work of the Ministry is ajijiarently too hard for our 
Rev. and worthey Pastor, Mr. Daniel Gooking," 
whether they were willing to give Kov. Mr. Baker a 
call or invitation to settle in the towu as an assistant 
to their pastor. It was voted "verry fully on the 
afliriuative" to give Mr. Baker a call, and was also 
voted " To give the said Mr. Baker a yearly salary of 
50 pounds money during the life of our liev. Pastor, 
and after his decease to augment Mr. Baker's salary 
if need be. Voted in the atfirmative." 

After due consideration, Rev. Daniel Baker accepted 
the invitation in a letter dated Dedham, December 
29, 1711, addressed to the committees of this church 
and town. 

At a town-meeting held soon after, January 14, 
1711-12, " voted that Rev. Daniel Baker's answer be 
very gratefully accepted, and the town renders thanks 
to him for his good intentions towards them, and do 
freely concur and take up with his said answer." 
And at the same meeting a committee was chosen to 
take charge of the subscriptions for his dwelling- 
house. 

After the death of Mr. Gookin it was agreed that 
the salary of Mr. Baker should be advanced to sev- 
enty pounds per annum. He also had the use of a 
house and land. 

Mr. Baker was born in Dedham about 1680, grad- 



uated at Harvard College in 1706, and died May 14, 
1731, at Sherborn, in the forty-fifth year of his age. 
He married Mary Qiiincy, daughter of Hon. Edmund 
Quincy, and second Rebecca Smith. He had but 
two children, daughters, one by each wife, who lived 
to adult age. Several other children died young. 
He is described as " a gentleman of bright and nat- 
ural iiarts, much improved by acquired knowledge, 
very pathetical in prayer, orthodox and powerful in 
preaching, tender of his fiock and congregation, 
having always the cause of God and religion niuch at 
heart. His church increased greatly under his min- 
istry." During his latter years his health was poor 
and his condition feeble, so that he was sometimes 
wholly incapacitated for his work. 

The only known publication of Mr. Baker is an 
18mo. volume of 164 pages, containing two Fast-day 
sermons, one delivered at Dedham, October 5, 1726, 
and the other at " Sherbourn, May 10, 1727." They 
were printed at Boston for D. Henchman, 1728, and 
the expense of the work was defrayed by his parish. 

The remains of Mr. Baker were interred also in 
the Central Cemetery. 

Soon after the decease of Mr. Baker there was 
chosen " 1731, June 16th, a committee of three, viz. : 
Deacon Greenwood, William Lealand and John Hol- 
brook to take Care for the Supply of the Pulpit untill 
ye Town Com into Som other methord." Then was 
granted the sum of fiffty pounds for the "Supply of 
ye Pulpit." Other sums were granted during the 
next three years for the same purpose, and various 
candidates were received, and vctes were passed ac- 
cepting no less than five ministers successively, but 
none of them appears to have been settled. But at 
last, on April 25, 1734, "The church and Town by a 
Unanimous Vote made choice of Mr. Samuel Porter 
to be their Gospel Minister, and voted three hundred 
pounds in Bills of Publick credit towards his Settle- 
ment. Also voted one hundred and thirty pounds 
per annum for his Salary in Bills of Gredit on this 
province, according to their present value; and to 
rise and fall as Silver money doth With thie Mar- 
chacts of this province — Provided he Settle with us, 
in the Gospel ministry, and so long as he Continues 
in the Same." 

Rev. Samuel Porter was now formally chosen the 
pastor of the church of lUirist in Sherborn. He was 
the third of the sterling ministers of the town. All 
of them were distinguished for learning, piety and 
sound judgment, and they were men worthy to be 
held in lasting remembrance. In those days the 
clergymen were the leaders of the people, not only in 
moral and spiritual affairs, but also in those of a secu- 
lar nature. Their counsel was often sought by the 
people and had much weight with them, and as they 
were usually settled for life their interests were iden- 
tified with those of their flock, and they had a tender 
care for their welliire. Mr. Porter was a man of this 
character. He was born in Brookfield, Mass., in 1700, 



SHERBORN. 



G91 



and graduated at Har%'ard College ia 1730, his grand- 
father having left £100 to enable him to complete his 
course of study there. He came to this town from 
Hadley, and was ordained on the fourth Wednesday 
(23d) of October, 1734, according to a vote of the 
church and town, which also "granted 25 pounds to 
be Levied on PoHs and Estate by Way of vote, ac- 
cording to the rules prescribed in the Law for the 
Support of the Ministers and Messingers at the ordi- 
nation." 

We have not been able to find an account of 
the exercises at this ordination, but it is evident 
from the above vote that they were conducted with 
all due ceremony by his brethren in the ministry. 
Mr. Porter was twice married, first to Mary Cooledge, 
of Cambridge, October 20, 1735, who died August 10. 
1752. They had five children, all of whom died 
young excepting Mary, who afterward married Rev. 
Samuel Locke, her father's successor in the ministry. 
His second wife was also named Mary, but her sur- 
name before marriage is not known. The second 
Mary died August 8, 1758, and the respected pastor 
did not long survive her; he died on the IGth of 
September following, at the age of forty-nine years, 
and his loss was universally lamented. 

Of the published sermons of Mr. Porter, we know 
of two only. One of these was given at the ordina- 
tion of Rev. William Phipps at Douglas, December 
IG, 1747. Mr. Phipps was a son of John Phipps, of 
Sherborn, who was a grand-nephew of Sir William 
Phipps, once Governor of theColony of Massachusetts. 
He was a man of great literary attainments and had 
a peculiar facility for the acquisition of languages, of 
which he is said to have mastered no less than twelve. 
Dougla", Massachusetts, had jireviously been called 
New Sherborn on account of the grant to Sherborn 
of 4000 acres of land in that settlement, confirmed 
by the General Court in 1715, as an equivalent for 
the seventeen families set off to Fraraingham at its 
incorporation in 1700. Douglas was incorporated as 
a district in 1740, and as a town in 1786, and Mr. 
William Phipps was cho?en its first minister. It was 
so named for Dr. William Douglas, author of a his- 
tory of New England and a proprietor and benefactor 
of the town. Frequent references to this town are 
found in the records of Sherborn, whose inhabitants 
took up grants of land in Douglas. The sermon of 
Rev. Mr. Porter speaks of the new i)astor in warm 
and alfectionate terms as a child of Sherborn, with 
the hope and belief that he "will be a rich blessing 
to you and to the world in hi.s day.'' 

The other sermon mentioned was- delivered at the 
ordination of Joseph Perry to the pastoral care of the 
church in Windsor (Connecticut probably), June 11, 
1755. Of this sermon we have but little information ; 
but its subject was doubtless an able man, as he was 
a bon of Captain Joseph Perry, Esq , a prominent 
man in Sherborn 150 years ago, selectman for six- 
teen years, and in 1741 a uppresentative to General 



Court. It is believed that Rev. Joseph Perry did not 
long survive to fill his pastoral oifice. 

Mr. Porter resided in the house directly opposite 
the church, owned at a later day by Hon. Calvin San- 
ger and his heirs, and at present by Abijah R. Lelaml, 
Esq. Here originated the famous Porter apple, first ^ 
raised by the venerable minister and named for him. 
It was considered a great acquisition to the list of 
fruits, and adds to the reputation which our town pos- 
sesses in the cultivation of apples of a good quality. 
The stump of the original tree was standing on these 
grounds within the memory of the present generation. 

The remains of Mr. Porter were deposited in the 
Central Burying-Ground by the side of his two prede- 
cessors in the ministry; and two stones adjacent com- 
memorated the qualities of his two wives. In the 
year 1857 the sacred relics of these three early min- 
isters were collected and conveyed to the new Pine 
Hill Cemetery, and a marble monument was erected 
above them by Calvin P. Sanger, Esq. 

Having described at some length the first three 
ministers of the town who acted parts so important iy 
its early history, we shall be obliged to notice more 
briefly the remaining pastors. 

Rev. Samuel Locke was born November 23, 17.32, 
and ordained November 7, 1759, and served until 
1770, when he was inaugurated president of Harvard 
College. He occupied this distinguished post but 
three years, when he returned to Sherborn and 
opened a private classical school, which was very suc- 
cessful. He died in 1777, at the age of forty-five, and 
his remains were laid in the Central Cemetery. Rut 
soon after the erection of the memorial monument in 
Pine Hill Cemetery, a granite monument was erected 
there to the memory of Rev. Dr. Locke, by Harvard 
University. 

Rev. Elijah Brown was the fifth j)astor of the 
church. He was born at Waltham, 3Iay 31, 1744 ; 
graduated at Harvard College in 1704, and ordained 
November 28, 1770. He served for forty -six years and 
died October 24, 18l(J. His pastorate was longer than 
that of any minister in the town e.xcepting one of the 
present incumbents, Rev. Dr. Dowse. Although pecu- 
liar in some of his ways, Mr. Brown wasamanof much 
ability. Judge Spragiie, formerly of Lancaster, Ma.s?., 
was a classmate of Mr. Brown in college ; and he once 
observed that, in his opinion, "there were about a 
dozen real geniuses in the class and that Brown was 
one of them." He was an excellent and sympathetic 
pastor, and his visits to the sick and sorrowful were 
acceptable and consoling. He possessed a natural 
vein of wit and humor, which he could not always 
retain within the bounds proper to a man of his pro- 
fession. But on the whole he was useful and success- 
ful in the discharge of his responsible dutie.s. Some 
of his jcrmons were published, one of the most im- 
portant being that given at the ordination of Rev. 
Zedekiah Sanger (a native of Sherborn) as pastor of 
the church in Duxbury, July 3, 1770. 



(i!)2 



IIISTOllY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Within a few weeks after the decease of Eev. Mr. 
Brown the church invited Shearj:ishub Bourne 
Towusend to become their pastor, and in December, 
1816, the town, by vote, concurred in the invitation, 
and granted money for his salary. Mr. Townsend had 
A been a tutor in Brown University, his alma mater, 
and was well lilted, intellectually, fur the position. 
By joint action of the church and town an "ecclesi- 
astical council convened at Sherburne," and he was 
ordained a pastor on the 2J day of July, 1817. 
He was an able and cultivated man and an excellent 
pastor, greatly beloved by his people. He was born 
in Barrington, U. I., April 14, 179C, and was gradu- 
ated in 1814. He had a fine presence and stature, 
being six leet in height. He delivered an oration 
September 3, 1822, before the Society of United 
Brothers of Brown University ; and also an oration at 
Sherborn, July 4, 1S21, on the means of preserving 
our civil and religious liberties, a thoughtful and valu- 
able production. Bjth of the.sj p ipers were pub- 
lished. 

But with all his accomplishments, Mr. Townsend 
did not possess firm health, and after a service of 
eleven years his slrtngth began to fail, and assistance 
in the performance of his duties was required. He 
had invited Rev. Amos Clarke, a native of Sher- 
born, to supply the pulpit until further action could 
be taken. In the autumn of 1829 Mr. Townsend was 
obliged to proceed to the Southern States for the ben- 
efit of his health. According to his expressed desire, 
he retained, nominally, the position of pastor to tlie 
church, generously granting to his colleague the whole 
of the salary. He never relumed, but died at Mil- 
ledgeville, Ga., July 20, 1832, deeply lameutcd by his 
parishioners and friends. 

Kev. Amos Clarke was chosen colleague by a ma- 
jority of the society. The minority desired to hear 
other candidates, not being satisfied with the relig- 
ious views held by Mr. Clarke. This ditference led to 
a separation and to the formation of a new society, 
whicii will be described below. Mr. Clarke was an 
excellent pastor, a successful teacher and a wise and 
useful man in the community. He was born in this 
town Ajiril 23, 1779, was prepared for college under 
the instruction of Eev. Elijah Brown, of Sherborn, 
graduated with honor at Harvard College in 1804, 
and studied theology with llev. President Bates, then 
pastor at Dedham, with whom he subsequently be- 
came connected by marriage. He was licensed to 
preach, but his health being slender, he engaged in 
the calling of a classical instructor, in whicli he was 
very successful, training the minds and manners of 
his pupils as well as their intellects. 

Mr. Clarke, who had supplied the pulpit since 
1828, was invited, March 22, 1830, to become the as- 
sociate pastor, and after the death of Rev. Mr. Town- 
send he was the sole pastor of this church. At this 
post he continued until May 20, 1841, when he was 
obliged by feeble health to relinquish it, to the groat 



regret of the members of the parish. Mr. Clarke oc- 
casionally appeared afterwards in the pulpit, was a 
member of the School Committee, represented the 
town in the Legislature of 1845, and rendered service 
in various ways to the inhabitants, by whom he was 
highly respected. 

During the year of jMr. Clarke's ajipointnicnt (1S30) 
the First Parish caused a new meeting-house to be 
erected, very near the site of the old one, which had 
been in use for more than a century. The hist ser- 
vice was held in the old church on Sunday, Decem- 
ber 26th, and an interesting and instructive sermon 
was given by Rev. Mr. C'arke. On the following 
Wednesday, December 29th, the new house was ap- 
propriately dedicated, Mr. Clarke delivering the ser- 
mon on this occasion also. It still stands in good 
condition, after nearly sixty years of service, and is 
the third edifice on this site. 

The next minister of this church was Rev. Richard 
Cecil Stone, who was installed September 28, 1842. 
He wai born in Scituate, R. I., July 18, 1798, and 
served in other towns as a clergyman befoie coming 
to Sherborn. He was a man of strong, cultivated in- 
tellect and dominating character. Although highly 
respected by some of his parishioners, he gradually 
became distasteful to others among them, and this 
feeling led, after an active service of six years, to a 
separation in October, 1848. A portion of the church 
and congregation went with the pastor, and formed a 
new .society, which they called the Wesleyan Method- 
ist Society. They worshiped in a new chapel 
erected by them north of the Common, and contin- 
ued their services fur about six years, when Mr. Stone 
removed from the town and the'society was dissolved. 

He was succeeded in the charge of the First Parish 
by Eev. John Fleming, a native of England, where 
he was born January 20, 1820. He labored diligejitly 
in his profession, and earnestly strove to fulfill his du- 
ties to the jiarish and to render himself acceptable to 
the people. He performed good service also as a 
memoer of the School Committee for some years. 
After three years he resigned the office of pastor iu 
1853, and retired from the ministry. He has contin- 
ued, however, to re.side iu the town as a respected 
citizen. 

Rev. 'Theodore H. Dorr was the next minister. 
He was born in Boston August 13, 1815, graduated at 
Harvard College in 1835, and was installed pastor of 
the church at Sherborn December 3, 1854. He con- 
tinued its efficient head for more than eight years, 
when his waning health admonished him to retire 
from active labor. He resigned the charge of the 
parish March 1,1863. He was a man of thorough 
education, courteous manners and considerable force 
of character. He was persevering in his etlurts to 
support and advance the interests of the church, was 
interested in the work of education and in the general 
improvement of the town. He was for some years 
an active member of the School Committee, and was 



SIIERBORN. 



693 



zealous in fiirwariling preparations for raising sol- 
diers and supplies in the War of the Rebellion. He 
was a member of the committee chosen at a town- 
meeting called for the purpose of considering the 
whole subject, to prepare resolutions expressive of 
the sentiments of the town. 

Mr. Dorr returned to Boston after his resignation, 
and resided there for several years. 

Rev. William Bronn was born in Concord, 
Massachusetts, September 10, 1838, graduated at Am- 
herst College in 1800, and at the Cambridge Divinity 
School in 18G3. He was ordained pastor of the 
church iu Sherborn November 5, 18G3, and held the 
oiiice for nearly nine years. On the 1st day of 
March, 1872, he tendered his resignation of the po- 
.sition, to take effect August 31st, following. For 
feeveral years after that date he was pastor of the 
church in Walpole, N. H., but has lately removed to 
Wtst Bridgewater, Mas^^., as minister of the church 
there, and teacher of certain branches of study iu the 
Academy. 

Mr. Brown was a man of genial nature and culti- 
vated intellect, a firm friend, and a good townsman, 
interested in education and in all that pertained to 
the welfare of the people. The town sustained a 
loss in his departure. This was his first parish, and 
he studied and labored diligently for its improve- 
ment. He was for many years a member of the 
School Committee, and his efficient servicts will not 
soon be forgotten by his colleagues of that period. 
He was one of the steady, valuable workers for the 
public good, and was e((ual to any with which the 
town has been favored during the last thirty years. 

After the resignation and removal of Rev. William 
Brown, in Septemljer, 1872, there was an interregnum 
of nearly twenty months, during which time the pul- 
pit was temporarily supplied. Several gentlemen 
olBciated as candidates, but it was not until May 13, 
1874, that Rev. Alfred Edgar MuUett, the eleventh 
minister, was ordained. Mr. Mullett had graduated 
at Cambridge Divinity School the previous year, 
after a collegiate course at Tufto College. This was 
therefore, his first parish. He was a young man of 
good education and attainments. Although he ex- 
erted himself to fulfill his duties, he soon found that 
he was not adapted to the work in this parish, and 
tendered his resignation April 1, 1875, to take etTect 
in three months afterwards. He has since that time 
served in other towns, and, we believe, is now settled 
in a Massachusetts parish. Mr. MuUett was born in 
Cliarlestown, Jlass., November 13, 1847. 

In September, 1876, Rev. Eugene DeNormandie, a 
native of Philadelphia, who had previously served 
acceptably in this State, was invited to supply the 
pulpit of the First Parish. He accepted the invita- 
tion, and continued to officiate as its minister through 
the autumn months. On the let day of December 
he was engaged to serve for one year, at the expira- 
tion of which time the engagemeut was renewed, 



and was continued to the Fall of 1890. He has been 
the respected pastor of this church, whose interests 
he labored diligently to support. He belongs to a 
family of clergymen. One brother. Rev. James De 
Normandie, was for many years the minister of the 
Unitarian Society in Porismouth, N. H., and is now 
serving as the pastor of the church in the Roxbury 
District, Boston, which was for so long a time in 
charge of Rev. Dr. George Putnam. Another 
brother. Rev. C. T. De Normandie, has been settled 
since 1872 in the ancient town of Kiiigston, origi- 
nally a part of Plymouth, and once called North 
Plymouth. 

Mr. De Normandie has identified his interests with 
those of our town, and endeavored to render himself 
useful to its inhabitants. He brought with him a 
considerable experience in school-vvofk, and has been 
an active and efficient member of the Board of School 
Committee during several of the years of his resi- 
dence. He was born in Philadelphia, January 3, 
1832. In 1890 he accepted an invitation from the 
society in Danvers, Mass., and removed there iu Sep- 
tember. 

Allusion has been made to the formation of a Sec- 
ond Parish in the year 1830. A rafjoriiy of the 
church aid not coincide in the appointment of Rev. 
Amos Clarke as the minister to succeed Rev. S. B. 
Townsend, although Mr. Clarke was chosen by a ma- 
jority of the society. Those members of the church, 
claiming to represent the doctrines of the original 
church, therefore formed a new society, which was 
known for many years as the Second Parish in Sher- 
born, but since 1875 as the Pilgrim Society, by act 
of tie Legislature. They worshiped in a hall in the 
centre of the town until the completion of their new 
meeting-house, in November, 1830. This edifice was 
dedicated November 4ih, and at the same time their 
first pasior. Rev. Samuel Lee, was ordained. He was 
a native of Middletown, Connecticut, and graduated 
at Yale College in 1827, and subsequently at the 
Theoldgical Seminary attached to that college. He 
was a man of good education, and more than average 
ability. He was eminently social in his intercouise 
with his people, and was highly regarded by them as 
a pastor. Some of his i-ermons were published. At 
his own rei]uest he was dismissed April 27, 183t). He 
afterward settled iu New Ipswich, N. U., where he 
passed the remainder of his life. 

The second minister was Rev. Daniel Talcott 
Smith, born in Ne-.vburyport in 1813, graduated at 
Amherst College in 1831, and at Andover Theologi- 
cal Seminary, where he was aftervviuds an assistant 
professor. He received the degree of D.D. from 
Waterville College in 1853, and from Bowdoin Col- 
lege in 1858. He was a ihorough scholar, and ex- 
celled in a knowledge of languages and classical 
literature. He was ordained pastor of this church 
and society December 7, ISSfi, and was an earnest and 
successful pastor, so far as his health would allow. 



G94 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



But the duties of the position proved too great a 
draft upon his strength, and he was obliged to resign 
in 1838. He was dismissed on the same day of the 
ordination of his successor, October 10, 1838. He 
was afterwards a professor for many years in the 
Bangor Theological Seminary, where he held a high 
rank. Some years since his name was changed to 
that of Daniel Smith Talcott. 

On the 10th day of October, 1838, Rev. Edmund 
Dowse, a native of Sherborn, whither his ancestors 
removed from Charlestown, Mass., in 1775, was or- 
dained the third pastor of the Second Parish, and of 
the church of which ho had been a member for some 
years. From that day to the present time, more than 
fifty-two years, Mr. Dowse has remained as the re- 
spected and beloved pastor of this religious society. 
Few ministers have so long a pastorate, especially in 
the place of their birth and life-long residence, and 
but few have retained so continuously the confidence 
of the community, as well as that of the people of 
his charge. The twenty-lifih, the fortieth and fifti- 
eth anniversaries of his ordination were celebrated 
with appropriate ceremonies, the latter with great en- 
thusiasm in 1888. During the sime year Mr. Dowse 
received from Amherst college, his alma mater, the 
degree of D.D. 

Dr. Dowse represented this district in the State 
Senate in the years 1869 and 1870, and has served as 
Chaplain of the Senate from 1880 to 1890, inclusive. 

He has also been active in the cause of education 
and a member of the School Committee for fifiy-two 
years. 

In the year 1859 the church building was much en- 
larged and remodeled, and is now a prominent and 
attractive feature of the town. In 1890 a substantial 
addition to its funds was received from the estate of 
the late Aaron Greenwood. 

We have now completed the account of the reli- 
gious societies and their ministers, so far as the mate- 
rials fortheir history have been found after diligent re- 
search. The foundation and progress of the Puritan 
church in one of the old New England towns carries 
with it an important part of the history of that 
town, and it was originally considered a part of the 
town business, and was regulated in town-meeting 
with fully as much interest as any other part of the 
town afiairs. And it is right, and of the highest im- 
portance to the well'are of the town that its religious 
interests should be among the first to be supjiorted 
and cherished, as one of the bulwarks of a free com- 
munity, and one of the corner-stones of the prosper- 
ity of a free State. 

We naturally pass from the church to the school. 
Our fathers gave early attention to tlie subject of ed- 
ucation, the importance of which they fully realized. 
Section four of the articles of agreement between the 
committee appointed by the town and certain Indians 
of Natick says: "Also, we agree and consent that on 
the lands we are to have of Natick there be a lot of fifty 



acres set out where the Commissioners of the Colonies, 
Major Gookin and Mr. Eliott, and Indian ruler.s, shall 
choose within that tract of land, to be appropriated 
forever to the use of a free school for teaching the 
English and Indian children there the English tongue 
and other sciences." This resolve was made April 
10, 1679, when the town had just recovered from the 
eflects of Philip's war, and had become settled to the 
regular order of business The work of teaching was 
at first performed in the several families, or in some 
private houses where the children could assendjie for 
that purpose. Obadiah Morse, the first town clerk, 
was the first teacher in this primitive fashion, and in 
1694 Edward West, who was then town clerk, was 
chosen schoolmaster for the town. In the year 1718 
twelve pounds, and in 1719 eighteen pounds, were 
granted for the support of a school for the teaching 
of children and youths to read, write and cipher. It 
is presumed that this education was conducted in 
dwelling-houses until 1729, as the first appropriation 
for building a school-house was made in December, 
1727, " to build a school-house eighteen feet wide and 
twenty feet long, and to set it on Meeting-house Com- 
mon, on the southeasterly side of the meeling-house." 
It was completed early in 1729. The sj.ot then chos- 
en by the town remained the site of a building used 
either wholly or in part for school purposes for nearly 
one hundred and fifty years. 

As the population increased other school- houses 
were erected in different quarters of the town, until, 
at the present day, there are eight buildings in which 
instruction is given in the rudiments of learning. 

In addition to these common schools there has been 
since 1774 a school of advanced grade for instruction 
in thehigher branches of learning. But, until about the 
year 1859, these were all private schools, conducted 
by ninny difl'erent teachers. Although excellent of 
their kind, many of the inhabitants felt the need of 
a permanent school of (his character. They therefore 
cordially received, in the year 1858, the proposition 
of the executors of the will of Thomas Dowse, a 
former resident of the town, to render a.ssistance in 
the establishment of a High School. With the aid 
of this gift, the " Dowse High School " was founded, 
and its doors were first opened in 1859. This bequest 
was a great acquisition to the means of education, and 
for fifteen vears it continued its good work during a 
portion of each year. 

Thomas Dowse was the son of Eleazer and Mehit- 
able Dowse, and was born at Charlestown, Massa- 
chusetts, December 28, 1772. On the ever-memor- 
able 17th of June, 1775, when but two and a half 
years of age, his parents fled from the flames of their 
home in that town. After sojourning for a short time 
in Holliston, they settled in Sherborn, where their 
descendants remain to this day. Eleazer Dowse was 
the first of his name who settled and remained in this 
town. Lodowick Dowse was here as early as 1683, 
and had a lot of thirty acres assigned him May 27, 



SHERBORN. 



695 



1084. But he did not long remain here. No connec- 
tion has yet been traced between his family an,u that 
of Eieazer Dowse, but it is probable that there was a 
distant relationship. 

Thomas remained in the town, and in due time 
worked with his father at his trade of a leather- 
dresser, until he reached his majority. He then 
sought and obtained employment in the same occu- 
pation at Roxbury, where he resided for several years. 
It was in the year 1803 that, with the assistance of 
his employer, he commenced business for himself at 
Cambridgeport, as a wool-puller and leather-dresser. 
And here he continued during the remainder of a 
long life, distinguished for the thoroughness and ex- 
cellence of his work, and gradually accumulated a 
considerable fortune. A carved lamb stood upon a 
pillar before his door, as a sign and symbol of his 
trade, during many long years. Pie possessed a real 
love for books and their contents, and also for art. 
And thus, instead of expending his money for out- 
side show, he used a liberal share of it every year in 
the purchase of books of real value, and in volumes 
of engravings. In this manner he gradually became 
possessed of a very valuable library of 5000 volumes, 
nearly all in the English language, and handsomely 
bound. But his books were not kept for show. They 
were regularly and diligently used, and he had not 
only much pleasure, but a just pride in their posses- 
sion. He was strongly attached to his library, and 
when advanced in years he was naturally solicitous 
for its future, and was thus led to reflect upon his 
disposition of it. He decided to convey it during 
his lifetime to the Massachusetts Historical Society, 
with the sole condition that the books should always 
be kept in a room by themselves, and only to be used 
in said room. This society gratefully accepted the 
gift, but appropriately allowed it to remain with the 
venerable donor during the remainder of his life. 

After devising a handsome sum of money to his 
relatives, and making some special bequests, he con- 
fided the residue, more than forty thousand dollars, 
to his executors, to be by them appropriated to chari- 
table, literary or scientific uses. This important 
trust was fulfilled by them with signal good judgment 
and discretion. A beautiful collection of water-col- 
ors which accidentally came into his possession, was 
added to the gallery of the Boston Athena*um. A 
con.-ervatory at the Botanic Garden, Cambridge, was 
built in part at their expense; a liberal contribution 
W!i8 made toward the purchase of a chime of bells in 
the same city ; and a public clock was procured for 
the street in which he lived. Contributions were 
made to the funds of two of the charitable insti- 
tutions of Boston, and the Dowse Institute was 
founded in the city where he had so long resided, and 
an annual course of lectures on literary and scientific 
subjects is thus furnished to its inhabitants. Lastly, 
the sum of five thousand dollars was conveyed to the 
town of Sherboru, for the foundation and su|)port of 



the " Dowse High School," which thus became a last- 
ing monument to his memory. The executors, who 
appear to have left no place or circumstance uncon- 
sidered with which Thomas Dowse had any impor- 
tant connection during his life, remembered this town 
on account of his long residence here in early life, 
and the continued and present settlement in Sherborn 
of many relatives bearing the family name. They 
also carefully inquired into the needs of the town be- 
fore deciding upon the particular object to which the 
money should be devoted and for which it should be 
given, desiring that the means of usefulness and im- 
provement contemplated by the donor should be 
made as effective as possible. 

The town gratefully accepted the gift, and thus a 
way was opened for a commencement of that instruc- 
tion in the higher branches of learning which had 
long been desired by many inhabitants of the town. 
An education which would answer for an introduc- 
tion to the practical business of life could now be ob- 
tained within our own limits, and many pupils here 
received their entire instruction in advanced studies. 
For some years but two terms of school were held 
during each year, one in the spring and one in the 
autumn season. In the year 1862 this plan was 
changed for the convenience of the people, the school 
commencing in December instead of September, and 
continuing for four months, as required by the terms 
of the bequest, being divided, however, into two con- 
secutive terms. But this arrangement did not succeed 
in meeting the wishes of the inhabitants, and was 
soon abandoned, and the two terms were henceforth 
held in the fail and winter months as long as the 
school continued as an independent organization. 
Many of our present citizens can look back to the 
old Dowse High School with feelings of gratitude for 
the privileges enjoyed, and of pleasure for the friend- 
ships formed, which in many cases will last as long 
as life itself. They also remember with peculiar in- 
terest many of their teachers to whom they became 
attached, such as Baker, and Stone, and Park, and 
Hoitt, and many others. Mr. Fisher A. Baker was 
the first of the long line of teachers, and wiis a man 
peculiarly fitted for his work. He is clearly remem- 
bered by the older class of pupils", and is an object of 
additional interest on account of being the pioneer in 
this work of advanced education in Sherborn. He 
had previously been engaged in the work of teaching 
in the South School for four successive winters, and 
by his able and dignified course had gained the ap- 
probation of the committee, the respect of the scholars 
and the universal esteem of the parents. The com- 
mittee therefore fell that he would be the right man 
to inaugurate the system of instruction in the new 
High School, and their decision was heartily approved 
by all persons of his acquaintance in the town. They 
were justified in the choice, as the success and general 
good management of the school abundantly proved. 
Many other able teachers followed Mr. Baker, but a 



696 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



peculiar interest attached to him as the man who 
commenced the ■work of the Dowse High School. 
The school continued aa a separate institution for 
fifteen years, the last term being held in the autumn 
of the year 1S73. 

But Sherborn had still greater favors in store, all 
unknown to its people until the year 1870. Then the 
executors of the will of Martha Sawin, of Natick, 
gave notice to the town that Miss Sawin had be- 
queathed a large sum of money far the purpose of 
founding and supporting an academy, to be called 
the Sawin Academy, for the free instruction of its 
youth in the higher branches of science and litera- 
ture, and also in the classical languages, in prepara- 
tion for a college course when desired. This was 
truly a munificent gift, which promised to establi-h a 
permanent yearly school and thus supplement and 
complete the educaiional privileges of the inhabit- 
ants. 

Although living for many years past in the town of 
Natick, the Sawins were old residents of Sherborn. 
Thomas Sawiu, born September 27, 1G57, the son of 
John Sawin, of Watertowu, removed to this town and 
had a home lot of twenty-four acres assigned to him 
May 13, 11)79. He was a millwright, and settled at 
Chestnut Brook, in the northwestern part of the 
town, near the present residence of Albert B. Fay, 
and there built the first mill in Sherborn. He was 
admitted to be an inhabitant November 29, 1()79. 
After the removal of the family to South Natick they 
continued in the business of milling for several gen- 
erations, and many persons now living have a distinct 
memory of Sawin's mills, which are now owned and 
managed by Mr. Andrew Morse. Living near the 
boundary line, the family continued its connection 
with the people of Sherborn, with whom they were 
well acquainted, and for a long time attended church 
and school here. Their interests were, therefore, in 
a great measure identified with those of Sherborn, 
and as the town of Natick was already supplied with 
a well-ordered High School, the reason of the deci- 
sion of Miss Sawiu to leave her property to this town 
and found an institution bearing her name, is easily 
seen. 

Martha Sawi^, familiarly called Patty Sawin, was 
the ddughter of Thomas and Abigail ('Uacon) Sawin, 
and was born in Natick August IG, 1794. She lived 
with her brothers, Baxter and Thomas, and kept 
house for them in the homestead at South Natick, all 
being unmarried. They carried on the mills and the 
farm until well advanced in age. They were shrewd, 
practical persons, methodic.il in their habits, and well 
acquainted with the value of money. When Miss 
Sawin had determined upon the manner in which she 
would dispose of her estate, she called for the assist- 
ance of George White, Esq., judge of Probate for 
Norfolk County, and after advising with him in re- 
gard to particulars, desired him to make out the ne- 
ces.sary documents expressing her wishes. She died 



June 22, 1809, at the age of about seventy-five years. 
In addition to the sums conveyed to her relativts, 
she devised five hundred dollars to each of the relig- 
ious societies in Sherborn, in memory, doubtless, of 
the privileges she had enjoyed there. 

In response to the notice of the executors, a special 
town-meeting was called for December 19, 187U, when 
the bequest was formally accepted, and a committee 
was chosen to take charge of the estate and transact 
the necessary business. The fund was largely in- 
vested in land and in securities which were not imme- 
diately available. It was some time, therefore, before 
the committee was able to commence the immediate 
work of placing the academy in operation. An act 
of incorporation was obtained of the Legislature 
April 12, 1871, in which the direction of the academy 
andnhe care of its funds was vested in five trustees, to 
be chosen by the town from it^ inhabit.mts, one of 
whom should retire each year, his successor to be 
chosen for five years. These trustees were also to be 
trustees, from that date, of the Dowse school fund, 
the Dowse High School being united with the acad- 
emy ; but the two funds were to be kept separate and 
distinct. 

By the terms of tliis act a certain proportion of the 
Sawin fund could be used for the erection of a build- 
ing. Upon this much thought and consultation were 
expended before its plan was selected. The trustees 
were desirous of constructing an edifice which should 
be at once eltgant and substantial, and adapted to 
the purpose for which it was designed. It was no 
easy ta^k. It was difficult to decide whether it was 
wiser to build with wood or with some more solid 
material. Both had their advantages. The sum of 
money to be expended on the building was also a 
serious question, as they did not wish to encroach too 
greatly on the fund in its reduced condition, the 
heirs of Miss Sawiu having contested the will, thus 
rendering^ a compromise necessary. The trustees 
exercised their best judgment at the time in deciding 
a difficult and perplexini;' question, and they produced 
an elegant building, which is an ornament to the 
town. It was placed on a lot bought for the purpose 
which faces the public Common in the centre of the 
town, where most of the public buildings are situated. 
It was constructed of brick, with granite trimmings, 
and has an appropriate inscription cut in a tablet of 
granite. It is filly-four by sixty feet in size, two 
stories high, with a Mansnrd roof, and has at the 
eastern corner an octagon tower of ninety ieet eleva- 
tion. It contains several commodious, well-lighted 
School and recitation rooms. This edifice was com- 
menced in the year 1873 and completed in 1874, and 
on the 10th day of September, 1874, the exercises of 
dedication were held and were very largely attended by 
the inhabitants of the town and the friends of the 
institution from other places. Among those present 
were Hon. Henry Wilson, then Vice-President of the 
United States, Judge White, who made the princii>al 



r 



SHERBOllN. 



G97 



address, and Judge Bacon, of l^fassacluisetts, and 
(ieorgc li. Emerson, LL. D., the veteran teacher 
and friend of education, and all took part in the 
exercises, as did also the Messrs. Allen, the promi- 
nent teachers in West Newton. The music was fur- 
nished by tlie Sherborn Musical Association. 

The academy still continues a benefaction to tlie 
inhabitants, and gives to tlieir children a more com- 
plete education tlian many of them could otherwise 
have obtained. The first principal was Edward A. 
H. Allen, C. E., of Northborough, a teacher of ripe 
experience, who served until 1S82. He was suc- 
ceeded by Horace W. Rice, of Hopkinton, until 1888, 
and by Warren F. Gregory, of Wiucheudon, from 
1888 to the present time. 

Sherborn has been well supplied with brooks and 
early measures were taken by the town to encourage 
ihe erection of grist-mills and saw-mills upon them. 
The first mill, as just mentioned, was built by Thomas 
Sawin, on Chestnut Brook, in 1079, and others at 
later dates. These mills were of great advantage to 
tlie settlers in the young and growing community, 
and subsidies in land were frequently granted to 
those who would establish them. One of these mills, 
on Sewell's Brook, has been continued in use to the 
jiresent day, James H. Leland being the prtseiit pro- 
prietor. 

October 27, IGSl, it was " Voted by the Inhabitants 
that there shall be a division of so much of our com- 
mon land as is judged meet for a dividend .... if 
our honored Committee approve of it." Only a por- 
tion of the land comprising the area of the town was 
at first assigned to Ihe inhabitants, the remainder be- 
ing reserved for division among new inhabitants who 
were expected to settle here ; and the above note re- 
lated to one of these later divisions. It may be 
remembered that the town was at this time placed 
under the guardianship of a commi'.tee appointed by 
the General Court, principally on account of the dif- 
ficulties which arose concerning the location of the 
meeting-house. This committee, consisting of 
Thomas Savage, John Richards and William Stongh- 
ton, had the charge and direction of all the alfair.i of 
the town, civil as well as religious, for three years. 
Tliey approved and confirmed the above vote and 
gavesome directions concerning the manner of divid- 
ing the land fairly and equitably to both old and new 
inlulbitauts. 

Following is a "list of persons admitted to be In- 
habitants of Sherborn since its incorporation, willi 
the dates of admission ; " the dates in parentheses be- 
ing inserted, by the jiresent writer as the probable 
dates, none appearing in the town records : 

" Eiisisn Siiniuel Biillen, Eilward West, {1077) ; Joscpli Jlorso, (1C71) ; 
John I'erry, (iG71l) ; William Alluri ; Tliumus Eiiuli-s, J;in. 4, 1871 : .l.iliii 
rii-iitli, H luo 1,1677; Tlionius Olcnsun, S mo. 5, 1078; llopestill Lo- 
lari.l, U-l, li,7S; Kbenozer I.eliiQd, 11—1, 1078; Josi-pli TvMlcliill, 
11—1, 1078; Tliiiniiis I'riitt, soii.,2 mo., 107'J; William SlielH.-lcl, Miiy, 
ll"n ; Z;icrj- I'uililluror.l, 2 mo,, 107'J ; .lolill Eamcs, 2 mo., 1070 ; IxiM- 
Luulutd, 2 uio., 1070 ; Thouiiis I'lult, Jr., 2 mo., 107'J ; Tliumus Suniii, 



mo. 20, 1G79; JoimtliHil Whilney. 1070; Will Goddiiril, 9 imi. iO, 
107U ; lionoiii LBariiud, mo. 2a, 1070 ; Will Kidcr, mo. 20, 1070." 

This list has proved to bo of niucli v;ihie in deter- 
mining doubtful questions concerning the dates and 
even the factof residence of some of the persons men- 
tioned therein. 

An extract from the records of the General Court, 
October 11, 1682, states, " Whereas there is about 
fifty soldiers at Sherborne, in probability they will in- 
crease to a greater number in a short time, and they 
having no higher ofiicer than a Sarjant, it is ordered 
by this Court and the authority tliereof that Sargeant 
Edward West be Leiftenant to the said company and 
Jonathan Morse, Ensign, and they are to choose two 
sarjants, a drummer and clerk for the said company 
according as tlie law directs ; and that the said com- 
pany do belong to the regiment of Maj. Gookin, and 
ye Secretary is ordered to issue both commissions for 
them." 

February 3, 1095, at a meeting of the inhabitants 
of the town, the important work was consummated of 
voting to lay out and complete the exchange of land 
with Natick, which rendered this township more com- 
pact and of better form. Tliis was done in fulfill- 
ment of the agreement made in 1079, by which 400(1 
acres in the southwesterly part of Natick were added 
to Sherborn, and an equal quantity of land "adjoin- 
ing to Mauguncoog Indian Hill," near Hopkinton, 
and also 200 bushels of Indian corn, were conveyed 
to Natick in exchange. This was a valuable transac- 
tion for this town, whose territory had previously 
been narrow in that portion which contained the larg- 
est number of inhabitants. 

We now approach the year 1700, when an event oc- 
curred of great importance to the town. In common 
with all the earlier towns in the State, Sherborn con- 
tained a very large extent of land, and this extensive 
area rendered it diflicult for those persons near its 
borders to attend the religious and civil meetings of 
the town. As the number of inhabitants in these lo- 
calities increased by the addition of new settlers, a 
spirit of uneasiness began to appear among them, and 
finally a desire to form themselves into new towns, 
wiih privileges of their 6wn. Objections arose on the 
I)art of other iuhabilants of the town, as to the mode 
or place of division, or to any divisicm whatever. 
The older townsmen naturally desired to increase 
rather than to diminish their population, and also to 
retain all the tax-payers possible.^. We shall en- 
deavor to describe the result of this diversity of wishes 
and opinions. 

Previous to the year 1700 seventeen families re- 
siding on "Sherburne Row '' in the north part of this 
town, a portion of them adjoining " Mr. Danforth's 
farms," and others holding leases from Mr. Danforth, 
made propositions for separation in order that they 
might join the inhabitants of " Framingham planta- 
tions" in the formation of a new town. There was 
great oi)position to the project on the part of the 



698 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



people of Sheiborn, whose population was still small. 
It was decreed by the General Court some years pre- 
viously that "all other farms that are nighest Sher- 
born Meeting-house shall be likewise in the bounds 
of Sherborn, and do duty and receive privileges 
therein," the tract of land belonging to Thomas Dan- 
forth, Esq., Deputy-Governor, being however ex- 
cepted. This act gave to Sherborn a valid claim 
upon these families, and the town was naturally re- 
luctant to give them up. An effort was made by the 
town in 1()95 for an enlargementof their town bounds 
by the addition of " land joining to the farm of Henry 
Rice to make one township," embracing such farmers 
as were willing to join the township. It was proposed 
" to run a straight line from the south corner of Henry 
Rice's farm to the cartway crossing Cochituate brook, 
near where Course brook meets with Cochituate 
brook." This was evidently a plan to secure these 
inhabitants and their lands as permanent inhabitants 
of Sherborn ; but as we find no further record con- 
cerning it, no successful result was probably attained. 

Rev. Daniel Gookin sent to the Cieneral Court a 
remonstrance against the assignment of these families 
to the projected town of Framingham, and another 
remonstrance was presented by the inhabitants of 
Sherborn. The bounds of Sherborn in this direction 
appear never to have been well defined and the 
rights of territory thus became involved and uncer- 
tain, and these conditions led to a long and trouble- 
some dispute. 

The town of Framingham was incorporated in the 
year 1700, but it was not until June Ki, 1710, that the 
Court passed the order finally including the seven- 
teen tamilies within Framingham line, to be " ac- 
counted part of that town forever," and granting to 
Sherborn in compensation, 4000 acres of land we>t 
of Mendon. And so the great contention was settled 
in an equitable manner by the strong hand of the 
law. 

Should the town of Framingham be divided and a 
new town be formed at South Framingham, it is 
probable that Sherborn would be called upon to yield 
another portion of her territory to complete that 
township. 

One remarkable event in the history of a town, as 
in that of an individual person, is often followed by 
another similar event within a short time. We 
therefore soon find that the western inhabitants were 
increasing in numbers and were thiisting for privi- 
leges of their own. Their first concern referred to 
their lack of religious privileges. Their farms were 
situated at a long distance from the church, and they 
made representations in the town-meetings of the 
difficulty they often experienced in attending public 
worship. The town met their wants in an amicable 
spirit, and at first passed a vote March G, 1723, nulli- 
fying a vote previously passed to build a new meet- 
ing-house on the old spot, and deciding to erect it at 
a i)oint which would better accommodate these 



inhabitants " Who are Dwellers on ye West side of 
Dopping brook." But in the following November, 
the town " voted to nullifie and make void this vote 
of March 6, in consideration that the Form and Sit- 
uation of the Town is so ill Convenient, that one 
Meeting-house cannot be so placed as to suit the 
whole town, but that in time there will be need of 
two to accommodate the inhabitants." They also 
voted to build on the old spot and to levy £160 on 
the inhabitants for the purpose, at the same time 
agreeing to remit to these western inhabitants their 
proportion oT this sum " whenever they are sett off." 

In answer to petitions from these latter persona 
presented in June, 1724, showing the great inconve- 
nience they are under by reason of their great distance 
from the place of public worship, the said town being 
near twelve miles long and the meeting-house situ- 
uated at the easterly end, and praying that they be 
made a distinct and separate township, the General 
Court appointed a committee to investigate the mat- 
ter. The committee reported and recommended that 
the " western part be erected into a precinct," and 
also offered rules and restrictions for the new parish. 

The report was accepted, but the General Court voted 
that this western part shall be a town and not a pre- 
cinct, and that it be called Holliston in honor of the 
illu.strious Thomas HoUis, Esq., of London. John 
Goulding, a principal inhabitant, was empowered 
and directed to summon the qualified voters to meet 
"for the cliusing of town officers to stand until the 
next annual election according to law." This bill 
was pas-ed to be enacted by both Houses, Dec. 3, 
1724. And thus another child of the old town was 
started into the world to transact business on its own 
account. 

From this date there were but few events worthy 
of notice in the civil history of the town for many 
years. The regular business of the town was carried 
on. Meetings were held for business, as required by 
the laws of the Commonwealth ; new schools were 
established and old schools continued ; and much 
thought and labor were expended in the formation 
and improvement of the roads in the township. 

The population had increased during one hundred 
years from the first settlement, as we fiud that in the 
year 1764 there were 113 families and 630 inhabit- 
ants. 

Among the prominent citizens of the first quarter 
of the eighteenth century was Captain and Honorable 
Samuel Bullard, born in 1667, a son of Benjamin Bol- 
lard, the first settler of that name. For many years 
he acted as moderator of the town-meetings ; served 
nineteen years as selectman, five years as assessor and 
five years as representative to the General Court, 
where he aided in procuring the grant to the town of 
4000 acres west of Mendon. His was the controlling 
mind of that period and there is undoubted evidence 
of his talent and integrity. He died in 1727. 

He was succeeded later in that century by Joseph 



SHERBORN. 



699 



Twitchell, Esq., and Honorable Daniel Whitney, suc- 
cessively, both men of ability and high character. 
The former was captain in the militia, ccanmitsary for 
the army in the War of the Revolution, town clerk, se- 
lectman, representativeand magistrate. He was born 
in 1719 and died in 1792. The latter was a born 
leader of men and an able, patriotic citizen. Morse' 
gays, " He was early and long in public life, and during 
the Revolutionary struggle an etlicieut instrument in 
arousing and directing the energies of his fellow-citi- 
zens. He was a member of the Provincial Congress, 
1775; Represent.itive, 1776; member of the conven- 
tion to form the State Convention, 1780, and of that 
which adopted the Federal Constitution in 1788 ; aud 
between 1781 and 1799 he represented Sherborn 
fourteen years in the House, was for several sessions 
a member of the Senate, and repeatedly one of the 
Executive Council. As a magistrate he was much 
valued, and he passed away amidst the regrets of an 
extended acquaintance." He was born in 1733 aud 
died in 1810. 

His mantle fell upon Honorable Calvin Sanger, one 
of the most able and distinguished sons of Sherborn, 
whose career we notice in connection with those of 
his predecessors, although it was comprised within the 
early years of the present century. He was a son of 
Captain Samuel Sanger, a dignified, energetic and 
worthy inhabitant, and was born October 10, 17G8. 
He was not robust in health, but was endowed with 
natural gifts, sound common sense, a tenacious 
memory and excellent judgment. When, therefore, 
in the year 1806, a new leader of affairs was required, 
the minds of the townsmen unanimously turned to- 
wards him. In that year he was appointed a magis- 
trate and also a representative to the General Court, 
and for nearly thirty years he continued to be a 
member either of the House or the Senate. He also 
filled various town offices with full satisfaction, and 
was town clerk for twenty-five years. " In his care 
for the public he was vigilant, self-denying and per- 
severing, consulting the interests of the future as well 
as the present." 

When a company of cavalry was raised in the vicin- 
ity, he was chosen captain ; and he subsequently be- 
came colonel of cavalry. He died in 1835. 

The year 1754 is to be noted as the time of the ap- 
pearance of an uncommon disease of an epidemic 
character, called in Sherborn " the Memorable Mor- 
tality," and in Holliston "the Great Sickness." 
Nearly thirty lives were lost in this town by its rav- 
ages and filty-three in the town of Holliston, and 
alarm and despair were excited in the minds of the 
inhabitants. It appears to have been present during 
the whole year, but no deaths are recorded during the 
warmer season. The fatal months were January, 
February, March, April, November and December. 

The French and Indian War, from 1755 to 1763, 

' " Hisloiy of Slieiboin and Ilulliston, Boston," 1850. 



did not seriously affect this colony. Some of its 
young men served in these campaigns, aud we have 
been able to learn the names of fourteen who lived in 
Sherborn, besides two who were born here and settled 
in Mendon and Douglas. Among these were Benja- 
min Bullard, afterwards captain in the War of the 
Revolution, and Ensign Hezekiah Coolidge, a grad- 
uate of Harvard College in 1750, who died at Crown 
Point in December, 1761. 

In this, as in many other towns at that period, a 
company was raised which consisted of two bands, a 
"trained band" of sixty-six men and an "alarm 
band " of forty-one. The latter were wholly for home 
service, but from the ranks of the former were se- 
lected soldiers for active service as needed. And 
most of the fourteen men above mentioned wefe thus 
selected. Theofficersof the company were: Captain, 
Joseph Perry; Lieutenant, Amos Coolidge; and En- 
sign, Thomas Russell. 

The time of greatest trial to these colonists as well 
as those of the whoie country, came with the War of 
the Revolution. Great as was their attachment lo 
the mother country, and reluctant as they were to 
sever the strong bonds which held them to allegiance, 
still the exactions of the home government were be- 
coming too onerous to be borne. The people of the 
colonies began seriously to consider the necessity of 
throwing off the yoke. Sherborn was ready now, as 
ever, to do its part in contributing men and means to 
support the great struggle for what it deemed to be 
just and right. 

As early as 1774 a Committee of Correspondence 
was chosen, and also commitiees to attend the county 
conferences at Concord and Cambridge, and to pro- 
cure a field-piece. Three cannon procured by the 
latter committee, instead of a six-pounder, were ac- 
cepted by the town, and it was voted " that the com- 
mittee prove them at the town's expense, and fire the 
biggest as soon as may be, with all the necessaries 
that may be needed." Many other votes were after- 
wards passed, showing that the people were animated 
to a high degree with the spirit which finally achieved 
the independence of the Colonies. In 1776 it was 
voted to extend relief to the poor of Boston, then be- 
sieged by the enemy, and to find places for them to 
live in. A company of minute-men was raised, and 
£8 granted to provide ammunition for the cannon. As 
soon as the news reached this town of the confiict at 
Lexington, April 19, 1775, the minute-men proved 
themselves worthy of their title by marching imme- 
diately to meet the assailants. The officers of this 
company were: Benjamin r)ullard, captain; Aaron 
(iardner, lieutenant; and Joshua Leland, ensign. 
There were four sergeants, four corporals aud forty 
privates. The names of all arc recorded in the 
archives of the State. 

This company, with some alterations in its member- 
ship, served for some time afterwards, whenever 
needed, at the siege of Boston, at Bunker Hill and, 



700 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



other engagements. A large proportion of the able- 
bodied men of the town became soldiers, and Sher- 
born names are found in the lists of thot^e engaged at 
Ticonderoga, White Plains, West Point, Brandywine 
in the expeditions to Rhode Island in 1779-80 and in 
other battles. Seven brothers, the sons of Mr. Samuel 
Clark, enlisted as soldiers and served, on an average, 
over three years per man. 

In May, 1776, the town voted that if Congress de- 
cided to declare the colonies independent of Great 
Britain, tiie people would, with their lives and foriuiies, 
endeavor to supjjort them in that measure. And 
Daniel Whitney, their representative, was instructed, 
to act accordingly. 

When the question of the adoption of the Federal 
Constitution arose, Sherborn sent Daniel Whitney to 
the State convention held in Boston, in 1788, wii.h 
general instructions, which conclude as follows : 

" But, sir, we mean not to give you positive instruc- 
tions relative to your voting for or against the re- 
ported Constitution. When as-embled, you will have 
the collected wisdom of the State before you ; will 
hear all that can be said on the subject, and conse- 
quently be able to form a judicious opinion. And 
having the fullest confidence in your political wis- 
dom, integrity and patriotism, we cheerfully, on our 
part, submit the all important question to your decis- 
ion. And we beseech the All-wise Governor of the 
world to take the Convention under his holy inHii- 
ence, that so the result may be the best good of the 
people of the United States of America." And that 
honorable member was one of the majority who voted 
in favor of this great charter of our freedom. 

In 1781 an entry in the town records states that 
the salary of Rev. Elijah Brown for one year, ending 
March 1, 1781, was £73 6i. 8d., equ.al to £2,933 6s. Sd., 
Continental currency. This shows the depreciation 
which the latter hud suffered, and that it took more 
than £40 of that currency to equal £1 of sound 
money. Although made necessary by the circum- 
stances of the times, it presents a powerful ai-gument 
against the establishment of an irredeemable cur- 
rency. 

In the year 1786 occurred Shays' Rebellion in Mass- 
achusetts, on account of supposed political griev- 
ances. It was headed and commanded by Daniel 
Shays, of Hopkinton, and for a while assumed rather 
formidable proportions. The inhabitants of this 
town, in the interests of liberty and order, furnished 
their quota of officers and privates to the troops com- 
jnanded by Gen. Lincoln. 

" Mr. John Ware, of Sherborn, acted as adjutant in 
this expedition. Being sent with orders to a distance 
from Lincoln's army, he stopped for refreshment at a 
tavern in or near Brookfield where there happened 
to be a small i)arty of insurgents, who took him 
prisoner and confined him in an upper room of the 
house, while they kept guard below. In the course 
of the day. Ware saw from his prison a company of 



cavalry approaching, which he soon recognized as 
being on the side of the Government. He hailed 
them from a window of his apartment and made them 
acquainted with his situation. The house was im- 
mediately surrounded, the Sluiysites surrendered at 
discretion, and W. was enabled to accomplish the 
object of his mission." 

When President Washington mada his tour through 
New England in 1789, he was entertained in this town 
by Capt. Samuel Sanger, a prominent and patriotic 
citizen and father of Hon. Calvin Sanger ; and the 
old house and the room occupied by the distinguished 
guest were standing a few years since and excited 
mucli interest in the minds of visitors. 

In the year 1807 and 1808, when one hundred 
thousand militia were called by the President, to be 
in readiness in case of invasion, the town voted to 
add to the pay of the soldiers of their quota a sum 
sutficient to make their whole pay, when in actual 
service, twelve dollars per mouth. And in 1814, when 
hostilities were in progress with England, this sum 
was increased to fifteen dollars per month. The chief 
duty performed by our soldiers was in garrison in the 
forts of Boston Harbor. 

As there was no event in the annals of the town 
for several years which it is important to record, we 
will now give an account of the physicians of Sher- 
born, commencing with a list of their names. 

Jonathan Fairbank, 1G85-1719 ; Eleazer Hill, from 
about 1712 ; Jonathan Tay, 1772-1827 ; Samuel 
Locke, from about 1783-88; Tapley Wyeth, 1784- 
1813; William Sweetser, from about 1818; Olivir 
Everett, 1825-52; Albert H. Blanchard, 1852 to 
the present time. 

Dr. George W. Dennett has also resided in the 
north part of the town since 18G3, and Dr. Wm. P. 
Sylvester in the southern portion since 1877. 

During the eighteenth century and the early year.i 
of the nineteenth century several other physicians 
have resided here ; but little information can be gained 
concerning them or the dates of their sojourn. 
Notices occur of the names of Drs. Wilson, Lincoln, 
Sheppard, Levet, Blodget, Flagg, Wise and Wight. 

Dr. Jonathan Fairbank v^as an important ma,n in 
his day. Besides his practice as physician, he was 
selectman seven years and town clerk three years. It 
is supposed that he lived in the old stone house north 
of Bogistow Pond ; and he was drowned by falling 
through the ice while crossing the river from Medtield 
in the night. 

Dr. Jonathan Tay came from Salem, settled in the 
west part of the town and had an extensive practice. 
He served as selectman twelve years and resided here 
fifty-five years. 

Dr. Samuel Locke was a son of Rev. Dr. Locke, 
the fourth pastor of the church in Sherborn. He 
lived but a few years after he became a physician. 

Dr. Wyeth was an eminent physician and a valu- 
able citizen. He was especially interested in the 



SIIEKBORN. 



roi 



cause of education. He served sis years as selectman, 
and as representative in llie year 1813. 

Dr. Sweetser was a thoroughly educated man and 
])0!:sessed literary ta.stes. He remained here " ibr a 
considerable time," probably six or seven years, and 
!eft to accept a professorshii) in the \'ermoiJt Univer- 
sity at Burlington. 

Dr. Everett was born in Dedham November 11, 
17D8; graduated at Brown University in 1821, and 
received his degree of M.D. from Dartmouth College. 
He settled in Sherborn in 1825, by invitation of the 
town, and for many years had an extensive practice 
in this and adjoining towns. In fact, his practice was 
too large for his own welfare, and his life was prob- 
ably shortened by the great amount of work he per- 
formed. He was a man uuiversally respected and was 
very jiopular as a jihysician. Morse, in his "History of 
t^herborn " and Holliston, says : " His worth became 
inefldceably stamped upon the minds and hearts of 
the entire community, and no man of his generation 
ever fell in Sherborn whose death was so uuiversally 
and deeply lamented." He died December 12, 1851. 
He was appointed surgeon M. V. M. April 25, 1825. 

The present writer, also after invitation by a com- 
mittee of citizens, came to this town from Boston, his 
native place, December 19, 1851, and has remained 
here in practice to this day with the exception of two 
years during the Civil War, for the greater part of 
which time he served as surgeon of the Third Massa- 
chusetts Cavalry. 

In the year 1847 occurred (lie reunion of a very 
large number of the descendants of Henry Leland, 
previously noticed when describing their ancestor. 

In 1852 "Pine Hill Cemetery " was dedicated. 

Sherborn has, from the earliest times, set apart lots 
of land for use as cemeteries. The old burial-[)laces 
were seven in number, namely : the ancient South 
Cemetery, which received the body of the venerable 
Hopestill Layland (born in 1580), in 1(355 ; the Cen- 
tral Cemetery, IGSiJ ; the Farm, which was first used 
after the death of Daniel Morse, Sr., in 1688 ; the 
Brush Hill, 1785; the New South, 17ii0; the Plain, 
1792 ; and the West Sherborn, about 1825. 

In general, these lots were bare and uninviting 
spots, devoid of beauty or attraction, as was often the 
case in New England towns. Before the middle of 
the present century the subject of a more modern, 
rural cemetery was seriously consiUered and finally 
urged by some of the inhabitants. Prominent among 
these was the lamented Dr. Everett, by whom a loca- 
tion was most judiciously chosen on Pine Hill, con- 
venient to the centre of the town and yet .sullicienlly 
secluded from public view. The gravelly and mine- 
ral character of the soil, combined with a natural 
drainage, render it peculiarly suitable as a place of 
interment. An association was formed, about ten 
acres of land were purchased and the grounds were 
tastefully laid out by Captain Jacob Pratt, the supcr- 
iuteudeut, who had a deep interest iu the work, and 



had also selected the same spot for the cemetery inde- 
pendently of Dr. Everett. 

On the 19lh day of May, 1852, the "Pine 
Hill Cemetery " was consecrated with suitable exer- 
cises, an address being given by Uev. Edmund Dowse 
to a multitude of interested citizens. Among the re- 
mains first deposited there were those of Dr. Everett 
himself, who, when selecting this locality, may pos- 
sibly have had a premonition that his life might not 
long continue. 

This cemetery has always been a source of great 
satisfaction to the i)coi)le, and continues to be a 
chosen place Ibr interment. 

The commendable desire to preserve memorials of 
the ancient worthies of the town had in-^pired various 
persons, and notably ltev.AbuerMor.se, author of the 
" History of Sherborn and Holliston," to urge upon 
their descendants the sacred duty of preserving the 
tombstones of the founders and prominent men of 
Sherborn, or when this could not be done, to erect 
new monuments to their memory either on the origi- 
nal spot or in some other appropriate place. With 
this purpose in view, Calvin P. Sanger, Esq., a latu 
inhabitant, who did much for the welfare of the town, 
caused the remains of the first three ministers to be 
taken up from the old Central Burying-Ground, long 
disused and neglected, and interred in the new Pine 
Hill Cemetery beneath a marble monument bearing 
these inscriptioLs: 

" Erected to the memory of the first three ministers 
of the church in Sherborn, Whose remains together 
with those of their families were removed from the 
Central burying-ground to this Cemetery, St-pt. 15, 
1857." Ou the second face, " liev. Daniel Gookin, 
first minister of the Church in Sherborn, graduated 
at Harvard College in l(Jt)9, was a Fellow for eight 
years, and was ordained March 20, 1()85. He was 
distinguished for his tenderness and fidelity to his 
people, and for an eminent Christian example. He 
died Jan. 8, 1718, aged 67 years." On the thiid face, 
"Uev. Daniel Baker, second minister of the Church 
in Sherborn, graduated at Harvard College in 1706, 
and was ordained iu 1712. He was fervent in i>rayer, 
powerful as a preacher, deeply interested in his la- 
bors, allable, and resigned under trial. He died May 
14, 1731, aged 45 years." And on the fourth face, 
" Rev. Samuel Porter, third minister of the Church 
in Sherborn, graduated at Harvard College in 1730, 
and was ordained Oct. 23, 1734. He was a man of 
rare mental endowments, an earnest [ireacher, an 
allectionate and devoted pastor, and a shining exam- 
ple of the Christian life. He died Se|)t. 16, 1758, 
aged 49 years." 

As before mentioned, soon after the erection of the 
above monument, upon a representation made by the 
Cemetery Association, the authorities of Harvard 
College placed there a solid block of granite over the 
remains of Rev. Dr. Locke, which were removed from 
their original resting place, and the marble headstone 



702 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



in the old Central Cemetery was at the same time re- 
moved and maybe found near the granite moimment. 
Upon the latter is inscribed "Samuel Locke, S.T.D. 
Died Jan. 15, 1777. Pres. of Har. Coll., 1770-3." 

Upon application of the proprietors this cemetery 
and also the other cemeteries in town belonging to 
associations were accepted by the town ; and it was 
voted, April 9, 1888, to assume control of them if de- 
sired by said a.s.sociations. 

In ancient times, and even to a comparatively re- 
cent date, the staled meetings of the inhabitants for 
the transaction of the busine.ss of the town were held 
in the public meeting-house, which belonged to the 
towu. ■ The town and parish business was conducted 
in the same meeting, and the town records contained 
also the records of the parish until August, 18U9. In 
the year 1830 the town purchased of the proprietors 
the first academy building, which had been erected 
by subscription for the accommodation of a private 
high school, and the public town-meetings were held 
in it lor several years. But finally the building had 
become old and worn, and also of insufficient size for 
the increasing numbers of the inhabitants, and it was 
evident that better accommodations must be pro- 
vided. The subject was discussed, and it was de- 
cided that the town-house must be repaired and 
enlarged, or that a new building must be erected. 

But before any definite action was taken the propo- 
sition of the executors of the will of Thomas Dowse 
was received and accepted, and their consent ob- 
tained to invest the amount in a new town-house 
which should contain a suitable room for the use 
of the proposed high school. The town agreed 
to pay, as interest, a sum sufficient to support the 
school for four months in each year. Thus was the 
town providentially aided in a highly important 
work, only a small additional outlay being required 
to complete the building. It stands on the old site 
of the school-house at the southeast corner of the 
Common. It is a neat structure of sutficieut size for 
the wants of the town for many years, and contains a 
large hall for meetings and lectures, a good school- 
room, ante-rooms and a room for a public library. 
It was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies, Dec. 
23, 1858. Having been injured by fire, it was re- 
dedicated June 17, 187(3, and the day was also cele- 
brated with addresses and music in recognition cf 
the centennial anniversary of the battle of Bunker 
Hill. 

In the year 1859 " The Sherborn Widows' and Or- 
phans' Benevolent Society" was founded, chiefly by 
means of a handsome donation made by Calvin P. 
Sanger, Esq. "Its object shall be to aid such indi- 
gent widows and orphans," frays its constitution, "as 
may from time to time be residents of Sherborn; and 
such other persons, whether males or females, who, 
though reduced to necessitous circumstance.^, would 
shrink from a resort to the town for support; but it 
is not intended that this charity shall in any way or 



manner relieve the town of its duty to its poor." 
The society was organized October 19, 1859, under a 
general law of the Commonwealth. It has been the 
means of great benefit to the class of persons referred 
to, the annual interest of the fund being appropri- 
ated, by a vote of the Board of Managers at each 
regular meeting held for that purpose. The society 
is still in existence, and still continues its benevolent 
work. In the year 1890 it received a handsome 
bequest from the estate of the late Aaron Green- 
wood. 

For many years there had been a library in the 
town, owned by an association of individuals, called 
the Social Librarj', and afterwards the Proprietors' 
Library. It was first established in the year 1808, and 
was useful in its day, furnishing to many the means 
of literary culture and enjoyment. At a later date an 
association of farmers and others, interested in agri- 
culture and horticulture, collected a library of books 
devoted to those subjects. Soon after the passage of 
an act by the Legislature, allowing towns to establish 
public libraries, the members of these associations ex- 
pressed a willingness to present their collections to 
the town for the purpose of forming the nucleus of a 
town library. The proposition being favorably re- 
ceived by the peyple, the associations presented a pe- 
tition to the town at a regular meeting, held March 5, 
18(50, for the establishment of a public library, ac- 
companied with the offer of the gift of both libraries 
(comprising 573 volumes), provided it would comply 
with the request and conform to the full provisions 
of the State law on the subject. The town cheerfully 
granted the jietition, and made an appropriation for 
the foundation of the library. At a subsequent meet- 
ing, held April 2d, articles of organization were 
adopted, and also rules and regulations for the gov- 
ernment of the library. It was decieed that the man- 
agement should be vested in seven trustees, to be an- 
nually elected by the town, who should have power to 
fill vacancies in their own board, and who shimid 
hold office until their successors were chosen. The 
library was opened for the use of the inhabitants in 
the following month of June. Annual grants of 
money by the town have secured the addition of new 
books, and great satisfaction has been derived by the 
citizens from this popular institution. The whole 
number of volumes March 1, 1890, was 4000, inclu- 
ding many works of reference. This small town de- 
serves credit for its early adoption of the State law, 
and it takes pride and pleasure in this material aid to 
education. In the year 1<S90 the library received a 
liberal contribution bequeathed by the late Aaron 
Greenwood, a life-long inhabitant of the town. 

The year 1801 is an era long to be remembered. 
The feeling of dissatisfaction in the Southern States, 
which had long been existing, came to a climax, 
and precipitated upon the cation the tremendous bur- 
den of a civil war. The crisis must be met, and it 
devolved upon the Northern and Western States to 



SHERBORN. 



703 



preserve the iiitpgrily of the Union. The President 
issued his prochimatiou for troops, and each State and 
town must furnish its quota of men. Sherborn had 
always performed her duty in great emergencies; she 
did it now, and we can turn with just pride to her 
honorable record of those days. 

As early as May 1, 18(il, at a town-meeting called 
for the purpose, a committee was a[)pointed to pre- 
pare the following resoluiious, which were unani- 
mously adopted : 

" n'het-eiu, tlie stability of the Government of tile United States is 
placed ill great danger liyan armed rebellion in j^evenil of the Southern 
Alatet<, Ilireateniiig the destruction of our national capital and uutiooal 
prosperily, and u resort to aruied rejsibtunce has become necessary for 
the preseivatiun of our lives and liberty ; and ubereas, by proclaniution 
from the I'resideiit of the United States, the Commonwealth of Massa- 
chusetls is called upon for her share in the coniliiou defence, therefore, 

" littfikot, ttial the people of this town jjlace the most perfect re- 
liance and trust in the present form of our tioverununt, that we believe 
it to have been founded in wisdom and patriotism, and that we will 
throw aside all party feeling, aud, with a firm reliance on the blessing 
of God, jiledge our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor to ujihold 
aud perpetuate the Goverument aud institutions of the United States. 

" Jienotied, that the town of Sherborn appropriate two thousand dol- 
lars to fit out aud furnish all uecessary clothing for all those persona who 
have or may hereafter volunteer aa soldiers in s,tid town, or who may be 
drafted iuto ser^'icti from said town, aud to provide for their fauiiliea in 
their absence." 

At the same time a vote was passed intrusting the 
e.\[)euditure of this sum to a committee consisting of 
the selectmen and seven other citizens. It was also 
voted to guarantee to all volunteers and drafted men 
such a payment as with the Government pay should 
amount to .':^17 per month. 

A military school was formed for drill under the 
direction of an instructor, and aid in meeting the ex- 
pense was granted by the town. In November, 18G1, 
live hundred dollars was granted towards the support 
of families of volunteers. In 18U2 a bounty of §175 
was offered to each volunteer from the town. Fre- 
ipient bieetings were held during the same year, at 
which addresses were given by public speakers on the 
subject of the war. In 1863 j^SOUO were granted for 
aid to volunteers, and in 18(54 $2000 for the same pur- 
pose. 

Private subsci'iptions and contributions also were 
forthcoming, and they supplemented the appropria- 
tions of the town. 

All these records show that Sherborn was animated 
with patriotic feelings aud wa-s ready to tissume her 
full share of the burden which the war laid upon 
thousands of loyal towns in the Union States. 
Eighty-two of her citizens were enrolled in the army, 
and of this number nineteen laid down their lives in 
the battle-field, the hospital and the prison. ()f tho.se 
who lived to return to their homes, many came with 
shattered health, and there are but very few who do 
not bear the marks of wounds or the eflfects of disease 
contracted by the hardships and exposures of a sol- 
dier's life. 

The memory of those trying times can never be ob- 
literated from the minds of those who took part in 



the great conflict; but the establishment and yearly 
observance of Memorial Day have served to keep 
fresh in the hearts of all i>eoi)le the hallowed events 
of those days. That anniversary has always been 
sacredly kept by the veterans of Sherborn, and since 
1885 has, by vote of the town, been observed as a 
public commemoration ; the old siddiers, assisted by 
a Post of the Grand Army of the Republic from one 
of the neighboring towns, taking the leading part in 
the exercises of the day, aud in decoraung the graves 
of those who have passed away from the field of life. 

In the year 1SG8 a lodge (No. 2'J7) of the Independ- 
ent Older of Good Templars, a temperance organiza- 
tion, was formed in the town and continued its useful 
work for about twenty years, when, on account of the 
removal of members to other places and of other 
causes, it was dissolved. The plan for celebrating the 
second centennial anniver.sary of the incor|)oralion of 
the town in 1874, was inaugurated by this brother- 
hood, and its successful execution was largely due to 
their efforts. The lodge was named "The Oliver 
Everett Lodge," in respect to the memory of the late 
physician of the town. 

In 1869 the Sherborn Musical Association was 
formed chiefly for the purpose of taking part in the 
World's Peace Jubilee in Boston. It also assisted in 
the second jubilee in 1872, and its members have been 
called together on several similar occasions of lesser 
magnitude since that date. It has also furnished 
vocal music frequently on jiublic occasions within the 
town, to the benetit of ihe community and the im- 
provement of ils members. The cultivation of the 
art of music has always received much attention 
among the people of the town. 

The Sherborn Review Club was formed September 
11, 1874, by a number of ladies and gentlemen who 
met to consider a plan for the circulation of maga- 
zines and reviews among the members. Simple by- 
laws were adopted at the second meeting aud oflicers 
chosen for the management of the business. It has 
been a very popular and useful association and has 
continued to the present day, furnishing to its mem- 
bers a great variety of the best periodical literature. 
The number of members has varied from sixteen to 
twenty. When several other persons applied for 
membeiship they were advised to form a new club 
rather than adil to the numbers of the old one, and 
thus inconveniently increase the length of time for 
the circulation of the magazines. They accepted the 
suggestion, and the Sherborn Literary Club was or- 
ganized in November, 1SS2. 

During the years following the close of the Civil 
War the number of convicts in Massachusetts was 
steadily increasing. The prisons were overcrowded 
and there was no opportunity for the reformatiou of 
any of the inmates. The attention of a number of 
influential ladies who had been interested in the con- 
dition of prisoners was directed to this fact and they 
resolutely commenced action to bring about a differ- 



70-4 



HISTORY OF 5IIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



ent state of affairs. Prominent among these ladies 
was Mrs. E. C. Jolinson, the present superintendent 
of tlie Reformatory Institution for AVomen. They 
])etilioned the Legislature in 1870 fur a separate place 
of foiiliiiement for women, with a view to their refor- 
mation. Ill the same year Rev. Kdmuiid Dowse, of 
Slierborn, then a member of the Senate and chairman 
of the Committee on Prisons, presented a bill " to 
provide separate prisons for women and for the cla-si- 
lic.ition and better discipline of prisoners." The bill 
became a law Juno 15, 1870. The experiment was 
first tried in the county jail at Greenlield, a separate 
portion of which was assigned to female prisoners. 
But after an experience of two years the authorities 
were satisfied that the plan could be successfully exe- 
cuted only in an insti-ution devoted wholly to this 
purpose. Therefore, in 1874, another bill was enacted 
authorizing the prison commissioners to select a site on 
which to erect a suitable reformatory for three hundred 
prisoners. This was no easy task, but finally a spot 
was chosen in this town, near its northern boundary 
and near the village of South Framingham, a great 
railroad centre. Sufticient quiet and seclu.-iou was 
thus secured, and at the same time easy access to a 
railroad station from which diverge lints to all those 
portions of the State which furnish the largest number 
of prisouers to such an institution. Work was com- 
menced on the laud in the autumn of 1874, and the 
buildings were erected and ready for occupancy in 
1877. They are ench three stories in height and are 
three in number, being 330 feet, 41)0 feet and 240 feet 
in length, respectively. Besides these buildings for 
the inmates there are several houses for the use of the 
officers and employees. 

The prisoners are all classified and an admirable 
system of grading stimulates their ambition. They 
are offered incentives to well-doing and imjirovement, 
by the bestowal of privileges and favors, and are thus 
led and encouraged to a desire for a better life. The 
superintendent, Mrs. Ellen C. Johnson, possesses 
much executive ability, and it is all needed in the 
uumagement of this extensive institution. She is in- 
terested in the work, personally supervises the various 
branches of labor and of discipline, and is doing ex- 
cellent service to the large number of inmates as well 
as to the State. She has occupied her position since 
188."!, the former superintendents being Mrs. E. A. At- 
kinson, Dr. Eliza M. Moshcr and Miss Clara Barton. 

At the corner of the road leading from Framing- 
ham, adjacent to the prison grounds, stands the \V 
stone on the boundary line between Sherburn and 
Framingham. it is a well-known landmark in this 
region and is worthy of notice. As early as January, 
1083, mention is made in the records of Sherborn of 
the W tree. This tree was a large black oak and was 
so called because that letter was carved upon it, the 
wheel-tracks of the two diverging roads forming the 
letter. It served to mark the bounds at that spot for 
a great number of years, but finally became decayed. 



and its remains were removed in 1822, and the present 
stone was erected in its place by Galim Bullard, an 
ancient inhabitant of that portion of the town, who 
was born in 1705 and lived until 1853. 

In the same quartt-r of the town, in the year 1SS2, 
there was an event of great importance, which 
ciianged the whole aspect and condition of that small 
outlying district. Previous to that date the land be- 
tween the county r.iad leading to FVamingham and 
the northern point of Sherborn, which projects in a 
triangular form between Framingham and Natick, 
had but five or six houses upon it. This triangle 
comprises more than one hundred acres, a portion of 
which was arable laud, and the remainder low, 
swampy land, through which flows Beaver-dam Brook. 
It was one of the spots the most unlikely to be se- 
lected as a site fur a vilbige. But circumstances 
favored the selection, as will shortly be seen. 

The Para Rubber Company, of Bovton, had erected 
a large manufactory in South Framingham, not far 
distant from the Sherborn line. A large number of 
operatives was to be employed and the greater part of 
them were not previously residtnls of this locality 
and must Le provided with i)liices of residence. The 
owner of a lot of laiul within the Sherborn triangle, 
before mentioned, made arrangements with the Para 
Company to erect several blocks of tenements on his 
land lor the use and occupancy of the persons and 
families who worked in the manufactory, the couf- 
jjany guaranteeing the i)ayment of the rent. This 
was the beginning. Before long some other proprie- 
tors of land erecttd cottages to be rented, and also 
sold land to others who built more houses, either for 
themselves or other persons, until in the couise of 
two years a large number of buildings stood on the 
land which had never before been occupied for any 
purpose except that of agriculture. The number of 
persons thus added to the town is estimated at 300, 
and the staid old town was not a little disturbed at 
this influx of unsought residents. It became neces- 
sary to build new roads and to build a new school- 
house f 'r the younger children, the older ones being 
sent to the old school-nouse, which had never before 
been filled. The town had also to assist and care for 
many poor people, who, from sickness or lack of 
work were unable to support themselves. At the same 
time these people, allhougli living in Sherborn are 
not a part of it, as their interests all centre in Frani- 
inghaiu. An effort is now being made, by petition to 
the Legislature of 1800, to take from Sherborn this 
territory and another larger strip of land, amounting 
in all to 575 acres, and add it to the town of Fram- 
ingham. It is doubtful if this transfer is accom- 
plished on account of the large area of land men- 
tioned in the petition ; while if the triangle alone had 
been asked for, it might have been granted. A great 
amount of interest is felt in the subject and it is a 
topic of frequent discussion between the inhabitants 
of the town. 



SHERBORN. 



705 



III the year 1SS3, Grange No. 110 of the Patrons of 
Husbandry was established in this town. This order 
is intended to advance the interests of farmers, and 
is well adapted to this community, where agriculture 
is the chief pursuit. It is emphatically a fraternal 
order, and both se.xes are rej)respnted in its member- 
ship, which adds much to the interest of its meetings. 
These meetings are held twice a month and ore de- 
voted to discussions and readings on agricultural and 
literary subjects, interspersed with music and singing. 
The object in view is the improvement of its mem- 
bers in mental discipline and in social intercourse, 
and also the advancement of their business by the 
benefits of co operation. This Grange is in a flourish- 
ing condition, the number of its members having 
constantly increased from the beginning, until in 
February, 1890, it amounts to 128 person.s. The first 
Master was Norman B. Douglas, a native of Vermont 
and a resident of this town since 1878, who has al- 
ways taken a lively interest in its welfare. He was 
one of its original members and was one of the chief 
promoters of the plan to introduce the order here. 
He has also been actively interested in the order 
throughout the State, and has been chosen Master of 
the State Grange for the year 1890, a position of 
honor and respousibiliUy. After a service of three 
years at the head of Sherborn Grange, he was suc- 
ceeded a.s Master by (ieorge L. Whitney, a native of 
the town and a prominent and interested member, 
who was also chosen for three successive years to the 
post. In the year 1889 this chair was filled by 
Jonathan Eames, a life-long resident of Sherborn, 
and one of the original and active members, through 
whom the advantages and principles of the Grange 
were first introduced to our citizens. He was re- 
elected for 1890, and therefore remains at the head 
of the order in this town. The ladies of the Grange 
have an auxiliary association, devoted to a promotion 
of the material prosperity of the order, and they have 
contributed in no small degree to that object. 

Sherborn is a border town in the county, and this 
Grange belongs to a district association called the 
Middlesex and Norfolk Union (Grange, which em- 
braces several towns in this vicinity. Monthly 
meetings are held and a special feeling of fellowship 
exists among its members, who fieriuently visit the 
meetings of other (iranges than their own witliiu 
the Uuion. 

Sherborn is situated in the .southern part of the 
county and about twenty-one miles southwest of 
Boston. It borders on Charles River, which separates 
it from the county of Norfolk. Until the year 1870 
it had no railroad connection with other towns, the 
nearest station being at Nalick, on the .Vlbany Rail- 
road, three miles distant, with which communication 
was had by stage. In that year the .Mansfield and 
Framingham Railroad was completed and was opened 
for travel in February, to the great convenience of 
the citizens, who thus had ea.sy connections with 
45 



other roads running in all directions. After a con- 
siderable time, in the year 1883, this road, together 
with the railroad from Mansfield to New Bedford, 
and that from South Framingham to Fitchburg, were 
purchased by the GUI ('olony Railroad Company and 
became its Northern Division, thus cunstituting a con- 
tinuous line of road from New Bedford to Filchburg, 
under one management. A new road is in contempla- 
tion by the Old Colony Company, which will probably 
connect Sherborn with some point on the Dedham 
Branch of its Providence Division and thus give an 
additional means of communcation with Boston. .V 
second track is about to be constructed on the old 
road, to accommodate the increasing business of th's 
line. At New Bedford connection is made with 
steamboats for Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket 
and at Fall River with boats for New York City. 

Sherborn is well supplied with weekly local news- 
t papers, the Shcrbnni Tribune and Slierborn Mirror 
having a large circulation among its inhabitants for 
some years i>ast. And before the e.'*tablisbment of 
these journals, newspapers from Natick and Fram- 
ingham were sent to this town. The Framingham 
Gazette still has subscribers here. 

In 1882 the proprietors of the Nutirk liutbiin, J. B. 
Fairbanks & Son, commenced the publication of an 
edition of their newspaper ilevoted in jiart to the in- 
terests of Sherborn and calleil the Slierborit Mirror. 
It has been continued to the present day and has a 
large circulation in this town. For a few years past 
it has been under the sole mauagementof Mr. George 
C. Fairbanks. 

In the year 1883 the Sherborn Tribune was estab- 
lished by Charles J. McPherson, of the Fr'imingham 
Tribune, the first copy being issued on the 27th of 
October of that year. The present editor and pro- 
prietor, Mr. Charles F. Adams, of Sherborn, became 
connected with it as a correspondent in 1884, became 
a.ssociate editor in ISS.'i, and finally purchased it in 
December, 1885. In 1887 the newspaper was trans- 
ferred to the Niitiek- Citizen, under which manage- 
ment it was issued until 1889, when Mr. Adamsagain 
became its proprietor. It has a large list of subscrib- 
ers in the town. 

The 10th day of October, 1888, witnessed a highly 
interesting and noteworthy celebration. It was the 
fiftieth annivers.iry of the ordination of Dr. HdraUnd 
Dowse as pastor of the Pilgrim Church, and the 
arrangements made for the day were most successfully 
carried out. Nearly all the inhabitants of the town 
were interested in the event and all circumstances 
conspired to render the celebration one of the largest 
and most enjoyable that have ever occured here. It 
was indeed a jubilee. The day was ushered in by the 
ringing of bells and the booming of cannon. Before 
ten o'clock, the hour for the opening exerci.ses, people 
were arriving from all quarters, both by railroad train 
and by private carriage. X<it only the residents of 
the town came, but former parishioners, friends and 



VIX! 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



brother clergymen from surrounding towns aa well as 
some from distant towns; members of the Senate of 
Miissachusetta, to which Dr. Dowse formerly be- 
longed and of which he is still chaplain ; and also 
the chajdain and some members of the House of 
Rei)resentatives. Rev. Dauiel 8. Talcolt, professor 
in the Theological Seminary at Bangor, Maine, the 
predecessor of Dr. Dowse in this pastorate, was here, 
and gave an address which carried his hearers back 
more than fifty years. He was present at the ordi- 
nation half a century since and some laymen were 
also present on this day who attended the original 
ceremonies. 

Skilled performers furnished the music, and after 
the opening exercises a cordial address of welcome 
was delivered by Rev. Amos H. Coolidge, of Leicester, 
Mass., a native of this town who grew up under the 
teachings of Dr. Dowse. An address by the pastor 
appropriately followed, and then the chief address of 
the day, by Dr. Geo. M. Adams, of HoUiston, repre- 
senting the association of clergymen of this district. 
Original hymns, which were sung by the congre- 
gation, were written for the occasion by Rev. George 
G. Phipps,of Wellesly, and Rev. ^Villiam M. Thayer, 
of Franklin. 

The afternoon session was devoted chiefly to short 
addresses after the delivery of a regular address by 
Dr. E. B. Webb, of Boston. Many genial remarks 
were made by clergymen, Senators and old friends, 
and great enthusiasm and good feeling prevailed. A 
pastorate of fifty years is so r.<irely known, in this 
century at least, that the occasion was one of great 
rejoicing among the numerous friends of Dr. Dowse. 
There is but one other clergyman in this Common- 
wealth whose service approaches that period of 
time. 

A reception after the close of the services and a 
social reunion in the town-hall in the evening, 
pleasantly crowned and completed the exercises of 
the day — a day which will fill a prominent place in 
the annals of the town. 

Mr. Dowse is still in active service in his fifty- 
third year as pastor and in his eleventh consecutive 
year as chaplain of the Senate. 

Farm Lake is a beautiful sheet of water, with 
clean, gravelly shores, in the eastern part of the town. 
From the earliest times it has been a favorite resort 
for amateur fishermen of this and neighboring towns. 
An ancient inhabitant of that portion of the town 
about the year 1700 was so much devoted to fishing 
that the town jestingly voted to grant him the privi- 
lege of fishing there constantly. Within a few years 
this lake has been stocked with black bass. Its area 
is about 200 acres. From the time when the custom 
of holding jiicnic-parties was lir.st introduced, this 
hiis been a chosen resort for peojile of this town and 
of many other towns in this vicinity. Pleasure boats 
have been placed upon the lake, and thus the pleasures 
of sailing and rowing are added to those of the 



groves and fields which exist upon its shores. Steam 
launches have also been added to the fleet within a 
few years. It has become an ideal place for a picnic, 
and the number of such parties has greatly increased 
since the year 1880. There are now three groves on 
its banks which are open to the public during the 
warm season of the year. The lake is fed entirely by 
springs, and has an outlet which preserves its waters 
pure in the hottest weather. An excellent quality of 
ice is obtained here in winter. • 

Little Pond, covering about forty acres, is situated 
^bout one mile north of Farm Lake. It is used only 
tor the purpose of fishing. 

(lAPT. Amariah Leland was born in Eden, 
Maine, followed the seas, and was master of a ship 
for many years and continued in that business after 
his removal to Sherborn. He finally retired from 
that service and settled here, where his ancestors re- 
sided until 1710. He bought a farm which borders 
on Farm Lake, and his grove has become a great resort 
for picnic parties. 

He has been a selectman of the town since 1886. 

Sherborn is one of the towns which reach the 
southern border of the county, and is separated by 
the Charles River from Medfield and Dover in Nor- 
folk County. Its population in 18'J0 is about 1400. 
In addition to agriculture and fruit culture, the chief 
industries are the manufacture of shoes, of willow 
goods, and of cider and vinegar. One of the latter 
manufactories is not surpassed in size and in the 
magnitude of its business by any similar establish- 
ment in the country. A considerable business is 
done in procuring ice from Farm Lake and from some 
of the ponds in the township. A saw-mill in the 
southwestern .section of the town annually converts a 
large number of logs into lumber. 

A pamphlet "History of Sherborn," pp. 80, was writ- 
ten by William Biglow, of Natick, and published at 
Milford in 1830. In 1856 a " History of Sherborn and 
flolliston," with genealogies, was issued by Rev. Abner 
Morse and printed in Boston. In 1875 there was 
printed at Natick, in one pamphlet, the address of 
Hon. George B. Loring given at the bi-centennial 
celebration, and also an historical sermon delivered 
by Dr. Edmund Dowse about the same time. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 

ALBERT H. BLANCHARD, M.D. 

Albert H. Blanchard, M.D., was born in Boston 
June 25, 1828, the son of John W. and Sarah A. 
Blanchard. He was educated in Boston schools, re- 
ceived a Franklin medal at the Hawes School, in 
South Boston, in 1841, and entered the English High 
School the same year. From 1845 to 1848 he resided 
in Portsmouth, N. H., and while there he learned the 
art of pharmacy, pursued his academical studies and 




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commenced those relating to medicine. Returning 
to Boston in 1848, he continued his studies in the 
Boylston Medical School, and attended lectures at 
Harvard Medical College for two years. Although 
ready to graduate in 1850, he postponed that cere- 
mony on account of his election as one of the house 
physicians to the Massachusetts General Hospital, 
where graduates were not then received. After a 
profitable and interesting sojourn of a year at that in- 
stitution, he received his diploma at the commence- 
ment of 1851, having thus been engaged for six years 
in the preparatory studies of a physician. 

Immediately after the death of Dr. Oliver Everett, 
in 1851, he was invited to settle in Sherborn as the 
physician of the town, and has remained to the present 
time, excelling two years during the Civil War. In 
1854 and 1855 he transcribed the ancient records of 
the town, an act which had been authorized by the 
Legislature not long before, and he found the earliest 
bouk, a mere pamphlet, greatly worn and difficult to 
decipher. A similar work is greatly needed in many 
other old towns of our Cimimonwealth. 

In August, 1X1)1, Dr. Blanchard was appointed sur- 
geon of the Forty-first Massachusetts Volunteer Infan- 
try, after an examination by the State Board of Sur- 
geons, and was mustered into the United States service 
September 4th. The regiment formed a part of the 
" Banks expedition " to Louisiana, where they arrived 
early in December, 1862. June 17, 18(J3, the regi- 
ment was converted into cavalry, and is more gener- 
ally known iis the Third Massachusetts Cavalry. 

The duty was onerous and severe and the climate 
malarious, so that Dr. Blanchard became weakened 
by sickness and was finally obliged to resign his 
commission. He w;is honorably discharged from the 
service February 20, 18i)4. 

After a long sickness in the spring of 1864, he re- 
covered sufficiently to perform some temporary ser- 
vice in the army in Virginia, and in August, 1864, 
returned to Sherborn and resumed practice. For 
thirty years he has als<i served as a member of the 
School Committee and much of that time as secre- 
tary of the board. He has been interested in the 
history of this ancient town and has given much time 
to the study of its settlement, its progre.ss, and its 
people. He has also written a number of historical 
articles concerning the town. 

He was*married at Dorchester, May 18, 1852, to 
Eunice .\lden Hooper, of that town. 



FRANKLIN GROUT. 
Franklin Grout is a native of Sherborn and has 
alwavs resided there. He was born in 183!', a son of 
Nathan and Laura Ann (Fay) ( irout, a grandson of 
Nathan and great-grandson of John Grout. The 
latter removed from Sudbury to Sherborn in 1760 and 
settled here. The grandfather, Nathan, and his 
brothers, Elias and Silas, were all soldiers in the War 



of the Revolution, serving from three to five years 
each. 

The subject of this sketch was educated in our 
common schools and afterwards attended for a con- 
siderable time the well-known English and Classical 
School of Messrs. Allen, in West Newton. A good 
training and a solid groundwork of education were 
thus secured. 

Mr. Grout inherite<l a large farm, which he has 
conducted with skill and success. He has taken a 
prominent part in town aflairs for many years, having 
served continuously as a trustee of the Town Library 
and of the Sawin Academy and Dowse High School, 
and also as a ?neniber of the Board of Assessors for 
several terms, most of the time as chairman. In the 
year 1884 he was chairman of the selectmen and 
would have been re-elected a member of that board 
had he not been chosen town clerk and tre;isurer in 
1885. He also received a commission as justice of 
the peace during the same year. He has continued 
to fill the latter offices to the present time, in 18',K), 
and is highly esteemed as a correct and careful guar- 
dian of these important interests of the town. 

He was married, in 1864, to Elizabeth Leland, of 
Sherborn. 



CHARLES A. CLAItK. 

Charles A. Clark belongs to an old Sherborn fam- 
ily. The first ancestor of which we have knowledge 
was Jonas Clark, who settled early in Cambridge. His 
son Samuel removed to Concord in 1680 and died 
there in 1730. Arthur, the fourth son of Samuel, 
came from Concord to Sherborn between the years 
1715 and 1718, married here, settled near Charles 
River and founded the Clark family of this town. 
His oldest son, Samuel, was the great-grandfather of 
the subject of this article. Three sons of Samuel 
took part in the Revolutionary struggle, one of whom, 
William, is thus described by Morse in his genealogy 
of Sherborn : " William, long a leading and hon- 
ored citizen of Sherborn, early imbibed the spirit of 
'76 ; entered the army in the commencement of the 
conflict, served five years as a soldjer, was in the bat- 
tle of Bunker Hill and at the surrender of Burgoyne; 
became a member of the church, served her as deacon 
and the town as selectman ; kept a store and tavern, 
was much employed in settling estates, and sustained 
through a long life a high character for respciiisibility, 
soundness of judgment and integrity. He married 
Elizabeth Whitney June 24, 1784, daughter of Hon. 
Daniel Whitney," one of the foremost men of his time 
in this State. In 1788 he purchased the estate of 
Captain Amos Coolidge on "The Plain," where the 
store above mentioned was commenced in the year 1800, 
and has been kept continuously on or near the same 
site by Alpheus, the son of William, and by Charles 
A., his grandson. Alpheus Clark, Esq., was also 
prominent in the service of the town, having been 
town clerk and treasurer for seventeen years, se- 



708 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



lectman for six years and Representative to the Gen- 
eral Court for four years. He w.as also a captain in 
the State ]Militi;i. He married Nancy Leland, of 
Sherborn, in 1810. 

Charles A. (Jlark was born in the old homestead 
July 4, 1829, and has continued to reside on the same 
spot, although the original hou.se, which had become 
very old, was replaced by a new and larger one in 
187(i. A large farm is attached and has lieen increased 
by several addilion.s to the original purchase of Dea- 
con William Clark. It has been cultivated and im- 
proved by the three generations in addition to their 
business of store-keeping. 

In the year 1888 Mr. Clark purchased of Hawes 
Brothers the stock and trade of the general store in 
the Central village, which had been carried on for 
many years by his brother, George Clark. Since that 
time he has conducted business at both places. Like 
his ancestors, he has performed duty as an officer of 
the town, having served as selectman six years and 
aijsessor five years. 

On the 1st day of .January, 1852, he was married 
to Martha A. Paul, of Sherborn. 



CHAPTER LIV. 
CA RLISLE. 

1!V SIDNEY A. BULL. 

Carlisle has had an existence peculiarly its own 
in certain respects, inasmuch as it e.xisted as the Dis- 
trict of Carlisle' for a little less than two and a half 
years, then ceased to exist for a period of nearly 
twenty-four years, when, by an act of the General 
Court, it was allowed to exist again as a district, which 
state of things continued for a period of nearly twenty- 
flve years, when it was incorporated by an act of the 
Legislature,with the full powers, authority and respon- 
sibilities of a town, which prerogative it has been al- 
lowed to enjoy to the present date, and doubtless will 
go down the ages with at least all the prestige with 
which the struggles and triumphs of the past have 
endowed it. 

The original corporation, known as the District of 
Carlisle, was taken wlioUy from the territory included 
within the limits of the town of Concord, and includ- 
ed in part a considerable portion of settled territory 
known as the Bloods' Farms, which tract of land 
came into the possession of the brothers John and 
Robert Blood, partly by purchase as early as 1(150, 
and partly probably by descent from their father. 

Robert also possessed other extensive contiguous 
territory in right of his "wife, who was the daughter 
of Major Simon Willard, to whom the General Court 
of the Colony had granted lands as a reward for his 
eminent public services. 



After the incorporation of Billerica, in 1655, the 
Bloods, whose farms adjoined the new plantation, 
though not within its limits, appear to have been 
considered as belonging to that township. 

During King Philip's War the Bloods sought 
refuge in Concord, and were there taxed as inhabit- 
ants ; but on their petition the General Court, on the 
9th of May, 1678, ordered these taxes to be repaid 
them without charge to the petitioners. 

This appears to have been the beginning of a con- 
troversy between them and the town of Concord, 
which resulted, on the 17th of March, 1<585, in an agree- 
ment between the parties by which the " Farms," 
which had heretofore existed as a " peculiar," were 
annexed to Concord, upon conditions by which Rob- 
ert Blood, Sr,, his heirs and assigns, were exempted 
from obligation to serve in any town office, and from 
all rates excepting such as should be laid for repair- 
ing or building the meeting-house. 

By this agreement also the " waste lands " of the 
Bloods were to be exem|)ted from taxation, highways 
were to be laid out to and frum the town for their 
accommodation, and they were, to have "meet places 
assigned to them in the meeting-house " in Concord. 

No express reasons for granting the exemptions 
claimed by the inhabitants of the territory above 
named have been found in the Siate archives, but 
the settlers there occupied an outpost on the front- 
iers, and were remote from the meeting-house in Con- 
cord Village, from which they were separated by the 
Concord River, and to which they had access only 
over roads often submerged, or otherwise impassable. 
The conjecture is not unfounded that these circum- 
stances furnished sufficient inducement for consent- 
ing to their enjoyment of these special privileges. 

As early as December 18, 1732, Jonathan Blood, 
John Parlin and twenty -six others, inhabitants of the 
northerly part of Concord, subscribed to an agreement 
to support meetings for public worship at the house 
of Joseph Adams ; the whole amount thus subscribed 
was £18 4.'!. 

The subscribers appear also to have organized as a 
society, to have chosen a clerk, and to have held 
meetings for prudential atfairs, sometimes at the 
house of David Parlin. 

At a meeting of the inhabitants of Concord held 
May 21, 1733, a vote was passed pursuant to an arti. 
cle in the warrant upon the questions, " w'hether the 
town would make allowance to sundry inhabitants of 
the north [lart of Concord to support preaching 
amongst them in the winter season, or would sett oti' 
the said inhabitants to be a sei)arate precinct," both 
of which were decided in the negative. 

The preceding petitions presented to the town were 
doubtless the result of the meetings for public wor- 
ship held at the house of Joseph Adams, and also of 
the advisory meetings held at the house of David 
Parlin and elsewhere. 

Although their requests had not been granted, an 



CARLISLE. 



709 



agitation liad been started which gained in favor and 
strength, as year by year it was considered, and peri- 
odically brought before the minds of the people. 

Another way, however, was open by means of which 
the petitioners might ol)tain relief 

The following year, during the fourth session of the 
Assembly, a petition of Benjamin Stone and twenty- 
five others of Concord, doubtless representing the 
same body which had organized for public worship 
in the winter of 1732, and had unsuccessfully peti- 
tioned the town for aid in the spring of 1733, set- 
ting forth the distance they are at from the place of 
public worship in said town, and praying that they 
may be erected into a separate precinct by the bounds 
stated in the petition, was read, and notice thereof 
was ordered to be served on the town of Concord, re- 
turnable on the first Tuesday of the next May ses- 
sion. 

This petition came up for consideration June 4, 
1734, together with a certificate of twenty-eight other 
inhabitants of the proposed prcciuci, showing their un- 
willingness to be a part of the precinct. Also in the 
mean time the town of Concord had chosen a com- 
mittee of three to be present at the hearing and give 
reasons to the General Court why the prayer of llie 
petitioners should not be granted. After considera- 
tion the preponderance of opposition prevailed, and 
the petition was ordered to be dismissed. 

The petitioners had now been twice refused their 
request, each time by a ditterent tribunal ; but at a 
town-meeting held by adjournment March 7, 1737-38, 
and called, among other things, " to see if the town 
will dismiss Zechariah Blood and oth?rs, petitioners 
with him, from Concord, in order to join with part of 
Chelmsford and part of Billerica to make a separate 
township," and to hear the petition of Eleazer Brown 
and others on the northwardly side of Concord River, 
" that all the inhabitants of the town, on the north 
and northerly side of the North River, so called, may 
be set off a separate township." 

The inhabitants refused to grant the latter petition 
by a vote of seventy-six to twenty-six, and on the 
former petition, " the town -saw cause not to act at 
that time, for that a greater number that lived within 
the bounds asked for appeared against the wanting 
the said petition than appeared for it." 

Two years later, on the 3d of March, 1739-10, at a 
meeting of the inhabitants of Concord, for which the 
twelfth article in the warrant was " to hear tlie request 
of Jonathan Blood and others, of the northwardly part 
of the town who desire to be set off to be a separate 
precinct, according to bounds set forth in their peti- 
tion," the town refused to grant the prayer of the pe- 
titioners. 

The next attempt that has been discovered to have 
any portion of the territory north of the Concord 
River set off as a separate town or precinct, was on 
the yth of May, 1741!, when the war.ant for the next 
town-meeting contained an article for hearing and 



considering the petition of John Hartwell and others, 
then to be laid before the town for that purpose. 

The meeting at which this petition was considered 
was hild May 20th by adjournment from the Vllh, 
and at the adjournment the petition was referred to 
the next town-meet'.ug. 

The grounds for separation, alleged by these peti- 
tioners, were " in order to their more convenient 
coming to ye publik worship of God, from which 
they are many times many of them hindered by ye 
Difficulty of passing ye river in times of find and by 
ye great Distance of their abood from ye place where 
ye publike worship of God is now upheld." 

On the 3d of November of the same year the war- 
rant for the town-meeting to be held on the 17th 
contained an article for considering the petition of 
John Hartwell and others, which it is probable was 
the original petition, and it was again referred to the 
next town-meeting. 

The record of the next town-meeting, held by ad- 
journment on the 3d of March, 1747, contains no 
reference to this petition. 

This and other similar applications were ineffec- 
tual until the year 1753, when, having failed to get a 
vote of the inhabitants of Concord consenting to their 
separation, James Chandler and forty-six other inhab- 
itants of this territory (not, however, including 
Blood's Farms) appealed to the General Court in the 
following petition, which was read in the House 
September 13, 1753, and notice thereon ordered to be 
served on the town of Concord, returnable " on the 
second Wednesday of the next sitting of the Court: " 

" To Hifi KxceUptirj- Williuin Shirley, Esq^, Cup'. -General and Govenior- 
in-CIiicf in and over Iiis Miijes^riefi Province of the Massachusetts Bay 
in New EliRland, and to the Honi'' His Majesties Conncil and Monsc 
of Representatives in General Court -Vsjienibled. The Petition of the 
Inhahilants of the Northerly Part of the Town of Conconl Hunildy 
Sheweth, 
*'That whereas your Petitionei-w have for many years Pastattioided with 
our Families on y"> Puhliek worship of God at the old Parish in said Con- 
cord with many and fp*eat Inconvenieucies hy Living (many of us) so 
Remote therefrom, there is a great Number of aged, and youngerly Per- 
sons ai'e very Frefjuently Necessarily Petain'' from the Puhliek worship. 
They not being able to Travel so far in the heat of Summer without Ex- 
posing their health, and in y* winter seas*.n the Days Being so Short they 
Cannot without a great Beat of Pains and Trouble get to y" Place of Pub- 
lick worship in season and in Ca-se they tarry till the times of Kxercise 
is over they Cannot Return to their Places of aboile till Sometime in the 
Evening, which greatly Endangers them to SufTering with the Cold, and 
Pcrticularly in times of floods there is great Numbers (of all Sex) are 
obliged to Tarey at home on y Sabbath, altho there is good bridges over 
the liivers but Cannot Come at them, all which Kend^rs your Petition- 
ers' Case very Ditficult. 

" Your Petitioners therefore Humbly Pray your Excelloncyand Hon- 
ours would take o»rCa,se into your wise Consideration and Grant unto 
us a Destrict under such Kestrictions and R<-gulations as your Excel- 
lency .V Honours, in your great wiBdoiu, Shall Think Fit. 

*' Including all within the Btninds hereafter mentioned in yp North- 
erly Part of s^ Concord. 

" Beginning at y« Corner of the Town, Nejir Joseph Parliu's, then 
with .\ctou Line to where it Crosses Neshoby Krook tso-Calledl, then 
Down Said Brook to the Kiver, then with Said River till it Conies to 
Blood's Fartn (so-Cal!ed), Then Bounding on s-l Blood's Farm till it 
Comes t(j Billiraca Line, then with Billiraca Line to the Corner first 
mentioned — and your Petitioners Further bego Leave to Inform your 
Excellency and Hon" that we Haive Petitioned the Town of Concord to 



710 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Tote us off as a Bestrict ; and they haive bad a Towii-meetiug for t)iat 
Purpose, but Refused so to Do ; and we, as In Duty Bound, Shall Ever 
Pray, 4c." 

Before action was taken on the above petition the 
inliabitants of tlie town of Concord passed a vote 
agreeing " that the inhabitants of the Northerly part 
of the Town Shall and May have all the Liberty that 
the Town can Grant them, to Go off as a Separate 
District at any time when they shall Agree or Choose 
so to do by the following bounds : 

" Vizt — to begin at Concord River and Run streight 
to Acton Line so as to Run across the Road Leading 
to Blood's farm and across Groton Road (so-called) at 
Each of them one Mile and three Quarters from the 
Meeting-House upon a streight line and then to be 
Bounded on Acton and Billerica and on Concord 
River to where it began." 

Early in the next session Jonathan Blood and 
twenty-seven others who were desirous of being in- 
cluded in the territory to be set off, and who thought, 
with many others who lived in the northerly part of 
said town, that the part vcjted to be set off was too 
small, sent in a petition to the General Court, asking 
that the grant of the town may be confirmed with a 
small addition, according to bounds given, which are 
nearly identical with the bounds included in the act 
which was finally passed, making a district of the 
northerly part of Concord by the name of Carlisle, and 
which will ap|)ear later on, and which would include 
Blood's Farm (so called). 

In the mean time .lonathan Brooks and twenty 
others, who lived within the territory described in 
Chandler's petition, filed their objection to being 
" laycd oil," in any shape, according to that request. 

A committee chosen by the town of Concord for the 
purpose also a{)peared and presented their ol)jections 
to the Chandler petition, some of which were as 
follows: ■ 

"That wliile the petitioners Pray for a part of s.iid Town to he sett oil 
as a District (Vmtuining in all Six thousautl Nine IlniiJred and Thirty 
acres, on which are upwards of Mighty Faiuilit-s and is in the most va!u- 
ahle part of the town, hi-ing the most fertile and Profitable hmd, and 
ContJiins all, or almost all the l^alids within the first parish in Said Town, 
Capable of Making any New or additional Settlements. Whereas nnich 
of the Itemaining part is Barren and unprofitable pine Land, which 
never C4in be improved to any advantage. That if their petition should 
be Granted, the Uounds mentioned in their petition which Conn* within 
one Hundred and ninety-four Rods of the nieeting-House, it will leave 
the first Parish in bad situation A rircuinstances, and will make the 
Burden very heavy on a few Persons, we would also Observe that the 
Diniculty in Passing the Itiver mentioiied in their Petition is without 
Poundation, the Town Having Lately been at a Ureat Kxpence in Rais- 
ing the Causey and Building a wide wall for people to travel over on 
foot when a flood Covers the Causey. And said Petitioners in their Peti- 
tion have Left out and made no mention of Blood's Farm (so called) 
which adjoyns to the northerly I*art of (Joncord and Contains about One 
Thousand Kight Hundred and fifty acres, with about fifteen families 
thereon, and wliiidi is Acconnled a part of Concord and live the most 
Remote fioiii tlu' Publick worshi]) of any belonging to the town and are 
obliged to tra%ell through that Part Petitioned for to be Selt ofl' in Order 
to Get to the Place of Publick worship." 

For these and various other reasons which seem to 
be plausible and just, the .said town of Concord pro- 
tested against the latter-named petition and urged the 



consistency of the bounds as previously noted, which 
was the vote of the town, and which included in the 
aggregate tibout six thousand and six hundred acres 
of land, and on which there were living at the time 
about sixty families, "and Room Convenient for a 
Considerable many additional settlements. This was 
thought by the Lihabitants of the Town at their said 
meeting to be as much as they Could Spare without 
manifest Injustice to the Remaining Part, and to be 
as Large as the Petitioners and Others Concerned 
Could Reasonably desire and what was thought to be 
Sufficient to aatisfie them although Something less 
than they asked for," but in referring to the Jonathan 
Blood petition, which it is claimed would take in 
about five families more than the town voted to them, 
no objection would be made. 

On the loth of December, 1753, the above answer, 
together with the petition to which it relates, wag re- 
ferred to the same committee to which had been re- 
ferred the above petition of Blood and others. 

Another petition, signed by John Hartwcll and 
forty -two others (all but twelve of whom were signers 
to the above petition of James Chandler and others), 
which had been read in the House on the 7th of De- 
cember, was referred to the same committee. 

The petition of John Hartwell and others was an- . 
tagonistic to the petition of Jonathan Blood and 
others, which they jiray the General Court not to 
grant, for the reasons, as they allege, "your Petitioner, 
humbly Conceive is for No other end But to Defeat 
your Petitioners in their Proceedings in that affairs 
and Likewise we think that what they Petition for — 
is no ways sufficient to Carry on Such a work." 

On the 14th of December the joint committee sub- 
mitted a written report, dated the 13th, in which they 
stated that they found "such an uneasiness and dis- 
agreement amongst the parties, that they reported it 
as their opinion that the petitions and answers be re- 
ferred to the next sitting of this Court, for further 
consideration unless the parties should before that 
time accommodate their difficulties among them- 
selves." This report was accepted, and the petitions, 
etc., were referred accordingly. 

During the following winter and spring, until late 
in March, the joint committee appear to have had 
this businessstill in charge, endeavoring to bring about 
an agreement between the petitioners and retnon- 
strants, and in the State archives there are preserved 
six different petitions and reports addressed to this 
committee during this period. 

On the second day of the fourth session (Jlarch 28, 
17ri4) the foregoing ])ai)ers were read again in Council 
and referred to the same committee, on which were 
substituted two new names, because of the absence of 
two of the original committee, with orders to "hear 
the parties and report what they judge proper for this 
Court to do thereon as soon as may be." 

The committee as thus changed completed their 
report on the 10th of April, and were of the " Opinion 



CARLTSLl 



711 



that the Prayer of the s'' PeJitioii of Ton" Blood k 
others the Inhabitants of the Northly part of Concord 
be so far granted as that they he sett ofl' and made a 
separate District," by certain bounds namcii in their 
report, whicli are nearly identical nitli tliose named 
in the petition of said Jonathan Blood, aiul included 
Blood's Farm, so called. 

On the 11th this report was accepted and an order 
was passed by both branches in concurrence, "that 
the petitioners have liberty to bring in a bill " ac- 
cordingly. On the 12th the following bill, which 
made the First District of Carlisle, was read twice 
and passed to be engrcssed iu Council, and sent down 
to the House for concurrence, where it had its first, 
and second reading the same day, and on the I'Mh 
was passed in concurrence, to be engrossed with two 
amendments wliich were concurred in by tlie Council- 

On the liith it was passed to be enacted, and wa.-< 
consented to by William tjhirley. Governor, April 19, 
1754. 

The following is the act as finally passed : 

'*.\.n act for dividing the town of Concord and making a district of 
the northerly part thereof by the name of Carlisle. 

" Where^is, the inhabitants of the northerly part of the town of ('ou- 
rord, by reason of their being remote from the place of the publick 
worship of God, have petitioned this conrf to he setoff a separate district. 

" Be it enacted by the (lovernonr, Council and House of Ropreseitta- 
tivee [Sect. 1] that the nt)rtherly part of the town of Concord within the 
following bounds, viz., beginning at Concord River, at the month of 
Ralph's Brook, so called, and fanning westerly to a white-oak tree, on 
or by the highway on the easterly side of Hunt's Hill, otherwise called 
fii-avel Hill ; thence still westerly to a heap of stones by the wall in the 
highway, about four rods northerly of llaniel Colo's barn, and so e.\. 
tending on a streight line to a way a little westerly of Richard Tem- 
ple's house, and then running northerly, by said way whicli leaii:, 
toward .\cton Lino, till it comes to Uenjamin Temple's land ; thence 
ninaing to .\cton line, so as to twke into the new district the said Itenja- 
niin Temple's land, and from thence, bounded on Acton and Hillerica, 
untill it comes to Concord River, taking in Blood's Farm, so called ; and 
then on Concord River to where the line first began, he and hereby is 
set ofT from the said town of Concord, and erected into a separate ilis- 
trict by the name of Carlisle ; and that the inhabitants thereof rio the 
duties that are required, and be vested with all tin- powers, priviledges 
and iinniunities which the inhabitants of any town within this jtrovince 
do, or by law ought to, enjoy, e.vcepting only the privilege of clinsing a 
representative to represent them in the great and general court, chusing 
of whom the inhabitants of said district shall join with the inhabitants 
of the town of Concord, as they liave heretofore done, and also iti paying 
said representative ; and that the town of Concord, aa often aa they shall 
call a meeting for the choice of a representative, shall give seasonable 
notice to the clerk of said district for the time being of the time and 
place of said meeting, to the end that the said district mayjoyn them 
therein ; and the clerk of said district shall set up, in some publick place 
in said district, a notiticatlon thereof acconlingly, jnt-ndprf, m rertliek:<s, 
the said dislricl shall pay their proportionable part of all such towti, 
county, parish and province charges as are alreatly assessed, in like 
manner as though this act bad never been made. 

".\nd be it further enacted, 

" [Sect 2] That the inhabitants of the said district shall, from time to 
time.forever hereafter, pay their prop<.rtionable part of the charge of keep- 
ing in good repair the great North Bridge, so called, over Concord River ; 
and that James fliinot, Esq., is hereby impowered to issue his warrant, 
directed to some principal inhabitant in said district, requiring him to 
warn the inhabitanta of said district, qualified by law to vote in town af- 
fairs, to meet at such time and place as shall be therein set forth, to 
cfauae all such officers as shall he necessary to manage the affairs of said 
district." 

Now the petitioners have succeeded in getting 
their request granted, and a vexatious problem of 



over twenty years' standing has been finally, and we 
may suppose amicably, settled. The district of Car- 
lisle is estiiblished, as far as action by the General 
Court is concerned, and a glance over tlie proceed- 
ings of the past would justily the assertion in con- 
sideration of the number of petitions and remon- 
strances presented to tliis body, tlie multiplicity of 
which tended to show the great diversity of opinion 
in the minds of the peo[)le living within the bounds 
of the district, that the question was one requiring 
iliscretion and wisdom, as well as patience, to be ex- 
ercised in its adjustment. 

The warrant mentioned in the foregoing act was 
granted and read as follows: 

" These are, therefore, in his majestyes Name to Require mr. .John 
Green, an inhabitant in s*" District, to warn all the Inhabitants of the said 
District, qualified by l,aw to vote in Town affairs, to meet at the Dwelling 
House of mr. .Joseph Adams in sd District, on Friday, the third Day of 
may next, at one of tlie (Mock in the after noon, in order to transact the 
affairs above mentioned, Ac. 

"Hero of Fail not. Given under my hand "and Seal, at concord, .-^pril 
y« 20, and in Twenty-Seventh year of his majestys Raign, Anno Domini 
17f.4. 

" ,r,\MEs MiNoTT, .Ins*, of Pacis." 

The warrant as returned at the time and place of 
meeting bears the following endorsement : 

" Middilsex SS., May S't*, 17.54. In observance of this warrant I have 
warned and Giveeu Notice to all the ratable inhabitance laveing iu Car- 
lisle to meett at the tim and Place within mentioned. 

".luiiN Green." 

The houseof .Joseph Adams, where this first town- 
meeting was held, it will be noted, was the same 
place at which Jonathan Blood, John I'arlin and 
twenty-six others, inhabitants of tlie northerly part 
of Concord, had subscribed to an agreement to su[)- 
port meetings for public worship, as early as 1732, 
and is still in existence, although having been some- 
what remodeled within a few years, being the same 
[premises lately owned by the .Vmos Melvin heirs, 
and more recently conveyed to Mr. Willard White, 
and is located in Concord, a few rods beyond the 
present limits of Carlisle, on the main road from Car- 
lisle to Concord. 

The meeting organized by the choice of Jonatliau 
Pufl'er for moderator, and elected the following ofli- 
cers for the ensuing year, viz. : District Clerk, John 
Hartwell ; Selectmen, John Hartwell, John Green, 
Joseph Adams, Jonathiin rutl'ertind Willitttn Fletcher; 
Constables, Kphraim Farrar and Jolin Blood, Jr. ; 
Treasurer, Deacon Fpliraim Brown ; Tithingman, 
Daniel Raymond ; Purveyors of Highways, Thomas 
Hodgman anil Fpliraim Melvin; Fence-viewers, Jo- 
siah Modgman, and David Melvin ; Hog-reeves, John 
Hoilgmaii, Sfiniuel Ltiughton, ,lr., Benjamin Ball and 
Jonathan I'almer. ; Deer Ufhcers, Jonathan Farrar 
.vnd Robert Melvin ; Sealer of Leather, Tliomas Davis. 

This was the first of a series of twenty district 
meetings which occurred consecutively in a little less 
than two and a-half years, all of which were warned 
by the constable serving notice personally, and were 
held at private residences in various parts of the dis- 



712 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



trict, wherever convenience and justice to the voters, 
as regards distance to be traveled, sliould frnm time 
to time indicate. 

Tlie second meeting was held at the house of Mr. 
.lohu tireen, in the easterly part of the district, Tues- 
day, May 21st, eighteen days after the former meeting, 
and the first article in the warrant was as follows : 

"To see what method they will comin to to Perfix 
a Place to set a meetting House for the Puhlick wor- 
ship of God a monngs us, e^c." The above article 
may be considered as indicative of what a])peared in 
most of the succeeding warrants ; for of the twenty 
meetings referred to above, the warrants for seventeen 
of the number called for action in some shape relative 
to locating a place for building a house for public 
worship. 

The prominent idea appeared to be to locate the spot 
as near the centre of the district as possible, and several 
surveys of the district were made to determine this 
location. 

Various places were selected by as many different 
parties as being proper places for erecting the build- 
ing, and district meetings were called for the consid- 
eration of each one of these locations, the more prom- 
inent of which were as follows : " The Easterly cor- 
ner of Dea. Ephraim Brown's land, near Capt. Abi- 
jah Brown's paster, Lieut. Jonathan Buttrick's plain 
and Poplar Hill." On the two latter-iuuned locations 
the district voted to build, and went so far as to pre- 
pare a part of the timber and have it teamed to the 
location on Poplar Hill, which location is situated on 
an elevation at the right of -what is known at the 
present day as the old Concord road, and near what 
was formerly known as the Estabrook place, but 
which, at the present time, is used only for the pur- 
pose of pasturing cattle, and is only distinguished by 
the ruins of what was formerly the cellar, no building 
having covered the same for many years past. This 
timber was never used, but, tradition informs us, was 
allowed to lie on the spot until it decayed. 

Since the district had thus far been unsuccessful 
within themselves in deciding upon a satisfactory lo- 
cation for building the meeting-house, it was voted at 
a district meeting hehl Wednesday, October 30, 1754, 
at the house of William Fletcher, "that they will 
chuse a coinmeette out of Town to view the District 
and perlix a Place for us to build a meeting-House 
for the Publick worship of God amonugs us." This 
committee consisted of three members, as follows : 
Lieutenant John Varnum, of Dracut ; Lieutenant 
Jonas Prescott, of Westford, and Lieutenant Samuel 
Dakin, of Sudbury ; said committee came on to the 
ground and performed their duty, for which they were 
paid the aggregate amount of two pounds and eigh- 
teen shilliT)gs. 

At the very next district meeting, held at the house 
of Mr. James Russell on Wednesday, January 1, 
1755, the warrant contained but one article, which 
was as follows ; 



"To see whether the District will, by ther vote, 
Exsept of the Place to build a meeting-House for the 
Publick worship of God amongs us, which the com- 
mittee chosen by us has Perfixt for that end," etc., 
which, when put to vote, was passed in the negative. 

Next occurred the second annual district meeting, 
held March 3, 1755, at which the following officers 
were elected for the ensuing year : District Clerk, 
John Hartwell ; Selectmen, John Hartwell, Jonathan 
Puffer and John (4reen; Constables, Timothy Wil- 
kins and Daniel Raymond ; Treasurer, Deacon Eph- 
raim Brown ; Surveyors of Highways, Simon Blood 
and Simon Hartwell; Fence-viewers, John Barrett 
and Jacob Farrar ; Tithingman, Joseph Adams ; Hog- 
reeves, Abraham Temple, John Parlin, Jr., Benjamin 
Hodgman and Ezra Blood ; Sealer of Leather, Thomas 
Davis. 

After holding several more district meetings and 
trying in vain to settle the disputed question among 
themselves of locating a place for a meeting-house, a 
meeting was finally called at the house of John Hart- 
well for Tuesday, July 29, 1755, and in the warrant 
for said meeting the third article to be acted upon 
was as follows : 

"To See if the District will chouse a commeette to 
Petition the great and General Court to send up a 
commeettee to Perfix a Place for us to build a meet- 
ting House on, etc." 

Action on the above article resulted in choosing a 
committee of five residents of the district and instruct- 
ing them to petition the General Court as above. If 
this petition was ever presented, the town records do 
not show that the General Court ever sent the com- 
mittee petitioned for, and the records of the next dis- 
trict meeting — held Tuesday, January 27, 1756, nearly 
six months later — would indicate that nothing had 
been done in the mean time, for on this date the dis- 
trict voted that "they will build a meeting-House for 
the Publick worship amongs us, and that the district 
will Perfix a Place for to build a niectting-House on," 
which latter duty was referred to the next meeting, 
which was held February 3, 1756, at the " house of 
Jonathan Hodgman, which was Capt. Eleazer Mel- 
vin's." Here it was voted that " the District will 
Build a meettir.g-House on Capt. Jduathan Butt'^ick's 
Plain, about ten Rods southerly from a stake set up 
By Simon Davis and others." A committee of five 
were chosen to attend to the building, and were " Di- 
rected to Provid timber for a House about as Large as 
Stow meeting-House is." 

The next district meeting was held at the house of 
Ephraim Melvin, Jlonday, March 1,1756; the first 
article in the warrant to be acted on was: "ToChuse 
Necessary District officers F'orthe year ensuing." Jon- 
athan Puffer, whom it will be remembered was moder- 
atoratthe first district meeting, was elected to the same 
office at this their third and last annual meeting for 
(dioice of officers. The following is the list of officers 
elected : District Clerk, Benjamin Brown ; Selectmen, 



I 



CARLISLE. 



ri3 



Benjamin Brown, William Fletcher and John (ireeii ; 
Constables, .John Melvin and .Iiilni (ireen ; District 
'IVeasnrer, Deacon Ephraim Urown ; Surveyors of 
Highways, Jacob Farrar and Thomas Brown, Jr. ; 
Fence-viewers, Oliver Farrar and Jonathan Harris ; 
Tithingmen, Samuel Heald an<l John Barrett; Hog- 
reeves, John Parlin, John Laughton, E|ihraim Smith 
and Jonathan Buttrick; Sealer of Leather, Thomas 
Davis ; Deer-reef, Jonathan Farrar. 

At this meeting H was voted to raise the sum of 
fifty pounds, lawful money, toward defraying the cost 
of building a house for public worship; also a com- 
mittee of three were chosen to jiurchase two acres of 
land of Captain Jonathan Buttrick to build a meeting- 
house on. Whether this land was purchased or not 
does not appear, but another district meeting was held 
at the house of Thomas Davis, inn-holder, Tuesday, 
April 6th, following, at which the following vote was 
passed, viz : 

" Voted on the Third Article and chose Major 
John Jones, Esq., of Hopkinton, Colonel William 
Lawrence, Esq., of Groton, and Major Ephraim 
Curtis, Esq., of Sudbury, a Committee to view All 
Circumstances of the District and Prefix a place for 
Seting up a house for the Publick worship." Also a 
committee of four residents of the district were 
chosen to entertain, instruct and assist the latter- 
named committee. 

The committee, having completed theirundertaking, 
made a report to the district, which was accepted at a 
meeting held at the house of Thomas Davis, inn- 
holder, Thursday, June 24, 17.56. The report was as 
follows : 

" C.\Ki,isLE, .June 2, 1756. 
" Pnraufliit tu a vute of the Di-srrictuf Carlisle of the 28th of April 
last, and at the RL-i|ucstof a Cumniittfe dnl.v appointed by the 8*^ Di8trii-t 
of Carlisle, we, the subscribers, have met at 8*^ District and viewed the 
whole of a'l District in order to find out the rrost Convenient Place to 
Put a House for the Publick worsliip of tJod, And to consider all the 
circumstances of said District, wbicti we have Done and heard all Parties 
concerned and Duly Considered tlieir Pleas and allep:ations with the cir- 
cumstances, .\nd are of uppiniou that the most convenient Place to Seta 
House for the Publick woi^sbip of God in Said District is South 41 Degrees 
West twenty six poles to a Black oak tree from a heep of stones on a Hill 
Called Poplar Hill anri From the Centre of .Xngles which is our .ludge- 
ment, — .411 which we Humbly Submitt." 

" John .Jones, ■, 

Wiri.tAM L.\URE.NCE, > CuitlitiiUnc." 

Ei-HR-MM Curtis, ) 

At the same meeting it was " voted and agreed to 
Purchase two acres of Land (in a convenient form) 
at the Place Prefixed for Setting up a House for the 
Public Worship.'' And a committee of three were 
chosen to carry out the provisions of said vote. 

While a sulticieut number of the inhabitants of 
the district favored the plan as set forth above, to 
vote its acce|itance, a feeling of dissatisfaction and 
di.scouragemeut seems to liave pervaded others, for a 
petition bearing date the same as that of the meeting 
last called was presented to the selectmen, and by 
them disregarded, which resulted in its being finally 
placed in the hands of a justice of the peace, who 



caused action by the di.strict to be taken upon it. The 
petition was as follows : 

" T.i the Seltclmeii of Ike. UUIricl of adUle, Gmilu : 

" We the Subscribers beingSeucible of the Croat DiHiculties we Labour 
under and the Great Hardships we are unavoidably Flxposed to if we are 
obtig'd under Such ('itcumstances as we are in at Present to Build a 
meeting.llouse i Settle a minister a Pay for highways that will he 
Nessesary to accommodate the Inhabitants if we Proceed according to the 
Design of being Set off, the Situation of the District being Such that but 
a Small I'art of the Inhabitante Can be much better accommodated to 
the Publick worship in any Place that has been Proposed than they are 
to the Town of Concord. 

" Therefore (.lent" Wo Desire that yon would Call a meeting of the Dis- 
trict as soon as C'an or may he to .See if the District will agree hy their 
vote to Petition the General Court that S** District may he Set back to the 
Town of Concord with all our Former Priviledges, and Chuse a Commit- 
tee for that Purpose. 

Carlisle, June 24, 1756. 
" Ei'iiRAi.M Melvin, Jonathan Harris, 

David Whittaker, John I.auohton, 

Phineas Blood, Eciiralm Stow, 

Abraham Temple, Sami'el Laugiiton, 

EriiRAiM VVhittaker, Jonathan Puffer, 

Samuel Huttrick, Jr." 

In response to the above petition, the following pro- 
ceedings e.xplain themselves : 

'' Middlesex, ss. To Mr. Ephraim Farrar, one of the Constables for the 
District of t.'arliele in Said County greeting; 

" Whereas Complaint hath been made to me, Tho» Whiting E8ij',oneof 
his Ma^jesties Justices of the Peace for Said County by Ephraim .^felviu 
and others, Inhabitantsof Said District of Carlisle, that a meeting of Said 
District is Necessary and that their Request thereof hath been Laid be- 
fore the Selectmen for said District : Who unreasonably Refuse to Call a 
meet. ng of Said Inhabitants of Carlisle afore^'J, which Refusal having 
been made appear to mo 

'■ ' ■ " You are therefore hereby Required In his Majesties Name 
^ seal. |- to give Notice to all the ratable Inhabitants of Said Carlisle 

' — V — ' to meet at the Dwelling House of Mr. David Whittakcrin 
Said Carlisle on Wednesday, the Fourteenth Day of July Currant, at Four 
of the clock in the after Noon to Consider and act on the Following ar- 
ticles viz* 

" 1 To Chuse a moderator For Said Meeting. 

'•■2nai» To See if the District will agree hy tlieir vote to Petition tbo 
great and General Court to be Laid back to the Town of Concord with 
all their Former Preveledges, & Chuse a Oommittee For that Purpose. 

'* And make Return of this warrant to the Clerk of Said District or 
Some one of the Selectmen for Saitl District on or before the afore Said 
Fourteenth Day of July with your Doings therein ; here of Fail not as 
you will answer your Neglect at the Perel of the Law In that Case Pro- 
vided. Given under ni.v liantl and Seal at Concord the Seventh Day of 
July in y« 3otli year of his iiia)>-stiee Keign .-Xnuqiie Doinini-^n&i*. 

■■ Tho' Whitino, J' : of P"." 

The meeting was held at the ti.'iie and place 
named in the foregoing warrant. Jonathan Puft'er 
was chosen moderator, and the action taken upon 
the second article, is recorded as follows: 

"Voted, That They will Petition the great and Gen- 
eral Court that the whole of the District of Carlisle be 
Returned Back to the Town of Concord with all their 
Former Privileges. And, also, that None of the In- 
habitants be Set oH' again into a Separate Town, 
District or Precinct, Excepting Such as Shall here- 
after Sign a Petition to the great and General Court 
to be set off. 

"Mr. William Fletcher enter'' his Decent against 
th abov s"* vote. 

"Voted that Mess'". John Barrett, Jonathan Puffer 
and Dan" Raymond be a Committee to Petition the 



714 



HISTOKY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



great and general Court For the Purposes above men- 
tioned." 

Two district meetings were successively called upon 
a special petition of John Hartwell and others, the 
first lor Monday, July 26lh, and the second for Mon- 
day, August 9, 175G, in the warrant for each of which 
the following article appeared, which seems at least 
to have been one of absorbing interest to a part of the 
inhabitants, viz., " To See if the District will agree to 
Dismiss the Committee that was Chosen at a meeting 
at M'. David Whittaker's, for to Petition the great 
and General Court to be Laid back to the Town o/ 
Concord." On each occasion the consideration of the 
article resulted in the district passing a vote in the 
negative, and the committee chosen for the purpose 
presented their jtetitiun to the General Court, where 
it was first read and considered August 12, 1756, and 
notice thereof was ordered to be served on the town of 
Concord, returnable on the first Tuesday of the next 
October session. 

Accordingly on the return day the inhabitants of 
Concord, having voted in the mean time (September 
28th, at a general town-meeting, duly warned for the 
purpose), " first not to choose a committee to oppose 
this petition, and second that they would receive the 
district back agreeable to their petition," the follow- 
ing order was passed : — 

'* In Council, October 6, 1756, Read again, and it ap|iearing that the 
Pet" hall served the Town of Concord with a Copy of the Pet" who 
liave made no answer to the same, Therefore Ordered, that the Prayer 
of the Petition be granted and that the Inhabit"'--' of the District of Car- 
lisle, together with their Estates, be annexed to the Town of Concord, 
agreeable to their Pet", tliere to do duty and enjoy Priviledge accord- 
ingly- 

".Seut down for Concuri-ance. Thos. Cl.^kke, Dpiy. Secry. 

•• In the House of Rep»"», Oct' 6, nso. Read and Concur'd. All". 
" Roland Cotton, Cler Pt-o Tetiipc. 

" Consented to. S. Phiks." 

A difficulty was now encountered in the extinct 
district, which called again for the interposition of the 
Legislature. While the district no longer had an ex- 
istence as a responsible corporation, there were a 
number of individual claims against it which de- 
manded settlement, and in order that this might be 
accomplished, application was made to the Legisla- 
ture, which' resulted in an order being passed January 
11, 1757, granting the assessors, constables and district 
treasurer, chosen at the last annual meeting for choice 
of district officers, to make all the necessary assess- 
ment collections and payments within the limits of 
the late district as would be required to make full 
settlement of all just claims against the same. 

Thus the affiiirs were finally settled, and the moth- 
er town of Concord, like the parent of the "prodigal 
son," gladly received back to herself her penitent 
oflspring. 

The prime cause of the dissolution of the district, 
which, having existed as such for less than two and a 
half years, was what i)roved to be the perplexing duty 
of "Prefixing" a place on which to build a- house for 
public worship. Meeting after meeting of the inhab- 



itants of the district had been called, and plans of 
various kinds had been resorted to with the hope 
that unity of desire and action might be the result; 
but such was not the case, and a spirit of dissatisfac- 
tion and discouragement pervaded the district to such 
an extent that they longed for the peace and freedom 
of circumstances that they enjoyed previous to being 
set oft' as a distinct corporation. 

During the existence of the district three sets of 
officers, as already noted, had been chosen, and sums 
of money raised for various purposes beside actual 
necessities — for instance, some for keeping school for 
"reading and writing," some to support preaching, 
which, although they had no building especially dedi- 
cated to the worship of God, yet they made provi- 
sion and had public worship at the private residences 
of the inhabitants of the district as circumstances 
and ability allowed. During the existence of the ex- 
tinct district the inhabitants appeared several times 
before the General Court with petitions, which were 
unsuccessful, and therefore have not been mentioned 
in their proper place. But after their being finally 
set back to the town of Concord, no attempt to dis- 
turb the settlement thereby efl'eeted occurred for a 
period of sixteen years ; but application was made to 
the General Court at the first session in 1772-73, by 
certain inhabitants of Concord, Billerica, Chelmsford 
and Acton living near together, and far distant from 
the place of public worship in their respective towns, 
who prayed that they might be erected into a sepa- 
rate town or district according to certain bounds con- 
tained in the petition, and which would include in 
all about seventy-six families, and that a committee 
of the Legislature might be appointed at the expense 
of the petitioners to view their situation and circum- 
stances, and render their decision in regard to the 
expediency of the plan. The petitioners alleged, as 
reasons for their prayer, the distance that many of 
them lived from the regular places of worship in their 
respective towns, some of wliom were as far as seven 
miles away, and those who lived nearest were about 
three miles distant, which prevented many from at- 
tending except when the weather and traveling were 
the most favorable, and also stated that out of a just 
regard to the religious education of their children, 
they had, at their own expense, erected a place of 
public worship among themselves, not more than two 
and a half miles distant from any of their homes, 
which, and the "hiring preaching " from time to time, 
added to the province taxes, and their full propor- 
tion of the minister rates in the towns they now be- 
long to, proved a burden extremely heavj'. 

This petition, after due consideration, was, how- 
ever, finally dismissed. 

After a lapse of a little more than six years a sim- 
ilar petition of John Green and others, praying that 
a part of said towns of Concord, Acton, Chelmsford 
and Billerica may be set off and made into a sepa- 
rate town, district or parish, occupied the attention of 



CARLISLE. 



•715 



the Legislature, which sent a committee to the sev- 
eral towns to view the situation and hear the parties 
interested. A surveyor was employed and a plan of 
the territory to be incorporated was prepared at the 
expense of the petitioners, which plan the legislative 
committee submitteil with their report, which was 
favorable for the petitioners, and recommended that 
they be allowed to bring a bill embodying the request 
of their petition, which they did, and which, after 
certain amendments, was finally piissed April 28, 1780, 
establishing the second District of ('arlisle. 

By the provisions of this act the district was to 
join with the town of Acton in the choice of a repre- 
sentative ; pay one-sixth part of the charges tor main- 
taining the North Bridgein Concord, until the inhab- 
itants of said district shall build a bridge from said' 
district over said river, and support a pauper named 
Sarah Fletcher ; also the inhabitants of said district 
were entitled to demand and receive from the several 
towns to which they formerly belonged their just pro- 
portion of arms and ammunition to which they were 
entitled. 

On April 2;ith, the day following the passage of the 
foregoing bill, William Stickney, Esq., issued his 
warrant, directed to Asa Green as one of the princi- 
pal inhabitants within said district, requiring him to 
warn the inhabitants of said district, <jualified by law 
to vote in town afl'airs, to assemble at the meeting- 
house on Monday, the 8th day of May, 1780, at two 
o'clock in the afternoon, to choose such officers as 
are necessary to manage the allairs of said district for 
the ensuing ye.ar. Phineas Blood was chosen moder- 
ator, and the following is a full list of all the officers 
chosen to conduct the affairs of the newly incorpor- 
ated district, for the first year of its existence : 

District Clerk : Zobuluui Spauldiiig. 

Selectmen ; Zebtiliiui SpatiMiiig, Piiiiieas Bluud, t.ieut. Jolin HeaM. 

Committee of Safety : ('apt. Jotin Green, TIiuhkus Spanieling, Capl- 
Israel Heald, Thurna3 Hudguian, Nathan Mnnroe. 

CnriBtal'les ; Tiinutliy Wilkins, Seigt. Simon Barrett. 

Surveyors of Highways : .Tonx'^ Rul,l, ins, John UohbinH, .Jr., Edward 
Brown, Isaac- Wilkins, .Simon Blood, Jr., Etienezer Hardy. 

District Treasurer : (.'apt, .Samuel Heald. 

Tythingmen : Natliftn Munroe, Lieut. Isachar .\ndre\v8. 

Fence- Viewers: Lieut. Nathan Parker, Seigt. John Robhins. 

Hog-reeves: Amos Flint, Josiali Heald, .John Nickless, Edmund .An- 
drews. 

Sealer of Leather; Henry Fletcher. 

Sealer of Weights and Measures ■ Lieut. .\8a (Ireen. 

Field-Drivers : Christopher Barritt, Sainiu^l Davis, Jonathan Rohbins, 
Phineas Blood. ^ 

Deer-Reef: Jonas Robhins. 

Surveyor of Boards and Timber : Thonms Spauldiug. 

Sealer of Hoops and Staves : Samuel (jreen. 

By an act of the General (iourt, passed in the year 
1775-76, all existing districts iu the Colony were con- 
verted into towns. Now it is worthy of note that 
Carlisle was the first district incorporated after the 
passage of the above act, and also that it was the 
only district in Massachusetts at the time of the 
adoption of the Constitution of the Commonwealth. 

The second district-meeting was called for Thurs- 



day, June 1st, to beheld in the meeting-house also. At 
this meeting a committee of three persons were chos- 
en to see that the district be supplied with preaching 
for the ensuing year, and it was also voted to raise 
the sum of two thousand pounds for the siijyport of 
the Gospel during said lime, and before the close of 
the year it was voted to raise another sum of e(iual 
amount, in iiddition, for the same purpose; it was also 
further voted to build the body-seats and ceil up 
the meeting-house as high as the bottom of the 
windows, and the sum of one thousand pounds was 
raised to be applied towards completing the work, 
and a committee of five were chosen to superintend 
same. 

8ums varying in value were raised for various pur- 
poses — for instance, two thousand pounds was raised to 
support the poor and defray the necessary charges 
that may arise in the district during the year; also 
two thousand pounds was raised to be laid out for 
schooling, two tliousand pounds to amend and repair 
the highways anil district roads; also under the head 
of this article it was voted that the sum of thirty 
dollars a day be allowed each man who shall work on 
the highways and perform his duty to the acceptance 
of the surveyors, and that a man with team (which 
probably implied an ox-team) shall be paid at the 
rate of sixty dollars per day. 

The various sums mentioned above doubtless apjiear 
to the casual observer to be extravagant in the ex- 
treme, and if they really meant what they purport to 
mean, such would be the case ; but.it must be remem- 
bered that these claims were paid in Continental bills, 
which had been gradually depreciating in value since 
the year 1777, when, in the month of January, one 
hundred dollars in gold or silver would purchase one 
hundred and five dollars in billsof credit of the United 
States, until the month of April, 1780, when one hun- 
dred dollars in gold or silver was e(|Hal to the enor- 
mous sum of four thousand dollars in bills. 

Ho it will appear that the man who worked on the 
highways with his ox-team during the year last 
named, and received for the same the sum of sixty 
dollars in bills per day, really got but one dollar and 
fifty cents in solid cash. 

The district was incorporated just in time to vote 
for the first Governor under the State Constitution, 
and the record of a meeting called for that |)urpose 
and held Sept. 4, 1780, reads as follows : 

" Voted and Chose for Governor the Hon'"'" .lohn 
Hancock, Esqr., of Boston, by 28 votes. 

"Voted and Chose for Lieutenant, James Bowdoin 
Esqr., of Boston, by 28 votes." 

Considerable attention wjus given during the first 
two years of the existence of the district to the laying 
out of new roads, and repairing and straightening 
some that had previously existed. 

As early as Dec. 21, 1780, it was voted by the in- 
habitants thai the "district be divided by the Select- 
men into six squadrons in order for the schools." For 



no 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



many years this division was adhered to, and the 
money raised by the district was ei:|uaHy divided be- 
tween them. There is a school fund amounting to the 
sum of !?5(t0, given by will of the late .Simon Blood, 
Jr., the interest of which can only be used, and is 
annually applied toward the support of schools. 

The following is a copy of the first order found in 
the records for paying for schooling, viz. : 

" Carlisle, February 27, 1781. 
" To Capt. Samuel Heald, Treasurer ; 

"Sir, — Please to pay out of the inouey raised to support ecbooling, to 
Samuel Emery, the Sum of one Hundred and fifty Pounds to answer bis 
Demands for keeping a writing school in said Carlisle, one month and 
boarding biniself, il5(). 0. 0. 
'*B3' order of the Selectmen. 

"ZedULUM SpaULDING, District Clerk." 

The first money that was paid for taking care of 
the meeting-house, of which any record was made in 
the town-books, was the sura of twelve shillings 
and two pence, which was paid out of the town treas- 
ury to Mr. Timothy Wilkins, Jr., for sweeping and 
taking care of the meeting-house for one year, which 
ended the 1st of March, 1784; other payments of sim- 
ilar amounts were made to various persons for the 
same service in subsequent years. 

In early times it appears to have been the duty of 
the selectmen to guard against the possibility of any 
person coming into the district to reside who would 
be likely to become a pauper, and instances are of com- 
mon occurrence where persons thus suspected were 
warned by the constable to depart out of the district. 

One order drawn on the district treasurer, and 
dated March 2, 1786, is for the sum of seventeen 
shillings, to be paid to Deacon John Robbins for 
service done the district in warning out seventeen 
persons. 

The following is a copy of a summons taken from 
the town-records, and will serve as a sample of many 
others that are to be found there : 

"Middlesex SS. To Dea. .John Robbins, one of the constables of the 
District of Carlisle, in the County of Middlesex Greeting. Whereas, 
Sarah Crosby, who is an inhabitant of the Town of Billerica, Came last 
from Westford on the Eighth of iSovember instant to Keside in the Dis- 
trict of Carlisle, the circumstances of tlie above Named person is such it 
is Si'poscd She will Soon be Chargeable to Some place, and the Selectmen 
of Said Carlisle do Refuse to admit her, the above-named person, of be- 
coming an inhabitant, or any way Chargable to Said Carlisle or any of 
the inhabitants thereof 

" These are therefore in the Name of the Commonwealth of Massa- 
chusetts, to Require you immediately to warn the above-named person 
forthwith to Depart out of Said District and Stay no longer within the 
Hounds of the Same. Hereof fail not, etc. 

" Asa Parli.v, i 

, „ r >'«ttfCtHicn. 

Jonathan Heald, ) 

" Carlisle, November 12, 1885." 

At the annual April meeting in the year 1790 it was 
voted to have a collector for the whole district to col- 
lect the district rates, and that the otBce should be 
given to the lowest bidder, providing he shall be re- 
quired to furnish satisfactory bondsmen. 

Previous to this date the service had been per- 
formed by the constables, two of whom, were an- 
nually appointed, one for the east and the other for 



the west side of the district, and the rates for that 
part of the district for which they were chosen con- 
stable were committed to them to collect. 

Mr. Amos Blood's bid for collecting on the above- 
mentioned date was four-pence half-penny on the 
pound, and as he was the lowest bidder was chosen as 
the first collector under the provisions of the preced- 
ing vote. 

The custom of venduing the collection of taxes pre- 
vailed for years; the lowest bidder, providing he could 
furnish sufficient bonds, held the office, and was usu- 
ally chosen constable. 

The price paid by the town for this service was 
usually four or fine cents on a pound, but two in- 
stances appear on record where the collector paid the 
town for the privilege of the oflice, viz., in years 1807 
and 1808, on the former of which Mr. Nathaniel 
Hutchinson, Jr., offered to give one farthing on the 
pound, and on the latter-named year it was struck off 
to the same person, he agreeing to give the town four 
and a half cents on the pound to be collector and con- 
stable. 

The explanation of the above occurrence may be 
deduced from the fact that the custom prevailed of 
appointing the collector constable also, which, in 
those times, was a remunerative office, and might 
have been eufliciently so to justify the paying of a I 
moderate amount in order to secure the two compan- 
ion offices. 

At the annual meeting held March 7, 1803, it was 
voted that the selectmen serve gratis the ensuing 
year. Since it was customary, on various occasions, 
connected with their duties, to provide drink, there 
might have been to some a temptation to aspire to 
the office even under the.se conditions. 

Previous to the year 1790 it had been the custom 
for the selectmen to commit the warrant for calling 
district-meetings to the constable, who personally 
warned the inhabitants, one taking the east side and 
the other the west side of the district, the dividing 
line being the road from Chelmsford to Concord, 
which at that time went past the meeting-house, the 
southern part of which is now known as the Old Con- 
cord Road. 

At a meeting held on the 4tb day of October, 1790, 
it was voted that the annual meetings in March and 
April be warned in the future by posting up a copy 
of the warrant at the meeting-house the number of 
days required by law previous to said meeting. 

Thus was inaugurate^ the more modern method 
practiced until the present day. 

The first record that is found relating to guide- 
postp, is recorded under the proceedings for the year 
1796, and is as follows : 

" The Selectmen of (Carlisle have ag'^eed that it 
would be convenient to have Guide Posts Set up at 
the following places in Said Carlisle, viz. : one near 
Mr. Timothy Wilkins, Jun'. House, to Direct to 
Chelmsford (& Bedford ; one near the School House 



CARLISLE. 



in the East part of Carlisle, to Direct to Concord and 
Bedford ; one near the School House in the South- 
west part of Carlisle, to Direct to Concord, Chelms- 
ford and Carlislf-." 

The fdllowiug year several sums were paid out of 
the treasury for guide-boards and expenses in procur- 
ing and erecting same, and it would seem that quite 
a number were erected in the district. 

In the year 1801 the district made their first appro- 
priation for music, when it was voted to raise the sum 
of twenty-five dollars for the purpose of hiring a 
singing-master. In subsequent years larger amounts 
were often raised and appropriated for the same pur- 
pose. 

In the year 1802 the district voted that a premium 
of twenty-five cents a head on crows be allowed to 
any inhabitant of the district who should kill them 
within the limits of the district. Lieutenant Daniel 
Wheat was authorized to pay for same on presenta- 
tion, and, as subsequently appears, seventy-three 
crows were carried to him and paid for, at an expense 
to the district of $18.25. 

Anothei similar ofler was subsequently m'ade by the 
town when, in the year 1872, it voted that 'he sum of 
twenty-five cents be paid out of the town treasury for 
each wood-chuck killed within its limits. A commit- 
tee of five located in different parts of the town were 
chosen to receive them and keep the account. The 
result was the destruction of 560 animals, for which 
the town paid the sum of $140. 

The largest number credited to any one person was 
forty-three, for which Mr. C. H. Hutchinson was 
paid the sum of $10.75. Mr. Amos Baldwin re- 
ported the next largest number and received the sum 
of $9 for the destruction of thirty-six animals. 

By the act which incorporated the district of Car- 
lisle it was debarred of the privilege of sending a rep- 
resentative annually to the General Court from among 
its own citizens, and while enjoying all the other 
privileges usually granted to towns, it was compelled 
to join with the town of Acton in the choice of a rep- 
resentative. 

Several times during the past twenty years the 
question of making application to be incorporated as 
a town bad been agitated by the inhabitants of the 
district, but it was not until .June 11, 1804, that final 
action was taken. 

On the above-named date the inhabitants were as- 
sembled agreeable to a warrant for that purpose, the 
first article in which was as follows: 

'* To see if the district will itgree to choose ugeuts to petition to 
tlie General Court to have sHid district of Carlisle separated from 
the town of .\cton, and that they may have appalation of town instead 
of district, agreeable t« a request of a number of the inhabitants of said 
district, and pass any votes respiting the matter which they may think 
proper when met." 

The action taken on this article was that the dis- 
trict make choice by ballot of an agent to petition the 
General Court to have the change brought about, and 



to have the district incorporated as a town. Jonathan 
Heald, Esq., received the appointment as agent, and 
the result of the petition was the following act of the 
liegislature, which incorporated the district as a town, 
after having existed as a district for the space of 
nearly twenty-five years: 

"Commonwealth of Ma-ssacuvsetts. 

'* In the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and five. 
.\n Act to incorporate the District of Carlisle, in the County of Middlesex, 
into a Town by the name of Carlisle. 

"Skc. I. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in 
General Court Assemlded, and by the authority of the same, That the 
district of Carlisle, in the county of Middlesex, he, and hereby is incor- 
porated into a town l)y the name of Carlisle: And the said town Is 
hereby vested with all the powers, privileges and immunities to which 
other towns are entitlled by the constitution and laws of this i^ouimon- 
wealth. 

'* Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, that the said town of Carlisle shall be 
liable to be assessed for the pay of Itepresentatives heretofore choeen, in 
the same manner and in the same proportion as if this Act bad not 



The foregoing act was approved and signed by His 
Excellency Caleb Strong, Governor of the Common- 
wealth, February 18, 1805. 

By the foregoing act the boundaries of the district 
of Carlisle as incorporated in the year 1780 remained 
unchanged. Very little in point of privilege appears 
to have been gained thereby, and yet it gave to the 
inhabitants a degree of independence, a prerogative 
which it was their privilege to enjoy, and which it is 
much to their credit that they saw fit to avail them- 
selves of; beside, it marks an eventful era in the history 
of the town, the time when it outlived its minority, 
and put on the full garb of manhood, standing 
shoulder to shoulder with her sister towns, in point of 
privilege as well as responsibility. 

It appears by the town record that an order was 
drawn on the town treasurer on the 25th of 
the succeeding March in favor of Jonathan Heald 
for the amount of $47.00, it being for his attending the 
General Court twenty-one and a half days for the 
purpose of getting the act of incorporation passed, 
and for cash paid the clerk of the .^enate. and a jour- 
ney to Acton. The above amount probably covered 
the expense for the act of incorporation. 

In the early history of the town an article which 
annually apjieared in the town warrant was as fol- 
lows, viz.: " To see if the town will agree that horses, 
neat cattle, and swine may run at large in the district." 
It was usually voted that this privilege be granted in 
the case of swine, but a vote in the negative wiis usu- 
ally passed in relation to horses and neat-cattle, ex- 
cept in the case of some poor persons who were re- 
quired to get a permit from the selectmen in order to 
continue the ]iractice. This article, as far as it relates 
to swine, aiipeared for the last time in 1831, and to 
horses and neat-cattle in the year 18:^G. .•Vnother 
custom which has become obsolete at the present day 
is that of annually choosing fish and deer-reeves. 

The practice of choosing a sexton at the annual 
town-meeting apjiears to have originated in the year 



718 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



1805. James Kemp was the first to hold this position 
by vote of the town, and his duties consisted in talc- 
ing care of the burying-place, digging the graves for 
all persons and taking charge of the meeting-house. 

This service was, after a few years, let out by auc- 
tion to the lowest bidder. 

There appears to have been a pound erected by the 
district soon after its incorporation, and by vote of the 
town its walls were used in preparing the foundation 
for the new meeting-house erected in 1811 ; and in 
the year 1812, at a town-meeting held on the 4th day 
of May, the selectmen were chosen a committee to 
procure a location for a new pound, and also to let 
out the contract for building same to the lowest bid- 
der. Said contract was given to Mr. Nathaniel Par- 
ker, for whi(^h he was paid the sum of twenty-five 
dollars. 

This was probably the last pound erected by the 
town, and was located a few rods from the village, on 
the Wcstford road, and was recently removed by con- 
sent of the town. 

A little inconvenience appears to have been expe- 
rienced by the inhabitants i>f the town from the fact 
that the grant of land from Mr. Timothy Wilkins, men- 
tioned subsequently, did not include quite all of what 
is at present known as the Common, and in response to 
an article in the warrant for the annual town-meet- 
ing, held Monday, March 1, 1813, a committee of 
three persons, viz., Mr. Frederick Blood, Mr. Nathan 
Green, Jr., and Mr. Thomas Heald, were chosen " to 
buy the land around the meeting-house within the 
roads, if they can agree with the owners thereof." 

The above-mentioned land appears to have be- 
longed to Mr. Reuben Duren, from whom the Com- 
mittee chosen by the town purchased a half-acre, more 
or less, for the sum of thirty dollars, which, according 
to a plan of the purchase, included three small strips 
of land located respectively on the south, west and 
north sides of the said Wilkins grant, and took in all 
between the roads. 

Several times during its existence the town has 
appropriated money to be expended upon the Com- 
mon. The largest sum appropriated at any one time 
was one hundred and twenty dollars, raised in the 
year 1828, and laid out in labor on land around the 
meeting-house. 

In later years a modern organization, known as 
the Carlisle Improvement Associatiim, has done much 
to improve the Common, beside building sidewalks, 
erecting street-lamps and otherwise beautifying the 
general ajipcarance of the village. This society was 
organized April 8, 1878, with the following list of 
officers : President, I'rescolt Nickles ; vice-president, 
Thomas A. Green; secretary, Albert S. D.ay; treas- 
urer, Marshall Lee; executive committee, Gilman 
Nickles, I. F. Duren, J. F. Carr, Mrs. E. J. Green 
and Mrs. D. W. Robbins. 

Considerable money which this society has received 
from various entertainments given under its auspices, 



and from membership fees, has been judiciously ex- 
pended for improving the village. 

The bounds on the southeast corner of the town, 
or the line separating that portion of the town of 
Carlisle from the town of Concord are very irregular, 
because of the unwillingness of certain inhabitants 
of that locality to have their farms set ofl' from the 
town of Concord when the new district of Carlisir 
was incorporated. 

An effort was made by the town of Carlisle, in the 
year 1826, to effect a straightening of the lines, or 
removal of the bounds. A committee of three 
persons were appointed to confer with the town of 
Concord in relation to the affair. This effort, however, 
proved ineffectual. 

Again at a town-meeting held Nov. 10, 18.51, Messrs. 
John Jacobs, Thomas Green and Joel Boynton were 
chosen a committee to petition the Legislature that 
the above-mentioned bounds be straightened, and 
.said committee were authorized and instructed by 
the town to take all necessary measures to accomplish 
the purpose, which also proved a failure, as have 
several other less pretentious attempts in the same 
direction, and the original zig-zag lines continue to 
divide the towns until the present day. 

The question of building a town-house appears to 
have been one thought to be worthy of consideration 
by .some of the inhabitants of the town as early as 
the year 18:18, for at a town-meeting held on the 1st 
day of April in said year, the first article in the 
warrant read as follows, viz. : 

"To see if said town will agree to build a town- 
house, etc." The action of the town was to dismiss 
the article. Again, at a town-meeting held Jan. 20, 
1851, a committee previously appointed to provide a 
place to hold future town meetings, were requested to 
report at the following March meeting what would 
be the estimated expense of erecting a building 
suitable and convenient for town purposes. The 
committee reported as follows: 

"The expense of erecting a wooden building having 
a ground area of 1468 feet, divided into a town hall, 
an entrance and two small ante-rooms, furnished in 
suitable manner, would be, according to the best 
information and judgment of Hie committee, $1()48. 

" It may be doubted whether it would be wise and 
judicious for the town to erect a building so small as 
that indicated in the above estimate. It might serve 
their present wants, but would hardly be suitable to 
accommodate a greatly increased population, etc." 

The town concluded in this case to hire what was 
known as Parker's Hall for the sum of $25.00 per 
annum, rather than be at the exjiense of building. 

During the time intervening between the years 
1845 and 1854 what was known as Mrs. Wheat's Hall, 
Parker's Hall and the hall under the First Parish 
meeting-house were, as occasion required, engaged by 
the town for town jiurposes, at which latter-named 
date the town engaged the last-mentioned hall to be 



CAKLISLE. 



719 



used for town purposes, for the consideration of 
twelve dollars per year, which sum the town con- 
tinued to pay annually until the year 1873, when the 
price was raised to twenty-five dollars per annum, 
which sum the town has continued to pay to the 
present date rather than build. 

In the year I80I! a fire-engine was secured partly by 
subscription, the balance being paid from the town 
treasury. The first officers elected were : John S. 
Barker, Master; Isaac Duren, Second Master; Ai 
Wheat, Clerk. 

Twenty-one engine men were appointed by the 
selectmen to work and manage the engine, which was 
an inferior machine, and never of much advantage to 
the town. It was finally sold at auction by the town, 
in the year ISiiS, for the sum of 10.50. 

There is but one post-office within the limits of the 
town. The date of its establishment was March 12, 
1834, and Dr. John Nelson, wiio was the first post-^ 
master, received his appointment on the latter-named 
date. 

Succeeding him the following-named persons have 
successively held the office, against the name of each 
appears the time from which their several commis- 
sions date : 

Joeeph V. Hefild Decembt^r 'J;J, 183.T 

.tohn C. Nickles April l:i, 1842 

James W. Wilkins lanuary 30, 1844 

,\rtema6 Parker July 8, 1846 

Lucius .Stiles June 8, 1S49 

George W. Green December 2, 1852 

John E. Cutter July 20, 1859 

Artemus Parker November 12, 18tjl 

John H. Chanii)ney June 18, 1867 

Charles I. Wortley March 2, 1868 

Sidney A. Bull July 1, 187i) 

John S. Gerow January 14, 1887 

Kidney A. Bull April 10, 1889 

In the year 1847 it was voted at the March meeting 
that the receipts and expenses of the town for the 
past year be printed, and that a copy of the same be 
furnished to each voter at the subseipient .Vpril 
meeting. This appears to be tlie first annual report 
of the town officers that the town ever ordered to be 
printed. 

In the early history of the town the custom pre- 
vailed of annually veuduing the poor; the vendue 
for a number of years took place at the house of Mr. 
Timothy Wilkins, he often being vendue master, and 
annually, until about the year 1830, the town paid 
bills for liquor used on these vendue occasions. The 
I following order, copied from the records, is a sample 
of others found there, and gives a glimpse of the 
times as they were : 

"(.•.iRi,i8i.E, Feb. .3, 1806. 
"To Mr. Nathiin (Irecn, Treaaurer: — Please pay out of the town's 
money to Mr. Samuel HrowTi tin- sum of one rlullar, it beint; for his find- 
ing six mugs of toddy last April whi-ii tlu! poor were veudued. 
'* By ortlcr of the Selectmen, 

"Jonathan Heali>, Toten CU'rk.'^ 

As occasion required, previous to the year 1830, 
coffins were furnished tor the burial of paupers, which 



were usually made by some resident of the town, 
and cost from one dollar and fifty cents to two dol- 
lars and fifty cents each. 

In the Spring of the year 1850. in annual town- 
meeting, the town considered the advisability of 
f(urchasing a town farm, but finally dismissed the 
article. 

No more eflbrts in this direction on the part of the 
town appear to have been put forth until nearly two 
years later, when, at the annual March meeting in the 
year 1852, a committee of five persons were chosen to 
gather information, and re|)ort at the next April 
meeting, the terms at which farms in the town suit- 
able for a poor farm can be purchased. Their report 
is quite lengthy, giving the i>articulars ctnicerniiig 
seven farms which they have examined, one of which 
was a farm in the possession of John VV. Holland, of 
Lowell, containing, as is stated, 102 acres of land, the 
price of which was $2000, which price a \mrt of the 
committee considered reasonable. 

This farm, the committee say in their report, is the 
only one on which they can agree (all things consid- 
ered) to recommend to the town for their favorable 
consideration, should they decide to purchase. 

In concluding their report the committee state that 
the annual average cost of supporting the poor for the 
past twelve years has been §424. 871. The foregoing 
report which was given at the April town-meeting 
was accejited, and a committee of three, viz.: Thomas 
Green, True Wiggin and Jonas Parker, were chosen 
to purchase for the town the Holland farm, and take 
a deed of the same. 

The latter-named committee were instructed to 
make a report of their proceedings at the next town- 
meeting, which they did on the 8th of November fol- 
lowing, stating that they had purchased the George 
Nickles farm (so called) for the sum of $2900, and 
that they have paid down the sum of 1900, and given 
their note on demand, at six per cent, interest for the 
balance of $2000 to John W. Holland. 

The town voted to accept the report and doings of 
the committee and authorized their treasurer to give 
the town's security for the notes given by the com- 
mittee. The town voted to raise the sum of $1500, to 
be used for the purpose of furnishing the farm and 
supporting the jioor. 

At a town-meeting held November 3, 1808, the town 
voted to authorize the overseers of poor to procure 
materials sufficient to repair the barn at the town- 
farm as they think necessity requires. Very little was 
done, however, until the year 1870, when it was re- 
paired, enlarged and made nearly new at an expense 
to the town of $1121.24. 

At a town-meeting held November 2, 1880, the 
town voted "that the overseers of the poor be author- 
ized to sell the wood on the town-farm, and that the 
amount of sales be appropriated toward the town 
debt." Before the close of the fiscal year, which 
euded March 1, 1881, the overseers had sold a certain 



720 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX c6uNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



lot of wood from the farm for which they received the 
sum of !?202.5, which money was appropriated as re- 
quired by the provisions of the foregoing vote. 

Now tliat the barn on the town-farm had been put 
in good repair, and the condition of the house being 
bad, and scarcely suitable for a dwelling, the attention 
of the town was directed toward an improvement in 
this particular, and at a town-meeting, held March 
21, 1881, the town voted to build a new house on the 
town-farm, and at a subsequent town-meeting held 
April 23d, voted to raise and appropriate the sum of 
$1-500 for said purpose, and that the money be ex- 
pended under the supervision of the selectmen. 

The contract for putting in the cellar was subse- 
quently given to IMr. Frank S. Bartlett for the sum 
of $225, and for furnishing stock and building the 
house Mr. H. W. Wilson was paid the sum of $1975. 
Extra work and other incidentals required in erect- 
ing the building, added to the above amount, made 
the entire cost of the building $2592.32 when com- 
pleted. 

The custom of annually choosing tithingmen pre- 
vailed until the year 1850. The following is a list of 
those chosen at the annual March meeting in the latter- 
named year, who were the last ever elected by the 
town, viz.: James W. Wilkins, Samuel P. Stevens, 
Gilman Nickles, Amos T. Monroe, Austin Marsh and 
Nathaniel Hutchinson. 

In the year 1857 Captain Thomas Green, Selar 
Simons and Isaac Blaisdell were chosen a committee 
to purchase a safe for the town, which they subse- 
quently did, and for which the town paid the sum of 
forty-five dollars. This is the only safe the town ever 
owned, and at the present time answers the purpose 
for which it was intended only in name, being far too 
small to hold the town records. 

Several times since the incorporation of the town 
the boundary lines have been changed by acts of the 
Legislature. The la.st instance was the result of an act 
approved Feb. 17, 18G5, whereby a part of the town 
of Chelmsford was set off and annexed to the town 
of Carlisle. The territory added to the town by this 
act appears to be virtually the same as was taken 
from the town and added to the town of Chelmsford, 
by an act passed IMarch 1, 1783, entitled " An Act 
for setting oft' David Parker from the District of Car- 
lisle and annexing him to the town of Chelmsford." 

A custom which has passed into disuse is that of 
ringing one of the church bells at the noon-hour 
which was discontinued after the year 1869. It was 
in the warrant for the annual April meeting for said 
year that the usual article appeared, viz. : " To see il 
the town will vote to have the chnrch-bell rung at the 
noon-hour during the ensuing year." Il is recorded 
that the town voted in reply to said article (in a jocu- 
lar sense, without doubt) " that any man that has a 
bell shall ring it himself." It would seem that this 
manner of settling the question wa.s not satisfactory 
to some of the inhabitants, for another town-meeting 



was called fourteen days later, the warrant for which 
contained but two articles, the first of which was in 
relation to having the church-bell rung. 

The town voted that the selectmen be authorized 
to procure the use of one of the church-bells and em- 
ploy a suitable person to ring the same at twelve 
o'clock M., the ensuing year ; the article never ap- 
peared in the warrant again. 

Carlisle has been unfortunate as regards railroad 
accommodations, and yet twice, at least, has been 
called upon to take action in regard to a proposed 
location for one through the town, the first of which 
was Jan. 15, 1870, when a town-meeting was called, 
principally for the purpose of ascertaining if the 
town would take any action in regard to t,he proposed 
railroad from Framiugham to Lowell, which would 
naturally pass through the town. 

The town voted that a committee of three persons 
be appointed by the se ectmen, and that they have 
full power to take such action in reference to the loca- 
tion of the proposed railroad from Framingham to 
Lowell as will best subserve the interest and conve- 
nience of the town, and especially that they be 
authorized to pledge the town to subscribe twenty 
thousand dollars to the capital stock of said road. 

The committee subsequently appointed by the 
selectmen were Messrs. Selar Simons, B. F. Heald 
and William W. Morse. Whatever efforts this com- 
mittee may have put forth, the result was of but little 
benefit to the town, as the final location of the road 
was two and a half miles to the west of the centre, 
barely crossing a corner of its territory, with the 
depot located just beyond its boundary lines, in the 
town of Westford. 

April 29, 1871, the town voted to take measures to 
secure a favorable location through its territory for 
the Middlesex Central Railroad, and chose by ballot a 
committee of five persons, viz.: H. Prescott, William 
Green, Geo. H. Robbins, Benjamin Barrett and W. 
W. Morse to assist in making a survey for said road. 
The town also voted to be assessed five per cent, on 
its valuation for the purpose of aiding to build said 
road if a favorable location should be the result; this, 
however, was not the case, and the town to-day is 
badly in need of improved railroad conveniences. 

Free Public Libr.4.ry. — Previous to the year 
1872 there had never been in the town a free public 
library owned by the town. One or two small libra- 
ries have existed however, but were the property of 
share holders, who, of course, made by-laws to protect 
themselves and their proi)erty, rather than for the 
accommodation of the public generally. 

It was in the year 1870 that the Rev. Moses Patten 
moved to town, having accepted the pastorate of the 
Congregational Church. His wife, Mrs. Lyd'a S. 
Patten, a pers(m possessed of a philanthropic turn of 
mind, and realizing the benefit to be derived from the 
possession of a free public library, which may be con- 
sidered second only to the public schools as a public 



CARLISLE. 



721 



educator, she immediately set about starting; one by 
private 8ubscri|)tions of money and books. 

BeTore very long she had succeeded in getting 
together quite a formidable collection of books, and by 
her own personal efforts, in serving as librarian with- 
out compensation, put them in circulation. Now that 
the library was in running-order, comfortably housed 
and centr.illy located in a room rented for the pur- 
pose, and for which the annual rental of §20 was 
paid (which sum was raised principally by entertain- 
ments, gotten up especially for the purpose), the 
proposition was made to present it to the town, 
which, if accepted, would place it in a position to be 
perpetually cared ior, added to and otherwise made 
useful. 

The result of the proposition was an article inserted 
in the warrant for the annual town- meeting held 
Jlarch 18, 1872, which read as follows, viz.: "To see 
if the town will appropriate money to aid in the es- 
tablishment of a town library." 

The town voted to raise and appropriate the sum 
of $140 for the establishment of a town library, and 
also that a committee of five persons, consisting of three 
males and two females, be chosen, whose duty it shall 
be to have the general supervision of said library. 

Thus March 18, 1872, may properly be considered 
ai the date when the Carlisle Free Public Library 
was established, and the committee chosen by the 
town, who were the first to serve in this capacity, were 
.as follows, viz.: Mrs. Lydia S. Patten to serve five 
years, Joseph F. Carr for four years, Miss Hattie 
Hutchinson three years, N. A. Taylor two years and 
Dr. Austin Marsh to serve one year. 

In the year 1SS9 the number of committee or 
trustees was reduce J to three, the office of one of said 
number to expire annually, whose successor is also 
annually chosen at the March meeting. 

It is possible that the town would, ere this date, 
have become the possessor of a town library, h.ad it 
not been fur the efforts of Mrs. Patten, who worked 
earnestly and hard for its establishment, and whom 
the town is ])roud to name as its founder; one thing 
certain: she doubtless caused its establishment to ante- 
date many years, what otherwise would have been the 
case. She removed from the town in the year 187ij, 
and has since passed to her final rest. Her works do 
follow her, and are a constant reminder of her to the 
people of the town. 

It would seem appropriate and fitting that a life- 
size portrait of her should adorn the walls of the 
library-room, in consideration of the respect due to 
her from the hands of the town. 

The library has been yearly incre.ising in size since 
its first inception, the result of appropriations by the 
town and the gifts of friends, until at the present 
time it numbers in all one thousand or more volumes. 
By vote of the town the refunded dog tax is appro- 
priated as a permanent fund to replenish its shelves, 
and for its suiii>ort. 
40 



It hfus no permanent abiding-place, but yearly a 
room is hired by the trustees for its accommodation. 
An opportunity presents itself for some liberal- 
minded person to act the part of the philanthropist, 
and present the town with a library building, an act 
which would be appreciated by all future generations, 
.IS well as be a constant reminder of the liberality of 
the donor. 

Flag-Staffs and Flag.— During the existence 
of the town two fiag-staffs have been erected, both in 
the same location — near the centre of the Common — 
the tree for the mam staff for both of which was given 
by the late William Green. 

Money for defraying the expense of erecting the 
first staff was obtained liy subscription, solicited by 
Mr. Nathaniel Hutchinson in the year 1861, who pro- 
cured in all the sum of 1137.50, $100 uf which was 
used to erect the staff, and the remaining 137.50 to 
purchase a flag, which latter is used by the town at 
the present day, although somewhat worn, yet is the 
only flag which the town ever owned. At the raising 
of this flag, after the erection of the first stall', pulilic 
exercises were held on the Common, A. 11. Brown, 
Esq., of Lowell, being the principal speaker. 

March 21, 1887, the town voted " to raise and ap- 
propriate the sum of One hundred dollars to erect a 
flag-staff in connection with the offer of .Mr. William 
(ireen,and the selectnun were chosen as a commi;teo 
to carry out the provisions of the vote. 

Of the above appro[)riation, the sum of SOfi.So was 
expended during said year for labor, topnnist »nd 
other incidentals. The cradle on said stafi' beais the 
inscription in gilt letters, " William Green's Gilt, 
1887," in honor of the donor of the main part of the 
staff. 

Among those who have made donations to the 
town, and should be kindly rtmembt-red by her citi- 
zens, is the name of Mrs. Mary G. Scott, who, by her 
last will and testament, bequeathed to the town the 
sum of $300, with the request that it should bo appro- 
priated toward paying the town debt. At a town- 
meeting held March 15, 188l), the town voted to ac- 
cept the bequest, and to use the money in accordance 
with the request in the will. 

School-Houses. — In the ypar 1818, at a meeting 
of the inhabitants of the Centre School District, held 
in the meeting-house on the 23d day of March, it 
was voted to erect a school-house in said district, 
when said meeting was adjourned to April 13th, at 
which adjourned meeting it was voted to build the 
school hi>uae on the top of the hill south of the 
meeting-house; also voted to build with brick, and 
that the building should be twenty-one feet squaic, 
with a porch, alter which it was voted that $75, 
which would be the district's proportion of the money 
raised by the town for schooling, be appropriate! 
fjr the purpose of erecting the building; also, it 
w.os further voted that the district be taxed, in ad- 
dition to said turn, for the amount of $230 fur the 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



above-mentioned jjurpoRe. Deacon Jolin Green, Na- 
than Green, Jr., and John Jacobs were chosen as a 
building committee. 

In the year 1828 the inhabitants of the North 
Scliool District voted that tlie district be a.ssessed for 
the sum of $550 for the purpose of building a 
school-house in said district. The contract for erect- 
ing the building was awarded to Benjamin Barrett, 
Jr., for which he received the sum of $553.62. The 
same building still remains in said district, and is the 
only school-house, as far as information from the rec- 
ords can be obtained, ever erected in the district. It 
was thoroughly repaired in the year 1869, at an ex- 
ptnse to the town of i'582.52. 

In the year 1837 the number of school districts was 
reduced from six, which had existed up to the last- 
named date, to five. A committee appointed by the 
town to investigate (he circumstances and report ou 
the advisability of said change, reported in its favor, 
and included in their report the bounds of division of 
the several districts, which report was accepted and 
adopted by the town. 

In the year 1839 the inhabitants of the East School 
District voted to raise, by tax, the amount of $170, 
to build a new school-house in said district. This 
building was destroyed by fire in the early part of the 
year 1869, and was rebuilt during the latter-named 
year at a total expense to the town of $1574.10, and 
is the same building which servts at the present 
time in said district the purpose for which it was 
erected. 

December 11, 1839, the inhabitants of what was 
made to constitute the South School District voted to 
raise the sum of $70, by tax, to be appropriated to- 
ward defraying the expense of building a new school- 
house in their district. 

May 2S, 1S40, by vote of the inh.ibitants of the 
West School District, they agreed to be assessed for the 
sum of $175 for the purpose of building a new school- 
house in their district. 

Consequently it would appear that within the space 
of twenty-two years, or between ISIS and 1840, five 
new school-houses had been built in the town, or one 
for each school district. 

This seems to have sufliced until the year 1848, 
when District No. 1, in the centre of the town, voted 
to raise $600, by tax, to build a new school-house, 
which is the one used at the present day, the lot of 
land on which it is located h.aving been given to the 
town for the i)urpose by the late William Green. 

The school-house in the south part of the town 
having been entirely consumed by fire during the lat- 
ter part of the year 1886, a town-meeting was called 
for January 12, 1887, at which the town voted " to 
erect a school-house in said district to replace the 
one recently destroyed by fire, at an expense to the 
town not to exceed the sum of $800, including furni- 
ture." Messrs. H. Prescott, Artemas Taylor and J. P. 
Dav."s were chosen a building committee, who pro- 



ceeded with the work assigned them and in due time 
presenttd the town with the result of their labor-, 
which included the building in a finished state, fur- 
nished and ready for use at an expense to the town 
of $805.08. 

BRIDGE.S. — The act incorporatirg the District of 
Carlisle made it incumbent on the district to pay 
one-sixth part of the charges that may arise from the 
maintaining of the North Bridge over the Concord 
River, in Concord, until such time as the inhabitants 
of the district shall build a bridge over said river 
themselves. 

Several sums of money were raised by the district 
for the purpose from time to time, and paid usually 
to the inhabitants of the district for doing the work 
required. 

An extract from an order given on the treasurer by 
the selectmen, which pertains to the case in question 
reads as follows : 

"CiEI.ISLE, Jnn. 3, 1780. 
"To ]Mr. Joimtli<in Rlood, Trensiiror, Sir, plense to I'fty out of llio 
ristrict money to Mr. Simon Blootl, Juii^ the following Sums, viz.: One 
pound, thirteen Shilllng8 and Six pence, it being for fourteen gallons 
and thi-ee quartB of Kujn provided for those that worked nt the norlh 
Bridge in Concord; also pay to liiin the Sum of thirteen Shillings, it be- 
ing for five Day's work done at Said Bridge, &c." 

On Thursday, the 9th day of December, 1790, at 
a meeting of the inhabitants of the district, the fol- 
lowing was the second article which appeared in the 
warrant, viz. : 

"To See If the District will agree to build a Bridge over Concord 
River between Carlisle .t Bedford, or any part thereof, or do any thing 
for the encouragement of a public Koad through Carlisle and Bedford, 
or act on the article as they may think proper." 

In response to the above article a committee of five 
inhabitants of the district were chosen, 1st, to deter- 
mine as to the necessity of building said bridge; 2d, 
should tliey deem it advisable to build, to determine 
the most proper place; 3d, to confer with the inhabit- 
ants of Bedford respecting the matter, finally to see 
how much they can get by subscription toward build- 
ing said bridge. 

This was the beginning of a question which agi- 
tated the minds of the inhabitants of the district for 
upward of four years, and which resulted in the 
establishment of a public road frrm Carlisle to 
Bedford, and the building of the first bridge over the 
river between the two towns, which was probably 
completed for use in the year 1795, although appro- 
priations for the purpose of repairing the causeway 
and for plank lor the bridge are subsequently of fre- 
quent occurrence. 

At a meeting called on the 26th day of May, 1791, 
it was voted " to prepare a Road from the Mceting- 
House to the River, and build an abutment on this 
side at the place agreed to by the committee, if Bed- 
lord will prepare a Road to the River and build an 
abutement on the other Side." At a subsequent 
meeting, held October 3, 1791, by adjournment I'rom 
September 5th, it was voted to dismiss the former com- 
mittee, and that the district take the subscription 



CARLISLE. 



723 



unci build a bridge over the river if the town of 
Uedford would conform to the ])rovisions of the pre- 
vious vote. 

The selectmen were chosen a committee to i)etition 
the town of Bedford to lay out a road to the river, and 
build the abutment on their side. 

Later it was voted to " petition the Court of Gen- 
era! Sessions of the Peace for a Committee to View 
the necessity of a road from Carlisle to Bedford Meet- 
ing-House," and the selectmen were delegated a com- 
mittee to accompany them and also to build the 
bridge. 

Several sums of money were voted for the purpose, 
the largest of which was one hundred pounds, voted 
March 3, 1794, which was to be appropriated for the 
purpose of building one-half the bridge over the 
river, also the causeway on the Carlisle side, and to 
pay land damages occasioned by the road. 

The money thus appropriated was paid out at 
various times, and in varying sums as occasion re- 
quired. The following is a copy of an order drawn on 
one of the constables, and is made to appear here, not 
because it is a sample of very many others, al- 
though it is of some, but principally to show the con- 
trast between the customs of a hundred years ago 
and the present time : 

Carlisle, Feb. the 18, 179.'>. 
'* To Mr. Johu Jacobs, Constable of the District of Carlisle : Sir, please 
to pay out of the district's money which you are onlereii to collect to 
Defray the expence uf building a Bridge over the River, to Mr. John 
Green the Sum of Seven pounds, two Shillings and four pence, for Rum 
and Sugar used at the Bridgo when building the Same, and this Shall 
Discharge you for that Sum. £7. 2. 4. 
" By order of the Selectmen. 

'*As.l Parlin District, Cler." 

A district meeting was called for August 29, 1803, 
and the sixth article in the warrant was to " See if 
the District will agree to raise a sum of money to 
raise the Causeway on the river meadow near the 
Bridge, &c." On consideration of the article it was 
voted to " raise the Sum of one Hundred Dollars for the 
purpose of filling up the Causeway on the river 
meadow, and that the Causeway be vendued the .^th 
Day of September, at 4 o'clock, and that the select- 
men be a committee for that purpose and to provide 
drink." 

At a town-meeting held Jan. 14, 1822, twenty-seven 
years after the building of the first bridge over the 
Concord River between Carlisle and Bedford, the town 
voted to rebuild their part of the river bridge tlie ap- 
proaching summer, and chose as a committee for 
said purpose, Benjamin Barrett, Paul Forbush and 
Capt. Stephen Blood, wiiich committee were subse- 
quently increased by vote of the town May Gth, same 
year, by four more names, viz. : Samuel Adams, 
Thomas Heald, John Heald and Isaiah Green. The 
town clerk was instructed to notify the selectmen of 
Bedford of the action taken by the town in relation 
to their half of the bridge, which it was voted to con- 
struct twenty feet wide, and upon mud-sills, the timber, 



with the exception of the mud-sills and plank, to be 
white oak. 

At the intervening April meeting the town voted 
to raise the sum of ?.')00 for the purpose of defraying 
the expen.se of rebuilding. As in the former case, " rum 
and sugar lor the laborers and committee " consumed 
a ])art of the appropriation. 

At a town-meeting held April 4, 1870, the town 
voted to raise the sum of §G00 to be expended by the 
selectmen for the purpose of repairing the river 
bridge and making it safe for travel, and also voted 
tint the repairs be made at the earliest practical 
moment. Of the above appropriation S230.42 wa3 
expended, but it would seem, however, that the bridge 
was not yet considered safe, for at a town-meeting 
held Nov. 7, 1871, the town chose a committee of 
three, viz. : H. Prescott, N. A. Taylor and Benjamin 
Barrett, who were instructed to keep the river bridge 
in safe condition for public travel, and to rebuild it 
whenever in their judgment it may be necessary to do 
so. The work of rebuilding was done in the year 
1872, and the expense of the undertaking was met by 
an appropriation by the town of $2500. The entire 
expense, however, of one half of the bridge, which 
the town was required to build, was $2327.48. 

This bridge differed from those previously con- 
structed, being built upon driven spiles, instead of 
mud-sills. 

Very little has been expended upon the bridge 
since it was last rebuilt. 

Buryixg-Grounds. — There seems to have been 
no provision made for a public burying-ground pre- 
vious to the year 1784, when, at a meeting of the in- 
habitants of the district held April 5th, it was voted 
that " there be one-half acre of Land Provided for 
the use of a burying-place, including the spot of 
ground that hath been made use of for that purpose 
already." Also at said meeting a committee of three 
persons were chosen to confer and settle with Mr. 
Wilkins for said land. 

A little more than three years later two sums of 
money were paid out of the treasury for land 
purchased for a burying-place, viz.: to Timothy 
Wilkins, the 3d, tiie sum of ten shillings, 
and to Timothy Wilkins, Jr., the sum of sixteen shil- 
lings, which was the proportional part due each of 
the above-named parties, whom, it would appear, 
were joint owners of the land, which was what is now 
known as the Central Burying-Ground, the same that 
is located near the centre of the town, and which, at 
the present date, is seldom, if over, used for the pur- 
pose of interment. 

The stones all stand facing the east, and indicate 
the age of slate, witli the exception of two or three 
marble slabs. There are no monuments within its 
enclosures. 

Here rest the remains of the first minister that was 
settled in the town, the Rev. Paul Litchfield : also 
the remains of many of the first settlers of the place. 



724 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Many of the inscriptions on tlie stones whicli com- 
memorate their names have attached military and 
clitirch titles. 

Tiiat interments were made here previous to its 
heing purchased by tlie district would seem evident 
I'rom the inscriptions found upon the stones, some of 
wliieh date back as far as 1778, and, doubtless, some 
who earliest found a resting-place here have nothing 
erected to their memory. 

In later years it became apparent that more 
room would be required for the purpose of a burying- 
ground, the question of procuring which continued to 
lie agitated from time to lime in town-meetings. 
Several times the propriety of purchasing an addi- 
tion to what was known as Green's burying-ground 
had been considered. The latter-named place was a 
tract of land containing about half an acre, located 
about lialf a mile southeast of the centre of the 
town, and which was set apart and given by Mr. John 
Green, to be used by the Greens exclusively for the 
purpose of a burial spot. 

From time to time, however, permission was given 
to others to make interments there, until nearly all 
tlie available space was taken up. 

The stones here also indicate the era of slate, 
nearly all of which are slate slabs, erected, according 
to the ancient custom, facing the rising sun. 

In the fall of the year lySl a committee of three, 
consisting of Silas Green, Thomas Heald and l)ea. 
John Green, were chosen by the town to purchase a 
piece of land for the purpose of enlarging Green's 
burial-ground, 

It is probable that they attended to the duties to 
which the town had delegated them, but it was not 
until the April meeting in the year 1837 that the 
town voted to pay Mr. Leonard Green the sum of 
$25 lor half an acre of land to enlarge Green's 
burial-ground, and cause the same to be enclosed by 
a fence. 

In the year 1841 the town voted at a meeting held 
in May to lay out said burial-ground in lot.s, and chose 
for a committee to carry out the provisions of said 
vote the three followinp-nained persons, viz.: Capt. 
Thomas Green, Dea. John Green and Capt. Ezckiel 
Nickles. 

In the year 1863 the town purchased of Capt. 
Thomas Green one acre of land, as an addition to 
Green's burying-ground, and in the year 18G(J pur- 
chased of Mrs. Oliver Forbush one acre more, whicli 
was the last addition made, and which enlarged it to 
its present proportions. 

At a town-meeting held April 2, 1800, the town 
voted to appropriate the sum of $150 for the pur- 
pose of building a wall in front of the cemetery. 
Two years later the C( mmittee report having ex- 
pended for the afore-iiamed purpose, and for a num- 
ber of stone bounds, the sum of $110.73, and also for 
gates put in at the two entrances, the sum of eleven 
.lollars. 



In the year 1870 the town appropriated the sum of 
$150 for the purpose of setting out trees and 
shrubbery in and around Green Cemetery, and at the 
annual April town-meeting held the next year a com- 
mittee of three persons were chosen to have the gen- 
eral charge and care of the burial-grounds. Thij 
committee were: Benjamin Barrett, chosen tor one, 
Prescott Nickles for two, and Selar Simons for three 
years, respectively, which committee attended to 
setting the trees and shrubs which at the present time 
ornament Green Cemetery. Since the latter-named 
date the custom of annually appointing a cemetery 
committee has prevailed in the town. 

Near the centre of Green Cemetery is located a 
very neat and pretty octagon-shaped summer-house, 
of symmetrical proportions, and about ten feet high, 
the roof being tin covered. 

A piazza surrounds the building, inside of which 
are benches suitable for seats. In the centre of said 
building stands a table bearing a marble tablet, ou 
which is the following inscription : 

This bliiUlijig erected July 8, 1874, 

Aud iirfsenttfl to tli« tuwn of Cut'litile 

By Miss tl. L. C Green. 

So live with men, as if God's curious eye 
l>id everywhere into thy iictions spy : 
Strive to live well, tread in the nprisht ways, 
Aud rather count thy actions than thy days. 

At a town-meeting held April 5, 1875, the town 
formally accepted of the building, and passed resolu- 
tions of gratitude to be extended to the donor, and 
also agreed to keep the building in good repair, and 
to have it appropriately dedicated, which was subse- 
quently done. The dedicatory address was delivered 
by Rev. James T. Powers during the summer of the 
latter-named year, from the piazza of the building, 
before au assembly of people who had gathered there 
for the purpose. 

March 18, 1878, the town voted to establish a pub- 
lic watering-place at the cemetery road side, for which 
purpose a well was dug about midway of the cemetery 
and outside the enclosure. Subsequently a pump was 
furnished, since which time it has served the purpose 
for which it was intended. 

During the year 1880 a concrete walk was laid at 
the west entrance, at an expense to the town of 
152.25. 

In the northwest corner, or old part of Green Cem- 
etery, the earliest interments were made, some of 
which date back as iar .is tlie year 1785; a stone 
erected to the memory of Saiah, wife of Asa Parlin, 
who was at that date cleik of the district, and also one 
to the memory of Lieutenant Asa Green, bear date as 
above. 

In Lear proximity to these is a neglected-looking 
slate slab, three and a half feet tall, covered with moss 
and leauing, also bearing the ancient representation 
of an angel's head and wings at top and jiillars ou sides. 
The following is the inscription : 



CARLISl.E. 



725 



lumomury of Mr. Simon Blood, Juii,, 

who flifd Nov. 7, \''.y^^ 

in .v« 47tl» y of Ills age. 

His generous donations to piiiilic uses do lienor to Iiis memory, and will 

preserve liis name to posterity. 

Naked as from tlie earth we came 

.\nd crept to life at first. 
We to ttie cartli return aj^ain 

And niintjle with our dust. 

The above is what marks the resting-place of one 
who served the district ia ita infancy ia the various 
capacities of school-teacher, town treasurer for two 
years, aelectmaa for ten years, having been a member 
of the second board chosen by the district, and was 
alsi) holding the office at the date of his decease. He 
was one of the first, as well as largest, donors to the 
interests of the town; his name deserved to be per- 
petuated, and his grave, in the absence of relatives, 
to be kept green by a posterity who are enjoying the 
benefits of his liberality. 

In the southwest corner, near the hearse-house, 
are interred the remains of her to whom the town is 
indebted for the donation which called into exi-tence 
the soldiers' monument in the centre of the town. 
The lot is enclosed with a granite curbing, and a gran- 
ite monument marks the spot. The inscription reads 
as fullon'S : " Lydia A. G., wife of William Farrar, 
died September 27, ISSl, aged seventy years, nine 
months, twelve days." Xear the centre of the ceme- 
tery, and back of the summer-house, located on main 
avenue, is a double marble tableterected to the mem- 
ory of Abel Taylor, Jr., and wife. His death occur- 
red December 10, 18S7, aged eighty-two years, seven 
months, thirteen days; his wife preceded him by a 
few years. 

His munificence, shown by the legacy left to the 
Union Calvinistic Society, will always be remembered 
with gratitude by those who worship with this soci- 
ety, of which both he and his wife were members at 
the time of their decease. The tablet bears the motto : 
" We part to meet again." The remains of but two 
clergymen rest in the town, viz.: those of the first 
minister. Rev. Paul Litchfield, interred in the Central 
Burying-Grjund, while in Green Cemetery an un- 
jiretentious granite tablet marks the place where rests 
the remains of one other wbo performed the duties of 
a clergyman in the town for upward of eight years. 
The inscription on the tablet reads a.-i follows: "In 
memory of Rev. James T. Powers, 1S2S-188S. The 
joys of those with Gud iu heaven can never end." 

In this cemetery are also buried numerous others 
who have in times past, out of their abundance, con- 
tributed for the benefit of the church or town. Some 
of their names may be recalled :us follows : Mr. 
Thomas Green, Mr. William Farrar, Mrs. Mary G. 
Scott and Mr. William Green. 

Hearses and Hearse-Houses. — At a town-meet- 
ing held April 4, 1808, it was voted that the town 
raioe $100 to procure a hoarse, and Captain Nehemiah 



Andrews was chosen to expend said money, and pro- 
vide a hearse for the use of the town. 

On March 10th of the following year the town 
treasurer paid out of the town's money to Mr. Isaac 
Blaisdell, who supported a wheelwright's shop in the 
town at that time, the .'■um of $29 75, it being for his 
building a hearse for the use of the town. Another 
order was drawn the preceding day in favor of Mr. 
Andrews, the above-named committee, for the sum of 
?2fi, it being for iron, harness and boxes, and his time 
spent in procuring a hearse for the use of the town. 
A third order was drawn a little later in favor of 
James Kemp for the sum of $8.50, it being for his 
doing the iron-work on the hearse. These three 
sums, the total of which is $64.25, are all that appear 
to have been paid from the town treasury for the pur- 
po.<e of paying for the first hearse which the town 
owned. Rather a moderate sum it would be consid- 
ered .at the present date to expend for a similar pur- 
po.se. 

Now that the town was the owner of a hearse, the 
next consideration was to provide a place of shelter 
for the same. An article was inserted in the warrant 
for the annual April meeting the following year, 
which called for action on the subject. At this meet- 
ing it was voted that the town erect a hearse-house 
sixteen feet long, nine feet wide and seven feet high. 
A committee of three, consisting of Captain Nathan 
Haywood, Paul Forbush and Captain Stephen Blood, 
were chosen to prepare a plan of said building, with 
specifications which they were to present on the 
evening of the same day, when it w.os voted that the 
erecting of the building be vcndued. 

The fidlowing order; subseiinently drawn on the 
treasurer, would seem to indicate the name of the 
contractor, as well as the cost of the building: 

"To Mr. Nathan Green, Jr., towh treasurer: 

" Sm : — IMejiso to pay out of tlie loxrii's money to Capt. Neliemiah .\n- 
ilrews Twenty six dollars and fout cents, it being for his building uliouso 
for the town hearse.'* 

This building was located on the southeast corner 
of the Central Biiryir.g-Ground, where it stood until 
the year 18G7, when it was voted that the selectmen 
be authorized to dispose of it in such manner as they 
deem best. It wiis finally .sold for the s-im of .^5, 
moved away and transformed into a dwelling. Dur- 
ing its existence as a hearse-house it answered the 
double i)urpo.se of providing a shelter for the hearse 
and of serving as a sort of armory or receptacle for 
the town's supply of powder, fire-arms and etjuip- 
ments. 

In the year 1838 a committee of three were ap- 
pointed in town-meeting to have the old hearse re- 
paired, which finally seems to have answered its pur- 
pose until the year 1865, when, at a town-meeting 
held Nov. 7th, a committeeof three persons were chos- 
en to procure a new hearse and to dispose of the old 
one. Messrs. E. S. Hutchins, George F. Duren and 
Nathaniel Hutchinson were chosen and accepted for 



72G 



HISTOKY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



saiJ committee, who subsequently procured the more 
modern and ornamental carriage for the dead, owned 
and used by the town at the present day, and which 
was purchased of A. Tolaian & Co., of Worcester, 
for the sura of $430. The old hearse was sold at 
auction for the sum of $2, and after certain altera- 
tions subsequently served the purpose of a pleasure- 
wagon, for a number of years, for the purchaser, who 
was a resident townsman. 

By vote of the town, March 19, 1888, the selectmen 
were instructed to buy a pole and runners for the 
hearse, which they procured for the sum of $19.50, 
exclusive of the bill for painting. 

At a town-meeting held May 25, 18G7, the last ar- 
ticle in the warrant was to " see if the town will pro- 
vide a suitable place for the new hearse or act there- 
on," when it was voted " that the selectmen be au- 
thorized to build a suitable hearse-house." The result 
of this vote was the building used for a hearse-house 
at the present time, and which is located in Green 
Cemetery, erected at an expense to the town of nearly 
$250. 

The following is a list of the physicians who have 
resided and practiced in the town, the latter of whom 
has been the resident physician for the pa-t fifty 
years: John Nelson, lSlG-1836; Paul C. Kittredge, 
1837-1839; Austin Marsh, 1839. 

The more important town officers have been as 
follows : 

Town Cleilit. 

Yeiirfl. 

Zobuluiu SimulJiug, 1780-84 6 

Asiil'arlin, 1785-181)2, '06-118 il 

Joliii Jucolifl, 1803, '09-12, '20, '47-53 12 

.lonatlinn lleiild, 1804-05, '18-20 S 

Jonatlmn HcoW, Jr., 1813-H 2 

.yoLii lloalcl, Jr., 1815-17, '21-25, '27-2!) 11 

CjTiis Heald. 18M-3-1, '4.5-46 8 

Calvin Ileuld. 1830-10, '43-44 7 

Eiihmim Hobbins, 1841-42 2 

(ioorge F. Duren, 1853-09 17 

Solal Sijnoiis, 1870-72 3 

Austin Marsh, 1873-80 8 

John E. Hull, 18S1 

Toton Trcasni-erB. 

Captain .Sninucl Iloald, 1780-85 C 

Siniiinlllu.id, Jr., 1781-87 2 

Jonathan Bluod, 1788 1 

Samuel Gri-i-ii, 1789-1802 M 

NathauUn!C>n, Jr., 1803-18 li, 

John (ireen, 1810-28, '30-38 19 

John Nulson, 1829 1 

Thomas Green, 1839-02 24 

Williaiu Green, 1803-80 18 

'rhomaB A. Oreon, 1881-82 2 

]iuml)hrey I'rcscott, 1883 I 

Sidney A. Bull, 1884 

&'lcctiitt;n. 

Zcbulum SpanklliiR, 1780, '83-S4 3 

Cajitaili rhincaa Blood, 1780-81 2 

Lieutenant John Heald, 1780-81 2 

Satiuiel Green, 1781, 1799-18110 3 

Lieutenant lesachar Andrews, 1781-84 4 

Slmonlllood, Jr., 1781, '86-93 10 

Asa Parlln, 1782, '85-1802, '00-08 22 

/acheus Gleen, 1782 1 

Nathaniel Hutchinson, 1783 I 



Years. 

Nathan Parlin, 1784 I 

Jonatlmn Heald, 17S.5-SG, '88-18ni,'04-ll.'., '18-20 21 

Deacon Ephraini Bobbins, 1787, '94-96, 1801-02, '0C-(18. . . S 

Leonard Gr.en, 1790-97 2 

John Jacobs, 1798, 1803, '09-12, '-20 7 

Nathan GrSen, Jr., 1802 1 

John Green, 1803, '29 2 

Thomas Spaulding, 1803 1 

Frederick Blood, 1804-5 2 

Ezekiel Niekles, 1804-5, '33 3 

Neheniiah Andrews, 180C-7 '2 

Captain Timothy Heald, 1808-12 5 

Eliakim Hutcbins, 1809, '15 2 

Thomas Heald, 1810-12, '21-23, '29 7 

Jonatlmn Heald, .)r.. 1813-14 2 

Benjamin Bobbins, 1813-14 2 

Major Joims Parker, 1813-17, '30-32 8 

Captain John Heald, Jr., 1816-17, '21-25, '27-29 11 

Aaron Uobhins, 1810-17, '20-21 4 

Aaron Fletcher, 1818-19 2 

Paul Forbush, 1818-19 2 

Isaiah Green, 1820-23 4 

Cyrus Heald, 1824-28, '30-35, '4,5-40 13 

James Green, 1824-25 2 

Cyrus Green, 1826-28, '33 4 

Thomas Ueald, Jr., 1830-32 3 

William Green, 2"'', 1S34-3C, '40 4 

Thomas Pago, 1834-40 7 

Calvin Heald, 1830-40, '43^4 7 

Ai Wheat, 1837 1 

William Durant, 1838 1 

Bonj. P. Hutcbins, 1838 1 

Benjamin Barrett, 1839, '42 2 

Epbraim Bobbins, 1841-42 2 

Benjamin F. Heald, 1841, '44-15, '70-72, '75 7 

Joseph V. Heald, 1841^2 2 

John I>. Bobbins, 1843 1 

George F. Duren, 1843-44, '52-02, '61-08, '73-74, '70 ... . 21 

John Jacobs, 1815-52, '04 9 

Thomas Green, 1846-51 6 

Lucius Styles, 1847-19 3 

Joel Boynton, 1850-02, '05, '70, '73 10 

Ebenezer Chanipney, 1853-54, '75 3 

John Q. A. Green, 1853-54, '63, '78, '84-87 8 

Timothy Wilkins. 1855 1 

Isaac Blaisdell, 1856-00, '02 

Selar Simons, 1861 1 

Abram Ilutchins, 1803 1 

J. M. Currier, 1803, '72 2 

Sebra D. Bartlett, 1804-65 2 

William Farrar, 1860-09 4 

John H. Chanipney, 1866 1 

Samuel B, Scott, 1S67 I 

Nathaniel A.Taylor, 1868-69 2 

George S. Skelton, 1809-71, '70-84 12 

William W. Worse, 1871 I 

Samuel H. Bobbins, 1872 1 

Humphrey Prescott, 1873 1 

Austin Jlarsii, 1874, '77 2 

Daniel W. Kobbins, 1874-75, '88-90 S 

Asa Nickles, 1876-83 » 

George H. Bobbins, 1879, '86, '88-89 4 

Nathaniel Ilutchinsou, 1880, 1881,1887 3 

Sidney A. Bull, 1882 1 

Albert S. Day, 1883 1 

John P. Davis, 1884-89 

John E. Bull, 1885 1 

Abel G. llodgman, 1887 1 

Warren II. Blaisdell, 1890 1 

Leonar.i BI. Green, 1890 1 

In the year 1781 the number of selectmen elected 
was five, with which exception the number annually 
elected has always been three. 



CARLISLE. 



727 



The following is a list of names of persons who 
have served as representatives from the town : 

Peiicoli Ephrnim RobWns. 1790, 180C, ISnT. 1S08. 

Asa PHrliii, 1S03 ; conventiuii 1788. 

I';iul Liliillifld, 1SU9, ISIU, ISll. 

Timothy Iloiild, ISl'J. 

ThuinaB HeiilJ. 1815. 

Joimtliaii Heald, Jr., 18ir,. 

John Heal.I, 181S, ISil, 18.13, 1820, 1827, 1830. 

Dr. John Nelson, 1824. 

Cyrus HeiilJ, 1832, 1833, 1834, 183.5. 

Benjamin Barrett, lS3ii ; coiiventiuu 1S20. 

llcv. George W. Stticy, 1837. 

Calvin Heald, 1839, 186(1. 

Amos Sjiaulding, 184(1, 1841. 

Thomas Green, 1843, 1850. 

BenjatniD t'. Heald, 1S48. 

John Jacobs, 18il ; couvontion 1803. 

Joel Uoynton, 1852. 

Anms T Monroe, 1855. 

Sanmel B. Chaniberliiin, 18C0. 

Huni[direy Prescott, 1871. 

Sidney A. Bull, 1880. 

The population of the town, each decade, since the 
year 1790, as supplied by the State census, is as 
follows : 



1730 


555 


1800 


034 


1810 


072 


1820 


081 


1830 


60C 



1840 . . 






IScO . . . 




. . 032 


1800 




r. ^ 1 


1870 5G9 


1830 . . . 




. . 478 



Military. — The District of Carlisle had its birth 
in the middle of the Revolutionary period, and de- 
mands were frequently made on her for funds and 
men to supply her proportion of the quota for the 
army. She seems to have been willing to perform 
her obligations in this respect, and at a meeting of 
the inhabitants held by adjournment in the meeting- 
house, July 3, 1780, it was voted to raise the sum of 
thirty thousand pounds to be applied towards paying 
the soldiers and otherwi.se discharging such debts as 
may arise on account of the war. 

Also the following proceedings as recorded of a 
meeting held February 20, 1781, for the purpose of 
raising men in response to a call of the Court for 
same, is but an illustration of what was frequently 
occurring until the close of the war. After the choice 
of a moderator, " then the orders or Resolves of Court 
was Read Respecting Raising a number of men to 
Serve in the Continental army lor three years, or 
During the war with Brittoii. 

" Voted to chuse a committee of seven to hire men. 
Chose Lieut. Isachar Andrews, Capt. Israel Heald, 
Timothy Wilkins, James NIckles, Zicheus Green^ 
Ephraiin Robbins and Stephen Blood, Jr. Then 
Capt. Samuel Heald and Lieut. Isachar Andrews im- 
boilied the men present at s'' meeting, and went 
Round in or"* to Se if any was Spirited to Inlist." 
None enlisted, however, and it was voted to adjourn 
the meeting until the following Monday at four 
o'clock P.M. 

At the adjourned meeting it w.as voted that the 
selectmen divide the di.'ilrict into si.\ cla.«es, and re- 



quire each class to procure a man to serve in the 
army. 

Numerous instances apjjcar on the town records 
where money was paid for various items for the bene- 
fit of the army, such as beef, corn, blankets, various 
kinds of provisions and necessities; aUo, in several 
instances, a horse was purchased and paid for to be 
sent to the army. 

The demands were frequent, and in the aggregate 
amounted to quite an expense to the district, its well 
as a heavy drain upon the men able to perform mili- 
tary duty. 

The following list of names of men who served in 
the Revolutionary War from the District of Carlisle 
was procured from searching the Revolutionary rolls 
at the State House and the town records; doubtless 
they are appro.ximately complete. The list, however, 
woold probably have been more than twice as long 
did it contain all the names of soldiers who served in 
the war that deserve to be credited to the limits of 
the district; but since more than four years had 
elapsed subsequent to the battle of Concord before 
the district was incorporated, all soldiers from with- 
in its limits, who enlisted previous to this date, were 
credited to the respective towns to which they theu 
belonged. 

Li^t of Soldiers from Cttrlistc in (he ItevnltUionnry TV\tr. 
Joel Wbeoler, Asa Wheeler, Nathan B. Mnnroe, Abraham Andrews, 
Daniel Wheat, Leonard Green, Tli.'nnw Wood, Timothy Wilkins, Jr., 
Joseph Ni-ton. Samuel Proetor, Patrick Neif, John Crosby, Paul Lam- 
sou, Jonathan Heald, .\ln-am Taylor, James Mackensay, Mercham Tay- 
lor, Amos Amos, Ebenezer Stone, Jr., Thomas Welch, Matthew Jenuer- 
Bon, PeterOliver, Philip Boston, Bari'ett Blood, Tliaddeus Parlin. 

At a district meeting held August 18, 1794, it was 
voted " that the minute-men have Seven Dollars per 
month in case they Shall be called into actual Service, 
while in Service Including the Continental pay, and 
also give them three Dollars Bounty within twenty days 
from this time, or Sooner, if called upon to march; 
and further Voted that the minute-men who Shall 
turn out Voluntaryly and enlist Shall iiave the Same 
pay which the Town of Concord have agreed to give 
their minute-men." 

In compliance with the above vote an order wjvs 
drawn on the district treasurer August 29, 1794, for 
£13 10s., it being the total amount of the bounty, at 
eighteen shillings each, which the district voted to 
give in consideration of their services as minute-meu 
to the following persons, viz.: 

List o/ ^titlute■S[en. 

LieiitcDaDt Daniel Wheat, Nathan Parlin, Jr., Samuel Hartwell, 

James Kemp, Benjamin llol)bins, Reuben Durant, Thomas Ileah), .\sa 

Ilartwoll, James Russell, Jr., David Walker, Simon Wheeler, Nathan 

Wheeler, Amos Green, Asa Green, Nathaniel I'arker, Jr. 

In the year 1800 a special meeting of the inhabit- 
ants of the district was called for Tuesday, April 19th. 
The fourth article in the warrant was as follows : " To 
See if the District will agree to make provision for 
their Soldiers at the Ceneral muster at Concord or act 
on the article as they may think proper." 



•728 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



In regard to this article it was " Voted that each 
Soldier who attends the muster shall have one pound 
and an half of Beef of Sutabie pieces, and one pound and 
an half of Bread, one third part of a pound of cheese, 
and one quarter of a pound of powder, and the Company 
one Barrel of old cider and three gallons of W. I. 
rum a day, and that the Soldiers that do duty iu other 
companies draw as much money as the cost is to each 
Soldier who draws provision." 

A committee of three persons were chosen to pro- 
vide said articles, wdiich they did, as orders subse- 
quently drawn on the treasurer iu their favor would 
go to prove, 

That a military organization existed iti the district 
ever after its incorporation would appear from the 
reference often made to it iu the proceedings at the 
district meetings. 

On June II, 1804, it was voted " that the District 
of Carlisle supply the Training Band with Cartridges, 
and also furnish two Hints for each member to be for- 
ever kept in store for said Band." 

Captain Ezekiel Nickles, Lieutenant Nathan Hey- 
wood and ensign Abel Nickles were appointed a com- 
mittee to furnish the said articles, and it would seem 
probable that they were the commissioned officers of 
the organization at that date. 

At a town-meeting held May IG, 1808, the town 
voted to raise $25, to be laid out for powder to be used 
on Independence Day, and also voted that the three 
commissioned officers of the Carlisle company, be 
authorized to procure said powder. This is the first 
recorded appropriation or expenditure of money by 
the town for the purjiose of celebrating Fourth of 
July. 

In the year 1814 the town voted to purchase guns 
and equipments (said guns and equipments to remain 
the |>roperty of the town) for all those required to 
l)erfonu military duty and who were unable to equip 
themselves. Also at the same time, it was voted to 
procure at the expense of the town, for the use of the 
Boldiers, sixty canteens, and a few years later knap- 
sacks were provided for what was known as the Car- 
lisle company. These equipments were stored in the 
hearse-house, and some are preserved to the present 
day. 

In the year 1830 and for several subsequent years 
it was customary for the town to reiuud the amount of 
the poll-tax assessed on those persons who performed 
all the military duty in uniform (which uniform was 
probably provided at their own expense), required of 
them by the laws of the Commouwealth, and each 
year the town treasurer was served with a list of |'er- 
sjns who were entitled to have said amounts refunded 
and ordered to pay the same. 

Iu the year ISi^S it would appear that military am- 
bition was on the wane, and that military <lrill was 
practically discontinued, for the tenth article in the 
warrant for the annual Ajiril meeting in said year 
was " to see if the town will agree to sell the old 



guns, and other articles in the hearse-house belonging 
to the town." It was voted to have the town treasurer 
sell the same. 

A few of these old flint-lock pieces are to be found 
in the town at the present day ; many, however, have 
been so transformed as to conform to the more 
modern inventions. 

At a town-meeting held September 9, 1851, the town 
voted to accept an invitation from the town of Acton to 
join with them in the celebration of the erection of a 
monument, which at that time was being erected to the 
memory of Captain Isaac Davis and others of Revo- 
lutionary fame, and also chose a committee of five 
person-^, viz. : Benjamin Barrett, Joel Boynton, John 
Jacobs, True Wiggin and Rev. Seth W. Banister, to 
confer with the committee of Acton, and make the 
necessary arrangements. 

At a town-meeting held March 18, ISTo, the tow n 
was called upon to consider and take action in refer- 
ence to an invitation extended by the towns of Con- 
cord and Lexington, inviting the town of Carlisle to 
join with them iu the celebration of the centennial 
anniversary of the battles of said Concord and Lex- 
ington. 

The following are extracts from resolutions which 
were accepted and adopted by the meeting and which 
were virtually carried into elfect by the town, viz.: 

" WuEKEAS, The citizens of the town of Concord, 
on the 19th of April next, propose to celebrate in a 
suitable manner the centennial anniversary of the 
battle of Concord, and have invited us to join with 
them in that celebration, 

"And whereas, many of ourancestry largely jiartici- 
pated in the events to be commemorated, therefore 

"Resolved, That we cordially accept the invitation 
and will attend the celebration as an organized body, 
with music and an apjiropriate banner, and that we 
will invite the Spaulding Light Cavalry to act as our 
escort on the occasion, etc." 

A committee was chosen by the town to make all 
necessary arrangement-*, who were as follows, Stephen 
Taylor, Selar Simons, Geo. F. Duren, E. S. Hulchins, 
L. M. Green, N. A. Taylor, H. W. Wilson, John W. 
Hcald, George P. Nickles. 

The committee procured the services of the Dun- 
stable Cornet Band, who furnished music, and also 
had especially painted for the occasion a large banner 
on which was represented, in life-size, a soldier in 
Continental dress. 

An invitation to act as escort for the citizens of the 
town was accepted by the Spaulding Light Cavalry, 
and thus the town added not a little to the display of 
the occasion. 

The sum of $500 was I'aised by the town and appro- 
|)riated for the expense of the celebration, of which 
sum the amount of $348 was used by the committee 
to pay the bills. 

Three delegates from the town, viz., I'aul G. For- 
bu.sh, Albert Boynton and Benjamin F. Blaisdell, were 



CARLISLE. 



721) 



chosen to represent the town at Lexington, and be 
present at the centennial exercises. 

The first action taken by the tonn in its corporate 
capacity in matters rehiting to the Rebellion was at a 
town-raeeting a.ssenibled on May 11, 1861, when it 
was voted to allow and pay each person who already 
has. or may hereafter, enlist, to the credit of the town, 
and be mustered into the service of the United States 
not exceeding ten in number, the sum of nine dollars 
per month, in addition to the amount allowed by the 
government coTiipensalion to commence from the 
dare of their being mastered into said service, and 
continue for a term not exceeding one year. 

A committee of five chosen by the town were as 
follows, viz., B. F. Heald, Artemas Parker, Selar Si- 
mons, Thomas Green and B. P. Hutchins, who were 
authorized to draw on the treasurer and disburse the 
money necessary to carry out the provisions of tlie 
loregoiug vote. 

July 21, 1862, a town-meeting was called. The war- 
rant contained but one article, which was "to see 
what inducements the town will hold out to obtain 
the town's quota of men required by the late call of 
the government, otherwise than by drafting." 

The town voted to raise the sum of S900 and to pay 
each volunteer, not exceeding nine in number, who 
shall enlist for three years, the sum of §100 each, 
when mustered into the United States service. 

Rev. Jcisiah Ballard, Artemas Parker, Selar Simons, 
S. H. Robbins and H. Prescott were chosen a com- 
mittee to canvass the town for volunteers. 

August 27, 1862, the town voted to pay the same 
amount of bounty to nine months' volunteers, for the 
]Hirpose of encouraging enlistments, and Asa Nickles, 
C. T. Worthley and W. A. Ingham were chosen aa an 
enlistment committee. 

September 8, 18G2, voted to pay those persons cred- 
ited to the quota of the town, and now in the service, 
who have not received any bounty from the town, the 
sum of §100 each, and it was also voted to pay an 
equal sum as bounty to any citizen of the town who 
would enlist to the credit of the town, and help to till 
the present call for nine months' men. 

October 6, 1862, the bounty for nine months' men 
was increased to §100, and E. S. Hutchins, W. A. 
J iighara and C. T. Worthley were chosen a committee 
to raise recruits. 

March 2, 1863, the town raised the sum of §1000 
lor the purpose of aiding the families of volunteers, 
and the lollowing mouth the selectmen were author- 
ized to pay the families of deceased or disabled vol- 
uuteers such sums as they might believe their neces- 
sities to require, but not to exceed six dollars a month 
to any one family. 

April 4, 1864, the town voted to raise §1000 as aid 
for families of volunteers, and also the sum of $125 
for each volunteer or drafted man to the number of six, 
whicli was the remaining part of the quota of said 



town, under an order of the President, issued subse- 
quent to March 1, 1864. 

Anothc-r call for men was issued by the President 
July 18, 1864; the town called a meeting of its 
citizens the .3d of the following August, when it was 
voted to raise and appropriate the sum of §125, to be 
given to each man who would enlist and help to fill 
the town's quota. On the 15th of the same month the 
town voted to pay the said bounty of §125 in gold. 

January 12, 1S65, the town voted that the select- 
men be auihorized to enlist as many men into the 
service of the United States as may be required to fill 
the town's quota, on any call that may be made prior 
to March 1, 1865. 

The town treasurer was also authorized to borrow 
such sums of money as were required to pay for the 
same- 

The town furnished a surt)lns of men over and 
! above all demands. None were commissioned officers. 
Three were drafted in the year 1863, viz. : Joseph 
Forbush, James T. Powers and Timothy Wilkins, 
each of whom furnished a substitute. Thirteen either 
died or were killed during their term of enlistment. 

The following is a list of soldiers who were resi- 
dents of the town, and hrlped to fill the town's quota 
in the War of the Rebellion. Upwards of thirty non- 
residents and strangers were passed to the credit of 
the town, having been hired or otherwise engaged to 
help fill the quota, whose names, for want of space, do 
not ap|)ear here. Also there were several native 
or resident citizens who participated in the war, but 
enlisted to the credit of other places, whose names do 
not appear in the following list. 

Adums, Albiuu A , inust.'iu Aug. 15. 'fii, l8t Co. .Slinrpsliootei-g ; digcb. 
Jirie ;i'», 'liS ; ro-eulisted Co. A, Ittt Bat. Frontier Oivulry, Dec. 30, 'G4 ; 
ser^^'.iiit. 

.\diiiii», .lolin (J., Iiiiist. in .lug. lij, V>2, iBt Co. Sliarpsliuoten ; dicU at 
H.irpcr'8 Kerry W. Vd„ Sept. 2«, '112. 

Blood, Jubii N"., musl. iu July 2, '(il, Co. C, lIUli Regt. ; discb. May 
3, '64. 

lllood, William, nmsl. in June 28, '01, Co. C, ICtb Regt. ; IcilleU at 2(1 
Uitlle Hull Kuli. Aug. 29, 'G2. 

Blood, Williuiu H., must, id Oct. IC, '02, Co. G, 47tb Bcgt.; discb. Sopt. 

I, '0:1. 

Currier, Edwin C, must, in Nov. 1, 'CI, Co. B, 32d Ri'gt. ; di»cb. May 
14, u.i. 

Cbauiiincy, Jobn H., must, in Maroli 24, '02, let Co. Sbaq«booter3 ; 
discb. .Ian. 26, '04. 

Cumber, George, must, in .\ug. 5, '02, Co G, Md Regt. ; discb. Aug. 
20, '01. 

Dnreli, Tbonias, must, iu Aug. 11, 02, Co. H, 33d Kegt. ; died at 
Madison, Iialiana, Slay 10, '04. 

Dureii, Frederick, must, in Jan. 27, 'Ki, Co. E, 2d Cavalry ; discb. 
July 2o.'IVi. 

liutt.in. Jlyranda, must, in July 31, 02, Co. H, 33d lli-gt. ; killed at 
Dallas, lia., MayiS, '01. 

Esty, Jobli M., must, in July 31, '62, Co. H, 33d Begt. ; died in hoa- 
pital at (;battan««»gu, Teiiu.. Aug. 5, '64. 

Korbusb, Cbarles, must, in Oct. 10, '02, Co. G, 47tb Regt. ; discb. Sept. 
1, '03. 

Gilson, Albert A., must, in Aug. 5, '02, Co. E, 33d Begt. ; discb. Juno 

II, cVi. 

Green. John P., must. Iu Aug. 7, '02, Co. U, 33d Kegt. ; discb. Juno 
11, '6.5 ; corporal. 

Hoive, Jobn, must, in Sov. 4, '01, Co. B, 32d Uegt. ; disch. Fob. 
18, '03. 



rso 



HISTOllY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTl', MASSACHUSETTS. 



niitcliins. Edward S., must. In Oct. 10, '02, Co. G, 47tli Uegt. ; discli. 
Sfpt. l.'C;l. 

Uutchiijs, FreeiiwTi, must, iu Sept. 17, 'f.I, Co. E, 20th Regt. ; dlech. 
Aug. 20, 'r,4. 

ilutcliitig, Saniufi RI., must, in July 11, '03, Cu. II, I2tli lU-gt. ; disch. 
Fob. l.S, '.S ; IraiMlVned to H2tli V. U. C. 
.Heald, Alfn-d, must, iu Nov. 4, 'Gl, Co. B, 32d Regt. ; disch. Dec. 

11, '04. 

Hoiihl, Austin M., must, iu Aug. l.'i, '02, 1st Co. Sharpshooters ; died at 
Fftluiouth, Vh., Jjin. 3i), '03. 

Ueuld, Tiniotliy W., must, iu March 24, '02, Ist Co. Sharpsliootora ; 
disch. Oct. 31, '62. 

Heald, Warren F., must, in Feb. 3, '64, 2d Cavalry ; rejected recruit. 

llodguiau, Anioa II., must, iu Nov. 4, '01, Co. U, 32U Uegt. ; disch. 
Jan 0, '63. 

Hodgman, Luther F., must, iu Sept. 17, '01, Co. E, 201h Uegt. ; disch. 
Oct. 24, '02. 

lugham, William A , must, iu Oct. IG, 'G2, Co. G, 47t1i Kegt. ; disch. 
Sept. 1, '03 ; 2d unlistnieut, July 15, '04, Co. G, 0th Begt ; disch, Oct. 

■a, '64. 

Litchfield, William F., must, in July 2, '01, Co. C, 10th Begt. ; disch. 
July 27, '04. 

LitcliBeld, George M., must. In July 2, '01, Co. C, 10th Uegt. ; disch. 
July 27, 'Gl. 

Litchneld, James J., must, in Oct. 0, '01, Co. E, 20th Regt. ; disch. 
Oct. 24, '62. 

Litchfield, Albert, must, in July 12, 'Gl, Co. B, 15th Begt. ; disch. Oct. 

12. '02. 

Locke, Warren P., must, in Nov. 28, '61, Co. B,.32a Kegt. ; killed at 
Bethesda Church, Va., June 3, '64. 

Slonrue, George V., must, in Oct. 15, 'G2, Co. G, 47th Regt. ; died at 
Currolltou, La., Aug. '.», '63. 

Moore, William, must, iu Mar. 7, '62, 1st Co. Sharj)shootei's ; died at 
Fort McHenry, N. Y., Sept. 9, '62. 

Monroe, William U., must, in Oct. 16, '62, Co. G, 47th Regt. ; disch. 
July 3, '63. 

Maybury, Orren, must in July 2, '01, Co. C, IGth Regt.; re.enlistod 
Dec. 27, '63, and transferred to (X: E, 11th Kegt., July 14, '66. 

Nickles, Otiri, must, iu Jan. 4, '64. 7th Battery L. A. ; died in Barracks 
llospliitl. New Orleans, La, July 16, '04. 

Nickles, George P., must, iu Nov. 4, 'Gl, Co. B, 32d Regt. ; disch. Nov. 
27, '64. 

Northum, William II., must, in Aug. 7, 'C2, Co. II, 33d Kogt. ; disch. 
Jnu*) 11, '65. 

Kicklcs, Charles E., must, in Oct. 10, '62, Co. G, 47th Regt. ; disch. 
Sept. 2, '63. 

Nickles, Abel, must, in Dec. 22, '03, Co. K, '2d Ileavy Artillery ; disch. 
Sept. 3, 'G5. 

NorcroBS, George E., must, in July 2, '61, Co. C, lOtU Regt. ; disch. 
July 27, '64. 

Osgood, Isaac P., must, iu Nov. 4, '61, Co. B, 32d Regt. , disch. Dec. 
14, '03. 

Parker, Sidney A., must, in July 15, '64, Co. G, Gth Kegt.; disch. Oct. 
27, '64. 

Prescolt, John II., must, in Nov. 4, '01, Co. B, 32d Kegt; disch. Feb. 9, 
'C3 ; corporal. 

llokbins, Daniel W., must, in July 2, '01, Co. C, 16th Regt. ; re-en- 
listed Dec. 27, '03, and transferred to Co. E, 11th Kegt. ; disch. July 14, 
*0o ; 1st sergeant. 

Robbins, Charles U., must, iu Oct. 16, 'C2, Co. G, 47th Kegt. ; disch. 
Sept. 1, '63. 

Stevenson, Thonnts G., must, in May 1, '61, Co. G, ."ith Regt. ; disch. 
June 8, '61; reoulistud July 2, '61, Co. C, IGth Kegt.; disch. Dec. 
29, '02. 

Wobltcr, Benjamin IL, must, in Oct. 10, '62, Co. G, 47th Regt. ; disch. 
Sept. I, '63. 

Wiggin, Francis M., must, iu Fob. 15, '62, Co. F, 13th U.S. A. ; died at 
Memphis, Tenu., Oct. 16, '63. 

Wigglu, George W., must, in Aug. 31, '62, Co. G, 6th Regt. ; disch. 
Juno 3, 'G3. 

Wilkius, James W., Jr., must, in Sept. 6, '61, Co. B, 32d Regt. ; disch, 
Nov. 27, '61. 

Worlhley, Charles T., must. In Oct. 16, '62, Co. G, 47th Regt. ; disch. 
Sept. 1, '03. 

Worlhloy, Hirum P., must, in Oct. 10, '62, Co. G, 47th Kegl. ; disch. 
Sept. 1, '63. 



Soldiers' Monument. — The erection and dedica- 
tion of a soldiers' monument is an incident in the 
history of the town long to be remembered, and at 
tlie same time it was but the performance of au in- 
ctimbent duty of a grateful posterity to those wlio 
sacrificed even life and limb, which re.sulted in fiii;illy 
eradicating one of the greatest evils wliich could exi.-it 
in any nation. 

The circumstance which led to the erection of this 
monument was a bequest which, with accumulations, 
amounted to the sum of $653.70, and which was left 
to the town by the late Mrs. Lydia A. G. Farrar. At 
a town-meeting held March 20, 1882, the town voted 
" that the town treasurer be authorized to receive the 
legacy and hold the same until further action by the 
town." 

The donor by her will made no special request in 
reference to what disposition the town should make 
of the donation, thus making it incumbent upon the 
town to determine how it should be appropriated. At 
a town-meeting held November 7, 18S2, the town 
voted " that the money given the town by the will of 
the late Mrs. Lydia A. G. Farrar be appropriated for 
the purpose of erecting a Soldiers' Monument, in the 
centre of the town, on or near the spot where the 
guide-post now stands," and also chose Messrs. Thomas 
A. Green, Sidney A. Bull and Edward S. Hutchins as a 
committee to carry out the provisions of said vote. 

At a subsequent town-meeting held March 19, 1883, 
the town voted to raise and appropriated the sum of 
$.S0O for the purpose of putting in a foundation for 
the monument, and for fencing and grading around 
the same. 

The committee cho?en to erect the monument, 
believing the amount of money at their disposal too 
small for the purpose of furnishing a monument 
sufficiently ornamental, and that would prove accept- 
able to the town, suggested tliat an invitation be ex- 
tended to Miss H. L. C. Green, asister of thehite Mrs. 
Farrar, to add enough to the amount of her sister's 
bequest to increase it to the sum of $1000, which 
suggestion was favorably entertained by her, and the 
money in due time was paid over to the committee. 
Consequently they had at their disposal $1000 to be 
used for the monument, and proceeded to correspond 
with various contractors, inviting designs and s|ieciti- 
cations for monuments that could be erected for that 
sum. 

Several responded to the requests of the committee, 
allowing them a good variety of designs to select 
from. Their decision was, however, decidedly in favor 
of a design furnished by Andrews & Wheeler, of 
Lowell, which was a granite pedestal, surmounted by 
a marble statue, or, to describe more minutely, in- 
cluded a triple receding base of Concord granite five 
feet two inches square on the foundation, resting on 
which is a polished die of Rockport granite, on the 
east side of which is the inscription : " Died in Ihcir 
country's service," followed by names of soldiers from 



CARLISLE. 



731 



the town who lost their lives during their term of 

enlistment, which list is completed on the north side. 

The southerly side bears the following appropriate 

words : 

" To tlio roll-cnU thoy make no response, 

Carlisle houore their d«e4l3 of valor 

And dedicates this inonunieut 

To perpetuate their naniua to posterity." 

On the back or westerly side is inscribed : 

" Tresented to the town of Carlisle by Mrs. Lydiu A. G. Furrar and 
Miss Huunah L. C. Green. 

Dedicated August 29, 1885." 

This die is surmounted by a fiue statue of Italian 
marble, seven and one-half feet tall, weighing 3000 
pounds and representing the " Goddess of Liberty," 
which was phiced in position December 7, 1SS3, thus 
marking the completion of the monument as far as 
the contractors were liable. 

On the base of the statue at the front side is the 
motto : "Let him who has won it bear the palm," and 
on thebackor westerly side is inscribed " 1861-1865." 
The entire height of the monument from foundation 
to top is fifteen and one-half feet. 

The committee chosen by the town for the purpose, 
attended to grading and fencing' the monument 
grounds, now known as Monument Square. Nearly 
100 loads of loam were used to complete the grading, 
after which a fence of granite posts, connected by 
galvanized iron rails, was erected; a concrete walk was 
laid extending from the entrance on the north to the 
entrance on the south side of the grounds, passing in 
front of the monument, and the work of the commit- 
tee was completed at an expense to the town of a few 
dollars more than the appropriation. 

At a town-meeting held Monday, March 16, 1885, 
the town appropriated the sum of $200 for the pur- 
pose of dedicating the soldiers' monument, and chose 
a committee of three, viz.: Daniel W. Robbing, Ed- 
ward J. Carr and Sidney A. Bull, whom they author- 
ized to attend to the duties of having the monument 
dedicated with appropriate ceremonies. 

This committee attended to their duties, and, after 
due deliberation, decided on August 29th as an ap- 
propriate day for the dedication exercise?, since that 
was thb anniversary of the second Bull Run fight, in 
which one of those wiiose name appears on the mon- 
ument lost his life in battle. 

The committee spared no pains to make the affair 
the most elaborate of anything in the annals of the 
town, and were satisfied with the result. 

The weather was complete, — a beautiful August day 
could not but add somewhat to the attraction of the 
occasion, — and it was estimated that a thousand or 
more people were in attendance. 

The following were the officers and members of 
committees for dedication: Pre.--ident of the day, 
Daniel W. Robbins; Chief Marshal, Charles For- 
bnsh;Aids, E. A. Blanchard, T. M. Hammond, G. 
W. Page and B. F. Day ; Decoration Committee, 



Thomas A. Green, Frank Wilkins, George Nickles 
and Mrs. T. A. Green, J. E. Bull, D. W. Robbins 
and S. A. Bull ; Reception Committee, IMajor B. F. 
Heald, Lieutenant H. \V. Wilson and James E. 
Taylor. The residents of the village exerted them- 
selves to improve its appearance in every way possi- 
ble, and it looked on dedication day as though it had 
been thoroughly swept and dusted. The monument 
grounds were made to appear the best possible, and 
the monument was tastily decorated with flowers, 
evergreen, and the national colors. Nearly every 
house in the village located on the Hue of march 
was, by invitation previously extended by the dedi- 
cation committee, prettily decorated with flags, stream- 
ers and bunting. 

The dedication exercises began at one o'clock p.m. 
by a parade, of which the following is the order of 
procession : 

Chi f Marshal and Ai.ls. 

DiiMstitble Cornet Ikunl. 

Troop F, Cavalry (dismounted). 

President of the day, chajilain, orators and invired quests in carriages. 

Concord, M.is-sachusetts, G. A. II. I'ost. 

Veterans on foot. 

Citizens on foot. 

Citizens in carriages. 

The procession formed on the Common, and im- 
mediately took up the following route of march : 
From the Common down Boston Road, on the right 
of the monument, to the house of George F. Duren ; 
countermarch passing monument on the right and up 
Lowell Road, beyond the house of William Green ; 
countermarched to the monument; thence on West- 
ford Road beyond the house of Daniel W. Robbins; 
left-wheel through Short Street to Concord Road ; on 
Concord Road beyond the house of George P. Nick- 
les ; countermarch, passing houses of G. W. Page and 
M. Lee, to the Common. During all the time the 
procession was moving, minute-guns were fired from 
a cannon on the Common, under the direction of Mr. 
Nathaniel Hutchinson. At the close of the parade 
the assembly gathered under a large canvas tent, 
which had been procured by the committee for the 
occasion, and erected on the Common. Here took 
place the following exercises on the platform : 

1. Invocation, hy Uev. George F. Piper 
t. Solo and Chorus—" Tenting To-uight." 
'i. Selection by band. 

4. Presentation of Alouunient to the town by Sidney A. Bull. 

5. Kcception of Monument for tUo town by John Q. A. Green. 
l». Selection by baud. 

7. Oration by Uun. Charles H. Allen. 

8. Solo and Chorus — "Marching through Georgia." Veterans In- 
vited to Join in the chorus. 

0. Hemnrlts by invited guests. 

10. Dedtcallou Ode by S. A. Bull. Tune America. All invited to 

join. 

With grat«ful hearts wo come, 

And sing of brave deeds done, 

By those who fell 
Full twenty yean ago, 
In conflict with the foe, 
They helped to deal the blow 

That saved our laiul. 



732 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Tlioy liPnvd the cnll to arms, 
Loft lionio with nil its chunua — 

A iiuIjIc liHinl, — 
All'! iiiiircliril til lii'.it of drum 
\Vitti armor girili'il on 
Tu fnco, 'ni'Htli Souttiem sun, 

A nuirtijiUd foo. 
TIio rnuip, tilt' miircli, tlio fmy, 
Tiif cliarge, the victor}', 

Tlio comrailus slain ! 
Am] scarco it scelnH a day. 
Time Bpceils 6o swift away. 
Since wvva tlie liliiu aad gray 

In war pligagetl. 
Tlioir deeds of valor done, 
The victory fully won, 

The sword laid down. 
Yon niarlile statue shall 
To luture ages tell 
or tlioso who nol.ly fell,— 

Our honored dead. 

At the close of the exercises on the platform the 
assembly were invited to ptirtake of a collation which 
had been prepared by a committee chosen for the 
])urpose, and which, for variety of dishes and ele- 
gance of arrangements, is seldom excelled. Invited 
organizations and guests of the town were tendered 
the preference at the tables, after which the town's 
I)eople were served. The committee, after paying 
the bills incident to the celebration, had left in the 
town treasury the sum of .$4.07 unexpended, the 
entire coat to the town of dedicating the monument 
being §195.93. 

Mfetino-House. — The church and the town, in 
the early history of the country, were identical. Every 
town had a church, which it supported by a tax 
levied on the inhabitants in the same manner .as for 
the support of schools, highways and other town 
charges. 

In the case under consideration the church had ex- 
isted for nearly twenty years previous to the incor- 
poration of the district, in the year 1780. 

As will be remembered, the old District of Carlisle 
ceased to exist after a short period because of the ditli- 
culty and final inability of the inhabitants to deter- 
mine upon or " prefix " a place for a meeting-house. 

The same difiiculty was obviated under the second 
act of incor[)oration, for, during the interval between 
the existence of the olil and new District of Carlisle 
a certain piece of land, nearly square in shape and 
including an acre and a half, or the larger part of 
what is now known as the Common, was conveyed to 
a number of the inhabitants of the locality, " and to 
their heirs, executors, administrators and assigns for 
ever, for the ronotanri/ of building a meeting-house 
for the public worship of Clod and other jiublic uses." 
The above-named instrument was dated July 1, 1758. 
The gift was a worthy one, and should be the means 
of perpetuating the name of the donor to all future 
time. 

About two years later, or in the year 1760, a meet- 
ing-house was built on the land given for the purpose, 
in order for the better accomuiodation. forthcpurpo.se 



of religious worship, of those persons who lived on 
the outskirts of the several towns which found a cen- 
tre near said location, and who subsequently were in- 
cluded within the bounds of the District, of Car- 
lisle. 

It cannot be doubted that the above-named gift was 
the nucleus for the establishment of the first church 
building, the erection of which, it is more than prob- 
able, finally determined the location for the centre of 
the present town of Carlisle. 

The first church, which was erected by volun- 
tary contributions, stood near the location of what 
is now known as the Unitarian Church, and was 
a rude wooden structure, without clapboards or paint, 
and having only benches for seats, in which condition 
it remained until the year 1780, when the district 
was incorporated, and at which time it virtually be- 
came the property of the district by the consent of a 
committeeof the society, to which manyofthe first pe- 
titioners belonged, it being mutually understood and 
agreed that all persons who should be incorporated 
with them in the proposed district should share equal- 
ly all church privileges with those at whose expense 
the meeting-house had been erected, without being 
in any way liable for any expense incurred previous 
to date of incorporation. 

No pastor was settled during this interval of twenty 
years, neither was there any church organization, and 
yet the Gospel was preached from Sabbath to Sabbath 
and supported by the listeners, many of whom paid 
in addition their regular minister rates in the respec- 
tive towns to which they belonged. 

During the year 1781 money was expended upon 
the meeting-house, giving it a more inviting appear- 
ance, and twenty-four pews were put in on the lower 
floor, which were disposed of by auction for the sum of 
$950.50. The highest price paid was SGG.50 for pew 
No. i8, by Deacon Ephraim Robbins, atid the lowest 
price was $15 for No. 11 pew, which was struck ofl 
to Mr. John Robbins. The amount received was 
used to pay the expense of the repairs. 

The church was organized Feb. 28, 1781, and then 
consisted of ten male and twenty-four female 
members. On the 17lh of the following May 
the church voted unanimously to invite Rev. 
Paul Li'.chfield to become their first pastor, 
and at a meeting held May 25th, the inhabi- 
tants of the district, by a vote of 43 to 3, agreed 
to concur with the vote of the church, and also voted 
to give Mr. Litchfield the sum of one hundred and 
fifty pounds as a settlement, one-half of which sum it 
was voted to pay him within one year irom the date 
of his acceptance of the call, and the balance in two 
years. It was also voted to give him as a salary the 
sum of eighty pounds yearly, to be paid in quarterly 
instalments, so long as he shall supply the puliiit 
in said Carlisle and remain their Gospel minister — 
both of said amounts to be paid in silver money. At 
a subscijueut meeting it was voted to give Jlr. Litch- 



CARLISLE. 



733 



field twenty cords of wood a year, and to keep two cows 
and a horse for him until such time as he shall call 
for the interest of his settlement. 

Tiie church decided upon the 7th day of Nov., 
17S1, as a date that would be .agreeable to them to 
hiive the ordination of Mr. Litchtield tal<e place 
upon. And at a meeting held Oct. 3d the inhabit- 
ants of the district voted to join with the church as 
to the date they had selected. 

The first communion was held December 31, 1781, 
when it was voted to require a written or verbal re- 
lation by candidates, before the church and conj^re- 
gation, of the religious exercises of their minds, before 
admission into the church. 

This embarrassing regulation was so modified, two 
years later, as to permit it to be made before a com- 
mittee of the church. 

Tlie doctrines contained in the confession of faith, 
and preached by Mr. Litchfield, were strictly Calvin- 
islic. He continued to hold the ofiice of pastor of 
this church until his death, dying in the full belief 
of that Chrii^tian (aith which he had inculcated, and 
trusting in the hope which the Christian religion in- 
spires. 

The funeral took place November 7, 1827, and on 
tiie (orty-si.\th anniversary of his ordination. The 
funeral sermon was preached by the Rev. John H. 
Church, D.D., of Pelham, N. H. The interment was 
made near the centre of the Central Burying-Ground. 
A slate slab five feet tall by two and a half feet wide, 
with pillars carved on either side and a weeping 
willow tree shading an urn for top decoration, marks 
the spot. The following inscription appears on the 
stone : 

*' Erfcd'd to the inelilory of Rev. Pnul Litchfield, Pastor of the church 
ill Cuilijle for the epuce of foi ty-ais years, aud deceased Nov. 6, ISiiT. 

2Et. 75. 
With firm, disciitiiinating mind, zealous for the distinguishius: doctrines 
of revelation, Le stood fust iu oue spirit, striving for the faith of the 
gi.sliel." 

A similar stone is erected to the memory of his first 
wife, " Mary," which stinds close beside the former. 

At the annual March meeting of the inhabitants of 
the district in the year 1789, the eighth article in the 
warrant read as follows: — "To See if the District will 
agree to provide any Seats in the Meeiing-House for 
those who may be disposed to set together for the 
Singine." It was voted "that those who may be 
Disposed to Set together for the purpose of Singing 
Shall have the two bind seats below," which seats 
were prol)ably used for the purpose until the year 
1798, when they were otherwise appropriated, aud in 
response to a similar article in the warrant for the an- 
nual April meeting, it was voted " that the Singers 
have the fore seat and the Second Seat in the front 
galery." 

Considerable money had beeo appropriated by the 
town at one time aud another to repair the meeting- 
house nil to the year ISIU. 



A gallery had been built which contained nine- 
teen pew.s, which were sold for the sum of ^58.12; 
the building had been clap-boarJed aud painted, stone 
underpinning had been provided, a pulpit trected, 
porches built, and the advisabilily of erecting a bel- 
fry and procuring and suspending a bell was a ques- 
tion which had for some lime agitated the minds of 
the people. 

It was on the 2(;th day of May in the year last 
mentioned that the church was struck by lightning 
and entirely consumed. 

Nine days later, viz. : on the 4th of June, 1810, the 
inhabitants of the town qualified by law to vote in 
town afiairs were warned to meet on the Comm.n, 
near where the meeting-house formerly stood. At 
this meeting the town voted to build a new meeting- 
house about the size of the old one, and to huihl on 
the Common belonging to the town, near where the 
former meeting-house stood. 

At a subsrquent meeting a building committee of 
three were chosen by ballot, viz. : Asa I'arlin, Esq., 
Nathan Green, Jr., aud Thomas Heald. Said com- 
mittee contracted with Elijah Stearns to prepare and 
set the underpinning and door-steps for the sum of 
?!23.5, and with Messrs. Joseph Wyuuin aud John 
Sawyer, Jr., for the sum of S4230, to erect the build- 
ing. When completed the total cost was 4^4800.81, 
which amount included various incidental cliarges, 
such as paint and painting, numbering the pe«s, and 
also a bill of $38.28 for liquor. 

There were 44 pews on the lower Hoor, 43 of which 
were sold by auction for the sum of $2301.75. Also, 
IG pews in the gallery were sold at the same time for 
$444.75, making a total of $2740.50, which, added to 
the sum of $2000, which was raised by taxation by 
the town, nearly paid the cost of the building. One 
pew, back of the door on the left-hand side of the 
gallery, was, by vote of the town, ajiproprialed for 
the use of people of color. 

In consideration of the great loss sustained by the 
town, the Stale tax, amounting to 5^154.00, for the 
year 1810, was, by an act of the General Court, re- 
mitted. 

At an adjourned town-meeting, held on the Com- 
mon, Nov. IS, 1811, about the lime of the completion 
of the new building, it was voted "that the Meeting- 
house be dedicated to -Vlmighty God on the second 
Sabbath of December following," and also, "that the 
town give those persons who may go and work at the 
meeting-house, to clear away the chips and trash 
around the same, what drink they may need." 

The religious services at the dedication were con- 
ducted by the pastor, Kev. i'aul Lilchlield. 

The annual town-meeling called for Monday, March 
2, 1812, was the first one held in the new building, 
and on the following niontli the town raised the sum 
of $350 to procure a bell for the meeting-house. 

After the death of Kev. Mr. Litchfield a spirit of 
discontent appears to have .-sprung up, aud a number 



734 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



of those who worshiped in the town under the pas- 
torate of the late pastor had withdrawn their names 
from the parish, or, as it was usually called, "signed 
off," and joined some out-of-town society. 

Those who " signed off'' were, by their own request, 
considered as disconnected from the church, as well 
as released from all pecuniary obligation to support 
religious worship in the town. 

The spirit of discord continued to increase until 
the former relations between town and church ceased 
to exist, and each was conducted as a separate insti- 
tution. 

The last money raised by the town in its corporate 
capacity, for the purpose of supporting the Gospel, 
was oil Nov. 14, 1831, being $300 in amount, 
which was appropriated for the purpose of paying 
Kev. Stephen Hull his salary and other parochial 
charge?". 

We have already referred to the immediate succes- 
sor of the first minister of the town, who was also the 
last to receive support from the town. His successor 
was the Rev. George W. Stacy, who was settled over 
the society May 4, 1836. Subsequent to his pastor- 
ate other clergymen have been hired to fill the pul- 
pit from time to time, among whom are the Rev. 
James T. Powers, who has been engaged at two dif- 
ferent times ; Rev. Mr. Hervey, Rev. J. S. Smiih, 
Rev. Ale.xander Dight, Rev. James J. Twisa and 
Rev. George F. Piper, all of whom, since the first 
pastor, with the exception of Mr. Dight, have enter- 
tained the Unitarian belief. 

During the year 1852 the church was remodeled 
within and thoroughly repaired without, at an ex- 
pense of $1200. A floor was laid across the audi- 
torium at the height of the galleries, thus making 
two rooms of what formerly constituted but one. 
Pews, pulpit, etc., were placed in the upper division, 
which hits since been used for church purposes, the 
lower part serving for a hall. 

The old spire, which had stood for fifty-seven years, 
was substituted, in the year 18C8, by the present one. 

The Unitarian Society have a fund of $2000, the 
income of which is used to support public worship, 
and was given in about equal pro|)ortions by the fol- 
lowing-named persons, viz.: Simon Blood, Jr., Mr. 
Thomas Green, Mr. William Farrar and Mrs. Mary 
G. Scott. 

Noou House. — A building the location of which 
was a little northwest of the Unitarian Church, came 
into existence soon after the incorporation of the dis- 
trict in the following manner. An article appeared 
in the warrant for the annual district meeting held 
March 3, 1788. which read as follows : 

" To S(e if the District will give liberty to Capt. 
Issachar Andrews and Lt. ZebulunSpaulding to build 
a House on the meeting House Lott for their Conven- 
ience on Sabbath Days." 

The reiiuest was granted and a small building was 
erected, the owners of which, it is said, provided a lib- 



eral supply of wood, cider and apples, causing it to be 
heated on Sabbath days in cold weather, whither they, 
with such of their friends as they chose to invite, 
would repair and spend the noon hour, chatting and 
eating a luncheon which it was customary to carry. 
This was previous to the introduction of the modern 
custom of heating churches. This building was an 
adjunct of the church for perhaps forty years, and 
stood for upward of fifty years, when, having outlived 
the purpose for which it was erected, all of a sudden 
at midday it was razed to the ground by human 
strength. In the year 1837, at a town-meeting held 
November 13th, it was voted " that the selectmen bo 
a committee to attend to the removal from the common 
of the ruins of the old Noon House, so called.'' 

Thus ended the existence of an institution peculiar 
to those days and perhaps to this town. 

Union Calvinistic Church. — The first regular 
church meeting after the death of Rev. Mr. Litch- 
field appears to have been called for November 20, 
1827, at the house of Deacon John Jacobs. At this 
meeting it was voted that Deacon Jacobs take charge 
of the church records and the donation of books be- 
queathed to the church by their late pastor. 

Another meeting of the church was held at the 
house of Deacon John Green, June 9, 1828, at which 
it was unanimously voted to give the Rev. Joseph W. 
Clary, who sympathized with the late Mr. Litchfield 
in his theological views, a call to settle with them iu 
the Gospel ministry. At a town-meeting held the 19th 
inst. the town by vote non-concurred with the church, 
because of a prevailing sentiment in favor of Unitar- 
ianism, which at that time was attaining favor in the 
minds of the people. 

Finally a committee was chosen by the town to supply 
the pulpit with preaching. Orthodox preachers were 
employed for a few weeks, after which those usually 
employed were of Unitarian sentiment. Various move- 
ments took place between the town and church, until 
at length the Rev. Ephraim Randall, something of a 
popular preacher, but Unitarian in belief, was em- 
ployed, and a paper was put in circulation to obtain 
subscribers lo give him a call to settleover the church 
and town. Those of the inhabitants who were ortho- 
dox in belief, finding the majority of the town were 
determined to settle a Unitarian minister, and would 
not hear to the proposals made to them by the church, 
took advantage of the then recent law, and twenty in 
number "signed ofl"' to the Trinitarian society in 
Concord, under the care of the Rev. D. L. Southmayd, 
in order not to be holden to pay any part of the ex- 
pense of settling or supporting a minister who enter- 
tained religious views not consistent with their own. 

The church continued to hold religious meetings 
at private houses on Sabbath days, and always held 
their communion seasons in the town. 

Efforts were put forth and proposals were made by 
the church to bring about some amicable arrange- 
ment with the town, in order that a union of feeling 



CARLISLE. 



735 



between church and town, similar to what had ex- 
isted in years pa»t, might exist again; but all to no 
cU'ect, and to crown the whole, the town, at their an- 
nual meeting, in March, 1830, chose a committee to 
lake all the property belonging to the church into 
their possession, which was afterwards reluctantly 
handed over. Finding there was not the least pros- 
pect of effecting a union with the Unitarian element 
in the town, a sufficient number (twelve in all) of 
those who had previously formed themselves into a 
religious society known as the Union Calvinistic So- 
ciety, and who were also legal voters in the town, 
applied to Jonathan Prescott, E»q., of Westford, to 
grant a warrant in due form of law to Deacon Jacobs, 
to notify all the male members of said society to meet 
at the house of Capt. Aaron Fletcher, on Saturday, 
November 20, 1830, at one o'clock p.m., for the pur- 
pose of organizing according to law, and choosing all 
necessary officers to manage the business of said 
society. 

The meeting w'as called at the lime and place 
above-mentioned, and was called to order by the jus- 
tice of the peace who issued the warrant. 

Mr. Samuel Boynton was chosen moderator, when 
the following officers, who were also the first officers 
of the society, were chosen : Clerk, John Jacobs ; 
Treasurer and Collector, John Jacobs; Prudential 
Committee, Harris Bingham, John Jacobs and Reu- 
ben Foster. Twenty male members then signed the 
constitution of the society, and the above date, viz., 
November 20, 1830, will be remembered as the date 
when the Union Calvinistic Society was organized. 

Money was raised by subscription for the purpose 
of building a church; and it was voted by the society, 
February 28, 1831, to build a house of worship thirty 
feet long, twenty-eight feet wide and fifteen feet high, 
which was completed early in the fall of 1832, at an 
expense of nearly .'5800. 

Arrangements were made and the house w.as dedi- 
cated to God and the purposes of religious worship 
October 4, 1832. Eev. Mr. Blanchard, of Lowell, 
preached the dedicatory sermon, and meetings con- 
tinued to be held for a space of three days afterwards, 
witli favorable results to the church and society. 

The building was located on the south side of the 
Common, in the centre of the town, the same location 
as that occupied by the Orthodox church at the pres- 
sent date. The land surrounding it, and on which 
the church stands, in area a quarter of an acre, more 
or less, was leased by said society for a term of 999 
years, of Mr. Isaac Duren, wilh the express under- 
standing that said society would, within the space of 
two years, erect a building (.n said premises to be 
consecrated to the solemn worship of Almigh(y God, 
and that the doctrines supported shall be the same as 
were embodied and maintained by the first settlers of 
this country, and which are now called Orthodox, or 



Evangelical, being the same as said society did at 
that time openly profess. 

Said lease is dated April 6, 1831, the terms of which 
were that the sum of S20rent should be paid upon the 
delivery of the leas-e, and afterward ihe sum of one 
cent for each and every year during the existence of 
said lease. 

The pulpit was supi)lifd for a time by various 
clergymen who were hired, and it was on the 22d day 
of April, 1833, at a regular meeting of the church and 
society, that a unanimous vote was passed to call the 
Rev. Abel Patten to settle witli them in the Gospel 
ministry, and the call concludes with the following 
terms and conditions, viz. : "And, that you may be 
in a good measure free from worldly cares and avoca- 
tions, we, as a church and society, do hereby promise 
and oblige ourselves to furnish you with board, a 
room, fuel, lights, etc., the use of horse and chaise, 
when necessary, and to pay you annually, in addition 
to $100 from the Domestic Missionary Society, the 
sum of $200 in regular quarterly payments, during a 
period of two years." 

The foregoing invitation was accepted, and an ec- 
clesiastical council was convened just one month 
later, or on the 22d of the following May, and the 
Rev. Abel Patten was installed the first pastor of the 
new society. 

The following is a list of those who have subse- 
quently served the church and society as pastor, with 
the date of their engagement : 

Rev. Preserved Sniilh installeil .\ui!ust 31, 183G 

Eev. Oeorue W, Tliompson iustallwlJuly 10. 1845 

liev. Sctli W. Biinister iuBtulled April 27, 1848 

Jicv. .luliu Lawrence iiiBtuIleil Muy fj, I8.'i3 

Kov. Josiiih Ballaid installed September l.i, 1859 

Kev. William H. Doivdeu installed February 13, 18l>6 

Kev. Moses Patten iuatalled October 27, 1870 

liev. Asa Maun hired 187G 

Rev. F. M. Sprai-ne hired 1877-70 

Rev. Janiea Walker hired 1879-88 

Rev. Joseph llaniuiond hired 1889 

A parsonage was built by the society in the year 
1848, at an expense of $1700. Three bells have been 
owned by the society, the first of which was bought in 
the year 1851. The first two became cracked ; the 
one in use at the present time was purchased in the 
year 1807. Repairs were made on the meeting-house 
in the year IStiG to the amount of $907.08, and in 
1882 extensive repairs were made, costing $1700, after 
which the building was redeilicated August 20, 1882; 
the dedicatory sermon was preached by Rev. Russell 
H. Conwcll before a crowded house. 

A fund of $7000 was left the society by the will of 
the late .\bel Taylor, the income of which is to be 
used for the support of preaching. 

January 1, 1890, the churcli numbfred fifty-seven 
members in good and regular standing — twelve males 
and forty-five females — eleven of whom were non- 
residents. 



736 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



CHAPTER LV. 
DUNSTABLE. 

T!Y REV. HENRY M. PERKINS. 
Pi esetit couililion of tite Town— Topo-jraphtj — BtiKtitens Interests, 

Nor many towns in our Commonwealth of the size 
of Dunstable can present a history richer in varied 
material. 

Descendants of the early settlers have an interest 
in the remote history of the town. The general 
reader, however, shares with thera in a desire to know 
its present condition. 

Dunstable is located in the northerly part of Mid- 
dlesex County, and is one of the border towns of the 
State. Nashua, N. H., joins it on the north ; Tyngs- 
borough on the east and southeast ; Grolon on the 
south, and Pepperell on the west. 

The town is naturally healthful, and the climate 
promotive of vigor and hardihood, as a few examples 
will show. 

Among recent deaths was that of Mr. Benajah 
Parklmr.it, a much respected citizen. He died at. the 
age of ninety-four. For several winters previous 
he was accustomed to saw most of the wood used in 
his family. He was a skillful carpenter, and in his 
prime was noted for coolness and self-possession when 
walking on lofty beams. Mr. James Woodioard, 
another valued citizen, died at the age of eighty- 
eight. He was able to perform much of the work 
at his grist-mill till within a year of his death. 
Among other feats of his youthful days was a walk 
to Boston, the distance of thirty-three miles. After 
having attended to his business he returned to Dun- 
stable the same day. He reached home after dark, 
but not too late for a good night's rest. Among liv- 
ing representatives is Mr. Jonas Kendall, the skillful 
and well-known civil engineer. Though now a resi- 
dent of Framingham, he has evidently carried with 
him the vigor of his native air. At the age of eighty- 
five his services were in demand for the inspection of 
reservoirs and the supervision of new and important 
works in different parts of the State. Mr. Andrew 
Spaulding, about seventy years of age, is an active 
man in religious and business circles in Grolon, 
JIass. 

As a summer resort Dunstable possesses some rare 
attractions. From several localities of the towu wide 
views are obtained. Though not a hilly town, as 
compared with some places in New Hampshire or 
Vermont, the surface is undulating, with now and 
then a hill of considerable height. From such poiuts 
charming views open before the eye. In the distance 
is Jit. Wrtchusett, round and wooded. The interven- 
ing landscape presents many beautiful hills and 
dales, dotted with peaceful farms, jileasant home- 
steads and an occiisioiial spire pointing heavenward, 
Many of the New llami)shire hills can be clearly seen. 



and among them, on a bright day, noble Monadnock's 
lofty peak. In another direction is the smiling 
Merrimac, and Lowell with its teeming industries. 

Dr. Walter Wesselhoeft, of Cambridge, a man of 
wide observation, has recently purchased land with 
the intent of building. His family have boarded in 
the place for several summers. He has been accus- 
tomed to come during that season as often as the 
claims of proftssional duty would permit. The resi- 
dents of the town, mostly occupied with farming 
interests, have not given thought to the subject of 
making this place a summer resort. Yet many are 
beginning to realize that the town possesses natural 
advantages in that respect. It is near several laige 
centres, yet removed from their bustle and noise. An 
early train takes passengers to Boston, where nearly 
the whole day can be spent before returning on the 
evening train. The Dunstable station of the Nashua, 
Acton and Boston Railroad is within half a mile of 
the village. The station at Tyngsborough, on the 
Boston and Lowell Railroad, is three and a half miles 
distant. 

Dunstable has several beautiful hills which di- 
versify the beauty of its scenery. 

Flat Rock Hill, in the northerly part of the 
town, commands a fine view of Salmon Brook. It is 
now sending forth its wealth of granite. Within about 
a year, Lemay & Tetro have been operating a quarry 
quite near the railroad track, by which there is 
direct transportation to their granite works in 
Nashua, N. H. 

Blanchaiid'.s Hill rises we.st of the former and is 
a favorite resort for berry parties in the summer. 
From its summit may be seen several di.stant church 
spires. A cool, clear trout-brook makes its way at 
the base of this hill. 

On the opposite or eastern side of Salmon Brook 
rises a well-cultivated eminence, over which extends 
one of the roads to Nashua. The southerly part is 
called KoiiY and the northerly part Kexdall Hill. 
On this elevation there are a number of thrifty farms. 

Directly east of this is the wooded eminence called 
Nutting's Hill, which has the heightof two hundred 
feet and affords a delightful prospect of the surround- 
ing country. 

Forest Hill is in the soutiieast angle of the town. 
It is the highest point of laud in Dunstable, and was 
made a station in the trigonometrical survey of the 
State. A splendid view is here obtained of tho 
Tyngsborough forests, of the Merrimack River, and of 
Lowell in the east, while toward the west, distant 
towns and mountains in New Hampshire can be 
seen. A good road extends nearly to the summit. 

Horse Hill, partly in Groton, overlooks Mas.sa- 
poag Pond and the valley of Unquety Brook; and 
Wall Hill, near the preceding elevation, was 
divided for the railroad bed, when a fine specimen 
of blue clay was brought to light, which m.ay prove 
serviceable. 



DUNSTABLE. 



73V 



Houxi> Meadow llii,!,, in the northwesterly part 
of the town, is saiil to have received its name from 
the eirciimstanees that when (froton was assaulted 
liy the Indians during I'hilip's War, a pack of hounds, 
used by the English, pursued some of the savages to 
this hill, on which two of them were slain. 

Sl.\te.stone Him- is a picturesque height on the 
right bank of Nashua Iliver, composed of slatestone, 
and covered largely with timber. 

Spbctacxe Hill, so named from its resemblance 
to a pair of spectacles, rises in the northeast part of 
the town and extends into Nashua, N. H. A few 
other hills add to the beauty of the town and furnish 
a variety of soil. 

Water Supply. — The town is well supplied with 
water. In addition to the sawmills now operated, 
there are several places where good water-power 
might be utilized. 

The chief tributary of Nashua Kiver from Dunstable 
is UiKpiety, once called Uiiqiir/yimsset Bronk, a little 
mill-stream. 

The central part of the town is well drained by the 
Salmon Brook, a valuable stream that, flowing fro m 
Massapoag Pond, pursjues a northerly course through 
the Lower Massapoag Pond, and dividing the town- 
ship nearly in tiie middle, empties into the Merri- 
mac Kiver at what is called the " Harbor," in 
Nashua. It receives two tributaries from the west, 
one of which, called /lames lirook, furnishes motive- 
power for Mr. George Parkhurst's saw-mill. The an- 
cestors of Mr. Parkhursfowued and occupied the same 
laud dating from a remote jicriod. Now there are 
those of Ihe sixth generation living there. The other 
tributary, known as Joint (Ira-ts Bronk, after receiving 
the water of Spring Brook, turns the grist and saw- 
mill of Mr. Daniel Swallow. This mill is operated 
both by water-power and .steam. The gross receipts 
of the business in a year's time amount to $10,000. 

Black Brook flows into Salmon Brook from the 
east, and on being augmented by two or three small 
streams, forms motive-jiower for the grist and saw- 
mill now owned by the Woodward estate, near the 
centre of the town. Work is well done at all these 
mills and at the lowest current rales. 

There is a fine mill privilege on the Salmon Brook, 
where it issues from JIassapoag Pond at what is called 
" The (iulf " There is here a dam, leu feet in height, 
over which at present the water passes uselessly. Any 
company with manufacturing interest in view, but 
undecided as regards location, would do well to make 
iiKpiiry about this mill privilege. 

Massapoag Pond, having an area of more than 
oijo hundred acres, lies partly in Dunstable, Tyngs- 
borough and Groton. It is formed by the waters of 
(lowpen Brook from Grolou. A stone post on an 
island in the westerly part of the pond marks the 
boundary of these several towns. 

The industrial interests of the town are, for the 
most part, agricultural, and iu this respect the source 
47 



of greatest income is from milk-producing. A car 
stands ready at the railroad station aud takes about 
SOO gallons to Boston every morning, leavingat seven 
o'clock. The business of the car is owned by Tower, 
Whitcomb & ( !o., of Boston, and is conducted by Mr. 
Charles II. Porter, of Dunstable. 

The village is very pleasantly located, with diverg- 
ing roads centering near the store and post-ottice. 

The store is kept by Mr. Owen I'arkhurst, who has 
an assortment of such goods as are usually kept in a 
country store. He aims to please bis customers in 
regard to price and cpiality of goods, and thus gives 
general satisfaction. The postmaster is Mr. Libni 
Parker. He has held the ollice for several years. It 
is conceded to him by general consent, regardless of 
>>olitical |)references. Mr. Parker is well aciiuaintcd 
with the duties of his office. Nearly opposite the 
store is the Congregational Church, of which Rev. 
Henry M. Perkins has been pastor for nearly five 
years. This church is enjoying a fair degree of pros- 
perity. The edifice has recently been much im- 
proved and beautified. Rooms have been added to 
the vestry for religious and social purpo.sea. Public 
worship in this church is regularly observed every 
Sabbath. 

The only other religious society in active opera- 
tion is the Universalist. At present the members of 
this parish worship in Parker's Hall. Services are 
frecpiently held. 

Miss Clara P. .Jewett is librarian of the growing 
and well-kept town library, which now contains 1800 
volumes. 

There are five school districts in Ihe town. In 
view of the small number of scholars in two of these, 
it has for some years been deemed best to hold the 
schools in three districts. The town aflljrds trans- 
portation for scholars from the smaller districts to 
the .schools of the adj<iining larger ones. Good com- 
mon school advantages are thus afibrded ; yet it is 
hoi)ed by some that the town will, at a future day, 
concentrate its educational work in one central 
graded school which will accommodate all its schol- 
ars. 

At present William P. Proctor is town clerk, Ar- 
thur N. Hall treasurer, Daniel Swallow, Dexter I'.ut- 
terfield and ( ieorge W. ( 'haiicy are selectmen, and 
Henry .J. Tolles, .lonas i'. Ketidall and Martha A. 
Davis are School Committee. 

Mr. James M. Swallow was elected in the fall of 
1889 Representative to the General Court from the 
Thirty-first District. He was born April 14, 1821, is 
one of the largest land-holders of the town, and is 
one of the trustees of the City Savings Bank in 
Nashua, N. H. 

Mention should not be omitted of our beautiful 
granite drinking fountain, conveniently located at 
the centre of the village. It is an ornament of which 
any town might justly be proucl. This was the gift 
of Mr. .lonas II. French, of Boston, and was esti- 



738 



IIISTOKY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



mated to cost over $1000. The ancestors of Mr. 
French were from Dunstable. The gift was granted 
on condition that the town should undertake the ex- 
pense of bringing water. This condition was gladly 
accepted. The water is brought in iron pipes from 
Chaney's Hill, the distance of half a mile. 

A general impression being thus gained of the town 
in its present condition, our thoughts may now be 
directed to such facts and circumstances as pertain to 
its early history atul to the intervening years. Much 
of the information given in the following ch.'ipters is 
based upon tht^ full and reliable " History of Dunsta- 
ble," by Rev. Elias Nason, published in 1877. 



CHAPTER LVI. 

DUNSTABLE-(Conlinucd). 
ORIGIN AND EARLY SETTLEMENT 1643-172.3. 

Some New England towns were founded immedi- 
ately on the landing of the colonists, out of lands 
conferred on them by their charter. Others were 
made up by grants of land to an offshoot from the 
parent colony, whoso enterprise prompted to the or- 
ganization of a new town. Others owed their origin 
to grants of laud which at different dates were made 
to individuals and corporations, for farms and other 
purposes, these grants being afterwards consolidated 
into townships. The town organization known as 
Dunstable affords an example of this last-mentioned 
class. It comprised some of the best portions of New 
England. The owners of these extensive farms were 
for the most [)art leading men in the Colony of Mass- 
achusetts Bay ; and, having conferred together, they 
presented to the (ieneral Court a petition asking to be 
incorporated as a town, in order that as such they 
might be of greater service to the country. This 
petition was granted by the General Court on the lUth 
day of October, 1673. 

Capt. Jonathan Danforth, of Billerica, a noted land 
surveyor, was appointed to make a plan of the new 
territory. He completed the survey in May, 1074, 
and thus described the boundaries : 

•* It Moth upon both Bides of'tlie Merrimack River, on the Nnslmway 
River. It is botindtid on the Soutli by Clielmsford, by Groton line, part- 
ly by country land. Tlie westerly line rnns due north until ytm come 
to Soubegan Uiver, to a liill called Dram Cup Hill, tn a great pine near 
to ye said river at ye northwest corner of Cbarlestown School farm. 
bounded by Souliegau Kiver on the North, and on the cast side Merri- 
mack it begins at a great atono wliieh was snppimed to be near the north- 
east corner of Mr. Brenton's luiid, and from thence it runs sontli-soutb- 
east si.v miles to a pine tree marked ' K," stiindi[)g within sight of 
Beaver Brook ; thence it runM two degrees west of suutli four tniles and 
a f|uarter, whicli reacheii to the Hontb side of Henry Kimball'H farm at 
Jeromie's Hill; tbenco from ye eoulb-east angell of said farm, it runs 
two degrees and a quarter westward of the south, near to the head of 
Long Pond, which lieth at ye head of Edward Colburn's farm, and thus 
it is bountled by ye said pond and ye head of said Colburn's farm ; tak- 
ing in Oapt. Scarlett's farm so as to close again, all wliich is sunicienliy 
boniiiled and deHcril>c^l. 

** Dunstable, May, l*j74." 



This tract of land embraced about two hundred 
square miles, and included what are now the towns of 
Dunstable and Tyngsborough, and parts of the towns 
of Dracut, Groton, Pepperell and Townsend, Mass., 
together with the city of Nashua, the towns of Hollis. 
Hudson and sections of the towns of Brookline, Mil- 
ford, Amherst, Merrimac, Londonderry, Litchfield 
and Pelham, N. H. 

In no town of this Commonwealth were the lands 
taken up by more noted men, who, though not all ac- 
tual settlers, still exercised a favorable influence on 
the new plantation. Among the grantes weree the 
brave Gov. John Endecott, who held the highest mil- 
itary office in the colony; and William Brenton, a 
noted fur-trader, and subsequently Governor of Rhode 
Island. 

The new town is said to have received its name in 
compliment to Mrs. Mary, wife of the Hon. Edward 
Tycg, who emigrated from Dunstable, England, about 
1630, and whose son, Jonathan, became possessor of a 
large tract of land in what is now the town of Tyngs- 
borough. The old English town is pleasantly situated 
at the base of the Chiltern Hills, in Bedfordshire, 
eighteen miles south-southwest of Bedford, and ten 
miles east- northeast of the BDxmore Station of the 
London and Northwestern Railway. The name " Dun- 
stable" is supposed by some to be derived from Dun, 
a notorious robber, who lived in the reign of Henry I. ; 
by others, and more plausibly, it is traced to the 
words "dun," a hilly place, and " staple," a mart. 
The English town is celebrated for the manufacture 
of straw plat bonnets and hats. A certain kind of 
straw braid in Massachusetts also long bore the name 
of " Dunstable." 

In the old English town the Norman kings had a 
palace, and it was in the same town that Archbishop 
Cranmer, in 1553, pronouuceil the sentence of di- 
vorce between Henry VIII. and Katharine of Ara- 
gon. The early parish register furnishes no record 
of the families which emigrated to America. The 
citizens of the younger Dunstable, however, fond- 
ly cherish the fact of their English ancestry ; while 
the citizens of old Dunstable have expressed a kinilly 
interest in its New England namesake. 

In this early period dense forests covered nearly 
the whole of this region. The growth of timber con- 
sisted mostly of pine, oak, walnut, maple and birch. 
.\ few clearings had been maile in which the Indians 
had planted maize, beans and sijuashts. The region 
was well watered by the Merrimac, the Nashua, the 
Souhegan and the Nissitisset Rivers, together with 
their numerous tributaries, and several large ponds 
frequented by fowl and abounding with fish. The 
beaver, otter, mink anil muskrat were found. Some- 
times bears and wolves ranged through the forests, 
and their peltries gave'rich inducement to the ad- 
ventures of the huntsman. In the fishing season the 
Indians were accustomed to meet near some waterfall, 
where they built their wigwams and performed their 



DUNSTABLE. 



739 



savage rites. Occasionally a trading-post coukl be 
found, as that of Cromwell. The woodman's use was 
8oinetime.s heiird re^!0UIllling tlirough the forest. 

The name of the first white settler is not certainlj' 
known. Tradition claims that John Cromwell, from 
Boston, came to what is now Tyngsborough as early 
as 1665, for the purpose of trading with the Indians. 
These savages could not have been favorably im- 
pressed with the early white settlers, had their judg- 
ment rested wholly upon him as a representative. It 
is said, he used his foot as a pound-weight in buying 
peltries of the natives; but he was soon detected in 
the dishonest proceeding and came near forfeiting 
his life. A party of the Pennacook Indians whom 
he had thus defrauded came down the river to wreak 
their vengeance ; bearing of their a[>proach, he saved 
bis life by (light. 

It is probable some tracts ol land were settled be- 
fore this period ; perhaps about the time the grant of 
land at Nanticook was made, in 1656, to William 
Brenton. 

On the 1st day of .luly, lC>'t7, Simon Willard, 
Thomas Henchman, Kosign Thomas Wheeler and 
William Brenton bought the exclusive right of 
trading with the Indians. The sum paid for this 
right was £25. Settlements were doubtless made 
soon afterwards. Some of the farmers signed the pe- 
tition for incorporation in 1673. 

Previous to the division of their land the proprie- 
tors wisely entered into a written agreement, by 
which every actual settler was to have a house-lot of 
ten acres, with an additional acre for every £20 of per- 
sonal estate he might possess. None were to have a 
house-lot of more than thirty-acres; while the remain- 
der of the common land was to be divided in propor- 
tion to the value of the respective house-lots. A thirty- 
acre house-lot entitled the holder to six hundred 
acres of the common land. 

The intent of this arrangement is thus given in the 
compact : " Y' we may live in love and peace together, 
we do agree, y' whatever fence we do make, either 
about corn-fields, orchards, or gardens, shall be a suf- 
ficient iVmr rail fence, or y' which is e<(uivalent, 
whether hedge, ditch, or stone-wall, or of loggs; and 
if any person sustain damage through the deficiency 
of their own fences not being according to oriJer, he 
shall bear his own damage." This wise jirovision 
doubtless promoted good will among the early settlers. 

Kmigration set in rapidly to the new and hopeful 
town. Most of the settlements were begun along the 
pleitsant margin of Salmon Brook, and near the right 
bank of the Jlerrimac Kiver. The safety of the in- 
habitants was greatly promoted by the erection of a 
garri.son-honse. 

The Indians had been greatly reduced by a plague 
which occurred several years before the arrival of the 
Pilgrims, and therefore found it for their advantage 
generally to avoid war with the early English set- 
tlers. 



The Indians throughout this region were divided 
into four principal tribes. 

These Indians dwelt in wigwams, wore the skins of 
animals, and subsisted on fish and game, of which 
there was a great abundance — Indian corn, beans and 
squashes were also leading articles of food, and were 
cultivated by the women, who used a clam shell for a 
hoe. 

Their skin was copper-colored ; their hair long, 
straight and black. Their feet were protected by 
moccd.'iin, made of untanned deer-skin. Their cur- 
rency consi.sted of shells called wampum. Their 
weapons were the tomahawk, the bow and arrow and 
the scalping-kiiife. 

Their language was rough and guttural, a few 
words, such as " Nashua" and " Miantoriimo," being 
excepted. They had some vague notion of a Supreme 
Power, and recognized the sacredness of a just agree- 
ment. 

Such, in brief, was the condition and character of 
those untutored beings with whom the early white, 
.<ettler8 were called to deal. The great chief Passa- 
conaway figured among the Indians of that age. He 
is mentioned by Gov. John Winthrop as early as 
1632. In 1644 he submitted himself with his people 
to the government of Massachusetts. 

Rev. ,Iohn Eliot, noted as a missionary, began la- 
bors among the Indians at Nonatum (now Newton) 
in 1()46, and soon afterward went to Concord and 
Wamesit. On his second visit to the latter place, 
which occurred in 1648, he met a largecoin[iany of the 
natives, who had conle to fish at the falls in the Con- 
cord and Merrimac Rivers, and he improved the 
opportunity to make known some of the te.ichings of 
the Christian religion. For his text he took Mal- 
achi 1 : 11, with slight modifications, as fi)llows : 
" From the rising of the sun to the going down of 
the same, thy name shall be great among the In- 
dians ; and in every place prayers shall be made to 
thy name, — pure prayers; for thy name shall be great 
among the Indians." Passaconaway, who would not 
listen to Mr. Eliot on his first visit, now came for- 
ward and expressed his determination to pray to (rod 
and to persuade his sons to do the same. 

This chief, who was a pow-wow or sorcerer, and 
was believed by the natives to be able to " make water 
burn, rocks move and trees dance," desired Mr. Eliot, 
the ensuing year, to come and resiile with his peo|>le 
an<l be their teacher. Although the missionary could 
not accede to this request, he continued his annual 
visits to the Pawtuckets, and here established what 
wiis called his fifth "praying-town" of the Indians. 
Passaconaway lived to an advanced age, and con- 
tinued to the last a faithful friend of the English. 
Some time previous to his death he said to his chil- 
dren and friends: 

"I am now going the way of all Hesh, or am ready 
to die, and I am not likely to see you meet together 
any more. I will now have this word of counsel with 



740 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



you, that you may take lieed Low you quarrel with 
the English; for though you may do thera much 
mischief", yet assuredly you will all be destroyed and 
rooted oti" the earth if you do; for T was as much an 
enemy to the Knglisli, at their first coming into these 
parts, as any one wliatsoever, and did try all ways 
and means possible to have them destroyed, at least 
to have prevented them settling down here, but I 
could no way effect it ; therefore I advise you never 
to contend with the English, nor make war with 
them." 

Mr. Whittier thus writesof the black arts practiced 
by Passaconaway : 

" For that cliief had magic skill, 
Aud a Panisee'sdark will 
Over powers of good and ill, — 

Powere which blew and powers which ban. 
Wizzard Lord of Pennacook 1 
Chiefs upon their war-paths shook 
When tliey met the steady look 
Of that wise, dark man." 

These Indians were for the most part friendly to the 
whites, yet they were not much inclined to Christi- 
anity, and Mr. Eliot never succeeded is establishing 
a church among them. His labors r&sulted, however, 
in some civilizing influences, and among his converts 
were not only the chief, Passaconaway, but his son 
Wannalancet, who succeeded to the rule of the tribe 
on the death of his father. 

In May, 1674, Mr. Eliot visited Wamesit, and 
preached on the parable of the virgin (Matt. 12: 1- 
14), in the house of Wannalancet, who soon after 
made this declaration : 

" Sirs, you have been pleased for years past, in your abundant love, 
to apply yourselves particularly unto me aud my people to exhult, press 
and pereuade us to pray to God. I am very thankfull to you for your 
pains. 1 must acknowledge I have all my days been used to pass in an 
old can)>e, and now yon exhort me to change and leave my old cauoe 
and embark in a new one, to which I have hithertoo been unwilling, but 
now I yield up myself to your advice and enter into a new canoe, and do 
engage to pray to God hereafter." 

Wame.sit at this time contained about 250 and fifty 
men, beside women and children. Only a few build- 
ings had been erected when the little band of farm- 
ers received the startling intelligence that their 
colony was threatened by the savages. 

Philip, of Pokanoket, in alliance with other 
sachems of New England, commenced hostilities in 
the spring of 1675. Town after town was laid in 
ruins by the savage foe. In view of the great number 
of Indians and their acquaintance with the territory, 
it seems remarkable that any town should have es- 
caped destruction. 

Dunstable, an outlying frontier, was peculiarly 
exposed. The feeling of insecurity became so great 
that the inhabitants, abandoning their little fort, the 
meeting-house they were then erecting and their 
dwelling-houses, sought |>rotection in the towns of 
Chelnistbrd, Concord, Billerica and Boston. 

There was one, however, who stood bravely at his 
post through the whole war, and therefore is justly 
entitled to the honor of being the first permanent set- 



tler of the town of Dunstable. It was the Hon. 
Jonathan Tyng, who was born December 15, 1642. 
Mr. Tyng's house stood on the right bank of the 
Merrimac River, nearly opposite Wicasuck Island, 
and about one mile below the central village of 
Tyngsborough. Fortifying his abode as best he 
could, and sending to Boston for supplies, this brave 
pioneer stood alone as an outpost between the enemy 
and the settlements below. 

After destroying as many as thirteen towns and six 
hundred colonists, the crafty Philip was shot at 
Mount Hope, R. I., Aug. 12, 1676, and the war was 
soon brought to a close. 

The deserted homes and farms in the wilderness 
were soon reoccupied after the close of the war. And 
the various apartments of an organized community 
were made effective. The selectmen were invested 
with more power than at the present day. The work 
of selecting a minister at i!50 per annum was in- 
trusted to them, this salary to be paid in money, or 
if otherwise, one third more was to be added thereto. 
John Sollendine, a carpenter, was engaged to com- 
plete the unfinished meeting-house, which was 
probably a small building constructed of logs rnd 
supposed to have stood on the river road, a short 
distance from the present northern line of Tyngs- 
borough, and not far from Salmon Brook. It was 
finished in 1678, but there is no account of any dedi- 
cation. The Rev. Thomas Weld w-as the first minister. 
He graduated at Harvard College in 1671, and com- 
menced preaching in Dunstable as early as May, 
1679. He married a daughter of the Rev. John 
Wilson, of Medfield, and built a house on the 
ministerial lot. This consisted of thirty acres, and 
entitled the occupant to the use of six hundred acres 
of the undivided territory. 

The first birth mentioned on the town records, and 
this under the caption, " Lambs born in Dunstable," 
is that of William, son of Jonathan and Sarah Tyng, 
born April 22, 1679. The first marrisige is that of 
John Sollendine, Aug. 2, 1680. 

Previous to the formation of the church a road 
was laid out from the meeting-house to Groton 
Centre, probably on the old Indian trail, as far as 
Massapoag Pond, at least; and in 1687 the town was 
assessed £1 12.s. Sd. to aid in building what was long 
called " the Great Bridge," over the Concord River, 
near " the Fordway," in Billerica, this being then on 
the main route of travel to Boston. At a town-meet- 
ing held on the 21st of May, of the following year, 
Samuel Gould was chosen " dog whipper " for the 
meeting-honse — an office then very needful, since the 
country was infested with wild animals as well as 
Lidians, and as a means of protection the settler used 
to take his dog and gun with him to church. The 
Jiai/ I'sdlin Bool.: was at this time the manual of song. 
The words of the Psalm as 

*' 0, all yee sorvanta of the Lord, 
Behold the Lord bless yee ; 



DUNSTABLE. 



741 



Tee who within Jeliovah's house 
I' the night time standing bee,'' 

were " lined out " by one of the deacons, and sung 
to 8ome 8iich tune as " Hackney " or " York tune," 
by the congregation standing. 

The great English Revolution came on in 1088, the 
house of iStuart fell, a contest between France and 
England, known in history as " King William's 
War," resulted. The French Jesuits instigated 
many Indians to set out upon the war-path. Along 
the frontier many ravages were committed. 

An attack on Dunstable was intended, but was 
averted through se.isonable information given by two 
friendly Indians to Major Thomas Henchman, then 
commander of the little garrison at Pawtucket Falls. 
Two companies were promptly sent to scour the 
country from Lancaster to Dunstable. The danger 
to which the few settlers in this frontier plantation 
were then exposed, and the sufferings they experi- 
enced, may be inferred from the following petition in 
vol. cvii., p. 230, of the " JIassachusetts Archives": 

"DiiNSTABtE, y" July 23, 1689. 
•' To the Honorable Goiienor and Counrill A Company of Representa- 
tives now assembled at Boston: — The petition of the Inhabitants of Dun- 
stable humbly sheweth that wee are much obliged to your Honors for 
your last supply of Men, notn ithstanding finding ourselves still weak 
and unable both to keep our Garrisons and to send men out to get hay for 
our Cattle, without doeiug which we cannot subsist ; wee doe therefore 
humbly Intreat your Honours to send and Supply us with twenty foot- 
men for the Space of a month to scout about the towne while we get our 
hay : HTid tile to'wne being very bare of provisions, by reason of billeting; 
souldiei-s all the last winter, we doe, therefore, intreat your Htinonrs to 
send a supply of meat, for bread we can supply, and without this help 
we cannot subsist, but must be forced to draw of and leave the towiie. 
Hoping your Honours will consider us in this request, wee Remaine 
your servants ever to pray for you. Subscribe<l by the select Men in the 
name of the towne. 

*' John Bi-vncharo, 
John LovtwEi-i., 
RoBT. Parris, 
Chkistopher Reed, 
Sa-muel Whitino." 

Fuur Indian spies were seen lurking around one of 
the garrisons at Dunstable about the time of the mas- 
sacre at Dover, yet, through the promptitude nf Alajor 
Henchman, Jonathan Tyng, Sergeant N'arnum and 
others, no attack was then made on the town. 

The foe again appeared on the morning of the 28th 
of the same month, and murdered two more of the 
people, one of whom, Ohadiah Perry, as we have 
said, had been allowed to hire a house in Billerica 
during King Philip's War. 

Brave and hardy as the original settlers were, such 
was their exposed situation, and such the havoc of 
the Indians in other places, that by the year 1(>9G 
nearly two-thirds of them had abandoned the town, 
and on tliis account the .State made an abatement of 
£b() to the town for such as liatl deserted it. The 
same reason led to a grant of £30 by the State to help 
the town support the minister. 

In April, 1697, the noted heroine, Mrs. Hannah 
Duston, passed through the town in a canoe, and was 
kindly eutertaiued by Col. Jonathan Tyng. She was 



on her way to Boston from Contoocook, N. H., where 
she had, with Mary Nell' and a boy, taken the scalps 
often Indians. 

The lirst grist-mill in town was owned by yamiiel 
Adams, and was established at "The Gulf," at Mas- 
sapoag Pond, before July, 1689, as may be seen from 
the following petition for men to defend it: 

"July y' 31, 1689. The humble petission of the 
towne of Dunstable, To the honerable gouernor & 
Councill c^ Company of the Representatives now as- 
sembled ; in behalf of Samuell Addams, owner of a 
Corn mill, without the use of which mill the Towne 
Cannot Subsist, .4nd therefore we doe intreat your 
honers to allow such a number of men as may be able 
to secure it. And so we remain your humble devotes 
ever to pr.ay. By the selectmen in the name of the 
towue, John blanchard, John Lovevell, Christopher 
Reed, Samuel Whiting, Robert Parris." 

In point of population, Dunstable was at this time 
the smallest town in the Province. The persevering 
efforts of Major Jonathan Tyng, Lieut. Samuel 
French, John Lovewell, Samuel Whiting, and the 
Rev. Mr. Weld prevented it from being again aban- 
doned. 

In 1702 the town was called to deplore the loss of 
its honored pastor, the Rev. Thomas Weld, who died 
on the 9th day of June, and was buried in the old 
cemetery near his church. 

King William's War, closed by the treaty of 
Ryswick in 1698, was followed by a brief interval of 
peace. What was called " Queen Anne's War" com- 
menced in 1702, and continued ten years, involving 
the colonists in many conflicts with the Indians, who, 
as usual, took part with the French. 

Various settlements along the northeastern frontier 
were a.ssaulted by the French and Indians during the 
month of August, 1703. More than two hundred 
people were at that time either killed or led into cap- 
tivity. To guard against these acts of violent'e, the 
government offered a reward of £40 for every Indian 
scalp brought in. 

On the 3d of November, 17(14, the (xeneral Court 
ordered the sum of £24 for building (bur block houses 
on the Merrimac River, "one in Billerica, two in 
Chelmsford, and one in Dunstable." 

On the night of the 3(1 of .luly, 1706. a parly of two 
hundred and seventy .Mohawk Indians suddenly &>}- 
saulted a garrison-house, in which Capt. Pearson and 
twenty of his " troopers" had been posted. The 
company was taken by surprise, for the door had been 
left open. Mr. Cummiugs and his wife, it is .■-aid, had 
gone out at the close of the day, for milking, when 
the Indians shot Mrs. Cummings, the wound proving 
fatal. Mr. Cummings was wounded, and taken cap- 
tive. Rushing into the house, they found the armed 
men. The amazement of the Indians and soldiers 
was mutual. A bloody conflict ensued, during which 
several of Capt. Pearson's men were either killed or 
wounded. The Indians withdrawing, set fire to the 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



house of Daniel GahisLa, living on Salmon Brook. 
One woman was killed, and another escaped from the 
flames by loosening the stones around a small window. 
A party of these Indians, on the same fatal day, 
entered the garrison-house of Nathaniel Blanchanl, 
and murdered himself, his wife Lydia, his daughter 
Susannah, and also Mrs. Hannah Blanchard. 

The Rev. John Pike, of Dover, wrote in his journals: 
" The whole number said to have been slain in Dun- 
stable at this time was nine persons." 

The noted Joe Knglish was shot by the enemy near 
Holden's Brook on the 27th of July, 1700. He and 
another soldier were acting as a guard to C^apt. Butter- 
field and his wife, who were passing through what ia 
now Tyngsborough. The Indians shot the horse on 
which these people were riding, and then taking Mrs. 
Butterfield captive, while her husband p.scaped, pur- 
sued Joe Knglish, firing upon him until he fell, 
wounded and e.xhausted, into their merciless hands. 
He well knew the exquisite torture to which they 
would subject him, and .so provoked them with .some 
taunting words that they immediately dispatched him 
with their tomahawks. His widow and two children 
received agrant ofmoney from the government because 
" he died in the service of his country."' He was brave, 
intelligent, and always faithful to the English people. 
His grandfather was Masconnomet, Sagamore of 
Agawam (now Ipswich). 

In the year 1711 there were seven fortified houses 
in Dunstable, and they were named as follows: — Col. 
Jonathan Tyng's, Mr. Henry Farwell's, Mr. John 
Cummings', Col. Samuel Whiting's, Mr. Thomas 
Lund's, Queen's Garrison and Mr. John Sollendine's. 
Thirteen families, seven males, nineteen soldiers, 
total of eighty-six people. 

The people, reduced to so small a number, lived in 
constant dread of the lurking foe. Their time w:is 
mostly spent in the garrisons, and but little improve- 
ment was made in the aspect of the town. They wore 
plain garments of their own making; their fare was 
very frugal, and their opportunities for mental culti- 
vation very limited. As they ventured forth to labor 
in the fields they found the loaded musket a neces- 
sary accompaniment. Their croi)s were slender and 
they were very destitute of the common supplies of 
life. Had not fish, game and berries been abundant 
they would have been compelled to leave the lands 
which had been granted to them and to return into 
the older settlements. 

Peace was at length secured by the treaty of Utrecht, 
April 11, 1713; the doors of the garrisons at Dun- 
stable were opened, and the hope of returning pros- 
perity began to cheer and animate the people. The 
town increased in numbers. .Some of the large tracts 
of land, originally granted, were sold in sections fur 
the accommodation of small farmers, and other in- 
ducements were held forth for an incoming popula- 
tion. 

At the lime of the death of Rev. Mr. Weld the 



town was so reduced in respect to population as to be 
unable then to settle another minister. In a petition 
to the General Court March 8, 1703-4, it is said that 
the inhabitants " can never hear a sermon without 
traveling more than twelve miles from their jirincipal 
post." In answer to this petition the Court granted 
£20 towards the support of the ministry. 

The Rev. Samuel Hunt, the Rev. Samuel Parris, the 
Rev. Amos Cheever, the Rev. John Pierpont and the 
Rev. Enoch Coffin preached successively. Thus one 
minister after another sup|)lied the pulpit at Dun- 
.stable until .Aug. '20, 1720, when the town gave a call 
to the Rev. Nathaniel Prentice (H. C, 1714) to .settle 
in the ministry, with the same salary before oflered to 
Mr. Coffin, and a settlement of £100. 



CHAPTER LVn. 



D UNSTABLE— { Continued). 



Cuntiimed Altttcka /mm the liiduiHS — Grotvlh <>/ the Totrn — Church and 
Schvul .•l/uiia-n23-17GS. 

The frontier settlements of Maine and New Hamp- 
shire became subject to frequent depredations from 
the Indians, who were instigated by Sebastian Rale, 
the celebrated Jesuit. His headquarters were at Nor- 
ridgewock. Lieut. Jabez Fairbanks, with a company 
having in it several men from Dunstable, spent the 
early part of the year 1724 in searching for the enemy 
on Nashua River and adjoining localities. 

On the 4th of September some French and Mohawk 
Indians came to Dunstable and c;irried captive Na- 
than Cross and Thomas Blanchard. These men were 
getting turpentine in the pine forest along the north- 
erly margin of the Nashua River. A party often men 
or more, commanded by Lieut. Ebenezer French, at 
once proceeded in their pursuit. One of the number, 
Josiah Farwell, w;irned the leadi^r to beware of fall- 
ing into an ambuscade; but he, too venturesome, re- 
plied, " I am going to take the direct path. If any of 
you are not afraid, follow me ! " 

They followed him, and on reaching wh.at is now 
Thornton's Ferry, on the Merrimae River, they were 
waylaid, fired upon by the treacherous foe, and all the 
party, excepting Mr. Farwell, who had concealed him- 
self in some bushes, were cither at once killed or taken 
captives. 

The bodies of eight of those killed were recovered, 
and buried in one grave. The names of seven are 
given in the Boston News Letter as follows : — " Lieut. 
Ebenezer French, Thomas Lund, Oliver Farwell and 
I'.benczer (Junimings, of Dunstable; Daniel Baldwin 
and John Burbaiik, of Woburu ; and Mr. .Johnson, of 
Plainfield." The name of the other man was Benja- 
min Carter. Four rude headstones in the old ceme- 



DUNSTABLE. 



:4r 



, tery at Little's Station, not far north of the State line, ! 
I couimemorate the sad event. > 

Instigated by these acts of Indian barbarity, it was 
thought best to carry on the war more vigorously. 
Bounties for scalps were again od'ered by the govern- 
ment and volunteer companies were formed. 

Favored by a grant from the Assembly, Lovewell 
raised a company of thirty men. When commissioned 
captain, he started with his followers on an expedi- 
tion into the wilderness. On the 10th of November 
his lieutenant, Josiah Farwell, received at Haverhill 
" four hundred and eighty seven pounds and one- half 
of good bread " for the use of soldiers, and on the 19th 
of December they fell upon an Indian trail abont 
forty-fonr miles above " Winnepisockee Pond." Com- 
ing to a wigwam they ijilled and scalped an Indian 
and took a boy about fifteen years old cajitive. They 
returned to Boston with these trophies, and it is re- 
corded by the Neus Letter of January 7, 1725, that 
" the lieutenant-governor and council were pleased to 
give them £50 over and above £150 allowed them by 
law." 

The intrepid Lovewell, thus encouraged, soon raised 
another volunteer company of eighty-eight men, 
among whom were his brother, Zaccheus Lovewell, 
Thomas Colburn, Peter Powers, Jcsiah Cumraings, 
Henry Farwell, William Ayers, Samuel Fletcher and 
others, of Dunstable, and on the 30th of January, 
1724-25, set forth on a second expedition against the 
Indians. 

In this journey he came up with the enemy near a 
pond at the head of one of the branches of Salmon 
Falls River, now in the town of Wakefield, N. H. He 
killed the whole party, ten in all, then returned to 
Boston with the scalps stretched on poles, and there 
claimed the bounty. Penhallow mentions this inci- 
dent of the march : "Our men were well entertained 
with moose, bear and deer, together with salmon trout, 
some of which were three feet long and weighed 
twelve pounds apiece." 

On the 15th day of April, 1725, Lovewell, with a 
I band of forty -seven men, left Dunstable with the de- 
sign of attacking the Peijuakets, under the noted 
Sachem Paugus, who.se headquarters were in a beauti- 
ful valley on the Saco River, in what is now the town 
of Fryeburg, Maine. The distance was more than 
two hundred miles, and the country to be traversed 
a dreary wilderness, with occasionally an Indian trail 
or the track of some wild beast. 

Such an adventure demanded men accustomed to 
hardship, fearless of peril, and such were Lovewell 
and his comrades. 

After marching some distance, Toby, a Mohawk 
Indian, becoming lame, was obliged to return to the 
plantation. On reaching Contoocook, William Cum - 
mings, of Dunstable, being disabled by a wound pre- 
viously received from the Indians, was sent back in 
charge of one of his kinsmen. 

When the company reached the westerly shore of 



the Great Ossipee Lake, Benjamin Kidder, being un- 
able to proceed farther, was left under the care of the 
surgeon. Dr. William Ayer, of Haverhill. Captain 
Lovewell here erected a stockade, and detailed eight 
soldiers to remain as a reserve. 

Hastening forward with the rest of his company for 
about twenty miles, the heroic captain arrived, on the 
eve of the 7th of May, at the northwesterly margin of 
a beautiful sheet of water, about two miles long and 
half a mile wide, since known as Lovewell's Pond, 
and encamped for the night. The enemy had not yet 
been observed, and nothing but some confused noises 
in the distance, possibly the howling of wolves, cau.sed 
any alarm ; but while engaged in their devotions 
about eight o'clock on the following morning, they 
were startled by the report of a musket, which pro- 
ceeded from the opposite shore of the pond. They 
then observed an Indian at the distance of about a 
mile, standing on a point of land extending into the 
lake, and supposing that he was acting as a decoy to 
draw them into danger, held a consultation as to the 
best course to be pursued. 

The young chaplain, Jonathan Fryc, of Andover, 
said, " We came out to mee» the enemy, we have all 
along prayed God that we might find them, and we 
had rather trust Providence with our lives — yea, die 
for our country — than try to return without seeing 
them, if we may, and be called cowards for our 
pains." 

Moved by this request, Capt. Lovewell orderedliis 
men to go cautiously forward. Soon reaching a 
smooth plain, the men divested themselves of their 
packs, which they piled up together, under the im- 
pression that the main body of the enemy was in 
front of them. Having then gone through the forest, 
for about a mile, they came suddenly upon the Indian 
hunter whom they ha<l before seen standing on the 
point of land across the lake. He was leisurely re- 
turning to bis people with a couple of muskets and a 
brace of ducks upon his shoulder. Several guns were 
instantly fired at him, when, replying, ho seriou.sly 
wounded ('apt. Lovewell and Mr. Samuel Whiting 
with beaver shot. Ensign Seth Wynian then firing, 
killed the Indian. 

The company then turned back, and moved with 
their wounded leader towards the spot where they 
had left their packs. But in the mean time Paugus, 
at the head of about eighty warriors, on their return 
from an expedition down the Saco River, discovered 
the pile of packs, and judging from the number that 
the English force was much less than his own, deter- 
mined to engage in battle. He, therefore, placed his 
men in ambush and awaited the arrival of his foe. 
When Lovewell's company came up for their packs 
the Indians rushed suddenly from their hiding-places, 
three or four deep, with their guns presented as if 
supposing their very numbers would move the Eng- 
lish to surrender; but they were disappointed. Fear- 
lessly did Lovewell's men advance upon the Indians 



7lt 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



till williia a short distance, when the combatants on 
both slides opened a deadly fire. The war-whoop 
mingled with the roar of musketry was appalling. 
Capt. Lovewell, with eight of his heroic company, 
was soon left dead upon the field. Three of his men 
were seriously wounded. 

Having met with such a fearful loss and being al- 
most defeated by the enemy, the English, com- 
manded by Ensign Seth Wyman, withdrew to the 
pond, which served to protect tliem in the rear, while 
on their right an unfordable stream, and on tiieir 
left a rocky point in part defended them. Their front 
was also covered with a deep morass. In this admir- 
able position they bravely defended themselves 
against superior numbers for the remainder of the 
day. About three o'clock in the afternoon the gallant 
Chapl.ain Frye was seriously wounded. The Indians, 
by their yelling and horrid grimaces, rendered the 
fight more terrible. At one time they held up ropes, 
inviting the English to surrender. They, however, 
pointed to the nuizzles of their muskets, signified 
their resolve to fight to the bitter end rather than 
be taken captive. 

During the engagement Paugus, the long-dreaded 
chief of the Pequakets, fell, and probably, as the 
ancient ballad states, by a shot from Ensign Wyman, 
though there is a tradition that the exploit was due 
to John Chamberlain, of Groton. 

Paugus and Wyman were standing near each other 
and»loading their pieces on the margin of the lake, 
when it is said that Paugus, in the act of forcing down 
his ball, cried out to Wyman, " Me kill you quick ! " To 
whom the latter answered, "Maybe not! "and his 
gun, priming itself, gave him the advantage of a little 
time, thus enabling him by a well-directed shot to lay 
the sachem prostrate and mortally wounded. 

Either from the loss of men or want of ammunition, 
the Indians withdrew fiom the contest a little after 
sunset, removing most of their dead and all of their 
wounded from the field. 

Soon afterwards the survivors in Lovewell's band, 
now destitute of powder and provisions, resolved to 
leave the fatal spot and return, if possible, to the stock- 
ade fort on Lake O.ssipee. But some of them were 
suffering from loss of blood and could not proceed on 
the journey. .lacob Farrar was just expiring near the 
pond. Lieutenant Jonathan Hobbins, unable to go, 
desired that his gun might be loaded and placed be- 
side him. " For," said he, " the Indians will come in 
the morning to scalp me, and I'll kill one more of 
them, if I can ! " Robert Usher, also of Dunstable, 
Wiis too much exhausted to be removed. Regretfully 
leaving these three dying comrades, the rest of the 
men, of whom eleven had been wounded, .started for 
the fort, a distance of more than twenty miles. Hav- 
ing traveled about a mile and a half, Chaplain Frye, 
Lieutenant Josiah Farwell, Eleazer Davis and Josiah 
Jones gave their free consent to be left on the way, 
hoping that aid might be sent back to them, but the 



two former perished in the wilderness. Chaplain 
Frye, after traveling some distance, sank under his 
wounds, telling his com|)anions that he was dying and 
at the same time " charging Davis," says Mr. 
Symmes, "if it should please God to bring him home, 
to go to his father, and tell bim that he expected in a 
few hours to be in eternity, and that he was not 
afraid to die." Lieutenant Farwell died of exhaus- 
tion on the eleventh day alter the fight. Davis, who 
was wounded in the body and had one thumb shot 
off, reached Berwick in a deplorable condition on the 
27th of May ; and Jones came in at Saco, after wan- 
dering, with a severe wound, fourteen days in the 
wilderness. On reaching the fort, faint and hungry, 
the little band under Lieutenant Wyman bad the 
grief to find the place abandoned. At the beginning 
of the fight Benjamin Hassell, thinking all to be lost, 
had fled, and on reaching the fort had so intimidated 
the occupants that they all deserted it and made their 
way back, arriving on the 11th of May at Dunstable. 
Ensign Wyman returned home with his men on the 
15th of May. On the 17tb of the same month Col- 
onel Eleazer Tyng, with a company of eighty-seven 
men, went to the scene of conflict, and there found 
and buried the bodies of Captain John Lovewell, En- 
sign Jonathan Robbins, Fnsign John Harwood, 
Robert Usher, Sergt. Jacob Fullam, Jacob Farrar, 
Josiah Davis, Thomas Woods, Daniel Woods, John 
Jefts, Ichabod Johnson and Jonathan Kittridge. He 
also dug up and identified the body of the great 
warrior, Paugus. 

Dr. Jeremy Belknap once visited the scene of the 
battle, and discovered the names ,if the fallen heroes, 
which Colonel Tyng had inscribed upon the trees. 

For the defence of Dunstable during the absence 
of Col. Tyng, Col. Flagg was ordered to detach a 
number of men from his regiment. 

Capt. Lovewell was the son of John Lovewell, and 
was born in Dunstable <^ct. 14, KiUl. His lands and 
meadows, in all about two hundred acres, and the 
buildings thereon, together with the half part of a 
saw-mill, were estimated at £420. In answer tc a 
petition of Hannah Lovewell, to the General Court, 
.lune 8, 1721), " it was resolved that fifty pounds be 
paid to Capt. Henry Farwell and Col. E. Tyng, with 
which to discharge the claims against the estate of 
the late Capt. Lovewell." Fifteen hundred pounds 
were granted to the widows and children of the de- 
ceased soldiers, and in consideration of the services 
of Capt. Lovewell and his brave comrades, the Gen- 
eral I'ourt also granted to them and to the legal rep- 
resentatives of such as had deceased, " a township of 
six miles square, lying on both sides of Merri- 
mack River." It is now the town of Pembroke, 
N. H. 

The powder-horn which the hero of Pequawket 
used in the fight is still preserved b)' one of his de- 
scendants. 

Capt. Lovewell was brave and adventurous. He 



DUNSTABLE. 



745 



died with his gun loaded aud pointed toward the foe. 
His life was not sacrificed in vain. The battle at 
Pequawket closed the war and insured safety. A 
treaty of peace was soon niiide with the difl'erent In- 
dian tribes, and the Pequawkets, led by Adeawanda, 
removed to Canada. 

The story of LovewelTs exphtiLswas lieard in every 
dwelling. The following ballad, said by John Far- 
mer to have been written soon after the tragic event 
occurred, embodies the chief incidents of the battle. 
It is to be regretted that neither the name of the au- 
thor nor the music to which the words were adapted, 
has been preserved. The ballad was for a long 
period the most popular song in the colonies. 

THE BALLAD OF CAPT. JOHN LOVKWELL'S FIGHT AT 
PE(JUA\VKKT. 

I. 
Of worthy Captain Luvewell 1 purpose now to siut?, 
Huw valiautly he served hie country aud tiiti king ; 
He and his valiant aoldiere did ran^^f the woods full wide, 
Aud hardships they endured to nuell the Indian's pride. 

II. 
Twas nigh unto Pigwacket, on the eighth day of May, 
They spied a rehel Indian, soon after hreak of day. 
He on a bank was walking, upon a neck of land 
Which leadd into a pond, as we're made to understand. 



Our men resolved to have him, ami travelled two miles round, 
Until they met the Indian, who boldly stood his ground. 
TheD speaks up Capt. Lovewell, " Take yuu good heed," says he, 
"This rogue is to decoy us, I very plainly see. 

IV. 

" The Indians lie in ambush, in some place nigh at loind, 
In order to surround us upon this neck of land ; 
Therefore we'll uiarch in order, and each man leave hfs pack. 
That we may briskly fight them, when they shall us attack." 

V. 
They come unto the Indian who did them thus defy ; 
As 6oon as they come nigh hiui, two guns be did let fly, 
Which wounded Capt. Lovewell and likewise one man more ; 
But when this rogue was running, they laid him in bis gore. 



Then, having 8i'ali)ed/he Indian, they went bai:k to the spot 
Where they bad laid their packa down, hut there they found them not ; 
For the Indians, having spied them when they them down did lay, 
Did seize them for their plunder, aud rarry tlieni away. 

VU. 
These rebels lay in ambush, this very place near by. 
So that an English soldier did one of them espy, 
And cried out, '' Here's an Indian ! " With that they started out 
Ae fiercely as old lions, and hideously did shout. 

vni. 

With that <tur valiant English all gave a loud huzza, 
To show the rebel Indians they feared them not a straw. 
So now tho tight began as tiercely as could be, 
The Indians ran up to them, but soon were forced to flee. 



Then spake up T'aptain Lovewell, when first the fight began, 
'• Fight on, my valiant heroes, you see they fall like rain I " 
For, as we are informed, the Indians were so thick, 
A man could scarcely fire a gun, and not some of them hit. 

X. 
Then did the rebels try their best our soMieitt to surround, 
But they could not accomplish it, because there wad a pond. 



To which our men reti%ate<I and covered all the rear. 

The logues were forced to flee tlMnu, aUbuugb they skulked for fear. 

XI. 

Two togs that wore behind them so close together lay. 
Without being discovered they could not get away ; 
Therefore, our valiant English, they travelled in a row, 
And at a handsome distance, as they were wont to go. 

XII. 

'TwHs ten o'clt»ck in the morning when first tlie fight begun. 
And fiercely di<l continue tilt the setting of the sun. 
Excepting that the Indians, some hours bffore 'twas night, 
Drew olT into the bushes and ceased awhile to fight. 

XIII. 

But soon again returned, in fierce and furious mood, 
Shouting afs in the morning, but yet not half so loud ; 
For, as we are informed, so thick and fast they fell. 
Scarce twenty of their numbf r at night did get home well. 

XIV. 

.\nd that our valiant English till midnight there did stay, 
To Pee whether the reliels would have another fray ; 
But they no more returning, they made off to their home, 
And brought away their wounded as far as they could come. 

XV. 

Of all our valiant English there were but thirty-four, 

And of the rebel Imliaiis there were about four-score. 

And sixteon of our English did safely home return ; 

The rest were killed and wounded, for which we all nmst mourn. 

XVI. 
Our worthy Captain Lovewell among them then did die ; 
They killed Lieutenant Robhius and wounded good young Frye, 
Who was our English Chaplain ; he many Indians slew, 
Aud some of them he scalped, when bullets round him tiew. 

XVII. 

Young Fullam, too. Til mention, because he fought so well ; 
Endeavoring to save a man, a sacrifice he fell. 
And yet our valiant Englishmen in fight were ne'er dismayed, 
But still they kept their motion, and Wyuian captain made, — 

XVIII. 
Who shot the old chief Paugus, which did the foe defeat, 
Then set his men in order and brought ofl the retreat ; 
And, braving many daugei-s and hardships by the way. 
They safe arrived at Dunstable the thirtf^enth day of May. 

On the return of peace many families came to se- 
cure homesteads in a region so well stored with tim- 
ber and so rich in pasturage. Koads were laid out 
to the distant settlements, fences were constructed and 
orchards planted. The church was the leading insti- 
tution. The meeting-house atlbrded the people a 
rallying-point ; but it was soon found inc;jnveuient 
for those living in the remote parts ot the town to 
assemble at the appointed place, and for this reason 
efforts were early made for a division of the terri- 
tory. An area of two hundred sciuare miles was too 
great for the practical purposes of a church, and so 
there was but little opposition against setting oil' 
'* certain sections for the better accommodation of 
certain people." 

On the 4th of January, 17'?2-33, certain families, 
bearing the nam^s of Blodgett, Cummings, Cross, 
Colburn, Greeley, Hill, Lovewell, Marsh, Merrill, 
Pollard and Wiuu, who had commenced a settlement 
on the easterly side of the Merrimac River as early 



■ir, 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MAS.^ACIIUSETTS. 



as 1712, finding it inconvenient to attend church 
across the river, were incorporated into a town by the 
name of Nottingliani. Tliis town came into New 
Hampshire by the divisional line in 1741, and the 
name is now changed to Hudson. 

In 1733 it was voted that the new meeting-house 
should be erected four rods west of where the old 
church was standing, Iml against this vote a number, 
living in the southerly part of the town, protested. 
A committee of three was chosen to determine a site 
for the new meeting-house. 

The town derived considerable revenue from the 
preparation of pitch and turpentine, of which the 
primeval forests of pine furnished large quantities. 

The excision of a part of the town of Dunstable to 
form Nottingham was followed by a still greater one 
in 1734, when the wide tract called Nanticool: was in- 
corporated under the name of Litchfield. Subse- 
quently the section of the town west of the Merri- 
niac River was incorporated under the name of Rum- 
ford ; this was changed to Merrimac, the present 
name. 

The number of families iu Dunstable in 1730 was 
about fifty. The sum of £90 was raised for the salary 
of Mr. Prentice. A small sum was also raised for the 
support of a "writing school." Mr. Prentice, who 
was a good preacher, died February 27, 1737. He 
Wits much beloved by his people. 

The Rev. Josiah Swan was ordained over the 
church December 27, 1738, and about this time a new 
church edifice was dedicated. Mr. Swan continued 
to preach in the new church until some time in 174G, 
when he resigned his pastorate. He afterwards be- 
came a noted school-teacher in I^ancaster. 

The westerly part of Dunstable, called by the In- 
dians NissUissci, was incorporated with the title of 
"The West Parish of Dunstable," which afterwards 
became the town of Hollis. The town of Dunstable 
was thus gradually reduced in size until 1741, when, 
by the running of the divisional line between the 
States of New Hampshire and M.assachusetts, the 
above-mentioned towns, together with the territory 
which has since become the city of Nashua, were set 
off to the former State, leaving Dunstable proper, 
which then included Tyngsborough, in the State of 
Massachusetts. 

During the month of February, 1741, Richard 
Hazen surveyed and established the line between the 
Provinces of New Hampshire and Massachusetts. 
About two-thirds of the inhabitants of the old parish 
were thus brought into this State. It is probable that 
town officers were that year elected in Dunstable, 
Mass.; but the first few pages of the earliest book of 
records are unfortunately gone, and it is not possible 
to know who were the public officers of that and the 
following year. 

On the 8th of February, 1743, Eleazer Tyng, 
Joseph Eaton and Jonathan Taylor petitioned the 
General Court for permission to choose town officers. 



since the preceding selectmen had neglected to 
issue a warrant for that purpose. The itetition was 
granted, and the first recorded town-meeting was held 
in the house of Ebenezer Kendall, March .'), 1713. 

At another meeting held about this time at the 
house of Simon Thompson, it was voted that three 
men be appointed to assist the town clerk in record- 
ing the town votes. Some specimens of spelling on 
the archives of the town indicate there was ample 
need of such aid. When, however, the work and ex- 
posure of those early settlers is considered, it can be 
easily seen how small a margin of time could be left 
for consulting the dictionary. The church was then 
the principal school, the minister the instructor, and 
these were steadily supported, as the next record in 
the old stained folio testifies : 

"March y" 28, 1744, voted y' Twenty Pounds in 
Lawful money shall be Raised & assessed to Suporte 
y* gospel among us.'' Eleazer Ty"g> Esq., John 
French, and Ebenezer Kendall were then chosen " to 
treate with the Reverend Mr. Swan, & to see if any 
Thing was due to him from y" Town of Dunstabell 
before y° Line was Run between y*" said Province." 

In November, 1746, the town " voted to raise 8 
pounds lawful money to pay for preach the current 
year ;" but who was the recipient of such a salary 
for proclaiming the gospel in " Decon Taylor's Hous " 
the records do not indicate. 

About this time the " vexed question " of erecting 
a meeting-house arose, and continued for several 
years to agitate the people. The town extended from 
Dracut on the east, some ten miles to Groton on the 
west. The families, numbering fifty-four, were pretty 
evenly settled over the whole surface. A new church 
bad been erected in 1738, on the New Hampshire 
side of the line, and was partly owned by the people 
on this side of it. Some preferred to worship there. 
Others were in favor of buying the edifice and re- 
moving it to their own town. Among this class 
again there were difl'erences of opinion. Some de- 
sired to locate it in the geographical centre, while 
others preferred the centre of population ; still another 
party thought it best to erect a new building and 
choose a committee from some neighboring town, who 
should select the location. The Rev. Joseph Emer- 
son, in his sermon at the dedication of the second 
meeting-house in Pepperell, doubtless had reference 
to the state of things in Dunstable when he said, " It 
hath been observed that some of the hottest conten- 
tions in this land hath been about settling of min- 
isters and building meeting-houses, and what is the 
reason ? The Devil is a great enemy to settling min- 
isters and building meeting-houses ; wherefore he sets 
on his own children to work and make difficulties, 
and to the utmost of his power stirs up the corrup- 
tions of the children of God in some way to oppose or 
obstruct so gfiod a work." 

A map of the town made by Joseph Blanchard, and 
dated Oct. 17, 1748, was brought before the General 



DUNSTABLE. 



■n 



(Jourl, in order to show the centre of land, and also 
of population to that body, and the fitting place for 
the location of the church. On this plan the farms 
of Col. Tyiig and Mr. .lohn Tyng embrace an area 
si.\ miles and fifty-six rods in length, and one mile 
wide. Mr. Jeremiah Colburn's h<m.se is designated 
as in the northeast, and Mr. Robbins' house in the 
northwest angle of the town. 

For the purpose of building the meeting-house, the 
town voted to raise £100, lawful money, and also, 
Nov. l.')th, " to build y' said house 40 feet long, 'M'l 
feet wide, and '21 feet sludes." 

On the 27th of December, 1748, the town voted 
" to Raise thirty Pounds, old Tenor, for the Suporte of 
a school." This is the first mention of any action 
regarding a .school on the records. 

This was probably what w.is called a moving- 
school, that is, a school taught bj* the same per.son 
successively in various houses. The reading-books 
then used were the "New England Primer," with its 
plain cuts of Adam and Eve, Jonah and the whale, 
and simple rhymes, such as 

"The idle fool 
Ib wliipt at school," 

the Psalter and the New Testament. The birchen 
twig was freely applied to ofl'enders, and the As.sem- 
bly's Catechism often repeated. The spiritual good 
of such mental exercise was, perhaps, in some cases, 
lessened by frequent association with the aforesaid 
twig. 

The Court declared, June 2(ith, that the people of 
Nottingham an<l Joint Grass had forfeited the benefit 
of being incorporated with Dunstable, and that " the 
meeting-house should be erected on the east side of 
the road from Ca])t. Cummings' to iSinion Thompson's 
house, where the timber lies for it." The Joint Grass 
families at this time were tho.se of John Swallow, Jo- 
seph Spauldiiig, .fr., Timothy Read, Joseph Fleichor, 
Benjamin Robbins, Johli Spauldiiig and Samuel 
Cummings. In July following, the Nottingham and 
Joint Grass people, being dissatisfied with the place 
fixed upon for the church, petitioned the Court that 
they might be annexed to Dunstable, that they 
might thus vote on the question. 

People at this time were very much troubled by 
wolves. Occasionally bean and catamounts were 
seen. It is related that one evening, while Deacon 
Joseph Fletcher, who owned a tract of six hundred 
acres in the Joint Grass District, was absent at the 
mill, his wife, Elizabeth, hearing something like the 
screaming of a child, went to the door, and saw the 
eyes of a catamount glaring at her from a tree. She 
fastened the door upon her visitor ; yet thinking he 
might gain an entrance through a window, she crept 
into a barrel, and in that con.strained position spent 
the night. 
I The town voted, in 1749, to pay lis". Gd. to any 

person from Dunstable, Groton, Littleton, Westford, 
Lunenburg, Harvard or Hollis, on condition that 



these towns should do the same, " that shall kill any 
Grone Wolf within one year, within the bounds of any 
of these Respective towns, or shall tak the tracte in 
any of the.se townes & folow it till thay kill it 
where they will if ye bed be piodiued by way of evi- 
dence iVi ye Ears cut ofl' as the l^aw direct.s." 

March 5, 1749-50, it was voted " to alow a town 
way from David Taylor's to Nathaniel Parker's ; " and 
in July, following, £20 were to be raiaed for "ye 
supporte of the gospell." 

On the 20th of May, 1752, it was voted that the 
meetinghouse be erected ■' on a knowl by the Road 
that leads from David taylor's to Simon Tomson's, 
aboutfiveorsix rods north where the road was lying;" 
and at the next meeting, July (ith, it was " voted that 
Dea. Stickny, of billerica, Capt. Nickols, of Reading, 
& Deacon Stone, of groton, be a committee to fix a 
place for a meeting-house." 

Thus it appears that some positive action was final- 
ly taken regarding the proposed meeting-house. The 
deci.sion of the aforesaid committee satisfied the ma- 
jority of the town in respect to the long-contested 
point; for, on the 2d of September, it was voted "to 
erect a meeting-house on the East corner of David 
Taylor's land," as the committee had determined. At 
the next meeting, Oct. 2t3th, it was voted to raise £53 
()«. 8rf. to pay for that part of the New Hampshire 
church which the, committee, consisting of Col. Tyng, 
Samuel Taylor and Joseph Pike, had purchased, and 
for " taking down, removing & rebuilding s' meting 
house." On the 18th of December, following, acom- 
mittee was chosen to petition the General C'ourt that 
"those living in the Northeast part of Groton, at a 
place called Joynt gra.ss, be ennexed to this town of 
Dunstable, as they formerly were." 

From the records it appears that these people were 
willing, if the meeting-house were built upon a spot 
that suited them, to become again citizens of Dun- 
stable. 

This proposition found favor. " The (ieneral Court 
ordered that Joseph Fletcher, .Joseph Spalding, 
Samuel Cummings, Benjamin Robins, Timothy Read, 
.Fohn Swallow, Joseph I'arkhurst, it Ebenezer Park- 
hurst, .Ir., with their familii's .S; Estates, etc., be an- 
nexed to the town of Dunstable, agrealilc to the vole 
of the Town of Groton on the isth day of May, 1747." 
Thus those families added to the population of Dun- 
stable, and became a constituent part of the town. It 
was finally re-solved to erect a meeting-house forty- 
two feet long, thirty-two feet wide and with posts 
twenty-one feet high "by y' Highway Side which 
Leads from y" house of Mr. Temple Kendall to IMr. 
Robert Blood's house." 

The spot selected is a rocky knoll on the left-hand 
side of the road leading from the village of Dun- 
stable to that of Tyngsborougli, and about one mile 
distant from the former place. There is here a fine 
view of the west, with the summit of Wachusett 
Mountain in the distance. The laud is now covered 



748 



FTTSTOEY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



with more or loss timber, ami no trace whatever of 
the old church remains. The graveyard ou the west- 
ern sh)[)e of the hill alone indicates the place where 
the people for many years gathered for the transac- 
tion of civil and political afl'airs, as well as for the 
service of public worship. 

The committee appointed to build the meeting- 
house consisted of Ebenezer Sherwiu, Ebenezer Ken- 
dall and Samuel Cummins, and they reported to the 
town, December 24, 17o3, as follows : " We have 
built said house, and have erected it on y' north 
side of the road that leads from Ebenezer Butter- 
field's to Robert Blood's, about thirty-four poles from 
said centre and have finished it all saving the doors." 

The raising of the edifice took place on the 18th of 
July, 1753. Most of the inhabitants of that region 
doubtless gathered together to assist in laying the 
massive sills, in erecting with long spike poles the 
heavy posts of oak, and in putting the rafters into 
place. Probably, in accordance with the custom of 
those days, they passed the flowing bowl freely from 
lip to lip — a custom fortunately less approved in 
these days. The bountiful dinner was an important 
feature of such festivals. But a sad accident occur- 
red before the "raising" was completed, which filled 
every heart with anguish. When the frame was 
nearly up, two men suddenly fell from a spar, and 
one of them, Mr. Abiel Richardson, of Groton, strik- 
ing upon a rock, died immediately; the other man, 
more fortunate, escaped with very severe bruises and 
contusions. 

The frame was soon covered and a floor laid, so 
that the house could be used for public services, but 
the seats were furnished gradually and the structure 
was not compleleil for several years. 

The church soon became a central point. Several 
highways or bridle-paths, converging towards it, were 
made by permission of the town. At a town-meeting 
in May, 17')4, it was voted " to build ye two bodys of 
seats aud to Provide Boards for the Pulpit." 

Jonathan Tyng, John Alford Tyng and Willard 
Hall, Jr., petitioned the General Court, this year, that 
three hundred acres of land in Chelmsford should be 
annexed to Dunstable, and although strongly opposed 
by that town, the petition was granted. 

A meeting was held at Oliver Colburn's house 
March 21, 1755, when Benjamin Farwell, Timothy 
Bancroft, Joseph Dan forth and John Steel were 
chosen selectmen, and Ebenezer Sherwin was elected 
" Culler of Staves." 

This article aflbrded considerable income. Trade 
in hoop-poles, shingles, peltry and fla.x was also profit- 
able. The potato had been introduced and was be- 
ginning to take the place of the turnip at the table; 
fish aud wild fowl were abundant. The people spun 
aud wove their own flax and wool into good, service- 
able cloth, which they colored with vegetable dyes 
and made into garments. The women rode to church 
on hoiTie-back, seated sometimes behind the men. 



The tavern, the mill and the blacksmith-shop were 
the three several places where the men gathered to 
obtain the latest news or to discuss various questions. 
These subjects generally had reference to the build- 
ing of roads, the state of the crops, the husking 
party, the last matrimonial engagement, the latest 
success in hunting or the singing or the sermon at 
the church. 

The inhabitants of the eastern part of the town 
were not pleased with the location of the church on 
Meetiug-House Hill, aud therefore formed themselves 
into a precinct, called the First Parish of Dunstable. 
They erected a small meeting-house, with two 
porches and a tall steeple, near the spot now occupied 
by the Unitarian Church in Tyngsboraugh Centre. 
The steeple was blown down in the great gale of 1815. 
The Hon. John Pitts gave expression to his views of 
this church by the following lines : 

"A very small meeting-house, 
A very tall steeple ; 
A very provid minister, 
A queer sort of people." 

At a meeting of the members of this parish, Aug. 
20, 1755, it was voted " that the place for a meeting- 
house in this precinct be on the west of Merrimack 
River, near Mr. James Gordon's Mills, where a fraim 
is erected for that purpose." It was also voted " to 
accept the fraim that is Now on the spot." It is also 
recorded " that John & Jonathan Tyng came into the 
Meeting & gave the Precinct-Glass for the Meeting- 
house." At a meeting of the precinct, held in 175(1, 
Eleazer Tyng, Simon Thompson aud Oliver Farwell 
were appointed a committee " to sett of the pew 
ground to those that have given & Pay'' most toward 
building Said house." In the ensuing year this par- 
ish raised £14 "to hire preaching." 

The people of the westerly part of the town were 
also organized into a precinct or parish, about the 
time of the ercctifjn of the meeting-house. The act 
granting the authority for this precinct received the 
signature of Gov. William Shirley June 14, 1755. 
The first meeting of this Second Parish, or precinct, 
in Dunstable, was held at "y" meeting house" on the 
27th of October following, when Ebenezer Sherwin 
was chosen moderator, and John Steel parish cierk. 
John Cummings, John Steel and Joseph Fletcher 
were chosen as " committeemen and assessors of said 
parish." Joseph Danforth was chosen treasurer, and 
Benjamin Pike collector. These otticers were then 
sworn " to y'^ faithful Discharge of their Respective 
Trusts," and thus the Second or West Parish of Dun- 
stable was fairly organized and started on its eventful 
way. 

According to custom in those days, a few persons 
held slaves, and the following paper relating to the 
sale of one of them is still preserved : 

** Dunstable, September y« 10ti», 1756. 
" Receiveil of Mr, .Tohn .\bI)ott, Junior, of Andover, Fourteen pounds, 
Thirteen shillings and Two pence. It lieing the full value of a Negrow 
Garl, named Dinah, about five years of Age, of a Healthy, Sound Con- 



'M 



DUNSTABLE. 



741) 



''titution, free of any dtsesise of Body and I Do hereby Deliirer the Same 
• Jiirl to the said Abbott and Promi^ to Defend him in the ImproTomeDt 
<'f hear, as his Servan forever. 

"Witness my hand, " RnBERT Blooh, 

*'JOHN KtNUAI.L, 

"Temple Kendall.' 

Robert Blood lived on tlie place now occupied by 
Dexter Butterfield, and there are many stories of his 
peculiarities. He is said to have called an Indian 
doctor to prescribe tor him when sick ; but tearing 
lest the medicine might be poisonous, he gave it to 
his negro boy, who died from the et^ects. The place 
of his burial is still called " Negro Hill." A sheriff 
once came into church to arrest Mr. Blood, who, see- 
ing his pursuer, placed his handkerchief to his nose, 
as if it were bleeding, and quietly left the meeting. 

On being asked afterwards why he left the church 
so suddenly, he said: "The sons of God came to 
present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came 
also among them." (Job 1 : 6.) 

At a meeting of the Second Parish, held Nov. 20, 
175."), it was voted that £20 be assessed " for y*" suport 
of v" Gospel for y- present year ;" also, that a com- 
mittee, consisting of Ensign Ebenezer Parkhurst, 
John Steel and Joseph Fletcher, *' search into y® ac- 
counts of how much Preaching we have Had in said 
meeting-house;" and John Steel, Samuel Taylor and 
Adforth Jaquith were appointed a committee to take 
a deed of Lieut. John Kendall and E^benezer Butter- 
tield, "of y"^^ land y' meeting-house stands on." 

The account for building the church edifice was 
£74 4«. llrf., and the committee reported that "the 
preaching we have had in Said Meeting-house and ye 
Intertaining ye Ministers" amounts to £44 1.^ Who 
these ministers were appears from various orders of 
the parish. 

Of the several candidates, who received for their 
Sabbath services about £1, together with their 
" Intertainments," Mr. Josiah Goodhue was the 
favored one. It was voted to give him " a call to y' 
Work of y* Ministry with us in This Second Precinct 
of y* town of Dunstable." 

Mr. (foodhue presented his acceptance of the invi- 
tation under the following conditions : 

" 1. That yuii givo me £10n for settlement, to be jiaid in y' manner you 
voted the settlemeut. 

" 2. Fifty ihhuhIb as salary yearly, as long as I stand in y" Relation of 
a pastor to tliif^ people. 

"3. Twenty-five coi-ds of wood yearly Brought cord wood Length to 
my Door. 

"4. That if Providence should order it, that you shonld consist of 
Eighty Rateable families, then y* Salai-y to be Sixty Pounds. 

"JOSIAH GOOPHUK. 

"March y" Ut, 1757." 

The parish voted to comply with these conditions. 
On the 12th day of May, 1757, a church was organ- 
ized, consisting of thirty-eight members, nineteen of 
whom were males and nineteen females. 

The covenant was probably drawn up by the Kev. 
Daniel Emerson, of HoUis, X. H., and was formally 
accepted in his presence. 



'M Chh Covenant, Dumt^hle, May y \1'^, 175". 

"Then y underwritten Brethren Solemnly Covenanted before Ood, 
A one with another by owning tiuB Coveniint before me, A accordingly 
were declared a f'bh nf tpur Lord Jesus Chritil, regularly incorporated p' 
Me, Daniel Kmoraon. 

" We, whose Names are underw ritteti, do covenant with the Lord & 
one with another, &, do Solemnly bimi ovireelves before the Lord A his 
People that we will, by the Strength of Christ, walk after the Lord In 
all his ways, a« He bath revealed them to us in his Word. 

*' I. We avouch the Lord .bdiovah to be our timj, it give up ourselves 
with onr Children after us, in their several Generations, to be his Peo- 
ple, & that in tlie Sincerity A Truth of onr Hearts. 

"J. We give up ourselves to the Lord Jesna Christ, to bo ruled A 
guided by Him in the matter of His Woiship A in our whole Conversa- 
tion acknowledging him i:ol only our alone .Saviour, but also our King, 
to riile over us, :is well as onr Prophet, to teach us by Hie Word and 
Spirit ; accordingly we wholly rJisclaini our own Kighteousnc^A in Point 
of Justification, deriving to Him for RigbteousueHS, Life, Grace &. 
Glory. 

"3. We promise by the Help of Christ to walk m itii our Brethren A 
Sisters of the ('hh in the Spirit of Love, watching over them A caring 
for them, avoiding all Jealousies, Snspissions, Backbilings, Ceusuriiigs, 
yuarrellings A Secret Kisings of Heart iigainst them, forgiving A for- 
bearing, yet seasonably adinoiiisliing A restoring them with a Spirit ot 
Meekness, who, through infirmitl<'S, have been overtaken in a Fault, 

"4, We will not be forward in chh Meetings to 8h(»w our Gilti !S, 
Parts in Speaking, nor endeavor to disgrace our Brethren by discover- 
ing their B'iiilings, but attend an orderly Cull before we Speak, tloing 
nothing to the offence of the chh, but in all things endeavouring our 
own A our Bretliren'ii Edification. 

"5. We further promise to Study how we may advance the Gospel A 
Kingdom of Christ, so as that we may gain them who are without, Setle 
Peace among ourselves A Seek the Peace of all the chhs not puting 
a Stumbling Block before any, but Shunning the Appearance of Evil. 

" r.. We promise to demean ourselves obediently in all lawful things 
towards those God has or shall place over ns in Chh or t'ommon 
Wealth. 

"7. We resolve in the same Strength to approve ourselvesin ourpar- 
licular Callings, shunning idleness, nor will we oppress any we deal 
with. 

" H. We also promise, as Gud shall inable us, tn teH'h otir Children A 
Servants the good knowledge of the Lord, and to fulfill alt relative Du- 
ties prescribed in God's Word, that all oure may learn to fear A Serve 
the Lord oui'selves; to this end we promise to keep u|» y Wui'ship of 
God in our Families, that our Houses shall be Bethels, wherein y* 
morning A Evening Sacrifice shall assend. 

"9. We do profess ourselves to he Congregational in onr Judgments, 
A do hereby promise mutually one unto another that we will practice 
on Congregational Principles, whicli, according to our understundinga, 
are most agreable to the Directions of Go'l's Word ; A will take the 
Platform of Discipline to be our Knie to go by in all matters of chh Dis- 
cipline among us, M-hicli we look on as gathered out of the Word of God, 
A a{;reeing therewithall. 

"Josiah Goodhue, pastor, Joseph Pike. John Kendall, Ebenezer Sher- 
win, Kbenezer Butterfleld, Samuel Taylor, Josiah Blodgett, Ebenezer 
Kemlall, Adford Jaqnetb, Timothy Reed, Stephen Adams, Joseph Tay- 
lor, Samuel Ciimmtngs. Benjamin Bobbins, .lohn Swallow, Susannah 
Kendall, Alice Buttertield, Susannah Taylor, Jemima Bloitgelt, Hannah 
Kendall, Olive Taylor, Sarah Cumiiiings, Elizabeth Robbins, Elizabeth 
Goodhue, Joseph Fletcher, Abraham Kendall, John Cummings. Robert 
Blood. Sarah Swallow, Elizabeth Fletcher, Ruth Kendall, Elizabeth 
Cummings, Sarah Blood, Santh Parkhurst, !tlary Camming^, Hannah 
Taylor, Susjinnah Haywood, Abigail Blood." 

The ordination of Mr. (Joodhue occurred June 8, 
1757. The pe(>ple of t!ie West !*arish were doubtless 
full of life in making preparations for the great 
occasion. New garments had to lie bought, or the old 
ones repaired; houses had to be put in good order, 
stores replenished, the tuiu^s in the Hay Psalm Book 
had to be rehearsed, and the church to be put in good 
array for the joyous services. 

The first baptism of an infant performed by Mr. 
Goodhue was that of ".fonathan. v' sou of John i.t 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Sarah Swallow ; " the first marriage, that of " Oliver 
Farnsworlh, of Townshend, & Jemima Haywood, of 
Dunstable," which occurred Nov. 2, 1757. The Half- 
way Covenant was then in vogue, admitting persons 
acknowledging the "Confession of Faith" as their 
belief to some of the privileges of the church, and 
hence the record of an admission to the church is 
made in accordance with the views of the member 
received in respect to this point.. 

The bounds between Dunstable and Groton were re- 
viewed in April, 175(;, and the line then commencing 
at Tyng's corner, passed on the easterly side of the 
old saw-mill, which stood where Covvpen Brook enters 
Massapoag Pond, " on the southerly side of the road 
that goes by Ebenezer Proctor's, in Dunstable, and 
terminates at a heap of stones on Flat Rock Hill." 
Feb. 15, 1757, a highway was iaid out from the 
Province line by Joseph Danforth's barn, and thence 
onward to David Taylor's house. 

March 5, 1759, the town voted that £l<i should be 
assessed for " y' suport of a school, or schools," and 
that it should be a " Writing School as well as a 
Beading School ;" also, that " it should be a Moving 
School.'" 

The town was well represented in the old French 
War, which commenced in 1755, and was closed by 
the Treaty of Paris in 1763. 

Ensign John Cheney and William Blodgett were 
at the surrender of Louisbourg to the English, July 26, 
1758. Their powder-horns are still preserved. That 
of Ensign .fohn Cheney is elaborately ornamented 
with birds, fishes, deer, and the letters " F. C. W. ;" 
it has also the inscription, "John Cheney his Horn, 
Cape Breton. Taken May 26, 1758." The horn of 
William Blodgett bears this inscription : " William 
Blodgett his horn, June y" 7, 1760." Both these 
horns are still jireserved. 

It was the custom in those days for the men to oc- 
cupy the seats on one side of the church, and the 
women those on the other. The elders sat upon an 
elevated seat in front of the pulpit, and the children 
and servants occupied the galleries. A tithingman, 
with a long |>ole, kept them all in order. 

In August, 1760, a part of a family of the Acadians, 
or French Neutrals, whose sad fate is so toucliingly 
told in the " Evangeline " of H. W. Longfellow, was 
brought to this town for support. 

In Mr. Goodhue's records of the church it is found, 
under the date of December 1 1 , 176.'i, that '" The Man 
Servant & Maid Servant of Benjamin Farwell were 
propounded in order to their owning the ('ovenant 
(Nov. y" 27), and admitted to y" Privilege, Decem. y'' 
11th." Their names were Thomas and Margaret, and 
they were probably held as slaves. 

On the 15lh of June of this year a thunder-storm 
passed over the town, when hail-stones fell nearly as 
large as a hen's egg, by which the early grain was 
beaten down and the glass of several windows 
broken. 



.Toseph Fletcher was chosen a deacon of the church, 
February 28, 1764, and at the same meeting it was, 
voted that " Brother Abraham Kendall, Brother 
Josiah Blodgett and Brother Sam" Cummings be 
Quereaters in y" Congregation." These men were ex- 
pected '' to set the tune*," for assistance in which a 
sort of a wooden instrument, called a pitch-pipe, was 
used, and also to lead the voices of the congregation 
in singing. The " lining out of the psalm" was gen- 
erally done by the pastor or one of the deacons. 

Robert Blood and Josiah Blodgett were chosen by 
the town, May 27, 1765, '' to inspect the Salmon & 
Fishery according to law." No dams had then been 
constructed on the Merrimac or Nashua Rivers, to 
prevent the ascent of fish. There was a great abund- 
ance of shad, salmon and other fish in Salmon Brook 
and Massapoag Pond, and these were of great value. 

The first general census of the population of the 
Province was taken this year, and by it Dunstable 
appears to have had in all ninety dwelling-houses, 
ninety-eight families, 138 males above sixteen, 143 
females above sixteen, and a total of 559 inhabitants, 
of whom sixteen were colored people, and probably 
held as slaves. Of the thirty-six towns in the county, 
Bedford, Dracut, Natick, Shirley and Stoneham only 
had a smaller population. 

The town voted, on the 25th of May of this year, 
" to Raise & assest £36 2s. for the use of a school, 
Repairing the pound. Building one pair of Stocks <fe 
other Town Charges." The ])ound stood and still 
stands beside the road from Dunstable Centre to 
Ty ngsborough ( 'enlre, a short distance from the home- 
stead of Dexter Butterfleld. The stocks, sometimes 
called the " cage," stood in the vicinity of the respec- 
tive churches. The whipping-post was near them ; 
but as there is no recoid of it on the booksof the town 
or parish, it may be presumed that the mere presence 
of such an instrument caused a wholesome restraint. 

In accordance with the custom of that period, the 
Second Parish chose, April 21, 1768, Deacon Samuel 
Taylor, Benjamin Woodward and Robert Blood a 
committee " to seat this meeting-house, and that the 
Highest Payers in the Last year's Tax on the Reail 
and Personal Estate to be the Rule to Seat S" house 
By and farther that they have No Regard to the Pro- 
prietors of the Pews in S"* house in .seating the meet- 
ing-house." It was also voted to have regard to age 
in seating the meeting-house, also "to Peticion to the 
Great a;id General Court to Be Maid a Dcslrect." 

Robert Blood, Benjaniin I'ikc, Josiah Bkidgett and 
Lemuel IVrhain each presented a protest to the ac- 
tion of this meeting in respect to one article. Among 
the reasons assigned by the latter, one is, " Because 
thay voted that Mr. .rose[)li Pike should sett in the 
fore seat when thirc was Nothing in the Warrant thire." 

The desire of having the chief seats in the syna- 
gogue seems to have been as strong as that of the 
Scribe? and Pharisees of olden time. That spirit, 
however, is not wholly unknown in the jiresent day. 



DUNSTABLE. 



751 



CHAPTER LVIII. 
D UNSTA BLE-( Continued). 

The Town as nepre^nitgd in thf Ami^rktin RevoliUion — Edncitwuat , Re- 
tinioits aud Other A^lfuira — 17r.8--1820. 

Massachusetts issued a circular on the 28th of 
February, 1768, aslcing the co-operation of the Assem- 
blies in opposing the restrictive measures of Parlia- 
ment. The principles of civil liberty had been grow- 
ing, and naturally these were destined to come in 
collision with arbitrary measures. 

General Thomas Gage, with seven hundred sol- 
diers, entered Boston on the 2Sth day of September. 
Armed oppression was not long after met by armed 
resistance. 

Some of the best blood of Dunstable was freely 
shed in the cause of liberty. The first recorded act 
of the town in the impending conflict was to choose 
the Hon. .Tohn Tyng to represent them in a conven- 
tion held iu Boston on the 22d day of September, 
1768. 

The Boston massacre, March .5, 1770, taxation 
without representation, pledges .■against the use of tea 
and foreign manufactures, formed the leading topics 
lA' conversation in the tavern, shops a.'id houses of 
1 )unstable, and the old firelocks used in the French 
War, a few of which still remain, were promptly put 
• into eflective order. 

In 1772 the town voted £84 for educational and 
other purposes. In 1773 £20 were appropriated for 
a school. A " town-way two rods wide " was laid out 
from "the Provence line," commencing north of. lohn 
Ivendall's house and running by Temple Kendall's 
liouse " to the road that was laid out by said Ken- 
dall's, and Samuel Taylor's hou.«e." 

By a mutual council, consisting of seven churches, 
convened September 28, 1774, the pastoral relation 
between Mr. (Toodluie and the church was dissolved. 
The council aver tliat they " can heartily recommend 
him as a person of conspicuous seriousness and piety, 
and as one whom they judge qualified to do service in 
the ministry." 

During his pastorate of seventeen years sixty-five 
persons were admitted to the cliurch, and he seems to 
liave left for the simple reason that the people were 
at the time somewhat divided in sentiment. The ar- 
rearages in Mr. Goodhue's salary were all paid. He 
was afterwards settled and died in Putney, Vt. Rev. 
William Wells, in the .sermon preached at his funeral, 
November 16, 1797, said of him : 

"I believe you will all join with me in a.sserting 
piety to God and benevolence to man were leading 
features of his character. The great object of his life 
was to be useful in his station as a minister of the 
gospel of Christ, and exemplify in his own conduct 
and temper those virtues and graces which, with the 
greatest sincerity, he recommended to others. His 



end, like that of the godly man's, was peace, being 
not only resigned at the prospect of his dissolution, 
but desirous to depart and be with Christ." 

Mr. Goodhue was married to Klizabeth, eldest 
daughter of Deacon Joseph and Elizabeth Fletcher, 
July 28, 17.57. They had five song and one daughter. 
• Some of the sons became eminent in professional life. 

In 1774 there was an article in the warrant for 
town-meeting to build a school-house, but the town 
voted not to do it. This is the first reference to such 
a building on the records. The prospect of a war 
with the mother country probably prevented the town 
from undertaking the expense. 

The first Provincial Congress in October, 1774, ap- 
pointed a Committee of Safety, and provided that a 
fourth part of the enrolled militia should, as minute- 
men,"' be held in readiness for immediate service. 
This gave evidence that a collision between the 
•Vmerican and Briti.sh forces was impending. Dun- 
stable, with patriotic haste, prepared to assist in the 
common cause of national liberty. The following 
pledge evinces that spirit in the very beginning of 
the great struggle ; 

'* We the subscribers taking into i>ur ronsidirafion the present dilfi- 
eulty, do hereby voluntarily engage with each other iu defence of our 
country, Priveledge.s and Libertys for the space of six months from this 
date ; that we will submit ourselves to the Laws erpially the same as if 
thoy were in full fence respecting our ofticers that now are, or hereafter 
may be chosen iu all Klilitarv Duty. 

" DfNSTABLE, March 1st, 1775. 

" Kdward IJutterfield, Nathaniel Ilolden, liomuel I'erhani, George 
Bishop, Ebenezer French, Jonathan Bancroft, .lobu Chancy, Samuel 
Koby, Kleazcr French, Philip Butlerliflil, .leralmcel Colbnrn, Wm. 
Krenfh, .lonathan Sherwin. John .Manning, It'Mibcn Lewis, John Cum- 
ings, John French, Zebedee Kendall, .(o..*epli Farrar, John Marsh, John 
Cockle, Jacob Davia, Jcsise Buttcrlield, Hc/eUiah Kendall, Henry Shep- 
pard, William Clenne, Jojiatiiau Woodwanl, Thomaa Trowbridge. 
Total, 2H." 

The above valuable paper is owned by Dexter 
Butterlield. 

The town voted, on the 4lh of .\pril, 177.'>, "to 
have menite-men agreeable to the desire of the Pro- 
vincial Congress," and on the 12Lh of the .same 
month it voted to assess £20 for " y" encouragement 
& use of y" minute men ;" and they were " required 
to hold themselves in readiness to march at the first 
notice." The notice soon came, nor did it find the 
Dunstable soldiers unprepared, since many of them 
hail seen hard service in the old French War, and a 
weekly drill bad long been held. Late on the 10th 
of April the startling news came that blood had been 
shed at Lexington and Concord ; but the engagement 
wa-s over before the men from Dunstable had time to 
reach the scene of the battle. It is said that while 
the battle of Hunker Hill was raging a stranger 
called at the house of Mrs. .lonathan Woodward, near 
'The Gulf,'' and asked for something to eat. While 
partaking of her hospitality he began to berate 
Americans, and, boasting of the success of the British, 
declared that all would be subjects of King George, 
to wliom they owed allegiance. Incensed at his inso- 



752 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



lence, she opened the door and commanded him to 
leave the house, which he refused to do, saying he 
would go when he was ready. She then seized a 
chair, knocked him down and dragged him out of the 
house, giving him undoubted evidence of one 
woman's courage and devotion to the country. Eight 
days after the battle the town assembled and "voted 
to accept of y' powder James Tyng, Esq., bought for 
this town." 

Abel Spaulding, Lemuel Perham, Elijah Fletcher 
and Asa Kendall were chosen to join the (,!ommittee 
of Corresiiondeiice on the r2th of June, and at the 
same meeting .Toel Parkhurst was chosen to repre- 
sent the town in the Continental Congress at Water- 
town instead of John Tyng, whose health was poor, 
and James Tyng, who "had amultiplicity of business." 
These were trying times. Five days afterwards the 
Dunstable company, composed of fifty men, forming 
a part of the Massachusetts regiment, under the com- 
mand of Col. Ebenezer Bridge, comrai.ssioned at Bil- 
lerica. May 27th, wa.s present and participated in the 
memorable action of Bunker Hill. During that 
sanguinary battle the company from Dunstable 
showed the bravery of veteran soldiers, as many of 
them indeed were, and it was only after their ammu- 
nition was gone that they left the field. Capt. Ban- 
croft fought nobly in the redoubt and was wounded. 
Eleazer French had an arm shot off during the ac- 
tion, and picking it up, bore it as a trophy from the 
bloody field. His brother, Samuel French, had a 
ball shot through his right ear. Jonathan French, 
another brother, was in the battle. William French, 
and Jonas French, two brothers of another family, 
did good service on that day. The former discharged 
his gun with deliberate aim sixteen times. He was a 
shoemaker by trade, served through the war, and 
died in Dunstable at an advanced age. From his 
sobriety and uprightness he was called " Deacon 
William." 

At the close of the battle these two brothers left 
the hill together. When crossing " the Neck " under 
the fire of the " Glasgow " man-of-war, they saw an 
officer severely wounded, and ofl'ered him their 
assistance. " I cannot live," he said; " take care of 
yourselves." They, however, raised him to their 
shoulders and bore him through the confusion to a 
place of safety. The .suffering officer proved to be 
Capt. Henry Farwell, of Groton. 

Mr. Ebenezer French was al.so at the battle of 
Bunker Hill. Jfe was the grandfather of Benjamin 
French, Esij., who has now in his possession the 
bullet-moulds (which are of brass and will form 
twenty-four bullets of different sizes at one casting) 
the camp-kettle and musket of this brave soldier. 
He died .Vpril 14, 1808, in the seventy-seventh year 
of his age. A few of the Dunstable men were in 
Capt. John Ford's company, of Chelm.sford. They 
reached the field a short time before the action began 
and fought bravely. While Isaac Wright was sitting 



exhausted on a bank near a bouse in Charlestown, a 
cannon-ball came rolling rapidly, and so near him 
that he could have touched it with his foot. Being 
asked why he did not stop it, he said, " I then should 
have returned home with only one leg." He was one 
of the first who enlisted. 

During the siege of Boston m.iny of its inhabitants 
went to the other towns in the State in order to avoid 
the ill treatment of the hostile troops. From the fol- 
lowing vote it appears that several came to Dunstable, 
where they were kindly entertained: 

Nov. 20, 1775, voted that " y" Poor & Indigent 
inhabitants of the town of Boston which are now in 
this town be supported with y'" provisions of this town 
so long as it could be procured in S'' town therefor." 

.Tan. 4, 177G, the General Court gave order that 
four thousand blankets should be provided by the 
respective towns for the soldiers in the army, and paid 
for out of the public treasury. Dunstable furnished 
about one dozen of them. 

On the 31st of May, 1776, Oliver Curamings was 
commissioned captain of the Dunstable company in 
the regiment of militia of which Simeon Spaulding 
was the colonel. 

Each soldier was provided with a fire-arm, bayonet, 
cutting sword or hatchet, cartridge-box, from fifteen 
to one hundred pounds of balls, six flints, a knapsack, 
blanket and canteen. The muskets were long and 
heavy, and very inferior instruments as compared 
with the needle-guns of the present day. The 
ammunition was stored in the loft of the meeting- 
house, and the place of rendezvous for the minute- 
men was at the house of Asa Kendall, which was, 
subsequently owned by Dr. A. W. Howe. 

At a meeting of citizens of the town, June 8, 1776. 
Major Ebenezer Bancroft, Capt. Reuben Butterfield 
and Mr. Timothy Reed were chosen "a committee to 
prepare y" Draft of a vote," which contained many 
patriotic sentiments. 

It was the reception of such spirited resolutions 
from the various towns of the Province that gave the 
leaders of the Revolution courage to make the 
celebrated Declaration of Independence, which fol- 
lowed in a few weeks. 

The following letter evinces the feelings of the 
soldiers at the post of duty, and also reminds the 
reader that the town, as yet, had enjoyed only the 
advantages of a " moveing school," and that con- 
tinuous toil had been the lot of most of the inhabit- 
ants : 

"Tin)XliEttO(!A, Oct. 1.5, 1776. 
" Honored father .< Mother, aflpr my DulPV To you A Love to my 
Bn»ther8 ali'l Sif<ti-r, I have Taken lhir« opperttinjly to Let you now tjiat 
I am Well at present ami Blessed ho god for it, ,^ hope these Linds will 
lilid you the .Saui. I shant Kite much at present only the RaglarB have 
drove Our tlet Hack hvTp, we have sustained Lore of Men .V Vessels, & 
tlie Knmies arniey is at (_'ro\vu point or near their, ,t we expect them 
liear Quick. Pliiilip Bulterlield is got Better. .Jeass Butterlield is pooley 
yet. Ivember mo to all Imiuirin friends. So I Remain your Dutiful 
Son. 

"James t'UMlNus." 



DUNSTABLE. 



753 



The town was always ready to respond to the re- 
peated calls for men and money, and meetings were 
often held either at the "' alarm post," or at the 
t;iverii, or at the cliuuh, to take measures for doing 
its part in carrying on the war. Several of the l)un- 
stahle .soldiers served in comi)anies of other town.s, 
and some from other [ihices joined the Uiiristable 
companies. 

la Dunstable, as well aa in other towns, there were 
some persons holding Tory principles. The town 
promptly brought them to au account for their oppo- 
sition to the common cause. At a public meeting 
held Sept. 11, 1777, Lieut. Nathaniel Holden was 
chosen " to procure and lay before y° court y' evidence 
y' might be had of y" Enimical disposition of any of 
this town that may be complained of that they may 
be [)roceeded with agreeable to an act of this Slate." 

Some of the British soldiers were quartered on 
Dunstable. Three were drowned while attempting 
to cross the river at Wicasuck Island, and their re- 
mains were buried near that spot. 

On the Oih of February, 1778, the town approved 
of the Articles of (Confederation between the thirteen 
States. At another meeting held April 2:!d, the town 
chose John Tyng, Esq., Joseph Danlorth and .foel 
Parkhurst to examine the new Constitution of the 
State, proposed by the General Court. After hearing 
the report of this committee, June 2d, the town 
" voted to reject y' Constitution for y" following rea- 
sons, viz. : Because it invests y" governor with too 
unlimited a j)Ower. 2dly, because there is not an 
F-niial Representation, 'idly, Because y'' Governor 
ought not to have y" Title of Excellency. J. Blod- 
gett. Town clerk." 

This Constitution was prepared by a committee of 
four members of the ("ouncil and twice that nundier 
of the House of Representatives. It was submitted 
to the people of th^ State in Jhirch, 177>*, and by 
them rejected. The vote stood 10,000 against 2000, 
as many as 120 towns not voting. The general ob- 
jections to it were that it did not contain a declara- 
tion of rights, that it made representation unequal, 
and that the duties of State officers were not accu- 
rately defined. 

Paper-money had at this time greatly depreciated 
in value, taxes were high, many of the able-bodied 
men were absent in the army, and the .\merican cause 
seemed, in the minds of many, to be sinking; yet tiie 
citizens of Dunstable still went resolutely forward to 
meet the demands niade upon them. 

The term of service of many of the (!ontinental 
soldiers had closed, and two thousand men were now 
called for to fill up the sixteen depleted regiments of 
the State. Fifteen hundred more were to be raised as 
ordered by vote of ( Jongress. Dunstable resolutely bore 
her share of this draft, and nobly responded to the 
( ail. Shirts, shoes and stockings were also required of 
the town ; and since the women as well as men were 
l)atriotic, those articles were promptly furnished. 
•18 



On the 15th of February, 1770, the parish voted 
£100 "for thesui)portof famaliesof those Persons this 
Parish have hired to Engag into Contenental .\rmy." 

The town this year appropriated .£l.'i0 for public 
schools and other expenses, wliich included the pro- 
viding of clothing for the soldiers. 

Notwithstanding the expenses of the war, it appears 
from records of that date that the institutions of the 
gospel were supported. For about six years the pul- 
pit had been supplied by such ministers as they were 
able to find and had the means to pay, and now, in 
hope of having a pastor of their own, they considered 
the question of uniting with the other parish in 
building a church and settling a minister. 

On the 23d of March the Second Parish agreed to 
" Rai.se live Hundred Pounds for the support of such 
minister or ministers of the gospel as may be caul'd to 
Preach to this People." At an adjourned meeting 
the above-named sum was increased by X500. 

The lOth of May, 1780, is celebrated as the Dark 
Day. The obscurity was so great that birds sought 
their perches at mid-day, and the people had to light 
candles in order to distinguish objects in their houses. 
The supetstitious were inclined to think the day of 
doom was ajiproaching. " About ten o'clock," wrote 
Mr. Phineas Sprague, of Maiden, in his journal, "it 
began to liain and grew vere dark, and at 12 it was 
almost as dark as Nite, so that wee was obliged to 
lite our candels and Eate our dinner by candel lite at 
Xoonday." The darkness of the evening of that day 
was very remarkable. " A sheet of white paper," 
says Dr. Tenney, " held within a few inches of the 
eyes, was equally invisible with the blackest velvet." 

This darkness might po.ssibly have been caused 
by the burr)ing of extensive forests in Northern Now 
Hampshire, the smoki? of which might have floated 
over a .section of New England and obscureil the sun. 
.Marm at the coming of the darkness was naturally 
increased when the .spirits of the people w<'re de- 
pressed in consequence of the war. It was common 
to attribute unusual phenomeiui to supernatural 
agency, lor there was at that time less scientific 
knowledge than at present. The belief of the people 
in ghosts and haunted houses was then very preva- 
lent. It was generally considered ominous to see, for 
the first time, the new moon over the left shoulder, 
to spill salt, or to sit thirteen at the table. A horse- 
shoe was nailed to the posts of the door to keep off 
witches, and the sight of a white spider gliding down 
its thread foreboded evil. The Bible, inter|ireled 
literally, was the guide-book of our fathers, and 
science, whi(di sheds light upon the meaning of many 
a perplexing passage in the Scriptures, was a word 
almost unknown to them. The spirit of (tod's teach- 
ing they, however, usually understood. 

.\nother State Constitution was frann'd this year 
by delegates chosen by the towns of the t!ommon- 
wealth, and submitted, in March, to the people tor 
their examination. 



754 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



It appears that in Dunstable there was a strong 
opposition to the instrument. It was chiefly against 
granting protection to all religions, against the lib- 
erty of the press, against so great a number of Coun- 
cilors and Senators, against the power of the Governor 
to march the militia to any part of the State, against 
the appointment of all judicial officers by the Gover- 
nor, against the Governor and other officers declaring 
themselves of the Christian religion, against the form 
of the oath, — they being desirous that the words 
" living God " should be included, — against the Quak- 
ers being excused from taking an oath, and against 
the time appointed for the revision of the Constitu- 
tion. 

That instrument was, however, ratified as the or- 
ganic law by more than two-thirds of the votes of the 
State. Hon. John Hancock was the first Governor 
chosen under it. The election was held on the 4th 
of September, and Dunstable gave sixteen votes for 
Hancock. The small vote thrown may have indi- 
cated the disaffection of the people in respect to the 
new Constitution, and may have been owing partly 
to the absence of many voters in the army. 

The town this year furnished 7500 pounds of beef 
which the General Court called for to supply the 
army, and voted to raise £2500 for school and other 
purposes. In the exigencies of war, pa|ier-money 
was issued to such an extent that one dollar in silver 
came to be equal to forty dollars in what was called 
the " Continental currency." The one-dollar bill 
bad on its face the Latin words, " Depressa reaurgii,'' 
which is in English, " The down-trodden rises," and 
which had, ut that time, much meaning; but so great 
was the depression in its value, that a blanket bought 
by a soldier cost £100, and the salary of the Rev. 
Ebenezer Bridge, of Chelmsford, for eight mouths, 
" was set" at £3<i00. Ebenezer French was heard to 
say that he once paid $40 of it for a breakfast in 
New York. This paper-money, becoming worthless, 
went out of use the ToUowing year and was never re- 
deemed. 

At this time the country was passing through one 
of its darkest periods. The life-blood of the nation 
had been freely given ; there were many desolate 
homes; family ties had been sundered; many had 
grown gray in military service ; the young had come 
to a premature manhood ; cities and dwellings were 
falling into decay, and many of the farms were half- 
tilled. 

Dunstable, however, continued to furnish and to- 
]>ay its quotas of soldiers, to support public worship, 
and to make appropriation, as ability allowed, for the 
education of its children. All classes cheerfully de- 
nied themselves, foregoing common luxuries and de- 
voting themselves to labor. No sound was more 
frequent than that of the loom and 8|)inning-wheel, 
and the wives and daughters, during the absence of 
their husbands and their brothers at the seat of war, 
were always ready to help the aged man on the farms. 



The defeat and capture of the British forces under 
Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, Va., virtually termi- 
nated the war. In furnishing men and money, Mas- 
sachusetts bore about one-quarter of the burden, and 
of this the town of Dunstable its full share. 

The news of the victory of the allied French and 
American forces under Washington was reccivtd 
throughout the country with demonstrations of joy. 
" From every family altar," says Mr. B. J. Lrssing, 
" where a love of freedom dwelt, from pulpits, legis- 
lative halls, the army and from Congress (October 
24), went up a shout of thanksgiving and praise to 
the Lord God Omnii>otent, for the success of the 
allied troops, and these were mingled with universal 
eulogies of the great leader and his companion in 
arms. The clouds which had lowered for seven long 
years, appeared to be breaking, and the splendors of 
the dawn of peace burst forth, like the light of a clear 
morning after a dismal night of tempest." 

The Second Parish of Dunstable had no bell at 
this time to riag in expression of its joy over the 
great victory ; still, every citizen exulted in the suc- 
cess of Washington and Lafayette. The drooping 
.spirits of the people were revived by the return of 
the soldiers from their long campaigns. 

The following notices of some men from Dunstable 
actively engaged in the War of the Revolution are 
still preserved : 

Oliver Oiwmings, Jr., was a private iu ttje battle of White Plains, Oc- 
tober 28, 1776. He returned to Dunstable and subsequently removed to 
the town of Sumner, Me., where he died. 

Jttnies Cumniiii'js was at the taking of Ticonderoga, Jnly 12, 1777, and 
iu engagements during the war. 

Joi^iuli Cunrminys entered the arm.v when a mere boy, and served as a 
guard over the soldiers of General Burgoyne, subsequent to their cap- 
ture in October, 1777. He also performed duty with the army iu New 
.Jersey. After the Revolution he was commissioned as captain of the 
Dunstable militia company. 

Williniii French was a private at the battle . of Ibinker Hill. On the 
expiration of his term of service at Camliridge, he re-enlisted and well 
performed bis duty through the war. 

Jotitia French, born August 7, 17.'i7. and youngest brother of the 
above, was with him, as already stated, at the battle of Buuker Hill. 
He also served as a faithful soldier through the war. He was often 
employed as a school-teacher. Both he and his brother William re. 
ceived pensions for servi'-es in the war. 

Ebenezer French, to whom reference has already been made, served 
through the war, and died in DuDBtftbie April 14,1608, in bis Beventy- 
seventh year. 

S<imuel French had a ball shot through his right ear at the battle of 
Hunker Hill. He died in Dunstable, and is buried on Meeting-House 
Hill. 

Eleazer French, wounded in the same battle ; died of consumption 
soon after his return home. 

Jonathan Fjench, In other of the two last named, was with them in the 
first great battle of the Revolution, and was subsequently, together 
with hie two sous, in the servJce on Lake Chaniplain. 

William B/Mrf<7fH served as a private during the war. He had learned 
to face danger in the old French War. He was four times cast away at 
sea. 

John Cheneit had acqiiired great experience as a soldier iu the old 
French War, and served his country faithfully during the Revolution. 
He was at the capture of Quebec. He was a very useful citizen, and 
held many town olfices. 

Temi'le Ken<l<tll was a lieutenant under Captain John Ford at the bat- 
lie of Bunker Hill. 

John /V.'c^ir came home from the war and died of consumption. 



DUNSTABLE. 



(OO 



Colonel Ebfnezer Bancrofl, as already stated, fuiight bravely at niitiker 
Hil! and in other battles finriiig tlie war. He pnreliased and enlarged 
the house once owned by Henry Karwell and now orciipied by his 
grandson. He went into the French War at the age ofsi.\teen yeara. 
He waB commissioned lieutenant-colonel April 21, 1780, and jnstice of 
the peace in 17ns. 

JoiiiithttH Hoorficfd-ci sei'ved as a j>rivato ttironj^li the war. He lived 
to be H centenarian, and a sermon wa.s preached on his one hnndredlli 
liirthday. He retained liie use of his faculties until near the close uf 
life, and was an excellent num. 

Ensign Leonard Btttierjield was a private in the war. He lived near 
.Meetiog-Honse Hill. Leonard Bnttertield, the father, liveii on the 
^onth side of the road on ^leeting-Honse Hill; his son, Philip Butter- 
field, lived on the same side of the road, a little towards the west. The 
cellar-holes of both houses still remain. Leonard Butterfield, .Jr., built 
the house now owned by Dexter -Bnttertield, east of Meeting-House 
Hill. 

./cj«<! Hitttcrndii served as a private in the war, and removed to Karni- 
ington. Me , where he died. 

I'liilip liiillerjieldy brother of the above, was also a private in the 
war. 

I'atit nVt(/« went into the naval service, and was killed by falling 
from the mast of a ship. 

J'wl Piirkhiirs/, father of Leonard Parkhurst, was a private in the war, 
and died at Dunstable. His house stood about twenty rods north of 
that of Mr. .John A. Parkhurst. 

His s<ui, l.eiiniird I'mk-liur^t^ also served in the war. 

Ei>liriiim and Nutliuii Taylor, brothers, living in the easterly part of 
the town, went into the army, and were never heard from afterwards. 

Daniel Jaque.^, died September 2, 18:i5, aged seventy -eight years. He 
is buried in Tyngsborough, and on the headstone is written, " To die is 
to go home ; " and also, " A soldier of the Revolution. " 

March 3, 1783, the town appropriated £30 for cdii- 
oation. On the 7th of April the town ca.st sixteen 
vote.s for John Hancock as (Jovernor, ami eleven votes 
for Thonia.s Ciishing a.s Lieuicnant-Crovernor. At the 
same time a committee, consisting of Jonathan 
Fletcher, Nathaniel Holden, Jonathan Emerson and 
Temple Kemlall, reported that it was advisable that 
the townshoulil be divided intofive districts for school 
purposes, as follows : 

1. -All to the cast of the .Merrimack River. 

2. All the First Parish on the westerly side of the Merrimack River, 
excepting Lieutenant Perham and Mr. .John Bridge. 

3. All the Second Parish on the great road from Mr. Ezra Thompson's 
to Hollis up to Salmon Brook, living on and to the north of said road. 

4. All to the west of Salmon Brook, excepting Mr. Bridge's. 
rt. All the remainder of the town. 

In May this report was accepted, and the districts 
were established. The Hon. John Tyng was chosen 
repre.sei.tative, and it was voted that the selectmen 
should build a pound. 

On the 3rd day of September, a definitive treaty 
of peace between Great Britain and the United States 
was signed at Paris. Dunstable shared in the general 
rejoicing over the welcome tidings of peace once more. 
The ofl-used musket was now huug above the oaken 
mantel-piece. 

The westerly part of the town had now become gen- 
erally settled, and the centre of population had 
advanced somewhat in that direction. It was thus 
thought advisable that the place of public worship 
should be changed, and at the meeting held Nov. 8, 
1784, it was'' voted to move the meeting-house from the 
place it now stands on to some other convenient place 
in said Parish ;" it was also voted that, the place " be 



between the Dwelling-house of M'. .lonathan Procters 
and the house that Mr. Jonathan Woodward now 
Lives in, on the nortli side of the rode that goes from 
one house to the other a little to the west of north 
from said I'rocter's new Ham." 

In 178.") the town rais«;d CW for schools, gave twelve 
votes for James Bowdoin as Governor, and chose the 
Hon. John Pitts to represent it in the General Court. 

The snow on the 22d of .\pril was two feet deep 
and the surface so much iiicrusted with ice its to bear 
up an o.\-sled. 

Jan. 20, 1786, the Second Parirth " voted &, chose 
Mr. John Chaney, Jun', to Lead in Singing in Publick 
Worship." 

There is no other reference to music on the records 
of the Second Parish ; but it would seem from those of 
the church that the practice of " lining oiii " the hymns 
had not yet been abandoned. About this time church 
choirs were formed in the State, and the "deaconing 
out of the hymns," to which our worthy ancestors 
were accustomed, was practiced no longer. The 
psalms and hymns of Dr. Watts also took the place 
of " the Bay Psalm Book," and some of the fugue 
tunes of William Billings were now occasionally 
sung. 

The town this year, for the first time, elected over- 
seers of the poor. The poor were kindly treated, 
sometimes receiving a small sum of money from the 
town to help them in their efforts to maintain them- 
selves, and sometimes living in the family of a rela- 
tive or friend, who received .some compensation for 
their expense and trouble. The number of i>aupers 
probably did not exceed the number of the commit- 
tee appointed to take care of them. 

In 1787 and for some time [irevious eHbrts were 
made to unite the two religious bodies known as the 
First and Second Parishes. This union was at one 
time nearly consummated, but was prevented by the 
donation of Mrs. Sarah Tyng Winslow. Ecclesiasti- 
cal affairs being now under control of the town, it 
voted iu 1787 to raise £60 for preaching, and also 
that services should be held alternately at the east 
and west meeting-houses. 

On the 21st of February, 1788, the church held a 
solemn fast " to look up by Prayer to the Supreme 
Head of the Church for his Direction in Choise of a 
Minister," but it appears that no minister was found 
to suit all the congregation. 

On the 22d of June, 178!), what is now the town of 
Tyngsborough was incorporated into a district and 
received for its own use the donation of Mrs. Win- 
slow, which, as a town, it still enjoys. 

The church edifice on Meeting-house Hill was re- 
moved to Dunstable Centre in 17'Jl and finished in 
approved style. 

The land for the site of the building, consisting of 
one acre and one hundred and thirty rods, was well 
chosen, and was conveyed by .Fonathan Proctor to the 
town in a deed bearing date August 25, 1790, and it is 



7:iti 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



described as "the land on which the school-house 
now stands, and bounded beginning at the southerly 
corner of said land at a heap of stones by the road, 
thence running northerly about twenty-nine rods to a 
heap of stones by a black oak tree, thence south 
forty-four degrees west twenty rods to a heap of 
stones, thence south six and a half degrees west 
elaven rods and a half to a heap of stones by the 
great road, thence east eleven degrees south by the 
north side of the said road for.rteeu rods and a half 
to a heap of stones first mentioned." This condition 
is mentioned in the deed — " that the inhabitants of the 
said Dunstable shall, within the term of three years 
from the date hereof, have caused to be erected upon 
the said land a Meeting-house for publick worship 
and a School-House, and shall never suffer said land 
to be destitute of said buildings for more than three 
years at any time, and that no other building shall 
ever be erected on said land than such as shall be 
necessary to accommodate the inhabitants when at- 
tending on Publick Worship." 

David Fletcher, joiner, gave bonds to Zebulon 
Blodgett, town treasurer, to finish the meeting-house 
at or before the Ist day of July, 1794. He was to 
build thirty-three pews and a pulpit, " and the breast- 
work in the gallery not inferior to that in the meet- 
ing-house in Tyngsborough.'' 

The edifice was dedicated to the service of God, 
" agreeable to ancient example and more modern 
practices," on the 2d day of October, 1793. 

The ordination of Mr. Hey wood took place on the 
5th day of June, 1799, several ministers taking part 
in the services. The expense to the town for the 
ordination was twenty-three dollars. 

At the incoming of the present century Dunstable 
was in a prosperous condition. Its population had 
increased to 48.'> persons. 

In April, 1800, the church chose Deacon Zebedee 
Kendall, Captain J. Fletcher and Captain S. Stevens 
a committee to attend the meetings of the singing- 
school, for the purpose of choosing leaders, and it also 
invited all " who are skilled in sacred harmony to 
come forward and assist the church in that part of 
public worship." 

Efforts had been made to introduce the ba.ss-viol 
into the church service, but serious objections were 
urged against it. One called it " the I^ord's fiddle," 
and another said he should get u|) and dance if it 
came into the church. At one meeting it was 
" voted to suspend the introduction of the Bass-Viol 
for the present on account of an objection made by 
Lieutenant Simeon Cummings : " but on the 20th of 
March, 1804, the innocent instrument triumphed over 
all opposition, the church voting that the bass-viol be 
introduced into the meeting-house on days of public 
worship, and that those who have skill to use it, bring 
it and perform on Sabbath-days. 

The Middlesex Canal, extending from Boston to a 
point near Pawtucket Falls, in the Merrimac River, 



was opened this year. The transportation of lumber, 
cattle and grain from Dunstable to the metropolis 
was thus facilitated. The canal was about twenty- 
seven miles long, thirty feet wide and three feet deep, 
and served for conveying merchandise from the Mer- 
rimac River to Boston until the opening of the 
Boston and Lowell Railroad, in 1836, when the canal 
gradually became useless. 

The town in 1805 provided a book containing the 
Constitution of the United States for each of its 
schools, and the next year voted $700 for building 
five school -houses. 

The district of Tyngsborough was incorporated as 
a town February 28, 1809, and the population of Dun- 
stable was thereby greatly diminished. 

A few soldiers from Dunstable engaged in what 
was called Mr. Madison's War of 1812. The decisive 
victory of General Andrew Jackson over the British 
forces, at New Orleans, on the 8th of January, 
1815, terminated the war, and on the 18th day of 
February following. President James Madison issued 
a proclamation of peace. This was hailed with joy 
by the people of Dunstable. A day was set apart for 
the celebration of the event. The people assembled 
in their best attire, and when the soldiers had gone 
through with their evolutions, all partook of a bounti- 
ful collation, and then, proceeding to the church, 
they listened to a patriotic address from the Rev. 
John Perkins, a Baptist minister of Chelmsford. 
Dunstable shared in the general prosperity which 
followed the long and exhausting war. The people 
increased in wealth, numbers and intelligence. A 
more generous style of living soon became manifest. 
Newspapers were taken, and the chaise and Jersey 
wagon were brought into use. 

On the 2d day of September occurred what was 
long known as "the great gale." The wind blew 
with such violence from the southeast and south as 
to overturn fences and forest trees, and, in some in- 
stances, barns and dwelling-houses. 

This was the severest storm that had occurred in New 
England since Aug. 15, 1635, when, according to the 
historian William Hubbard, " many houses were 
blown down, many more uncovered. The Indian 
corn was beat down to the ground so as not to rise 
again. The tide at Narragansett rose twenty feet 
perpendicularly. The Indians were obliged to betake 
themselves to the trees, and yet many of them were 
drowned by the return of the tide before the usual hour." 

The year 1S16 was exceptional for the severity of 
the cold. Frosts appeared during each of the sum- 
mer months, and the crop of Indian corn was nearly 
destroyed. 

In the year 1817 the town raised $300 tor schooLs, 
and the same amount for preaching. 

The church in 1817-18 was favored with an ex- 
tensive revival, and as many as seventy- three per- 
sons, many of whom were heads of families, made a 
profession of religion. 



DUNSTA1U,K. 



<Ui 



A Uuiversalist Society was formed by citizens' of 
Dunstable and the towns adjacent, and a constitu- 
tion adopted Jan. 21, 1818. 

The society used the old meeting-house as a place 
of worship, and tlie pulpit was supplied by such 
preachers as could be from lime to time obtained. 

The number of inhabitants in 1820 was 584. 



CHAPTER LIX. 

DUNSTABLE— (Continued). 

church Erected— Soltliei It hi the Wttr of the SehelHoii — Lhimtahle tjornet 
hand I'Drmed — .Va«/(H<i, Acton and Bijstoii Bailrmtd Opened — Bi-Ceii' 
h:nnial Celebration— li2l-i>ti. 

The church, though somewhat strengthened b_v a 
revival, was still unable to support a minister, and 
therefore applied, Feb. 7, 1822, to the Massachusetts 
.Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge for some 
assistance, representing that " about one-half the 
property of this town stands on sectarian grounds;" 
that " the church had been destitute of a settled min- 
ister for seven years ;" that " the church now consists 
of about one hundred and five members ;'' that " it is 
decidedly orthodox ;" and that " for nearly three 
years past the Rev. Samuel Howe Tolman has 
labored among us a part of the time ;" and that they 
had given him a call to settle over the church for the 
term of five years. In reply to this petition the so- 
ciety agreed to pay, conditionally, $100 per annum 
towards the support of Mr. Tolman. He was, there- 
fore, installed over the church and society. 

Dec. 24th it was voted " to adopt into our church the 
use of the Select Hymns selected by Dr. Samuel 
Worcester, of Salem, Mass." This bool^ took the 
place of the Psalms and Hymns of Dr. Watts. 
Musical instruments, as the bass-viol, violin and 
clarionet, had been introduced into the choir, and it 
does not appear that any one now objected to their 
use in the services of the church. 

A post-office was established in the town on the 
13th of February, 1829, and Josiah Cummings, Jr., 
was appointed postmaster. Before the establishment 
of this office mail matter was received at the office in 
Tyngsborough. 

It was this year decided by the evangelical part of 
the religious society to withdraw from the old meet- 
ing-house, and to build a new one. An advisory 
council was therefore called, which unanimously rec- 
ommended the proposed under'aking. Subscriptions 
were at once taken, a site was purchased of Jasper P. 
Proctor for the sum of ir'lOO, and the present substan- 
tial edifice, under a contract with William Rowe, of 
Groton, was soon erected. As already seen in the 
opening chapter, this buildiug has been much im- 
proved within recent years. The dedicatory sermon 



was preached by Rev. .\mos Blanchard, D.D., Dec. 
21, 18:31. 

The Orthodo.\ Church voted, .luly tt, 1831, that 
'' for the future we meet in the new meeting-house for 
divine worship on condition that the pews be rented 
and the rents be appropriated to the support of the 
gospel in the new house." 

October 10th of the same year a call to the pastor- 
ate of the church was given to the Rev. Eldad W. 
Goodman, which he accepted. 

The town, in 1834, voted to appropriate .$100 for a 
singing-school, and chose Henry Parkhurst, Captain 
(ieorge Wright and Cyrus Taylor a committee to 
superintend the same. 

On the 2-'ith of August the Rev. .Mr. Goodman, at 
his own desire, was dismissed from the pa.storate of 
the church. He was regarded a faithful minister. 

Tiie Rev. Dana Goodsell supplied the church for a 
few months, declining, however, a call to settle as 
pastor. On March l-'i, 1837, the Rev. Levi Brigham 
was ordained pastor of the Evangelical Church. 

In 184") the town appropriated S400 for the use of 
public schools. Mr. John llayward.in his "Gazetteer 
of Massachusetts," published in 184(1, makes some er- 
rors in statements regarding Duu-stable. "The soil," 
he said, " is sandy, and generally unproductive of 
other crops than hops and rye." This is plainly in- 
correct, the land being well adapted to the growth of 
all the cereals, and as good as that of any other town 
in this part of Middlesex County. 

In 1848 the amount appropriated for public schools 
was raised to $500. 

The Worcester and Nashua Railroad, which enters 
the town from Pepperell, and passes along its western 
border near the Nashua River, into Nashua, was 
opened on the 18th of December; but as it is remote 
from the centre, and leads to Boston by a circuitous 
route, it has been of little value to the place. It has 
no station in the town. 

The town voted, at one of its meetings, " to sell the 
old town standard at auction," and also to receive 
Ira Hall and Webb and Bowker, with their estates, 
from Groton. The Rev. Levi Krigham was dismissed, 
at his own request, March 21st, from the pastorate of 
the Evangelical Church. He was an able pastor, 
and rendered the town much service from an educa- 
tional point of view. He was succeeded by Rev. 
Darwin Adams, son of the celebrated school-book 
maker, Daniel Adams, M.D. About this time the 
meeting-house was enlarged and repaired. Miss 
Lucy ^letcher gave the church a pulpit, Dr. Daniel 
Adam. >resented to it a clock, and Mrs. Spaulding 
a set ot ''airs for the communion table. And here 
it will be utting to mention that in later years the 
church has been remembered with valuable gifts. 
Mr. Jonas Kendall, of Framingham, has presented 
a beautiful communion service, and $.3000 for a per- 
manent fund. Mrs. Zilpha Woodward gave $500 and 
Aliss Mary Wilson $200 as permanent funds. 



758 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



The Rev. William C. Jackson, of Lincoln, wa:s in- 
stalled over the church November 2, 1859. 

The number of inhabitants in 1860 was 487, of 
whom 243 were males and 244 females; 11 were over 
eighty, and 1 was over ninety years old. 

The Dunstable ('ornet Band was organized Septem- 
ber l')th, with liiraui Spaulding as leader, treasurer 
and collect(tr. It has attained a good reputation for 
skill in its musical performances, as well as for the 
gentlemanly bearing of its members. Its services 
are in good demand for processions and other public 
occasions in neighboring cities and towns. 

On the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion 
the town manifested great activity in the enlistment 
and support of the soldiers. In this patriotic effort 
the ladies bore a conspicuous part. Volunteers 
proujptly entered into the service of their country, 
and as many as sixty-four soldiers from Dunstable 
shared in the privations and battles of the war. 

Notwithstanding the demand upon resources, then 
made by the war, the town raised, in 1862, $400 for 
the support of public schools. July 26th it was 
voted to borrow, if needed, $500 for the volunteers. 

In 1868 it was voted to put up guide-posts through- 
out the town, for which it paid about $50. And here 
may be given an example of the public spirit of the 
young people of the town. The Dunstable Teujper- 
ance Union, holding regular meetings once a month, 
purchased, in 1889, six lamp-posts, with accompany- 
ing lamps and fixtures, and caused them to be set 
out in different parts (»f the village. By not only 
thus furnishing, but arranging for the lighting of 
these lamps, the said organization takes a very prac- 
tical method of letting its light shine. The money 
expended' for these lamps was raised by dramatic en- 
tertainments given by the young people in Parker's 
Hall. 

On the 8th of October, 1863, the old church in the 
Centre was destroyed by (ire. It was never supplied 
either with an organ or with a bell. In front of the 
pulpit, on the gallery, was the inscription, " Finished 
in 1793." The old line of sheds for the horses on the 
side of the Common are the only memorials that re- 
main of this ancient church building. After the 
division of the society the Revs. Hiram Beckwith, 
Russell Streeter, Josiah (Jilmau and William Hooper 
preached in it permanently. The pulpit was occa- 
sionally supplied by the Rev. Hosea BaUou, the Rev^ 
Adin Ballou, the Rev. Thomas Whitlemore, and 
other clergymen. 

The names of the soldiers sent from Dunstable into 
the late war are as follows : 

Anilerton^ Heiirt/, privato, Uiree years, Tliirty-seeuiid Kogimi-Til. 

Baker, Ehuh, serveil onu yeiir in the navy. 

liarncn, Jamen, Hervnd om; yi^ir in the n:ivy. 

Bean, I'rancin, iMilistyil for tlir<'« yyiifH, I>iM-etiibt.'t III, lwf;;i ; nnmtercil 
in Janimry 6, 1801, priviite, Company IJ, KiCly-iiiiiUi Kngiineut. 

Brady, Frederick, private, thrft* yuarti, Twcnty-oecuuiJ Itegiinmit. 

liurrvwK, Chiirhe, volunteer, three yearn, private, Company K, Four- 
teenth Regiment. 



JitiUerjifhl, iJexttr, enlisted and mustered in October 14, 18)11, three 
years, private, C-onipHiiy A, Second Kegieneut; made a Bergcaut JuTie 1, 
Ia64 ; discharged October 14, 1864. 

Carkiii, Unrrisoii, volunteer, private, Comjjany C, Foiirleentii Itegi- 
uieut, U. 8. A. 

C'hternr, Alvin, enliated and nnislered in August :tl, 18(J2, for nine 
months, Company A, Sixth Regiment. 

Conway, Mii-huel, private, nuistered in AnguBt 14, l.Hr.2, llirce years, 
Company (.J, Forty-first Reginieot. 

Currier, Warrtn {2d), enlisted and mustered in .hily II, iSdfi, three 
yeai'S, Fifth Battery. 

iJaglisli, John J., enlisted and mustered in for one year, February 21, 
latjfi, Company F, Thirty-eighth Regiment. 

Dalyn, Simuii, priviitu for three years, mustered iu August 14,1802, 
Company G, Forty-first Regiment. 

Viiris, Audi, private, nine months; enlisted October 12, and mustered 
in October 17, 18Ci2, Company G. Fifty-tliird Regiment ; died of chronic 
dysentery at Baton Rouge, July 1, 186ii. 

Davis, James A., enliated and mustered iu as a private for three years 
October 14, 1804, Company A, Second Regiment ; wounded at the battle 
of Antietam and discharged; re-enlisted for one year, December 30, 
1804, Company E, Cavalry, Frontier Service. 

honahuL', Patrick, enlisted and mustered in July 14, 1H05, for three 
years, Fourteenth Battery. 

Oonlvy, Joit''ph, enlisted and mustered in August ;U, 1801, nine 
months, Company B, Sixth Regiment; discharged November 2, 1862, 
for disability. 

hoyk, James, private, three years, Fifteenth Battery. 
Eldredge, Frank W., private, three years, Twenty-sixth Regiment. 
Furrar, Edward, private, three years, Fifteenth Battery. 
Fiidey, Mirliav:!, three yeam, mustered in August 14, lsii2, Company 
G, Forty-first Regiment. 

Fhlchtr, Allurt H', pjivate, enlisted September 2, 1862, for nine 
months. Company D, Fifty-third Regiment. On the night previous to 
the battle of Port Hudson he gave his knapsack and money to a wounded 
comrade, to be conveyed to his mother in the event of his being killed 
iu battle. He was last seen amongst his company bravely making the 
charge iu the sanguinary contest of June 14, lS6;i. What more noble 
record could be made of him ? 

Fo/tH, t'harh'S V., private, three years, Company li, Fiflv-uiuth Regi- 
ment ; enlisted December lii, 18G3 ; mustered in .January 5, 1804. 

1,'diioii, James //., volunteer, private, niusteifd in August 0, 1S04, for 
three years. Company K, Thirty-third Regiment ; farmer. 

HartireU, Ahm.-.o, private, three years, Company B, Fifty-ninth Regi- 
ment; enlisted December 111, 1863. 

Uartwdl, ]\'urren, private, three years, C-onipany B, Fifty-ninth Regi- 
ment ; enlisted December 19, 1863. 

Hirkey, Jamts, enlisted August 13, 1804, private, three years, Second 
Massachusetts (iavalry. 

Iliiids, Hiram H., enlisted August 8, 1804, Reserve Veterau Corps. 
Ilobhs, (jti'rij'.\ three yeara. Fifteenth Battery. 

Hitiitn; Gfiirge, voliiuteer, private, three years, Company K, Four- 
teenth Regiment. 

lugalla, James H., volunteer, three years, Company C, Twenty-sixth 
Regiment; discluvrged and died at New Orleans. 

Javksiiu, Edward P., private, nine months, enlisted September 26, 1802, 
Company D, Forty-fiftli Regiment ; he was promoted to a corporal. 

Jaijttes, Josiali S., Com])any K, Thirly-third Regiment, three years; 
mustered in August 0, 1802. 

Jones, Gonnehi It., three years, enlisted and nuistered in August 8, 
1804, ReHerve Veteran Corps. 

h'ahoi; Miihael, private, three years, Eleventh Regiment ; enlisted 
August 10, 1804. 

Eelleiku, James, three years, Twenty-eighth Regiment. 
Keyex, I'euhmly, volunteer, three yeain, Twenty-sixth Regiment. 
Keyea, Stnniiel P., volunteer, private, mustered for three years, Decem- 
ber 20, 1801, New Uampshire Eighth Itegiment. 

Kuighlx, /.'(rfdc .S., private, enlisted for three years, January 2, 1864, 
Fifth-ninth Regiment. 

Lyons, Thomas, private, nine months, enlisted August 31, 1802, Com- 
pfiny K, SivUi It^'giniHiit. 

Mursh(dl, (Jnin/e E., volunteer, private, three years. Company II, New 
Hampshire Seventh Regiment; enlisted and was mustered iu October, 
14,1801. He died at Charleston, S. C, July 24, 1803, of wounds re- 
ceived at the storming of Fort Wagner six days previous. He was a 
ju'isouer at the time of his death. 



DUNSTABLE. 



5!t 



3fu^o, WiUard M., enlisted ag a private and volunteer, October 14, 
1801, in Company U, New Hanipsliiro Seventh Regiment, and wa# 
liilled July 18, 1863, at the storming of Fort Wagner, in Charleston 
Harbor. 

Munatf, .l/iiAut-/, enliateil and was mostere.i in Aiif^ust 10, I8I>1, Com- 
pany G, Seventeenth ReRiinent. 

Usb<<ntf, IWgfolt A',, privale, three years, Twenty-sixth Regiment. 

I'<tgt', David S., private, volunteer, three years. Company 0, Twenty- 
gixth Regiment. Died at New Orleans, Augvljtt 30, 1803, of dysentery. 

/'(jrAer, LtUlier 8., private, volunteer, three years. Company C, Twenty- 
si.vth Regiment. 

Pfurl, Gitmatt A., Company B, Fifty-ninth Regiment ; enlisted as a 
private for three years, December 19, 1863 ; mustered in .lauuary 6, 
18G4. 

Pevey, Ltiimui £!., enlisted March 4, I860, for three years. Detachment 
of Ordnance, .\r3enul, Watertowu. 

Pool, LfOHurd H., enlisted August 8, 1864, for three years. Reserve 
Veteran Corps. 

t{itupucl\ Harold A., three years, navy. 

hich, Eferett, was mustered in March 11, 1862, three years, navy. 

Robertson, WiliUiin, private, three years, Fifteenth Battery. 

Bobhieony John, two years, navy. 

Ruginutsen, C'ArwtiuH, two years, navy. 

Short, M'iUiam, Company B, Sixth Regiment, nine months ; enlisted 
August, 31, t^l>2, and was discharged at the expiration of his service, 
June 3, 1863. 

SitivKm, Kimball A., private, Company B, Sixth Regiment ; enlisted for 
nine months, August 31, 1862. 

Stit-kncii, Henry, private. Company G, Thirty-third Regiment, mustered 
in August 11, 1862, and died at Falmouth, Va. , January 20, 1863. 

StyleR, John, enlisted August 8, 1864, for three years. Third Regimeut 
of Infantry. 

Taylor, George E., private, three years. Company A, Second Regiment, 
he enlisted October 14, 1861, and died at Frederick, 2Id., February 8, 
1862. 

7>U(/rtviiii, John X., enlisted for three years in the Si.xty-second Regi- 
ment. 

Welch, Patrick, volunteer, three years, Company G, Forty-finst Regi 
nient, 

H'/(i(f, Lucius, volunteer, priv-te, three years. Company D, Eleventh 
Regiment Regular Infantry ; wounded at the battle of Gettysburg, 
July 2, 1863, and died on the following day. 

]\'ilkins, Luther, private. Company P, Fifty-third Regiment, nine 
months; enlisted October 12, 1862 i returned home with his regimeut, 
and waa discharged September 2, 1863. 

IfiU-odi, Luther E., enlisted for nine months as a private. Company D, 
Fifty-third Regiment, October 12, 1862. He was in the battle of Port 
Hudson, returned home with his regiment, and was discharged Septem- 
ber 2, 1803.— Total, 64. 

The following from this town enlistetl in other 
places : 

William W. Oummiugs, First Minnesota Regiment. 

Hiram It. Kendall. 

Alfred G. Parkhurst, Sixth Massachusetts Regiment. 

Charles R. Snollow. 

Biehard H. Kni,jhls. 

The town, under two calls, paid §ylOU for bounties 
The Rev. William C. Jackson, at his own request, 
was dismissed from the pastorate of the church No- 
vember 13, 18G7. One or more revivals of religion 
occurred under Mr. Jackson's ministry. He was long 
a faithful missionary in Asiatic Turkey, and, previous 
to his coming to Dunstable, was settled over tlie 
church in Lincoln, Mass. 

The Rev. Edward P. Kingsbury, of Newton, was or- 
dained, but not installed over the church, o.n the '28th of 
November, 18<19, the Rev. Eben B. Foster, D.D.,of Low- 
ell, preaching the sermon. Mr. Kingsbury continued 
to supply the pulpit acceptably until JIarch 12, 1S71, 
when failing health compelled him to retire. He 



died two weeks after returning to his home in New- 
ton Centre, beloved by all who knew him. 

The Rev. Charles Ruckwell supplied the church 
for two years, begiriiiing .May 4, 1871. 

The valuation of the town in 1872 was $:{2(;, 185.22. 

July 1, 1873, the church engaged the .services of 
Rev. Franklin D. Austin as stated supply. 

This year the town voted $2000 to defray the an- 
nual expenses, S900 of which were for the public 
schools, and $500 for the repairing of highways and 
bridges. 

The Nashua, Acton and Boston Railroad, running 
near Flat Rock Hill, along the valley of Salmon 
Brook, centrally through the town, was opened for 
travel in June, 1873. The ceremony of breaking the 
ground for this road took place at Wall Hill in De- 
cember, 1871, when speeches were made by the Hon. 
Levi Wallace, then of Pepperell, and now of Ayer, 
James T. Burnai>, first supcriiitendciit of the road, 
and others, after which the company partook of a col- 
lation provided by the ladies of Dunstable. The oc- 
casion was enlivened by salutes from a cannon and 
by music from the Dunstable Cornet Band. 

In 1873 the two hundredth anniversary of the orig- 
inal incorporation of the town was reached. .Vt a 
legal meeting of the citizens, held iu March, it was 
voted to appropriate S500 for a bi-centennial celebra- 
tion, to be observed on Wednesday, tlie 17lh tlay of 
September following. Josiah C. Proctor, Dexter 
Bulterfield, James M. Swallow, Jonas Spaulding and 
John A. Parkhurst were chosen a committee to make 
arrangements. To this committee were added Wil- 
liam N. Kemp, Washington H Blood, Ira B. Hall, 
Benjamin French and George W. Fletcher. This 
committee received the following i)resenta, unsolicited : 
$50 from Dexter Roby, of Boston, $50 from A.N. 
Swallow, of Charlestown and $20 from Hiram Kemp, 
of Boston, all sons of Dunstable, to aid in defraying 
the expenses of the celebration. Benjaniiii French 
was appointed chairman of the committee of arrange- 
ments. 

Printed letters of invitation were sent out to those 
specially interested in the welfare of the town. Great 
preparations were made for the festivities of the oc- 
casion as the time for the anniversary drew near. 
Josiah C. I'roctor was appointed president of the day ; 
Isaac O. Taylor and Jonas C. Kendall were vice- 
presidents; Benjamin French, chairman of the com- 
mittee of arrangemenls ; Dexter Bntterfield, chief 
marshal, together with James A. Davis and .\ndrew 
J. Woodward, assistants. Dr. George B. Loring was 
inviled to deliver the oration. .Vniple accommoda- 
tion was afforded by Yale's mammoth tent, and a 
good variety of refreshments were provided by C. E. 
Reed, a caterer from Boston. 

The morning of the 17th of September dawned 
propitiously. At ten o'clock a procession was formed 
at the railroad stition, which prot'eeded to the centre 
of the town in the following order: 



760 



HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



Dexter Biitterfield, marshal of tlie day, and aids, 
with the Dunstable Cornet Band; two four-horse 
barouihes, one containing Gov. William B. Wash- 
burn, the Hon. George S. Boutwell, the Hon. George 
B. Loring, with Josiah C. Proctor, Esq., president of 
the d.ay ; the other barouche containing the Hon. E. 
Rockwood Hoar, of Concord, Gen. Israel Hunt, of 
Nashua, together with Messrs. Isaac O. Taylor and 
Jonas C. Kendall, vice-presidents of the day. Then 
came in order, Capt. Christopher Roby's company of 
cavalry with seventy sabres, followed by the Pepper- 
el! Engine Company, No. 1, thirty-three men, with 
the Pepperell Cornet Band, and citizens in carriages 
and oil foot. 

An approi)riate stand for the speakers had been 
erected on the south side of the Common, and a large 
number of seats were provided. " Welcome ffo7ne," 
and other beautiful mottoes adorned the platform. 
The dates 1()73-I.S78, in wreaths ol'Howcrs, ornament- 
ing the speaker's desk, could be clearly seen by the 
audience. Salutes from a piece of artillery announced 
the arrival of the long procession, and many flags 
were waving. Never before had Dunstable Common 
been so richly decorated or visited by so large a 
throng. As many as 3000 people were present. 

The exercises were opened by the reading of selec- 
tions from the Scriptures, and a prayer by the Rev. 
Franklin D. Au.stin. Animating music from the 
Dunstable Cornet Band then followed, and an origi- 
nal song of welcome, rendered with much expression, 
by the Glark family, of New Ipswich. Josiah c' 
Proctor, E.s(|., then, in a few appropriate words, ex- 
tended a cordial welcome to the vast assemblage, and 
read the resolution of the town in respect to the cele- 
bration. He then introduced the Hon. George B. 
Loring as the orator of the occasion. This gentle- 
man, rising, then gave an historical address, speaking 
effectively for an hour and a half to an attentive au- 
dience. At the conclusion of the oration the Clark 
family sang " The Star-Spangled Banner." This was 
followed by an original .song, composed by Mrs. 
Maria A. Whitcomb, and by music from the Dun- 
stable and Pepperell Cornet Bands. 

SONU BY Mils, M. A. WIIITOOMB. 

Hush I!y the Bunstaule {^hknet Band. 

(Time, "Yankee Doodle.") 

This town was all a forest deep. 

Two hinitlred yeai-s ago, ah- ; 
The vales were low, the liills were sleep, 

And streiiinlets wandered (lirongb, sir. 

CH0KU8. 
Y'ankee doodle, this llie place, 

Yankee doodle dundy ; 
We like tile gooil, old-fusli lolled days. 

The people were so ]t]iudy. 

A few lirave men, a pilgrim band, 

Sought this far-off location ; 
They saw it was a goodly land, 

And hero they lixed their slatiou.— ClloHiie. 



I'"roni time to time the settlei-s came, 

And built as they were able ; 
At length the town must have a name, 

And so 'twas called itnit'fuble —t'uozvs. 

No draught from China's sultry land 

Was seen at morn ore'on, sir ; 
The " black cow " gave a beverage bland. 

I'ew drank black tea or green, sir.— Chokiis. 
In homespiiii were the people dressed. 

Of woollen, tow or linen, 
Their .Sunday suits which wore their best, 

Were nicely made by women.— Ohoeus. 
The girls could wash anil brew and bake, 

.\ud also were go'nl spiuilers; 
The maids could jily the hoe and rake, 

While matrons cooked the dinners. 
Cfioiuis. 

Yankee doodle, this the place, 

Y'ankee doodle dandy ; 
We like the good, old-fashioned days. 

The people wore so handy. 

After the exercises were closed at the speakers' 
stand, the people spent some time in exchanging 
congratulations and reminiscences of former days, 
and then proceeded to the immense tent south of the 
Gommon to partake of the banquet prepared by Mr. 
Reed. The Rev. Mr. M. Smith, of Tyngsborough, 
invoked the divine blessing, and about an hour was 
spent in partaking of the boimliful rep.ast. When 
this was concluded the Pepperell Hand gave music, 
and the ]>resident of the day felicitously introduced 
Mr. O. C. Moore, as the toast-master of the anniver- 
sary. Having spoken for a few moments, he an- 
nounced as the first toast: "Old Dunstable! she 
divided her estate among ten .sons, and to-day .she 
calls them home and bids them welcome." The re- 
sponse was in the form of the following original 
poem, contributed from the pen of Mrs. Mary Rock- 
well, and read by Mr. James T. Burnap: 

DUNSTABLE. 
My childhood's homo ! what music in the sound, 
Dear to eanh heart, wherever man is found I 
By every nation, every clime and tongue. 
In sweetest praise their dwelling-phico is sung. 
Go to the Indian in the Western wild. 
Ask him where Nature has most kindly smiled; 
He'll point you to his dark, old foresi home. 
And to his cheerless wigwam hid you come. 
Go to the regions of the frozen zone. 
Where naught but stinted slirnlis and moss are grown. 
Ask the poor native what delights //;» eye ; 
He'll point you to his hut of snow hard by. 
Enlightened man no pleiunire bereciili find, 
And blesses Ooil that he has not designed 
To cast hit lot in regions cold and ilrear, 
Keuioved IVoiuall he holds on earth so dear. 
Across the ocean, in the ICiislern world. 
Where freedom's banner ne'er has been unfurled, 
Where siijierstition rules with tyrant sway, 
And man, degradeil, wears his life away. 
Yet even here the heart clings to one place,— 
Here is his home, here dwells his kindred race. 
To nations proud in wealth and culture turn ; 
From their ftttacbments, too, we plainly learn 
How strong, bow deep, the feeling of tlie heart 
For one dear spot of Ibis great earth, small part. 
And yet within that little space, close curled. 
Lies love's rich treasure, making it a world. 



DTJNSTAELK. 



And tliiis, fair Dunatable, thy cbildreu come 

Tu cekibrute tlie birthday of their honif . 

Twu hnnilreil years I "We'll bridge aeruss tinif's spuci;, 

And turn tbouKbt backward on \tH swiftest race; 

Call back tbi.- funus and faces that were here, — 

111 liii-ntai visiun they will reapjiear, 

Sbuw us the rei^iiins that around Ibeui lay, 

Rud« and uiitilleil, two c»'ntnri';s to-day. 

Then briit»> irreation, tenants of the wood, 

Intanied and tierce, were prowling for their food ; 

And savage man, more to be feared than they, 

Would lie in ambush to make man bis prey, 

Lurk round the dwellings, slylj" watch and wait 

Till on the pale-face be cunld wreak bis hate ; 

With torch to burn aud tomahawk to destruy, 

Rending tlie air with wild, umd whoops of jtiy. 

On scenes like these we will Imt briefly dwell. 

Truths, stern and sad. the historic page niusr tell. 

We Ube the past to contrast shade with light, 

Aud make the present look more clearly bright. 

Fair Dunstable ! soiuetinies they call thee old ; 
Thy yuuthful days are not yet fully told ; 
The peaceful tftnor of thy even way 
Has left no furrows time and age display. 
Thy fields are fair, thy woods are bright and green, 
Thy lakes and streams are dressed in silveiy sheen ; 
On thy smooth brow is written early life, 
Untrodden yet the paths of vice and strife. 
But ciianges so<»n will come thy peace to mar ; 
E'en now is heard the rattUug railroad car 
Along thy wood wliere <juiet reigned around, 
And the lone night-bird"s song the loudest sound, 
Till the last year of two long centuries past 
Proclaimed, by engine, "Men were going fast." 
Business and hurry bring on middle age, 
They're foes of youth, a war tbey <iuickly wage. 
Turn peaceful streams from their calm, gentle course, 
Ki^fltrain their waters for propelling force. 
The hills are brought on level with the plaiu, 
And plains made hills to answer hope of gain. 
If such of sister towns has been the fate, 
Thy turn may come, though it be rather late, 
When on the morning breeze the factory bell 
Shall to the aleejier hours of labor tell, 
Wlien whizzing cars on every side shall go, 
And prove this place is neither slack nor slow, 
We'll not attempt to use prophetic ken. 
We know what has been and may be again ! 

Fair Dunstable ! a tribute we would pay 

Thy worthy children, long since passed away ! 

Of the first century history contains 

A warlike record, full of griefs and pains. 

Hearts brave and noble were compelU-d to yiel.I. 

And for a season leave the foe the field. 

No doubt that race were men of sterling worth, 

Beloved, repipected, while they dwelt on earth. 

But of the cetitury now just passed away, 

More of thy children we can kuow and say: 

Some have been worthy tillers of the st^)il, 

Substantial men, rewarded by their toil ; 

Some iu mechanic arts have spent their days, 

Their works declare them men deserving praise ; 

Aud some have sought a livelihood by trade, 

Have bought and sold, and thus their fortunes made ; 

Others preferred in learning's paths to go. 

In three professions Tdiustable can show 

Men who have made their mark and won renown 

In other places than their native town. 

But time forbids to pass each in review, — 

One name we'll mention of the noted few, 

A name this place may well be proud to own, 

Virtues like Amos Kendall's wide are known I 

Called by his country to high posts of trust, 

Honored and honest, numbered with the just ; 

His friends and relatives are with ua here, 



Aud all who knew bini bold his memory dear. 

An aijrtl tcomaii liiex, still pleased to tell. 

She made him coats and pants, -he liked them well. 

In politics this town has borne its part, 

Bolb parties know tin- tri<-ks of party art ; 

And to the stjitesnien who aie here to-day, 

We pay duo boruir, —better than " back pay I " 

Fair Dunstable ! thy sous have had tlmir praise, 

And sliall thy daughters share nut in these lays? 

To " Woman's Rights " they ne'er have laid their claim, 

To he right women is their highest aim, 

Act well each part within their sphere of life, 

A faithful mother and devoted wife. 

And now, fair Dunstable, our work is done ! 

Another century has for thee begun ! 

Throughout thy realms, may peace and temperance reign, 

Increaiie each virtue and each vice restrain ! 

And when life's changes all with us are o'er. 

Safe may we meet upon that heavenly shore 

Where centuries are uncounted and unknown, 

And joys are endless round the Eternal throne. 

The second toast was, '* The President of the 
United States." In response the Dunstahle Band 
played " America." The third toast was " Massachu- 
setts, — the earliest and foremost in the cause of civil 
and religious liberty. The lapse of two hundred 
years has added lustre to her renown, force to her 
example and prominence to her high place in his- 
tory. All honor to the Governor! and the governed 
of the old Commonwealth ! " 

Cxovernor Washburn rose and responded happily, 
and among othr remarks said, *'The influence of old 
Dunstable upon those that were born here has cause<l 
them joyfully to return, an<l in the celebration dem- 
onstrate their full appreciation of the beut'tits received 
by them from the place of their birth." 

The fourth toast was, *Ml)ur Kepresentaiive in Con- 
gress, — the eminent jurist, the practical .statesman, 
the honest politician : old Dunstable can trust him, 
and he will honor her." Hon. K. Kockwood Hoar, 
M.C., pleasantly responded. The following senti- 
ment atl'ords a sample of bis remarks : 

"The ideas of free education were always cher- 
ished in Dunstable, aud will always be cherished 
as long as the great and undying principles of justice 
and truth shall continue.'' 

The (iftii toast, "New Hampshire— bleak are her 
hills in winter, and warm are the hearts of her sons 
all the year round," w:i>i responded to brieHy by the 
Rev. Mr. Philluook. The Hon. Levi Wallace re- 
sponded to the sixth toast, "Our railroad,— the tie 
that binds two cities that Act-on as one." 

The seventh tojtst, "New Kngland— her townships 
were the nurseries of Republican institutions; to-day 
they are the model democracies of the World," re- 
ceived a response from the Hon. George S. Boutwell, 
who said : 

*'There were three points iu the history of New 
England which he never liked to pass, when New 
England is concerned — namely, the municipal system, 
the [tubtic-school system, and the religious tolerance 
of the forefathers. It may be said of the Puritans 



762 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



that they recognized the right of government to set 
up a church, in which all should worshij) and should 
pay toward its support; but they were willing to 
have any church established not interfering with that 
church, and thus they should be excused from intol- 
erance. Tiie public-school system is due entirely to 
the Puritan Protestantism which prevailed in Massa- 
chusetts long ago. Its first object was to train up 
youth to be able to examine and judge of the IScrip- 
tures for themselves. He deemed it a loss to the mu- 
nicipal system that the towns, as towns, are not rep- 
resented in the General Court. 

"The larger cities and municipalities are absorbing 
and corrupt. They are to be saved, if at all, by large 
legislative bodies. The civil government should be 
in the hands of those who are well paid. The as- 
sembly should be large, and the cost would, of course, 
be great; but we must pay for government. He de- 
sired to see the municipalities strengthened and their 
pride encouraged. One means of connecting these 
celebrations will be by a celebration every half-cen- 
tury." 

The eighth toast, "The City of Nashua," brought 
remarks from General Israel Hunt. 

The ninth and last toast was "The Orator of the 
Day — by the ability, research, and eloquence which 
he h.is displayed to-day, he has proved himself 
worthy to be a son of old Dunstable, and we adopt 
him." 

Mr. Loriug responded with a few fitting words. 
The Clark family then sang an original parting song, 
compo.-ed by Mrs. Mary Rockwell. 

A salute was fired at the conclusion of the singing, 
and the people having mutually enjoyed their meet- 
ing together, and with many felicitations on all that 
was connected with the occasion bade each other 
good by, and withdrew to their several homes. 

The Rev. F. D. Au.stin closed his services as pastor 
of the Congregational Church in 1879. As the result 
of a revival which occurred during that period, nine- 
teen were added to the church. Mr. Austin was suc- 
ceeded by the Rev. Bernard Copping, now of Grove- 
land, Mass. Mr. Copping continued with the church 
in Dunstable five years. His labors were prospered 
and many improvements were made upon the par- 
sonage, promoting the comfort and convenience of 
the building. 

In August, 1885, the Rev. Henry M. Perkins was 
called by the people to be their pastor, and continues 
with them at the present date, 1890. During this 
time several special e.xpenditures have been made for 
needed im|irovemen!s on the church edifice. A new 
bell costing f;:jO0 has replaced the old one, which, 
through age and long usage, had begun to give an 
" uncertain sound." The beautiful hymn-book 
" Laudes Domini," is now used instead of the old 
"Sabbath Hymn and Tune Book." Extensive repairs 
and improvements have been made at an expense of 
about $1500, by which two rooms have been added to 



the vestry for social and religious uses, and the whole 
building rendered more beautiful and convenient. 
A " Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor" 
has been organized and has proved itself a very 
valuable adjunct of church work. Within the past 
few months the church has been spiritually quick- 
ened, and several have been added to the member- 
ship. 

The members of the Universalist Society continue 
to worshi]) in Parker's Hall, though they contem- 
plate the erection of a building when pending ques- 
tions respecting a location have been settled. 



CHAPTER LX. 

2) UNSTA BLE.—{ Continued) . 
BIOliRAl'HU'AL. 

Di{. N.\THAN Cutler practiced in town before the 
Revolution, and was a surgeon in the war. He lived 
on the river road near Cutler's Brook, a little north 
of the State line. 

Dr. Ebenezer Starr came to Dunstable from 
Dedham soon after the Revolution and lived on a 
Kendall place in the uortlierly part of the town. 
He was highly esteemed both as a physician and a 
citizen. His death occurred September 7, 1798. 

Dr. Micah Eldredge practiced long in Dunsta- 
ble, living near Salmon Brook. He married Sally 
Buttrick, of Concord, and had a family of twelve 
children, several of whom received a liberal educa- 
tion. He held various offices in the town. He was 
a deacon of the church and was twice elected repre- 
sentative to the General Court. The degree of M.D. 
was conferred upon him from Dartmouth College. 
He died in Na.-hua, N. H., in 1849. His son, Heze- 
KiAH Eldredge, succeeded him in the practice of 
medicine at Dunstable. 

Dr. Adonijah W. Howe practiced in town sev- 
eral years. He married Miss Martha D. Butterfield. 
His death occurred in 1886. 

Samuel Mark Fletcher graduated at Amherst 
College in 184(5. He was a son of Capt. Mark, grand- 
son of Phineas and great-grandson of Deacon Joseph 
Fletcher, the first settler of the name in Dunstable. 
He studied medicine in Philadelphia and practiced 
two years in Westerly, R. I. He was assistant sur- 
geon in the War of the Rebellion ; he then practiced 
medicine in Denver City and Chicago, where he 
died, October 3, 1875. 

The Hon. Isaac Fletcuer, grandson of Deacon 
Joseph Fletcher, was born in Joint Grass, in the 
northwesterly part of Dunstable, November 22, 1784 ; 
was graduated with honor at Dartmouth College, in 
the class of 1808, and taught lor some time in the 
academy at Chesterfield, N. H. He afterwards stud- 



DUNSTABLE. 



ros 



ied law with Mes<<rs. Prescott & Dunbar, at Keene, 
N. H. In 1811 he removed to I^viKion, Vt., where 
he enjoyed an extensive practice. He wa.^ for some 
time State attorney for Caledonia County, was also 
a Representative of Lyndon in the State Legislature, 
and was twice elected Representative to Congre.ss, 
serving in that office from 18;57 to 1841. He was a 
pr(>ni|it and energetic man, and possessed many other 
admirable traits of character. His death occurred i 
October 19, 1842. 

The Hon. Isaac Fletcher once wrote to his son, 
Charles B. Fletcher, as follows: 

*' From my earliest recollection, my constitution ami health have been 
feeble, and have continued so to the present time, but yet able to endure 
much application, labor and fatigue. One rule of my father's economy 
was that all the money spent by the children must be earned by them- 
selves. By the greatest industry in raisiiig potatoes and tobacco, I pos- 
sessed myself of money enough to buy Pike's large .\ritlimetic, and 
commenced the study of it during the leisure evenings I could spare. 
By dint of perseverance, I mastered every rule, and could solve any 
l)rohlem in the whole book. This laid the foundation for mathematical 
studies, which have been of use to me through life. 1 have ever de- 
voted myself, when opportunity would allow, with more pleasure to the 
study of that science than any other." He also said : "In 1803 my father 
came to a resolution to sutfer me to acquire a liberal education. lie in- 
formed me that all he could do for me was to give me my ti[ne, and if I 
thought, by industiy and economy, I could succeed it) the attempt, I 
might make the e.xperiment, but should I fail, there would be always a 
seat at his table and food enough and work enough for me to do on his 
farm. Thus encouraged and supported by my fiither, I collected all my 
movable effects, consisting of clothes and a few books, and left home 
with a fixed and determined resolution to tax my genius an<l industry 
to the utmost to acipiire an education. With budget in hand I took my 
depjirture for Groton to prepare for college. .At this time I was possessed 
of a yoke t)f oxen, a few sheep, and other property, in all to the amount 
of about Slo't, which I converted into ca«h and funded in order to draw 
upon as necessity might require. I did not feel myself able to take 
board near the academy, but at the distance of a mile and a half, where 
I could get it cheaper than in the village. I commenced fitting for 
college in September, 1803, and entered the Freshman class in Dart- 
mouth College in I.S04. I may as well say, once for all, my feelings suf 
fered much, for my means were scanty and my dress and style humble." 

In addition to the other offices, already mentioned, 
which Mr. Fletcher held, was that of adjutant and 
inspector-general of the militia of the Slate, (ien. 
Fletcher continued his classical studies through life, 
and to them added the study of the French language 
and literature. Of him his biographer says: "He 
was an indulgent parent, a kind-hearted friend, chari- 
table to all, unwilling to otl'end or pain any one, hos- 
pitable and generous, and accomplished more for 
good and less for evil, I think, than most others." 

Amos Kendall, son of Deacon Zebedee and Molly 
Kendall, was born in the northerly part of Dunstable, 
near Salmon Brook, on Sunday, August 16, 1787. 
His boyhood was spent in hard work on his father's 
farm, and in attending school during the winter 
season. He had a fondness for books, and employed 
many of his leisure hours in reading. His general 
demeanor gained for him the title of deacon. He 
was fitted for college, jiartly at the academy in Xew 
Ipswich, N. H., and partly in that of Groton. In 
graduating at Dartmouth College, in 1811, he took 
the highest honor of his class. William M. Rich- 
ardson, Esq., of Groton, taught him the profession of 



law, in his office. In the spring of 1814 Mr. Kendall 
removed to Kentucky, where he was for some time 
employed as a tutor in the family of Henry Clay at 
Ashland. His acquaintance with this great states- 
man resulted in the formation of political views and 
aspirations. On leaving the family of Mr. Clay he 
commenced the practice of law, and soon afterwards 
became the editor of a Democratic journal, called the 
Aryux, published at Frankfort, Ky. He exerted his 
iutiueace and effort for the election of Gen. Andrew 
Jackson to the Presidency, and in 1829 received 
from him the appointment of fourth auditor of the 
treasury. He held the office of I'ostmaster-General 
from 1835 to 1S40. He introduced many reforms 
into this department, and removed the burden of 
debt. In 184o he assumed the entire management 
of the interest of Prof. Samuel F. Morse in the mag- 
netic telegraph, and was the founder and first presi- 
dent of the Deaf and Dumb Asylum at Washington. 
He married for his first wife Miss ^lary B. Woolfolk, 
by whom he had four children ; and for his second 
wife Miss Jane Kyle, by whom he had ten children. 
Dartmouth College conferred on him the degree of 
LL.D., in 1849. He strongly advocated the common- 
school system, and was a liberal benefactor of good 
causes. He was led to join the Calvary Baptist 
Church at Washington, from hearing a sermon by 
the Rev. A. B. Earle on, " Almost thou persuadest 
me to he a Christian," delivered March 'Si, ISG."). He 
was an active member of this church, and gave to it 
in all $11.5,000. He also contributed about $20,000 
to the Deaf and Dumb Asylum, $(J(lOO to found a 
scholarship in Columbia College, and about $25,000 
in aid of two mission schools, one of which is called 
Keiiilall's Chapel. In the autumn of 1862 he went 
to live at Kendall Green, in Taunton, N. J., and in 
1866 visited Europe and the Holy Land. He died at 
Washington, on the 12th day of November, 1869, 
leaving in manuscript an .Vutobiogra|>hy, which has 
been published.in a handsome volume of seven hun- 
dred pages. 

Mr. Kendall faithfully served the Cabinet of which 
he was a member, and was so infiuential as to be 
called the President's " right-hand'' man. He was a 
leading figure in American politics for nearly a third 
of a century. He was a public-spirited man, and an 
earnest Christian. As he looked at the rising sun on 
a beautiful morning his last words were, '' How 
beautiful, how beautiful !" He soon closed his eyes 
in peaceful death. 

The Rev. Dr. Sunderland said at his funeral, " Tie 
was a man of great modesty of disposition. He 
sought no display, and if he had a fault it was that 
he was altogether too retiring and ditiident. He was 
an honest man, purely and exactly a faithful man. 
Honest and faithful to his fellow-men, he was no less 
so to his God." Rev. Dr. Samson also said of him, 
" From his youthful editorials up to his elaborate 
papers there were a clearness and force and a fascina- 



7(U 



TTTSTORY OF M1DI>LESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



tion of whicli many still speak as having riveted 
their attention whenever tliey took up anything com- 
ing from his pen. ... As age and the refining 
influence of growing religious faith and hope mel- 
lowed the ripening fruit of his last years, a sweetness 
and serenity of temper came over him, which made 
his family and every circle where his lioary locks 
were seen moving take on a new delight because of 
his2>resence." 

Mr. Kendall thus vividly describes the discipline of 
his father's family: " Grace before and thanks after 
meat, and morning and evening prayers, with the 
reading of a chapter in the Bible and the singing of 
a hymn of Sunday, accompanied by the bass-viol, 
played by their eldest son while he was at home, con- 
stituted the regular religious exercises of the family. 
The father and mother never failed to attend church 
on Sunday, except in case of sickness or when absent 
from home ; and the entire family, one member only 
excepted, were required to maintain a like regularity 
in Sabbath observances. Except in special cases, all 
labor beyond the simplest preparation of food for 
man and beast, and all recreation, were strictly pro- 
hibited on Sunday. The evening was spent in learn- 
ing and reciting the Westminster Catechism, in read- 
ing religious books, and in practicing sacred music. 
The whole family could sing, and, when all were 
present, could carry all the four parts of ordinary 
tunes." 

A change seems to have come over the good Dea. 
Zebedee Kendall, in re.specl to the use of an innocent 
instrument, as indicated by the following: 

" Wbtu .\mu8 was a litlli) buy, u lidJle \vii8 an abominatiuu to his 
father and niuther. His eldest brother, who li;id iiiiite a taste for music, 
having constructed a bass-viol or two, determined to try. hi.s hand upon 
a Rddle. and produced a very good instrument. Mot daring to bring it 
to the house, he kept it in a cooper's shop not far distant. His father, 
hunting there for something one <Iay, mounted a bench so that his head 
was raised above the beams of the shop, when his eyes fell upon the un- 
lucky fiddle. He took it by the neck, and apostrophizing it, ' Tltia is 
Ih^ jirntUin*: I erer naw you ! ^ dashed it into the lireplace. 

" Being on a visit to his parents about thirty years afterwards, Amos 
Kendall went to meeting in Dunstable on a Sunday, and there sat his 
father in the deacon's seat, beneath the pulpit, as in former times, and 
thtre WU9 afiddh in the choir 1 " 

Mr. Kendall sometimes wrote poetry. The follow- 
ing graceful lines were sent to his wife in 1829 : — 

TO A WILD FLOWER. 

BY AMrtS UKNOALL. 

On the white cliffs of KIkliorn, with cedars o'erspj-ead, 
Whore beauty and wildness in silence repose, 

K gay little wild ilower raised up its head, 
By Zephyrs caressed as in sweetness it rose. 

Its beauties no culture could ever impart. 
No garden or meadow can boast such a gem ; 

All native it blossomed, for never had art 
Transplanted its root or enameled its stem. 

I saw it and loved it ; and now on my breast 

It breathes out its fragrance, its beauty displays; 

My lieai-t leaps to meet it, in ecstaay hlest, 
The dream of my nights and the charm of my days. 

And oh, thought of rapture ! not like other flower 
Does it droop on the air, life and loveliness flinging ; 



Butita charuis audits fiugi'auce increase every hour, 
.■Vlid sweet little buds all around it are springing. 

— Autahicgntphy, p. 2H8. 

The Rev. Samuel Howe Toliman was bom here 
Aug. 12, lS2iJ. He graduated at Dartmouth College 
in 1S48, and at Andover Theological Seminary in 1S52. 
He was, for a few years, city missionary in Bath, Me., 
and was ordained as pastor of the church at Wilming- 
ton, Mass., Aug. 14, ISOO. He was dismissed in 1870, 
and became pastor of the church in Leno.x, Mass. 
His mind became shattered, and he committed suicide 
at Nelson, N. H.; Oct. 6, 1873. He was faithful and 
highly esteemed in his work as a minister of the 
gospel. 

The Rev. John Spaulding, D.D., was born in 
Mason, N. H., Nov. 30, 1800. He went to Middle- 
bury College in 1821, from Dunstable, where he had 
been for some time employed in working on a farm. 
Having studied theology at Andover, he was ordained 
as an evangelist at Newburyport Sept. 25, 1828. He 
was married on the same day to Miss Olive C. B. 
Kendall, daughter of Capt. Jonas Kendall, of Dun- 
stable. She died March 14, 1852, and her remains 
were brought to her native town for burial. Dr. 
Spaulding's early labors were in the West. In 1841 he 
became secretary of the American Seamen's Society 
in New York City. He delivered a very able histori- 
cal discourse in the church at Dunstable Nov. 19, 
1865. He also published an autobiography entitled 
" From the Plow to the Pulpit," which is full of in- 
terest. 

Aside from its college graduates, Dunstable has sent 
forth into the world many sons and daughters who 
have been useful and honored in the several stations 
in life which they occupied. 

The French Family. — The family of French 
claims its origin in France, from Rollo, Duke of Nor- 
mandy, who married Gisia or Giselle, daughter of 
Charles the Simple, King of France. Rollo is .said 
to have been so " mighty of stature that no horse had 
the size to carry him ;" consequently, he was always 
obliged to go on foot, and received the appellation of 
Rollo, the Marcher. In 912 A.D., at the time of his 
marriage, his father-in-law, Charles the Simple, gave 
him a tract of land, now known as modern Normandy, 
in return for which Rollo received Christian baptism 
by the Archbishop of Rouen, and was called Robert 
from his godfather, Robert, Count of Paris. 

From Harlovan, the third son of Rollo, in direct 
line, is said to have descended Sir Maximilian de 
French, whose son, Sir Theophilus French (Freyn), 
went with William the Conqueror to England, and 
took part in the Battle of Hastings. Thus was the 
first branch of the French family planted in English 
soil, where it became firmly rooted and extended its 
branches into various sections of that country. 

I may state here that the name of French was not, 
as one might siipjiose, taken from the name of the 
people where the family originated, for, in searching 



DUNSTABLE. 



Hi.') 



its etymology, it is found that the name \»as origi- 
nally Fraxinus or Freyne, or, with the French prefix, 
De la Freyne, having two significations, ash tree and 
ashen spear. The handle of the latter was made 
from the wood of the ash, on account of its liglitnesji 
and durability, and from that received its name. The 
ash-tree indicates the name of an estate, while the 
spear suggests warfare or military life. The foll.iwing 
list, taken from a " Hi.story of the French Family," 
by one of its members, shows the various orthographic 
changes the name passed through before it became 
really auglicized : 

Frane. Freynsce. Frensehe. 

Frene. Freynsh. Frenshe. 

Frein. Freynssh. Frensch. 

Freyne. Frainche. Ffrencli. 

Freyu.;. Freinche. French. 

Freignee. 
Freygne. 

It is stated that as early as the eleventh century 
the name of Frene is found in various parts of Eng- 
land. 

Within le.ss than 1-10 years from the baptism of 
Rollo, says Lingard, the Normans were ranked 
among the most polished, as well as the most warlike 
nations of Europe, and from such men was Al-Frin, 
the founder of this sept, and from whom his de.scend- 
ants, says Lodge, derive the name of De Freyne. 

" In the establishment of Noruian power in Eng- 
land, Oe la Freigne acquired a tract of land, by grant, 
in Herefordeshire '' (as it does not appear in the 
Doomsday Book, it must have been after the year 
1086), " where he established his line, which was con- 
tinued for centuries." "It is believed that this line 
may be considered common to all the branches that 
subsequently diverged from it." 

" In 1337 took place the celebrated tournament nl 
Dunstable, where, on the roil of Knights who tilted 
there, appears the name of Monsieur Hugh De 
Freigiu'. 

" About the year l:MX a llobert Frensh was seized 
of other lauds in Herefordshire, on whose decease, in 
1370, the custody of his estate was committed in 
wardship durnide miwirilnte here'lis. This record is 
one of many that, even at this early date, evinces the 
transition from Freyne to French." 

Individuals of the name of Freyne or French 
are traceable by territorial and historic notices in 
Norfolk from 1200, in Kent from 1270, in Sussex from 
1278, in Buckingham from 1270, in Northamptonshire 
from 1313. in Esse.v from 1323, where they gave the 
name to the Manor of Frenches. 

In Halsted, Essex Co., England, was born March 
13, 1603, Lieut. W^illiam French, who came to 
America in the ship " Defence," from London, in the 
year ItiSf), and settled in Duiister Street, Cambridge. 
His lot was numbered twenty-four and contained one 
hundred and fifty acres. He resided on the westerly 
side of Duuster Street, about midway between 



Harvard Square and Mt. .Vubntn Street. This estate 
was sold .luue 10, li>56. From him, in direct line, is 
descended the subject of this biography, Col. Jonas 
Harrod French. 

The following quaint list of passengers in the 
'' Defence" has been preserved : 

•liilly, l(j.35. In tlie I»efence do I-mikI. Mr. Tliumas BostoclEe 
vre. New Eii;;l«ml p. cert from Miristi^ Jii.stict* of t'eacfl of his conform- 
ity of yt* fitMi'iii* of EiigliK. No sutisiily intm. Roger HiirliilienikMi, 
aged L'.'i, tuke the othe of allegiance mid siipremacii^. Then follow the 
names of ttiose in cliarge of Harlakenden, among wliom are those of 
William French, aged 30, and his wife, Klizalietli, aged ;j'2. 
(See .lohn t\ Ilotten's list of emigrant*, p. ItMI.) 

William French was made a freeman at Cambridge 
1636, and removed to Billerica about 1652; was its 
first deputy in the Colonial Assembly, one of its first 
selectmen and a man of prominence in its early 
history; he died 1681. 

First Generation. — William French, of England, 
tnarried Elizabeth — — , and had, inter alias, Samuel, 
born in Cambridge Dec. 3, Itilo [Savage says later], 
and died in Billerica Nov. 20, 1681. He was one of 
the selectmen of Billerica in 1660, and here he mar- 
ried Mrs. Mary, widow of John Stearns, by whom he 
had four daughters — Mary, Sarah, .\bigail and Han- 
nah. He had in Billerica the authority to solemnize 
marriages. 

Sfroml Gi'neration. — Samue^^ the youngest son of 
Lieut. William French, was born in Cambridge Dec. 
3, ll>45 or 1618, and settled in Dunstable on the 
easterly side of Nutting's Hill. 

He married, December 24, li)82, Sarah, (laughter of 
John Cummings, Sr., who had taken ui> lands in that 
vicinity, and had : 

1. Sarah \ born in February, lt;84. 

2. Samuel'', born September 10, 1685. 

3. .Joseph, born Mtirch 10, lOS"; grandfather of 
Colonel .loseph French, who died March 21, 1776, 
aged sixty-three, and is buried in Ihe old cemetery at 
Littles, in Nashua, N. 11. 

4. John ', born May 6, 1691. 

5. Ebeneazer, horn .Vpril 7, 1693 ; killed by the In- 
ilians at Naticook, September 5, 1724. He was bur- 
ied, with his comrades, in the above-mentioned cem- 
(■tery, and the head-stone that marks his grave hears 
this quaint inscription : 

" Jlere lyes ye IJody of ThotnaM Ijnnd. who departed this tile .Sept. ye 
,-.'' IT'JiJ in ye -li' year of liis age. This mall, with mven more (hat lie« 
in this grave, was slew in a day hy the Indians." 

6. Jonathan ', born February 1, 1604. 

7. Richard ', born .Vpril 8, 1695. 

S. .Vlice', born Novend)er 20, 1699. 

Samuel French ■ was one of the first founders of the 
first church in Dunstable, organized December 16, 
1(;85, the Rev. Thomas Weld being pastor and also one 
of twelve to defend a garrison established in Dunsta- 
ble in 1702. lie was one of the selectmen of the town 
in 172"), and that year signed a petition to the Gov- 
ernor and Council for assistance in defending the 
town against the incursioi.s of the Indians. He took 



r66 



HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



up a large tract of land in Dunstable — perhaps 180 
acres — some of which remains to this day in the 
hands of his descendants. He probably lived on the 
site of the house immediately on the east of Nutting's 
Hill. ( Town Rerorch.) 

Third Geiieralion {III.). — JoHN French ^ born 
May 6, 1691 ; married and had issue: 

1. John, born March 1, 1719. 

2. William, born October 18, 1721. 

3. Hannah. 

4. Eleanor. 

5. Elizabeth. 

6. Ebenezer, born in 1732; married Sarah Proctor, 
of Acton, May 10, 1765, and died April 14, 1808. He 
was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and had, in- 
ter aliiut, John, the father of the present Benjamin 
French, Es(|., of Dunstable. 

John French ■' was by trade a wheelwright, and his 
house stood near that of Benjamin French, Esq. A 
part of it still remains. It was used at one time as a 
school-house. He bought land of his father, Samuel 
French, and the deed, dated July 4, 1714, is now in 
possession of Benjamin French. He bought the 
millstone meadow of Henry Farwell in 1721, and 
twelve acres of land in Mr. Thomas Brattle's farm, of 
Jonathan Taylor in 1732. His rate in 1744 was: poll, 
8x. 4rf.; real estate, 3s. lOrf.; personal estate, 2s. lOrf. 
( Town Records.) 

"He was one of a committee chosen March ye 28, 
1744, with the Rev. Mr. Swan, to see if anything was 
due him l>om ye town of Dunstable before ye line 
was run betweene ye said Province." ( Town Record.i.)' 

He was a highway survej'or in 1752, and held sev- 
eral other town offices. The date of his death is not 
known. 

Fourth Grncratwn. — John French ', born March 1, 
1719; married Mary , and had issue: 

1. William, born July 13, 1752, was a shoemaker 
by trade, and lived and died at the old homestead at 
the base of Nutting's Hill. He was at the battle of 
Bunker Hill, and was at one time during the action 
stationed at the rail fence, where he loaded his gun 
and with deliberate aim discharged it sixteen times in 
succession at the enemy. He became a member of 
Captain Oliver Cumming's company in 1776, and was 
at thebattle of Trenton and in several other engage- 
ments, in his latter days he received a pension. He 
was never married. 

2. Mary\ born March 21, 1754, and married Isaac 
Pike October 30, 1772. 

3. John, born October 25, 1775. 

4. Jonas'', born August 17, 1757, was baptized by 
the Rev. Josiali Goodhue the .same year. (Church \ 
Recorils.) 

John French ' held a lieutenant's commission as 
early as 1752. On the 26th of October, of the same 

1 The lino between New llanipahire and MHwacluisettfi was run Feb. 
rmiry, 1714. 



year, he was appointed, with John Woodward and 
Adford Jaquith, as a committee " to purchase a suit- 
able quantity of land to set the Meeting House for 
the town of Dunstable." The meeting house, after 
long contention, was finally erected on a rocky emi- 
nence now covered a growth of pine, about one mile 
easterly from Dunstable Centre. Lieutenant John 
French, Jr., as he was designated, served the town as 
constable in 1754 and 1755. He was a farmer, and 
occupied a good substantial two-story house front- 
ing the south, and having on the east a beautiful 
meadow, through which flows How's Weld Brook, 
with the pine-wooded eminence on the west called 
Nutting's Hill. He died March 15, 1761, aged forty- 
two years. {Toion Records.) 

Fifth Geiicrafion. — Joms French^, horn August 17, 
1757; married tirst Betty Marshall; and had issue; 

1. Miiry", born Jlarch 14, 1781. 

2. Jonas', Jr., born August 12, 1782. 

3. William, born June 5, 1789. 

4. John Marshall, born March 9, 1795. 

Betty [Marshall] French died October 8, 1799. 
.lonas French then married Mrs. Anna Mitchell, a 
lady of much personal worth and beauty, who was 
then a member of Deacon Zebedee Kendall's family, 
in Dunstable. She was the widow of a Mr. Mitchell, 
by whom she had two children, Nancy and Bela; the 
former of whom died of typhoid fever in Dunstable; 
the latter settled in Athol, Mass. 

A sister of Mrs. Anna Mitchell married Mr. Tim- 
othy Thompson, of Oharlestown, Mass. Mr. Jonas 
French died in 1840, at the advanced age of eighty- 
three years. He was well educated, and took an 
active ])art in the public affairs of the town. At the 
early age of seventeen he, with his brother William, 
shouldered their muskets and joined the Continental 
.\rmy and saw much active service. 

On cro.ssing the neck after the battle of Bunker 
Hill, they found an officer badly wounded, and 
though exposed to the galling fire from the " Glas- 
gow," a man-of-war, Ihey tendered to him their ser- 
vices. He declined their aid, thinking himself past 
recovery, and at the same time urged them to flee 
from the imminent peril to which they were exposed. 
The humane brothers raised, however, the wounded 
officer tenderly and bore him through the carnage to 
a place of .safety. The wounded officer proved to be 
Captain Henry Faiwell, of Groton. 

A musket-ball was extracted from his spine, and 
he survived the operation many years [See Butler's 
" History of Grotou," p. 208]. Jonas and William 
served through the war, rendering efficient aid to the 
country and leaving an honored name to their pos- 
terity. Jonas l'"rench was sometimes employed by 
the town of Dunstable as a teacher ; and this entry 
appears upon the records: " Allowed out of the town 
treasury in 1778 £3 4s. to Jonas French for keeping 
school." He bought, Aug. 30, 1792, for £12 18s. i)ew 
No. 12 in the meeting-house recently removed to the 



i 



t 



¥ 





^^ /^. 9/^,^^,Jl^c^ 



Ur.VSTAP.LE. 



rfiT 



centre. He was town clerk in M'Mk The present 
buildings of the old French iKimeslead, on the east 
side of Nutting's Hill and a little south of the New 
Hampshire line, were eneted hy his hands. Two twin 
oaks in front of the house are nolde representatives 
of the solid sterling qualities of himself and brother. I 

Si.rt/i Geueriiliuii — ('hildren of Jonas and Betty 
[Marshall] French ; 

1. Mary, born March 14, 1781, lived and died July 

3, 18-16, in Dunstable. She was never married. 

2. Jonas, Jr.'', born August 12, 1782, and married 
first, Martha Jewett, of H(dlis, X. H., April .1, 1809, 
by whom he had several children. Martha [Jewett] 
French died July 25, \><i\, aged thirty-nine, and was 
buried in the C'eatral (-enietery in Dunstable. Jonas 
French, Jr.', then married, second, Mary Pike, Nov. 
20, 1S24, by whom he also had several children. He 
died .August I'!, lS(i(», aged seventy-eight. 

3. William French'', born June ■"), 17>^'.i, lived 
with his father in Dunstable until the age of twenty- 
one, whi^n he came to Boston and comiueDced biisi- 
nes- as a distiller in Distil Hou.-e i^cjuare. He married 
Sarah, ilatlghter of Reuben and ."^arah | Farmer] Bald- 
win, of Billeriea. 

Issue : 

1. William Edward, born in ]li,>ton, April 24, 1820. 

2. Sarah, b<'rn in noston, Jan. 28, 1822. 

3. Harriet, born in Boston, .Ian. !•, 1824. 

4. Emeline, born May 5, 1820. in Boston. 

■ I. Jonas Hari;oi> Fi'.e.xcii, burn in Boston, Nov 

4, 182;>. 

William French" died of censumption .luly 1, 1840, 
and liis widow, .Sarah [Baldwin] French, died Oct. 
24, 18Gri. They are buried side by side in Linden \ 
A vi'uue. Forest Hills Cemetery. \ 

.lohn Marshall French, youngest son ol Jonas'' 
and Betty [.Marshall] French, born March f, 17ii.'>. 

From toe above genealogical record it ajipearsthat 
Col. Jonas Harrod French is of the seventh genera- , 
tion from the original settlerof his family in America, i 
His mother, Sarah French, nii Bahiwin, born August 
6, 17i»0, was a lineal descendant, on lhei)aternal side, 
from John Baldwin, who had a grant of land in Bil- 
leriea in li!')7, and on the maternal side from .bdin ) 
Farmer, who emigrated to this country from .\ncely, 
Warwickshire (.'ounty. l->)gland, jirior to 107".. He 
was a man of distimtion and a large landholilcr in 
Billeriea. He died 172:!. 

The motto upon the coat of arms ol the I'Vench 
family is: " Malr> mori (juaui loedari " — "1 would 
rather/iie than he debased." 

JdNAs H.MMJOD FmcNfii, son of William and , 
Sarali Baldwin French, was born in Boston. Noveni- 
bcr 4, l><2'.i. He was educated in the Boston public 
si'IkpoIs, graduating from the English High School in , 
lS4.'i. He began his business career as a grocer. He 
afterwards became largely interested in distilling; to 
an otherwise varied and extensive business lie has 



added the granite industry, managing a large interest 
as president of the Cape Ann Gr.mite t'ompany. 

Mr. French was married in Boston, in 1S,")7, to 
Fanny E., daughter of Newall A. and Susan (Wyman) 
Thompson. Of this union are two children — Fanny 
T. and Henry G. French. In 18s3 he married Nella 
J., daughter of William and Lueinda Pearson, of 
Boston. Mr. French, in 18ii!l, organized the Caj.e Ann 
Granite Company, the quarries of which arc located 
in (rloucester. He has furni.shed the granite for nu- 
merous public buildings and monuments — notably the 
Boston post-office and sub-treasury building, Balti- 
more post-olhce. the bases of the Scott nmnument, 
Washington, D. ("., the spandnl-walls of the great 
Brooklyn Bridge and the new court-house in Boston. 
He wa~ s(,-:ircely of age « hen he enrolled himself in 
the ('ity (iuards, tlie favorite Boston comiiany (d' 
those day^. Hi- was eleeti-d captain of llie company, 
holding the position three year*. IK- served tw-o 
years on the statl'of (lovernor (iardner. In ISi") he 
was commander of the .\ncient and Honorable .Artil- 
lery of Boston, and is to-day one of the ohh-st living 
eomn:anders of that time-honored corps. In \%b'-', 
I8.'..^( anil 18-"iii he was a member of the Common 
Council of the city of Boston. In November, 1801, 
at ('amp Chase, Lowell, he raised the regiment known 
as "the Eastern Bay State." afterwards designated as 
the Thirtieth Massachusctis, In January following 
he sailed in command of that regiment for Ship Isl- 
and, attached to General Benj, F. Butler's exjieiiition 
against New Orleans. He was provost-marshal-gen- 
eral of Louisiana and subsciiuently served under 
General N. P. Banks. 

Colonel French was a delegate to the National 
Democratic t/onvention at < 'iucinnati in INSO, and 
at St. Louis in ISSS, and was a member of the State 
Senate 187!) and *8ll. doing brilliant work on leading 
committees, and was chairman of the Democratic State 
Central Committee for three years. 

He was three years jiresidenl of the L.)uisville, 
Evansvilb- and St. 1/ouis Hailroad and ten years a 
director in the New \nrV and New England Hail- 
road. He has been a director in the We-«t End 
Land Company since 18-'>7, and has been since 
I87:i adirector of the Maverick National B.'ink. Boston. 
He is a prominent Mason and one of the founders of 
St. Bernard Encampment and Kevere I^odge. 

.Iamks M. Swallow is a native of Dunstable; 
was born .\pril 14, 1.H21, and is the only son of 
James and Sihbel (Parkhurst) Swallow, .lames 
Swallow was f,ir several years a director of the 
Worchester k N.ishiia Railroad, was a man of benevo- 
lence and left by his will a legacy of .*l(MMi t,i the 
Congregational Church of which he was a nu-mber. 

Mr. James M. Swallow was married, in 1S44, to 
Lueinda Chapman, youngest daughter of Davis and 
Rhoda Chapman. A surviving sister of Mr. Swallow^ 
Mrs. Dr. O. .\. Woodbury, resides in Nashua, N. H. 

Ml. Swallow is one of tlic oldest living nu-mbcrs of 



(03 



HISTORY OF MIDPLESEX COILNTY, >[ASSArHUSKTTS. 



the Congregiition.'il Clumli in Dunstable, :uul lias 
held (lid'erent olHces in eonnei tiun Uierewitli. As a 
tiiwnsman he holds an inHuential place. He was 
elei'to'l 1 a young man to nienihersliip i[i the 

Boaril 01 -ois, which at that time was separate 

from the iji'.ird nf remaining otiicers. During the 
first two years of the late Civil War he was connected 
with the board of t"wn officers. At different times, 
when serving tlie town as selectman, he has given 
satisfaction by faithful and prudent management of 
affairs. In the fall of ISS'J Mr. Svv.-illow was elected 
to the General l.'ourt froni the Thirty-first District o( 
Middlesex County. 

By occupation Mr. !?wallow is a farmer. He in- 
herited a portion of his farm, and has made additions 
thereto iluring his life. He is also one of the trustees 
of the City .'Savings l?ank, of Nashua, N. H. 

.\t the bi-centennial celebration of the town of 
Dunstable, a very interesting occa.sion which occurred 
iu 1873, Mr. Swallow was one of the committee of 
arrangements, lie ha.s been a member of the Re- 
publican party since its organization, and tills a 
useful place in the Legislature, where he is a mem- 
ber of the Committee on " Fisheries and ' iame.'' 

JoxAs KEND.A.LL is the third of a family of eight 
children. He is the son of ,Ionas and Olive (Butter- 
field) Kendall, and was boin February, Ulu, at the 
homestead of the Kendalls — the English name being 
Kentdale — in Dunstable, Mass. 

At an early age he evinced a decided taste for me- 
chanics, and was not content with a farmer's life. 
With his parent's consent, he left school and went to 
Lowell, Ma.ss., where he learned the trade of a black- 
smith. From his parents he inherited the qualities 
of integrity, energy and [lerseverance. During these 
years of service manly traits of character were devel- 
opi>d. I'liu filial spirit was shown by occasional visits 
to his i)arents, and the feeling of attachment to home 
grew with his yeais. 

When Mr. Kendall's time of service was over he 
went to Saco, Me., where he remained a short time. 
lie there became acnuainted with .Miss Caroline 
Partridge, of Paris, Me., to whom he was alterwanl 
married. In IS.j") she died, leaving him witli Iwo 
daughters, — Cynthia A. and KImira C. The former 
is unmarried; the latter married Edmund 10. J-'tiles; 
now living in Newtonville, Mass. Mr. and Mrs. 
Stiles have two .sons, tiaiiied Herbert Kendall and 
Percy (ioldthwait. The first is now in .Vmherst 
College, and the second Is a member of the High 
School in Newtonville. 

In lS-57 .Mr. Kendall married Miss Lucy Fletcher, 
of .Vmherst, N. H., who died in 187o, leaving no 
children. Reference has already been made to the 
fact that .Mr. Kendall was one of a family of eight 
children. His only brother, Chiles, resided in Dun- 
stable, was a deacon of the Congregational Church, 
and lived to an advanced age. One of his sisters, 
Olive C. B., married Dr. .Tnhn Spaiildiiiir, who was 



secretary of the American ."-eamen's Society in New 
York City. 

.fotias Kendall's business education was acquireil 
by the study of mechanical works, this atmly being 
often protracted into the holirs of night, lie was 
aided by a keen observation and contact with me- 
chanical arti' ts. All his efforts were characterized 
by patient applicatiim. 

Karly In Mr. KendaH's business career he h.id an 
urgent invitation to become superintenclent of the 
shops belonging to the .\mes Manufacturing Cdinpany 
at Chicopee Falls. That com(iany then manufactured 
breech-loading carldnes, together with various other 
articles. This position he successfully hehl until the 
winter of 1S47-4S. He was then called to Holyoke 
by the South Hadley Falls Company to superintend 
the arranging and building of the large machine- 
shop of that company, and to fill the same with tools 
suitable for building cotton machinery. This posi- 
tion he retained till the close of the affairs of the 
company and the final sale of the property. Imme- 
diately he was invited to the superintendency of the 
Ames Company's shops in Chicopee; accepting, he 
remaineil until .\|>ril, lXfi2. Then, from e.xcessive 
labor, his health became so impaired that he was 
compelled to reliniiuish business and seek rest. In 
July of the same year he purchased an estate la 
South Framingham, to which he at once moved, and 
where he continues to resiile. 

At a later period, by relaxation from all care and 
business, with good medical advice, he so far regained 
his strength as to act In the capacity of .advising en- 
gineer in converting the large machine-shop in Hol- 
yoke to the well-known Hadley Thread-Mill. Since 
that time he has been largely engaged in arranging 
and superintending the building of various dams .uid 
mills, in the perffirmance of which he has traveled 
nearly Cd.iMK) miles. 

While at Holyoke he was -frongly urged by promi- 
nent citizens of that [>lace to accept the pnsition of 
representative, but felt compelleil, much against their 
wishes, to decline, as busine.ss demanded his time. 

A few statements from ex-Lieutenant-(iovernor 
Wcslori, nf D.iUiiU, M.-iss., ;;ive a good general impres- 
sion of Mr. ICcicfiirs ih.iraclcr and eiliciency : 
"Since a boy I have luard I he name nt' .fonas Ken- 
ilall used In connection with the names of other wise 
men, great mechanical and hydraulic engineers, such 
as .rohn Chase, of Chicopee, and Horatio Tower, of 
Dalton. He was the man people relieil upon to build 
safe clams and to examine them. To him was left the 
settlement of <lisputed i|ueslions. He was appointed 
arbitrator and his decision was law. No one ap- 
|)ealed from Jonas Kendall's opioion or Juilgment. 
\t times he was seemingly cold and stern, but away 
from Ijusiiiess was very entertaining and agreeable. 
He was a man of temperate habits and wonderful 
physical endurance. Honesty way: a distinguishing 
trait, and his l(ivalt\- to truth was a rtcll-kuown char- 



DUNSTABLE. 



jTeg 



acteristic. For many years Jonas Kendall was con- 
sulted by county commissioners and town and city 
officials.'' 

The following reminiscences are from Mr. C W. 
Ranlet, president of the Hadley Falls National Bank 
of Holyoke, Mass. These words are well suited to 
help young men by showing that faithfulness and in- 
tegrity are foundation stones in successful cliaracter 
building. 

■' I first became acquainted with Mr. Kendall some 
time in 1848. He came to Holyoke from the Ames 
Company, at that time of Chicopee Falls, as assistant 
in chief of General Agent John Chase — 'Uncle ,Tohu,' 
as he was generally called, who was the founder and 
builder of factories and canals in Holyoke. Mr. 
Kendall occupied the position of master mechanic 
and superintendent of the machine-shops. The heavy 
and complicated machinery of the guard-gales, locks 
and reservoir pumjis was designed and built under 
his oversight and from plans of his own drawing. 
The water connections from the canals to the several 
mills were all constructed under his own eye. All 
these stand complete to-day without a break or serious 
accident. Mr. Kendall was a man of few words, but 
when he did speak, those who heard him knew prt- 
cisely what he meant. No one ever suspected him of 
receiving a bribe in the too prevalent form of a 'com- 
mission ' or percentage in purchases or sales, and no 
one acquainted with him would risk a good trade by 
such a proposition. If any stranger ever approached 
Mr. Kendall with an offer of this kind he never did 
it a second time. For integrity, fair dealing and 
every quality that constitutes a good citizen, no one 
in Holyoke stood higher than Jonas Kendall, and no 
one ever went away with more hearty good wishes 
from a wide circle of friends and acquaintances." 

After making South Framingham h'is place of resi- 
dence he was often recalled to Holyoke by the va- 
rious" corporations and mill-owners for consultation, 
advice and supervision of matters pertaining to hy- 
draulic engineering. A few years after his retire- 
ment the great dam showed signs of weakness, and a 
serious depression appeared near the middle of the 
dam. Mr. Kendall was summoned by the new 
]yaler Pouer Co. for examination and advice. No 
satisfactory examination could be made without 
a thorough inspection of the dam itself; and with 
eighteen inches of water pouring over the crest this 
was no easy job. But Mr. Kendall was equal to the 
emergency, and with that determination so charac- 
teristic of the man, he proposed to go through the 
dam behind the falling sheet of water. In order to 
do this, one must crawl the whole length of the dam 
through open spaces between the timbers, 12 by 24 
inches for 1013 feet. The timbers were wet and 
slimy, the rock-bottom was uneven and slippery, and 
the confined air both damp and murky. The under- 
taking was therefore a perilous one for a man of Mr. 
Kendall's years. Friends tried to dissuade him, and 
49' 



pointed out the dangers to be encountered, advising 
the employment of some younger and more robust 
man. But he could rely upon tlie reports of no one 
not familiar with this kind of work. Having provided 
himself with a rubber suit and a strong staff Mr. 
Kendall started one morning to go under the dam 
through an opening in the abutment. Three strong 
men were employed to follow and render aid in case 
of accident. Mr. Kendall being rather spare in flesh, 
but wiry in muscle, went through the open spaces 
without much difficulty, and soon distanced his fol- 
lowers. He waited, but they did not come up. He 
called aloud, but no response came. The thirty feet 
of falling water in front drowned the strongest voice. 
So Mr. Kendall pushed forward alone, i)robing the 
timbers as he went along, to see if they were sound. 
In the mean time the " helpers," who had penetrated 
about ninety feet, returned much fatigued and badly 
scared. They reported the entire impracticability of 
going through the dam, and the great dangers attend- 
ing such an undertaking. People gathered on the 
river-banks and bulkheads watching for any sign of 
the explorer. Some scrutinized the rapids to see if 
any dead body appeared, .\long in the afternoon 
efforts were made to organize an exploring force for 
the discovery and rescue of the lost engineer ; but 
after the dire accounts of those who returned no one 
could be found willing to take the risk. About 
three o'clock in the afternoon Mr. Kendall himself 
emerged from the opposite abutment amid the 
shouts of the assembled people. .'Vs he ascended the 
ladder he appeared somewhat fatigued, and, covered 
as he was with mud and slime, he was not an attract- 
ive object to look upon. After a short rest in the 
sunshine and fresh air he revived, and seemed :is 
"good as new," and jocosely remarked to a friend: 
'' I guess I have broken the record for walking on al- 
fours under trying circumstances." Mr. Kendall 
made a full report of his investigation to the Water 
Power Co., and this led to the needed reconstruction 
of the dam. 

In the building of several works there have been 
those who supposed that Mr. Kendall bestowed too 
much care and expense. Those works have, how- 
ever, proved to be of permanent value. 

Mr. Kendall has always given freely for the sup- 
port of the Gospel, has been ever ready to help the 
needy and has been a generous contributor to benev- 
olent, charitable and all other objects having in view 
the good of society. 

Mr. Kendall, as one of the prominent citizens of 
South Framingham, was elected to the Legislature in 
1872. He has been connected with lianks and other 
pl.aces of trust. Several offices tendered to him have 
been declined. He has not been one to seek office, 
but office has sought him. Unassuming in manner, 
and averse to notoriety, .Mr. Kendall has always pos- 
sessed the entire confidence of the different commu- 
ties in whicli he has resided. 



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H€CKMAN 

BINDERY INC. 
^ NOV 89 

■ iZ Hi N. MANCHESTER, 









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